the few countries East Germans could travel to, thousands then traveled there to flee to the west across the newly opened border. To the great annoyance of the East German government, the Hungarians refused to stop the exodus. These developments greatly disturbed hardline communists such as the East German leader Erich Honecker, who condemned the end of the traditional "socialist unity" of the Soviet bloc and appealed to Moscow to rein in the Hungarians. Honecker faced a growing crisis at home, with massive anti-government demonstrations in Leipzig and other East German cities. Shevardnadze's speech and Gerasimov's memorable description of the new policy amounted to a rebuff of Honecker's appeals. The proclamation of the "Sinatra Doctrine" had dramatic effects across the Soviet bloc. The beleaguered East German government had hoped for a Soviet intervention to defend communism in East Germany and elsewhere. However, the announcement of the "Sinatra Doctrine" signalled that the Soviet Union would not aid the East German communists. In a few months, the communist governments of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania had all been overthrown, thus bringing the Cold War to an end. See also Revolutions of 1989 ("Autumn of Nations") New political thinking References "'Sinatra Doctrine' at Work in Warsaw Pact, Soviet Says", Los Angeles Times, 1989-10-25 Foreign policy doctrines Foreign relations of the Soviet Union Frank Sinatra Warsaw Pact Revolutions of 1989 Mikhail Gorbachev Revolution terminology