In a decade grimly dominated by Islamist terrorism, global warming and financial crisis, it is difficult to recall the heady days of 1989 when Communism collapsed in Europe and the world seemed set for a sunny future.

“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,” wrote Wordsworth of the French Revolution. His thoughts were echoed by millions who participated, 20 years ago, in the destruction of the Berlin Wall, the overthrow of Soviet rule in eastern Europe and the subsequent disintegration of the Soviet Union. Unlike the French Revolution and the 1917 Russian Revolution, the upheaval of 1989-91 and its aftermath was largely free of violence.