Mikhail Gorbachev was an important figure in history because of his willingness to end the Cold War and Communism as it was known in the 1980s. The most famous line ever uttered by President Ronald Reagan was "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" Mikhail Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union. He brought about massive economic, social, and political changes and helped bring an end to both the Soviet Union and the Cold War. One of Gorbachev's notable accomplishments was the breaking down of the Berlin Wall, a symbolic division between communism and freedom for the Soviet Union. After signing to destroy the wall, Gorbachev successfully restored peace into Russia. In my opinion, this was truly the "end of history." After the tearing down of Russia, Europe as not broken out into war, thus making Gorbachev a key factor in European History. .
2. Adolf Hitler.
Hitler is sometimes seen as the first modern dictator because of his use of various media to broadcast his ideas. He understood the power of propaganda, and filled German cities with massive posters appealing to the German sense of disempowerment after the end of World War 1. Hitler looked around at a world that was quickly becoming a globalized singularity and, perhaps out of fear, he began espousing the idea that the German "race" and culture was under threat. While Europe took its first steps towards unity, the German dictator lashed out and said no - we are German and we must fight for the continued existence of the German culture. This isn't a new idea, it's at the heart of almost every war, and it occurs today, but the significance of Hitler's belief in this idea was that he was the first leader to employ such a philosophy after the world had begun to view such ideas as evil.
3. Stalin.
Stalin was a crucial figure in the history of the Soviet Union, transforming this predominantly peasant society into a world industrial power by the end of the 1930s.