Gorbachev believed that permitting citizens to openly discuss social issues would expose government corruption and help modernize the stagnant Soviet system.

By relaxing state control over the press, journalists could finally report on previously taboo subjects like the Chernobyl disaster and Stalin's atrocities.

Instead of saving the Soviet Union, newfound freedom of speech allowed suppressed ethnic tensions to surface, leading regional republics to demand independence.

While the economic policy of Perestroika allowed private businesses, Glasnost enabled citizens to legally read foreign books and listen to Western rock music.