ABSTRACT
From the very outset Gorbachev felt himself under unrelenting pressure to produce tangible results. He had proposed a program of radical reform that almost daily seemed to acquire new dimensions and new areas of application. At the same time, he had to consolidate his personal power base, which constituted an essential precondition for implementing his reforms. Previous Soviet leaders had usually started cautiously, handling political issues pragmatically so as to build up their following in the top echelons of the party, then exploiting this support at the party congress, which they used to finally mold the Politburo, Central Committee, and Secretariat to their own liking. Only then, after the power base had been firmly established and most, if not all, of their real and potential rivals had been neutralized or removed, did they attempt to launch a new policy.
