The Soviet Union

Abstract

Soon after becoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in March 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev declared his belief that all aspects of government in the USSR needed not only the correction of past mistakes, but a radically new approach, which had to be generated through 'new political thinking'. In the five years since then, this concept has been articulated by Gorbachev and other Soviet leaders, and has, to a considerable extent, been applied to Soviet policies. This article presents an overview of the way this has been achieved; an assessment of the prospects for the further development of these policies and an outline of their main implications for the West. In short, one could argue that 'new political thinking' amounts to a radical de-ideologization of politics in the USSR. Until the introduction of 'new thinking', Marxist-Leninist ideology had constituted the underpinnings of all aspects of Soviet politics and, indeed, much of Soviet life in general. Seventy years after the revolution, however, this approach was plagued by difficulties that were increasingly difficult to conceal, let alone remedy. In this situation, a pragmatic change of course was probably unavoidable. The main question for outside observers at the time was whether the change was a strategic and presumably permanent one, or whether it was a tactical retreat, a Leninist 'step backward' to 'get breathing room' (peredyshka) and regroup the worn out forces of Sovietism before undertaking a new and more formidable 'step forward' in the construction of Communism. Taking Gorbachev's statements at face value, one would have to assume the latter: he has repeatedly reiterated his faith in Marxism-Leninism and his determination to con-