Ch. 7 - End of Communism
Breakup of the Soviet Union (pp. 957-959)
1. Mikhail Gorbachev-
-first Soviet leader born after the Russian Revolution
-brought an end to communist dominance of the Soviet Union
-survived an attempted coup
2. Glasnost-
-Gorbachev’s policy of creating more openness within the Soviet government
-open relations and communication with Russian people and western nations
-allowed for freedom of the press, criticizing the government and an end to government censorship
3. Perestroika-
-Soviet policy of economic reform
-moving from a communist economy to a free-market economy
4. Boris Yeltsin-
-put down the militaries coup attempt
-elected the first President in democratic Russia from 1991-1999
-some blame him for difficult transitions from communism to democracy
5. Baltic Republics-
-nations the Soviet Union annexed following World War II
-sought independence by breaking way from Russia
-Russia made an effort to maintain control but later granted all Soviet Socialists Republics their independence
6. Commonwealth of Independent States-
-comprised of former Soviet Republics
-economic organization similar to EU in western Europe
7. Chechnya-
-was not declared an independent state while others were breaking away from Russia
-Russians sent military to stop Chechnya from breaking away from Russia
-remains part of Russia with some fighting still continuing today
The End of the Wall (p. 960)
8. Helmut Kohl-
-last leader of a divided West Germany and first leader of a unified Germany
-the person most responsible for ending Germany’s division
9. Erich Honecker-
-a leader in the East German Communist Party
-supervised the building Berlin Wall in 1961 for East German government
-selected to be President of East Germany
-forced to resign Presidency because he was opposed to German reunification
-exiled to Russia
-on trial for Cold War crimes for the killing of those attempting to cross the Wall (died of cancer before trial complete)
10. Egon Krenz-
-took control of East Germany after Honecker’s resignation
-led for only 50 days until German reunification
-spent 6 1/2 years in prison for murder of those attempting to cross the wall
11. Berlin Wall-
-Hungary (and later Czech.) opened the Iron Curtain causing many East Germans to flee to West Germany
-with little warning on Nov. 10, 1989 East Germany announced it would no longer detain people from leaving the country
Changes Come to Poland
12. Solidarity-
trade union which led the anti-Soviet movement in Poland
-began in 1980 in Polish shipyard in Gdansk
-eventually developed into a political party
-won a majority in the nations first free elections in 1989
13. Lech Walesa-
-leader of Solidarity
-became President of independent Poland
Revolution in Czechoslovakia (pp. 960-961)
14. Vaclav Havel-
-last leader of communist Czech. and first leader of Czech Republic
-his leadership allowed for easy transition in nation
15. Velvet Revolution-
-term used to describe the relative peacefulness of revolution and division of Czech.
-divided into Slovakia and Czech Republic
Conflicts in Yugoslavia (pp. 961-963)
16. Serbs-
-one of three ethnic groups in southern Europe (Balkan region)
-were part of the Islamic Ottoman Empire which advanced into Europe prior to W.W.I
-developed own nation (Serbia) after the break up of Yugoslavia
17. Slobodan Milosevic-
-Serbian President following the break up of Yugoslavia
-sought to reunify Yugoslavia under Serbian rule and expel other ethnic groups from country
-arrested by United Nations on charges of genocide
-no verdict was reached as he died during the trial proceedings
18. Dayton Accords-
-conference held in 1995 in Dayton, Ohio bringing together leaders of nations once a part of Yugoslavia
-set up political divisions
-established international organizations to monitor situation
19. Kosovo-
-region of Serbia with a large Albanian population
-war broke out when it declared independence from Serbia
20. Ethnic Cleansing-
-term used in war in former Yugoslavia as leaders tried to rid their territory of other ethnic groups
21. NATO Peacekeeping Force-
-sent into stop the fighting in Yugoslavia
-developed and maintained separate borders in country
-criticized for bombing Serbia in an effort to encourage them to withdraw from Kosovo
-situation remains unresolved today
Democracy Comes to Romania
22. Nicolae Ceausescu-
-hard-line communist leader of Romania
-arrested as anti-communist leaders demanded control
-he and his wife Elana were executed
23. Securitate-
-one of the largest and most brutal secret police force of any communist nation
-extremely loyal to the Romanian Communist party
-used by Ceausescu to spy on the people of Romania
-spread rumors, disinformation, and propaganda around the nation
-was abolished after Ceausescu was assassinated