Etymograph

English

perestroika

Perestroika comes from Russian перестро́йка ‘restructuring’, from стро́йка ‘construction’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-1‘to strew, to spread out’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old East Slavicmodernстройи1
  3. Russianmodernстро́йка2‘construction’
  4. Russianmodernперестро́йка3perestrójka‘restructuring’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2004perestroika3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Russian стройка
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Russian перестройка
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English perestroika
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Chris Wallace: “Gorbachev would introduce glasnost (openness and freedom) and perestroika…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*strew-Wiktionary, Russian стройка‘to strew, to spread out’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old East SlavicmodernстройиWiktionary, Russian стройка
  3. Russianmodernстро́йкаWiktionary, Russian перестройка‘construction’
  4. Russianmodernперестро́йкаWiktionary, English perestroikaperestrójka‘restructuring’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2004perestroikaWiktionary, English perestroika. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, Chris Wallace: “Gorbachev would introduce glasnost (openness and freedom) and perestroika…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *strew- ‘to strew, to spread out’

construction, structure, instrument, destruction, destroy, strain, instructor, construct, straw, destructive, stray, obstruction, instruct, obstruct, construe, stripling, 12 more

Today it means

noun A program of political and economic reform carried out in the Soviet Union in the 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “perestroika”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Russian стройка, Russian перестройка. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *strew- / perestroika

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