perestroika
Glasnost's economic counterpart
Perestroika was the restructuring of the Soviet political and economic system in the 1980s under Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Russian word means "rebuilding." Along with glasnost (openness), perestroika aimed to reform the stagnant Soviet state but ultimately contributed to its collapse.
The term now sometimes describes any sweeping institutional overhaul: The company needs its own perestroika.
Former communist superpower
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- communismCollective ownership system
- Iron CurtainCold War's political divide
Eastern Bloc · superpower · Marxism-Leninism · Bolshevik · KGB · central planning · command economy · Pravda
Soviet transparency reform
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- PolitburoCommunist party's governing body
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
- détenteEasing of strained relations
Mikhail Gorbachev · Ronald Reagan · 1980s · reformer · general secretary · openness · acceleration · new thinking
Transition toward popular rule
- glasnostSoviet transparency reform
- multipartyInvolving several groups
- electionsFormal choosing of officials
- transparencyState of being see-through
free press · civil society · pluralism · opposition · debate · criticism · accountability · reform
State sells public assets
- marketizationConverting to commerce-driven systems
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- cooperativesMember-owned collective enterprises
- joint venturesShared business undertakings
shortages · inflation · black market · rationing · liberalization · mixed economy
Breaking up completely
- breakupRomantic relationship's termination
- independenceFreedom from external control
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
- secessionFormal withdrawal from union
coup attempt · Yeltsin · Commonwealth · sovereignty · disintegration · fall · unraveling · endgame
USSR
Former communist superpower
- Soviet UnionFormer communist superstate
- Cold WarProlonged East-West standoff
- communismCollective ownership system
Iron Curtain · Eastern Bloc · superpower · Marxism-Leninism · Bolshevik · KGB · central planning · command economy · Pravda · Red Square
glasnost
Soviet transparency reform
- KremlinMoscow's fortified government seat
- PolitburoCommunist party's governing body
- summitPeak or diplomatic gathering
Mikhail Gorbachev · Ronald Reagan · détente · 1980s · reformer · general secretary · openness · acceleration · new thinking · democratization
democratization
Transition toward popular rule
- glasnostSoviet transparency reform
- multipartyInvolving several groups
- electionsFormal choosing of officials
transparency · free press · civil society · pluralism · opposition · debate · criticism · accountability · reform · openness
privatization
State sells public assets
- marketizationConverting to commerce-driven systems
- decentralizationDistributing power from center
- cooperativesMember-owned collective enterprises
joint ventures · shortages · inflation · black market · rationing · liberalization · mixed economy
dissolution
Breaking up completely
- breakupRomantic relationship's termination
- independenceFreedom from external control
- nationalismDevotion to one's country
secession · coup attempt · Yeltsin · Commonwealth · sovereignty · disintegration · fall · unraveling · endgame · transition
- 20th CenturyWorld War I aftermath, Cuban Missile Crisis, atomic bomb, New Deal, Nazi Germany
- Eastern EuropePoland, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria
- Cold WarBerlin Wall, Iron Curtain, arms race, Warsaw Pact, Cuban Missile Crisis
- communismMarx, Marxism, Leninism, Lenin, proletariat
- Russian HistorySoviet Union, tsars, Tsarist Russia, Romanov, czars
- Soviet communismLenin, Stalin, Leninism, Bolsheviks, Stalinism
perestroikastagnation
Absence of flow or progress
reaction · retrenchment · counterreform · entrenchment · command economy
perestroikacommand economy
State-controlled economic system
central planning · collectivization · nationalization · socialism · state control