Editing Perestroika (section)

==Political reforms==
{{main|Demokratizatsiya (Soviet Union){{!}}''Demokratizatsiya'' (Soviet Union)}}
Gorbachev had concluded that implementing his reforms outlined at the [[27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Twenty-Seventh Party Congress]] in February 1986 required more than discrediting the "[[wikt:old guard|Old Guard]]," those with a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist-Leninist]] political orientation. He changed his strategy from trying to work through the CPSU as it existed and instead embraced a degree of political liberalization. In January 1987, he appealed over the heads of the party to the people and called for democratization. Earlier members of local [[Soviet (council)|soviets]] were appointed by local Communist Party branches; now they were to be elected by the people from among various candidates.

The [[1989 Soviet Union legislative election|March 1989 election]] of the [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union]] marked the first time that voters of the Soviet Union ever chose the membership of a national legislative body. The results of the election stunned the ruling elite. Throughout the country, voters crossed unopposed Communist candidates off the ballot, many of them prominent party officials, taking advantage of the nominal privilege of withholding approval of the listed candidates.

By the time of the [[28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Twenty-Eighth Party Congress]] in July 1990, it was clear that Gorbachev's reforms came with sweeping, [[unintended consequence]]s, as nationalities of the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|constituent republics of the Soviet Union]] pulled harder than ever to [[Breakup of the Soviet Union|break away from the Union]] and ultimately dismantle the Communist Party.