Chapter 23

• Acronym for the collapse of communism

  Poland Helps End Communist Regimes

  PHECR
• What doctrine replaced the Brezhnev doctrine in 1989?


  Sinatra Doctrine
• Why was the Soviet Empire able to survive for so long in Eastern Europe?

  Mobilisation of the masses- created a patriotic idea of the "brotherhood of communism"Impression of progress and prosperity- frequently shown good statistics of communism and bad statistics of the WestSurveillance and repression- Fear of the authorities. Secret police arrested those who spoke outPropaganda and criticism of the west- state controlled all media, completely isolated. Food was shown to be prosperous when it was scarce. Told the west was evil
• Why did Gorbachev abandon the Brezhnev Doctrine?

  Growing disillusionment with Soviet intervention in Afghanistan

  Expense of supporting other socialist regimes

  Gorbachev believed the way to revitalise communism was to liberalise
• What 2 problems did the USSR's eastern satellites share with it by the time Gorbachev took power?

  Economic instability and lack of consumer goods
• What was the only Eastern European country which remained communist by the end of 1989?

  Albania
• When and where was the first strike in Poland held?

  1980, Gdańsk shipyard
• When was Solidarity set up?


  August 1980
• When was solidarity banned and marital law enforced?

  Dec 1981
• When was there an economic downturn in Poland leading to raised food prices?

  February 1988
• Response to raised food prices in Poland

  -strikes and demand for change

  -dissent remained peaceful and under glasnost the Polish government tried to appease the dissenters rather than suppress them
• Polish government agreed to hold talks with the leaders of solidarity and other opposition groups

  February 1989
• Outcome of polish government talks with opposition groups

  -legislation of non-government trade unions

  -creation of the position of president

  -formation of a bicameral legislature in the lower house (Sejm) 35% of seats would be freely elected
• Poland ends its ban on Solidarity

  April 1989
• How many seats did solidarity win in the Polish senate and Diet?

  Senate: 92/100

  Diet: 160/161
• When did Lech Walsea demand a new government?

  7th August 1989
• Who led the new pro-Solidarity government set up in August 1989?

  Mazowiecki
• Poland by the end of 1989


  A multi-party state with a coalition government dominated by solidarity
• Issues faced by Hungary in 1980s

  Economic downturn
• Whose resignation as Hungarian communist leader allowed reformists to introduce Gorbachev-style political reforms?

  Kadar
• When did Kadar resign as Hungarian communist leader?

  1988
• Who replaced Kadar as Hungarian leader?

  Nemeth
• Who instigated reform in Hungary at the end of the 1980s?

  The Hungarian communist party itself
• What did Miklos Nemeth do in 1988?

  Negotiated a 1 billion Mark loan from West German banks
• What reforms did Nemeth introduce into Hungary?

  -economic reforms-political reforms:-the government adopted basic freedoms, civil rights and electoral reform-constitutional changes permitted non-commits parties
• When did the USSR agree to withdraw all its military forces from Hungary and by when?

  April 1989

  By 1991
• Outcome of the 1990 Hungarian election

  Hungary was peacefully moved from communism to democracy
• Free elections are agreed to in Hungary


  June 1989to take place in1990
• When did Hungary remove the electric fence on its border with Austria?

  2 May 1989
• Why did Hungary remove the border with Austria?

  In an attempt to make goods easier to obtain goods and services from Austria
• Impact of Hungarian/ Austrian birder being opened in Germany

  -By September, around60,000East Germans and sought asylum in Germany-Overcrowding in Budapest led Hungary to grant permission for the East Germans to leave Hungary (via Austria) for West Germany-20,000East German refugees immediately crossed into Austria
• East German government reaction to the increasing refugees

  mounting international pressure forced east Germany ro allow its citizens to travel to west Germany (as long as they promised to return)
• Widespread protests against Honecker's regime

  October 1989
• Honecker forced to resign

  28th October 1989

  replaced by Krenz
• What did Krenz announce immediately after taking over?

  That East Germany would implement democratic reforms and embrace Glasnost, Perestroika and the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine
• Was the appointment of Krenz as leader well received in East Germany?

  No- he was nearly as unpopular as Honecker, and few believed he would implement true reform
• How much debt was East Germany in by November 1989?

  123 billion Deutschmarks
• What unpopular thing had Krenz done in June 1989?

  Gone to China to thank the government for the Tienanmen Square massacre
• Krenz proposed new travel laws

  5 November 1989

  -critiqued for being too limited and did nothing to calm the public

  -entire politburo resigned
• Televised news conference announced East Germans had free access to Berlin


  9 November 1989

  Tens of thousands converged on the Checkpoint Charlie border