ABSTRACT
One of the outstanding characteristics of perestroika and glasnost, the twin policies introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev shortly after his selection as General Secretary of the Communist Party in May 1985, has been the rise of social movements. Social movements will not only be an important ingredient of a future civil society; they are a crucial element of its development in todays Soviet Union. The discontent that was to erupt into widespread social movement activity was long-standing and was, for the most part, not new to the Gorbachev era. What is unique to the Gorbachev era is the opportunity to express discontent virtually without fear of retribution. The structure of opportunity came in two stages: the first was the advent of glasnost, and the second was the institution of competitive elections. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
