The Romanian Revolution of 1989 overthrew the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, and it was the only violent overthrow of a communist regime in Eastern Europe that year. Protests began in Timisoara after the authorities tried to evict the pastor Laszlo Tokes, and the security forces opened fire. The unrest spread to Bucharest, where Ceausescu was jeered at a mass rally and soldiers began to side with the crowd. He and his wife Elena fled by helicopter, were captured, and were tried by a military court and shot on Christmas Day. Historians still debate how far the events were a spontaneous revolt and how far a coup by Ion Iliescu and other communist insiders.
Before and after
- from 17 November 1989 to 29 December 1989Velvet Revolution
- 17 November 1989Release of The Little Mermaid
- 20 November 1989Convention on the Rights of the Child
- 13 December 1989Birth of Taylor Swift
- from 15 December 1989 to 27 December 1989Romanian Revolution (1989)
- 17 December 1989Premiere of The Simpsons
- from 20 December 1989 to 31 January 1990United States invasion of Panama
- 22 December 1989Death of Samuel Beckett
- 25 December 1989Death of Nicolae Ceaușescu
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.