Economic transformation in the Soviet Union began in the late 1980s under President Gorbachev, and Aleksashenko describes its main ideas, flaws, and outcomes in 1990–1991. Gorbachev sought to transform the Soviet economy and was seeking Western financial support. He tried to get it twice meeting the G7 leaders in Houston (1990) and London (1991). Yet, his counterparts were not convinced by his views and approaches to reforms, were concerned by the inconsistency of his foreign policy, and declined his requests. Vice versa, despite the significant deterioration of the Soviet economy, Western nations demanded that the Soviet Union service its foreign debt in full, being unaware of its burden. By the end of 1991, the USSR vanished.