Moscow Embassy Cable, If Solidarity Takes Charge, What Will the Soviets Do?

In June 1989, Poland held its first semi-free elections in which the Communist Party was overwhelmingly defeated by opposition leaders. Following the election, U.S. officials were elated about the prospects of democratization in Poland as well as concerned about the potential response from the Soviet Union. Historically, Soviet officials had taken tremendous actions in Eastern Europe, even using military force, to extinguish demonstrations and quell opposition. As a result, as this confidential cable from August 1989 by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to the U.S. secretary of state indicates, American leaders were unsure about how the Soviet Union would respond to this historic defeat of communism in Poland. The Soviets' restrained response and acceptance of the election results reflected a changing mood in the Soviet bloc, one that would eventually lead to the dismantling of communism in all of the Eastern European countries.