History of Germany (1945–90) eventually hundreds of thousands of people in several cities—particularly in Leipzig—continued to grow. On 7 October, the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visited Berlin to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of East Germany and urged the East German leadership to pursue reform, without success. The movement of civil resistance against the East German regime—both the emigration and the demonstrations—continued unabated. On 18 October, Erich Honecker was forced to resign as head of the SED and as head of state and was replaced by Egon Krenz. But the exodus continued unabated, and pressure for political reform mounted. On 4 November,
Dmitri Vrubel Dmitri Vrubel Dmitri Vladimirovich Vrubel (; born 14 July 1960) is a Russian painter. He is best known for his East Side Gallery-painting "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love," depicting the kissing communist leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. Vrubel was born in Moscow. His surname is a Russification of the common Polish surname Wróbel. "My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love" depicts the kissing communist leaders Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker. It was inspired by the kiss they had in 1979, during the celebration of the 30 years of the GDR. In 2009 the