Once people discovered that they could speak frankly, the house of cards crumbled. It was a dangerous endeavor, an act of desperation, because by then Gorbachev knew that the whole Soviet Union was held together by the false religion of Marxism-Leninism and by fear. Therefore, after the failure of perestroika came glasnost. One would have to take an enormous risk and bring a degree of freedom into the Soviet political system. It was not enough to imitate western economic organization. It was its open political system that allowed a free flow of ideas, innovation, and renewal. He found out that the real source of western superiority was not capitalism. He hoped that such measures would allow the Soviet state to clean up some of the obvious domestic messes and to bridge the technological gap with the West. In a secret speech-that was leaked to the public-he asked: If not now, when? If not us, who? The intention behind perestroika was to open the state-owned and centrally planned economy and provide incentives for private initiative and responsibility. But after two years he realized that unless a bold reform was attempted, the Soviet Union would not enter the 21st century as a superpower. Gorbachev got elected to the top post, but only after a bitter political battle.

He could demand that they drink less and work more! He might not approve that they had adopted the lifestyle of Habsburg crown princes. Over time, he could become as powerful as Stalin. They worried he could stay in power for two decades. The problem was that his older Politburo colleagues were hesitant to elect him. The Politburo had one potential leader, and his name was Gorbachev. When he died in 1985, the country breathed a sigh of relief. Konstantin Chernenko proved to be another disappointment.

Yuri Andropov took power with many ambitious plans-only to die in 1984. While he slumbered, the ruling elite focused on its privileges and ignored signs of corruption and incompetence. Leonid Brezhnev had become incoherent in the mid-70s, but ruled until 1982. Lukes: In 1985 the Soviet public yearned for a youthful leader. Q &A with Igor Lukes BU Today: Can you put into context Gorbachev’s importance in the USSR’s relations with the United States in the 1980s, and what he did to normalize that relationship and bring an end to the Cold War?

Why was the cold war called the coldwar