35 years ago today, June 4, 1989, Poles ousted the communist party in the first partly free elections since WW2. The election set off a chain of events that led to the opening of the Berlin wall. The USSR's European empire had collapsed by the end of the year.
Also on June 4, 1989, the Chinese army fired on Tianamen Square protesters, ending any hope of political change. The massacre helped inspire the Chinese communist party to create the total surveillance state they are completing today.