Abstract
This paper examines the era of the Cold War and in particular, the role played by Mikhail Gorbachev in influencing the course of historical events in the 1980s. The thesis is argued that Gorbachev initiated the processes that brought about the end of the Cold War not so much in response to international conditions so much as to the domestic situation in the Soviet Union - both economic and political. It also argues that he realized that immediate steps to reform were required if the Soviet Union were to meet the challenges of a new era.

Outline:
Introduction
The Soviet Union Before Gorbachev
The Domestic Climate of the USSR
Gorbachev's "New Thinking" and the End of the Cold War
Riding the Dragon of Reform
Conclusion

From the Paper
"While it is undeniable that Mikhail Gorbachev is the single most important Soviet figure during the 1980s, and arguably the personality most responsible for the end of the Cold War, his rise to power in the Soviet system represents a fascinating problem for students of Soviet history. Indeed, several years after Gorbachev had come to power George Kennan - the U.S. diplomat who had played a key role in the development of the "containment strategy" in the 1940s - was asked in a television interview how so unconventional a figure could have risen to the top of the Soviet system that had - during the long Brezhnev era - being characterized as moribund and extremely conservative. Kennan's response is illuminating: "I really cannot explain it." "

Tags:cold, war, russia, soviet, union, reform

Abstract
The paper shows how Mikhail Gorbachev attempted to broker peace with the U.S. and it discusses his desire to see if not the complete destruction of nuclear weapons then at least a reduction in them, and a closer relationship with the U.S. that enabled a closer working partnership. Of importance, according to the author, are Gorbachev's summits held with Reagan in Reykjavik, Iceland, Moscow and in Washington D.C. The author discusses Gorbachev's incredible popularity in the west. The paper also briefly touches on the theory that a hard line U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union was the factor in bringing about a change in the Soviet's attitude.

From the Paper
"This theory that the U.S. forced the Soviets into reforms is a plausible, and convincing argument. However, it does not answer why that this policy had never worked before. Certainly after WW11 the Soviet Union was in a much weaker position to the U.S. both economically and militarily. The Truman administration took a hard line against the Soviets, yet they had not wavered, even though the U.S. at that time was the only nation with nuclear weapons. This theory also fails to take into account the role played by Gorbachev, nor give him the credit he deserves."

Tags:foreign, policy, relations, Brzezenski, Afghanistan, Starwars, SDI, Russia

Abstract
This discussion looks at the late Soviet era, in particular at the reforms implemented under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, specifically, Perestroika and Glasnost. The paper argues that Gorbachev's reforms failed for two main reasons. The first was that the economic conditions in the USSR at the time were becoming untenable and made any government unpopular. The paper then discusses the other cause that was the nationalism that suddenly emerged with the liberalising of political control in the country, and ultimately forced him out of office.

From the Paper
"The reforms that followed aimed to increase the freedoms available to citizens of the Soviet Union in order to stimulate them into pulling the country out of stagnation. The two major reforms were perestroika, which aimed to begin rebuilding the Soviet Union, as it was argued that it had stagnated under the Communist system and the second major reform was known as Glasnost. This included reforms as radical as allowing private ownership of business and increased political freedoms dramatically. It was this that was seen as the most radical of the reforms. Not only did grant significant political freedoms such as moderate freedom of association and economic freedoms such as the freedom to own property but it also granted much greater licence of freedom of speech. This was particularly important with relation to the amount of freedom granted to the media . Immediately had this reform gone through when the papers began filling up with heavy criticism for the administration. Such was the extent of the repressed discontent with the direction the USSR had been taking that many of the state owned papers began printing letters that were critical of the party which was seen as being on the take and out of touch. Such criticism did not sit well with the party elites, particularly the more old fashioned hard line members of the CPSU. Such a move was considered a danger to the very nature of the party and the philosophy of the Soviet Union."

Tags:Perestroika, Glasnost, Cold, War, neoliberalism, free, market, nationalism

Abstract
In this paper the writer puts forward the reasons that account for the growth in Perestroika, such as the economic decline and social despair suffered by the populations of Russia and the countries of Communist Eastern Europe. It also looks at the man who was responsible for the introduction of Perestroika, Mikhail Gorbachev and why he wanted to introduce Perestroika.

From the Paper
"The Soviet Union and its satellite countries were on a continual downward spiral from the late 50's and 60's. Ruled from Moscow, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was suffering a very poor economy and social conditions such as housing, welfare and food supply. Leonid Brezhnev, who became Secretary General of the Soviet Communist Party in 1964, reinforced the strict regime of communism. All private ownership in Russia was ended, a mass programme of industrialization was started and the Soviet military strength was significantly enhanced."

Tags:cold war, Eastern Europe, Glasnost, Gorbachev, Perestroika, Russia, Soviet Union

Abstract
This postgraduate paper examines the NEP and perestroika. The paper discusses how Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy and Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika were similar in terms of their short term political and economic goals, for Lenin and Gorbachev both felt compelled to face economic realities. Both men were confronted by an enormous range of economic challenges, for Lenin not only had to rebuild an economy shattered by years of war and revolution he was intent upon replacing Russia's capitalist economic system with a communist economic system.

Tags:nep, and, perestroika

Abstract
The end of the Cold War found Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin seeking solutions for problems that needed to be solved. Their attempts to reform the socialist state are reviewed in this paper, followed by a summary of the research in the conclusion.
Outline
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview
Gorbachev's Glasnost
Yeltsin and Democratization
Analysis
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In many ways, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power during a period in Soviet history where things had been going downhill for some time, and the Old Guard was dying off; however, the primary catalyst for reform during Gorbachev period of glasnost, or "openness," was one of economics. For example, in their book, Glasnost, Perestroika and the Socialist Community, Bukowski and Walsh (1990) report that, "The impetus for reform in the Soviet Union came from a number of directions, but the factor of fundamental importance was the economic one. Gorbachev's economic reforms are meant to revitalize a stagnant Soviet economy that has been growing at only about 2 percent annually for a decade. The reasons for the slowdown are partly internal and structural, and partly external." "

Tags:socialism, soviet, union, perestroika

Abstract
Today, in the early 21st century when the world order is defined by a so-called "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam, the era of the Cold War seems almost a distant memory. However, only two decades ago the mightiest military alliances in the history of humanity - NATO and the Warsaw Pact - stared at each other across a frontier in the centre of Europe in much the same way as they had been for over a generation. The relationship between these alliances and their respective dominant players - the United States and the USSR - had been seemingly frozen without change through the decades of the Cold War. It was only with the arrival of a new Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, that a series of transformative changes began, first in the Soviet Union and then in the international order, that would bring about in the span of a few years the end of the Cold War.

From the Paper
Gorbachev and the Changes in the International System in the 1980s Introduction Today, in the early 21st century when the world order is defined by a so-called "clash of civilizations" between the West and Islam, the era of the Cold War seems almost a distant memory. However, only two decades ago the mightiest military alliances in the history of humanity - NATO and the Warsaw Pact - stared at each other across a frontier in the centre of Europe in much the same way as they had been for over a generation. The relationship between these alliances and their respective dominant players

Tags:russia, us, cold war

Abstract
The paper examines whether Russia, which had made significant progress towards democracy under Gorbachev, is slowly being led back to an authoritarian-like rule by Putin or whether Putin is hamstrung by his predecessor, Yeltsin. The author believes that Gorbachev made exemplary strides in taking Russia on the path of democracy. His successors' policies, however, caused Russia to take serious steps backwards in this process. The paper is especially critical of Yeltsin and Putin, citing their backgrounds and personalities as leading to the current backward trends in Russian attempts at democracy.

From the Paper
"Over the past century, the Russian Federation has undergone numerous changes in government. From a Tsarist regime in the early 1900s to a totalitarian state under brutal dictator Joseph Stalin, to its present, semi-democracy under ex-KGB leader Vladimir Putin, it's a wonder that Russia has been able to sustain its position as a world power for all these years. In the past decade, Russia had been making an effort to rid themselves of their totalitarian (and communist) past, by moving the government towards democracy, thanks to progressive leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. However, in recent years, Putin has strayed from the democratic path. By taking such measures as jailing his main Presidential opposition, and with the Duma, Russia's parliament, practically controlled by his party, Putin has given himself more power than his predecessors ever had. This, combined with what many call an "anti-democratic culture", has outsiders questioning whether Russia is again veering off course. The main question is whether it's solely Putin's fault for the present state of the Russian government, or if his predecessors left him with little room to maneuver."

Tags:boris, gorbachev, mikhail, putin, russia, soviet, union, vladimir, yeltsin

Abstract
This paper analyzes the main causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, focusing on the role of the United States in its collapse. The paper looks at the final phase of collapse in the 1980s when Leonid Brezhnev died and the other factors that impacted the collapse at that time. The paper also discusses the efforts of Gorbachev to try to stem the collapse of the Soviet Union and how his efforts failed.

From the Paper
"Gorbachev realized that perestroika was bold and risky and that only time would determine its ultimate success or failure. Like Lenin, Gorbachev believed that, "sometimes you have to retreat, and then advance." But he ran out of time, in part because the new openness in the Soviet press under glasnost revealed to the Soviet people for the first time that conditions across the entire Soviet Union were shockingly bad.
"Ever since the days of Lenin, the average Soviet citizen knew that economic conditions were bad in their own village, city, or region, but the communist-controlled media prevented them from knowing that conditions were just as bad everywhere else if not even worse. Glasnost confirmed this harsh reality beyond any doubt, and created a political environment across the Soviet Union in which people were not going to tolerate communism much longer."

Tags:perestroika, communism, Russia, Kremlin, revolution

From the Paper
" If I were to become Soviet president, I would
not allow President Bush to talk to me the way he
talks to the current Soviet president. Believe me,
Bush would have to take me into consideration
because I would put strategic forces on alert just
to accomplish this aim (Shogren, 1991, p. H-6, c. 1).
.. Col. Nikolai S. Petrushenko
Soviet Parliament Member


A year ago, at the height of the period of Soviet liberalization under Mikhail Gorbachev, the problem of arms control .. indeed, the entire question of American and Soviet strategic forces and the strategic balance of the superpowers .. seemed to be a has.been issue. The new democratizing Soviet Union, or post.Soviet confederation, would be America's partner..."