Thursday, 8 December 2011December marks the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was the internal reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, that contributed to the demise of the Soviet Union.
Gorbachev emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union in early 1985. At 54, he was the youngest member of the ruling Politburo that voted him into power.
Former National Security Adviser, General Brent Scowcroft, said the Soviet Union previously had a succession of elderly leaders.
"So Gorbachev, I think, was brought in to stimulate the system. And exactly how, we didn’t know. And I’m not sure he did,” said Scowcroft.
For the next six years, Gorbachev embarked on a series of domestic reforms that radically changed the Soviet Union.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Thomas Pickering said, "What he attempted to do is, he analyzed where Russia was going and attempted to ride a horse - instead, he was on the back of a bucking elephant.”
Gorbachev’s reforms touched all segments of society. It included freeing press restrictions and releasing political prisoners and dissidents from jail and internal exile. |
Thursday, 8 December 2011
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