An American View

Revolutionary changes in Central and Eastern Europe in 1989–91 ended the postwar Yalta system, as well as the bipolar division of Europe into rival political, economic, and military blocs. By late 1990, the European political and security landscape had been drastically altered. Free elections had taken place in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe (for example, Poland on 4 June 1989, the German Democratic Republic on 18 March 1990, Hungary on 25 March 1990, Yugoslavia on 22 April 1990, Czechoslovakia on 9 June 1990, Bulgaria on 10 June 1990). Several nations of Central and Eastern Europe, including the USSR, had established diplomatic relations with NATO (for example, the USSR and Hungary on 18 July 1990, Poland on 8 August 1990, Romania on 23 October 1990). The Communist Party had relinquished its monopoly on power or was banned in many Central and East European countries. Germany had been reunified (3 October 1990). The Soviet government had stated its readiness to remove all troops from Eastern Europe (11 February 1990). By July 1991 the Warsaw Pact was dismantled, and on 21 December 1991 the USSR was dissolved.