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Gorbachev's place
is unique in world
politics. He dis-
mantled an empire
of repression
in his own country;
freed the peoples
of a dozen other
lands; led the way
out of the night-
mare of nuclear
confrontation; and
all this without
plunging the world
into war or some 
other form of
political chaos   
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A charismatic man
of great charm and 
energy, the West 
found Gorbachev a 
startling but very
welcome change to
the string of old 
men that preceeded 
him. His genuine 
desire for warm 
relations and peace 
made an immediate 
impact with world
leaders as soon as
he appeared on the 
world stage. His
visit to Britain in
1984, the year
before he came to
power, was a
resounding success
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Within hours of 
taking power on 
the death of 
Chernenko, Mikhail
Gorbachev vowed
to "respond to
goodwill with
goodwill, to trust
with trust." He 
initiated a program
of reform, at first
timid and low-key,
to which he gave
the Russian names
'perestroika' (or 
'restructuring') and
'glasnost' (which
means 'openness')
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Although energy
was on his side, 
Gorbachev faced 
deep problems. It
was clear from the
start that his
ideas were going
to bring conflict
with the corrupt
and lazy bureau-
cracy, which was
deeply suspicious 
of change. Like
many Russian
reformers before
him, Gorbachev
found his
bold initiatives
stalling in a mire
of obstruction
and indifference
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Gorbachev and 
President Reagan 
held their first
summit meeting in
Geneva in November
1985. Although
wary at first, their
good relationship 
made possible a
treaty on Inter-
mediate Nuclear 
Forces in1987. This
agreement set an
important precedent,
the old enemies
could, it seemed,
lay down their arms
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A disastrous
accident at the
Chernobyl nuclear
power plant high-
lighted the sloppy
management and
poor equipment
which snarled
Gorbachev's indus-
trial programme.
The Soviet Union
refused at first
to admit to the
accident, and this
lapse damaged 
Gorbachev's
proclaimed policy
of glasnost 
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The dissident Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov had been sent into internal exile in
1980. He was released on Gorbachev's personal orders in December 1986. This marked
a real move towards human rights in a country long notorious for their absence
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Glasnost, the
new policy of 
openness, was a
breath of fresh
air. Russians were
astonished to hear
their leaders say
things which only
months before
would have landed
ordinary citizens 
in prison. But
perestroika, the
economic and
political branch
of the reforms,
was failing: stan-
dards of living
were falling fast,
and discontent
began to grow
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Gorbachev's 
unilateral cut in 
conventional armed
forces, was the
most dramatic 
gesture for peace 
since the onset of
the cold war. But 
the cuts were not
enough to revive an 
economy distorted
by long decades
of military 
over-spending
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The last convoy
of Soviet troops
left Afghanistan 
early in 1989.
Thus "Russia's
Vietnam" came
to an end after 
nearly ten years.
The withdrawal  
encouraged many
democrats in the 
countries of
eastern Europe to
test the strength
of their own 
Moscow-backed 
communist regimes
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Minorities within
the Soviet Union
used glasnost to
demand their rights.
Many peoples still 
had strong folk-
memories of the 
suffering they had 
endured under
Stalin. Soon the 
"nationalities 
problem" was a
major issue in
the  weakening
Soviet state
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The changes in
the Soviet empire
gathered pace 
a great deal faster
than anyone could
have predicted. The
deep changes in 
Gorbachev's mind
were barely less
dramatic. In 1985
he could never
have contemplated
the fall of the
Berlin Wall, but by
1989 it seemed a
distant possibility,
and shortly after
it was a reality
which he accepted
without regret 
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The career of Vaclav Havel is a kind of mirror-image of Gorbachev's: the
Russian was a professional communist, the Czech a professional anti-communist. 
Gorbachev achieved power, then forced through change from above; Havel aimed
to undermine the system from below, and achieved power as a result
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The pro-democracy movements which flourished under Gorbachev were a liberation 
for most,  a nemesis for some. Once Gorbachev made it clear that he would not
shore up the corrupt regimes of the Soviet empire, leaders like Ceaucescu were
doomed. But few expected the end to come so swiftly and so bloodily 
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The Baltic States,
occupied by the
Red Army in the
second world war, 
demanded indep-
endence. Troops
were deployed to
intimidate  the 
demonstrators, and
there were some 
bloody incidents, 
but Gorbachev
would not use
massive force. 
Latvia, Estonia 
and Lithuania 
won their freedom,
and the Union of 
Soviet Socialist 
Republics was
irreparably split
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Gorbachev came to
see that the main 
brake on reform
was the communist
party itself. He
made a series of
tactical moves to
distance himself
from the party and
weaken its grip on
power - but in the
process he made
enemies among
communists who
saw the reforms
as a betrayal of
their ideals. Many
such men were in
his own circle 
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Vicious outbreaks
of ethnic fighting
and economic 
catastrophe had 
eroded Gorbachev's 
popularity by 1991.
His own colleagues
arrested him while
he was on holiday,
and sent tanks into
Moscow. But the 
coup was badly
planned: army units
refused to obey 
orders and chose
instead to defend
key buildings
against the
coup plotters
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With Gorbachev helpless in his  holiday villa, Yeltsin dealt with the coup.When the
Soviet state collapsed at the end of the year, Yeltsin, as presidentof the Russian
Republic, found himself the new occupant of the Kremlin. Despite his huge popular
mandate, Yeltsin has found the job no easier than did his predecessor
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Gorbachev returned 
to Moscow after the 
coup had failed, but
his authority was
in shreds. In the
wake of the August
days the communist
party was banned -
Yeltsin publicly
forced Gorbachev
to sign the decree -
and it was clear
that Russia could
never be the same
after this
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In December 1991,
the Soviet Union
ceased to be, and
Gorbachev's long
political career
came to an end. 
A man of great 
humanity and
courage, he had 
taken the historic 
gamble that Soviet
communism could
be reformed from 
within. He lost
that gamble, but in
the process he won
freedom for the
peoples of Europe,
and an honorable
place in history
for himself  
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