By the early 1990s, Soviet domination in Eastern Europe had ended. A number of individuals played a part in the collapse of the Soviet Union. Understanding the role that each played is an important part of understanding the process that changed European politics and geography.

While most Americans will give credit to Ronald Reagan for bringing down the Iron Curtain, and for good reason, there were a number of European leaders, including the Soviet's own Mikhail Gorbachev, that played a part. Also among those was Margaret Thatcher, the British PM, Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa, Poland's Solidarity Movement leader, and co-founder of the first independent trade union in a Soviet bloc country. He was a thorn in the Soviet's side for a number of reasons, but what made this collection of characters important was how they all came together at just the right time in history to confront the Soviet's. If you look each one up, you'll get a good idea of the specific roles they played.