Carnival of Revolution
Central Europe 1989

A history of the revolutions that toppled communism in Europe, this work looks behind the scenes at the grassroots movements that made those revolutions happen. It looks for answers not in the salons of power brokers and famed intellectuals, not in decrepit economies - but in the whirlwind of activity that stirred so crucially, on the street.

They all conquered fear and apathy to bring people out into the streets. The result was a revolution unlike any other before: nonviolent, exuberant, even light-hearted, but also with a relentless political focus - a revolution that leapt from country to country in the exciting events of 1988 and 1989. "A Carnival of Revolution" resounds with the atmosphere of those turbulent years: the daring of new movements, the unpredictability of street demonstrations, and the hopes and regrets of the young participants. A vivid photo-essay complements engaging prose to fully capture the drama. Based on over two hundred interviews in twelve countries, and drawing on samizdat and other writings in six languages, this is among the most insightful and compelling accounts ever published of the historical milestone that ushered in our age.

INTRODUCTION: Street Theater, Concrete Poetry 1
PART ONE: ACTORS, STAGES, REPERTOIRES 21
CHAPTER ONE: Eating the Crocodile with a Spoon, or, A Career Guide to the Underground 23
The Amnesty Trap
Political Charity
Church and Opposition
The Workers' Dilemma
Vents or Accumulators?
CHAPTER TWO: Come With Us! They Aren't Beating Today! The Art of the Blizzard 57
The Ballad of Marek Adamkiewicz
Conservative Pacism, Anarchist Nationalism
Ideals and Instruments
"Radiators" across the Bloc
Zarnobyl
The Blue and the Green
Bratislava Speaks Up
"I'd Rather Live"
In the Future Tense
CHAPTER THREE: As If in Europe: The International World of Peace and Human Rights 91
Reticence and Revolutionary Tourism
Dialogue for an Endangered
Continent
Helsinki from Below
On the Friendship Trail
Borders Fall in East Germany
Coventry Cathedral and the Church on Zytnia Street
CHAPTER FOUR: The New Politics of the Konkretny Generation 121
A Shy Little Wave for Gorbachev
The Lion Cubs of Western Ukraine
Slovenia's People for Peace Culture
Hungarian Orange Appeal
Towards an Opposition in Prague
Workers of the Last Hour
CHAPTER FIVE: How the Smurfs Captured Gargamel, or, A Revolution of Style 157
The Elfn Rebellion
Hippies in the Holy Garden
The Young Subversive's Handbook
Gloom in Krakow
Pietia's Crusade
Pornoslavia
God, King, and Country in Bohemia
To Become a Smurf
PHOTOESSAY: PHOTOGRAPHING THE CARNIVAL 195
PART TWO: A REVOLUTION IN SIXTEEN SCENES 213
Scene One: "Blink, and I See Another World": The Candlelight March 215
Scene Two: A Tale of Two Lenins 217
Scene Three: Slovene Spring 225
Scene Four: Days That Shook Lviv 229
Scene Five: Strikes in Shades of Orange 233
Scene Six: An Invasion Remembered 238
Scene Seven: WaterDam/ned: Hungary Defends the Danube 241
Scene Eight: Independence Day and Palach Week 244
Scene Nine: Encircling the Round Table 249
Scene Ten: Mothers and Children 254
Scene Eleven: On the Fourth of June 257
Scene Twelve: Hungarians Bury the Communists 261
Scene Thirteen: Korzos and Road Races 265
Scene Fourteen: Lviv Passes the Baton 269
Scene Fifteen: The Mosquito and the Messedemos 274
Scene Sixteen: Bring a Flower with You! The Velvet Revolution 280
EPILOGUE: No More Picnics, After the Revolution 293
Jacob's Retreat
Remembering 1989
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 307
NOTES 311
SOURCES 323
INDEX 331