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Photograph of Gorbachev-Bush summit at Malta, 1989

End of the Cold War

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Eastern Europe

Soviet Union

Mikhail Gorbachev, 1986

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich

1931 - 2022

The Palace of the Republic (Palast der Republik) in Berlin

Eastern Europe

East Germany

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Eastern Europe

Poland

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Eastern Europe

Romania

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Eastern Europe

Bulgaria

Aerial view of National Mall

North America

United States

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Chernyaev, A. S.

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Walesa, Lech

1943 -

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Caranfil, Gheorghe

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Nicolae Ceausescu, 1974

Ceaușescu, Nicolae

1918 - 1989

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Civic Forum (Czechoslovakia)

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Helmut Kohl addresses the United Nations, June 1997.

Helmut Kohl Transcripts

German Reunification

George H.W. Bush and Lech Walesa

CIA Reports on the Collapse of Communism in Europe

Berlin Wall between Mitte and Kreuzberg

Berlin Wall

Intelligence Operations in the Cold War

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April 1989	Central Intelligence Agency, 'Rising Political Instability Under Gorbachev: Understanding the Problem and Prospects for Resolution: An Intelligence Assessment' An analysis of the mounting dysfunction and political instability within the Soviet Union.
February 1989	Cable from the US Embassy in Moscow to Secretary of State for General Scowcroft, 'The Soviet Union Over the Next Four Years' Predictions about the next four years in the Soviet Union's evolving political and cultural landscape, including that internal protests against perestroika will dominate the focus of Soviet leadership, that perestroika and its attendant backlash will in turn redistribute funds away from military spending, and that ultimately, these and other conflicts and pressures will promulgate the collapse of the Soviet Union.
December 10, 1988	Excerpts from the Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev Chernyaev's diary entry on the worsening situation in the Baltics and implications for the state of the Soviet Union.
October 31, 1988	Anatoly Chernyaev, Notes from a Meeting of the Politburo Gorbachev et al prepare for their upcoming UN visit, and discuss presenting their reformed policies, arms reductions, the implementation of perestroika, withdrawal of troops from Hungary, and overall Soviet-American relations.
June 20, 1988	Anatoly Chernyaev, Notes from a Meeting of the Politburo Anatoly Chernyaev’s notes from the Politburo session on June 20, 1988, during which military spending, party membership, the progress of perestroika, and CPSU organizational leadership were discussed.
July 6, 1989	Speech by Mikhail Gorbachev to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, "Europe as a Common Home" Mikhail Gorbachev exposes his idea of the "Common European Home" and states that he will not block reform in East European countries. Gorbachev told the Council that it is "the sovereign right of each people to choose their social system at their own discretion." Gorbachev's statements amount to an unofficial repudiation of the Brezhnev Doctrine.
September 1985	CIA Intelligence Assessment, 'Gorbachev's Economic Agenda: Promises, Potentials, and Pitfalls' An analysis of Gorbachev's new economic policies.
January 26, 1990	Discussion of the German Question at a Private Meeting in the Office of the CPSU CC General Secretary In a conversation recorded by Chernyaev, Gorbachev candidly discusses the political situation in East and West Germany, the weakness of the Socialist Unity Party (SED), and the Soviet strategy for managing German reunification.
May 28, 1987	Letter from Rolf Berthold to Cde. Erich Honecker In anticipation of a visit by Zhao Ziyang to East Germany, the Ambassador of the GDR in Beijing reports on China's economic reforms, the leadership within the Chinese Communist Party, and China's relations with the GDR, the Soviet Union, the United States, and Japan.
December 6, 1989	Report of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs [F. Somogyi] for the Council of Ministers about the Meeting of the leaders of the Warsaw Pact on 4 December Summary of the meeting of the leaders of the Warsaw Pact. The document is not signed, but it is highly likely it was authorized by Ferenc Somogyi, Deputy Minister of the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who was present at the meeting in Moscow.