Glasnost

Cultural and social policy instituted by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during the late 1980s that called for greater openness to new ideas and policies. On his assumption of the leadership of the Soviet Union in 1985, Gorbachev initiated policies of openness, or glasnost, and restructuring, or perestroika. These two issues were designed to engage Soviet society in public discussions about current and historical problems and to serve as blueprints for reform of the system.

Under the banner of glasnost, Gorbachev and his supporters exposed and condemned the brutality of the Stalin era and the corruption and stagnation of the Brezhnev era, and they called for greater openness in cultural, political, and social matters. After decades of rigid dogmatism and unwavering devotion to the Communist Party line, Soviet leaders eventually became more receptive to criticism by Soviet citizens, the media, and foreign leaders. As a result, a new opportunity for détente opened between East and West. Gorbachev hoped the candidness ushered in by glasnost would accelerate his overall programs for reform.

Thanks to glasnost, whole periods of Soviet history were open to revision. Past Soviet leaders, including Joseph Stalin, Leonid Brezhnev, and Konstantin Chernenko, were unmasked as brutal oppressors. Only Vladimir Lenin, one of the founders of the Soviet Communist state, remained untouchable. In the aftermath of these revelations, Soviet history books were recognized as more propaganda than fact. Such changes, however, were not totally accepted by either radical reformers or Communist hard-liners. The reformers were never satisfied with the pace and direction of change, whereas Communist Party hard-liners tried to retain their hold on high office and the public's consciousness.

Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, glasnost allowed open discussion of issues despite attempts to control the public discourse by many of those in power. For the first time in the history of the Soviet Union, facts about the creation and probable legacy of the Soviet state came to light. As the truth spread, so did the outrage against communism and its adherents.

By 1989, glasnost had broken free from its masters and gained a foothold throughout the Soviet Union. At the same time, its creator, Gorbachev, came under attack from hard-line Communists. In 1991, after a failed coup by Communist Party conservatives, the Soviet Union fell and the state disappeared from the world map. The single-party rule of the Communist Party was ended after more than 75 years. Ideas that previously had been only dreams now emerged. Glasnost allowed for an open discussion of past facts and present realities.