Prior to Gorbachev, Soviet leaders regularly used force (sent in tanks) to suppress attempts for freedom within the Soviet bloc (Hungary 56 & Czechoslovakia 68) Gorbachev stopped sending in military forces to maintain communist control throughout Eastern European countries It was the beginning of the end of communist control of Eastern Europe & the Soviet Union
Turning Points of History video & GCSE activity for this section
Mikhail Gorbachev s reformist policies, glasnost and perestroika, had a telling effect not just on the USSR but the rest of the Soviet bloc. By the late 1980s, the winds of change were blowing through eastern Europe.
By the start of 1989, Soviet bloc countries were under enormous internal pressure to liberalise and reform. The people of eastern Europe took to the streets & urged their governments to follow Gorbachev s reformist policies glasnost and perestroika and relax their grip on society & the economy, calling for political & economic liberalisation & reform.
From Poland to Romania the Soviet bloc was gripped by strikes, protests and public demonstrations, most of them demanding political & economic reforms similar to those enacted in Moscow.
The socialist governments in this places had little option but to bow to public pressure. The year 1989 in particular was pivotal, as one by one the former Soviet states transformed into free & democratic republics. For the most part, this wave of revolutions dubbed the Autumn of Nations by some took place peacefully with little or no bloodshed
Poland was the first nation divided by the Cold War and it became the first nation to shrug off communism. Between 1980-89 the Solidarity movement under Lech Walesa protested for change Free elections in June 1989 with non-communist leadership in charge by December 1990
In May 1989, the government stunned its Soviet bloc neighbours by tearing down its border fence with Austria This allowed free transit between the two countries a gateway to the west Hungary s rollback of communism was fulfilled in March 1990, with the country s first free elections in more than 40 years.
Student demonstrations in Prague in mid- November quickly became public rallies and labour strikes. Within two weeks, the government bowed to pressure and redacted Czechoslovakia s status as a one-party state.
The Velvet Revolution, as it became known, concluded with the release from prison of liberal playwright Vaclav Havel and Havel s election to the nation s presidency on December 29th 1989.
Events in Europe in 1989 gave rise to large public demonstrations in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, in November 1989. By February 1990 the Communist Party had released its grip on power, leading to Bulgaria s first free elections four months later.
By mid-december 1989, the Romanian people had had enough of the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu A mass meeting in the capital, Bucharest, soon expanded into a revolution forcing Ceausescu and his wife to flee They were arrested days later, given a hasty show trial and executed, bringing one of Europe s worst Cold War dictatorships to an undignified end.
No event from 1989-90 was as significant to the end of communism in Eastern Europe as the fall of the Berlin Wall Mass demonstrations against the government and the system in East Germany begun at the end of September which forced Erich Honecker, East Germany's head of state, to resign within weeks
The new government prepared a new law to lift the travel restrictions for East German citizen. This allowed people to cross free between East & West Berlin November 9 th, 1989 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snsddb7kdkg
The fall of the Berlin Wall set in motion steps for the reunification of Germany. Internal borders, both within Germany and the divided city of Berlin, were quickly removed. In March 1990, East Germany held its first free elections, which produced a resounding defeat for the communists.
The two German states stepped up their political and economic co-operation, agreeing to a single currency (the Deutschmark) in July 1990. Work began on a treaty of reunification, which was finalised and passed into law in October. A general election the first all-german free election since 1932 was held in December 1990
The united Germany also became a member of NATO Due to Germany s role in World War II, there was resistance from many European countries and Israel towards a united Germany However, post-cold War Germany would dispel these concerns by becoming one of Europe s most progressive and economically successful states.
There were also great changes inside of the Soviet Union & in April 1990, Moscow passed a law allowing the remaining Soviet states to hold free elections on secession and independence. By the end of the year, the people in six states Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Armenia, Georgia and Moldova had voted to leave the USSR. The Ukraine, a region of great economic value, also declared independence in July 1990.
These changes did not please everyone, particularly hardline communists in the government, military and KGB. They were outraged by Gorbachev s reforms and the shrinking Soviet empire. In August 1991 they launched a last-ditch coup attempt, arresting Gorbachev & demanding the reintroduction of communist policies.
With resistance led by Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the coup did not have popular support and collapsed after a few days. By the end of 1991, the Soviet Union was gone, formally dissolved and replaced by a Commonwealth of Independent States.