1989 Archives • International Socialism

A short autumn of utopia: The East German revolution of 1989

Posted on 29th September 2009 by ISJ

Readers of this journal are unlikely to be participating in the twentieth anniversary celebrations of the “transition to capitalism” in Central and Eastern Europe and it’s easy to see why.1 The expansion of Nato shows that its supposedly defensive purpose—to… Continue Reading →

Timeline

Posted on 29th September 2009 by ISJ

1980 August: Polish strikes give birth to Solidarność workers’ movement and paralyse regime for 16 months. 1981 December: Military rule and arrests smash Polish workers’ movement. 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union. 1986 May: At the Soviet… Continue Reading →