The Rise and Fall of Mikhail Gorbachev

Comrade General Secretary
As the supreme leader of the Soviet state, Gorbachev set about to reform its economy and the stagnating Communist Party. His raft of reforms — often called perestroika, or "restructuring" — included a policy known as glasnost, or openness, that called for greater freedom of speech and less control over the press. He also oversaw the release of thousands of political prisoners and dissidents.

• Remembering the Fall of the Berlin Wall