1985: Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union initiating a campaign of openness called “Glasnost” and restructuring called “Perestroika”

DATE: March 1985

DESCRIPTION: In March of 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union fully aware of problems in the USSR with communism; he intended to reform it so it could move closer to Marxist ideals. He initially worked to rid the system of corruption, but he soon realized his efforts were futile and that he had to go further with his reform attempts. In 1986, he introduced a campaign of openness called “Glasnost” – he encouraged open debate about the issues the USSR faced, which shocked not just his country but the Western countries as well. In 1987, he started a political movement for reconstruction known as “Perestroika” in which he demonstrated his commitment to reforming the country.

BLAME: First of all, the main cause for Gorbachev gaining power was the death of the previous leader, Konstantin Chernenko. He was completely opposed to any sort of reform measures and was a very traditional man; in addition, he was ill when he took power. Gorbachev did most of the work during his term as leader due to his illness, which helped him gain stature among the leaders in the Politburo – the executive committee for the USSR’s communist political party. On the other hand, Gorbachev was the sole person responsible for coming up with Glasnost and Perestroika. However, he wouldn’t have come up with this idea if the Communist system in the USSR wasn’t on the brink of collapse. In this way, the blame for the creation of Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika campaigns would fall on every other previous dictator and citizen of the USSR who helped to contribute to the state the USSR was in, but Gorbachev was the one responsible for coming up with the idea itself.

TENSION INCREASE: The tensions between the USSR and the US may have decreased during this time; in particular, due to his Perestroika movement in 1987. Gorbachev declared his desire to rebuild the spirit of détente from the 1970’s, which caused Perestroika to catch the interest of the West. The Western countries became more relaxed about the USSR the more Gorbachev talked about human rights, which helped to ease the tension between the two sides. -1

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