The Collapse of Communism, 1989-1991
- Poland had a history of liberation movements
- Lech Walesa had formed the solidarity movement of trade unions in 1980
- 1981 the gov't cracked down with martial law under General Jaruzelski
- 1989 elections were held in Poland the solidarity movement won 92% of the vote and 160/161 seats
- The solidarity leader, Tadeusz Mazowiecki became Prime Minister although Jaruzelski renamed President
- Dec 1990 Lech Walesa became Preisdent of Poland
- Hungary had been ruled by Janos Kadar since the 1956 Hungarian uprising
- After watching events in Poland they allowed free elections in March 1990
- The Democratic Forum won with Jozsef Natal as the Prime Minister
- Czechoslovakia protested during the "velvet revolution" Nov 1989
- After a nationwide strike the Communist party resigned in favour of Vaclev Havel
- In 1992 the Czechs and Slovaks decided to separate into two independent countries
- Romania had been ruled by Nicolae Ceausescu since 1965
- He ordered protesters shot in Dec, 1989, after two days the army refused order and executed Ceausescu and his wife
- Bulgaria had its first free election in June, 1990
- Albania became democratic in 1992
- Yugoslavia disintergrated into civil war in 1991
Interesting Fact
Some of the new countries have democratic governments while others are still under authoritarian rule.
Quote
"The clock of communism has stopped striking. But its concrete building has not yet come crashing down. For that reason, instead of freeing ourselves, we must try to save ourselves from being crushed by its rubble."
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn
-Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Subjunctive Question
What if communism had not collapsed?
Summary
Communism collapsed throughout Europe between 1989- 1992. Fisrt Ppland, then Hungary and Czechoslovakia and Romania following close after. Bulgaria in 1990, Yugoslavia in 1991 and Albania in 1992.