Alexander Yakovlev (Russian politician) by his friend Yevgeny Primakov in 1985. When Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1985, Yakovlev became a senior advisor, helping to shape Soviet foreign policy by advocating Soviet non-intervention in Eastern Europe, and accompanying Gorbachev on his five summit meetings with President of the United States Ronald Reagan. Domestically, he argued in favour of the reform programs that became known as glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) and played a key role in executing those policies. In 1987, the Russian nationalist organization Pamyat sent a letter entitled "Stop Yakovlev!" to the plenum of
History and Public Policy Program in partnership with governmental and non-governmental institutions and partners in the US and throughout the world to foster openness, transparency, and dialogue. In cooperation with the American Historical Association's National History Center, HAPP hosts the Washington History Seminar, a weekly in-depth discussion of important new historical research and perspectives in international and national affairs. History and Public Policy Program The History and Public Policy Program (HAPP) is a program at the Woodrow Wilson Center. It focuses on the relationship between history and policy making and seeks to foster open, informed and non-partisan dialogue on historically relevant issues. The Program is