What approach did Gorbachev take to modernize the society?

Comments ( 4 )

1. Soc215 says

   As per prof. Jones, Gorbachev also introduced demokratizatsia, people were given some kind of politial freedom. He also introduced cooperatives, allowing people to own small business, but they could not hire anyone.

   Good luck on the midterm tomorrow:)

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2. Jim L says

   Gorbachev was the most ignorant of the Soviet leaders of the real bases of power in the country. He had no military experience and none of the provinces.
   First, he began an anti-vodka campaign – like trying to get people in the west to give up television.
   Then, he began Glasnost, which means not 'openness' but 'publicity'.
   Then perestroika or restructuring. That siphoned funds from the military, Gorbachev was too keen going round looking good in the eyes of the west to realise that the local bosses began to realise that the nationalist cause might have more future than the soviet one.
   Gorbachev wanted to move communism forward. Instead, he had given it a push, and now communism was collapsing.
   His mistakes were so great that some have speculated they were deliberate.

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3. Spellbound (bigreda says

   Glasnost' – Openness
   Perestroika – Restructuring
   When Gorbachev took office as General Secretary of The CPSU the country he ruled was a mess: The military-industrial complex was devouring resources at an unsustainable level; the quality of manufactured goods was so poor that many could not be sold – even to a captive market; the country suffered from under-employment – because everyone was guaranteed a job it meant that many people were employed to do nothing – so they turned up, clocked-on and sat around drinking cheap vodka all day until it was time to go home.

   Gorbachev wanted to solve all of these problems. He realised that in order to increase production, and to drive quality upwards, the public, the work-force and the managers of enterprises were going to have to be allowed to speak frankly about what was wrong with the system. He called this process Glasnost' – it means openness. The purpose of Glasnost' was to discover the root problems in the economy and to make suggestions to resolve those problems and thence to restructure the economy – this re-structuring was known as Perestroika.

   Of course, once you allow people to speak frankly about their work environment (and don't forget, bosses were often party members) then they start to criticise their bosses, and that soon spirals – they criticise the buses that take them to work, their housing, and soon they are criticising the party. Once the genii is out of the bottle it is impossible to put it back!

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4. AlchikZ says

   perestroika and glasnost

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