Once in a while, there rise outstanding leaders who manage to change the economic status of their followers as well as the world history because of the policies they enact or decisions they make. One such person was the former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev who was born on 2nd March 1931 to peasant parents in the Stavropol territory in southwestern Russia (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). In spite of his poor background, he steadily rose through the ranks of the then ruling party, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and managed to implement sweeping reforms to the Union’s political systems. As a result, he stands as one of the leaders to have made a positive impact in the world. In particular,
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After taking over as the Secretary General of the CPSU on 11th March 1985, he primarily aimed at effecting change, especially by reviving the economy of the Union, liberalizing the political system, ending the war in Afghanistan, and improving relations with the West (“Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich”). Nonetheless, the most significant impact his policies had was the democratization of the Union. In particular, following the policy of “perestroika” (restructuring), he persuaded the Nineteenth Party Conference of the Communist Party in 1988 to permit competitive elections for the Union’s new legislature known as the Congress of People’s Deputies (“Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich”). Therefore, he liberated the electoral process to allow candidates to contest for elective posts. Furthermore, under the policy of “glasnost” (openness), he expanded the citizens’ freedoms of expression and information (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Hence, the government permitted the press to report on issues affecting the citizenry freely as well as to criticize the administration. Thus, Gorbachev, through his policies, managed to institute changes which allowed his people to enjoy rights they could not have under his …show more content…
Following his “perestroika” and “glasnost” policies, he supported reformist communist leaders in various Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Later, when democratically elected leaders came to power in nations such as Poland and Hungary, he did not intervene in their domestic issues and, instead, even agreed to withdraw Soviet troops from the territories (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). A series of events then unfolded that eventually saw the fall of the Berlin Wall. Importantly, the new rulers of Hungary permitted East Germans who had fled the country to move to West Germany by circumventing the Wall (Cornwell). Despite having full knowledge of the occurrences, Gorbachev did not take any action to stop the immigration of people into West Germany. Nonetheless, by the summer of 1990, he assented to the reunification of East and West Germany which officially led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Therefore, without his input, the Wall would not have fallen at that
After taking over as the Secretary General of the CPSU on 11th March 1985, he primarily aimed at effecting change, especially by reviving the economy of the Union, liberalizing the political system, ending the war in Afghanistan, and improving relations with the West (“Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich”). Nonetheless, the most significant impact his policies had was the democratization of the Union. In particular, following the policy of “perestroika” (restructuring), he persuaded the Nineteenth Party Conference of the Communist Party in 1988 to permit competitive elections for the Union’s new legislature known as the Congress of People’s Deputies (“Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich”). Therefore, he liberated the electoral process to allow candidates to contest for elective posts. Furthermore, under the policy of “glasnost” (openness), he expanded the citizens’ freedoms of expression and information (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Hence, the government permitted the press to report on issues affecting the citizenry freely as well as to criticize the administration. Thus, Gorbachev, through his policies, managed to institute changes which allowed his people to enjoy rights they could not have under his …show more content…
Following his “perestroika” and “glasnost” policies, he supported reformist communist leaders in various Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe. Later, when democratically elected leaders came to power in nations such as Poland and Hungary, he did not intervene in their domestic issues and, instead, even agreed to withdraw Soviet troops from the territories (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). A series of events then unfolded that eventually saw the fall of the Berlin Wall. Importantly, the new rulers of Hungary permitted East Germans who had fled the country to move to West Germany by circumventing the Wall (Cornwell). Despite having full knowledge of the occurrences, Gorbachev did not take any action to stop the immigration of people into West Germany. Nonetheless, by the summer of 1990, he assented to the reunification of East and West Germany which officially led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Therefore, without his input, the Wall would not have fallen at that