¶ … Mikhail Gorbachev faced as leader of the Soviet Union, both domestically and internationally. What were his main economic, political, and foreign policies, and how well did they work?
Gorbachev was the leader of the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was the final head of state in the Soviet Union; his term lasted until the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. In 1991. He was a member and state official of the Communist Party and since is presidency, he has gained membership as part of the Social Democratic Party of Russia. He has been a Social Democrat for the duration of the 21st century. Gorbachev's career has traversed many changes in politics, economics, technology, and geography. As the leader of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, much of the international situation that occupied his time related to the Cold War with the United States of America, and President Ronald Reagan. One the domestic front, Gorbachev's priorities were to strengthen and revitalize various parts of the Russian infrastructure. He enacted reforms toward rapid industrialization and increased agricultural productivity. Many of his domestic reforms were efforts to jumpstart the internal...
Furthermore, Gorbachev attempted to reform internal bureaucracies and public administration as a means to make them more efficient and transparent. Another important changed Gorbachev enacted during his time as head of state included the replacement and changing of key staff within the government, particularly high-ranking officials with great authority, whose thinking and methods reflected an era and a perspective that were not useful in the late 20th century. Gorbachev was very concerned with renewing Russia inside and out. He enacted policies that raised the prices of alcohol and increased restrictions upon the sale of alcohol, as part of the effort to combat the widespread alcoholism throughout the Soviet Union. The campaign was ended up being quite costly financially, but served as an effective symbol of positive change for Russia. He further enacted a set of reforms and policies called perestroika, which were central to his plans to transition Russia into more of a social democracy than a failing, corrupt communist republic. As part of his reforms called glasnost, Soviet citizens were granted more personal freedom and rights, including increased freedom of…
