russian meaning 'openness' or 'transparancy'; Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s. Following his ascension to the leadership of the USSR in 1985, mikhail gorbachev began to promote a policy of openness in public discussions about current and historical problems. This policy was termed 'glasnost'.

Whole periods of Soviet history were changed by glasnost. joseph stalin, leonid ilyich brezhnev and Cherenko, previously great leaders, were unmasked as the brutal oppressive murders they really were. Only vladimir ilyitch lenin remained sacrosanct. Most telling of all, the school history exams for 1988 were cancelled. So many conventional wisdom's had been overturned in the previous months that the existing Soviet history books became useless. This change was not totally accepted by radicals or hardliners. The radicals wished to go further, faster and were exemplified in illegal publications. Hardliners tried to retain their grip on people's minds by frequent attacks on the radicals in the conservative press. While glasnost did allow discussion to take place it is clear from the exert that controls were placed on the discussion. The arrest and harassment of the more radical papers staff and the removal of material from libraries still ensured the attacks found the right targets.

The critical re-examination of history glasnost fostered was unprecedented in the USSR and affected every chapter of the country's history. nikita khrushchevhad previously criticised Stalin, however he only let out partial truths to help his own career. The difference this time was that a liberal press had been allowed to grow and flourish within the USSR. It was in newspapers, television shows and magazines that the USSR's past was examined and the real truth revealed to the Soviet people.

Glasnost had broken free from its masters by 1989 and began to be used to criticise its creator Gorbachev. Anything was now fair game. The abolition of the Communist Party's leading role, the failure of perestroika and multi party democracy were openly discussed in the Soviet media. These ideas were undreamt of even a couple of years earlier. The turning point for glasnost was the Chernobyl nuclear diaster in 1986. Soviet authorities initially tried to cover up the catastrophe and remained silent for 48 hours. The silence was followed by complete honesty and unparallel information of the like that had never been seen in the USSR before. After Chernobyl environmental concerns became a favourite topic of the liberal press. The turning of Central Asia into a desert by diverting rivers to irrigate cotton plantations were just one example that shocked the nation. The people could not believe the incompetence of their Communist Party planners. As the truth came out piece by piece the Soviet people became more and more angry at their Communist rulers.

Glasnost allowed for the first time the facts to be presented. The Soviet people soon realised why so much had been kept from them for so long.