In 1985, after the death of the previous leader,
Mikhail Gorbachev became the new leader of
the Soviet Union and very soon after this,
he declared the new course on Perestroyka.
Perestroyka means a rebuilding but in fact it was the attempt to change
the Soviet Economic System to step over
those difficulties which appear in the late 1970s and in the beginning of 1980s.
The approach and the reforms which were supposed by Gorbachev in 1985,
were mostly in the field of economy.
The economy was that death field which was the most
problematic at that time and
the measures which were supposed to be taken by the Soviet state,
by the Communist Party in these new established system was to make
more intensive economic development and
to keep coming over all these economic difficulties.
The attempts to reform economy
was the initial beginning of the Perestroyka and further reforms.
But, while in for example China,
the more or less at the same time,
the reforms in the economic sphere could be separated
from the reform of political system in the Soviet Union.
This was not the result and in the very end the economic reforms
more or less are required the change of political system and
a start in the improvement of economic function of the Soviet system.
Gorbachev ended up with the great threat from all the whole Soviet system
which led to the abolition of
the system and abolition and the collapse of the Soviet Union itself.
The first reforms which started in
Perestroyka concern and the implementation of private initiatives,
private entrepreneurship in the state commanded,
administrative commanded, and planned economy.
And this was the new form of
entrepreneurship and new for Soviet Social Economic System.
It was cooperatives.
Supposing that people could do
their own entrepreneurship in a form of making their own small entities,
but the results of their labor could
not form their own property because it was still
the legal ban on any private property in the whole economic system.
Of course, it was not very effective as
well as the second measure which was taken at the same time.
This was the new possibility to
form a joint economic entities,
joint enterprises, joint by
the Soviet and foreign investors and of Soviet and foreign participants.
These economic measures were also accompanied with
other measures improving the economic,
the administrative environment of the economic like the bureaucracy and
the whole administrative system where formalism or
corruption were great barriers for economic development.
These measures which were taken and you're in the beginning of Perestroyka,
were aimed to struggle with these barriers to economic development,
but they were the measures taken only in the beginning.
Later, the other general principle and
the other general measure taken by Soviet Communist Party,
whereas the policy of Glasnost.
Glasnost meant openness and it meant the possibility to
discuss in mass media and public discussion of political decision,
the sensitive political questions.
So Glasnost meant the freedom of press and it was a part of a reform and
economic system because Gorbachev was afraid
of opposition to all the economic measures from
the party's nomenclature and it was the measure to prevent to get
the public support of all the new reforms counterbalancing
the reforms measures by
political and partial nomenclature.
So, it was not immediately reflected in the Constitution or in the Soviet legislation.
The policy of Glasnost was rather the part of
new policy of the state but not in new legal regulation and new legal principles.
But still it was a step to the reforming of political system as
well because Glasnost was right on the edge between the economy and the political system,
that's the policy of Glasnost,
led to the reforming of political system in the Soviet Union.
These reforms started in three years after
the declarant of Perestroyka for the first time namely in
1988 and it was the first competitive elections
and it was later established in the new system of government.
And later in the late 1980s,
it was adoption of the new principles,
new for the Soviet system,
the principles which were borrowed from western time democracy.
It was the principle of separation of powers,
it was recognition of private property, ownership,
and it was the recognition of the rule of law and other basic principles.
So this point was probably the true point of start.
All the great reforms which later were
developed both in the Soviet Union and later in the Russian Federation.
In the course of legal reforms in amendments to the Constitution,
in adoption of the new constitution in 1991,
in 1992, and 1993.
This was the principal decision of making the new system,
the system which was based on
before alien for the Soviet system principles,
principles of the Western type democracy.