The aim of this essay was to examine whether 10 Swedish newspapers editorial pages and their leader writers changed their view on Mikhail Gorbachev before, during and after the August Coup in 1991. Moreover, the aim was also to see if the editorial pages used the same sources when they wrote about Gorbachev. In this essay four main questions were asked: - How is Gorbachev described before the August Coup? - How is Gorbachev described during the August Coup? - How is Gorbachev described after the August Coup? - What sources did the editorial pages use when they wrote about Gorbachev? Ten newspapers and their editorial pages from the period of 1-31 August and 1-6 September, as well as 10-31 December 1991 and 1 January 1992 were examined. It was discovered that most of the editorial pages changed their view from being negative in August to being more positive in December. As a conclusion it can be stated that the examined editorial pages did not write much about Gorbachev in the beginning of August and if they did mention him it was in a negative tone. One of the reasons for the lack of mentioning during the August Coup could be that the leader writers were not sure whether Gorbachev would return back to power. In December the views about Gorbachev were mostly positive, which could be related to the fact that the Soviet Union was about to become dissolved. Regarding the sources some of the newspapers referred to the same sources without giving clear information about where the source came from. A majority of the editorial pages referred to the meeting between Gorbachev and George Bush, as well as to Gorbachev’s meeting with the Supreme Soviet after the August Coup.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Pennsylvania State University, 1993. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [418]-453).

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2005. / Thesis Advisor(s): Anne Clunan, Robert Looney. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-75). Also available online.

The thesis examines, how the journal Rudé právo reflected reforms of Michail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union in period 1985 - 1990. Gorbachev tried to transform Soviet economy into a model that would include elements of the free market. Gorbachev also enforced democratic system of government and freedom of speech. To the Western part of the world Gorbachev offered negotiations on disarmament and destruction of nuclear weapons. By this initiative Gorbachev contributed to the end of the cold war. Gorbachev never thought about transition of the Soviet Union into capitalism and leaving the communist ideology. In Gorbachev's meaning communism was the only right ideology and reforms should modernize the Soviet system and enable next building of socialism. In the thesis quantitative content analysis has been used. This method allowed to obtain the necessary information. Thesis also informs about the role of Gorbachev's reforms and their process. Thesis than presents impact of these reforms to collapse of the USSR. By the content analysis range of editions of the journal Rudé právo in period 1985 - 1990 was explored. Relevant texts were evaluated according to the variables of analysis. 584 texts were analysed and therefore enough information to answer the hypotheses was obtained. Thesis also evaluates the objectivity...

Chapter one began with an introduction to the concept of glasnost and the events surrounding the first four years of Mikhail Gorbachev's reign as General Secretary of the Soviet Union. This rhetorical study gained its thrust from an Aristotelian definition of rhetoric. The method proposed was one of Ernest Bormann's fantasy theme analysis. This study looked at mediated fantasy themes as they chained out in the Western media regarding the glasnost campaign.Chapter two presented the setting for the dramas of glasnost with a look at the history of Soviet leadership and the impact each General Secretary had on Soviet society. Chapter three examined the characters of glasnost. 9iographical information was presented on the players of the dramas. Finally, chapter four examined the media's rhetoric as it chained out the dramas of glasnost through Mikhail Corbachev and his battles with antagonists from the left, from the right, and from within. / Department of Speech Communication

本論文把論述重心放在「比較」上，試圖去認識三位國家領導人對於政治改革理念以及改革實踐的不同之處，也希望透過這樣的比較，釐清三位領導人的改革各自爲俄羅斯政治體制帶來什麼不一樣的影響，以及他們各自的政治選擇又是帶領俄羅斯朝哪個方向前進。其次，我們還要釐清國家領導人的性格和意志等因素是如何影響制度運行。俄羅斯的超級總統制(Super-Presidentialism)將領導人的個人因素突出，這樣的體制對俄羅斯的民主有什麼影響。最後，本論文將探討俄羅斯獨有的政治文化是如何影響三位領導人的政治選擇和發展。 / This article’s main purpose is comparison, it tries to tell the different side of political innovation and the way it practices of 3 Russian leaders. It also clarifies the 3 leader’s reformation has been done to Russian political system separately and which direction their political decision has brought Russia into. Moreover, we will point out how the leaders’ will and personality effect the system. Super- Presidentialism of Russia highlight leader’s individual factor, what kind of effect the Super- Presidentialism does to Russian democracy. Finally, the essay will discuss how do the 3 leader’s political decision and development has been effected by Russian unique political culture.

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This thesis deals with how three chosen Czech daily newspapers - Rudé právo, Mladá fronta (later Mladá fronta DNES) and Lidové noviny - wrote about significant events that took place in the union republics during the last three years of the Soviet Union's existence (1989-1991). It specifically focuses on those events through which the republics were trying to regain freedom and independence for themselves - either through protests, or in a political matter. The thesis also addresses events that were somehow groundbreaking or during which ordinary people, who went to the streets to express their dissaproval of current political situation or to defend legally elected bodies, lost their lives. The thesis uses qualitative analysis to find out if there was a difference in how these three selected Czech newspapers wrote about such events in the context of changes that occured in the Czech political and media system, and if each own coverage somehow evolved.

The thesis "Anti-alcohol Campaigh in the Soviet Union in the years 1985 - 1988" analyzes the various aspects of development and measures used to combat alcoholism , which were adopted in May 1985. This included, for example, significant reduction of the production and sale of alcoholic beverages and a variety of promotional tools. Chronologically, the main emphasis is on the period when the campaign took place. To clarify the context of the issue is also included a brief excursion to the roots of Russian alcoholism, which dates back to the Middle Ages. The situation after the introduction of the campaign is tracked within the Soviet Union, emphasis is placed on development of the policy within the nation's center. Concerning the severe economic impact of the measures adopted and the high level of public discontent alcohol program was eventually canceled. For these reasons, it is often interpreted as a failure. The main goal of the thesis is to assess the possibility of some successes and campaign evaluation, provided that the leaders of the Soviet Union, who prepared it, might have been aware of the contradiction between the stated objectives and actual results subsequent campaigns.

On August 19, 1991, government hard-liners overthrew the Soviet Union for a period of 72 hours. Boris Yeltsin, the President of Russia, staged a protest on the steps of the Russian White House, where he gave speeches against the coup d'etat, releasing these speeches for dissemination between the hard-liners and the masses gathered to support Yeltsin. Yeltsin 's protest created a constituted identity amongst the people gathered who became part of the protest against the government. This created a confrontation between the two publics, where the state message developed a narrative involving a glorified past to which they wished to return, while the counter-public created a counter-narrative that argued a future of continued reforms would benefit the people of Russia and the Soviet Union. In the end, the counter-narrative achieved stronger approval from the masses, essentially replacing the state's narrative with its own. As a result, the hard-liners lost their grab for power, and Yeltsin emerged the winner in an ideological struggle for the future of the Russia and the Soviet Union.