When Gorbachev stopped using Soviet force to prop up allies, local people in Eastern Europe pushed communist governments out in 1989.
Keep two groups apart. Poland, Hungary and East Germany were separate countries under Soviet influence. Republics such as Russia and Ukraine were parts of the USSR itself.
Gorbachev wanted less tension and fewer military commitments. So he stopped using Soviet force to keep allied communist governments in power. Local communist leaders could no longer rely on Soviet troops, and opponents had more room to push for change.
In Poland, talks and partly free elections in June 1989 brought Solidarity into government. Hungary opened its border with Austria, giving East Germans a route to the West. As people left and protests grew, pressure on East Germany's leaders increased.
The Berlin Wall had stopped people moving between East and West Berlin. Its opening on 9 November 1989 became the symbol of the collapse, but protests, people leaving, negotiations and local decisions drove the change. Elsewhere, communist parties lost their sole control of government. Most changes were peaceful, but Romania's was violent.
Germany reunified in 1990, and the Warsaw Pact ended in 1991. These changes ended Soviet control over its allies. They did not, by themselves, break up the USSR.
- June 1989
- Poland's partly free elections bring Solidarity into government.
- 9 November 1989
- The Berlin Wall opens.
- 1990
- Germany reunites.
Worked example: Same anger, different result
Why did resistance succeed in 1989 when Soviet force had crushed it in 1968?
- People had resented Soviet control for decades.
- In 1968, Soviet-led troops stopped change in Czechoslovakia.
- In 1989, Gorbachev did not send troops, so local protest could succeed.
Watch out for this
Soviet non-intervention alone explains 1989.
Gorbachev's choice opened the door, but local protests, elections, escapes and talks drove the change.
Check your understanding
Why did communist rule in Eastern Europe collapse in 1989?
- The USSR broke up first, freeing Eastern Europe.
- Local opposition could act once the USSR stopped using force to protect allied governments.
- Soviet troops invaded to install new governments.