The Romanian army defected to the cause of anti-communist demonstrators, and the government of Nicolae Ceausescu was overthrown. The end of 42 years of communist rule came three
days after Ceausescu’s security forces opened fire on the
demonstrators in Timisoara.

After the army’s defection, Ceausescu and his wife fled from
Bucharest in a helicopter (below) but were captured later and
convicted of mass murder in a hasty military trial. On December
25, they were executed by a firing squad.