Another policy was, Glasnost. This was a policy of openness that encouraged the population to put forward new ideas and show initiative. Gorbachev pressured conservatives who opposed , to encourage public debate and participation; Gorbachev hoped to increase the Soviet people's support for and participation in via his Glasnost. Glasnost gave new freedoms to the people, such as a greater freedom of speech — a radical change, as control of speech and suppression of government criticism had previously been a central part of the Soviet system. However, Glasnost did allow freedom of expression, but it was said that it was more than Gorbachev intended. This policy changed citizens' views towards the government, which in effect played a key role in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Therefore, the policy of Glasnost was quite effective in it’s aims, it did what it was supposed to, but it contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, which is not what Gorbachev had wanted. However, maybe the collapse of the Soviet Union was needed in order to bring an end to the Cold War.
Gorbachev's economic changes did not do much to restart the country's sluggish economy in the late 1980s. The reforms helped to some extent, although price controls remained. All these policies however, led to a more critical approach towards communism, encouraging reformers to push for further liberalisation. Within four years, the Soviet Union adopted some political and economic ideas of the West. Gorbachev’s policies encouraged reformers in the communist parties of Eastern Europe to encourage similar measures.
Aside from Gorbachev’s policies of Perestroika and Glasnost, the abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine was instigated. This was part of Gorbachev’s new political thinking. He felt that the Cold War was no long economically viable or politically necessary. Although this didn’t bring an end to the Cold War, it extended a hand of friendship to the USA, signifying the Cold War was eroding. Although not directly a great factor in bringing an end to the Cold War, it is still a considerable factor. It didn’t straight away contribute to ending the Cold War; it allowed the first seeds to be planted in order for the Cold War to thaw.
Another factor, which led to the end of the Cold War, was when the Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan. This had been draining Soviet resources and money and it was simply unwinnable. Over 15,000 Red Army soldiers were killed in the war, costing $8 billion per year. Supporting communist regimes in Cuba and Vietnam had again drained Soviet resources. The USSR had spent $40 billion annually constructing communist governments throughout the world. This was a waste; the money could have been used to promote domestic reform. This new political thinking led to warming relations with the West. A summit between President Reagan of America and Gorbachev was arranged in Geneva, November 1985. Although little was decided at the summit, it instead established a connection and rapport between the two leaders. Even though Reagan hated the Soviets, he liked Gorbachev. As a result, Gorbachev, realising they were fast losing in the Arms Race, proposed nuclear disarmament which took the USA by surprise. This was done to safeguard Soviet security; the USA had started to plan for defensive weapons systems in space, “Star Wars” programmed. The Soviet Union didn’t have the technology to finance to compete. As a result, the USA could free up the resources they had previously used on defence and trade was a more effective means of control. As a result, he wanted to destroy a small part of his nuclear weapons. These decisions seemed to be quite effective. Again, the Cold War was named that since there was no physical fighting, there was just cold relations between the East and West and their ideologies. By extending these hands of friendships, it allowed for a thaw to commence, which in the end would lead to an end in the Cold War, showing this was an important factor.
There was then the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, due to Gorbachev’s reforms in the USSR. For example in Poland, regarding solidarity, the government lifted martial law and prepared to introduce some reforms in response to Gorbachev’s policies in USSR. Solidarity was legalised and the government allowed any other political groups to stand in elections. Solidarity beast the Communist party and the Communist Party collapsed, holding no position anymore. The USSR did nothing to prevent these events; Gorbachev seemed to approve of the Poles deciding their own future. Also, after the dealings of control in Czechoslovakia, the Velvet Revolution was put into place. The Communist regime was brought down by widespread demonstrations and protests, mostly involving little violence. The revolution was therefore smooth, compared to the violence in the overthrowing of Communism in other Eastern European states such as Russia. The message was clear in all instances, the USSR didn’t want to impose itself on the internal affairs of Eastern Europe. This was important as it showed now, because of Gorbachev, the Soviet Union was collapsing, it was losing control, which, as stated, if this happened, if one ideology is removed from the War, then there is no longer a Cold War to sustain. The role of Gorbachev was vital in changing how Communist regimes of Easter Europe operated. The USSR was not willing to support unpopular Communist governments, they were not longer crucial to its security and were in danger of becoming a political embarrassment and a financial drain, something which the USSR could not sustain.
The Soviet Union itself collapsed as a result of Gorbachev’s policies. By 1991, the Superpowers had all signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks Treat (START). Nuclear arsenals were to be reduced, but more importantly, the hostility between the East and West was now gone. The Cold War issues were gone. Although, there was some opposition, mainly from Conservative members of the Communist Party and many of the Soviet armed forces who opposed the dismantling of Communism within the Soviet Union. However, their coups against Gorbachev failed, and by December 1991, the remaining republics dissolved the Soviet Union, the Cold War was now officially over.
In conclusion, Gorbachev played an important role in ending the Cold War. His policies of openness and reconstruction in terms of Perestroika and Glasnost helped the economy of the Soviet Union, helping numerous lives and improving lifestyles. However, his policies also contributed greatly to the end of the Soviet Union. However, Gorbachev was important in the fact that he realised in his thinking that the Cold War was pointless; it was no longer worth fighting for. In effect, it seems for the Cold War to come to an end, the USSR Empire had to be eradicated, which it was. It wasn’t able to sustain the resources needed to keep their empire, such as keeping up the arms race of fighting the war in Afghanistan. The Cold War was all about conflicting ideologies. Therefore, if one ideology collapsed – Communism from the Soviet Union, then there was no more competition and there was no more point of a Cold War. Gorbachev’s policies in effect led to the collapse of Communism, therefore he inadvertedly led to the end of the Cold War. His policies were important as they led to the collapse of Communism, but instead, new political thinking, such as ending the arms race, nuclear disarmament, abandoning Communism in Eastern Europe and extending hands of friendships were more important in bringing an end to the Cold War.