Historical eventNovember 281989

Cold War

Cold War: Velvet Revolution: In the face of protests, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announces it will give up its monopoly on political power.

Everything on November 28Original source

In context

When
Tuesday, November 28 198937 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1980s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1989.

What happened

The Cold War was a period of international geopolitical rivalry between the United States (USA) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc. It began in the aftermath of the Second World War and ended with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The term cold war is used because there was no direct fighting between the two superpowers, though each supported opposing sides in regional conflicts known as proxy wars.

November 28 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1979Mount Erebus disaster
  2. 1980Iran–Iraq War
  3. 1983Space Shuttle Columbia
  4. 1987South African Airways Flight 295
  5. 1989Cold War
  6. 1990Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  7. 1991South Ossetia
  8. 20022002 Mombasa attacks
  9. 20142014 Kano attack
  10. 2016LaMia Flight 2933
  11. 2020Ethiopian National Defense Force

Also in 1989

  • September 11East GermanyHungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany.
  • September 13ApartheidLargest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
  • September 14Typhoon Sarah (1989)Typhoon Sarah dissipated after causing extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific, killing 71 in Taiwan, the Phili…
  • September 14Standard Gravure shootingThe Standard Gravure shooting where Joseph T. Wesbecker, a 47-year-old pressman, killed eight people and injured 12 people at his former…
  • September 16Boris YeltsinDuring a tour of the United States, Soviet politician Boris Yeltsin visited a grocery store in Texas that had a major impact on his views…
  • September 181989 Burkina Faso coup attemptAn attempted coup d'état against Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré is uncovered and foiled.
  • November 17Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures released The Little Mermaid to theatres, beginning the Disney Renaissance.
  • November 17Velvet RevolutionCold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprisi…

Everything we record for 1989 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Cold War”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/cold-war-1989-november-28, accessed October 28, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Cold War happen?

November 28 1989 — 37 years ago, on a Tuesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.