Responses and Outcomes

Poland 

Фото: Борис Бабанов 

Russian troops in Eastern Europe in late 1989. Right on the Polish border, threatening to invade

Under the threat from the USSR, the Polish government decides to crack down on the protests by declaring martial law. The Polish Peoples Army cracked down on the protesters and threw them in jail. This led to the USA, Britain, Canada, and other Western powers sending financial aid to Solidarity Trade Union. The Polish government had a significant problems maintaining martial law, as their military rank and file primarily consisted of conscript soldiers, which they did not pay at all. On a number of occasions soldiers joined the striking workers. Needless to say, martial law started to fall apart when the soldiers couldn't afford food. With the threat of the military revolting against the Polish government, the Polish leadership ended martial law. They were forced to let Solidarity become an official party and adopt a democratic system of government.

Russia

Russian tanks and infantry on the streets of Moscow during August 1991 coup attempt.

Rapid political changes made some people in power concerned that they might lose control. Specifically, the head of the KGB and several other senior government officials decided to overthrow President Gorbachev in order to reverse the changes. They were initially successful in overthrowing Gorbachev. They managed to get the military to send troops to secure the capital. The first problem for the conspirators came when the elected mayor of Moscow told the military to go away and they did. Following that, the military officially declared the conspirators to be attempting a coup and withdrew its cooperation. The conspirators tried hard to pretend they were a legitimate government culminating a famous press conference where they got called out by a reporter from the USSR. After 3 days Gorbachev returned to Moscow and the conspirators were ultimately arrested.