ABSTRACT
The death of Chernenko in 1985 brought Mikhail Gorbachev to power. His period in office •witnessed a series of profound changes, which transformed the global political, economic and ideological landscape. Within the Soviet context, the reform process of perestroika or restructuring, led to a process of radical change that culminated in the collapse of the communist system and the end of the Soviet Union. Somewhat hidden amid this swirling vortex of change was a fundamental reconceptualization of the traditional Soviet model of socialism. Originating in a critical reappraisal of Developed Socialism within a new version of the Third Party Programme, this new concept of Soviet socialismHumane Democratic Socialism-emerged in 1989/90, and was substantiated within official Soviet discourse in the Draft Party Programme of July/August 1991. The combined impact of these “revisions” was to abandon the core features of the orthodox Soviet model, and to bring about a fundamental shift in the worldview of the CPSU. The orthodox commitment to scientific socialism was replaced with an ethical, humanistic approach. Gorbachev socialdemocratized Bolshevism.
