Lessons from the Failure of Perestroika

The old Soviet Union, long the central preoccupation of U.S. foreign policy, has been swept into history. In its place are fifteen newly independent successor countries and a quite limited Commonwealth of Independent States. Unfortunately, the political and economic situation in virtually all these countries is one of instability, and even their boundaries are coming into question. There are clearly many new problems and serious risks. But there is also great opportunity. Sometimes it helps to glance backwards in order to see better how and where to move forward. At this critical juncture, we need to understand more clearly why and how the perestroika era the final act in the history of the USSR occurred and failed.