as Gorbachev tried to undo the seven decades of economic stagnation and political repression in the Soviet Union.
             Glasnost, or "openness," refers to the dramatic enlargement of individual freedom of expression in the political and social aspects of Eastern European life.
             Perestroika is usually translated as "restructuring," in the context of economic renewal and is derived from the word for building (stroika) and it implies the rehabilitation of an old structure.
             Although perestroika and glasnost are closely identified with Gorbachev, the need for drastic economic reforms had been recognized by Yuri Andropov, who took office in 1982.
             The economy of the Soviet Union was already declining to a Third World status, in spite of its military might and Andropov sought advice from his best sociologists and economists.
             The resulting "Novosibirsk Report"2, issued late in 1983, argued that the whole system of central economic planning had become obsolete and implied that an economic restructuring was necessary. However, Andropov died in February 1984 and his successor, Konstantin Chernenko was also too old and ineffective to make any significant changes and died the following year, leaving Gorbachev to become the ge
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