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Photograph of Gorbachev-Bush summit at Malta, 1989

End of the Cold War

This is a collection of primary source documents covering the collapse of the Soviet Union during the late 1980s. The collection contains documents from archives in most of the former Soviet bloc countries. They discuss the changes occurring in Eastern Europe and the Tiananmen Square events in China. See also Cold War Origins; China, 1989; and German Reunification.

 

Photograph of Gorbachev-Bush summit at Malta, 1989

Associated Essays

The End of the Cold War

The Cold War met a miraculous end during the late 1980s

Written By

Thomas Blanton

Bulgaria's "Unnoticed Transition"

The unnoticed transition in Bulgaria

Written By

Jordan Baev

Revolution in Romania

The end of the Cold War in Romania, 1989

Written By

Mircea Munteanu

Czechoslovakia's Velvet Revolution

How the people and a poet peacefully dismantled communism in six weeks

Written By

Oldřich Tůma

Human Choices that Ended the Cold War

Individual actors and their choices that helped bring the Cold War to an end

Written By

Connected Conn.

Popular Documents

November 9, 1989

Günter Schabowski’s Press Conference in the GDR International Press Center 6:53 - 7:01 p.m.

Schabowski announces new travel regulations allowing permanent exit for East German citizens at all border crossing effective "immediately, without delay."

June 12, 1987

Speech by President Ronald Reagan at the Brandenburg Gate, West Berlin, 'Remarks on East-West Relations'

Ronald Reagan's famous speech in which he advises Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

November 10, 1989

Excerpt from the Diary of Anatoly Chernyaev

Excerpt from Anatoly Chernyaev’s diary following the fall of the Berlin War, praising Gorbachev’s vision

July 6, 1989

Speech by Mikhail Gorbachev to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, "Europe as a Common Home"

Mikhail Gorbachev exposes his idea of the "Common European Home" and states that he will not block reform in East European countries. Gorbachev told the Council that it is "the sovereign right of each people to choose their social system at their own discretion." Gorbachev's statements amount to an unofficial repudiation of the Brezhnev Doctrine.

December 2, 1989

US Memorandums of Conversation, George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev at Malta Summit, 2-3 December 1989

US transcripts of Bush and Gorbachev's conversations on board the Soviet cruise ship, Maxim Gorky, off the coast of Malta.
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Explore Related Resources

Exterior of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

New Evidence on the End of the Cold War

Documents, analysis, and commentary on the end of the Cold War from CWIHP Bulletin 12/13 (Fall/Winter 2001).

Go to wilsoncenter.org
Exterior of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The Malta Summit and US-Soviet Relations: Testing the Waters Amidst Stormy Seas

Joshua Shifrinson compares US and Soviet records relating to the Malta Summit to provide a fresh reinterpretation of the outcome of this pivotal meeting between Gorbachev and Bush.

Go to wilsoncenter.org