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