(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States believe former president Ronald Reagan was the main political figure in the fall of communism, according to a three-country poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 36 per cent of respondents think Reagan deserves a lot of the credit for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – People in the United States believe former president Ronald Reagan was the main political figure in the fall of communism, according to a three-country poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 36 per cent of respondents think Reagan deserves a lot of the credit for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe.
Almost three-in-ten respondents in Britain believe Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Polish union leader Lech Walesa deserve a lot of the credit for the fall of communism. Respondents in Canada also select Gorbachev and Walesa as the main actors.
In 1980, a dispute in a Gdansk shipyard led to the formation of the Solidarity trade union. Union leader Walesa would be imprisoned one year later—along with many other Solidarity supporters—after the country imposed martial law.
In 1983, Walesa won the Nobel Peace Prize. Solidarity’s leaders would be released in 1985, and three years later, the government would formally acknowledge the trade union. In 1989, negotiations between Solidarity, the Catholic Church and the Polish government established a timetable for democratic elections. Following the ballot, Solidarity’s leaders joined a coalition government headed by Tadeusz Mazowiecki. Walesa would win the presidential election in 1990 and serve until 1995, at which point he was succeeded by Aleksander Kwasniewski.
In a June 1987 speech at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, Reagan declared: "We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. (…) Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall."
In 1989, Hungary played a major role in the collapse of communism, when it opened its border with Austria. The decision allowed thousands of East Germans to make their way into West Germany, and precipitated the unification of the country.
Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Communist Party from 1985 to 1991. He envisioned the policies of "perestroika" (restructuring)—a series of economic reforms to improve worker productivity and living standards—and "glasnost" (openness) which introduced greater personal freedoms and sought to foster debate.
An attempted coup in August 1991 severely hampered Gorbachev’s authority, as support shifted to Russian nationalist Boris Yeltsin. In December 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed following Gorbachev’s resignation. Gorbachev currently serves as the chairman of environmental organization Green Cross International.
On Nov. 1, in an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev said politicians—such as himself, German chancellor Helmut Kohl and former U.S. president George H. W. Bush—should not be commended for what transpired in 1989, adding, "It is the people who were the heroes. The three of us don’t want to take credit for the accomplishments of previous generations."
Polling Data
Below is a list of leaders. Overall, please say whether you think each one deserves a lot of credit, some of the credit, or no credit at all for the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. – "A lot of the credit" responses only.
|
USA |
BRI |
CAN |
|
|
U.S. President Ronald Reagan |
36% |
11% |
18% |
|
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev |
22% |
27% |
33% |
|
British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher |
20% |
15% |
14% |
|
Polish union leader Lech Walesa |
18% |
28% |
26% |
|
Pope John Paul II |
16% |
9% |
15% |
|
German Chancellor Helmut Kohl |
8% |
10% |
11% |
|
U.S. President George H. W. Bush |
8% |
5% |
4% |
|
Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney |
5% |
4% |
3% |
|
French President Francois Mitterrand |
3% |
4% |
4% |
Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,011 American adults, 2,000 British adults, and 1,003 Canadian adults, conducted from Nov, 4 to Nov. 6, 2009. Margins of error range from 2.2 per cent to 3.1 per cent.
