Foreign policy choices made during Gorbachev's and Yeltsin's presidencies

Foreign policy choices made during Gorbachev’s and Yeltsin’s presidencies
Name:
Institution:

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last Russian leader that led to the fall of the Soviet Union. According to Mikhail his ideas of the foreign policies were the element of new thinking. According to expert, Mikhail already understood that the Soviet Union no longer the ability to use its military might to influence the world. For the Soviet Union to have foreign policies that would work while sustaining the economy, Moscow had to retrench in some of the areas. His first move was to get all the troops that were fighting in other countries such as Afghanistan, back home. Then he cut down the size of the army, something that many did not think he could do. In what was called the ‘Brezhnev doctrine’ the East European were now allowed to go on their own without the fear of the soviet union attacking them for forfeiting communism. History has it that, the non-interventionist nature of his rule led to Berlin Wall fall. Although he brought a new revolution to the soviet, he led to its fall, due to lack of control.
When Boris Yeltsin came to power, Russia had been thriving on a foreign policy that drove a wedge between it and the West. He brought in the Soviet Union, a more hands approach with great understanding of the social economic dynamics that exists between countries that trade amongst themselves. It had managed to seclude itself from the union of other countries, most those that were practicing capitalism. He came with a more friendly approach, where he forged connection between Russia and countries such as China, France, Canada and the Europe. His two fundamental approaches to healing the foreign affairs, were, gaining membership to the civilized states and the secure as much support from the outside to form the internal mechanisms. In his view the country only had a chance at ever becoming civilized, if it overcame the burden of isolation and developing as many contacts all over the world as possible. During he made this possible by meeting with many leading politicians, who he felt would influence the kind of support and conta...