In 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts towards peace during the cold war.

On the 11^th of March 1985 the Communist Party gained a new leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was the first leader not to be alive during the original revolution. Gorbachev realised that in order to improve the economy he would have to introduce some new drastic changes. One of these changes was known as glasnost (which literally means publicity but was used to mean justice of governance) which was a drastic change in policy, giving Soviets much more freedom of speech and transparency of the government. Gorbachev hoped to eliminate corruption in the communist party. Gorbachev allowed privatising of companies for the first time to promote growth in the economy. He introduced a Presidential system on the 1^st of July 1988 and allowed for multiparty free elections for the first time in Russia since the revolution of 1917.

Gorbachev also made huge changes in foreign policy through open talks with America and Britain. He made the first steps to reducing Soviet Nuclear weapons and urged the US to do the same which allowed for the end of the bitter “Cold War”.

Gorbachev’s was seen by many as a hero to democracy, especially in the west, but many of the hard-line communist party leaders saw Gorbachev as a menace to all that the USSR stood for. Despite the hatred towards him, that led to a coup and ultimately the collapse of the Communist Party, for his efforts for peace he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on the 15^th of October 1990.

In 1987 Fiji leaves the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1965 Singapore became a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1947 India and Pakistan joined the Commonwealth of Nations.

In 1815 defeated Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Saint Helena.

In 1808 Sir Arthur Wesley, The duke of Wellington, took control of the British, Portuguese and Spanish forces in the ‘Peninsular War’ and by 1814 he had defeated Napoleon and his forces on land, and returned Spain to the Spanish. Napoleon was again defeated by the combined forces of Russia, Austria and Prussia in the battle of Paris.

On the 11th of April 1814 Napoleon abdicated as emperor and as per the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba.

 The following year Napoleon returned to France and amassed another army only to be defeated once more by Wellington at the ‘Battle of Waterloo’ on the 18th of June 1815. Napoleon was exiled as a British prisoner on the 15^th of October 1815 to the island of Saint Helena where he died six years later. Napoleon is considered one of the greatest military leaders of all time and was determined to expand the French empire in Europe and conquering his enemies such as Great Britain and Portugal. His war machine seemed almost unstoppable but thanks to the great leadership of Nelson, Prussia’s Gebhard Von Blucher and Wellington, Napoleon was defeated.