Question

The military buildup of arms by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in the mid 1980s could not be matched by the Soviets. How did Gorbachev react to this situation?

Answer 1

Unlike his predecessors, Gorbachev did not attempt to match the U.S. by further increasing military spending, a hard turn-away from the original military policy of past premiers. Instead, Gorbachev tried to make the current spending more sustainable, such as allowing the Soviet citizens to make suggestions to the government about how to improve the nation, the economy, and so forth without fear of punishment or censorship. He would even go as far as to allow the creation of political parties, which would result in an eventual failed coup by party hardliners shortly before the dissolution of the USSR on Christmas 1991.