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Charter 77- Czechoslovakia
a manifesto written by Vaclav Havel to call attention to human rights violations within Czechoslovakia due to USSR rule- initially 243 signatories, and in 1989 they began seeing wider public support. by then, the general pop was tired of hearing & seeing western prosperity while struggling behind the Iron Curtain with limited cultural and social developments -
FRG & GDR Agreement
both German states reached agreements for cultural exchanges & removal of land mines on their frontier, signalling a commitment to the status quo for both -
elections in El Savador
US contributed $6mil to Napoleon Duarte's campaign
also provided military assistance =determination to prevent spread of communism in western hemisphere post 1989, soviet attempts at global domination seemed less likely, and USA was willing to disengage from the anti communist stance it developed, particularly in latin america, where it had been fearful of communist expansion since Castro came about US relaxation & UN oversight of elections put El Savador on a path to democracy -
GDR only saw 5.2% econ growth
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Gorby abandons Brezhnev Doctrine
this rejection showed individual populations that they no longer had to fear the influx of troops from Moscow / other Warsaw Pact countries if they rose up against their govs it was clear by nov 1989 that gorby would not authorise the use of force against the reformers, and so he made possible the changes eastern europeans had long sought for, and paved the way for democracy in the region -
Gorbachev becomes General Secretary of Communist Party
prior member of Soviet Politburo
aims:
end Brezhnev Doctrine
withdraw from Afghanistan ASAP, although this decision was affected by US supply of weapons to the Mujahideen -
Period: to
Geneva Summit
general agreement for both sides to work towards a goal of cutting offensive nuclear weapons by 50%
plans also made for a provisional agreement on limiting & eventually eliminating medium range nuclear missiles
discussed collaboration to end nuclear proliferation to other countries & maintain control over weapons
discussions for ban of chemical weapons
reinforced acknowledgement of MAD & how gorby removed ideological split between east west- improved international relations -
Jaruzelski ends martial law & makes Solidarity legal
sept -
Period: to
27th Communist Party Congress
Gorbachev stated here the need for the Soviet Union's acceleration of Russia's economic & social development, otherwise it will be impossible to maintain their international position factors undermining their economic growth
- alcoholism
-lack of foreign investment
-state controlled businesses
-inflation & worker discontent -
Chernobyl Disaster
-
Period: to
Reykjavik Summit
re-established Soviet-US relations however nuclear tensions were distinctly present
reagan in favour of elimination of nuclear weapons but gorby wouldn't discuss until SDI abandoned- gorby became convinced that reagan doesnt intend to compromise
REGARDLESS, it was clear that both sides wanted arms reduction
human rights and humanitarian issues also discussed however no concrete agreements made in this summit -
Gorby announced decreased support for Angola
he announced USSR's intention to reduce support for the MPLA regime based on the desire to improve soviet-us relations and reduce soviet gov spending
despite this, ussr provided $1bil of arms to MPLA as usa continued to supply UNITA -
People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia established
established by Mengistu, signalling that the country would now be a fully Marxist country
it would be led by the Workers Party of Ethiopia, which continued to receive military & humanitarian assistance from the Soviet Bloc, including over 300 medical personnel from Cuba in the 1980s -
Period: to
Washington Summit
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty signed- most significant step taken to bring arms race to an end
ended use of all intermediate range ballistic & cruise missiles; those travelling between 500-5500km would be destroyed by june 1991
by 1991, USA destroyed 846 weapons, USSR 1846
significance:
- first agreement of removing a whole class of nuclear weapons
-no soviet demands ab SDI withdrawal in condition to treaty
-made no demands about retaining 100 SS-20 missiles to protect vs china -
Soviet withdrawal from Afgh
feb -
European Commission setting up mutual diplomacy w USSR
European Commission set up trade and cooperation agreements w individual Comecon members starting w Hungary
allowed countries in the Soviet orbit the ability to make their own trade agreements which contributed to the obsolescence of Comecon and made trade w the soviet union less likely part of Gorbachev's Perestroika & Glasnost -
Withdrawal from Afgh begins
gorby believed this would remove a barrier facing east-west relations
like nixon with vietnam, gorby wanted a 'peace w honour' outcome, achieving this more smoothly than nixon did by withdrawing in less time (last soviets withdrew in 1989) -
Bush becomes President
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Period: to
Moscow Summit
no headway made on START, although goal of this summit was a START agreement
instead focus was on cultural exchange & human rights- in total, Gorby & reagan signed 7 agreements inc fishing rights & student exchange programmes
reagan = public appearance in moscow state university, rejects his claim of labelling russia as an evil empire- gave out many supportive comments to the media outlets
tension remained on SDI- gorby believes that SDI programme was designed to put offensive weapons to space -
last soviet troops withdraw afgh
may -
Bush visits Poland & Hungary
July
emphasised for international stability and show US support for the economic and political reforms taking place in the two East Bloc countries
Bush wished to show US support for a movement toward the integration of Eastern Europe into the “community of nations” without provoking a backlash among Soviet and Eastern European leaders. -
Major reforms in Poland
feb
Polish gov spoke w Solidarity in an attempt to maintain power over Poland
3 major reforms:
- legalisation of non-governmental trade unios
-creation of position of president
-formation of a senate this pleased the USSR as it represented a step towards socialist rather than capitalist democracy -
Soviets agreed complete withdrawal from Hungary by 1991
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GDR econ growth 2.8%
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Demonstration in Wenceslas Square
in memory of the suicide of a Czech student
Havel & 13 other members arrested & jailed for organising this commemoration. yet this impact was counterproductive as it exacerbated more opposition movements, with protests not only against the political policies of the government, but also environmental policies
nearly 1/2 Slovakian rivers = polluted
3/4 water unsuitable for consumption
gov did bring about economic reforms in july however it was limited & insufficient -
Velvet Revolution
Czechoslovakia
1989 events coined under this revolution -
Hungary removed fence bordering GDR
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Lech Walsea demanded Solidarity-led Poland
this demand was met within a fortnight, under Tadeusz Mazowiecki
However, by the end of 1989, Poland was a multi party state with a coalition gov dominated by solidarity
Poland's successful transition to democracy was soon seen in other eastern european countries -
Long Live Dubcek protest
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the Baltic Way
Baltic states- Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
2 million citizens formed a chance across these 3 republics in commemoration of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact which had led to their annexation by the USSR
advocated for improved economic and political sovereignty & independence -
Hungary agreed to allow GDRs into FRG
crucial decision
agreed to open their frontier with Austria & allow East Germans, who could freely enter Hungary, to travel freely to West Germany
60k GDRs left Hungary to seek asylum in West German embassies there and a following 22k a few months after -
Honecker resigns
political opposition to the communist regime in gdr forced his resignation.
Egon Krenz became General Secretary of the Party & Chairman of the Council of State
- announced that GDR was going to implement democratic reforms & endorsed Gorby's ideas of perestroika, glasnost and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine -
fall of Berlin Wall
-
new travel law in GDR
the gov lost control over a public that was demanding fast change. the entire Politburo resigned
9th nov = new travel law
- authorisation of foreign travel without advance notice & free transit through border crossings into FRG
with this action, the berlin wall became an anachronism as east germans poured into the streets, headed to berlin and crossed to the west -
Brutal protest in Czechoslovakia
police attacked and beat students, prompting a popular outcry against the police and gov -
Civic Forum created
led by Havel- united opposition group in Czechoslovakia
put together the 'Programmatic Principles of the Civic Forum'- goals: state of law, free elections, social justice, clean environment, educated people, return to Europe & prosperity made communist leadership resign
28th dec = Havel elected as president of Czechoslovakia -
Malta Summit
No agreements signed
main purpose = provide superpowers an opportunity to discuss the rapid changes in Europe with the lifting of the Iron Curtain, which had separated the Eastern Bloc from Western Europe for four decades
it marked the lessening of tensions that were the hallmark of that era and signaled a major turning point in East-West relations, strengthening economic ties. Bush expressed his support for perestroika & glasnost and other reforms in the Communist bloc. -
Hungary elections
hungary's movement away from communism was peaceful and served as a model for other eastern european countries to transition into a democratic state -
Estonian independence
march -
Lithuanian independence
feb -
Latvian independence
may -
elections in Nicaragua
USA supported campaign of Violeta Chamorro gave her $1mil financial support
Venezuela also contributed to her campaign
US influence was pivotal in her victory her victory led to an influx of financial assistance from USA- $300mil for 2 years- which was fundamental as the Nicaraguan economy was wrecked by its civil war -
Germany reunified!
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START I Treaty
took place in 1991 Moscow Summit- final summit between USA & USSR
- agreed for nuclear technology to not be passed on to third party states -
gorby resigns
encouraged the Central Committee & all Party bodies to dissolve -
Commonwealth of Independent States formed
formed by Russia, Belarus, Ukraine leaders in Minsk -
USSR collpases