Solidarity wins a landslide in partly free parliamentary elections

A powerful earthquake struck Spitak, Leninakan, and surrounding communities, killing tens of thousands and leaving many homeless. Rescue efforts drew international aid, while Soviet administrative...

The withdrawal ended the decade-long Soviet military intervention, in accordance with the Geneva timetable. Afghan conflict continued, and millions of refugees still faced the question of safe,...

Voters chose members of a new national legislature under reformed electoral rules. The elections opened a public arena for criticism, though reserved seats and party structures limited equal political...

Soviet Interior Ministry troops attacked demonstrators, killing civilians and injuring many others. The violence deepened opposition to Soviet rule and became a turning point in Georgia’s independence...

The republic asserted control over its resources and legal system, following Estonia’s sovereignty declaration. Such claims challenged the Union center and expressed a growing demand to restore...

Miners struck over wages, shortages, working conditions, and local control. Their committees became an important form of worker organization and connected economic demands with questions of...

People across Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania formed a chain to demand freedom and commemorate the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact. The coordinated, peaceful action made Baltic demands visible across the Union...

East German authorities opened crossings after mass protests and a confused public announcement. Soviet leaders did not intervene militarily; East Germans and neighboring societies drove the changes...

The Congress declared the secret protocol legally groundless and invalid from the moment it was signed. The decision acknowledged a Soviet role in the partition of Eastern Europe and supported...

The Lithuanian Supreme Council declared the restoration of the independent state. The act followed mass mobilization and elections and challenged the Soviet Union’s claim over a republic...