The end of the Cold War 1980-1991 Flashcards
When did Hungary take its fence with non-Communist Austria down?
1989
What happened in June 1989 after Solidarity was legalised in Poland?
They won the elections and Walesa became president
What did huge numbers of East Germans begin doing in September 1989 and through which country?
Leaving East Germany through Hungary
When did the border between East and West Germany open and what happened to the Wall?
1989 – it got ripped down
What was the “Velvet Revolution” in Czechoslovakia?
A peaceful revolution from communist to democratic rule
What happened to the brutal Communist President of Romania in December 1989?
He was hung by his own people
What reasons were there for why the Warsaw Pact countries began to act so independently (at least three reasons)?
Gorbachev said he wouldn’t uphold the Brezhnev Doctrine
Gorbachev had allowed freedom of speech and business in the USSR
The Cold War was ending
Their economies were very different and all very poor
How did Communist hardliners turn on Gorbachev because of the breakup of the Warsaw Pact?
They arrested him and tried to take power using force
What happened when Gorbachev announced his resignation as leader of the USSR on Christmas Day 1991?
The communist party was outlawed and Yeltsin took over Russia. All the parts of the USSR became independent countries.
