Collapse of Communism
Mikhail Gorbachev emerged as leader of
the Soviet Union in 1985, after a period of great uncertainty and
confusion. Much younger than his predecessors, he embarked on a
program of domestic reforms and a drive to end the Cold
War confrontation with the USA. The portents for the surge of
freedom that swept across Eastern Europe towards the end of 1989 had
been evident for nearly two years.
As the Soviet leadership, under the enlightened and charismatic Mikhail
Gorbachev, tolerated the ethnic disturbances within its borders
and reached out for conciliation with the West, it became apparent
that the old, dark order of totalitarian communism was undergoing a
change.
We looked forward to an advance in the area of human rights, of
stronger trade and cultural links, of a dismantling of the expensive armories
that tinged the Cold War rhetoric
with a nightmare vision of the final holocaust. But we thought it
would still be East and West, with the communist regimes of Europe
doling out a bit of liberalism without disturbing their monopoly of
power. The bloody oppression of the people's uprising in China gave
little hope that the old regimes would truly loosen their bonds.
Even the chipping away within the Communist bloc that we had
watched with growing wonder early in 1989 could not prepare us for the
fearful and wonderful events of the northern autumn, as the ordinary
people of nation after nation rose up to claim their freedom.
By April it became clear that Poland - the most advanced country in
the process of emancipation and also the most economically devastated
of the generally impoverished communist sates - was on the brink of a
conversion to its old democratic processes
The virtual erosion of the Communist Party's authority forced it to
the conference table and brought accords that paved the way for free
elections. The will of the people's leader in Poland, Lech
Walesa, moved events quickly to the election of the first
non-communist government in 40 years. But the accords themselves - the
very idea of some compromise between the people and their iron-clad
communist rulers - seemed to break the psychological barrier holding
back the forces of opposition in the East European nations.
In the midst of its joy, Poland must now grapple with the realities
of radical restructuring - balancing its nationalistic passions with
the social democratic instincts that have inspired the immensely
influential Solidarity movement, balancing the demands of the
East and West, building economic links and bringing the simple
measures of prosperity to put flesh on a pale body of freedom. |
