Mikhail Gorbachev

Mikhail Gorbachev became Soviet leader in 1985 intending to renew socialism rather than dismantle the Soviet Union. His programmes of glasnost and perestroika opened public debate and attempted to revive an economy dominated by state planning. He supported greater enterprise autonomy, cooperatives and a larger role for market activity, while continuing to seek a reformed socialist system. Political changes allowed more competition and weakened the Communist Party’s monopoly, helping to release pressures his government could not contain. His refusal to sustain Eastern European communist regimes by force contributed to the Cold War’s end. At home, however, Soviet troops still used violence against independence movements, including in the Baltic republics. His record combines substantial political opening with economic caution and an ultimately unsuccessful effort to preserve the union through reform.

Sources:Mikhail Gorbachev — Facts, NobelPrize.org Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume VI, Document 160 — Office of the Historian The Collapse of the Soviet Union — Office of the Historian

Challenge dimensions

Governance: Democratic Autocratic
Economic coordination: Planning Markets

Mikhail Gorbachev

Challenge dimensions

Further Reading

Gorbachev: The Man and His Era

Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union

Challenge dimensions

Further Reading

Gorbachev: The Man and His Era

Collapse: The Fall of the Soviet Union

Other released characters