On this day: December 25

Romania executes dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu after revolution

On December 25, 1989, following a brief revolutionary uprising and summary trial, Romania's longtime communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena were executed, marking a violent climax to the Romanian Revolution and the end of Ceaușescu's regime.

U.S. and Russia Acknowledge End of the Cold War

On December 25, 1991, following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, U.S. and Russian leaders acknowledged that the Cold War had effectively ended, marking a formal close to decades of ideological, political and military rivalry.