Perestroika

Perestroika, which means "restructuring", was a new policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union to allow the people to own small businesses. Gorbachev tried to transform the stagnant, inefficient command economy into a decentralized, market-oriented economy. Under "Perestroika", open elections were held, and industrial managers were granted greter automony. It also contributed to the complete collapse of the Soviet Union. See also glasnost, its social and cultural counterpart.