1989 Timeline
11 January: Reagan's farewell
After eight years in office, President Ronald Reagan leaves the White House to make way for his Republican successor George Bush.
19 January: Moscow's nuclear withdrawal
Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze announces plans to withdraw a tenth of its nuclear warheads from Eastern Europe.
20 January: Bush inauguration
The new leader, President George Bush, promises to champion western democracy, and Russia seems ready to do business with him.
6 February: Solidarity enters talks
Poland's government opens talks with Solidarity, Lech Walesa's free trade union movement banned in 1981.
15 February: Soviet Army leaves Kabul
After nine years of fighting rebels in Afghanistan, the Russians withdraw their troops from the country.
24 February: Estonia flies the flag
Estonia's historic independence day is restored as the national flag flies for the first time in half a century.
26 March: Russia holds elections
The first free elections are held to a brand new Congress of People's Deputies, and a radical performer, Boris Yeltsin, is about to make his mark.
2 April: Gorbachev visits Cuba
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana to meet with Fidel Castro. Cuba's cosy relationship as a client state of the Soviet Union begins to unravel.
4 April: Poland's round table talks end
An historic agreement means that Solidarity will at last be recognised by the communist government.
6 April: Gorbachev visits London
Mikhail Gorbachev makes a stopover in London and receives a hero's welcome from the British people and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
9 April: Soviet clashes in Georgia
Violent clashes between troops and protesters in the heart of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, leave 20 people dead.
15 May: Gorbachev visits China
It is the first Sino-Russian summit in thirty years. Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Beijing at the height of the pro-democracy campaign, making the meeting difficult.
4 June: Poland holds elections
The first free elections in the communist bloc are underway in Poland, with Solidarity the clear favourites.
5 June: Victory for Solidarity
Solidarity claims a remarkable success in Poland's elections. The largest Soviet "satellite" in Eastern Europe now has a non-communist head of government, Lech Walesa.
16 June: Hungary reburies Imre Nagy
Over 100,000 attend a reburial service for the executed former prime minster, Imre Nagy, who paid the ultimate price for opposing Moscow three decades earlier.
9 July: Bush visits Poland
George Bush arrives in Warsaw to offer encouragement and support for reform - while Poland is looking for economic aid.
12 July: Bush travels to Hungary
The US President grants Hungary Most Favoured Nation trading status in a landmark speech at Karl Marx University in Budapest.
19 August: Freedom begins with a picnic
A picnic is organised on the Hungary-Austria border, allowing hundreds of people to leave communist Eastern Europe.
23 August: Baltic states link hands
More than two million people across Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia link hands to form an unbroken 400-mile-long human chain in protest of Soviet rule.
24 August: Poland appoints Mazowiecki
Solidarity member Tadeusz Mazowiecki is sworn in as prime minister, making Poland the first European country to be governed by a non-communist leader in 40 years.
10 September: East Germans go West
Hungary opens a section of its border with Austria and thousands of East Germans, already taking refuge, cross over to the West. Almost 600 people leave after the first day.
21 September: Russia introduces 'Sinatra' doctrine
The Soviet government jokingly describes its policy of allowing the break-up of the communist bloc as the Frank Sinatra Doctrine, based on his popular song My Way.
25 September: Old enemies agree weapon cuts
As the Cold War ends, the United States and Russia enter a disarmament agreement to end their chemical weapons programmes.
3 October: East Germany stems exodus to the West
East German government bans travel to Czechoslovakia, sparking a peaceful protest in Leipzig's Church of Saint Nicholas.
7 October: East Germany celebrates 40 years
Mikhail Gorbachev joins hardline leader Erich Honecker for the 40th anniversary of the founding of East Germany.
9 October: Thousands march in Leipzig
Anti-government demonstrations develop into mass protests in East Germany. In Leipzig, over 70,000 people take to the streets. Two weeks later as many as 320,000 are protesting.
23 October: Hungary declares new republic
Hungary announces that it is no longer a communist state, 33 years after the country's failed revolution against Russia.
4 November: Thousands march in Berlin
Up to one million people gather at Alexanderplatz in East Berlin to demonstrate for freedom and democracy.
7 November: East German government resigns
The entire East German politburo resigns. But Egon Krenz, Communist Party leader, remains in place.
8 November: East Germany lifts restrictions
East German government spokesman Gunter Shabowski makes a remarkable announcement.
9 November: Berlin Wall falls
East German travel restrictions are lifted and people are now free to travel to the West. Within hours, thousands descend on the wall.
10 November: First taste of freedom
The day after the Berlin Wall opens, East Berliners are finally free to enter West Germany.
11 November: Demolition of the wall begins
Crowds cheer on both sides of wall as bulldozers demolish the wall, reinstate old roads and open new border crossings.
12 November: Reunification is ruled out
East Germany is set on the path to reunification with West Germany, but voices on both sides air caution against it so early.
14 November: Czechs go west
Czechoslovakian citizens no longer need exit visas to go to the west. But many fear those who leave will not be allowed to return.
15 November: Walesa addresses Congress
Solidarity leader Lech Walesa receives a rapturous reception in Washington. But the former shipyard worker warns that without aid Poland is heading for catastrophe.
20 November: Velvet Revolution
A week of mass protests erupts across Czechoslovakia. Known as the Velvet Revolution, 200,000 people gather in Prague's central Wenceslas Square.
24 November: Czech party resigns
Communist rule in Czechoslovakia crumbles and the entire politburo resigns after a week of protests. Alexander Dubcek, the hero of the Prague Spring returns home.
27 November: General strike is held
The Czechs observe a two-hour strike to demonstrate the success of the Velvet Revolution.
3 December: The Cold War is over
In a historic meeting, the two super powers, George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev declare the Cold War over.
11 December: Czech leader resigns
President Gustav Husak makes way for the first non-communist government since the 1948 Communist Putsch.
16 December: Romanians revolt
Romanian security forces in Timisoara open fire on protesters campaigning against the harassment of a respected local priest. This marks the start of a short but bloody revolution.
21 December: Ceausescu's final speech
Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu tries to crush the uprising, but the hardline leader is jeered as he makes his final speech in Bucharest.
22 December: Ceausescu flees
The Romanian leader and his wife, Elena, disappear as violence engulfs Bucharest.
22 December: Brandenburg Gate opens
Berlin's famous landmark reopens after 28 years. Amid the celebrations, a stampede breaks out for the first people to get through the gate.
23 December: Romania battles on
Fighting continues as forces loyal to the ousted Nicolae Ceausescu regime stage a bitter counter-revolution. There are rumours that Ceausescu has been found.
25 December: Ceausescu executed
The Romanian president and his wife, Elena, have been captured and are executed by firing squad, after a trial at a military base lasting two hours.
28 December: Havel becomes Czech president
Writer and political activist Vaclav Havel is elected president by the members of the Federal Assembly - ending the year on a high note.