Start Date

5-19-2021 1:20 PM

End Date

5-19-2021 2:35 PM

Disciplines

European History | History | Political History

Subjects

Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev (1931- ), Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1985-1991, Social change -- Soviet Union -- History

Abstract

This paper explores the influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies on Soviet governance in relation to the USSR’s foundational ideology of communism, and the factors that led to the Union’s demise.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, most commonly referred to as the USSR, came into being in the early 20th century and lasted only around seventy years. Built upon revolutionary Marxist ideology, the USSR governed according to the ideology of communism while simultaneously contradicting the very ideology that formed its foundations, such as clinging to the existence of a state. Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991, sought through his policies of glasnost and perestroika to reform the Union. However, his attempts at reformation ultimately ended with the USSR’s disbanding. This paper explores the influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies on Soviet governance in relation to the USSR’s foundational ideology of communism, and the factors that led to the Union’s demise.

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Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35640

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May 19th, 1:20 PM May 19th, 2:35 PM

Session 1: Panel 3: Presenter 3 (Paper) -- The Reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev and Their Effect on the USSR

This paper explores the influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies on Soviet governance in relation to the USSR’s foundational ideology of communism, and the factors that led to the Union’s demise.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, most commonly referred to as the USSR, came into being in the early 20th century and lasted only around seventy years. Built upon revolutionary Marxist ideology, the USSR governed according to the ideology of communism while simultaneously contradicting the very ideology that formed its foundations, such as clinging to the existence of a state. Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991, sought through his policies of glasnost and perestroika to reform the Union. However, his attempts at reformation ultimately ended with the USSR’s disbanding. This paper explores the influence of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies on Soviet governance in relation to the USSR’s foundational ideology of communism, and the factors that led to the Union’s demise.