Gorbechev's economic reforms (because that's what many Putin included opposed) are akin to what Joe Biden and the Democrats are trying to do right now. And it didn't work out for Gorbechev. In fact it hastened the collapse of the Soviet Union. Of course that's a good thing, but it didn't exactly feel good for the regular people that lived there day to day who really had no alternative.
The USSR was in pretty terrible shape when Gorbachev came. It was called the era of stagnation. It needed not just economic reform, but also political reform. It needed to be less oppressive, but basically what Gorbachev found out is repression was the only thing holding the USSR together. If you argued for some reform, the people, especially outside Russia, especially in the conquered republics would want REAL reform and unless you were willing to send the tanks back in, it wouldn't hold.
Gorbechev's reforms went WAY beyond economic.
Perestroika
This referred to the restructuring of the political and economic systems. Gorbachev tried to decentralize decision making in the USSR.
Glasnost
This was the big one. Glasnost referred to openness and transparency and was an easing of Soviet censorship. It let citizens actually criticize the government and suggest solutions. How bad was censorship, the USSR had been jamming foreign radio broadcasts for 40 years, they banned photocopiers. They actually begun to discuss the crimes of Stalin. A reporter who was there said
Glasnost had opened up the system, allowed it to be deeply examined, and produced an information revolution that “swept across Soviet existence, touching every nook of daily life, battering hoary myths and lies, and ultimately eroding the foundations of Soviet power,”
Let's not pretend the Gorbechev was some Saint. He was firmly behind saving the Soviet Union is some form or fashion. Yeltzin was the one to undermine everything Gorbechev tried to accomplish between 1989 and 1991.
I don't think I was. Let's not pretend Yeltsin is a saint either.
Right, Gorbachev wanted to rescue the USSR economy, but he did not intend to abandon the centrally planned economy entirely.
Price controls remained in place, and they still controlled the means of production. By 1990, the government had virtually lost control over economic conditions. Government spending increased sharply as more unprofitable enterprises required state support and consumer price subsidies continued. Tax revenues declined because local governments withheld tax revenues from the central government in a climate of growing regional autonomy. The elimination of central control over production decisions, especially in the consumer goods sector, led to the breakdown in traditional supply-demand relationships without contributing to the formation of new ones. Thus, instead of streamlining the system, Gorbachev’s decentralization caused new production bottlenecks.
The USSR was in pretty terrible shape when Gorbachev came. It was called the era of stagnation. It needed not just economic reform, but also political reform. It needed to be less oppressive, but basically what Gorbachev found out is repression was the only thing holding the USSR together. If you argued for some reform, the people, especially outside Russia, especially in the conquered republics would want REAL reform and unless you were willing to send the tanks back in, it wouldn't hold.
Gorbechev's reforms went WAY beyond economic.
Perestroika
This referred to the restructuring of the political and economic systems. Gorbachev tried to decentralize decision making in the USSR.
Glasnost
This was the big one. Glasnost referred to openness and transparency and was an easing of Soviet censorship. It let citizens actually criticize the government and suggest solutions. How bad was censorship, the USSR had been jamming foreign radio broadcasts for 40 years, they banned photocopiers. They actually begun to discuss the crimes of Stalin. A reporter who was there said
Demokratizatsiya
They actually had nationwide elections in 1989. Where people could select from multiple candidates (within the Communist Party) Yeltsin got elected over a the Communist Party's endorsed candidate. And this election led to an actual opposition block in their congress for the first time ever
I don't think I was. Let's not pretend Yeltsin is a saint either.
Right, Gorbachev wanted to rescue the USSR economy, but he did not intend to abandon the centrally planned economy entirely.
Price controls remained in place, and they still controlled the means of production. By 1990, the government had virtually lost control over economic conditions. Government spending increased sharply as more unprofitable enterprises required state support and consumer price subsidies continued. Tax revenues declined because local governments withheld tax revenues from the central government in a climate of growing regional autonomy. The elimination of central control over production decisions, especially in the consumer goods sector, led to the breakdown in traditional supply-demand relationships without contributing to the formation of new ones. Thus, instead of streamlining the system, Gorbachev’s decentralization caused new production bottlenecks.
Good post.