Why did Gorbachev institute the policy of glasnost?

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1. jpenergy@sbcglobal.n says

   all of the above and to quell growing unrest by the proletariat, robotnics (workers) ruble was fluctuating in markets and unstable etc. Also Solidarity in Poland, Pocrepa (sp) in Bulgaria etc. forcing reforms by offering a vocal political opposition to the party hegemony. many underground newspapers were filling the streets with stories that the party had suppressed and so Glasnost was really an opportunity to advance the party by openly addressing some of the stories that were being put forth by the opposition and get their spin on them.

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2. Brian M says

   He understood that communism in Russia was slip-slidin away, and it was time to make nice with the neighbors

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3. Frosty says

   glasnost , Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s. Following his ascension to the leadership of the USSR in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev began to promote a policy of openness in public discussions about current and historical problems. The policy was termed glasnost [openness]. The brutality of the Stalin era, such as the great purges and the Katyn massacre, were acknowledged, and the corruption and stagnation of the Brezhnev era were sharply criticized. Soviet leaders became more receptive both to the media and to foreign leaders as a new period of detente opened between East and West. Gorbachev hoped that a candidness about the state of the country would accelerate his perestroika program.

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