The following lists events that happened during

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

in the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

Incumbents

President of the Soviet Union The president of the Soviet Union (), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), abbreviated as president of the USSR (), was the executive head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 15 March ...

—

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. was the Party leader, leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, country's dissoluti ...

— Mikhail Gorbachev *

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the Supreme Soviet — Mikhail Gorbachev *Vice President of the Soviet Union —

Anatoly Lukyanov Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (, 7 May 1930 – 9 January 2019) was a Russian Communist politician who was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR between 15 March 1990 and 4 September 1991. One of the founders of the Communist Party of the ...

Premier of the Soviet Union The Premier of the Soviet Union () was the head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). From 1923 to 1946, the name of the office was Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, and from 1946 to 1991 its name was ...

—

Nikolai Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich Ryzhkov (; ; 28 September 1929 – 28 February 2024) was a Russian politician. He served as the last Premier of the Soviet Union, chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991 and was succeeded b ...

Events

''Whole Year:

Revolutions of 1989 The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Communist state, Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts ...

'' *January to February 15 —

Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan Pursuant to the Geneva Accords of 14 April 1988, the Soviet Union conducted a total military withdrawal from Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, Afghanistan between 15 May 1988 and 15 February 1989. Headed by the Soviet military officer Boris ...

. *6 February — Negotiations between the Polish government and the union ‘Solidarity’ opened. *March 27 —

1989 Soviet Union legislative election Legislative elections were held in the Soviet Union on 26 March 1989 to elect members of the Congress of People's Deputies, with run-offs on 2, 9 and 20 April and 14 and 23 May. They were the first partially free nationwide elections held in t ...

: first contested elections in Soviet History. *April 9 —

April 9 tragedy April 9 Tragedy (also known as the massacre of Tbilisi or Tbilisi tragedy) refers to the events in Tbilisi, Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, on April 9, 1989, when an anti-Soviet, pro-independence demonstration was crushed by the Soviet A ...

; a pro-independence demonstration in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

was put down by Soviet authorities, resulting in the deaths of 21 people. *May 18 —

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

declares sovereignty over all of its territory. *May 25 — Gorbachev becomes Chairman of the

Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the So ...

. *August 23 — Two million people in

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

and Lithuania join hands to form the

Baltic Way The Baltic Way (; ; ) or Baltic Chain (also "Chain of Freedom") was a peaceful political demonstration that occurred on 23 August 1989. Approximately two million people joined their hands to form a human chain spanning across the three Baltic ...

in the

Singing Revolution The Singing Revolution was a series of events from 1987 to 1991 that led to the restoration of independence of the three Soviet-occupied Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania at the end of the Cold War. The term was coined by a ...

. *September 24 — Lithuania declares 1940 annexation by the Soviet Union to be null and void. *November 9 — Soviet power in Eastern Europe collapses with the

Fall of the Berlin Wall The fall of the Berlin Wall (, ) on 9 November in German history, 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, marked the beginning of the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain, as East Berlin transit restrictions we ...

. *November 28 —

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Com ...

announces the end of its monopoly of power, in the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

. *December 7 — The Lithuanian parliament announces the end of the political monopoly of the Communist Party of Lithuania, in the Singing Revolution. *December 25 — Romanian leader

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

and his wife and captured and executed, in the

Romanian revolution The Romanian revolution () was a period of violent Civil disorder, civil unrest in Socialist Republic of Romania, Romania during December 1989 as a part of the revolutions of 1989 that occurred in several countries around the world, primarily ...

Births

*January 14 — Inna Afinogenova, journalist *January 23 — Arzu Aliyeva, Azerbaijani public figure who is the younger daughter of

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

*January 31 — Rafael Akhmetov, Russian ice hockey player *February 12 — Rauf Aliyev, Azerbaijani international footballer *February 14 — Bobirjon Akbarov, Uzbekistani footballer *February 17 — Azat Bayryev, football player *February 28 — Tigean Avinyan, 60th

Mayor of Yerevan The Mayor of Yerevan () is head of the executive branch of Yerevan's government. The mayor is elected by the Yerevan City Council. Recent 2018 Yerevan City Council election, city council elections took place in 2018, 2017 Yerevan City Council elec ...

*April 6 — Ulugbek Alimov, Uzbekistani weightlifter *May 13 — Roman Amirkhanov, Russian professional footballer *May 26 — Tulabek Akramov, Uzbekistani sports administrator *July 3 — Ilya Antonovsky, Russian professional ice hockey defenceman *July 4 — Vyacheslav Andryushchenko, Belarusian ice hockey player *June 12 — Kirill Akilov, Russian football player *July 13 — Shamil Alimagomayev, Russian football midfielder *July 18 — Semyon Antonov, Russian professional basketball player *July 19 — Sergei Andronov, Russian professional ice hockey player *July 21 — Sana Anarkulova, Kazakhstani volleyball player *September 1 — Rahid Amirguliyev, Azerbaijani footballer *September 5 — Kachorovska Alina, Ukrainian designer of shoes and accessories *September 21 — Astemir Apanasov, Circassian singer *October 1 — Stanislav Aseyev, Ukrainian writer and journalist *October 9 — Georgy Alburov, Russian political and social activist, journalist and blogger *October 17 — Vyacheslav Akimov, Ukrainian football midfielder *October 21 —

Oleg Akkuratov Oleg Borisovich Akkuratov (; born 21 October 1989 in Yeysk, Soviet Union) is a Russian pianist, jazz improviser and singer who has amaurosis – complete blindness. He is a virtuoso performer of jazz and classical works and a laureate of the Pr ...

, Russian pianist, jazz improviser and singer *October 28 — Alan Alborov, Russian professional football player *November 5 — Zhannat Aitenova, Kazakhstani handball player *November 14 — Hasan Aliyev, Azerbaijani World and European champion Greco-Roman wrestler *November 29 — Natalya Asanova, Uzbekistani athlete *December 3 — Vladislavs Agurjanovs, Latvian professional table tennis player

Deaths

January

*January 3 — Sergei Sobolev, mathematician (b.

1908 This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time. Events January * January ...

) *January 10 —

Valentin Glushko Valentin Petrovich Glushko (; ; born 2 September 1908 – 10 January 1989) was a Soviet engineer who was program manager of the Soviet space program from 1974 until 1989. Glushko served as a main designer of rocket engines in the Soviet progra ...

, engineer, program manager of the Soviet space program (b.

) *January 24 — Sasha Putrya, Ukrainian artist (b.

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

) *January 27 — Vasily Konovalenko, artist (b. 1929)

February

*February 2 — Yuri Bogatyryov, actor (b.

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

) *February 7 — Simon Virsaladze, ballet, film and opera designer (b. 1909) *February 20 — Aleksandr Medvedkin, film director (b.

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

) *February 21 — Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (b.

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

)

March

*March 3 — Vytautas Viciulis, Lithuanian painter (b.

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

) *March 4 — Victor Nikiforov, ice hockey player and Olympic gold medalist (b.

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

) *March 8 — Elisaveta Bykova, chess player and dual Women's World Chess Champion (b.

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

) *March 26 — Maris Liepa, Latvian ballet dancer (b.

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

) *March 29 — Aleksandr Prokopenko, football player (b.

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

)

April

*April 10 — Nikolai Grinko, actor (b.

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

) *April 20 — Johan Eichfeld, biologist and politician (b. 1893) *April 22 — Dmitry Selivanov, rock singer (b.

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

)

May

*May 2 —

Veniamin Kaverin Veniamin Aleksandrovich Kaverin (; Вениами́н А́белевич Зи́льбер (Veniamin Abelevich Zilber); – May 2, 1989) was a Soviet and Russian writer, dramatist and screenwriter associated with the early 1920s movement of th ...

, writer and dramatist (b. 1902) *May 4 — Lydia Pasternak Slater, research chemist and poet (b. 1902) *May 8 — Hendrik Allik, Estonian politician (b. 1901) *May 14 — Nikifor Kalchenko, politician (b.

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

) *May 23 — Georgy Tovstonogov, theatre director (b.

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January *January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 * ...

) *May 27 — Arseny Tarkovsky, poet and translator (b.

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Moment magnitude scale, Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 9 – The "Mud March (suffragists), Mud March", the ...

)

June

*June 9 ** Rashid Behbudov, singer and actor (b.

) ** Vladimir Kasatonov, military leader and fleet admiral (b.

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

) ** Piotr Vasiliev, realist painter (b. 1909) *June 10 — Suleyman Rustam, poet, playwright and translator (b.

) *June 13 — Eduard Päll, politician, linguist and writer (b. 1903) *June 19 ** Betti Alver, Estonian poet (b.

) ** Yevgeny Kabanov, Naval Aviation major general (b.

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

) ** Andrey Prokofyev, sprinter and Olympic gold medalist (b.

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

) *June 21 — Aleksandr Safronov, speed skater and Olympian (b.

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

) *June 22 — Glenn Michael Souther, American sailor who turned Soviet intelligence officer (b. 1957 in the United States, 1957) *June 30 — Rostislav Plyatt, stage and film actor (b.

)

July

*July 1 — Viktor Nekipelov, Victor Nekipelov, poet and writer (b. 1928 in the Soviet Union, 1928) *July 2 — Andrei Gromyko, politician and diplomat, 9th List of heads of state of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (b. 1909) *July 4 — Leyla Mammadbeyova, first Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani female aviator (b. 1909)

August

*August 25 — Yan Frenkel, Yan Frankel, composer and performer (b.

)

September

*September 7 — Valery Goborov, basketball player and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1966 in the Soviet Union, 1966)

October

*October 13 — Merab Kostava, Georgian dissident, musician and poet (b. 1939 in the Soviet Union, 1939) *October 14 — Klavdiya Mayuchaya, javelin thrower and European champion (b.

) *October 15 — Tadevos Hakobyan, Armenian historian and geographer (b. 1917 in Russia, 1917) *October 17 — Mark Krein, mathematician (b.

) *October 28 — Yuliya Solntseva, actress and film director (b. 1901)

November

*November 1 — Nurtas Undasynov, 3rd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (b. 1904 in Russia, 1904) *November 7 — Andrey Borovykh, World War II flying ace and twice Hero of the Soviet Union (b. 1921 in Russia, 1921) *November 14 — Samand Siabandov, writer, soldier and politician (b. 1909) *November 22 — Shamil Serikov, wrestler and Olympic gold medalist (b. 1956 in the Soviet Union, 1956) *November 28 — Georgy Ilivitsky, chess master (b. 1921 in Russia, 1921) *November 29 — Natan Eidelman, author and historian (b. 1930 in the Soviet Union, 1930)

December

*December 1 — Nikolai Patolichev, 11th Ministry of Foreign Trade (Soviet Union), Minister of Foreign Trade of the Soviet Union (b.

) *December 3 — Alexander Obukhov, physicist and applied mathematician (b.

) *December 5 — Sofiya Kalistratova, lawyer and human rights activist (b.

) *December 7 — Vadim Spiridonov, film actor and director (b. 1944 in the Soviet Union, 1944) *December 8 — Mykola Livytskyi, Ukrainian politician, prime minister and president of the Ukrainian People's Republic in-exile (b.

) *December 14 **Ants Eskola, actor (b.

) **Andrei Sakharov, nuclear physicist, dissident, human rights activist and Nobel laureate in Physics, dilated cardiomyopathy (b. 1921 in Russia, 1921) *December 19 — Kirill Mazurov, 14th First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union, First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (b. 1914 in Russia, 1914) *December 28 — Pavel Kurochkin, army general (b.

)