The Late Cold War and the Fall of Communism HWH UNIT 12 CHAPTER 18.5 The End of Dtente Soviets invade Afghanistan, 1979 Reagan (1980) and Thatcher (1981) Solidarity in Poland, 1980 Lech Walesa Gorbachev and Reagan Glasnost openness Freedom of dissent Perestroika Economic restructuring More free-market Poland, Strikes in 1988 Elections in 1989 Lech Walesa, president Hungary Breach of the Iron Curtain, 1989 Open borders Refugees from East Germany Janos Kadar removed from power ( ) October, 89: Hungarian Republic proclaimed Free elections The Fall of the Berlin Wall Autumn, 1989 Refugees to Hungary Resignation of Honecker and free elections The Berlin Wall Falls, November 1989 German Reunification October 3, 1990 The Federal Republic of Germany Czechoslovakia, 1989 Soviet renunciation of 1968 68 upside down Vaclav Havel President Alexander Dubcek Prime Minister Romania: Violent Revolution Nicolae Ceaucescu The Collapse of the USSR The August Coup (1991) Boris Yeltsin Why did the USSR fail? Command economy Defense spending Internal division Reform-minded leader After the USSR The Commonwealth of Independent States (1991) Chinas Reaction: The Tiananmen Square Massacre, June 1989 Protesters peacefully demand reform Gorbachevs visit Crackdown, June 1989 Thousands killed??? No political reform in China