Gorbachev's Glasnost

Glasnost, most commonly translated into English as "openness," was a key concept of Mikhail Gorbachev's administration as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This adapted tool of Leninist media control became not only a part of perestroika, Gorbachev's plan to rejuvenate Soviet ideology during the 1980s, but also an independent concept that redefined how the USSR's media were employed as an instrument of leadership.. "In Gorbachev's Glasnost: The Soviet Media in the First Phase of Perestroika, author Joseph Gibbs traces the development of glasnost as both concept and policy, from the Leninist idea of "criticism and self-criticism" to Gorbachev's attempt to modernize and reinterpret that doctrine to fit his own political goals and aspirations.