Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of Russia in 1985. As the war in Afghanistan raged on, he was eager to make reforms. He wished to “Give up the Totalitarianism. Lead society to freedom: political, ideological, and religious pluralism. Economic freedom, too...” He believed in democracy for Russia, something that would benefit the people. He fought for the rights of the citizen and attempted to make democratic reforms. Some of these reforms were Perestroika and Glasnost. Perestroika, meaning "restructuring" focused on allowing more independence in market-like reforms. It sought not to detroy communism completely, but to mold it into something that would allow more freedom and efficiency for Soviet consumers. However, it is said that Perestroika only caused more tension in Russia and was considered a catalyst for the dismemberment of the country. Glasnost, literally translating to "openness" allowed for the Soviets to loosen their reigns on censorship and allow more freedom of expression. Because of this, the Communist Party began losing its grips on the media. This allowed for the exposure of severe social and economic probelms that the Soviet government had kept secret from the nation. As Gorbachev would later admit, “When such developments get under way, no one can predict specifically what it will lead to.” These reforms spun out of control and failed to help Russia in the way that Gorbachev had hoped. :( However, despite these reforms' failure, he recieved a Nobel Peace Prize for his effort in making Russia a democracy for the people.
Links:
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1990/gorbachev-bio.html
~Nobel Prize.org
This site for Nobel Peace Prize Laureates describes a timeline of Gorbachev's accomplishments as well as significant events in his life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev
~Wikipedia
This site goes into detail on every aspect of Gorbechev's life, and what historical events occured during his time in power.
~Nobel Prize.org
This site for Nobel Peace Prize Laureates describes a timeline of Gorbachev's accomplishments as well as significant events in his life.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Gorbachev
~Wikipedia
This site goes into detail on every aspect of Gorbechev's life, and what historical events occured during his time in power.