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).

‘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.

On 28 May 1988, the French daily newspaper Le Monde outlines the political programme of the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who is seeking to transform the Soviet Union into a ‘Socialist State’.

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.

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.