IX.

Assessment

Gorbachev did not achieve what he set out to do as Soviet leader—that is, to save the country’s existing social and political system by reforming it from within. In some areas, notably economics, he produced few results at all. Nevertheless, Gorbachev’s political and foreign policies made a tremendous difference to the countries of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and in some respects the entire world. The cumulative effect of these policies was to loosen the grip of the Soviet Communist dictatorship, thereby allowing leaders throughout the Communist Eastern bloc to search out new ways of governing. On the international scene, Gorbachev’s policies put an end to the Cold War and the post-World War II division of Europe. Gorbachev is thus one of the most influential statesmen of the 20th century.