Soviet citizens waiting in lines to buy goods. In the 1980s, Soviet leaders began reforms to change the country's governance. Mikhail Gorbachev implemented perestroika, glasnost, and demokratizatsia in the late 1980s, allowing more economic freedom and political openness. However, these reforms failed to save the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991, leaving newly independent countries with unstable governments, economies, and security situations.