Perestroika

noun

/ˌpɛrəˈstrɔɪkə/

The programme of economic and political restructuring initiated by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985, aimed at modernising the Soviet system by introducing limited market mechanisms and decentralising economic decision-making — it ultimately contributed to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

Just as Gorbachev's perestroika sought to dismantle the inertia of a centralised command economy, India's 1991 liberalisation amounted to a structural restructuring that prised open a licence-bound system to market forces.

Synonyms

restructuringreformreorganisationoverhaulreconstructionliberalisation

Antonyms

stagnationstatus quoentrenchmentretrenchment

🌱 Word Family

No standard derived forms; related: glasnost (n), perestroikan (adj, rare)

🔡 Root

Russian pere- = re-; stroĭka = building, construction → perestroĭka = restructuring, rebuilding

📜 Etymology

From Russian перестройка (perestroĭka), literally "restructuring" or "rebuilding"; from pere- ("re-") + stroĭka ("building, construction"); entered English in the mid-1980s.

🧠 Memory Hook

Break it as PERE (re-) + STROIKA (construction) — think "RE-CONSTRUCTION": Gorbachev tried to REBUILD the Soviet "STRUCTURE" from the ground up.

🏛️ History & Culture 📖 Seen in: Cold War, Decolonisation & Globalisati...

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