Elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in October 1988 and President of the Soviet Union in March 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev was responsible for initiating the series of economic and political reforms behind ‘perestroika’ (restructuring).

Elected Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in October 1988 and then President of the Soviet Union in March 1990, Mikhail Gorbachev is responsible for initiating the series of economic and political reforms behind ‘glasnost’ (openness), introduced as part of ‘perestroika’ (restructuring).

‘Forward, Comrades!’ In 1985, the cartoonist Behrendt sees Moscow’s new key man, Mikhail Gorbachev, as breaking away from the conservative ideology of his predecessors and arguing for an open, progressive policy.

On 17 June 1987, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the reality of glasnost, the new policy of transparency in the Soviet Union.

‘Ice-breaker Gorbachev.’ In 1988, the German cartoonist, Luis Murschetz, portrays the difficulties faced by Mikhail Gorbachev, the new First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, in his attempts at introducing economic and political reforms in the Soviet bloc as the basis for perestroika.

‘The womb from which the vile beast emerged is still fertile … (B. Brecht).' In March 1988, the German cartoonist, Horst Haitzinger, illustrates the threat posed by neo-Stalinists to the policy pursued by Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, for the introduction of a programme of political and economic reform — the basis of perestroika — in the Soviet Union.

Am 28. Mai 1988 beschreibt die französische Tageszeitung Le Monde das politische Programme von Michail Gorbatschow, der die Sowjetunion in einen „sozialistischen Rechtsstaat“ verwandeln will.

On 24 August 1988, the British cartoonist, Michael Cummings, speculates on the ability of Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to bring his plan for reforms and transparency in the Soviet Union under control.

‘A brave man — but will he succeed?’ On 19 September 1989, Fritz Behrendt, a Dutch cartoonist originally from Berlin, illustrates the speculation of the United States and the European Community (EC) as to the chances of success of the political and economic reform programme known as perestroika introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Taking inspiration from Greek mythology, Fritz Behrendt depicts Gorbachev (on the right) as Hercules, who has to battle the Hydra, a monster with many heads, one of which is immortal. Here the Hydra symbolises the cumbersome bureaucracy of the Soviet system that has to be overcome.

On 26 November 1989, in an article published in the Communist daily newspaper Pravda, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, explains the fundamental principles of his policies of perestroika and glasnost.

On 10 December 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, comments on the repercussions of perestroika on the satellite countries of the USSR. He recommends that the structures of the Warsaw Pact and of Comecon be strengthened and outlines relations with Western Europe and with the United States.

In 1989, a board game called ‘Glasnost’ is put on the market, proof of the new spirit of cooperation between the United States and the Soviet Union.

In a report submitted on 2 July 1990 to the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), outlines the difficulties caused by perestroika and the changes which society must address.

‘Gorbachev’s mission’. In 1986, the German cartoonist Behrendt illustrates the difficult task of the new General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who is facing strong Conservative forces and the country’s weighty Communist heritage.

In his editorial of 5 October 1988, Emanuele Gazzo, Director of Agence Europe, focuses principally on economic and trade relations between the European Community and a Soviet Union led by Mikhail Gorbachev.

On 6 July 1989, addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, outlines his idea of ‘a common European home’ and calls for a reduction in the number of strategic nuclear weapons.

On 9 December 1989, during a meeting of Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, outlines the effects of perestroika on the USSR’s foreign policy and expresses his satisfaction with the improvement in relations with the West.

On 13 December 1988, the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian considers the development of economic relations between the European Community and Comecon since Mikhail Gorbachev's coming to power in the Soviet Union.

On 26 June 1990, in an article for the Moscow Communist daily newspaper Pravda, Edward Shevardnadze, Soviet Foreign Minister, outlines the new trends in the Soviet Union’s foreign policy.

Le 31 juillet 1991, le président des États-Unis, George Bush (assis à g.) signe avec Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, Premier secrétaire du Parti communiste soviétique (assis à dr.), les accords START I prévoyant l'élimination mutuelle des armements nucléaires stratégiques des deux pays.

George Herbert Walker Bush, Republican President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.

Le 6 mai 1992, Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, ancien président de l'URSS, prononce au Westminster College de Fulton (Missouri) - là-même où, le 5 mars 1946, Winston Churchill, Premier ministre britannique, avait dénoncé pour la première fois l'instauration du "rideau de fer" en Europe - un discours dans lequel il pointe notamment les enjeux de l'après-guerre froide.