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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.

Secretary of State Cable, Solidarity-Government Dialogue

In June 1989, Poland held its first semi-free elections since the inception of communism after World War II, in which the Communist Party was soundly defeated by the opposition. Following this historic election, ongoing negotiations took place between Communist officials and new leaders in an effort to create stability and ensure that the transition was smooth.

Warsaw Embassy Cable, Conversation with General Kiszczak

For the United States government, the rapid changes unfolding in Poland were a source of hope and excitement but also considerable anxiety. In principle, American diplomats could only welcome the prospect of pro-American, pro-market Solidarity politicians playing a key role in a new Polish government.

Minutes of the Meeting of the Polish Citizens' Parliamentary Club

Poland's first semi-free elections in early June 1989 indicated Poles' strongly anti-Communist and pro-Solidarity sentiments, as evidenced by the solid defeat of Communism. Following this historic election, the newly elected pro-Solidarity parliamentary leaders formed the Citizens' Parliamentary Club, in which they debated about the future of Poland's political system.

Minutes from a Meeting of the Presidium of the Citizens' Parliamentary Club

In June 1989, Poland held its first semi-free elections since the beginning of Communist Party rule following World War II, in which Communism was soundly defeated by Solidarity activists. Shortly after this election, the newly elected leaders of the opposition formed the Citizens' Parliamentary Club through which they debated potential government structures and the future road for Poland.

Lithuanian Communist Party Declares Independence

In this proclamation, the political leaders of the Lithuanian national movement made a formal break with the Soviet Communist Party, and by implication with the Soviet government itself.

Uzbek Minister on Restoring Order in Tashkent

This interview with V. Kamalov, minister of internal affairs of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, echoes a perception similar to that of S.A. Niyazov, the Communist Party leader of Turkmenistan, in a related document, which attributes a sense of disorder to the expression of political perspectives.

Turkmen Party's Niazov Discusses Ethnic Issues

In this interview, published just days after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Communist leader in Turkmenistan, S. A. Niyazov, offered a stiff defense of the existing structure of the Soviet Union.

Latvian Group Wants Full Political Independence

This report describes the demands of the Latvian Popular Front, one of the coalition groups that emerged across the Soviet Union, but most aggressively in the Baltic states, during the last years of the Soviet regime.

Communist Party's Role in Estonia's Fate Revealed

In this selection, a member of the Communist Party in Estonia articulates a new role for Communists as leaders of the movement for national self-determination within the existing structures of the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev's TV Address on Interethnic Relations

This statement is an effort by Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to recognize, but also restrain and control, growing evidence of nationalist sentiments across the Soviet Union. In this televised broadcast, Gorbachev focused on the possible negative implications of such sentiments, including threats to social order, conflict between ethnic groups, and chauvinist behavior.

Ukrainian Central Committee on Ethnic Issues

This statement by the Ukrainian Communist Party was an attempt to respond to growing expressions of nationalist sentiment within the Ukrainian population, while also seeking to maintain control over the expression of dissenting views and preventing inter-ethnic conflicts, especially between the majority Ukrainians and minority Russians and Jews.

Soviet population table by nationality, 1970

This table provides a general overview of the Soviet population in 1970, with a breakdown for the most populous national groups. As the table indicates, Russian were by far the largest single ethnic group, yet they still made up less than one-half of the total population of approximately 240 million people.

From the Conversation of Mikhail Gorbachev and Francois Mitterand

In the mid- to late 1980s, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on a new path for the Soviet Union by introducing significant changes to his country’s domestic and foreign policies, which eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and the end of the Cold War.

Warsaw Embassy Cable, Poland Looks to President Bush

President George H. W. Bush visited Poland and Hungary in July 1989, following a series of speeches he had made that defined the direction his administration would take in its relations with the Soviet Union.

Warsaw Embassy Cable, How to Elect Jaruzelski Without Voting for Him, and Will He Run?

This report analyzes the peculiar dilemma that Solidarity leaders faced in the aftermath of their landslide election victory in June. Their success had been based on opposition to the communist regime, but the framework that had allowed that success was based on a compromise with that regime.

Third Conversation between M.S. Gorbachev and FRG Chancellor H. Kohl

On June 12, 1989, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev began a four-day visit to West Germany, just two weeks after a similar visit to West Germany by United States President George H. W. Bush. Gorbachev had by the summer of 1989 become a popular figure and expectations were running high in West German society over the summit.