Unit 10: 1989: Nonviolence and the End of the Cold War
In the mid 1980s, the Soviet Union underwent extensive political and economic reforms known as Glasnost and Perestroika. Democracy advocates in several East European nations of the Soviet Bloc began to openly challenge communist authorities and communist rule. While the governments initially tried to suppress the opposition, they recognized their efforts were futile. In 1989, a series of fundamentally non-violent revolutions swept Eastern Europe and ended communist rule in these Warsaw Pact countries. Provisional democratic governments took control to arrange free and open elections.
The revolutions of 1989 helped mend relations with the West. In 1991, conservative communist officials in Russia staged a failed coup to regain control of the state. When the people of Moscow resisted these efforts, they revealed the declining power of the communist party. In December 1991 the Soviet Union officially disbanded and Russia's long experiment with communism came to an end.
Meanwhile, advocates for democracy in China, inspired by the revolutions in Eastern Europe, staged a major protest in Tiananmen Square in the summer of 1989. However, in China the government used police and military force to violently put down the democracy movement and reestablish firm communist control of the nation.In this unit, we examine factors that led to successful democratic revolution and analyze the broader social and cultural changes that came about in Eastern Europe and Russia after 1989.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 9 hours.
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- provide a concise historical narrative of the 1989 revolutionary events in Eastern Europe;
- examine the reasons why communist authorities were willing to sit at the negotiating table with dissidents in 1989 and 1990;
- interpret primary documents from the 1989 revolution in Eastern Europe;
- compare 1989 in Eastern Europe to the French Revolution and to the Bolshevik Revolution in terms of ideology, goals, and the uses of revolutionary violence; and
- analyze the outcomes of 1989 for Russia and the world.
- provide a concise historical narrative of the 1989 revolutionary events in Eastern Europe;
10.1: Nonviolent Revolution in Eastern Europe: The Historical Background
Read this essay. Then, write a paragraph that identifies the four factors the author sees as crucial in ending the Cold War.
Read the introduction by Michael Jay Friedman on pages 2–4 and "Paths to 1989" by Fritz Stern on pages 5–12.
10.2: Behind the Iron Curtain
Read the first part of this lecture (up to and including the paragraph which starts with the words "By early May 1992...") to understand how the Soviet Union was changing in the post-Stalin era. Read the links that discuss communist officials and dissidents to learn more about their role in Soviet politics.
Read parts A and B of this lecture. Lecture 17A has a section entitled "The Revolts of 1956", which is particularly important to understand. As you read this section, ask yourself the following question: what were the most important differences between the revolts in Poland and Hungary? As you study lecture 17B, focus on both the origins and the outcomes of the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia.
Read this lecture to understand the goals and tactics of Eastern European dissidents active before 1980. Review your lecture notes from 10.1.1 to analyze how the changing policies of the Soviet Union were related to the internal situations of the countries examined by the works in this subunit.
Read this lecture to understand the goals and tactics of Eastern European dissidents active before 1980. Review your lecture notes from 10.1.1 to analyze how the changing policies of the Soviet Union were related to the internal situations of the countries examined by the works in this subunit.
Read the final part of this lecture (starting with the paragraph that begins with the words "Outside the Soviet Union..."). As you read, consider the following questions: what were the most important reasons for popular protest in the Soviet Bloc in the 1980s? What role did economic, cultural, and international factors play? Which do you think were most important?
10.3: Democratic Revolution
Read this lecture. Focus on the following questions: why did communist authorities decide to negotiate with the dissidents in various Eastern Bloc states in 1989 and 1990? What were the most important aims of the dissidents? Which aims were shared across the Soviet Bloc and which aims were specific to each country? Why did the revolution turn violent in Romania and not elsewhere in the region?
Read this interview. Focus on the reasons why Solidarity sought to avoid a violent confrontation with the communist regime.
Read this document. What are Orban's most important claims about the possibility of a stable transition away from Communism?
Read these excerpts from the Bonn Embassy cable, focusing on the way in which this document envisions the process of reunifying Germany.
Read this article on pages 21–26, paying attention to the values and ideals implicit in Michnik's statements. What connections do you see between these and the values of the American and the French Revolutionaries?
Read Havel's New Year's Presidential Address. As you read, consider the following questions: how does Havel assess the effects of communist rule on Czechoslovak society? What does he see as the most important tasks ahead?
This letter was written by Romanian Communist party members to Nicolae Ceauşescu. Read it, and consider the following questions: how does their dissent differ from liberal democratic dissent? What similarities do you notice?
10.4: Outcomes of Eastern European Revolution
Read this article. Focus on the following questions: what were the most important problems of making the transition from communism to democracy? What policies did the new governments implement to enable the transition from planned to market economy? What were the most important social problems in the aftermath of 1989? What difference did it make that the 1989 Revolutions were nonviolent? To answer this last question, compare the outcomes of 1989 to outcomes of the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Unit 10 Assessment
- Receive a grade
Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.
- This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
- You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
- You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
