1. Gorbachev, Democracy and the Soviet Union

2. Why did the Soviet Union need Reforms? Politburo  Did not allow political disagreement Restrictions  Speech  Religion  Press Keeping a new leader  Leonid Brezhnev and successors died

3. Enter Mikhail Gorbachev… General Secretary Youngest leader since Stalin Ushered in the second Russian Revolution What the country had been like:  Totalitarian  Rewarded silence  Discouraged individual thinking

4. Economic/Social reforms Glasnost  Encourage a free flow of ideas  Allowed churches to open  Dissidents released from prison  Reporters had more say in what they investigated Perestroika  Local managers had more control over farms/factories  Open small private businesses  Make communism more efficient and productive

5. Democratization 3rd policy implemented by Gorbachev Aim:  Decrease the involvement of the Communist Party in society and the government of the Soviet Union The plan:  Election of new legislature  Lesser known candidates picked, especially reformers

6. The Fall of Communism in Germany Berlin Wall  Travel was closed completely in E. Berlin  Protestors  Opening of wall to bring stability Reunification  Germany officially reunited Oct. 3, 1990 (45 years after it was divided) Germany’s challenges  Lack of modernization on East side  Taxes raised  Unemployment rose