The enlightenment sparked ideas of natural rights and freedoms, when the British government had colonized the americas, there were no rights granted. The people educated in the enlightenment know thinkers like John Locke with his idea that everyone is born with rights, and resize they are not receiving these.
The life of a soldier during the civil war wasn't easy. Not only did soldiers face the possibility of getting killed in battle, their daily lives were full of hardships. They had to deal with hunger, bad weather, poor clothing, and even boredom between battles. Soldiers were woken at dawn to begin their day.
One of the most significant changes that Gorbachev made to the Soviet economy was that he was the first leader to really try to ease the planned economy and let some market forces in.