Assess the impact of US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in ending the Cold War.

When US president Reagan entered office in 1981 he immediately believed that in order to achieve peace with the Soviets, he needed to 'talk tough' to the Russians, taking a firm anti-communist line in Central America and the Middle East, dramatically escalating the arms race and thus seeking a clear shift away from détente. A few years later when Mikhail Gorbachev was appointed as the Soviet leader in March 1985, Reagan immediately sought after …

…with the USSR and taking a moral stand against communism, Regan's policies exploited political and economic weaknesses in the USSR that hastened its collapse. However, Gorbachev in realising many of the problems that faced the USSR, also greatly helped in ending the Cold War. By reforming the regime rather than continue trying to compete in an economic, military and political struggle with the West, Gorbachev also played a vital role in ending the Cold War.