Tag Archives: Yakovlev

Gorbachev’s First Lesson as General Secretary: How to Talk to Reagan

On March 10, 1985, Konstantin Chernenko, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) passed away after a short stint as the Soviet leader. Less than 24 hours later, Mikhail Gorbachev was elected at the Central Committee session as Chernenko’s successor. And less than 24 hours after that, he found himselfContinueContinue reading “Gorbachev’s First Lesson as General Secretary: How to Talk to Reagan”

1990: Soviet Union Responds to Czechoslovakia Request for 1968 Prague Spring Invasion Documents

In 1990, members of the CPSU’s Central Committee found themselves in a touchy situation. With the communist regime no longer in power in Czechoslovakia, that country’s Office of the Attorney General asked the Soviet Union leadership to hand over a specific document that, it was felt, could finger the individuals responsible for the 1968 invasionContinueContinue reading “1990: Soviet Union Responds to Czechoslovakia Request for 1968 Prague Spring Invasion Documents”