Why did glasnost and perestroika fail

Early Attempts at Reform

In May 1985, two months after coming to power, Mikhail Gorbachev delivered a speech in St. Petersburg (then known as Leningrad), in which he publicly criticized the inefficient economic system of the Soviet Union, making him the first Communist leader to do so.

This was followed by a February 1986 speech to the Communist Party Congress, in which he expanded upon the need for political and economic restructuring, or perestroika, and called for a new era of transparency and openness, or glasnost.

But by 1987, these early attempts at reform had achieved little, and Gorbachev embarked on a more ambitious program.

What Is Perestroika?

Gorbachev’s perestroika program loosened centralized control of many businesses, allowing some farmers and manufacturers to decide for themselves which products to make, how many to produce, and what to charge for them.

This incentivized them to aim for profits, but it also went against th