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Tiananmen Square Protest
In China, around 2,000 protesters were killed by People's Liberation Army tanks, although an official death toll was never released. Many protesters had been surrounding the area as far back as May 13, and the government had issued martial law to try and combat the vast amount of people in the square. When the protesters still did not cease, they opened fire. Link text -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall coming down was the people's symbolic unification of West and East Germany. The whole event started once the Communist Central Committee gave clearance for Eastern Germans to pass the borders into West Germany. Many people chipped away at the wall with hammer and chisel. Eventually, bulldozers and cranes and even East German soldiers would help demolish most of the wall, unifying East and West Germany in the people's soul.
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The Velvet Revolution
On November 17th, thousands of students gathered to demonstrate for international students day. The demonstration turned violent when riot police appeared and violently beat the protesters. The protest lead to more demonstrations and protests inside of the government. Eventually, the communist government was dissolved and Václav Havel became the president of the new democratic Czechoslovakia. -
Malta Summit
Meeting between George Bush and Gorbachov reversed many of the provisions from the Yalta conference from 1945. This event could mark the beginning of the end of the Cold War. This was the second meeting, the first being one with Ronald Reagan in New York in 1988. -
Romanian Revolution
After 21 years underneath the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanians tired of the communist dictatorship overthrew the government. After a few days of street fighting, the revolutionaries captured Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife and executed them, ending his reign of terror -
Lithuanian Independence
Lithuania was initially taken by the USSR in 1939. Locals complained about the absorption ever since. In 1989, Gorbachev stated that he would loosen policy on Western nations. The Lithuanians took this as acceptance of their declaration of independence. However, the Soviets reacted harshly and gave an ultimatum: renounce independence or face consequences. Lithuania became the first country to leave the USSR but by doing this, a military operation was launched in retaliation. -
Invasion of Kuwait
Iraq forces invade Kuwait on August 2nd, 1990. Around 2,000 troops and some tanks crossed the border. Once Kuwait became a providence of Iraq and was under it's control, mass executions and torture took place to any who resisted. Some executions were even public. In the United States, President Bush made the executive decision to go to war with Iraq. -
German Reunification
Since the end of WW2 in 1945, Germany has been divided into East and West, as well as being a major symbol of the Cold War with many notable events occurring there. But the symbol would be gone on October 3, or Unity Day as some may call it, when Germany would be officially whole again. While the Soviet party would disband over a year later, to many, the reunification of Germany marked the end of the Cold War. -
Miner's Strike of 1991
Tens of thousands of miners go on strike and ignore the demands of the Soviet Union. Driven by inflation and poor living standards, the miners stayed on strike for two months. This was the second of two strikes that happened in Russia. -
Fall of Soviet Union
A failed coup in August of 1991 led by Boris Yeltsin failed to overthrow Gorbachev but did succeed in diminishing his power and influence. Gorbachev subsequently resigned as head of the Communist Party and Boris Yeltsin banned all of their activities. Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from President of the Soviet Union and Boris Yeltsin became the president of the new Russian Federation.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zXChf5tEMI
