Final answer:
Vladimir Lenin's NEP and Mikhail Gorbachev's Perestroika sought to reform and improve the Soviet economy. The NEP introduced capitalist elements to stabilize the economy, while Perestroika focused on more profound restructuring and transparency that ultimately contributed to the USSR's collapse.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP) and Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of Perestroika both sought to reform and improve the Soviet economy, albeit during different periods and under different circumstances. The NEP, introduced by Lenin in 1921, was designed to address the economic crisis by incorporating limited market-like reforms such as allowing peasants to sell their produce and permitting private ownership of small businesses. Contrarily, several decades later, Gorbachev's Perestroika aimed at restructuring the Soviet economy and political system, promoting market-like reforms, transparency with Glasnost, and reducing military spending to shift focus towards domestic necessities. Although both policies were instituted to combat economic hardships and modernize the economy, Gorbachev's reforms inadvertently exposed deep-set challenges leading to the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union while Lenin's NEP managed to stabilize the economy temporarily.