mikhail gorbachev and the collapse of communism

During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet Union’s Communist leadership kept tight control over the Soviet people. Leonid Brezhnev and the Politburo, the ruling committee of the Communist Party crushed all political disagreement.During the 1960s and 1970s, the Soviet Union’s Communist leadership kept tight control over the Soviet people. Leonid Brezhnev and the Politburo, the ruling committee of the Communist Party crushed all political disagreement. When Leonid Brezhnev died in 1982 the Soviet Union wanted to hold onto power. Then a young leader came into play, his name was Mikhail Gorbachev. Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the youngest Soviet leaders after Joseph Stalin. Using his youth, energy, and political skills he became the party’s new general secretary. Gorbachev realized that economic and social reforms could not occur without a free flow of ideas and information. In 1985, he announced a policy known as glasnost , or openness. He encouraged Soviet citizens to discuss ways to improve their society. The changes created were great churches were open, released dissidents from prison and allowed the publication of books by previously banned authors, etc. With these new changes the Soviets wanted to complain about economy issues. Mikhail Gorbachev then created perestroika economic restructuring. In 1986, he made changes to revive the Soviet economy. Later on as things were changing, communism got weaker until breakouts started to occur and the Berlin wall fell and communism stop spreading around the world