In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev, the head of the Communist party in the Soviet Union, began an ambitious attempt to reform and modernize the USSR and integrate it into the international economy. His first policy was glasnost (intellectual openness), allowing greater freedom of speech, instituting competitive elections to official positions, and limiting terms of office. His second was known as ____________ and sought to shift away from a centrally planned economy and allow for the operation of market forces
