Mikhail Gorbachev was the youngest Soviet leader since Stalin and was supported by the Politburo. He pursued new ideas and started different reforms. He announced the policy of Glasnost. Glasnost means "openness". He wanted Soviet citizens to give ideas to make their society better. He made a lot of changes. He allowed churches to open and released dissidents from prison. He also allowed for the publication of books, that were banned because of the author. People were allowed to complain about economic problems. Mikhail had introduced the idea of perestroika. Perestroika is a word for economic restructuring. He wanted to make communism more efficient and productive. People were allowed to open small private businesses and managers were able to have more control over their businesses. He introduced another idea called democratization, which allowed for the election of a new legislative body. He changed the Soviet's foreign policy. He stressed diplomacy over force. He had signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force with President Reagan. He said that the Soviet Union no longer opposes to reform. This all led to the end of Communism because their were no longer people enforcing the way of communism. Also communism was no longer strict and people were able to do the things they wanted and live a better life.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism
Mikhail Gorbachev was the youngest Soviet leader since Stalin and was supported by the Politburo. He pursued new ideas and started different reforms. He announced the policy of Glasnost. Glasnost means "openness". He wanted Soviet citizens to give ideas to make their society better. He made a lot of changes. He allowed churches to open and released dissidents from prison. He also allowed for the publication of books, that were banned because of the author. People were allowed to complain about economic problems. Mikhail had introduced the idea of perestroika. Perestroika is a word for economic restructuring. He wanted to make communism more efficient and productive. People were allowed to open small private businesses and managers were able to have more control over their businesses. He introduced another idea called democratization, which allowed for the election of a new legislative body. He changed the Soviet's foreign policy. He stressed diplomacy over force. He had signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force with President Reagan. He said that the Soviet Union no longer opposes to reform. This all led to the end of Communism because their were no longer people enforcing the way of communism. Also communism was no longer strict and people were able to do the things they wanted and live a better life.
The Collapse of Communism
A series of events led to the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and in the USSR. In Eastern Europe there were reforms and people were starting to reject the idea of Communism. There were demands for reforms, some countries were starting to hold free elections, and there were revolutions. The new president of East Germany had decided to hold free elections and wanted the Berlin Wall to be tore down. There then became talk with West Germany. This resulted in the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany. In the Soviet Union, Boris Yeltsin was elected president. He fought for power and wanted the break up of the Soviet Union. He helped reformers end communism. This resulted in the USSR ceasing to exist. With the disappearance of the USSR, there is know only one super power in the world. The two super powers had been the United States and the Soviet Union. Now its only the US.
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