> In particular, when the Polish government asked Gorbachev for for help in putting down Solidarity, thinking they'd get a Soviet tank brigade like HUngary in 1

> In particular, when the Polish government asked Gorbachev for for help in putting down Solidarity, thinking they'd get a Soviet tank brigade like HUngary in 1956, Gorbachev said nyet, and Soviet control of the Eastern bloc unzipped pretty quick. The timeline does not work on this. Gorbachev was in power only from 1985, while Solidarity got thwarted in 1981, during introduction of Marital Law (key leaders got arrested, the strikes and protests were broken down, sometimes using lethal force). The Polish communist party justified these harsh measures with exactly the argument that it's still better than a foreign (Soviet) invasion of their country.