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Perestroika

2 stages from Russian to English.

Today it means the economic and political restructuring of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s

Where does the word "perestroika" come from? It comes from Russian perestroika, adopted directly into English (1986).

1
Stage 1 of 2
perestroika
Russian · 1986
"restructuring"
pere- 're-' + stroika 'building'; Mikhail Gorbachev made it the watchword of reform at the 27th Party Congress in 1986
2
Stage 2 of 2
perestroika
English · 1986
"Soviet economic and political reform"
Gorbachev's 1987 book Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World became a Western bestseller
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Read the full story

Perestroika’s story begins in Russian: perestroika meant “restructuring.” Pere- 're-' + stroika 'building'; Mikhail Gorbachev made it the watchword of reform at the 27th Party Congress in 1986. It reached English by 1986 as perestroika. Gorbachev's 1987 book Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World became a Western bestseller. Today, perestroika means the economic and political restructuring of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.