Revolutions of 1989

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/revolutions-of-1989

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary year of revolutions?1989
2. What is the geographic scope?Central and Eastern Europe
3. What happened in 1989 that made the walls come down?In 1989, people in many Eastern European countries asked for freedom and changed their governments. These changes helped the walls that separated East and West, like the Berlin Wall, come down.
4. Why did people in Eastern Europe want to change their governments?People were unhappy because the economies were slow, there were shortages, and they couldn't speak freely or move around. This made them want better living and more freedom.

Glasnost: Soviet policy of 'openness' that allowed for greater freedom of speech and information.
Perestroika: Soviet policy of 'restructuring' aimed at reforming the Soviet economy and political system.
Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet policy asserting the right to intervene in socialist countries to preserve communism.
Warsaw Pact: A military alliance of Eastern European communist states, formed in opposition to NATO.