Question

How did Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of glasnost contribute to the end of the Cold War?

Answer 1

Answer:    An open and transparent policy modeled on Western ideas and a gradual increase in the feeling of freedom caused the change of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and finally in the USSR

Explanation:  Glasnost is one of the measures implemented by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in order to launch and modernize the economy. This measure concerned openness, which literally means in translation, and the transparency of political decisions and actions related to economic reforms. The aim was to achieve a greater presence of Western ideas and ways of thinking and working in the USSR, which was accompanied by an increased feeling of freedom among citizens. However, the citizens of the Eastern Bloc countries are also sensitive, so in 1989, in the elections, the opposition non-communist forces won, when it was believed that the USSR army would interfere. Gorbachev, however, did not intervene, and so began the wave of regime change in all East European countries, when all communist regimes were replaced by those who were not communists. The culmination was the demolition of the Berlin Wall as a symbol of the Cold War, and the unification of the two Germans. What followed only confirmed that the end of the USSR and the final official end of the Cold War was nearing, even though it informally ceased to exist with the change of the regimes in Eastern Europe and the demolition of the Berlin Wall.

Answer 2

Glasnost was a Soviet era policy permitting open discussion of political and social issues and dissemination of news and information. This policy was a designed to encourage discussion and open criticism of the Soviet system. This ideology gained noteriety during the presidency of Mikhail Gorbachev who led the country from 1986 to 1991.