End of the Cold War
Gorbachev's Policies
In March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of the Communist Party. Noticing the problems in his country, Gorbachev introduced his Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) dual program.
The Perestroika policy dealt with restructuring the economy and politics of the Soviet Union. Politically, Gorbachev rebuilt the Communist Party in order to find the problems within and solve them. He also introduced elections, similar to those of the democratic Western style, that allowed citizen to have a say in the government. Economically, Gorbachev took down monopolies that eventually ended the price control on goods that was established by the government.
Alongside Perestroika was the Glasnost policy, which dealt with political and social changes in the Soviet Union. The purpose of this policy was to abate the strict social control the government imposed and to grant more rights and freedom to the citizens of the Soviet Union. The goal was to have more citizens involved with the government in which people were given the freedom of expression. As a result, the media, journalists and writers, were given more freedom that allowed them to expose the corruption the government possessed and the depression the Soviets suffered.
Mikhail Gorbachev established these reforms in hopes that it would help revitalize and modernize the Soviet Union, he did not see that it would actually bring the end of the USSR.
The Perestroika policy dealt with restructuring the economy and politics of the Soviet Union. Politically, Gorbachev rebuilt the Communist Party in order to find the problems within and solve them. He also introduced elections, similar to those of the democratic Western style, that allowed citizen to have a say in the government. Economically, Gorbachev took down monopolies that eventually ended the price control on goods that was established by the government.
Alongside Perestroika was the Glasnost policy, which dealt with political and social changes in the Soviet Union. The purpose of this policy was to abate the strict social control the government imposed and to grant more rights and freedom to the citizens of the Soviet Union. The goal was to have more citizens involved with the government in which people were given the freedom of expression. As a result, the media, journalists and writers, were given more freedom that allowed them to expose the corruption the government possessed and the depression the Soviets suffered.
Mikhail Gorbachev established these reforms in hopes that it would help revitalize and modernize the Soviet Union, he did not see that it would actually bring the end of the USSR.
Fall of the Soviet Union
One by one, piece by piece, the Soviet Union broke apart into 15 countries. Gorbachev's programs gave the citizens of the Soviet Union a taste in freedom and the inspiration to break away. In June 1989 the people of Poland elected a noncommunist government, because of Gorbachev's policies the communist government didn't react and started a domino effect. Communists dictatorship fell one by one and the demand for independence from Moscow spread. Eventually, the republics that the Communists government controlled gained their freedom and created the Commonwealth of Independent States. Unable to compete with the citizens' votes in government, the Soviet Union fell apart.
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