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glasnost - 4 dictionary results

glas⋅nost

  [glaz-nost, glahz‑; Russ. glahs-nuhst]
Use glasnost in a Sentence
–noun
the declared public policy within the Soviet Union of openly and frankly discussing economic and political realities: initiated under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985.
Origin:
1980–85; < Russ glásnost' lit., publicity (taken to mean openness)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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glas·nost   (gläs'nəst, -nôst)   
n.  An official policy of the former Soviet government emphasizing candor with regard to discussion of social problems and shortcomings.

[Russian glasnost', publicity, openness, from obsolete glas, voice, from Old Church Slavonic glasŭ; see gal- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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glasnost [(glahs-nuhst, glas-nost, glaz-nost)]

A Russian word meaning “openness,” which describes the policy of Mikhail Gorbachev, premier of the former Soviet Union. The term refers to a general loosening of government control on all aspects of life in the Soviet Union, even to the point of permitting criticism of government policies.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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glasnost 
1972 (in reference to a letter of 1969 by Solzhenitsyn), from Rus., lit. "publicity," ult. from O.C.S. glasu "voice" (see calendar). First used in a socio-political sense by Lenin; popularized in Eng. after Mikhail Gorbachev used it prominently in a speech of March 11, 1985, accepting the post of general secretary of the CPSU.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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