(Events in parentheses are of Cold War significance, but not happening in Europe.)
1985 USSR: Death of Chernenko; succeeded by Mikhail Gorbachev (rule, 1985 - 1991);
Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost, perestroika, and democratization were intended to reform and revitalize the Soviet Union. Gorbachev’s foreign policy, later called “New Thinking,” was based on improving relations with the West by seeking mutual arms reductions.
A Gorbachev-Reagan summit meeting in Geneva established personal contact between the two leaders led to further summits in 1986 and 1987 and efforts to seek agreements on strategic arms control.
1986 USSR: A fire and reactor meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in the Ukraine spread high levels of radiation across parts of the USSR and Europe.
1987 Arms Control: In the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, the US and USSR agreed to destroy all medium-range nuclear missiles. This was the first treaty that actually reduced and eliminated a class of nuclear weapons.
1988 (Middle East: The Iraq-Iran War ended)
(Gorbachev accepted a UN-mediated accord calling for the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan.)
1989 George H. W. Bush, US President (to 1993) US foreign policy: conservatively cautious response to changing world conditions.
(Afghanistan: The USSR ended its war in Afghanistan and withdrew its troops from that country.)
(China: Tiananmen Square Massacre - In June the Chinese government ordered troops to open fire on thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. The demonstrators, mostly students, had been occupying the capital’s Tiananmen Square for several weeks.)
1989 The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe
Poland ended its state of martial law. Solidarity regained legal status and cooperated with the government in devising a new constitution. In June's parliamentary elections, Solidarity won a majority of seats. Communism in Poland was ending. In 1990 Lech Walesa was elected President of Poland.
Hungary’s Communist Party reconstituted itself as the Socialist Party and began reforms to allow democratic elections and other freedoms. In May Hungary opened its boundary with Austria.
East Germany: A renewed exodus of East Germans (via Hungary and Czechoslovakia) to West Germany. Massive demonstrations in East German cities called for reforms. Gorbachev advised that the USSR would not interfere in East Germany. Hardline Communist Party head Erich Honecker resigned. In early November the Berlin Wall was opened (and later demolished). Free elections led to a new parliament pledged to seek unification with West Germany.
The USSR, by not taking action to intervene and preserve the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, had abandoned the Brezhnev Doctrine in favor of what was called the “Sinatra Doctrine.” The Eastern European countries, a Soviet spokesman said, could do things “their way.”
Czechoslovakia: The “Velvet Revolution” – In late November massive demonstrations in Prague, led by a movement of intellectuals calling themselves Civic Forum, called on the government to resign. A general strike compelled the government to share power with Civic Form. By the end of the year, free elections had created a new parliament that elected the dissident playwright Vaclav Havel as President.
Bulgaria: In November the hard-line Communist government was compelled to give up power to communist reformers who permitted multiparty elections for a new parliament that was chosen in mid-1990.
Romania: In late December the dictatorship of brutal hard-line President Nicolae Ceausescu (in power since 1965) was overthrown in a bloody revolution that led to Ceausescu’s execution. Some 7000 were killed in the uprising.
(December) The Malta Summit: Bush and Gorbachev met and declared the Cold War over and resolved to continue to seek further arms control and resolve other issues.
(Central America: In late December US military forces invaded Panama and captured its dictator Manuel Noriega, whose brutal regime had threatened to destabilize Panama – a country of vital interest to the US because of the Canal. Noriega was taken to the US convicted of drug trafficking. Looks like the US had adopted the Brezhnev Doctrine!)
1990 USSR: The Soviet Baltic Republics asserted then later suspended their sovereignty when confronted with a strong response from Gorbachev.
(Middle East: Iraq invaded Kuwait. The US called for a strong UN response. A UN coalition of military forces, largely American, was assembled in Saudi Arabia.)
(October) Unification of Germany after 45 years of division.
1991 (Middle East: The Gulf War: UN military forces attacked and defeated Iraq. Kuwait was liberated. Iraq agreed to accept UN conditions for disarmament.)
Arms control: START I – The US and USSR agreed to begin mutual reduction of strategic nuclear weapons systems.
The six remaining members of the Warsaw Pact met in Prague and dissolved the alliance.
USSR: In August, an abortive coup undertaken by Communist hard-liners failed to overthrow Gorbachev. The coup, however, did considerably weaken Gorbachev’s government as power seemed to be shifting to the Russian president Boris Yeltsin.
USSR: Gorbachev’s efforts to bring about a constitutional restructuring of the weakening Soviet Union ended in failure when he was compelled to recognize the independence of the three Baltic republics.
USSR: Collapse of the USSR – In December the leaders of Russia (Yeltsin), Ukraine, and Belarus notified Gorbachev that their republics were independent, sovereign states and that with other former Soviet Republics would be forming a loose confederation called the Commonwealth of Independent States. On Christmas Day Gorbachev appeared on television to announce his resignation and the end of the Soviet Union.
Russia, under Yeltsin’s presidency (1991 – 1999), continued reforms intended to develop a new constitution allowing for political democracy and a market-based capitalist economy. In 1999 Yeltsin was succeeded as Russian President by Vladimir Putin.