timeline over events which occurred in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe from 1985-1995.

By 19cburnett@blrv.org

  • Gorbachev introduces glasnost

    Gorbachev launched glasnost (“openness”) as the second vital plank of his reform efforts. He believed that the opening up of the political system—essentially, democratizing it—was the only way to overcome inertia in the political and bureaucratic apparatus, which had a big interest in maintaining the status quo. In addition, he believed that the path to economic and social recovery required the inclusion of people in the political process.

  • Gorbachev introduces perestroika

    When Gorbachev became head of the Communist Party in 1985, he launched perestroika (“restructuring”). His team was more heavily Russian than that of his predecessors.

  • Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces ( INF) Treaty signed

    The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) is a 1987 agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union (and later its successor states, in particular the Russian Federation).

  • Vaclav Havel elected president of Czechoslovakia

    As the Czechoslovak union faced dissolution in 1992, Havel, who opposed the division, resigned from office. The following year he was elected president of the new Czech Republic.

  • Berlin Wall Falls

    Nov 9, 2014 - The fall of the Berlin Wall ended 40 years of division between the capitalist west and the communist east.

  • Jozsef Antall elected prime minister of Hungary

    József Tihamér Antall de Dörgicse et Kisjene was born to an ancient Hungarian family from the lower nobility in Budapest on 8 April 1932.[2] His father, József Antall, Sr. jurist and civil servant, worked for the government in several ministries.

  • Germany reunification takes place

    The German reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic (GDR/East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG/West Germany) to form the reunited nation of Germany, and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23.

  • 1st general elections in Romania

    Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Romania[2] no later than the end of November 2016.[3] Elections will be held after new rules, following the amendment of electoral legislation during 2015.

  • Lech Walesa elected president of Poland

    Lech Wałęsa (/ˌlɛk vəˈwɛnsə/ or /wɔːˈlɛnsə/; Polish: [ˈlɛx vaˈwɛ̃sa] ( listen);[1][2] born 29 September 1943) is a retired Polish politician and labor activist.