Revolutions of 1989 needed Western technology and credits to make up for its increasing backwardness. The costs of maintaining its military, the KGB, subsidies to foreign client states etc., further strained the moribund Soviet economy. The first signs of major reform came in 1986 when Gorbachev launched a policy of "glasnost" (openness) in the Soviet Union, and emphasized the need for "perestroika" (economic restructuring). By the spring of 1989, the Soviet Union had not only experienced lively media debate, but had also held its first multi-candidate elections in the newly established Congress of People's Deputies. While glasnost ostensibly advocated openness and political criticism,
Mikhail Gorbachev to reduce party control of the government apparatus. He proposed a new executive in the form of a presidential system, as well as a new legislative element, to be called the Congress of People's Deputies. Elections to the Congress of People's Deputies were held throughout the Soviet Union in March and April 1989. This was the first free election in the Soviet Union since 1917. Gorbachev became Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (or head of state) on 25 May 1989. On 15 March 1990, Gorbachev was elected as the first executive President of the Soviet Union with 59% of the