I once asked a Romainian colleague how the revolution went for him. The main thing he talked about was just how chaotic the post-revolution power struggle was. Having to argue an angry mob out of attacking the foreign students at his university. Two nearby Army units deciding that the other was a rebel faction and getting into a street battle with anti-tank guns. Widespread theft of basically everything from the collapsing state-owned industries - this had always been a problem, but suddenly there was nobody to even try to stop it.
Never imagine that a revolution ends when the corrupt leader is overthrown and taken out and shot. In Hollywood that's when the credits roll. In real life that's when the hard work is only just beginning.
Romania was the only country where the leader (dictator) didn't step down when he was asked to by Moscow.
The leader was also obsessed that Romania would be invaded by Russia, like Czech was in 1968, so he had specialized guerilla army units to fight back. This can explain why the army was fighting itself, and why it took so long for the shooting to stop.
None of eastern bloc leaders was "asked to by Moscow" to step down - or do you have any sources for that claim?
Gorbachev merely assured everyone that USSR won't intervene like it did in 1956 or 1968, that everyone is on their own. He also encouraged (not enforced) reforms "perestroika" and transparency "glasnost".
> Visiting Berlin in early October, Gorbachev cautioned the East German leadership of the need to reform, and confided in his advisors that East German leader Erich Honecker had to be replaced. Two weeks later, Honecker was forced to resign, while hundreds of thousands marched in protest throughout major East German cities
Nowhere I could find he was directly forced to resign by Moscow. Some sources say it was Stasi, others that it was his own party because of general political situation (there was mass exodus to West Germany underway).
I am from Czechoslovakia, communists there similarly refused any reforms but I don't know of any initiative from Moscow to replace them.
I'm from Romania, there was a lot of talk that Gorbachev asked Ceausescu to resign, and offered him asylum in Russia, but I can't find a source for that.
But look here, a soviet source says that Moscow would have intervened militarily to prevent Ceausescu's return:
> “This victory will be a hundred times more valuable if it is won by the Romanian people themselves,” a senior Soviet official said. “We would definitely act to prevent Ceausescu’s return--by now, that has been made clear to all--but the victory belongs to the Romanian people and must be protected and developed by them. In this, they can count on our firmest support, but let the actions be theirs.”
> In reality, it may have been a carefully planned coup aided by the Soviet Union -- Mikhail Gorbachev's way of eliminating the troublesome despot Nicolae Ceausescu.
> Through our sources cultivated in Bucharest and access to highly classified Central Intelligence Agency reports, we have learned that Moscow had a much more direct hand than previously revealed in the creation of the ruling Romanian party to replace the Ceausescu government, the National Salvation Front.
It's quite possible that USSR made overthrowing Ceausescu more probable (by clandestine negotiations rather), because after all in spite of being fellow socialists, Romanian regime had unfriendly relations with Kremlin in 80s. It however doesn't support the idea about Gorbi asking anybody to step down.
Romania's revolution was the opposite of 'velvet' so there isn't a strong parallel there. Romania and Czechoslovakia were both in the Warsaw pact but on opposite ends of a broad spectrum. Czechoslovakia, a former industrialized democracy, had things like 'socialism with a human face', a sort of proto-perestroika that was suppressed by Soviet tanks in '68 and later a dissident movement well-known outside the country. In 1989 Romania was still a highly oppressive totalitarian state, eccentric cult-of-personality leadership and all.
There's a documentary called Meeting Gorbachev that's worth watching for anyone interested in learning more about the collapse of the USSR. Gorbachev was the leader of the USSR prior to its collapse.
While some saw the downfall of the USSR as the end of communism and a triumph for the west, others might say it was just another round of the revolving door of dictators and corrupt politicians that has plagued eastern Europe for decades (maybe centuries?).
I was seven when velvet revolution happened. I remember few days later when my father come home from work, I went to the door to greet him. He stepped in, put his suitcase on the floor, looked at me and said: "Well, from now on they will not call me comrade but mister". That was revolution for me.
I was as grumpy kid as I am now adult, but I had quite reasonable parents. They would always asked me if I wanted to join some club activities or hobbies. Teacher thought I have musical ear so they asked me if I want to play saxophone. I said no. They asked me if I wanted to be a pioneer (state run scouts, every kid was member). I said no. And to my surprise my parents accepted it. I was the only one in my class who wasn't pioneer. But then people probably started to telling my parents that I could have problems later on if I don't became pioneer so parents started asking me to join. After a long while I finally agreed and started preparing for the pioneer entry exams. Then the revolution came and it all fell down. "What do you mean I cannot be pioneer?! I want to be a pioneer." I could understand when they told me that they no longer exists. I even refused to call teacher Mrs and kept calling her comrade but after a while kids started making fun of me so I eventually stopped. And I never became pioneer.
"Well, from now on they will not call me comrade but mister". That was revolution for me.
I was a bit older than you (and not Czech) but I also found this striking then. All over Eastern Europe the phraseology of communism simply melted away, down to everyday forms of address. And there were at least two generations of adults around who had never used anything else.
I lived in Vienna at the time of the Velvet Revolution and soon after the city was full of visiting Slovaks and Czechs, many arriving in rickety buses. As prone to high-faultin flights of fancy as any teenager, this seemed especially symbolic to me - the old imperial capital, all lit up for the holidays, welcoming what was once its biggest minority. As if saying we could, yet, erase the murderous divisions and follies of most of the 20th century. Not exactly how things worked out!
This was in 1987(!) in the then Latvian Soviet republic. Complete punk. Openly mocking the entire Soviet way of life. Whoever well-informed could see the USSR was falling apart very rapidly at that moment.
On the 16th there were big protests again, as lots of people are generally unhappy with the state of affairs here in Czechia. Even Czechs no longer living here joined the protests in 63 cities around the world. CNN did a nice short article on it [1], if you'd like to read more about it.
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[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 46.1 ms ] threadNever imagine that a revolution ends when the corrupt leader is overthrown and taken out and shot. In Hollywood that's when the credits roll. In real life that's when the hard work is only just beginning.
The leader was also obsessed that Romania would be invaded by Russia, like Czech was in 1968, so he had specialized guerilla army units to fight back. This can explain why the army was fighting itself, and why it took so long for the shooting to stop.
Gorbachev merely assured everyone that USSR won't intervene like it did in 1956 or 1968, that everyone is on their own. He also encouraged (not enforced) reforms "perestroika" and transparency "glasnost".
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/fall-of-commu...
I am from Czechoslovakia, communists there similarly refused any reforms but I don't know of any initiative from Moscow to replace them.
But look here, a soviet source says that Moscow would have intervened militarily to prevent Ceausescu's return:
> “This victory will be a hundred times more valuable if it is won by the Romanian people themselves,” a senior Soviet official said. “We would definitely act to prevent Ceausescu’s return--by now, that has been made clear to all--but the victory belongs to the Romanian people and must be protected and developed by them. In this, they can count on our firmest support, but let the actions be theirs.”
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-24-mn-2156-s...
> In reality, it may have been a carefully planned coup aided by the Soviet Union -- Mikhail Gorbachev's way of eliminating the troublesome despot Nicolae Ceausescu.
> Through our sources cultivated in Bucharest and access to highly classified Central Intelligence Agency reports, we have learned that Moscow had a much more direct hand than previously revealed in the creation of the ruling Romanian party to replace the Ceausescu government, the National Salvation Front.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/s...
While some saw the downfall of the USSR as the end of communism and a triumph for the west, others might say it was just another round of the revolving door of dictators and corrupt politicians that has plagued eastern Europe for decades (maybe centuries?).
I was as grumpy kid as I am now adult, but I had quite reasonable parents. They would always asked me if I wanted to join some club activities or hobbies. Teacher thought I have musical ear so they asked me if I want to play saxophone. I said no. They asked me if I wanted to be a pioneer (state run scouts, every kid was member). I said no. And to my surprise my parents accepted it. I was the only one in my class who wasn't pioneer. But then people probably started to telling my parents that I could have problems later on if I don't became pioneer so parents started asking me to join. After a long while I finally agreed and started preparing for the pioneer entry exams. Then the revolution came and it all fell down. "What do you mean I cannot be pioneer?! I want to be a pioneer." I could understand when they told me that they no longer exists. I even refused to call teacher Mrs and kept calling her comrade but after a while kids started making fun of me so I eventually stopped. And I never became pioneer.
I was a bit older than you (and not Czech) but I also found this striking then. All over Eastern Europe the phraseology of communism simply melted away, down to everyday forms of address. And there were at least two generations of adults around who had never used anything else.
I lived in Vienna at the time of the Velvet Revolution and soon after the city was full of visiting Slovaks and Czechs, many arriving in rickety buses. As prone to high-faultin flights of fancy as any teenager, this seemed especially symbolic to me - the old imperial capital, all lit up for the holidays, welcoming what was once its biggest minority. As if saying we could, yet, erase the murderous divisions and follies of most of the 20th century. Not exactly how things worked out!
This was in 1987(!) in the then Latvian Soviet republic. Complete punk. Openly mocking the entire Soviet way of life. Whoever well-informed could see the USSR was falling apart very rapidly at that moment.
[1]: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/16/europe/prague-velvet-revo...