When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed the reins of power in the Soviet Union in 1985, no one predicted the revolution he would bring. A dedicated reformer, Gorbachev introduced the policies of glasnost and perestroika to the USSR.Gorbachev hoped these changes would be enough to spark the sluggish Soviet economy. Freedom, however, is addictive.That summer, a coup by conservative hardliners took place. Gorbachev was placed under house arrest. Most Americans found it difficult to get used to the idea of no Cold War. Since 1945, Americans were born into a Cold War culture that featured McCarthyist witchhunts, backyard bomb shelters, a space race, a missile crisis, détente, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the Star Wars defense proposal. Hope that help :)
