Question by lajf j: How did glasnost and perestroika accelerate the dissolution of the Soviet Union?
Answers and Views:
Answer by sshueman
it allowed more freedoms in thought that culminated in freedoms of action
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What do you think?
nikola s says
Gorbachev sold his own country for price of 1 million dollars…
He was lousy trader….
swamp thing says
Glasnost led to increasing political openess which allowed the Soviet citizens to criticise their leaders. Gobarhev removed the culture of fear and people started pointing out the mistakes of Soviet Communism. Soviet Leaders could no longer hide behind the state machinery and their positions became less secured when mistakes could no longer be hidden. The Soviet people became increasingly dissatisfied with their leaders. The coup against Gorbachev in August 1991 was the last straw which led to the overall dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Perestroika was an attempt to open up and restructure the Soviet economy. It was supposed to move the focus of Soviet economy from heavy industries to consumer goods. It also introduced limited capitalism. However, things moved too quickly. Soviet entrepreneurs who had tasted a little of the fruits of capitalism were no longer willing to go back to the old ways. They became more impatient and wanted more radical reforms to the economy. The Soviet people when they saw the material comforts enjoyed by the capitalist countries began to clamour for a less controlled economy which eventually brought down the Soviet Union.
BanquoDangerfield says
Access to things like photocopiers and PC's increased. This enabled more non-party approved ideas to circulate, and decentralized cultural exchange. Some people even believe
that the Soviet Union was inadvertantly destroyed by Xerox and IBM.
Also, the voices of Soviet expatriots, and people released from prisons, were heard a little more widely inside the USSR.