History of Ukrainian nationality Communist Party of the Soviet Union, such as Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev. Religion was still persecuted, with many churches being destroyed or converted into anti-religion museums, though the Uniate church survived in Western Ukraine by going underground. In 1988, Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev began to implement his policy of "glasnost", or “openness”. It gave Soviet citizens the freedom of speech with the specific intent of criticising corrupt Soviet officials. Political prisoners and dissidents were released while the media became less censored and controlled. Taking the cue from the Baltic nations, many other national groups within the USSR, including Ukrainians,
Mikhail Gorbachev majority of Russian regions, which is required by Russian law for a political organization to be listed as a party. Later that year, Gorbachev founded a new political party, called the Union of Social Democrats. In June 2004, he represented Russia at the funeral of Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev appeared in numerous media channels after his resignation from office. In 1993, he appeared as himself in the Wim Wenders film "Faraway, So Close!", the sequel to "Wings of Desire". In 1997, Gorbachev appeared with his granddaughter Anastasia in an internationally screened television commercial for Pizza Hut. The U.S. corporation's payment for