-
Jozsef Antall elected prime minister of Hungary
was the first democratically-elected Prime Minister of Hungary after the fall of Communism -
Vaclav Havel elected president of Czechoslovakia
was a Czech writer, philosopher, dissident, and statesman. From 1989 to 1992, he served as the last president of Czechoslovakia. -
Lech Walesa elected president of Poland
is a retired Polish politician and labor activist. He co-founded and headed Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served President of Poland from 1990 to 1995. -
Berlin Wall Falls
the Communist government of the German Democratic Republic began to build a barbed wire and concrete “Antifascistischer Schutzwall,” or “antifascist bulwark,” between East and West Berlin. The official purpose of this Berlin Wall was to keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany and undermining the socialist state, but it primarily served the objective of stemming mass defections from East to West. -
Gorbachev introduces perestroika
was a political movement for reformation within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during the 1980s, widely associated with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his glasnost policy reform. -
Gorbachev introduces glasnost
became general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985, he launched his nation on a dramatic new course -
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed
is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union . -
Germany reunification takes place
was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany to form the reunited nation of Germany, and when Berlin reunited into a single city -
1st general elections in Romania
The president is elected for a five-year term by the people after a change from four-year terms after the 2004 election.
