... December 1984, however the details were vague. Perestroika, which translates to English as restructuring, was Gorbachev's plan for all areas of Soviet society, namely the economy. The day before Gorbachev became General Secretary, he is quoted as saying, "We can't go on living like this any more." People had been saying the same for years, however Gorbachev really meant it and was not afraid to do something about it. This said however, during his first few days as General Secretary, not much seemed to change and Gorbachev appeared to be following in the footsteps of his predecessors. This changed on 15th March 1985. He began his perestroika with the instructions he gave he Party Committee. He told them there was no need to devise a plan of measures to accompany his speech at the Plenum, a practice which was considered mandatory. With reference to a call he had taken that day ...

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