Who was the Soviet leader who introduced glasnost?

Who was the Soviet leader who introduced glasnost? The answer is Mikhail Gorbachev. He popularised glasnost in the Soviet Union during the mid-1980s as part of a wider programme of political and economic reform.

Glasnost means “openness” or “publicity” in Russian. Under Gorbachev, the policy loosened restrictions on the press, encouraged public discussion, and allowed greater criticism of government failures. It also brought greater attention to previously suppressed subjects, including political repression and disasters such as the 1986 Chernobyl accident.

Glasnost was closely linked to perestroika, meaning “restructuring,” which aimed to reform the Soviet economy and political system. The two policies were not identical: glasnost focused on openness and information, while perestroika concerned institutional and economic change.

Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985. The reforms weakened official control and helped fuel political movements across Eastern Europe, contributing to the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991.