Perestroika soon becomes a vehicle for Soviets to criticize their society.Īfter abandoning Nixon's détente strategy in favor of a vigorous anti-communist policy, U.S. In the short term, these revitalization efforts backfire and lead to widespread food shortages. The reforms allow multiple candidates to run for the same office and private ownership of businesses.
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(Holek via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA-2.5-pl)Ī series of political and economic reforms, termed "perestroika" ("reconstruction" or "rebuilding"), is introduced by Gorbachev. Photo: The location of Chernobyl in Ukraine. While the incident cripples the Soviet economy and is embarrassing for Gorbachev, it further demonstrates how necessary glasnost has become. Gorbachev's dedication to glasnost is tested as officials fail to protect the people living in those areas or the volunteers who end the fires. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine explodes and releases radiation over Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. When Borya, Ruslan and Andrei return from the Soviet Army a few months later, they find the USSR significantly changed.Ĭhernobyl Explosion Causes Nuclear Fallout With "glasnost" ("openness"), a policy of increased political transparency and greater freedom of information, Gorbachev hopes to revitalize the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev, a youthful 54, becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party. Schools hold festive events, and students and parents give teachers flowers.Īfter just over a year in office, Konstantin Chernenko dies. The First of September, also known as the Day of Knowledge, celebrates the new school year and the incoming class of first graders. He is succeeded by 72-year-old Konstantin Chernenko.īorya, Ruslan and Andrei, like all young men in the state, are required to do two years of service in the Soviet Army. Less than two years after taking over leadership of the Soviet Union, Yuri Andropov dies. It is assumed that all young people will join the Komsomol, especially since it's difficult to get into any university or get a good job without having been a member. Yuri Andropov, 68, succeeds him as the leader of the Soviet Union.īorya, Olga, Andrei, Ruslan and Lyuba join the Komsomol, the youth division of the Communist party for children in upper school grades and young adults. Leonoid Brezhnev, the only leader Borya and the other children - now in their teens - have known, dies of a heart attack after 18 years of uninterrupted rule.
During the Olympics, Soviet children are evacuated from Moscow so that they can avoid contact with foreigners. The United States boycotts the Summer Olympics in Moscow, protesting Soviet military operations in Afghanistan, which had begun a year earlier. hockey team would go on to win the gold medal. Olympic ice hockey team defeats the Soviet hockey team, considered the best team in the world, by a score of 4-3 during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. (Flickr user dubpics via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic)
In addition to his own songs, John plays a beloved Russian banquet song and a fragment of a Tchaikovsky concerto. The Pioneers wear red neck kerchiefs.Įlton John becomes the first Western rock musician to tour the Soviet Union, performing to sold-out crowds. Now in middle school, Borya, Olga, Andrei, Ruslan and Lyuba join the Pioneers, the Soviet youth organization for children in middle grades. Octobrist is the name of the Communists' youth organization for kids between the ages of 7 and 9. In Moscow, Borya, Olga, Andrei, Ruslan and Lyuba join the Octobrists. A History of the Soviet UnionĮxplore the histories of Borya, Lyuba, Ruslan, Olga and Andrei Timeline: From USSR to My Perestroika on Dipity.
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