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 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 improve at the national level, though in principle the EU will refrain from setting hefty laws in this area. Through the activities of the Council of Europe and the United Nations, the EU disability policy has since been in effect in many EU countries for years. During World War I, the disability protection system in Europe covered only war veterans and soldiers,