The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe: A 30-Year Legacy
This conference will explore the events leading to and influencing the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe in the Autumn of 1989. A panel comprised of former officers from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and scholars will discuss the ways in which analysis from the time informed policymakers, assisting them in formulating the US policies and response to Communism’s collapse in the region.
Overview
This conference will explore the events leading to and influencing the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe in the Autumn of 1989. A panel comprised of former officers from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and scholars will discuss the ways in which analysis from the time informed policymakers, assisting them in formulating the US policies and response to Communism’s collapse in the region. Discussions will focus primarily on analysis from National Intelligence Daily (NIDs) – CIA’s principal form of current intelligence analysis at the time – written to cover the events of 1989 and early 1990, along with references to other more lengthy pieces of analysis covering the issues related to transformation underway in Eastern Europe.
Panelists will discuss opportunities and threats from this period and how they continue to evolve today. A public release of 105 of these NIDs, covering much of the Agency’s short-term analysis of events unfolding in Central and Eastern Europe, will accompany the panel discussion. Attendees to the event will be able to view these never-before-seen documents, which represent a major source of information and insight for US policymakers into what was happening in Eastern Europe, where it was heading, and what the implications were for the collapse of Communist rule.
See the collection of documents on the Digital Archive>>>
9:30 – 9:40 Opening Remarks from Robert S. Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Security Studies at the Wilson Center
9:40 – 10:00 Opening Remarks from Cynthia “Didi” Rapp, CIA’s Deputy Director for Analysis,
10:00 – 10:45 Keynote address and Q&A from Mariusz Kaminski, Polish Minister Coordinator for Special Services
10:45 – 11:00 BREAK
11:00 – 12:30 Panel Discussion
- Moderator: Christian Ostermann, Director of the History and Public Policy Program, Woodrow Wilson Center
- John McLaughlin, former Deputy Director of CIA
- John Gannon, former Director of the Office of European Analysis
- Mark Kramer, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
- Constanze Stelzenmuller, Kissinger Chair, John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress
Hosted By
History and Public Policy Program
The History and Public Policy Program makes public the primary source record of 20th and 21st century international history from repositories around the world, facilitates scholarship based on those records, and uses these materials to provide context for classroom, public, and policy debates on global affairs. Read more
Cold War International History Project
The Cold War International History Project supports the full and prompt release of historical materials by governments on all sides of the Cold War. Through an award winning Digital Archive, the Project allows scholars, journalists, students, and the interested public to reassess the Cold War and its many contemporary legacies. It is part of the Wilson Center's History and Public Policy Program. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
