Unlike the peaceful Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, the Romanian Revolution was quite violent. Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian President, led a repressive regime. However, inspired by events in Hungary and the killing of demonstrators in Timisoara by the Romanian army, a revolt against Ceausescu and his wife took place. They were arrested and executed on Christmas Day, 1989.

Tip: To remember this event, think of a terrible Christmas gift - the Ceausescus getting executed.

By the end of 1989, communism had collapsed in Eastern Europe, and democratic coalitions promising free elections had formed. The Warsaw Pact was effectively dismantled, and the Soviet Union withdrew to its borders, marking the end of the Cold War in Europe.

Mikhail Gorbachev, despite earning international admiration and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990, faced increasing unpopularity at home due to economic failures and calls for independence from Soviet republics. In 1991, the USSR disintegrated as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and other republics claimed independence.

In August 1991, Communist hardliners attempted a coup against Gorbachev, but Boris Yeltsin, President of Russia and a radical reformer, defeated it. Although Gorbachev was restored, he lost authority and eventually resigned on December 25, 1991, leading to the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the formal end of the USSR.