Perestroika was a revolution from above initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev, according to Sidney Ploss, former Historian, U.S. Department of State, although the roots of the phenomenon can be traced all the way back to the 1920s. Throughout the history of the Soviet Union, attempts at reform have been made by various figures, Ploss noted. Each of these attempts has been followed by periods of retrenchment, during which the movement for reform is defeated and its leaders are often removed from power, he said.

Ploss identified several periods in Soviet and Russian history as moments when reform-minded individuals began the process of reform. After the Revolution of 1905, several reforming prime ministers came to power, but progress in this regard was undermined first by the tsar and then by the outbreak of World War I. During the 1920s after the death of Lenin, several factions within the Bolshevik Party advocated democratic methods of government, but due to historic conditions, Stalin rose to power. In the 1930s, following the crisis of collectivization, many Communists also called for reform and were subsequently purged by Stalin.

After the death of Stalin, Khrushchev openly criticized the former leader of the Communist Party, and inaugurated what would later be referred to as "the Thaw," Ploss stated. After Khrushchev fell out of favor, Brezhnev ushered in another retrenchment of state control. Finally, Gorbachev came to power on a platform of reform, and social forces aligned around a liberalization of society. For example, after the economic stagnation of the Brezhnev period, a contradiction began to emerge between the country's sense of greatness and the standard of living experienced by its people. This created a galling sense that something needed to change, Ploss observed. Gorbachev's promise to improve the lives of the people by reforming society through glasnost and perestroika resonated, Ploss added. Gorbachev's major innovation in foreign policy was the idea that international relations should be guided by universal human principles instead of the class struggle.

Perestroika, in its general meaning of social reform, was proposed repeatedly in Soviet history by various individuals, Ploss observed. He identified a generalized fear of chaos and disorder within Russian society that provokes a backlash after reform is initiated. Ploss also noted that Russia is a large and ethnically diverse country, and that this fact stokes fears of separatism in times of reform. In light of this pattern, it is likely that a similar perestroika program will be proposed again in Russia several times, he predicted, although its success will depend on the ability of democrats to consolidate their powerbase in society.