In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power and began the reforms that would dismantle the Soviet Union
The election of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 marked the beginning of the end for the Cold War, as his radical reforms inadvertently set the stage for the Soviet Union's collapse.
On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, becoming the youngest member of the Politburo and the last leader of the Soviet Union. He inherited a stagnant economy and a rigid political system that he hoped to modernize through his famous policies of 'glasnost' (openness) and 'perestroika' (restructuring).
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