glasnost
glasnost — noun
1. the policy of greater openness that Mikhail Gorbachev introduced in the Soviet U
the policy of greater openness that Mikhail Gorbachev introduced in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, under which the government allowed free discussion of political matters and gave citizens wider access to information
Under glasnost, Soviet newspapers began printing stories about government mistakes for the first time.
collocation: under glasnost
Anya's grandfather spoke openly about his prison-camp years, a conversation glasnost made possible.
Lucía stood at the fallen Berlin Wall and told reporters that glasnost had started it all.
Sora's grandmother saved every glasnost-era newspaper, amazed that the government admitted its own mistakes.
Glasnost freed doctors in Minsk to speak openly about hospital shortages without fear of punishment.
- openness
a general quality of being open and honest; glasnost refers specifically to the Soviet policy of the 1980s
- transparency
often used about modern governments and institutions making information public; glasnost is a historical term tied to the Soviet Union
- censorship
the suppression of information, which glasnost was designed to end
- secrecy
the practice of keeping information hidden from the public
用法筆記
Frequently mentioned together with perestroika (economic restructuring), the other major reform policy of the Gorbachev era. The two policies are often paired as 'glasnost and perestroika.'