< ! -- Pope John Paul II provided a moral focus for anti-communism ; a visit to his native Poland in 1979 stimulated a religious and nationalist resurgence centered on the Solidarity movement that galvanized opposition and may have led to his attempted assassination two years later . In December 1981 , Poland 's Wojciech Jaruzelski reacted to the crisis by imposing a period of martial law . Reagan imposed economic sanctions on Poland in response . Mikhail Suslov , the Kremlin 's top ideologist , advised Soviet leaders not to intervene if Poland fell under the control of Solidarity , for fear it might lead to heavy economic sanctions , resulting in a catastrophe for the Soviet economy
attempted assassination
Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
Cold War