Mikhail Gorbachev and the end of Communism

The Nobel Peace Prize 1990

At 54 Mikhail Gorbachev was the youngest soviet leader since Stalin. Unlike Stalin and other soviets larders, Gorbachev did not follow totalitarian policies. He had his own ideas and believes. In 1984, he announced a policy know as glasnost or openness and began the democratization of the Soviet Union. He encouraged soviet citizens to discuss ways to improve their society. This policy brought remarkable changes. In 1985, Gorbachev introduced the idea of perestroika or economic restructuring, he made changes to revive the soviet economy.