Foreign Policy after the Cold War:

Gorbachev pursued glasnost and perestroika reforms in part because (1 point)

the war in Afghanistan had drained the nation’s resources.

the Soviet Union had already demonstrated superior nuclear capability.
food surpluses and production increases created stable economic conditions.

Russian revolutionaries staged a coup to overthrow the communist government.

Question

Foreign Policy after the Cold War:

Gorbachev pursued glasnost and perestroika reforms in part because  (1 point)

the war in Afghanistan had drained the nation’s resources.

the Soviet Union had already demonstrated superior nuclear capability.
food surpluses and production increases created stable economic conditions.

Russian revolutionaries staged a coup to overthrow the communist government.

anonymous · Answer

...the war in Afghanistan had drained the nation's resources.

Afghanistan was highly unpopular, but not necessarily as crippling as the Soviet's arms race with the United States. Yet it still was a drain on the Soviet Union's resources that needed to be ended because of how bad the economy really was at the time. Behind all of that Soviet bluster, their economy was in real trouble and that was what Gorbachev was trying to reform.

- the Soviet Union had already demonstrated superior nuclear capability would also be a weak reason if only because they were already at that point, and yet, having the most warheads didn't help salvage their economy or put food in the mouths of its citizens. They continued to feed their war machine despite the problems with their economy. If they were truly "superior", they wouldn't have embarked on even more programs to expand their capability.

- food surpluses and increases created stable economic conditions is also a weak reason because food shortages and a stagnant economy were the reality in the Soviet Union when Gorbachev came to power. It was because of the economy's lack of growth and weakness that he wanted to introduce reforms in the first place. If it were stable, there would be no need to.

- Russian revolutionaries staged a coup to overthrow the communist government; this is false, although a coup did occur in 1991 as a result of the Gorbachev's reform efforts. Hardliners didn't like what he was doing and attempted to take control, but the coup failed. Gorbachev definitely didn't embark on reforms because of a coup, but the coup was the result of what he was doing.

anonymous · Answer

Thank you very much!!! This helps a lot. :)