The fall of the Iron Curtain which lifted communist rule across a swathe of Europe was as swift as it was unexpected. Click on the links below to watch and read about the main events in a dramatic and tumultuous year.
6 February
Poland's government opens talks with banned trade union
2 May
Tear in Iron Curtain as Hungary removes border fence
4 June
Election success propels Solidarity into government
23 August
Million-strong human chain links restive Baltic states
10 September
Hungary opens border for East Germans to leave
2 October
Soviet leader warns East not to delay reform
28 October
Authorities battle students as Velvet Revolution unfolds
9 November
East Berliners flood through broken Wall
10 November
Longtime leader Todor Zhivkov resigns
24 November
Czechoslovak dissidents force Politburo to resign
17 December
Violence sweeps the country after bloody crackdown
25 December
Firing squad ends Romanian leader's hardline rule
Further in-depth analysis and maps showing the fall of Communism are available in the 1989
special report.
BBC NEWS CHANNEL
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