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France
Revolutionaries storm the Bastille. “liberty, equality and fraternity.” Jacobin radicals gain control and begin their Reign of Terror, beheading thousands, until Napoleon arrives. -
Russia
Bolsheviks led by Lenin, soon to be followed by Stalin. The nation was exhausted by World War I and the new czar. Kerensky and his fellow democrats cannot hold off an uprising. -
India
Mohandas K. Gandhi’s “salt march,” in protest of the English salt monopoly in colonial India. Eventual independence means the breakup of British India. -
Cuba
Fidel Castro, backed by a middle-class movement. Disgusted with corruption and repression. Overthrows the American-backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. -
Iran
Then radical followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini take over, and mass executions ensue. The urbane Mehdi Bazargan becomes figurehead leader — for a few months. The Islamic regime remains in place 32 years later. -
Nicaragua
The leftist Sandinista movement, in coalition with disenchanted members of the middle class. Ousts the American-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The Sandinistas are opposed by “contra” guerrillas backed by the Reagan administration, and accused of abuses and corruption. -
Philippines
The “people power” or “yellow” revolution. Ousts the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos and, with American backing. Installs as president Corazon Aquino, widow of a beloved, slain opposition figure. -
Lebanon
The Syrian-backed Shiite. The assassination of a former prime minister, a killing believed to have been instigated by Syria. Force Syrian troops to withdraw from the country and the pro-Syrian government to disband.