Perestroika and Glasnost: Gorbachev's twin reforms

Starting in 1986-1987, Gorbachev formulated Perestroika ("restructuring") as a comprehensive program of economic reform intended to introduce limited market mechanisms and decentralization within the general framework of the socialist system. In 1987 the State Enterprise Law was passed, granting enterprises greater autonomy from centralized planning, and private cooperatives were permitted to develop in certain sectors, expanding space for individual initiative. The reform also aimed to reduce state bureaucracy and improve productive efficiency, and limited mechanisms of enterprise self-financing were introduced, partially reducing direct state subsidies.