Based originally on the book Revolution 1989: The Fall of the Soviet Empire by Victor Sebestyen and hopefully added to as time and friends are willing.
Created by ACIDBraden on Mar 23, 2011
Last updated: 04/04/11 at 05:58 AM
Tags: cold war solidarnosc soviet union poland czechoslovakia romania hungary walensa east germany
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Though Havel does not actively pick the new government he is instrumental in forming the newly elected Czech government and will serve as its president.
On the same day of their trial Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were executed by firing squad.
General Victor Stanculescu, former Deputy Minister of Defense is given the task of organizing the trial of Dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
Popular uprisings finally engulf Romania and its hated government. Ceausescu is forced to flee and leader of the National Salvation Front, Ion Iliescu leads the new government and calls for "past leaders" to be punished.
Vaclav Havel returns to Prague and takes up the head of a united protest in Czechoslovakia.
At a peaceful rally commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the death of a Czech protester Jan Opletal hundreds are beaten and arrested by Czech police. It is reported that one protester was killed. While this was later proven to be a deliberate deception by secret police hoping to overthrow the ruling powers but retain power for themselves, its immediate effect was to galvanize Czechs against their government.
Hours after the Wall fell in Berlin Todor Zhivkov is removed from power by a coup.
By 10:45pm the last, and most famous of the gates in the Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, was opened.
East German press officer Gunter Schabowski announces on television that: "So, private travel to foreign countries can be applied for with out presentation of existing visa requirements, or proving the need to travel or familial relationships...People's Police district authorities....are instructed to issue visas for permanent exit without delay."
One of the last hard line Communist leaders, Erich Honecker is removed from office. He went quietly to his private villa and never entered the Reichstag again.
Tadeusz Mazowiecki is elected Polish Premier in the first semi-free elections in Poland. Though Walesa could have had the post he chose not to run and chose Mazowiecki instead. This was as much to appease the hardliners and Soviets as it was to distance himself from some of the hard decisions that lay ahead.
Shortly after Imry Nagy's reburial East Germans visiting family from the West, mostly in the Hungarian resort of Lake Balaton do not return home. Eventually their presence will create much tension between Hungary and East Germany. Ultimately the East Germans in Hungary are allowed to move West.
Shortly after Imry Nagy's reburial East Germans visiting family from the West, mostly in the Hungarian resort of Lake Balaton do not return home. Eventually their presence will create much tension between Hungary and East Germany. Ultimately the East Germans in Hungary are allowed to move West.
Imry Nagy, one time leader of Hungary and later scapegoat for the '56 uprising is reburied with full honors.
For the first time in Poland political parties not connected to the official State party were allowed to enter candidates. This was, however, on a limited basis and the majority of seats were to have been reserved for the ruling party
On this day the Hungarian government informed the Soviet leadership that they were going to remove the fence separating Hungary and Austria. The reply from Mikael Gorbachev was: "We have a strict regime on our borders, but we are also becoming more open." The photo is of East German refuges fleeing to Austria on August 19, 1989.
The last soldier of the Soviet Army withdraws from Afghanistan. Though half a world away from the Iron Curtain this event shows the Soviet willingness to stop intervention in other countries and dictation of policy while looking to their own problems.
After months of strikes in Poland General Jaruzelski agrees to a series of talks. These talks ultimately led to the the legalization of Solidarnosc and became an inspiration for other groups in Communist countries.
In honor of Jan Palach a student who twenty years earlier incinerated himself in protest of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia Charter 77 planes a memorial march in honor of his sacrifice. The peaceful march is broken with police brutality and arrests. The next day spontaneous uprisings take place and support pours in. Vaclav Havel, who was not part of the demonstration is arrested and sentenced to nine months. Over 4,000 Czech residents sign a petition calling for his release. This is an unheard of level of protest from within the country.
Hungarian leader Karoly Grosz prepares to declare martial law in the event of war with Romania and economic collapse. The dispute centers around Romania's treatment of Transylvanians and ethnic Hungarians inside Romania.
On orders of Prague Party boss Miroswav Stephan protesters in Prague are dispersed with water cannon. "There will be no dialogue." he declared.
General Secretary Gorbachev paid a visit to the United States. One of his first appearances was at the heart of Bourgeois Capitalism, New York City. He was greeted by large enthusiastic crowds, evidence of his popularity in the West...more than at home as it turned out.
Janos Kadar, one time opposition leader, then officially rehabilitated then made leader of Hungary is forced to resign. Officially due to ill health, the ill health of the Hungarian economy and worsening political opposition within and without force him to step down.
While not directly linked to the fall of Communism, at least politically, the disaster highlights the flaws in the system. Politically Gorbachev did not handle the issue well, counter to his normal policy of openness he tried to hide the disaster from the rest of the world.
This small, but officially tolerated group of environmentalist demonstrators stage a protest over the planned construction of a dam across the Danube. On this day they are met with tear gas and riot police. Due to exposure in the West and supporters in Czechoslovakia their numbers swell to over 10,000.
Mikhail Gorbachev is chosen as the successor to Constintine Chernenko. His appointment is arguably the single most important event in the end of communism. His practice of letting the Member States decide their own fate, and his refusal to meddle in their affairs opens the door for dissident movements in all of the formerly secure nations.
Fr Jerzey Popiełuszko a prominent and vocal critic of the communist regime in Poland was arrested and beaten to death by Polish security forces.
Lech Walesa wins Nobel Peace Prize. He does not go to claim it for fear of not being allowed to return to Poland, his wife, Danuta, accepts in his behalf.
Martial Law officially lifted in Poland however many restrictions remain in place. Most notably Solidarnosc remains illegal as do public demonstrations.
General Jaruzelski as both Defense Minister and Prime Minister of Poland declares Martial Law to control the activities of the trade union Solidarnosc. Most of the union's leaders were in Gdansk for a meeting and thus were easily arrested, mostly in the middle of the night while they slept.
General Wojciech Jaruzelski was appointed by the Soviets to replace Kania as the head of the Communist Party of Poland
John Paul II and Lech Walesa meet for the first time. While the Pope was reportedly not overwhelmed by Walesa in their initial meeting they went on to form one of the most important partnerships of the entire Cold War.
Though Solidarnosc had been in existence since May of 1978 it was an illegal organization. Thanks to the Gdansk Accords Solidarnosc was now a legal trade union in Poland. Unfortunately when Martial Law is declared in December of 1981 that legal status will be rescinded.
This agreement, the first of its kind in the Soviet Block, gave workers the right to choose their own union leaders, the right to form associations and the right to strike.
In response to Anna Walentynowycz's firing a general strike is called for. At first only a few hundred strikers demonstrate then Lech Walesa rises and unites the workers. Within hours over 50,000 workers in the Gdansk region are striking.
Anna Walentynowycz, a popular worker at the Lenin Shipyards in Gdansk Poland is fired from her job, she was five months away from retirement. Her firing is the spark that unites the workers and intellectuals in Poland.
Pope John Paul II made his first visit to his homeland in his new role as Pope. Though he agreed with Polish officials not to touch on political topics he did say: "I have come to talk about the dignity of man, of the threat to man, to the rights of man. Inalienable rights which can easily be trampled on - by man."
With the election of the former Primate of Crakow the situation in Poland takes on an international supporter on Saint Peter's Throne. John Paul II will do more from outside of Poland's borders to help gain independence from the USSR than most others.
The trade union called "A Founding Committee of Free Trade Unions on the Coast" is founded. Later the group will change its name to Solidarnosc (Solidarity).
The group calling themselves Charter 77 is founded in response to the arrest of the Czech pop group Plastic People of the Universe and other violations of human rights. Their purpose is "to strive individually and collectively for human and civil rights in our country and throughout the world." Their most prominent signatory of the original 243 signatories is Vaclav Havel.
The Plastic People of the Universe, a Czech pop band is arrested and sentenced to jail in a typical Soviet show trial. Their arrest spurs many intellectuals to protest, cautiously, this and other violations of human rights.
The Workers Defense Committee (Komitet Obrony Robotników) KOR was founded in response to a workers uprising in Radom Poland. Its aim initially was to support the families of jailed workers. Eventually the group went on to support other workers actions, most notably the Solidarnosc strikes. One of its main significances is that it was the first committee of its kind and it represented the first time that intellectuals united with workers against the State. One of its most influential founding members was Jacek Kuron, pictured here.
Officially called the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe these accords, signed by the Soviets and their allies. The benefits for the Soviets were that all post WWII borders and nations were officially recognized. The drawback, which took time to develop, was that the Accords guaranteed "...civil, economic, cultural and other rights and freedoms...". All of which were already in the constitutions of the communist family of nations. ultimately the signatures of the communist countries on the Accords would become a rallying point for dissident groups behind the Iron Curtain
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