Explain how Gorbachev's reforms and new thinking helped to ease tension and bring the Cold War toward its end

What this dot point is asking

This dot point asks you to explain how the reforms of the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev helped bring the Cold War toward its end. You should be able to explain the problems that pushed Gorbachev to introduce reforms, describe his two famous policies, glasnost and perestroika, and explain his new approach to relations with the West. The key idea is that Gorbachev did not set out to end communism or the Soviet Union, but his reforms eased tension with the West and loosened Soviet control in ways that, in the end, helped bring the whole Cold War to a close.

The answer

The problems Gorbachev faced

By the time Gorbachev became Soviet leader in the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union was in serious trouble. Its economy was weak and falling behind the West, with shortages of goods and little growth. The cost of the arms race was a huge burden, because keeping up with the United States in nuclear and other weapons drained money the Soviet Union could not spare. There was also widespread corruption and a lack of freedom. Gorbachev believed that without major reform, the Soviet Union would continue to decline. This is the background to everything he did.

Glasnost: openness

Gorbachev's first key policy was glasnost, which means "openness". Under glasnost, the Soviet government allowed more freedom of speech and more honesty about the country's problems. People were allowed to criticise the government more openly than before, newspapers could report on difficulties, and some of the harsh controls of the past were relaxed. The aim was to make the system more honest and to win support for reform. But glasnost also let people express long-hidden discontent, which would have powerful effects.

Perestroika: restructuring

Gorbachev's second key policy was perestroika, which means "restructuring". This was an attempt to reform and improve the struggling Soviet economy by loosening the rigid state control and allowing some elements of private enterprise. The aim was to make the economy more efficient and productive. Perestroika proved difficult and did not quickly fix the economy, but together with glasnost it signalled that Gorbachev was willing to change the old Soviet system in deep ways.

New thinking on the West

Just as important for the Cold War was Gorbachev's "new thinking" about relations with the West. He understood that the arms race was ruining the Soviet economy and that confrontation could not continue. So he sought friendlier relations with the United States and the West. He met Western leaders, agreed to reduce nuclear weapons, and pulled Soviet forces out of costly conflicts abroad. This willingness to cooperate rather than confront marked a dramatic change from the tense rivalry of earlier years and began to thaw the Cold War.

Letting go of Eastern Europe

Perhaps the most important change of all was Gorbachev's decision not to use force to keep the communist governments of Eastern Europe in power. For decades the Soviet Union had controlled these countries and had been willing to send in troops to crush any moves away from communism. Gorbachev made clear that he would no longer do this. Without the threat of Soviet tanks behind them, the communist governments of Eastern Europe became vulnerable to their own people's demands for change. This decision opened the door to the collapse of communism across the region.

Examples in context

Example 1. Summits with Western leaders. Gorbachev held a series of meetings, or summits, with Western leaders in which the two sides discussed reducing their nuclear weapons. These friendly meetings, and the agreements that came from them, were a sharp contrast to the tense standoffs of earlier years. They showed the world that the Soviet Union genuinely wanted to ease the rivalry, helping to thaw the Cold War.

Example 2. The unintended effects of openness. Glasnost was meant to strengthen the Soviet system by making it more honest, but it also allowed people across the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe to voice complaints and demands they had long kept hidden. Once people could speak freely about their problems and hopes, calls for greater change grew louder, showing how Gorbachev's reforms set off forces he could not fully control.

Try this

• Cue. Explain the problems facing the Soviet Union that led Gorbachev to introduce reforms.

• Cue. Define glasnost and perestroika in your own words and explain what each was meant to achieve.

• Cue. Explain Gorbachev's "new thinking" on the West and his decision not to use force in Eastern Europe, and how these helped end the Cold War.