General secretary of the
Communist Party of the
Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev accomplished the domestic goal of repairing the damage dealt by
Brezhnev to the
Soviet economy. He increased technology and productivity and cut down on bureaucracy. Deeper reforms included the policy of
glasnot, in which freedoms of expression and information were greatly expanded. The press was granted a much better capacity for accuracy and governmental criticism. Eventually, this freedom led to a criticism of
Stalinist totalitarianism and, through the policy of
perestroika,
the first attempts to make the
Soviet Union democratic.
Secret ballots and some capitalistic enterprises began to exist in the
USSR. He followed policies of
détente and agreed with
Ronald Reagan to decrease medium range nuclear arsenals.
Gorbachev was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his tolerance of the manner in which
Eastern European states finally ceased to be
communist. He allowed
Germany to be re-unified and even tolerated its entrance into
NATO.
The superb manner in which he handled the dismantling of the
Soviet sphere of influence denotes him as a
diplomat of the highest esteem. He was the architect for an elegant demise to communism, and was succeeded by
Yeltsin, after having depended on him to escape an armed coup that started while has was on vacation.