Yakovlev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich definition of Yakovlev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Yakovlev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich (əlyĭksän`dər nyĭkəlī`əvĭch yä`kôvlĕf), 1923–2005, Russian historian and diplomat, b. Korolevo, studied Columbia Univ. (1958–59), Academy of Social Sciences, Moscow (Ph.D., 1960). Seriously wounded in World War II, he joined (1944) the Communist party and rose in its ranks, assuming top Soviet media posts during the 1960s. His criticism of Russian nationalism led to a demotion, and he was posted (1973–83) as ambassador to Canada. Returning to Moscow, he was Mikhail Gorbachev Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeyevich (mēkhəyēl` sĭrgā`yəvich gərbəchof`)
..... Click the link for more information. 's closest and most influential adviser and became (1987) the Politburo member responsible for mass media. Throughout the 1980s he was a powerful advocate for the economic, political, and social reforms of perestroika perestroika (pər`ĕstroy`kə), Soviet economic and social policy of the late 1980s.
..... Click the link for more information. and glasnost glasnost (gläs`nōst), Soviet cultural and social policy of the late 1980s.
..... Click the link for more information. . A champion of democratic change before and after the fall of the Soviet Union, Yakovlev also encouraged press freedom and played a key role in publicizing the horrors wrought by Lenin and Stalin.