William Taubman wrote that during 1986 Gorbachev underwent “the dual process of convincing himself and trying to convince his Kremlin colleagues that their initial strategy, or lack of strategy, had failed.”45 Gorbachev’s rhetoric, however, pointed to different conclusions. Instead of taking stock of failures, the Soviet leader wanted his Politburo and government colleagues to abandon caution, and plunge headlong into the troubled sea of radical reforms without a road map.
