ABSTRACT
The events of 1989 in the East-Central European belt of satellite communist regimes was a most fitting finale for the twentieth century, bound to be recorded in history as the age of revolutions. They changed the political map of the globe, affecting even parts ostensibly distant from the scene of the upheaval in ways which are still far from being fully grasped. They are also certain to be scrutinized for the updating they offer to our orthodox views of how revolutions come about and how they are conducted in a new socio-cultural context.
