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36 Probs. Communism 99 (1987)
Gorbachev, Yazov, and the Military

handle is hein.journals/probscmu36 and id is 385 raw text is: Onc Perestreyka: Gorbachev, Yazov, and the Nilitary Dale R. Herspring THE SELECT ON of Dmitr y Yazov to replace the aging Sergey Sokoov as USSR defense minster on May 30, 1987, though perhaps a surpr se to Western observers. was probabiy no shock to those inside the Soviet military establishment. Not ony ydd Yazov have an excellent mi I tary record, but also severa years before M khai Gor bachevs accession to power, he had taken a pub ic stance in favor of a number of the factors that were to become key elements in the General Secretary's po cy of perestroyka (restructuring). Beginn ng in mid-1986, Yazov's support of peresfoyka caused him to be sin gled out for specia attention in the military press Indeed, by January 1987 he was being he d up as a model commander Yazov's se ection came at a time when the military s stance was generay less than enthus astic about pere stroyka, No doubt, Gorbachev would have preferred to allow Yazov more t me to season, but the anding of a sma private West German a rpane n Red Square on May 28 of this year left Gorbachev with no alternat ve, The military had to be held accountabe for its actions or shortcom ngs just ke every other segiment of Soviet so- ciety. The immediate impact of the Yazov appo ntment has been to intensify the restructuring process within the miltary. Over the ong run, assum ng Yazov is suc- cessfu, perestroyka cou d produce a far more efficient and formidable Soviet m itary machine To understand the context of Yazov's appointment, it s essentia to trace the emergence of Gorbachev's Dale R. Hersprig, a Foreign Service OSfer with the US Department of State, is the author of numerous works on communist military affairs. He is currently working on a book to be entitled The Sov et M tary: F rem Grechko to Yazov. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Government. proposals for perestroyka, the r mplicat o tary, and the nature of the military's initia these demands. Pcr-?c,? tn)vka-ni il RiI1eactiIioe the rr Gorbachev outlined the key elements o his policy of perestroyka, or uskoreniye (acce eration) as it was ca led atthetime, rihis speechtothe Penurmof the Cen tra Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in Apr 1985, shortly after becoming gen era secretaryI n this address Gorbachev cr ticized the Soviet economic system-and especialy the party- o t cal apparatus-for fa ng to keep up with the demands of the times. Ho called for acceleration of soc al arid economic progress by mak og use of the achievements of the sc entific-techno ocica revolu- tion arid by making the forms of soc a st ci marnagement accord with con temporary con d tic demands . His appea focused on the need for more effect of both human and mater al resources: a more c approach to management; the acceleration of ft poet work; and the revitaizat on of the party app He a so stressed that ideo ogica-po it ca od should errphas ze accelerat inn of the count ry's economic development With regard to the hum tor, Gorbachev spoke of the need to reinforce ordn discipline, to he d workers responsible for the r a and to develop a more creative leadership sty < aratus ucat oi soc o an tac ear aix ct on I)' 99

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