1989's story could have had a much darker and bloodier ending
30 years ago, Europe experienced a truly miraculous few months. Today, we should honour not only those who fought for change, but also those who refused to send out the tanks
This month marks 30 years since Europe – and human civilisation generally – began to undergo a miraculous transformation that is now etched in the world’s memory. By the summer of 1989, the Soviet Union was already in terminal decline. The only question was whether communism would disintegrate peacefully, or amid an explosion of violence and devastation.
In the Soviet Union itself,Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies of glasnost and perestroika had opened the floodgates of ...
