Dramatic changes in Eastern Europe Since 1989, the situation in Eastern Europe has been violently turbulent. The Communist parties and workers' parties in Eastern European countries have lost power in a short period of time

The society The system subsequently underwent fundamental changes.

The drastic changes in Eastern European countries have generally gone through three stages: First, due to internal and external reasons, the ruling Communist Party and the Workers' Party have experienced

economic and political changes. Faced with serious difficulties, an opposition emerged within the party, which echoed the opposition outside the party. Second, under various pressures at home and abroad, the ruling party continues to compromise and give in to the opposition, even abandoning socialist principles and implementing political pluralism and a multi-party system.

Oppose The faction was able to expand its power. The third is that the opposition seizes power from the ruling party. By constantly creating unrest and exerting pressure, the ruling party is put into trouble

and then seizes power. Some countries even achieve regime change through armed conflict.

In the early 1980s, in order to get rid of economic difficulties, the Polish government significantly raised meat prices, triggering worker strikes in many cities, and gave rise to the Solidarity Movement led by Lech Walesa. Trade unions; Solidarity has strong support from Western countries and continues to provoke strikes, leading to turmoil.

The Polish government took decisive measures and declared that the country had entered a "wartime state" to stabilize the situation. After the end of the "wartime state", the prestige of the Polish United Workers' Party was greatly reduced because the economy did not fundamentally improve and the situation continued to be turbulent.

In 1989, the Polish Party implemented the policy of political pluralism and trade union pluralism and held a round table meeting with Solidarity. The meeting reached an agreement on the legalization of the Solidarity trade union and the conduct of parliamentary elections. In the general election, the Polish party lost and Solidarity won and formed the government. Solidarity

The coming to power of the trade unions marked a drastic change in Poland's political and economic system.

In 1989, a large number of citizens fled, causing great turmoil in the political situation of the East Germany, which had remained stable for a long time. At this time, the central leadership of the German Unity

Socialist Party changed, and subsequently the party's policy changed: the opposition organization "New Forum" was recognized as a legal organization; the government announced the opening of the East and West Berlin borders and the dismantling of them "Berlin Wall"; decided to implement a multi-party system. The following spring, a coalition of three opposition parties known as the "German League" won the general election. In October, the reunification of the two Germanys was achieved through the merger of the Democratic Republic of Germany into the Federal Republic of Germany.

After the opening of the Berlin Wall, a large number of East German citizens went to West Berlin

In December 1989, in the western Romanian city of Timisoara, a dissident priest was dismissed from his post due to protests. Mass

demonstrations were held and turned into riots. Soon, riots also began in Bucharest, and the army defected. The fleeing party and state leader Ceauses was arrested and secretly executed. The National Salvation Front Committee replaced the Communist Party of Romania in power.

Dramatic changes in the Romanian political situation

In addition, political power changes, social changes, etc. have occurred in Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Yugoslavia and other Eastern European countries

Similar incidents of institutional upheaval.

The drastic changes in Eastern European countries are the outburst of various contradictions accumulated over a long period of time in various countries and are the result of the combined effect of various factors.

The main reasons for the drastic changes are:

(l) Historical reasons. After the communist parties in Eastern European countries came to power, they all copied the Soviet model and were largely controlled by the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union forced Eastern European countries to be consistent with it in domestic and foreign policies. The countries of Eastern Europe actually do not have the right to achieve independence.

(2) Internal reasons. Economically, most countries are developing slowly, with little success in reform, and the gap with Western European countries is widening.

Economic difficulties lead to economic crises and induce political crises and ethnic conflicts. Politically, due to the serious destruction of democracy and the rule of law, the parties and governments of various countries in Eastern Europe have become divorced from the masses.

(3) Soviet factors. Gorbachev's reforms "unchained" Eastern European countries, and his program of building "humane and democratic socialism" and "new thinking" in foreign policy promoted the reorganization of Eastern European parties and Split and metamorphosis.

(4) Western factors. Western countries use various means such as loans, trade, technology, and ideological penetration to induce pressure on Eastern European countries, urging them to move closer to the West and "peacefully evolve" towards capitalism.

Combined with the reading materials, think about and analyze the various causes and effects of the drastic changes in Eastern Europe.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen said in response to a question from a reporter from "World Knowledge" magazine:

"Although these things [referring to the drastic changes in Eastern Europe] happened suddenly, they all have long-term consequences. There are many profound reasons for this. These countries have not found a path to building socialism that is suitable for their own conditions, and they are more copying the Soviet Union's practices.

These circumstances have hindered the socio-economic development of these countries and hurt the national sentiments of the people in these countries. As a result, socialism in these countries has not only failed to display its due advantages. sex, and reputation was greatly affected. In terms of external conditions, the reform trend of the Soviet Union's "New Thinking" and the West's "

peaceful evolution" encouragement policy have influenced and promoted changes in Eastern Europe.

”

Reference:/iin/midschool/history4/book2/d6z11.htm