Nagorno-Karabakh War new general secretary of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in 1985, he began implementing his plans to reform the Soviet Union. These were encapsulated in two policies: "perestroika" and "glasnost". While "perestroika" had more to do with economic reform, "glasnost" or "openness" granted limited freedom to Soviet citizens to express grievances about the Soviet system itself and its leaders. Capitalizing on this new policy of Moscow, the leaders of the Regional Soviet of Karabakh decided to vote in favor of unifying the autonomous region with Armenia on 20 February 1988. The resolution read: On 24 February, Boris
Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Soviet Union. Frustrated by the 'old guard's resistance to his attempts to liberalise, Gorbachev changed tack and embarked upon a set of constitutional changes to try and separate party and state, and thereby isolate his conservative opponents. Detailed proposals for the new Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union were published for public consultation on 2 October 1988, and to enable the creation of the new legislature the Supreme Soviet, during its 29 November to 1 December 1988 session, implemented the amendments to the 1977 Soviet Constitution, enacted a law on electoral reform, and set the date of the