Significant Events in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe between 1985-1990

By 18jcampbell

  • Gorbachev introduces glasnost

    Gorbachev introduces glasnost
    “Glasnost” means “openness” and was the name for the social and political reforms to bestow more rights and freedoms upon the Soviet people. Its goals were to include more people in the political process through freedom of expression.

  • Gorbachev introduces perestroika

    Gorbachev introduces perestroika
    Perestroika refers to the reconstruction of the political and economic system established by the Communist Party.

  • Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed

    Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed
    The agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, signed in Washington, D.C. by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. This was the elimination of their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles.

  • Jozsef Antall elected prime minister of Hungary

    Jozsef Antall elected prime minister of Hungary
    Antall led the MDF delegation at the talks preparing the country for the transition to democracy, and on October 21, 1989, he was voted president of the MDF. The MDF was a newly organized movement.

  • Berlin Wall Falls

    Berlin Wall Falls
    The Berlin Wall stood until November 9, 1989, when the head of the East German Communist Party announced that citizens of the GDR could cross the border whenever they pleased.

  • Vaclav Havel elected president of Czechoslovakia

    Vaclav Havel elected president of Czechoslovakia
    When massive anti-government demonstrations erupted in Prague in November 1989, Havel became the leading figure in the , a new coalition of non-communist opposition groups pressing for democratic reforms.

  • 1st general elections in Romania

    1st general elections in Romania
    They were the first elections held after the overthrow of the Communist regime six months earlier, and also the first public presidential elections. They were also the first free elections held in the country since 1937.

  • Germany reunification takes place

    Germany reunification takes place
    Cold War 1990
    East and West Germany reunite after 45 years
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    Less than one year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany come together on what is known as “Unity Day.”

  • Lech Walesa elected president of Poland

    Lech Walesa elected president of Poland
    As president, Wałęsa helped guide Poland through its first free parliamentary elections (1991) and watched as successive ministries converted Poland’s state-run economy into a free-market system.