romaniandictatornicolae2

December 24 or 25, 1989, Bucharest, Romania --- A group of soldiers and demonstrators, flashing peace signs, block the streets of Bucharest during the December 1989 uprising, which marked the end of Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu's rule. In a brief but violent revolution that spread from Timisoara to Bucharest, during which more than 1,200 people died, Ceausescu and his regime were overthrown and the dictator and his wife Elena summarily executed by firing squad. --- Image by Patrick Robert/Sygma/Corbis