Mikhail Gorbachev and the collapse of Communism

The definition of Glasnost is the declared public policy within the Soviet Union of openly and frankly discussing economic and political realities: initiated under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. Perestrokia was an economic and political reform in the USSR which occurred during the Russian Revolution. Upon being elected Gorbachev followed and pursued his own ideas. He followed his own ideas and demonstrated what a real government should be while straying away from Stalins ideas. Russia's history was ran by totalitarian rulers Gorbachev represented a turning point because he didn't follow this way of government. In 1985 he announced a glasnost, this marked a turning point because churches were opened, books were published and freedom of the press rised. Perestrokia was another policy Gorbachev brought to the Russian economy. This policy allowed people to own their own small businesses which weren't owned buy the government. This in a way marked the end of Communism, it proved that Communism wasn't affective and small businesses were needed for the success of the economy. He also introduced democratization, this allowed people to elect their own national leader through a list of candidates. Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the first leader who slowly strayed away from communism.He opened up the economy and allowed for positive change in Russia.

Collapse of Communism

The collapse of communism was a result of the end to the cold war. Russians did not have enough money to support other allied communism countries like Cuba. The arms race had taken the little money they had. The people of Germany were long separated due to their different political and economic systems. When the Berlin wall was torn down East and Western Germany once divided by communism and democracy were now able to reunite, join together and form social and economic ties. The reason the wall was torn down was because people began to want to travel more to eat and western Germany. Roads were being built, but the people became tired and attacked the wall and destroyed it. Communism became so unpopular because of leaders who took advantage of their positions like Stalin. There was a lot of money being robbed and dictatorships being formed. Communism was suppose to be an equal government and way of life for everyone, instead of having everyone be in the middle class, people just became very poor, this decreased the popularity of communism tremendously. After the fall of Communism The Soviets had to start all over again. Communism weighed down the USSR, and its collapse made the United States one of the biggest powers in the world.

Nelson Mandela and Apartheid.

Apartheid was a racial segregation policy in Africa. It ran from 1948 to 1994. This policy did not give any rights to the black, mixed or Indian population of Africa.
Nelson Mandela was tired of the Apartheid policy, he wanted the liberation of Africans and minorities in Africa, throughout his life he constantly fought for the unity of the people, because this was the only way to beat the Europeans. His constant plea and struggles for freedom, lead him to jail which gave him more popularity and lead him to presidency in Africa. He was a good president who's 27 years spent in prison allowed him to become stronger and wiser creating journals and books of idea for his people and the road to independence. His ideas of "civil disobedience" were inspired by Ghandi and used by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders such as AL Sharpton. His mission was to free the "oppressed and the oppressor". Which is why he is so admired by thousands of books and sites. Nelsons and Ghandi's ideas served as the basis for other black or national leaders. Promoting civil disobedience and eliminating the need some people have of getting physical or killing others as a way to prove their point. All his struggles awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.