Glasnost

Meaning and Origin

Glasnost means openness and transparency. It is a Russian word that has been used for a long time to talk about being open and clear.

Use by Mikhail Gorbachev

In the middle of the 1980s, a leader named Mikhail Gorbachev used the word glasnost. He wanted to make the government more open in the Soviet Union. This idea was part of a bigger plan called perestroika. Glasnost helped people learn more about what their government was doing and talk about problems that needed fixing.

Historical usage

In the Russian Empire during the late-1800s, the word glasnost meant "openness." It was used in politics and the judicial system. Some changes let reporters and ordinary people watch court trials. Later, these open trials happened less often.

Human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva says that glasnost has been a regular word in Russian for hundreds of years. It described fair or open processes in government or law. By the 1960s, the word became important again as people talked about changing the internal policies of the Cold War era Soviet Union.

In the USSR

On December 5, 1965, a gathering called the Glasnost rally happened in Moscow. People wanted to be allowed into a closed trial. They asked for more openness and the right for the public, independent observers, and foreign journalists to see the trial.

Later, in 1984, Mikhail Gorbachev spoke about the need for glasnost, meaning openness, as he prepared to lead the Soviet Union. Once he became leader, he started a campaign for more openness in government. He allowed people to talk about problems openly. This included letting citizens discuss issues and criticize leaders, with some media coverage of these topics.

During this time, there was less censorship, more freedom to share information, and more contact between Soviet citizens and people from other countries like the United States. People could travel more freely, and there was a chance to learn about past events that had been hidden.

Outside the Soviet Union

Gorbachev's idea of glasnost, meaning openness, was accepted differently by communist countries outside the Eastern Bloc.

Some countries embraced glasnost and made democratic changes. This happened in places like Poland and the Czech Republic. Other countries that used similar ideas included:

• Bulgaria
• Czechoslovakia
• East Germany
• Hungary
• Mongolia
• Poland
• Vietnam (see đổi mới)

Even Yugoslavia had changes, starting in Slovenia.

However, some countries did not follow glasnost. For example:

• China talked about changes in the 1980s, but stopped after big protests in 1989. They focused on economic growth instead.
• Cuba chose not to follow these ideas and made different economic plans.
• Laos, North Korea, and Romania also did not adopt glasnost. In Romania, leader Nicolae Ceaușescu refused any changes.