The year that changed the world

It is 20 years since Eastern Europe's communist regimes were swept into the history books by a tide of people power. 1989 truly was one of those years that the world shifted on its pivot. Some things did change -- we are living with their consequences still

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The soldier and the shipyard worker

One was a military strongman, intent on saving his country from "catastrophe." The other was an electrician from the shipyards of Gdansk set on leading his countrymen to freedom. Yet both played their part in Poland's transformation from communism

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'In length of football season it was gone'

Richard Blystone was CNN's senior correspondent in Europe throughout 1989. Here he recalls how the the divided continent had simply become the only reality that most people on either side of the Iron Curtain knew

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Watch 'Autumn of Change: Poland'
People power triumphed over repressive regimes all over Eastern Europe in 1989. But it was Poland's anti-communist Solidarity movement which blazed the trail of protest
Gallery: The fall of communism
Defining images of protest, revolution and celebration from Eastern Europe's momentous year of upheaval
1989 revisited
From a presidental inauguration to a bloody revolution
Dictators and dissidents
The people who made headlines as communism collapsed
Europe 1989-2009
See how Europe has changed since the Iron Curtain fell in 1989
Eastern European phrasebook
Don't know your perestroika from your glasnost?
Send, Share, See Your Stories
iReport.com: Autumn of Change
Send us video and photos and share your thoughts about the changes that shaped the end of the 20th century
Autumn of Change Video
Eye on Russia
Russian resurgence
Almost 20 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is again flexing its economic, diplomatic and military muscles on the world stage
Tiananmen remembered
China's turning point
Two decades on from the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators, China is still to come to terms with the legacy of Tiananmen
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