Fall Of Communism
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The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a
revolutionary wave A revolutionary wave or revolutionary decade is one series of revolutions occurring in various locations within a similar time-span. In many cases, past revolutions and revolutionary waves have inspired current ones, or an initial revolution has ...
that resulted in the end of most
communist states A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Comint ...
in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nations, a play on the term
Spring of Nations The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
that is sometimes used to describe the
Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...
in Europe. It also led to the eventual breakup of the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
—the world's largest communist state—and the abandonment of communist regimes in many parts of the world, some of which were violently overthrown. The events, especially the fall of the Soviet Union, drastically altered the world's balance of power, marking the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
and the beginning of the post-Cold War era. The earliest recorded protests were started in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, then part of the Soviet Union, in 1986 with the student demonstrations — the last chapter of these revolutions is considered to be in 1993 when
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
enacted a new Constitution in which communism was abandoned. The main region of these revolutions was in Eastern Europe, starting in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
with the Polish workers' mass strike movement in 1988, and the revolutionary trend continued in
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. On 4 June 1989, the trade union Solidarity won an overwhelming victory in a partially free election in Poland, leading to the peaceful fall of communism in that country. Also in June 1989,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
began dismantling its section of the physical
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
, while the opening of a border gate between
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
and Hungary in August 1989 set in motion a peaceful chain reaction, in which the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
had disintegrated. This led to mass demonstrations in the cities such as
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
and subsequently to the
fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
in November 1989, which served as the symbolic gateway to the
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
in 1990. One feature common to most of these developments was the extensive use of campaigns of
civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
, demonstrating popular opposition to the continuation of
one-party rule A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system, or single-party system is a type of sovereign state in which only one political party has the right to form the government, usually based on the existing constitution. All other parties ...
and contributing to the pressure for change. Romania was the only country where citizens and opposition forces used violence to overthrow its communist regime. The Cold War is considered to have "officially" ended on 3 December 1989 during the Malta Summit between the Soviet and American leaders. However, many historians argue that the collapse of the Soviet Union on 26 December 1991 was the end of the Cold War. The Soviet Union itself became a multi-party semi-presidential republic from March 1990 and held its first
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
, marking a drastic change as part of its reform program. The Union dissolved in December 1991, resulting in seven new countries which had declared their
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
from the Soviet Union in the course of the year, while the
Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
regained their independence in September 1991 along with
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
,
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. The rest of the Soviet Union, which constituted the bulk of the
area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...
, continued with the establishment of the
Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
.
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
abandoned communism between 1990 and 1992, and by the end Yugoslavia had split into five new countries.
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
dissolved three years after the end of communist rule, splitting peacefully into the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
and
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
on 1 January 1993. North Korea has abandoned Marxism-Leninism since 1992. The impact of these events were felt in many
third world The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...
socialist states Several past and present states have declared themselves socialist states or in the process of building socialism. The majority of self-declared socialist countries have been Marxist–Leninist or inspired by it, following the model of the Sovi ...
throughout the world. Concurrently with events in Poland, protests in Tiananmen Square (April–June 1989) failed to stimulate major political changes in
Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
, but influential images of courageous defiance during that protest helped to precipitate events in other parts of the globe. Three Asian countries, namely
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
and
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, had successfully abandoned communism by 1992–1993, either through reform or conflict. Additionally, eight countries in Africa or its environ had also abandoned it, namely
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
,
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...
,
Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...
,
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, as well as South Yemen (unified with
North Yemen North Yemen may refer to: * Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962) * Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...
). The political
reforms Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
varied, but in only four countries were
communist parties A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
able to retain a monopoly on
power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...
, namely China,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
,
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
, and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
. However, these countries would later make economic reforms in the coming years to adopt some forms of
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
under
market socialism Market socialism is a type of economic system involving the public, cooperative, or social ownership of the means of production in the framework of a market economy, or one that contains a mix of worker-owned, nationalized, and privately owne ...
. The European political landscape changed drastically, with several former Eastern Bloc countries joining
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, resulting in stronger
economic An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...
and
social integration Social integration is the process during which newcomers or minorities are incorporated into the social structure of the host society. Social integration, together with economic integration and identity integration, are three main dimensions of ...
with
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
and North America. Many communist and socialist
organisations An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
in the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
turned their guiding principles over to
social democracy Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
and
democratic socialism Democratic socialism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self- ...
. In contrast, and somewhat later, in South America, a
Pink tide The pink tide ( es, marea rosa, pt, onda rosa, french: marée rose), or the turn to the left ( es, giro a la izquierda, link=no, pt, volta à esquerda, link=no, french: tournant à gauche, link=no), is a political wave and perception of a tur ...
began in
Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
in 1999 and shaped politics in the other parts of the continent through the early 2000s. Meanwhile, in certain countries the aftermath of these revolutions resulted in conflict and wars, including various
post-Soviet conflicts This article lists the post-Soviet conflicts; the violent political and ethnic conflicts in the countries of the Post-Soviet states, former Soviet Union following its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. Some of these conflicts ...
that remain frozen to this day as well as large-scale wars, most notably the
Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
which led to Europe's first genocide since the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
in
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
.


Background


Emergence of Solidarity in Poland

Labour turmoil in Poland during 1980 led to the formation of the independent
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
Solidarity, led by
Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...
, which over time became a political force, nevertheless, on 13 December 1981, Polish Prime Minister
Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party b ...
started a crackdown on Solidarity by declaring martial law in Poland, suspending the union, and temporarily imprisoning all of its leaders.


Mikhail Gorbachev

Although several Eastern Bloc countries had attempted some abortive, limited economic and political reform since the 1950s (e.g. the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
and
Prague Spring The Prague Spring ( cs, Pražské jaro, sk, Pražská jar) was a period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected First Sec ...
of 1968), the ascension of reform-minded Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
in 1985 signaled the trend toward greater liberalization. During the mid-1980s, a younger generation of Soviet
apparatchiks __NOTOC__ An apparatchik (; russian: аппара́тчик ) was a full-time, professional functionary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union or the Soviet government ''apparat'' ( аппарат, apparatus), someone who held any positio ...
, led by Gorbachev, began advocating fundamental reform in order to reverse years of
Brezhnev stagnation The "Era of Stagnation" (russian: Пери́од засто́я, Períod zastóya, or ) is a term coined by Mikhail Gorbachev in order to describe the negative way in which he viewed the economic, political, and social policies of the Soviet Uni ...
. After decades of growth, the Soviet Union was now facing a period of severe economic decline and needed Western technology and credits to make up for its increasing backwardness. The costs of maintaining its military, the
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
, and subsidies to foreign client states further strained the moribund
Soviet economy The economy of the Soviet Union was based on state ownership of the means of production, collective farming, and industrial manufacturing. An administrative-command system managed a distinctive form of central planning. The Soviet economy was ...
. Mikhail Gorbachev succeeded to the
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
and came to power in 1985. The first signs of major reform came in 1986 when Gorbachev launched a policy of ''
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
'' (openness) in the Soviet Union, and emphasized the need for ''
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
'' (economic restructuring). By the spring of 1989, the Soviet Union had not only experienced lively media debate but had also held its first multi-candidate elections in the newly established Congress of People's Deputies. While glasnost ostensibly advocated openness and political criticism, these were only permitted within a narrow spectrum dictated by the state. The general public in the Eastern Bloc was still subject to
secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
and
political repression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereb ...
. Gorbachev urged his Central and Southeast European counterparts to imitate ''perestroika'' and ''glasnost'' in their own countries. However, while reformists in Hungary and Poland were emboldened by the force of liberalization spreading from the east, other Eastern Bloc countries remained openly skeptical and demonstrated aversion to reform. Believing Gorbachev's reform initiatives would be short-lived, hardline communist rulers like
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
's
Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
's
Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( bg, Тодор Христов Живков ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 ...
,
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
's
Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...
and
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
's
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
obstinately ignored the calls for change. "When your neighbor puts up new wallpaper, it doesn't mean you have to too," declared one East German
politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contraction ...
member..


Soviet republics

By the late 1980s, people in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
and
Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...
were demanding more autonomy from
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, and the Kremlin was losing some of its control over certain regions and elements in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. Cracks in the Soviet system had begun in December 1986 in
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
when its citizens protested over an ethnic Russian who had been appointed as the secretary of the CPSU's Kazakh republican branch. These protests were put down after three days. In November 1988, the
Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic The Estonian SSR,, russian: Эстонская ССР officially the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic,, russian: Эстонская Советская Социалистическая Республика was an ethnically based adminis ...
issued a declaration of sovereignty, which would eventually lead to other states making similar declarations of autonomy. The
Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...
in April 1986 had major political and social effects that catalyzed or at least partially caused the Revolutions of 1989. One political result of the disaster was the greatly increased significance of the new Soviet policy of glasnost. It is difficult to establish the total economic cost of the disaster. According to Gorbachev, the Soviet Union spent 18 billion
roubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...
(the equivalent of US$18 billion at that time) on containment and decontamination, virtually bankrupting itself.Gorbachev, Mikhail (1996), interview in Johnson, Thomas, ',
ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to: Acronyms * Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product * '' I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1 * Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets * Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion ...
Discovery Channel, retrieved 19 February 2014.


Impact of Solidarity grows

Throughout the mid-1980s, Solidarity persisted solely as an underground organization, supported by the Catholic Church. However, by the late 1980s, Solidarity became sufficiently strong to frustrate Jaruzelski's attempts at reform, and nationwide strikes in 1988 forced the government to open dialogue with Solidarity. On 9 March 1989, both sides agreed to a bicameral legislature called the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
. The already existing
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
would become the lower house. The Senate would be elected by the people. Traditionally a ceremonial office, the presidency was given more powers (
Polish Round Table Agreement The Polish Round Table Talks took place in Warsaw, Poland from 6 February to 5 April 1989. The government initiated talks with the banned trade union Solidarność and other opposition groups in an attempt to defuse growing social unrest. Histo ...
). On 7 July 1989, General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev implicitly renounced the use of force against other Soviet-bloc nations. Speaking to members of the 23-nation Council of Europe, Mr. Gorbachev made no direct reference to the so-called
Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy that proclaimed any threat to socialist rule in any state of the Soviet Bloc in Central and Eastern Europe was a threat to them all, and therefore justified the intervention of fellow socialist st ...
, under which Moscow had asserted the right to use force to prevent a Warsaw Pact member from leaving the communist fold. He stated, "Any interference in domestic affairs and any attempts to restrict the sovereignty of states—friends, allies or any others—are inadmissible". The policy was termed the
Sinatra Doctrine The Sinatra Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy under Mikhail Gorbachev for allowing member states of the Warsaw Pact to determine their own internal affairs. The name jokingly alluded to the song My Way popularized by Frank Sinatra—the So ...
, in a joking reference to the
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
song "
My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...
". Poland became the first Warsaw Pact country to break free of Soviet domination.


Fall of dictatorial regimes

In February 1986, in one of the first peaceful, mass- movement revolutions against a
dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
, the
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
peacefully overthrew dictator
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
and inaugurated
Cory Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
as the
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
. The
domino effect A domino effect or chain reaction is the cumulative effect generated when a particular event triggers a chain of similar events. This term is best known as a mechanical effect and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically ...
of the revolutions of 1989 affected other regimes as well. The
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
n
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime and Pinochet's military dictatorship in Chile were gradually dismantled during the 1990s as the West withdrew their funding and diplomatic support.
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
,
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
,
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
and
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
- South Yemen, among many others, elected democratic governments. Exact tallies of the number of democracies vary depending on the criteria used for assessment, but by some measures by the late 1990s there were well over 100 democracies in the world, a marked increase in just a few decades.


National political movements


Poland

A wave of strikes hit Poland from 21 April then this continued in May 1988. A second wave began on 15 August, when a strike broke out at the July Manifesto coal mine in
Jastrzębie-Zdrój Jastrzębie-Zdrój (; german: Bad Königsdorff-Jastrzemb, originally ''Jastrzemb'', cs, Lázně Jestřebí, szl, Jastrzymbie-Zdrōj or ''Jastrzymbje-Zdrůj'') is a city in south Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Poli ...
, with the workers demanding the re-legalisation of the Solidarity trade union. Over the next few days, sixteen other mines went on strike followed by a number of shipyards, including on 22 August the Gdansk Shipyard, famous as the epicentre of the 1980 industrial unrest that spawned Solidarity. On 31 August 1988
Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the President of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 election, Wałęsa became the first democratica ...
, the leader of Solidarity, was invited to Warsaw by the communist authorities, who had finally agreed to talks. On 18 January 1989 at a stormy session of the Tenth Plenary Session of the ruling United Workers' Party, General
Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military officer, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party b ...
, the First Secretary, managed to get party backing for formal negotiations with Solidarity leading to its future legalisation, although this was achieved only by threatening the resignation of the entire party leadership if thwarted. On 6 February 1989 formal Round Table discussions began in the Hall of Columns in Warsaw. On 4 April 1989 the historic Round Table Agreement was signed legalising Solidarity and setting up partly free
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
to be held on 4 June 1989 (incidentally, the day following the midnight crackdown on Chinese protesters in Tiananmen Square). A political earthquake followed as the victory of Solidarity surpassed all predictions. Solidarity candidates captured all the seats they were allowed to compete for in the
Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
, while in the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
they captured 99 out of the 100 available seats (with the one remaining seat taken by an independent candidate). At the same time, many prominent communist candidates failed to gain even the minimum number of votes required to capture the seats that were reserved for them. On 15 August 1989, the communists' two longtime coalition partners, the United People's Party (ZSL) and the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(SD), broke their alliance with the PZPR and announced their support for Solidarity. The last communist Prime Minister of Poland, General
Czesław Kiszczak Czesław Jan Kiszczak (19 October 1925 – 5 November 2015) was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989). In 1981 he played a key role in imposing martial law and suppression of the '' Solidar ...
, said he would resign to allow a non-communist to form an administration. As Solidarity was the only other political grouping that could possibly form a government, it was virtually assured that a Solidarity member would become prime minister. On 19 August 1989, in a stunning watershed moment,
Tadeusz Mazowiecki Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and Christian-democratic politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime min ...
, an anti-communist editor, Solidarity supporter, and devout Catholic, was nominated as Prime Minister of Poland and the Soviet Union voiced no protest. Five days later, on 24 August 1989, Poland's Parliament ended more than 40 years of one-party rule by making Mazowiecki the country's first non-communist Prime Minister since the early postwar years. In a tense Parliament, Mazowiecki received 378 votes, with 4 against and 41 abstentions. On 13 September 1989, a new non-communist government was approved by parliament, the first of its kind in the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. On 17 November 1989 the statue of
Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky ( pl, Feliks Dzierżyński ; russian: Фе́ликс Эдму́ндович Дзержи́нский; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed "Iron Felix", was a Bolshevik revolutionary and official, born into Poland, Polish n ...
, Polish founder of the
Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...
and symbol of communist oppression, was torn down in
Bank Square, Warsaw Plac Bankowy ( en, 'Bank Square', formerly ''Plac Dzierżyńskiego'') is one of Warsaw's principal squares. Located in the downtown district, adjacent to the Saxon Garden and Warsaw Arsenal, it is also a principal public-transport hub, with bu ...
. On 29 December 1989 the Sejm amended the constitution to change the official name of the country from the People's Republic of Poland to the Republic of Poland. The communist Polish United Workers' Party dissolved itself on 29 January 1990 and transformed itself into the
Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland (SdRP) ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SdRP) was a social-democratic political party in Poland created in 1990, shortly after the Revolutions of 1989. The party was the main party of ...
. In 1990, Jaruzelski resigned as Poland's president and was succeeded by Wałęsa, who won the 1990 presidential elections. held in two rounds on 25 November and 9 December. Wałęsa's inauguration as president on 21 December 1990 is considered by many as the formal end of the communist
People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...
and the start of the modern Republic of Poland. The
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
was dissolved on 1 July 1991. On 27 October 1991 the first entirely free Polish parliamentary elections since 1945 took place. This completed Poland's transition from communist Party rule to a Western-style liberal democratic political system. The last Russian troops left Poland on 18 September 1993.


Hungary

Following Poland's lead, Hungary was next to switch to a non-communist government. Although Hungary had achieved some lasting economic reforms and limited political liberalization during the 1980s, major reforms only occurred following the replacement of
János Kádár János József Kádár (; ; 26 May 1912 – 6 July 1989), born János József Czermanik, was a Hungarian communist leader and the General Secretary of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, a position he held for 32 years. Declining health le ...
as General Secretary of the communist Party on 23 May 1988 with Károly Grósz. On 24 November 1988
Miklós Németh Miklós Németh (, born 24 January 1948) is a retired Hungarian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 24 November 1988 to 23 May 1990. He was one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers' Party, Hungary's Communi ...
was appointed Prime Minister. On 12 January 1989, the Parliament adopted a "democracy package", which included trade union pluralism; freedom of association, assembly, and the press; a new electoral law; and a radical revision of the constitution, among other provisions. On 29 January 1989, contradicting the official view of history held for more than 30 years, a member of the ruling Politburo,
Imre Pozsgay Imre András Pozsgay (''Pozsgay Imre'', ; 26 November 1933 – 25 March 2016) was a Hungarian Communist politician who played a key role in Hungary's transition to democracy after 1988. He served as Minister of Culture (1976–1980), Minister ...
, declared that Hungary's 1956 rebellion was a popular uprising rather than a foreign-instigated attempt at counterrevolution. Mass demonstrations on 15 March, the National Day, persuaded the regime to begin negotiations with the emergent non-communist political forces. Round Table talks began on 22 April and continued until the Round Table agreement was signed on 18 September. The talks involved the communists (MSzMP) and the newly emerging independent political forces
Fidesz Fidesz – Hungarian Civic Alliance (; hu, Fidesz – Magyar Polgári Szövetség) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Hungary, led by Viktor Orbán. It was formed in 1988 under the name of Alliance of Young ...
, the
Alliance of Free Democrats The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party ( hu, Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt, SZDSZ) was a liberal political party in Hungary. The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrat ...
(SzDSz), the
Hungarian Democratic Forum The Hungarian Democratic Forum ( hu, Magyar Demokrata Fórum, MDF) was a centre-right political party in Hungary. It had a Hungarian nationalist, national-conservative, Christian-democratic ideology. The party was represented continuously in the ...
(MDF), the
Independent Smallholders' Party The Independent Smallholders, Agrarian Workers and Civic Party ( hu, Független Kisgazda-, Földmunkás- és Polgári Párt), known mostly by its acronym FKgP or its shortened form Independent Smallholders' Party ( hu, Független Kisgazdapárt), ...
, the
Hungarian People's Party The Hungarian People's Party ( ro, Partidul Popular Maghiar, PPM) was a political party in Romania. History The party ran in alliance with the National Peasants' Party The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or ...
, the Endre Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Society, and the Democratic Trade Union of Scientific Workers. At a later stage the Democratic Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) were invited. At these talks a number of Hungary's future political leaders emerged, including
László Sólyom László Sólyom ( hu, Sólyom László, ; born 3 January 1942) is a Hungarian political figure, lawyer, and librarian who was President of Hungary from 2005 until 2010. Previously he was Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court of Hungary f ...
,
József Antall József Tihamér Antall Jr. ( hu, ifjabb Antall József Tihamér, ; 8 April 1932 – 12 December 1993) was a Hungarian teacher, librarian, historian, and statesman who served as the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, holdi ...
, György Szabad, Péter Tölgyessy and
Viktor Orbán Viktor Mihály Orbán (; born 31 May 1963) is a Hungarian politician who has served as prime minister of Hungary since 2010, previously holding the office from 1998 to 2002. He has presided over Fidesz since 1993, with a brief break between 20 ...
. On 2 May 1989, the first visible cracks in the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
appeared when
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
began dismantling its long border fence with Austria. This increasingly destabilized East Germany and
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
over the summer and autumn, as thousands of their citizens illegally crossed over to the West through the Hungarian-Austrian border. On 1 June 1989 the Communist Party admitted that former Prime Minister
Imre Nagy Imre Nagy (; 7 June 1896 – 16 June 1958) was a Hungarian communist politician who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (''de facto'' Prime Minister) of the Hungarian People's Republic from 1953 to 1955. In 1956 Nagy became leader ...
, hanged for treason for his role in the 1956 Hungarian uprising, was executed illegally after a show trial. On 16 June 1989 Nagy was given a solemn funeral on Budapest's largest square in front of crowds of at least 100,000, followed by a hero's burial. The initially inconspicuous opening of a border gate of the Iron Curtain between Austria and Hungary in August 1989 then triggered a chain reaction, at the end of which the GDR no longer existed and the Eastern Bloc had disintegrated. It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. The idea of opening the border came from
Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...
and was brought up by him to
Miklós Németh Miklós Németh (, born 24 January 1948) is a retired Hungarian economist and politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 24 November 1988 to 23 May 1990. He was one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers' Party, Hungary's Communi ...
, who promoted the idea.Miklós Németh in Interview, Austrian TV - ORF "Report", 25 June 2019. The local organization in Sopron took over the Hungarian Democratic Forum, the other contacts were made via Habsburg and
Imre Pozsgay Imre András Pozsgay (''Pozsgay Imre'', ; 26 November 1933 – 25 March 2016) was a Hungarian Communist politician who played a key role in Hungary's transition to democracy after 1988. He served as Minister of Culture (1976–1980), Minister ...
. Extensive advertising for the planned picnic was made by posters and flyers among the GDR holidaymakers in Hungary. The Austrian branch of the
Paneuropean Union The International Paneuropean Union, also referred to as the Pan-European Movement and the Pan-Europa Movement, is the oldest European unification movement. It began with the publishing of Count Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi's manifesto ''P ...
, which was then headed by
Karl von Habsburg Karl von Habsburg (given names: ''Karl Thomas Robert Maria Franziskus Georg Bahnam''; born 11 January 1961) is an Austrian politician and the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, therefore being a claimant to the defunct Austro-Hungarian t ...
, distributed thousands of brochures inviting them to a picnic near the border at Sopron. After the pan-European picnic,
Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
dictated the ''Daily Mirror'' of 19 August 1989: "Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland, on which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food and Deutsche Mark, and then they were persuaded to come to the West." But with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the non-intervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. Now tens of thousands of the media-informed East Germans made their way to Hungary, which was no longer ready to keep its borders completely closed or to oblige its border troops to use force of arms. In particular, the leadership of the GDR in East Berlin no longer dared to completely block the borders of their own country.Andreas Rödder, Deutschland einig Vaterland – Die Geschichte der Wiedervereinigung (2009). The Round Table agreement of 18 September encompassed six draft laws that covered an overhaul of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...
, establishment of a
Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...
, the functioning and management of political parties, multiparty elections for National Assembly deputies, the penal code and the law on penal procedures (the last two changes represented an additional separation of the Party from the state apparatus). The electoral system was a compromise: about half of the deputies would be elected proportionally and half by the majoritarian system. A weak presidency was also agreed upon, but no consensus was attained on who should elect the president (parliament or the people) and when this election should occur (before or after parliamentary elections). On 7 October 1989, the Communist Party at its last congress re-established itself as the Hungarian Socialist Party. In a historic session from 16 to 20 October, the parliament adopted legislation providing for a multi-party parliamentary election and a direct presidential election, which took place on 24 March 1990. The legislation transformed Hungary from a
People's Republic People's republic is an official title, usually used by some currently or formerly communist or left-wing states. It is mainly associated with soviet republics, socialist states following people's democracy, sovereign states with a democratic- ...
into the
Republic of Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, guaranteed human and civil rights, and created an institutional structure that ensured separation of powers among the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government. On 23 October 1989, on the 33rd anniversary of the 1956 Revolution, the communist regime in Hungary was formally abolished. The Soviet military occupation of Hungary, which had persisted since World War II, ended on 19 June 1991.


East Germany

On 2 May 1989,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
started dismantling its barbed-wire border with
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The
border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...
was still heavily guarded, but it was a political sign. The
Pan-European Picnic The Pan-European Picnic (german: Paneuropäisches Picknick; hu, páneurópai piknik; sk, Paneurópsky piknik) was a peace demonstration held on the Austrian- Hungarian border near Sopron, Hungary on 19 August 1989. The opening of the border ...
in August 1989 finally started a movement that could not be stopped by the rulers in the Eastern Bloc. It was the largest escape movement from East Germany since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961. The patrons of the picnic,
Otto von Habsburg Otto von Habsburg (german: Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius, hu, Ferenc József Ottó Róbert Mária Antal Károly Max Heinrich Sixtus Xaver Felix Renatus Lajos Gaetan ...
and the Hungarian Minister of State
Imre Pozsgay Imre András Pozsgay (''Pozsgay Imre'', ; 26 November 1933 – 25 March 2016) was a Hungarian Communist politician who played a key role in Hungary's transition to democracy after 1988. He served as Minister of Culture (1976–1980), Minister ...
saw the planned event as an opportunity to test the reaction of Mikhail Gorbachev and the Eastern Bloc countries to a large opening of the border including flight. After the pan-European picnic, Erich Honecker dictated the Daily Mirror of 19 August 1989: "Habsburg distributed leaflets far into Poland, on which the East German holidaymakers were invited to a picnic. When they came to the picnic, they were given gifts, food, and Deutsche Mark, and then they were persuaded to come to the West." But with the mass exodus at the Pan-European Picnic, the subsequent hesitant behavior of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany and the non-intervention of the Soviet Union broke the dams. Now tens of thousands of the media-informed East Germans made their way to Hungary, which was no longer ready to keep its borders completely closed or to oblige its border troops to use force of arms. By the end of September 1989, more than 30,000 East Germans had escaped to the West before the GDR denied travel to Hungary, leaving
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
as the only neighboring state to which East Germans could escape. Thousands of East Germans tried to reach the West by occupying the West German diplomatic facilities in other Central and Eastern European capitals, notably the
Prague Embassy The Embassy of Germany in Prague is located on Vlašská street (formerly ''Wälsche Spitalgasse''), in the Malá Strana district of Prague, Czech Republic. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between West Germany and Czechoslovakia i ...
and the Hungarian Embassy, where thousands camped in the muddy garden from August to November waiting for German political reform. The GDR closed the border to Czechoslovakia on 3 October, thereby isolating itself from all its neighbors. Having been shut off from their last chance for escape, an increasing number of East Germans participated in the Monday demonstrations in Leipzig on 4, 11, and 18 September, each attracting 1,200 to 1,500 demonstrators. Many were arrested and beaten, but the people refused to be intimidated. On 25 September, the protests attracted 8,000 demonstrators. After the fifth successive Monday demonstration in
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
on 2 October attracted 10,000 protesters, Socialist Unity Party (SED) leader
Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the posts ...
issued a ''shoot and kill'' order to the military. Communists prepared a huge police, militia,
Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...
, and work-combat troop presence, and there were rumors a Tiananmen Square-style massacre was being planned for the following Monday's demonstration on 9 October. On 6 and 7 October,
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
visited East Germany to mark the 40th anniversary of the German Democratic Republic, and urged the East German leadership to accept reform. A famous quote of his is rendered in German as "Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben" ("The one who comes too late is punished by life."). However, Honecker remained opposed to internal reform, with his regime even going so far as forbidding the circulation of Soviet publications that it viewed as subversive. In spite of rumors that the communists were planning a massacre on 9 October, 70,000 citizens demonstrated in Leipzig that Monday and the authorities on the ground refused to open fire. The following Monday, 16 October 120,000 people demonstrated on the streets of Leipzig. Erich Honecker had hoped that the Soviet troops stationed in the GDR by the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
would restore the communist government and suppress the civilian protests. By 1989 the Soviet government deemed it impractical for the Soviet Union to continue asserting its control over the Eastern Bloc, so it took a neutral stance regarding the events happening in East Germany. Soviet troops stationed in eastern Europe were under strict instructions from the Soviet leadership not to intervene in the political affairs of the Eastern Bloc nations and remained in their barracks. Faced with ongoing civil unrest, the SED deposed Honecker on 18 October and replaced him with the number-two-man in the regime,
Egon Krenz Egon Rudi Ernst Krenz (; born 19 March 1937) is a German former politician who was the last Communist leader of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) during the Revolutions of 1989. He succeeded Erich Honecker as the General Secretary ...
. However, the demonstrations kept growing, and on Monday, 23 October, the Leipzig protesters numbered 300,000 and remained as large the following week. The border to Czechoslovakia was opened again on 1 November, and the Czechoslovak authorities soon let all East Germans travel directly to West Germany without further bureaucratic ado, thus lifting their part of the Iron Curtain on 3 November. On 4 November the authorities decided to authorize a demonstration in Berlin and were faced with the
Alexanderplatz demonstration The Alexanderplatz demonstration (german: link=no, Alexanderplatz-Demonstration) was a demonstration for political reforms and against the government of the German Democratic Republic on Alexanderplatz in East Berlin on Saturday 4 November 198 ...
, where half a million citizens converged on the capital demanding freedom in the biggest protest the GDR ever witnessed. Unable to stem the ensuing flow of refugees to the West through Czechoslovakia, the East German authorities eventually caved in to public pressure by allowing East German citizens to enter West Berlin and West Germany directly, via existing border points, on 9 November 1989, without having properly briefed the border guards. Triggered by the erratic words of regime spokesman
Günter Schabowski Günter Schabowski (; 4 January 1929 – 1 November 2015) was an East German politician who served as an official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (''Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands'' abbreviated ''SED''), the ruling party du ...
in a TV press conference, stating that the planned changes were in effect "immediately, without delay," hundreds of thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity. The guards were quickly overwhelmed by the growing crowds of people demanding to be let out into West Berlin. After receiving no feedback from their superiors, the guards, unwilling to use force, relented and opened the gates to West Berlin. Soon new crossing points were forced open in the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...
by the people, and sections of the wall were literally torn down. The guards were unaware of what was happening and stood by as the East Germans took to the wall with hammers and chisels. On 7 November, the entire ''Ministerrat der DDR'' (
State Council of East Germany The State Council of East Germany (German: ''Staatsrat der DDR'') was the collective head of state of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1960 to 1990. Origins When the German Democratic Republic was founded in October 1949, its ...
), including its chairman
Willi Stoph Wilhelm Stoph (9 July 1914 – 13 April 1999) was a German politician. He served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989. He ...
, resigned. A new government was formed under a considerably more liberal communist,
Hans Modrow Hans Modrow (; born 27 January 1928) is a German politician best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. Taking office in the middle of the Peaceful Revolution, he was the ''de facto'' leader of the country for much of the winter ...
. On 1 December, the
Volkskammer __NOTOC__ The Volkskammer (, ''People's Chamber'') was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (colloquially known as East Germany). The Volkskammer was initially the lower house of a bicameral legislature. The upper house ...
removed the SED's leading role from the constitution of the GDR. On 3 December Krenz resigned as leader of the SED; he resigned as head of state three days later. On 7 December, Round Table talks opened between the SED and other political parties. On 16 December 1989, the SED was dissolved and refounded as the SED-PDS, abandoning Marxism–Leninism and becoming a mainstream democratic socialist party. On 15 January 1990, the Stasi's headquarters was stormed by protesters. Modrow became the de facto leader of
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
until free elections were held on 18 March 1990—the first since November 1932. The SED, renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism, was heavily defeated.
Lothar de Maizière Lothar de Maizière (; born 2 March 1940) is a German Christian Democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only premier of the German Democratic Republic to be democratically elected freely and fairly by the people. He was also the last l ...
of the East German Christian Democratic Union became Prime Minister on 4 April 1990 on a platform of speedy reunification with the West. On 15 March 1990, a peace treaty was signed between the two countries of Germany and the four Allies to replace the Potsdam Agreement of 1 August 1945 after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
to return full sovereignty to Germany, which facilitated the reunification. The two German countries were finally reunified into present-day Germany on 3 October 1990, solving German problem about two states status which had existed since 7 October 1949. The Kremlin's willingness to abandon such a strategically vital ally marked a dramatic change by the Soviet superpower and a fundamental
paradigm shift A paradigm shift, a concept brought into the common lexicon by the American physicist and philosopher Thomas Kuhn, is a fundamental change in the basic concepts and experimental practices of a scientific discipline. Even though Kuhn restricted t ...
in
international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...
, which until 1989 had been dominated by the East–West divide running through Berlin itself. The last Russian troops left the territory of the former GDR, now part of a reunited
Federal Republic of Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated between ...
, on 1 September 1994.


Czechoslovakia

The "Velvet Revolution" was a non-violent transition of power in Czechoslovakia from the communist government to a parliamentary republic. On 17 November 1989, riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague, a day after a similar demonstration passed without incident in Bratislava. Although controversy continues over whether anyone died that night, that event sparked a series of popular demonstrations from 19 November to late December. By 20 November the number of peaceful protesters assembled in Prague had swelled from 200,000 the previous day to an estimated half-million. Five days later, the Letná Square protest held 800,000 people. On 24 November, the entire Communist Party leadership, including general secretary
Miloš Jakeš Miloš Jakeš (12 August 1922 – 10 July 2020) was a Czech communist politician. He was General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1987 until 1989. He resigned from his position in late November 1989, amid the Velvet Rev ...
, resigned. A two-hour general strike, involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia, was successfully held on 27 November. With the collapse of other communist governments, and increasing street protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on 28 November 1989 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. Barbed wire and other obstructions were removed from the border with West Germany and Austria in early December. On 10 December, President
Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...
appointed the first largely non-communist government in Czechoslovakia since 1948 and resigned.
Alexander Dubček Alexander Dubček (; 27 November 1921 – 7 November 1992) was a Slovak politician who served as the First Secretary of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ) (''de facto'' leader of Czechoslovak ...
was elected speaker of the federal parliament on 28 December and
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
the President of Czechoslovakia on 29 December 1989. In June 1990 Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. On 27 June 1991 the last Soviet troops were withdrawn from Czechoslovakia.


Bulgaria

In October and November 1989, demonstrations on ecological issues were staged in Sofia, where demands for political reform were also voiced. The demonstrations were suppressed, but on 10 November 1989 (the day after the Berlin Wall was breached) Bulgaria's long-serving leader
Todor Zhivkov Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( bg, Тодор Христов Живков ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 ...
was ousted by his Politburo. He was succeeded by a considerably more liberal communist, former foreign minister
Petar Mladenov Petar Toshev Mladenov ( bg, Петър Тошев Младенов; 22 August 1936 – 31 May 2000) was a Bulgarian communist diplomat and politician. He was the last leader of the Bulgarian People's Republic from 1989 to 1990, and briefly the ...
. Moscow apparently approved the leadership change, as Zhivkov had been opposed to Gorbachev's policies. The new regime immediately repealed restrictions on free speech and assembly, which led to the first mass demonstration on 17 November, as well as the formation of anti-communist movements. Nine of them united as the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) on 7 December. The UDF was not satisfied with Zhivkov's ouster, and demanded additional democratic reforms, most importantly the removal of the constitutionally mandated leading role of the
Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...
. Mladenov announced on 11 December 1989 that the Communist Party would abandon its monopoly on power, and that multiparty elections would be held the following year. In February 1990, the Bulgarian legislature deleted the portion of the constitution about the "leading role" of the Communist Party. Eventually, it was decided that a round table on the Polish model would be held in 1990 and elections held by June 1990. The round table took place from 3 January to 14 May 1990, at which an agreement was reached on the transition to democracy. The Communist Party abandoned Marxism–Leninism on 3 April 1990 and renamed itself as the Bulgarian Socialist Party. In June 1990 the first free elections since 1931 were held, won by the Bulgarian Socialist Party.


Romania

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) **Fourth Czechoslovak Repub ...
President
Gustáv Husák Gustáv Husák (, , ; 10 January 1913 – 18 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak communist politician of Slovak origin, who served as the long-time First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1969 to 1987 and the president o ...
's resignation on 10 December 1989 amounted to the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, leaving Ceaușescu's Romania as the only remaining hard-line communist regime in the Warsaw Pact. After having suppressed the
Brașov rebellion Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census ( 2011), Brașov has a po ...
in 1987,
Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ;  – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He was ...
was re-elected for another five years as leader of the
Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that woul ...
(PCR) in November 1989, signalling that he intended to ride out the anti-communist uprisings sweeping the rest of Europe. As Ceaușescu prepared to go on a state visit to Iran, his
Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
ordered the arrest and exile of a local Hungarian
Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
minister,
László Tőkés László Tőkés ( ; born 1 April 1952) is an ethnic Hungarian pastor and politician from Romania. He was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2007 to 2019. Tőkés served as a Vice-President of the European Parliament from 2010 to 2 ...
, on 16 December, for sermons offending the regime. Tőkés was seized, but only after serious rioting erupted.
Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...
was the first city to react on 16 December and civil unrest continued for five days. Returning from Iran, Ceaușescu ordered a mass rally in his support outside Communist Party headquarters in Bucharest on 21 December. However, to his shock, the crowd booed and jeered him as he spoke. Years of repressed dissatisfaction boiled to the surface throughout the Romanian populace and even among elements in Ceaușescu's own government, and the demonstrations spread throughout the country. At first, the security forces obeyed Ceaușescu's orders to shoot protesters. However, on the morning of 22 December, the Romanian military suddenly changed sides. This came after it was announced that defense minister
Vasile Milea Vasile Milea (1 January 1927 – 22 December 1989) was a Romanian politician and military general who was Nicolae Ceaușescu's Minister of Defence during the Romanian Revolution of 1989 and was involved in the reprisal phase of the Revolution ...
had committed suicide after being unmasked as a traitor. It was suggested that he only tried to incapacitate himself in order to be relieved from office, but the bullet hit an artery and he died soon afterwards. Believing Milea had actually been murdered, the rank-and-file soldiers went over virtually ''en masse'' to the revolution. Army tanks began moving towards the Central Committee building with crowds swarming alongside them. The rioters forced open the doors of the Central Committee building in an attempt to capture Ceaușescu and his wife,
Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
, coming within a few meters of the couple. However, they managed to escape via a helicopter waiting for them on the roof of the building. Although elation followed the flight of the Ceaușescus, uncertainty surrounded their fate. On Christmas Day, Romanian television showed the Ceaușescus facing a hasty trial, and then being executed by firing squad. An interim National Salvation Front Council led by
Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
took over and announced elections for April 1990, the first free elections held in Romania since 1937. These were, however, postponed until 20 May 1990. The Romanian Revolution was the bloodiest of the revolutions of 1989: over 1,000 people died, one hundred of which were children, the youngest only one month old. Unlike its kindred parties in the Warsaw Pact, the PCR simply melted away; no present-day Romanian party claiming to be its successor has ever been elected to the legislature since the change of system. However, former PCR members have played significant roles in post-1989 Romanian politics; every
Romanian President The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...
until the election of
Klaus Iohannis Klaus Werner Iohannis (; ; also spelled Johannis; born 13 June 1959) is a Romanian politician, physicist and former teacher who has been serving as the president of Romania since 2014. He became leader of the National Liberal Party (Romania), Na ...
in 2014 was a former Communist Party member. The years following the disposal of Ceaușescu were not free of conflict, and a series of "
Mineriad The mineriads ( ro, mineriade) were a series of protests and often violent altercations by Jiu Valley miners in Bucharest during the 1990s, particularly 1990–91. The term "mineriad" is also used to refer to the most significant and violent of ...
s" organized by dissatisfied
Jiu Valley The Jiu Valley ( ro, Valea Jiului ) is a region in southwestern Transylvania, Romania, in Hunedoara county, situated in a valley of the Jiu River between the Retezat Mountains and the Parâng Mountains. The region was heavily industrialised and t ...
miners occurred. The
June 1990 Mineriad The June 1990 Mineriad was the suppression of anti- National Salvation Front (FSN) rioting in Bucharest, Romania by the physical intervention of groups of industrial workers as well as coal miners from the Jiu Valley, brought to Bucharest by the ...
turned deadly after university students, the "
Golaniad The Golaniad ( ro, Golaniada , from the word ''golan'' meaning "hoodlum") was a protest in Romania in the University Square (Bucharest), University Square, Bucharest. It was initiated by students and professors at the University of Bucharest. The ...
s", held a months long protest against the participation of ex-PCR and
Securitate The Securitate (, Romanian for ''security'') was the popular term for the Departamentul Securității Statului (Department of State Security), the secret police agency of the Socialist Republic of Romania. Previously, before the communist regime ...
members in the 1990 Romanian general election.Deletant, Dennis. "Chapter 25: The Security Services since 1989: Turning over a new leaf." 2004. Carey, Henry F., ed. ''Romania since 1989: politics, economics, and society.'' Lexington Books: Oxford. Pages 507-510.
President
Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
branded the protesters "hooligans" and called the miners to "defend Romanian democracy". Viorel Ene, president of the Association of Victims of the Mineriads, asserted that: Over 10,000 miners were transported to
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
and in the ensuing clashes, seven protesters died and hundreds more were injured, although media estimates on the casualty figures were much higher. The opposition newspaper ''
România Liberă ''România liberă'' ("") is a Romanian daily newspaper founded in 1943 and currently based in Bucharest. A newspaper of the same name also existed between 1877 and 1888. History and profile The name ''România liberă'' was first used by a dai ...
'' alleged that over 128 unidentified bodies were buried in a common grave in Străulești II cemetery, near
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
. A few weeks after the mineriad, several medical students conducted research in Străulești II cemetery, discovering two trenches with about 78 unmarked graves, which they claimed to contain victims of the events.


Yugoslavia

The
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
was not a part of the Warsaw Pact but pursued its own version of communism under
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his deat ...
. It was a multi-ethnic state which Tito was able to maintain through a Yugoslav patriotic doctrine of "
Brotherhood and unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic poli ...
". Tensions between ethnicities began to escalate, however, with the Croatian Spring of 1970–71, a movement for greater
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
n autonomy, which was suppressed. Constitutional changes were instituted in 1974, and the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution devolved some federal powers to the constituent republics and provinces. After Tito's death in 1980 ethnic tensions grew, first in Albanian-majority
SAP Kosovo The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / ", sq, Krahina Socialiste Autonome e Kosovë ...
with the 1981 protests in Kosovo. Parallel to the same process,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
initiated a policy of gradual liberalization in 1984, somewhat similar to the Soviet Perestroika. This provoked tensions between the
League of Communists of Slovenia The League of Communists of Slovenia ( sl, Zveza komunistov Slovenije, ZKS; sh, Savez komunista Slovenije) was the Slovenian branch of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, the sole legal party of Yugoslavia from 1945 to 1989. It was establis ...
and the central Yugoslav Party and
federal army The Mexican Federal Army ( es, Ejército Federal), also known as the Federales in popular culture, was the military of Mexico from 1876 to 1914 during the Porfiriato, the long rule of President Porfirio Díaz, and during the presidencies of Franci ...
. In 1984 the decade long ban to build the Saint Sava Cahedral in
Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
was lifted, the backdown of the communist elite and a popular gathering of 100.000 believers on 12 May 1985 to celebrate liturgy inside the walls of the ruins marked the return of religion in postwar Yugoslavia. By the late 1980s, many civil society groups were pushing towards
democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a ful ...
, while widening the space for cultural plurality. In 1987 and 1988, a series of clashes between the emerging civil society and the communist regime culminated with the so-called
Slovene Spring The history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovenian territory from the 5th century BC to the present. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto- Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Slov ...
, a mass movement for democratic reforms. The
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights ( sl, Odbor za varstvo človekovih pravic) was a civil society organization in Slovenia, which functioned during the so-called Slovenian Spring between 1988 and 1990. It was founded in Ljubljana on 31 ...
was established as the platform of all major non-Communist political movements. By early 1989, several anti-communist political parties were already openly functioning, challenging the hegemony of the Slovenian Communists. Soon, the Slovenian Communists, pressured by their own civil society, came into conflict with the Serbian Communist leadership. In January 1990, an extraordinary Congress of the
League of Communists of Yugoslavia The League of Communists of Yugoslavia, mk, Сојуз на комунистите на Југославија, Sojuz na komunistite na Jugoslavija known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Yugoslavia, sl, Komunistična partija Jugoslavije mk ...
was called in order to settle the disputes among its constituent parties. Faced with being completely outnumbered, the Slovenian and Croatian communists walked out of the Congress on 23 January 1990, thus effectively bringing to an end to Yugoslavia's communist party. Both parties of the two western republics negotiated free multi-party elections with their own opposition movements. On 8 April 1990, the democratic and anti-Yugoslav
DEMOS coalition Democratic Opposition of Slovenia, also known as the DEMOS (in Slovenian: ''Demokratična opozicija Slovenije'') was a coalition of centre-right political parties, created by an agreement between the Slovenian Democratic Union, the Social Democrat ...
won the
elections in Slovenia At a national level, Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northe ...
, while on 22 April 1990 the Croatian elections resulted in a landslide victory for the nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led by Franjo Tuđman. The results were much more balanced in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and in Macedonia in November 1990, while the
parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...
and presidential elections of December 1990 in Serbia and
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
consolidated the power of Milošević and his supporters. Free elections on the level of the federation were never carried out. The Slovenian and Croatian leaderships started preparing plans for secession from the federation, while a part of the
Serbs of Croatia The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
started the so-called
Log Revolution The Log Revolution ( sh, Balvan revolucija / ) was an insurrection which started on August 17, 1990, in areas of the Republic of Croatia (1990–1991), Republic of Croatia which were populated significantly by Serbs of Croatia, ethnic Serbs. A f ...
, an insurrection organized by
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
that would lead to the creation of the breakaway region of
SAO Krajina The Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Srpska autonomna oblast Krajina, Српска аутономна област Крајина) or SAO Krajina () was a self-proclaimed Serbian autonomous region (oblast) wit ...
. In the
Slovenian independence referendum An independence referendum was held in the Republic of Slovenia (then part of SFR Yugoslavia) on 23 December 1990. Both the ruling center-right coalition and the left-wing opposition supported the referendum and called on voters to support Slov ...
on 23 December 1990, 88.5% of residents voted for independence. In the Croatian independence referendum on 19 May 1991, 93.24% voted for independence. The escalating ethnic and national tensions were exacerbated by the drive for independence and led to the following
Yugoslav wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
: * War in Slovenia (1991) * Croatian War of Independence (1991–1995) *
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
(1992–1995) *
Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
(1998–1999), including the
NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...
. In addition, the
insurgency in the Preševo Valley The Insurgency in the Preševo Valley was a year-long armed conflict between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ethnic Albanian separatists of the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac (UÇPMB). There were instances duri ...
(1999–2001) and the
insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia The 2001 insurgency in Macedonia was an armed conflict which began when the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) militant group, formed from veterans of the Kosovo War and Insurgency in the Preševo Valley, attacked Macedonian sec ...
(2001) are also often discussed in the same context.


Albania

In the
People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...
,
Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 unt ...
, who led Albania for four decades, died on 11 April 1985. His successor,
Ramiz Alia Ramiz Tafë Alia (; 18 October 1925 – 7 October 2011) was an Albanian politician serving as the second and last leader of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1985 to 1991, serving as First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Alban ...
, began to gradually open up the regime from above. In 1989, the first revolts started in Shkodra and spread in other cities. Eventually, the existing regime introduced some liberalization, including measures in 1990 providing for freedom to travel abroad. Efforts were begun to improve ties with the outside world. March 1991 elections—the first free elections in Albania since 1923, and only the third free elections in the country's history—left the former communists in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a coalition cabinet including non-communists. Parliamentary elections were held in
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
on 22 March 1992, with a second round of voting for eleven seats on 29 March, amid economic collapse and social unrest.


Mongolia

Mongolia (
Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto' ...
) declared independence from China in 1911 during the
fall Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September (Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Southe ...
of the
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. The
Mongolian People's Party The Mongolian People's Party (MPP) is a social democratic political party in Mongolia. It was founded as a communist party in 1920 by Mongolian revolutionaries and is the oldest political party in Mongolia. The party played an important role ...
took power in 1921, and the party renamed itself the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. During these years, Mongolia was closely aligned with the Soviet Union. After
Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal Yumjaagiin Tsedenbal ( mn, Юмжаагийн Цэдэнбал, ''Yumzhaagiin Tsedenbal'' ; russian: Юмжагийн Цэдэнбал, translit=Yumzhagyn Tsedenbal ; 17 September 1916 – 20 April 1991) was the leader of the Mongolian Peop ...
left in 1984, the new leadership under
Jambyn Batmönkh Jambyn Batmönkh ( mn, Жамбын Батмөнх, ; 10 March 1926 – 14 May 1997) was a Mongolian communist political leader and economics professor. He was the leader of Mongolia during its transition into democracy in 1990. Early life Bat ...
implemented economic reforms, but failed to appeal to those who, in late 1989, wanted broader changes. The " Mongolian Revolution" was a democratic, peaceful revolution that started with demonstrations and
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
s and ended 70-years of Marxism-Leninism and eventually moved towards democracy. It was spearheaded by mostly younger people demonstrating on
Sükhbaatar Square Sükhbaatar Square ( mn, Сүхбаатарын талбай, pronounced ''Sükhbaatariin Talbai'') is the central square of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar. The square was named for Mongolian's revolutionary hero Damdin Sükhbaatar after his death ...
in the capital
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
. It ended with the
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
government resigning without bloodshed. Some of the main organizers were
Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj (, ''Cahiagín Elbegdorj'' ; also referred to as Mongolyin Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and Tsakhia Elbegdorj; born 30 March 1963) is a Mongolian politician who served as President of Mongolia from 2009 to 2017. He previously ser ...
,
Sanjaasürengiin Zorig Sanjaasürengiin Zorig ( mn, Санжаасүрэнгийн Зориг; 20 April 1962 – 2 October 1998) was a prominent Mongolian politician and leader of the country's 1990 democratic revolution. His supporters called him the "Golden Magpie ...
,
Erdeniin Bat-Üül Erdeniin Bat-Üül ( mn, Эрдэнийн Бат-Үүл, born 1 July 1957) is a prominent Mongolian politician from the Democratic Party and a former Mayor of Ulaanbaatar City and Governor of the Capital City. Early life and career E. Bat-Üül w ...
, and
Bat-Erdeniin Batbayar Baabar (; born Bat-Erdeniin Batbayar [] in Tsetserleg (city), Tsetserleg, Arkhangai, in 1954) is a Mongolian retired politician, political analyst and writer. Education *1972 Graduated from a high school in Ulan-Bator *1972–1973 Attended a ...
. During the morning of 10 December 1989, the first public demonstration occurred in front of the Youth Cultural Center in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. There, Elbegdorj announced the creation of the
Mongolian Democratic Union Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Mongolia (1911–24), the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * Mong ...
, and the first pro-democracy movement in Mongolia began. The protesters called for Mongolia to adopt
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
and
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
. Dissident leaders demanded free elections and economic reform, but within the context of a "human democratic socialism". The protesters injected a nationalist element into the protests by using traditional
Mongolian script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic in 1946. It is traditionally writte ...
—which most Mongolians could not read—as a symbolic repudiation of the political system which had imposed the Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet. In late December 1989, demonstrations increased when news came of
Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...
's interview in ''
Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...
'', suggesting that the Soviet Union could improve its economic health by selling Mongolia to China. On 14 January 1990, the protesters, having grown from three hundred to some 1,000, met in a square in front of Lenin Museum in Ulaanbaatar, which has been named Freedom Square since then. A demonstration in
Sükhbaatar Square Sükhbaatar Square ( mn, Сүхбаатарын талбай, pronounced ''Sükhbaatariin Talbai'') is the central square of Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar. The square was named for Mongolian's revolutionary hero Damdin Sükhbaatar after his death ...
on 21 January (in weather of −30 C) followed. Protesters carried banners alluding to Chinggis Khaan (also referred to
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
), rehabilitating a figure whom Soviet schooling neglected to praise. In subsequent months of 1990, activists continued to organize demonstrations, rallies, protests and hunger strikes, as well as teachers' and workers' strikes. Activists had growing support from Mongolians, both in the capital and the countryside and the union's activities led to other calls for democracy all over the country. After numerous demonstrations of many thousands of people in the capital city as well as provincial centers, on 4 March 1990, the MDU and three other reform organizations held a joint outdoor mass meeting, inviting the government to attend. The government sent no representative to what became a demonstration of over 100,000 people demanding democratic change. This culminated with
Jambyn Batmönkh Jambyn Batmönkh ( mn, Жамбын Батмөнх, ; 10 March 1926 – 14 May 1997) was a Mongolian communist political leader and economics professor. He was the leader of Mongolia during its transition into democracy in 1990. Early life Bat ...
, chairman of Politburo of MPRP's Central Committee decided to dissolve the Politburo and to resign on 9 March 1990. Mongolia's first free, multi-party elections for a bicameral parliament took place on 29 July 1990. Parties ran for 430 seats in the Great Hural. Opposition parties were not able to nominate enough candidates. The opposition nominated 346 candidates for the 430 seats in the Great Hural (upper house). The Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won 357 seats in the Great Hural and 31 out of 53 seats in the Small Hural (which was later abolished) as well. The MPRP enjoyed a strong position in the countryside. The
State Great Khural The State Great Khural, ; "State Great Assembly" is the unicameral parliament of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, Foreign Service office of Montsame News Agency, , p. 40 It is located in the Government Palace. History ;1 ...
first met on 3 September 1990 and elected a president (MPRP), vice president (
Social Democrat Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
) who was also a chairman of the Baga Hural, prime minister (MPRP), and 50 members to the Baga Hural (lower house). In November 1991, the People's Great Hural began a discussion on a new constitution, which entered into force on 12 February 1992. In addition, the new constitution restructured the legislative branch of government, creating a unicameral legislature, the State Great Hural (SGH). The MPRP retained its majority but lost the 1996 elections. The final Russian troops, which had stationed in Mongolia in 1966, fully withdrew in December 1992.


China

While China did not undergo a revolution resulting in a new form of government in 1989, a popular national movement led to large demonstrations in favor of democratic reforms. Chinese leader
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
had developed the concept of socialism with Chinese characteristics and enacted local
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
reforms around 1984, but the policy had stalled. The first Chinese student demonstrations, which eventually led to the Beijing protests of 1989, took place in December 1986 in
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
. The students called for campus elections, the chance to study abroad, and greater availability of Western pop culture. Their protests took advantage of the loosening political atmosphere and included rallies against the slow pace of reform.
Hu Yaobang Hu Yaobang (; 20 November 1915 – 15 April 1989) was a high-ranking official of the People's Republic of China. He held the top office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1981 to 1987, first as Chairman from 1981 to 1982, then as Gene ...
, a protégé of Deng Xiaoping and a leading advocate of reform, was blamed for the protests and forced to resign as the
CCP general secretary The general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party () is the Party leader, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Since 1989, the CCP general secr ...
in January 1987. In the "Anti Bourgeois Liberalization Campaign", Hu would be further denounced. The Tiananmen Square protests were sparked by the death of Hu Yaobang on 15 April 1989. By the eve of Hu's state funeral, some 100,000 students had gathered at
Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen (" ...
to observe it; however, no leaders emerged from the
Great Hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages, and continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great ...
. The movement lasted for seven weeks.. Mikhail Gorbachev visited China on 15 May during the protests, bringing many foreign news agencies to Beijing, and their sympathetic portrayals of the protesters helped galvanize a spirit of liberation among the Central, South-East and Eastern Europeans who were watching. The Chinese leadership, particularly Communist Party general secretary
Zhao Ziyang Zhao Ziyang ( zh, 赵紫阳; pronounced , 17 October 1919 – 17 January 2005) was a Chinese politician. He was the third premier of the People's Republic of China from 1980 to 1987, vice chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 198 ...
, who had begun to radically reform the economy earlier than the Soviets, was open to political reform, but not at the cost of a potential return to the disorder of the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
. The movement lasted from Hu's death on 15 April until tanks and troops rolled into the Tiananmen Square protests of 4 June 1989. In Beijing, the military response to the protest by the PRC government left many civilians in charge of clearing the square of the dead and severely injured. The exact number of casualties is not known and many different estimates exist. The event, however, did make some political change; the most notable being that China started to open up its economy. This allowed for the country to bring in large sums of money and also started the wave of mass migration from rural Western China to urban Eastern China. The problem with the mass migration is that it has now started a deepening divide between the rural poor and the rich urban people.


Malta summit

The Malta Summit took place between U.S. President George H. W. Bush and U.S.S.R. leader Mikhail Gorbachev on 2–3 December 1989, just a few weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a meeting which contributed to the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
partially as a result of the broader pro-democracy movement. It was their second meeting following a meeting that included then President Ronald Reagan, in New York in December 1988. News reports of the time referred to the Malta Summit as the most important since 1945, when British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed on a post-war plan for Europe at the
Yalta Conference The Yalta Conference (codenamed Argonaut), also known as the Crimea Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the post ...
.


Election chronology in Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia

Between June 1989 and April 1991, every communist or former communist country in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia—and in the case of the USSR and Yugoslavia, every constituent republic—held competitive parliamentary elections for the first time in many decades. Some elections were only partly free, while others were fully democratic. The chronology below gives the details of these historic elections, and the dates are the first day of voting as several elections were split over several days for run-off contests: * – 4 June 1989 * – 7 January 1990 * – 18 February 1990 * – 24 February 1990 * – 25 February 1990 * – 25 February 1990 * – 25 February 1990 * – 4 March 1990 * – 4 March 1990 * – 4 March 1990 * – 18 March 1990 * – 18 March 1990 * – 18 March 1990 * – 25 March 1990 * – 25 March 1990 * – 8 April 1990 * – 22 April 1990 * – 1990 Romanian general election, 20 May 1990 * – 1990 Armenian Supreme Soviet election, 20 May 1990 * Czech and Slovak Federative Republic, Czechoslovakia – 1990 Czechoslovak parliamentary election, 8 June 1990 * – 1990 Bulgarian Constitutional Assembly election, 10 June 1990 * – 1990 Mongolian legislative election, 22 June 1990 * – 1990 Azerbaijani Supreme Soviet election, 30 September 1990 * – 1990 Georgian Supreme Soviet election, 28 October 1990 * – 1990 Macedonian parliamentary election, 11 November 1990 * – 1990 Bosnian general election, 18 November 1990 * – 1990 Serbian general election, 9 December 1990 * – 1990 Montenegrin general election, 9 December 1990 * – 1991 Albanian Constitutional Assembly election, 31 March 1991


Dissolution of the Soviet Union

On 1 July 1991, the Warsaw Pact was officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. At a summit later that same month, Gorbachev and Bush declared a US–Soviet strategic partnership, decisively marking the end of the Cold War. President Bush declared that US–Soviet cooperation during the 1990–1991 Gulf War had laid the groundwork for a partnership in resolving bilateral and world problems. As the Soviet Union rapidly withdrew its forces from Central and Southeast Europe, the spillover from the 1989 upheavals began reverberating throughout the Soviet Union itself. Agitation for self-determination led to first Lithuania, and then Estonia, Latvia, and Armenia declaring independence. However, the Soviet central government demanded the revocation of the declarations and threatened military action and economic sanctions. The government even went as far as controversially sending Soviet Army troops to the streets of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, to January Events (Lithuania), suppress the separatist movements in January 1991, causing the deaths of 14 persons. Disaffection in other Soviet republics, such as Georgia and Azerbaijan, was countered by promises of greater decentralization. More open elections led to the election of candidates opposed to Communist Party rule. ''Glasnost'' had inadvertently released the long-suppressed national sentiments of all peoples within the borders of the multinational Soviet state. These nationalist movements were further strengthened by the rapid deterioration of the Soviet economy, whose foundations were exposed with the removal of communist discipline. Gorbachev's reforms had failed to improve the economy, with the old Soviet planned economy, command structure completely breaking down. One by one, the constituent republics created their own economic systems and voted to subordinate Soviet laws to local laws. In 1990, the Communist Party was forced to surrender its seven-decade monopoly of political power when the Supreme Soviet rescinded the clause in the Soviet Constitution that guaranteed its sole authority to rule. Gorbachev's policies caused the Communist Party to lose its control over the media. Details of the Soviet Union's past were quickly being declassified. This caused many to distrust the 'old system' and push for greater autonomy and independence. After the 1991 Soviet Union referendum, March 1991 referendum confirmed the preservation of the Soviet Union but in a looser form, a group of Soviet hard-liners represented by Vice-President Gennadi Yanayev launched 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, a coup attempting to overthrow Gorbachev in August 1991. Boris Yeltsin, then president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR, rallied the people and much of the army against the coup and the effort collapsed. Although restored to power, Gorbachev's authority had been irreparably undermined. Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the Communist Party following the coup, and the Supreme Soviet dissolved the Party and banned all communist activity on Soviet soil. Just a few weeks later, the government granted the Baltic states their independence on 6 September. Over the next three months, one republic after another declared independence, mostly out of fear of another coup. Also during this time, the Soviet government was rendered useless as the new Russian government began taking over what remained of it, including the Kremlin. The penultimate step came on 1 December, when voters in the second most powerful republic, Ukraine, overwhelmingly voted to secede from the Soviet Union in a referendum. This ended any realistic chance of keeping the Soviet Union together. On 8 December, Yeltsin met with his counterparts from Ukraine and Belarus and signed the Belavezha Accords, declaring that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist. Gorbachev denounced this as illegal, but he had long since lost any ability to influence events outside of Moscow. Two weeks later, 11 of the remaining 12 republics—all except Georgia—signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, which confirmed the Soviet Union had been effectively dissolved and replaced by a new voluntary association, the Commonwealth of Independent States. Bowing to the inevitable, Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president on 25 December, and the Supreme Soviet ratified the Belavezha Accords the next day, legally dissolving itself and the Soviet Union as a political entity. By the end of 1991, the few Soviet institutions that hadn't been taken over by Russia had dissolved. The Soviet Union was officially disbanded, breaking up into fifteen constituent parts, thereby ending the world's largest and most influential Socialist state, and leaving to China that position. In 1993, a 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, constitutional crisis dissolved into violence in Moscow as the Russian Armed Forces were called in to reestablish order.


Baltic states

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania implemented democratic reforms and achieved independence from the Soviet Union. The Singing Revolution is a commonly used name for events between 1987 and 1991 that led to the restoration of the independence of Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, Estonia, Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Latvia and Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lithuania. The term was coined by an Estonian activist and artist, Heinz Valk, in an article published a week after 10–11 June 1988 spontaneous mass night-singing demonstrations at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds. Estonia Estonian Sovereignty Declaration, declared its sovereignty from the Soviet Union on 16 November 1988. Lithuania followed on 18 May 1989 and Latvia on 28 July 1989. Act of the Re-Establishment of the State of Lithuania, Lithuania declared full independence on 11 March 1990 and on 30 March, Estonia announced the start of a transitional period to independence, On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia, followed by Latvia on 4 May. These declarations were met with force from the Soviet Union in early 1991, in confrontations known as the January Events (Lithuania), "January Events" in Lithuania and "The Barricades" in Latvia. The Baltic states contended that their incorporation into the Soviet Union had been illegal under both international law and their own law, and they were reasserting an independence that still legally existed. Soon after the launching of the August coup, Estonia and Latvia declared full independence. By the time the coup failed, the USSR was no longer unified enough to mount a forceful resistance, and it recognized the independence of the Baltic states on 6 September 1991.


Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova

* declared full independence from the USSR on 25 August 1991. The main political changes of the early 1990s were driven by the Belarusian Popular Front and its fraction in the Supreme Soviet of Belarus. A few years later, a new post-communist leader, Alexander Lukashenko, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, obtained power. After a short period, he increased his power as a result of two controversial referendums (1995–96) and has been criticized for Human rights in Belarus, repressing political opposition ever since. * participated in the War of Transnistria between Moldova and Russian-connected forces in the separatist region of Transnistria. Communists came back to power in a 2001 election under Vladimir Voronin, but faced 2009 Moldova civil unrest, civil unrest in 2009 over accusations of rigged elections. * had Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, restored its independence in August 1991, after it lost its independence, as the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic, in 1919. Presidencies of former communists Leonid Kravchuk and Leonid Kuchma were followed by the Orange Revolution in 2004, in which Ukrainians elected Viktor Yushchenko (also a former member of CPSU). Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, was the focal point of the movement's campaign of
civil resistance Civil resistance is political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: i ...
, with thousands of protesters demonstrating daily.


Transcaucasia

All countries in the region regained their independence in 1991 following the takeover by the Red Army in 1920–21. * and the North Caucasus have been marred by ethnic and sectarian violence since the collapse of the USSR. In April 1989 the Soviet Army April 9 tragedy, massacred demonstrators in Tbilisi; in November 1989, the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, Georgian SSR officially condemned the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Democracy activist Zviad Gamsakhurdia served as president from 1991 to 1992. Russia aided break-away republics in wars in 1991−1992 South Ossetia War, South Ossetia and War in Abkhazia (1992−1993), Abkhazia during the early 1990s, conflicts that have periodically reemerged, and Russia has accused Georgia of supporting Chechen rebels during the First Chechen War, Chechen wars. A coup d'état installed former communist leader Eduard Shevardnadze as President of Georgia until the Rose Revolution in 2003. * 's independence struggle included violence as the First Nagorno-Karabakh War was fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia became increasingly militarized (with the ascendancy of Kocharian, a former president of Nagorno-Karabakh, often viewed as a milestone), while elections have since been increasingly controversial, and government corruption became rifer. After Kocharyan, notably, Serzh Sargsyan ascended to power. Sargsyan is often noted as the "founder of the Armenian and Karabakh militaries" and was, in the past, defense minister and national security minister. * 's Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, Popular Front Party won the first elections with the self-described pro-Western, populist nationalist Elchibey. However, Elchibey planned to end Moscow's advantage in the harvesting of Azeri oil and build much stronger links with Turkey and Europe, and as a result was overthrown by former communists in a coup backed by Russia and Iran (which viewed the new country as a compelling threat, with territorial ambitions within Iranian borders and also being a strong economic rival). Mutallibov rose to power, but he was soon destabilized and eventually ousted due to popular frustration with his perceived incompetence, corruption and improper handling of the war with Armenia. Azerbaijani KGB and Azerbaijani SSR leader Heydar Aliyev captured power and remained president until he transferred the presidency to his son in 2003. The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was fought between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and has largely defined the fates of both countries. However, unlike Armenia, which remains a strong Russian ally, Azerbaijan has begun, since Russia's 2008 war with Georgia, to foster better relations with Turkey and other Western nations, while lessening ties with Russia.


Chechnya

In Chechnya (an Autonomous republics of the Soviet Union, autonomous republic within Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR that had a strong desire for independence), using tactics partly copied from the Baltics, anti-communist coalition forces led by former Soviet general Dzhokhar Dudayev staged a largely bloodless revolution, and ended up forcing the resignation of the communist republican president. Dudayev was elected in a landslide in the following election and in November 1991 he proclaimed Checheno-Ingushetia's independence as the Republic of Ichkeria. Ingushetia voted to leave the union with Chechnya, and was allowed to do so (thus it became the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria). Due to Dudayev's desire to exclude Moscow from all oil deals, Yeltsin backed a failed coup against him in 1993. In 1994, Chechnya, with only marginal recognition (one country: Georgia, which was revoked soon after the coup landing Shevardnadze in power), was invaded by Russia, spurring the First Chechen War. The Chechens, with considerable assistance from the populations of both former-Soviet countries and from Sunni Muslim countries repelled this invasion and a peace treaty was signed in 1997. However, Chechnya became increasingly anarchic, largely due to both the political and physical destruction of the state during the invasion, and general Shamil Basaev, having evaded all control by the central government, conducted raids into neighboring Dagestan, which Russia used as a pretext for reinvading Ichkeria. Ichkeria was then reincorporated into Russia as Chechnya again.


Central Asia

* 's independence struggle began with the Jeltoqsan uprising in 1986. Former communist leader Nursultan Nazarbayev has been in power from 1990 when he started serving as Kazakh SSR, President of Kazakh SSR until his retirement from his position in 2019. * 's Askar Akayev retained power until the Tulip Revolution in 2005. * 's Rahmon Nabiyev retained power, which led to the civil war in Tajikistan. Emomali Rahmon has succeeded Nabiyev and has retained power since 1992. * 's Saparmurat Niyazov retained power until his death in 2006 and was criticized as one of the world's most totalitarian and repressive leaders, maintaining his own cult of personality. Niyazov's successor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov initially eased changes made by Niyazov before starting his very own cult of personality. * 's Islam Karimov retained power until his death in 2016 and was widely criticized for repressing the political opposition throughout his tenure.


Post-Soviet conflicts

Some of the more notable post-Soviet conflicts include the Tajikistani Civil War, the First Nagorno-Karabakh War, the War of Transnistria, the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War, the First Chechen War, the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), War in Abkhazia, the Ossetian–Ingush conflict, the 2014 Crimean Crisis, Crimea and War in Donbas (2014–2022), Donbass conflicts, and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ethnic conflicts in the former Soviet Union, and their potential for triggering serious interstate conflicts, posed a major threat to regional and international security for years ahead.


Other events


Communist and socialist countries

Reforms in the Soviet Union and its allied countries also led to dramatic changes to communist and Socialist states outside of Europe. Countries that retained socialist-styled economies and government structures beyond 1991: * – China remained under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, whilst continuing far-reaching economic reforms. * – Cuba remained under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba and retained a socialist planned economy. * – Economic liberalisation in India, Indian economic reforms were launched in 1991. Poverty reduced from 36 percent in 1993-94 to 24.1 percent in 1999-2000. * – Laos remained under the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and retained many socialist economic policies. * History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi#Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977-2011), Libya – Libya remained governed according to Muammar Gaddafi's socialist Third International Theory, and retained a socialist planned economy until First Libyan Civil War, 2011. It erupted with the Libyan Revolution. * – Syria remained under the leadership of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party − Syria Region, Syrian Ba'ath Party and retained a socialist (Ba'athism, Ba'athist) planned economy. * – Vietnam remained under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and pursued economic reforms that were much less far-reaching than China's and many socialist economic policies were retained.


Africa

* – 1988 October Riots, democratization through the 1989 Algerian constitutional referendum, 1989 constitutional referendum, victory of, an Islamist party, the FIS in the 1990 Algerian local elections, 1990 local elections and in the 1991 Algerian legislative election, 1991 legislative elections, leading to a military coup in January 1992, sparking the Algerian Civil War, until 2002. *
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
– The ruling MPLA government abandoned Marxism–Leninism in 1991 and agreed to the Bicesse Accords in the same year, however the Angolan Civil War between the MPLA and the conservative UNITA continued for another decade until 2002. * People's Republic of Benin, Benin – Mathieu Kérékou's regime was pressured to abandon Marxism–Leninism in 1989. * – Thomas Sankara was overthrown and assassinated in the 1987 Burkinabé coup d'état, during which power was taken by Blaise Compaoré, who reversed many of Sankara's social policies. Military rule was ended in 1989, with the establishment of the Organization for Popular Democracy – Labour Movement, ODP-MT and the Popular Front (Burkina Faso), Popular Front coalition, beginning a process of democratization that started in 1991 Burkinabé presidential election, 1991 and finished when Compaoré was finally forced to resign by the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. * – 1996 Burundian coup d'état * – The ruling African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde party cut down its Socialist ideology and foreign donors pressured the government to allow multiparty elections in 1991. * – democratization in 1992. * People's Republic of the Congo, Congo-Brazzaville – Denis Sassou Nguesso's regime was pressured to abandon Marxism–Leninism in 1991. The nation had elections in 1992 and First Republic of the Congo Civil War in 1993. * – Djiboutian Civil War in 1991 and democratization in 1992. *
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
– A 1987 Constitution of Ethiopia, new constitution was implemented in 1987 and, following the withdrawal of Soviet and Cuban assistance, the communist military junta Derg led by Mengistu Haile Mariam was defeated by the rebel Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, EPRDF in the Ethiopian Civil War and fled in 1991. * – The Third Republic of Ghana and the Provisional National Defence Council, military government of Jerry Rawlings are dissolved following 1992 Ghanaian presidential election, democratization in 1992, leading to the establishment a democratically-elected Rawlings government, government under the National Democratic Congress (Ghana), National Democratic Congress. * – A process of democratization begins with the introduction of multi-party politics in May 1991 and the 1994 Guinea-Bissau general election, first democratic elections being held in 1994. * – 1984 Guinean coup d'état * Democratic Republic of Madagascar, Madagascar – Socialist President Didier Ratsiraka was ousted in 1991. * – Moussa Traoré was ousted, Mali adopted a new constitution; held multi-party elections. Tuareg rebellion (1990–95), Rebellion in 1990 and 1991 Malian coup d'état, coup d'état in 1991. *
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
– The Mozambican Civil War between the socialist FRELIMO and the RENAMO conservatives was Rome General Peace Accords, ended via treaty in 1992. FRELIMO subsequently abandoned Marxism–Leninism in favor of democratic socialism with the support of the United Nations Operation in Mozambique, UN, held multiparty elections. * – The ruling Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe/Social Democratic Party cut down its Socialist ideology and foreign donors pressured the government to allow multiparty elections in 1991. * – Socialist Party of Senegal formed a national unity government with the Senegalese Democratic Party in 1991. * – democratization in 1991. * – The start of the Sierra Leone Civil War in March 1991, followed by a 1991 Sierra Leonean constitutional referendum, constitutional referendum restoring multi-party system, multi-party politics in August 1991 and a 1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état, coup d'état finally overthrowing the First Republic of Sierra Leone in April 1992. *
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
– 1988 Hargeisa-Burao offensive, 1988 offensive by Somali National Movement, SNM rebels during the Somaliland War of Independence leads to the acceleration of the Isaaq genocide.Interpeace,
The search for peace: A history of mediation in Somalia since 1988
' Interpeace, May 2009, 2.
Rebelling Somalis overthrew Siad Barre's communist military junta during the Somali Revolution in January 1991, with Somaliland later unilaterally Somaliland Declaration of Independence, declaring independence in May 1991.Interpeace,
The search for peace: A history of mediation in Somalia since 1988
' Interpeace, May 2009, 13–14.
Somalia has been in a constant Somali Civil War, state of civil war ever since. * History of Sudan (1986–2011), Sudan – The 1985 Sudanese coup d'état overthrows the Democratic Republic of the Sudan. After a brief period of parliamentary democracy during the late 1980s, the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état establishes a right-wing dictatorship under Omar al-Bashir. * – The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party cut down its Socialist ideology and foreign donors pressured the government to allow multiparty elections in 1995. * – Habib Bourguiba removed from power by Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in the 1987 Tunisian coup d'état, reforming the Socialist Destourian Party into the Democratic Constitutional Rally in 1988 and holding the 1989 Tunisian general election, first multi-party election in 1989. The Tunisian Communist Party abandoned communism and reformed itself as the Ettajdid Movement in 1993. * – The government of Milton Obote is overthrown by a coup in 1985, followed by the end of the Ugandan Bush War in 1986. With the rise of Yoweri Museveni to power, the National Resistance Movement cut down its Socialist ideology. * Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Western Sahara – cut down its Socialist ideology and the End of the Western Sahara War in 1991. * – The ruling United National Independence Party cut down its Socialist ideology and foreign donors pressured the government to allow 1991 Zambian general election, multiparty elections in 1991.


Middle East

* Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq – 1991 uprisings in Iraq, Uprisings in 1991, leading to Kurdistan becoming an autonomous region. The rest of Iraq remained under Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime until 2003 with 2003 invasion of Iraq, American invasion overthrowing his regime in 1 month. * Republic of Kuwait, Kuwait – Annexed by Iraq in 1990. Then liberated during the Gulf War. * Palestinian Territories – The Palestine Liberation Organization lost one of its most important diplomatic patrons, due to the deterioration of the Soviet Union, Arafat's failing relationship with Moscow and loss of a one-party government, and Suspension PFLP-GC of the PLO in 1984. First Intifada occurred from 1987 to 1991,Nami Nasrallah, 'The First and Second Palestinian ''intifadas'',' in David Newman, Joel Peters (eds.
''Routledge Handbook on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict''
Routledge, 2013, pp. 56–68, p. 56.
leading to the PLO recognition of Israel. * – South Yemen Civil War in 1986; Abandoned Marxism–Leninism in 1990; it Yemenite reunification, reunified with the more capitalist
North Yemen North Yemen may refer to: * Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen (1918–1962) * Yemen Arab Republic The Yemen Arab Republic (YAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية اليمنية '), also known simply as North Yemen or Yemen (Sanaʽa), was a ...
that year, though this later led to a 1994 civil war in Yemen, civil war. * – The Syrian Communist Party was divided to two parties in 1986. Syria participated in the Madrid Conference of 1991 and met its Cold War enemy Israel in peace negotiations. The Syrian Democratic People's Party changed from Left-wing to center-left.


Asia

*
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
– The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan, People's Democratic Party underwent National Reconciliation reforms from 1987, renaming the country to Republic of Afghanistan (from "Democratic Republic") and removing the red star of communism from the coat of arms. The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Soviet occupation ended in 1989, and in 1990 the ruling party renamed itself, removing all references to Marxism–Leninism in the process. The Soviet-supporting government Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), fell in 1992 and the party was dissolved; a new Afghan Civil War (1992–1996), Civil War followed. * – In 1990, a 1990 Mass Uprising in Bangladesh, mass uprising leads to the end of the country's military dictatorship and a restoration of democracy. The Communist Party of Bangladesh experiences a split between an orthodox Marxist–Leninist faction and a more democratic and libertarian faction. The country experiences an Internal conflict in Bangladesh, internal conflict, driven by the rise of Islamism since 1989. * Burmese Way to Socialism, Burma – The 8888 Uprising in 1988 saw the demise of the Burma Socialist Programme Party, but failed to bring democracy, although Marxism was abandoned. The country was led by a military government under the State Peace and Development Council until 2011, following 2010 Burmese general election, 2010 elections viewed by many Western countries as fraudulent. End of the Communist insurgency in Myanmar, communist insurgency in 1989. * People's Republic of Kampuchea, Cambodia – The Vietnam-supported government, which had been in power since the Cambodian–Vietnamese War, fall of the Khmer Rouge, lost power following UN-sponsored United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, elections in 1993, the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, CGDK and the Party of Democratic Kampuchea were dissolved in 1993. * – The Chinese Communist Party began implementing Chinese economic reform, liberalizing economic reforms during the late 1970s under
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. After CC ...
. However, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, pro-democracy protests of 1989 were crushed by the People's Liberation Army, military. Western countries imposed arms embargoes on China. 1987–1989 Tibetan unrest, Unrest in Tibet in 1987. The United Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan, URFET and the East Turkestan People's Revolutionary Party, ETPRP was dissolved. * – Defeat of the Indian National Congress in the 1989 Indian general election. The Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress was dissolved in 1989, Tripura National Volunteers was dissolved in 1988 and Hmar People's Convention was dissolved in 1986. Beginning of the Insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989. The Naxalite–Maoist insurgency continued into the 21st century, while the Communist Party of India (Marxist) remain a major political force in the state of Kerala. * – Remained communist under the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. Laos was forced to ask France and Japan for emergency assistance, and also to ask the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for aid. Finally, in 1989, Kaisôn visited Beijing to confirm the restoration of friendly relations, and to secure Chinese aid. The red star and the hammer and sickle was taken out from the crest in 1991. * – Kim Il-sung died in 1994, passing power to his son Kim Jong-il. Unprecedented floods and the dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the North Korean famine, which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 2.5 million to 3 million North Koreans. All references to Marxism–Leninism were absolutely replaced by Juche in 2009, thus signifying an apparent downplaying of the role of communism in North Korea. North Korea is still a single-party totalitarian state. * – End of the second 1987–89 JVP insurrection, communist insurgrency by the communist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and the death of its leaders, but the Sri Lankan Civil War, Civil War continues until 2009. * – The Communist Party of Vietnam has undertaken Doi Moi reforms since 1986, liberalizing certain sectors of the economy in a manner similar to China. Vietnam is still a single-party communist state.


Latin America

* – The end of Soviet subsidies led to the Special Period. An August 1994 protest in Cuba, unsuccessful protest was held in 1994, in which thousands of Cubans took to the streets around the Malecón, Havana, Malecón in Havana to demand freedom and express frustration with the government. Cuba is still a single-party communist state. * – After the death of Forbes Burnham in 1985, his successor Desmond Hoyte oversaw a period of democratization and the first free elections were 1992 Guyanese general election, held in October 1992,Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p363 during which the People's Progressive Party (Guyana), People's Progressive Party of Cheddi Jagan was elected. * – End of the Contra War, Daniel Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front, Sandinista lost the multi-party 1990 Nicaraguan general election, elections in 1990, and the National Opposition Union won. * – democratization in 1987 and Suriname Guerrilla War 1986–1992.


Oceania

* – Vanua'aku Pati lost the multi-party elections in 1991, and the Union of Moderate Parties won. Voter turnout was 71%.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p842


Other countries

Many Soviet-supported political parties and militant groups around the world suffered from demoralization and loss of financing. * – The Communist Party of Australia was dissolved in 1991. * – The Communist Party of Austria lost its East German financing and 250 million euros in assets. * – The Communist Party of Belgium was divided to two parties in 1989. * – The Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin was dissolved in 1991. * - In 1990 the Communist Party of Canada was de-registered and had its assets seized, forcing it to begin an ultimately successful thirteen-year political and legal battle to maintain registration of small political parties in Canada known as ''Figueroa v. Canada'', thus changing the legal definition of a political party in Canada in 2003 and now operates without any elected political representation. * – 1993 Equatorial Guinean legislative election, first multi-party elections in 1993. * – The Finnish People's Democratic League was dissolved in 1990 and the bankrupt Communist Party of Finland collapsed in 1992, and absorbed to the Left Alliance (Finland), Left Alliance. * – The collapse of the Eastern Bloc came as a shock to the French Communist Party. The crisis is called ''la mutation''. Fusion of the Unified Socialist Party (France), Unified Socialist Party with the New Left for Socialism, Ecology and Self-management for Red and Green Alternatives in 1989. * – 1994 Gambian coup d'état * – The German Communist Party lost its East German financing and declined significantly and the Communist League (West Germany), Communist League was dissolved. The Red Army Faction lost its long-term supporter, the
Stasi The Ministry for State Security, commonly known as the (),An abbreviation of . was the Intelligence agency, state security service of the East Germany from 1950 to 1990. The Stasi's function was similar to the KGB, serving as a means of maint ...
, after the
fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
. * – The Organisation of Marxist–Leninist Communists of Greece was dissolved in 1993 and merged into the Movement for a United Communist Party of Greece. Greek Left was dissolved in 1992. * – democratization in 1990. * – The Communist Party of Ireland declined significantly. Democratic Socialist Party (Ireland), Democratic Socialist Party was dissolved. * – The collapse caused the Italian Communist Party to reform itself, creating two new groups, the larger Democratic Party of the Left and the smaller Communist Refoundation Party. The disappearance of the Communist party in part led to profound changes within the Italian political party system in 1992–1994 and collapse of the Radical Party (Italy), Radical Party in 1989 and the Italian Socialist Party in 1994. Disintegration of the Red Brigades in 1988. * – The Japanese Communist Party became gradually influenced by Eurocommunism and issued a statement titled "We welcome the end of a great historical evil of imperialism and hegemonism". As a result, the JCP survived the post-Cold War decline of communist parties in the Western Bloc, and remain one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. * – End of the Lebanese Civil War, Civil War * – First Liberian Civil War * – The Communist Party of Luxembourg declined significantly. * – The Malayan Communist Party laid down its arms in 1989, ending an Communist insurgency in Malaysia (1968–89), insurgency that had lasted decades. * – the failed 1988 Maldives coup d'état * – The Mexican Communist Party and a number of other communist parties were dissolved in 1989 and absorbed first into the Mexican Socialist Party and then into the Party of the Democratic Revolution. And collapse of the Socialist Mexican Party in 1989. * Kingdom of Nepal, Nepal – The Communist Party of Nepal (Janamukhi) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) was dissolved in 1990. * – The Communist Party of the Netherlands was dissolved in 1991 and absorbed to the GreenLeft. League of Communists in the Netherlands was dissolved in 1992. * – democratization in 1991, but 1996 Nigerien coup d'état, Coup d'état in 1996. * – 1985 Nigerian coup d'état, Coup d'état in 1985. * – The Communist Party of Norway changed their pro-Soviet line. * – The Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman was dissolved in 1992. * – The Communist Party of the Philippines experienced criticism and the debates that ensued between the leading party cadres resulted to the expulsion of advocates of "left and right opportunism" notably forming the so-called "rejectionists" and "reaffirmist" factions. Those who affirmed the Maoist orthodoxy were called the "Reaffirmists", or RA, while those who rejected the document were called "Rejectionists" or RJ. In July 1993, the Komiteng Rehiyon ng Manila-Rizal (KRMR), one of the Rejectionists, declared its autonomy from the central leadership. Within a few months, several of the Party's regional formations and bureaus followed suit, permanently formalizing and deepening the schism. * – The Sammarinese Communist Party was dissolved in 1990. * – The Barisan Sosialis was dissolved in 1988. * – The Workers' Party of Spain–Communist Unity was dissolved in 1991. Alternative Left (Spain), Alternative Left was dissolved in 1993. Communist Party of Spain (Marxist–Leninist) (historical) was dissolved in 1992. The Communist Party of Galicia (Revolutionary Marxist) was dissolved in 1989. * – The Communist Association of Norrköping was dissolved in 1990 and Kommunistiska Förbundet Marxist-Leninisterna ceased to function as nationwide party. The pro-Albanian Kommunistiska Partiet i Sverige and the Maoist Communist Workers' Party of Sweden were dissolved in 1993. The main leftist party, Vänsterpartiet kommunisterna, VPK (Left Party – Communists), abandoned the communist part of its name, and became simply Vänsterpartiet (Left Party). * – The Communist Labour Party of Turkey was split. * – The Communist Party of Great Britain was dissolved. * – 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts Concurrently, many anti-communist authoritarian states, formerly supported by the US, gradually saw a transition to democracy. * – Held the 1989 Brazilian presidential election, first democratic presidential election since 1960 due to reforms started a few years earlier. * – democratization in 1991. * – 1990 Chadian coup d'état, Coup d'état in 1990. * – The Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990), military junta under Augusto Pinochet was pressured to implement 1989 Chilean general election, democratic elections, which saw Chilean transition to democracy, Chile's democratization in 1990. The Broad Party of Socialist Left Merged into Socialist Party of Chile. * – The Colombian Constitution of 1886, conservative constitution of 1886 was Colombian Constitution of 1991, repealed in 1991. The 19th of April Movement, the Movimiento Armado Quintin Lame, Quintin Lame Armed Movement and most of the Popular Liberation Army gave up their weapons and began to participate in politics. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC continued its role in the Colombian conflict into the 21st century. * – The Salvadoran Civil War ended in 1992 following the Chapultepec Peace Accords. The rebel Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front, FMLN movement became a legal political party and participated in subsequent elections. * – democratization in 1991. * – The Guatemalan Civil War ended in 1996 and the rebel Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity became a legal party. * – Haitian Revolution of 1986 * - The Suharto regime received great international criticism for its role in the 1991 Santa Cruz massacre and continued occupation of East Timor, leading to US sanctions. Fall of Suharto, Suharto resigned in 1998 following mass protests, and East Timor gained independence in 2002 following the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum, 1999 referendum. * – democratization in 1990. * – Restoration of multi-party democracy in 1991 * – democratization in 1993. * – 1984 Mauritanian coup d'état; democratization in 1992. * – democratization in 1988. * – The Manuel Noriega regime was overthrown by the United States invasion of Panama, US invasion in 1989 as a result of his suppression of elections, drug-trafficking activities and the killing of a US serviceman. * – The dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner came to an end when he was deposed in a military coup d'état. In 1992, the country's new constitution established a democratic system of government. * - The internal conflict in Peru intensified under Alberto Fujimori, who was criticized for his increased authoritarian rule and human rights abuses until his downfall in 2000. The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement ended its role in the internal conflict in Peru in 1997. The Shining Path, responsible for killing tens of thousands people, shrunk in the 1990s, but continued into the 21st century. * History of the Philippines (1965–86), Philippines –
People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
in 1986 led to the downfall of
Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
. Communist rebellion in the Philippines continued into the 21st century. * – Rwandan Civil War in 1990 and Rwandan genocide, Genocide in 1994. * – Following the Soviet-Afghan War, Osama bin Laden, the founder of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, proposed to the Saudi monarchy not to rely on the United States after the Invasion of Kuwait, fall of Kuwait. Bin Laden later denounced the Saudi invitation of the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division and was eventually expelled from the country in 1992 due to the criticism. His citizenship was revoked in 1994. * – The June Democracy Movement's June Struggle, nationwide protests led to the downfall of the Chun Doo-hwan government in 1987, and the country's 1987 South Korean presidential election, first democratic elections. In 2000, North and South Korea agreed in principle to work towards Korean reunification, peaceful reunification in the future. * – Negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa, Negotiations were started in 1990 to end the South Africa under apartheid, Apartheid system. Nelson Mandela was 1994 South African general election, elected as the President of South Africa in 1994. * – In 1987 the ruling Kuomintang party ended its Martial law in Taiwan, strict martial law introduced at the end of the Chinese Civil War. Gradual Taiwan#Democratic reforms, democratic reforms led to the 1996 Taiwanese presidential election, first direct presidential election in 1996. * – democratization in 1993. * - The Northern Ireland peace process led to an end of The Troubles in 1998, with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. * – Following the end of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
, the United States became the world's sole superpower. It ceased to support many of the military dictatorships it had during the Cold War, pressing more nations to adopt democracy. * – Yemeni unification, unified with the communist South Yemen after the Yemeni unification, separation period (1967-1990) and also democratized in 1990, then Yemeni Civil War (1994), suppressed communist secessionist movement in the South in 1994. * – First Congo War, Civil War in 1996.


Countries that emerged into socialist-styled governments beyond 1991

* – Evo Morales led the Movement for Socialism (Bolivia), Movement for Socialism which led to the establishment of the socialistic Plurinational State in 2009 and ruled the country until 2019 Bolivian political crisis, his ouster in a coup. * – Kingdom of Nepal, Monarchy was overthrown in 2008 and the republic has been ruled by Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), Communist Party since then. * – Hugo Chavez led the Fifth Republic Movement which led to the establishment of the Bolivarian Republic in 1999 and ruled the country until his death in 2013.


Other impacts

* – In 1990, the Soviet Union finally permitted free emigration of Soviet Jews to Israel. Prior to this, 1970s Soviet Union aliyah, Jews trying to leave the USSR faced persecution; those who succeeded arrived as refugees. Over the next few years, some one million Soviet citizens migrated to Israel. Although there was a concern that some of the new immigrants had only a very tenuous connection to Judaism, and many were accompanied by non-Jewish relatives, this massive wave of migration brought large numbers of highly educated Soviet Jews and slowly changed the demographic nature of Israel. In addition, thousands of Beta Israel, Ethiopian Jews were Operation Solomon, rescued by the Israel Defense Forces in 1991.


Political reforms

Decommunization is a process of overcoming the legacies of the communist state establishments, culture, and psychology in the post-communist states. Decommunization was largely limited or non-existent. Communist parties were not outlawed and their members were not brought to trial. Just a few places even attempted to exclude members of communist secret services from decision-making. In a number of countries the communist party simply changed its name and continued to function. In several European countries, however, endorsing or attempting to justify crimes committed by Nazi or communist regimes became punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment.


Economic reforms

State run enterprises in socialist countries had little or no interest in producing what customers wanted, which resulted in shortages of goods and services. In the early 1990s, the general view was that there was no precedent for moving from socialism to capitalism", and only some elderly people remembered how a market economy worked. As a result, the view that Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe would stay poor for decades was common. The collapse of the Soviet Union, and the breakdown of economic ties which followed led to a severe economic crisis and catastrophic fall in the Standard of living, standards of living in the 1990s in post-Soviet states and the former Eastern bloc. Even before Russia's 1998 Russian financial crisis, financial crisis of 1998, Russia's GDP was half of what it had been in the early 1990s. There was a temporary fall of output in the official economy and an increase in black market economic activity. Countries implemented different reform programs. One example, generally regarded as successful was the "shock therapy" Balcerowicz Plan in Poland. Eventually the official economy began to grow. In a 2007 paper, Oleh Havrylyshyn categorized the speed of reforms in the former communist countries of Europe: * ''Sustained Big-Bang'' (fastest): Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia * ''Advance Start/Steady Progress'': Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia * ''Aborted Big-Bang'': Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia * ''Gradual Reforms'': Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Romania * ''Limited Reforms'' (slowest): Belarus, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan The 2004 enlargement of the European Union included the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The 2007 enlargement of the European Union included Romania and Bulgaria, and Croatia 2013 enlargement of the European Union, joined the EU in 2013. The same countries have also Enlargement of NATO, become NATO members. In Mongolia, however, the economy was reformed in a similar fashion to the Eastern European counterparts. Armenia, had declared its decision to join the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as to participate in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union. Effective from 2015, Armenia joined the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. Chinese economic reform, Chinese economic liberalization began in 1978 and has helped lift millions of people out of poverty, bringing the poverty rate down from 53% of the population in the Mao era to 12% in 1981. Deng's economic reforms are still being followed by the Chinese Communist Party, CCP today, and by 2001 the poverty rate became only 6% of the population. Doi Moi, Economic liberalization in Vietnam was initiated in 1986, following the Chinese example. Economic liberalisation in India, Economic liberalization in India was initiated in 1991. Harvard University Professor Richard B. Freeman has called the effect of reforms "The Great Doubling". He calculated that the size of the global workforce doubled from 1.46 billion workers to 2.93 billion workers. An immediate effect was a reduced ratio of capital to labor. In the long-term China, India, and the former Soviet bloc will save and invest and contribute to the expansion of the world capital stock.


Ideological continuation of communism

As of 2008, nearly half of Russians viewed Stalin positively, and many supported restoration of his previously dismantled monuments. In 1992, President Yeltsin's government invited Vladimir Bukovsky to serve as an expert to testify at the CPSU trial by the Constitutional Court of Russia, where the communists were suing Yeltsin for banning their party. The respondent's case was that the CPSU itself had been an unconstitutional organization. To prepare for his testimony, Bukovsky requested and was granted access to a large number of documents from Soviet archives (then reorganized into TsKhSD). Using a small handheld scanner and a laptop computer, he managed to secretly scan many documents (some with high security clearance), including
KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...
reports to the Central Committee, and smuggle the files to the West.


Interpretations

The events caught many people by surprise. Before 1991, many thought that the collapse of the Soviet Union was Predictions of Soviet collapse, impossible. Bartlomiej Kaminski's book ''The Collapse of State Socialism'' argued that the state Socialist system has a lethal paradox, saying that "policy actions designed to improve performance only accelerate its decay". By the end of 1989, revolts had spread from one capital to another, ousting the regimes imposed on Central, South-East and Eastern Europe after World War II. Even the isolationist Stalinist regime in Albania was unable to stem the tide. Gorbachev's abrogation of the
Brezhnev Doctrine The Brezhnev Doctrine was a Soviet foreign policy that proclaimed any threat to socialist rule in any state of the Soviet Bloc in Central and Eastern Europe was a threat to them all, and therefore justified the intervention of fellow socialist st ...
was perhaps the key factor that enabled the popular uprisings to succeed. Once it became evident that the feared Soviet Army would not intervene to crush dissent, the Central, South-East and Eastern European regimes were exposed as vulnerable in the face of popular uprisings against the one-party system and power of
secret police Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
. Coit D. Blacker wrote in 1990 that the Soviet leadership "appeared to have believed that whatever loss of authority the Soviet Union might suffer in Central and South-East Europe would be more than offset by a net increase in its influence in western Europe.". Nevertheless, it is unlikely that Gorbachev ever intended for the complete dismantling of communism and the Warsaw Pact. Rather, Gorbachev assumed that the communist parties of Central and South-East Europe could be reformed in a similar way to the reforms he hoped to achieve in the CPSU. Just as ''perestroika'' was aimed at making the Soviet Union more efficient economically and politically, Gorbachev believed that the Comecon and Warsaw Pact could be reformed into more effective entities. However, Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev, Alexander Yakovlev, a close advisor to Gorbachev, would later state that it would have been "absurd to keep the system" in Central and South-East Europe. Yakovlev had come to the conclusion that the Soviet-dominated Comecon could not work on non-market principles and that the Warsaw Pact had "no relevance to real life".


Remembrance


Organizations

*Memorial (society), Memorial, an international historical and civil rights society that operates in a number of post-Soviet states which focuses on recording and publicising the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
's totalitarian aspect of the past, but also monitors human rights in post-Soviet states at the present time, for example in Chechnya


Events

*German Unity Day in Germany, a national holiday commemorating the anniversary of
German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
in 1990 *Statehood Day (Slovenia), Statehood Day in Slovenia commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 *Independence and Unity Day in Slovenia commemorates the country's independence referendum *Public holidays in Georgia, Day of National Unity in Georgia is a public holiday commemorating victims of the 9 April tragedy *National Day in Hungary *Constitution of Mongolia, Constitution Day in Mongolia commemorates the country's transition to democracy in 1992 *Constitution Day in Romania commemorates the 1991 Romanian Constitution that enshrined the return to democracy after the fall of the communist regime *Public holidays in Slovakia, Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day in the Slovak Republic *Public holidays in the Czech Republic, Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day in the Czech Republic *Restoration of Independence Day in Latvia commemorates the On the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia, 1990 declaration restoring the country's independence


Places


Other

*''The Soviet Story'', an award-winning documentary film about the Soviet Union *''The Singing Revolution'', a documentary film about the Singing Revolution *''Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism'', a book and a documentary film based on the book *''Lenin's Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire'', a Pulitzer Prize-awarded book *''A Political Tragedy in Six Acts'', biography of dissident
Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then as ...
*''Right Here, Right Now (Jesus Jones song), Right Here, Right Now'', an international hit written by Mike Edwards and performed by his rock band Jesus Jones and released in September 1990 *"Wind of Change (Scorpions song), Wind of Change", a hit song by the German heavy-metal band Scorpions (band), Scorpions that celebrates Perestroyka and the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe


See also


References


Further reading

* Timothy Garton Ash, Ash, Timothy Garton. ''The Magic Lantern: The Revolution of 1989 Witnessed in Warsaw, Budapest, Berlin, and Prague'' (Random House, 1990). ** * Blejer, Mario I., and Marko Škreb, eds. ''Transition: The First Decade'' (2002) * * * * * * * Kenney, Padraic. ''The burdens of freedom: Eastern Europe since 1989'' (Bloomsbury, 2008
online
* * * * Ostrovsky, Alexander
Глупость или измена? Расследование гибели СССР. (Stupidity or treason? Investigation of the death of the USSR.)
М.: Форум, Крымский мост-9Д, 2011. — 864 с. ISBN 978-5-89747-068-6. * * Contains chapters on the Soviet Union (Mark Kramer), Czechoslovakia (Kieran Williams), Poland (Alexander Smolar), Baltic States (Mark R. Beissinger), China (Merle Goldman), and East Germany (Charles Maier). * * * * *


External links

*. *. Some of aspects of state national economy evolution in the system of the international economic order. * * * + Ergänzender Anhang A – F. ;Video of the revolutions in 1989 * {{Authority control Revolutions of 1989, 1989 in Europe 1990 in Europe 1991 in Europe Capitalism Cold War rebellions Conflicts in 1989 Decommunization Eastern Bloc Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Global politics Revolutionary waves, 1989 Turn of the third millennium