Perestroika, which began in the mid-1980s in the Soviet Union, was the beginning of the collapse of the socialist system. Large-scale transformations of all aspects of social life, conceived by the party leadership, led to the undermining of the foundations of the state and the replacement of the previous economic relations with capitalist ones. The reasons for perestroika were the contradictions that tore apart Soviet society.
How did perestroika begin?
In the early 1980s, the Soviet Union was in a state of social, economic and political crisis. Society was faced with the task of comprehensive renewal. The reason for the broad transformations was the advent of a proactive and energetic team of reformers to governing the country, headed by the young party leader M. S. Gorbachev.
Mikhail Gorbachev believed that the socialist social system had far from exhausted all its potential possibilities. It seemed to the new leader of the country that in order to restore the balance disturbed in the social sphere and the economy, it would be enough to accelerate economic development, make society more open, and activate the so-called “human factor”. It is for this reason that a course for acceleration, transparency and radical restructuring of society was announced in the state.
Reasons for perestroika in the USSR
The new leadership came to power at a difficult time for the country. Even in the past decade, the rate of economic growth in the USSR fell sharply. By that time, the country's economy was already supported only by high world oil prices. However, subsequently the situation on the energy market changed. Oil fell sharply, and the USSR lacked other reserves of economic growth.
The party elite, which at that time was headed by L. I. Brezhnev, could not decide on radical structural transformations in the economy, since this would require deviating from socialist principles: allowing private property and developing entrepreneurial initiative. This would inevitably lead to the replacement of socialist relations with bourgeois ones, which meant the collapse of the entire party-state system, built on the communist concept of development.
The country's political system was also in crisis. The old party leadership did not enjoy the authority and confidence of citizens. The party and state nomenklatura was inert and did not show initiative. The main criteria in the selection of candidates for leadership positions were adherence to the official ideology and loyalty to the authorities. Those who had high business qualities, knew how to be principled in solving important issues, the road to power was closed.
On the eve of perestroika, society was still under the influence of the dominant ideology. Television and radio vied with each other about the successes in socialist construction and the advantages of the way of life adopted in the USSR. However, the citizens of the country saw that in fact the economy and social sphere were in deep decline. Disappointment reigned in society and a dull social protest was brewing. It was during this peak period of stagnation that M. S. Gorbachev embarked on his perestroika reforms, which resulted in the collapse of the USSR and the entire socialist camp.
