29.7: Mikhail Gorbachev and the End of the Cold War
In this
topic, you will learn about:
The life of Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev’s reforms in the Soviet Union The fall of communism in Eastern Europe
A Life in Time: Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–)
Early life and career Mikhail Gorbachev was born in 1931 in southern Russia. As a student, he became active in the Communist Party while studying law in Moscow. He made a name for himself in the party as a reformer and in 1978 he was appointed to the agricultural Central Committee and later to the Soviet Union’s executive committee, the Politburo.
Gorbachev’s reforms
By the 1980s, the Soviet economy was in need of drastic reform. In 1985, after three elderly leaders died in quick succession, Gorbachev was appointed leader of the Soviet Union. He believed that the cost of the Cold War was too high and the USSR could no longer afford the arms race. He wanted to reduce military spending so he could spend that money to improve the lives of Soviet citizens. He announced two major changes:
• Glasnost (meaning ‘openness’): Gorbachev’s policy to open up discussion in Soviet society: political prisoners were freed, censorship was relaxed and people were encouraged to suggest new ideas to fi x the economy
• Perestroika (meaning ‘restructuring’): Gorbachev’s policy to reform and open up the Soviet economy by allowing some private ownership of business and land.
The end of the Cold War
Gorbachev saw that vast sums of money were being poured into the military to keep up with the US, which was spending $550 billion a year on defence under President Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev and Reagan met several times and built a new relationship based on trust. They made important nuclear disarmament agreements, which dramatically reduced nuclear weaponry and tensions between East and West.
