Mikhail Gorbachev
He became the new Soviet leader in 1985. His goal was to end costly war tensions. He renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine, signed arms control treaties with the United States, and eventually pulled Soviet troops out of Afghanistan. Gorbachev launched a two-pronged effort at reform. He called for a glasnost and urged perestroika. Gorbachev wanted the Soviet economy to produce higher quality consumer goods. His reforms brought economic turmoil though. Shortages grew worse, prices soared, and factories that could not survive without government help closed, which lead to high unemployment. Soviet republics began to declare independence so he resigned as president. After 74 years, the Soviet Union no longer existed.