THE RECORD
What changed
The Berlin Wall opened in 1989 and the USSR dissolved in 1991 amid reform, economic crisis and national movements.
EVIDENCE
What remains
Treaties, state files, protest footage, oral histories, economic and arms-control data document the transition.
WHY IT MATTERS
Why it matters
It accelerated globalization and European integration, but not war, inequality or nuclear danger.
OPEN QUESTION
Where interpretation begins
A simple Western victory or leader story erases civic movements and republic-level actors.