Mikhail S. Gorbachev Makes Reforms in the Soviet Union with Perestroika and Glasnost
On March 14 1990, Mikhail S. Gorbachev is elected president of the Soviet Union by Congress of People's’ Deputies. During his election, he was highly criticized for his tardiness of his reform agenda. He wanted the Soviet’s economy to reform for the better with perestroika and glasnost. Although Gorbachev was thought to be the creator of those two ideas, it really was Yuri Andropov who thought the economy need a reform. The reforms that Andropov introduced were later developed by Gorbachev.Gorbachev had a lack of political experience, and by the time he came to power, the Soviet's economy was already on the brink of failure and greatly needed reform. Thus, perestroika and glasnost were not "inventions" of Gorbachev, because it was already obvious that the Soviet Union needed them.
The perestroika, which comes from the Russian word meaning "restructuring," is defined as the rearrangement of the political, social and economical system. It gave more economic freedom to companies rather than the supreme force. Gorbachev and Andropov both thought the idea of perestroika was a great idea to help solve the economic problems, but the Soviet government did not want to give up their power. People just wanted power for themselves. To ease the problem, Gorbachev made another policy called the Glasnost.The glasnost meant that a part of the Soviet officials would authorize western ideas and goods into the Soviet Union. Glasnost gave the people more freedom and rights. Soviet Leaders could not hide from their mistakes and their jobs were not secured. Soviet entrepreneurs wanted more radical reforms and they became more impatient because they did not want to go back to the old way of communism. The soviet people saw the ease enjoyed by capitalist countries and they started to like the idea of a less controlled economy.
The perestroika, which comes from the Russian word meaning "restructuring," is defined as the rearrangement of the political, social and economical system. It gave more economic freedom to companies rather than the supreme force. Gorbachev and Andropov both thought the idea of perestroika was a great idea to help solve the economic problems, but the Soviet government did not want to give up their power. People just wanted power for themselves. To ease the problem, Gorbachev made another policy called the Glasnost.The glasnost meant that a part of the Soviet officials would authorize western ideas and goods into the Soviet Union. Glasnost gave the people more freedom and rights. Soviet Leaders could not hide from their mistakes and their jobs were not secured. Soviet entrepreneurs wanted more radical reforms and they became more impatient because they did not want to go back to the old way of communism. The soviet people saw the ease enjoyed by capitalist countries and they started to like the idea of a less controlled economy.