ABSTRACT
Mikhail Gorbachev seemed an unlikely individual to shake the Soviet system to its foundation. Mikhail Gorbachev represented a new generation tied neither to the Great Patriotic War nor to Stalinism. Mikhail Gorbachev possessed a general idea of where he wanted to lead the nation, but he certainly did not have a detailed blueprint for reform. Mikhail Gorbachev began by defining problems. As he sought solutions, however, one change led to another. In analyzing the Soviet system's difficulties, Mikhail Gorbachev and his supporters focused on three major problems: inefficiency, backwardness, and poor morale. In November 1989, the socialist regime in East Germany collapsed in the face of mass public protests in major East German cities and the flight to the West of tens of thousands of East German citizens. During 1990 and 1991, Germany was reunified under leadership dominated by the former West Germany. The new German state abandoned socialism and adopted a democratic and free-market system.
