History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union indications Gorbachev may have been in control prior to Chernenko's death as he was announced as the new General Secretary the day after Chernenko died on March 10, 1985. Gorbachev instituted policies of glasnost, perestroika, and acceleration. Glasnost allowed freedom of speech in the Soviet Union and a flourishing of political debate within the Communist Party to a degree not seen since the Russian Revolution, perestroika was an attempt to restructure the political and particularly the economic organisation of the country, while acceleration meant faster development of the economy. This period of liberalisation ultimately ended in the dissolution of the
Energy policy of the Soviet Union a continued dependency on Russia for energy resources, by previous satellite countries. About 80% of the natural gas that Russia exports to Western Europe goes through Ukraine territory. This has incentivized Russia to continue Influencing the political agenda of Ukraine and other former USSR countries. Energy policy of the Soviet Union The energy policy of the Soviet Union was an important feature of the country's planned economy from the time of Lenin onward. The Soviet Union was virtually a self-sufficient energy nation; the development of the energy sector started with Stalin's autarky policy. During the country's 70 years of existence,