DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union Test Prep

Answer - A - In general, Mikhail Gorbachev's policy of perestroika, instituted in the 1980s, was a general loosening of Soviet political and economic structures.

Key Takeaway: The Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev initiated the perestroika policy in the mid-1980s. This policy was meant to restructure the Soviet economy to make it more efficient. To do so, he wished to have the economy fall more into line with free-market principles. In the late 1980s, perestroika also involved restructuring the political system, allowing for a limited democracy.