ABSTRACT
Gorbachev was a new-style Soviet leader. He appeared more polished, more open and accessible than his predecessors. He had studied law at Moscow University and was considered to be an educated and modern person, in contrast to former leaders. Yet Russians were ambivalent about him. Perestroika aroused great curiosity and even hope. However, the public had little confidence in Gorbachev's personal courage and his ability to withstand attempts by the Communist Party to derail the reforms. The tempo of Gorbachev's perestroika was reminiscent of the period of the new economic policy, introduced by Vladimir Lenin after the end of the Civil War in 1921. The new economic policy had reinstated small- and medium-scale private enterprise. The economy forged ahead with surprising speed and, before being nipped in the bud by Stalin, created an environment of hope. Perestroika was, at least partially, modelled on NEP, but Gorbachev's version of economic reform was badly mismanaged.
