Oppression of the citizens of Russia began to come to an end when Mikhail Gorbachev, the last president of the Soviet Empire, was put into power in the late 80s. He ended oppression with his policies of glasnost, openness, and perestroika, restructuring, and finally opened Russia up to the rest of the world. The first part of perestroika that Gorbachev exercised was the reformation of the electoral system (White 31). Previously all elections only had the …showed first 75 words of 1106 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1106 total…of the most oppressed countries in history, and let the people finally think for themselves. Sproule, Anna People Who Have Helped the World: Mikhail Gorbachev United Kingdom; Exley Publications, 1991 White, Stephen Gorbachev and After New York; Cambridge University Press, 1992 Naylor, Thomas H. Opening the Closed Society Lexington; Lexington Books 1987 Church, George J. "TIME Magazine 1987 Man of the Year: The Education of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev" TIME Magazine, 1988. <http://cgi.pathfinder.com/time/special/moy/1987.html> (15 May 1999)