Consistency and Viability of the Gorbachev Reforms

When Mikhail S. Gorbachev rose to the position of the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) on March 11, 1985, he embarked on revolutionary changes. He was confronted with the task that had not been faced by any other leader of the Soviet Union, and that was to bring about fundamental change with consent. For the first time, a reform in the Soviet Union, initiated from above, created the necessary preconditions for individuals to participate in the process. It was recognition that initiation from above does not guarantee the success of the reform, as was the case with the Liberman–Kosygin reforms. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.