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,
European Union disability policy the year 2003 as the "European Year of People with Disabilities." Following the success of this event, the European Commission introduced the "Equal opportunities for people with disabilities: a European action plan for the years 2004-2010". It aimed to develop a sustainable-operational approach to the case for the disabled in the extended Europe, finding out and protecting the rights of the disabled. European Union disability policy The European Union policy for disabled people guarantees governmental responsibility for all disabled people in all of EU's member states. This policy operates in the framework of the subsidiarity principle: if possible, one should