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,
History of computing in the Soviet Union to the Soviet Union were lifted; at the same time, the sale of large computers was further restricted. In 1985, the Soviet Union purchased over 10,000 MSX computers from Nippon Gakki. A program to expand computer literacy in Soviet schools was one of the first initiatives announced by Mikhail Gorbachev after he came to power in 1985. That year, the Elektronika BK-0010 was the first Soviet personal computer in common use in schools and as a consumer product. It was the only Soviet personal computer to be manufactured in more than a few thousand units. Between 1986 and 1988, Soviet