Execution of demonstrators in Tiananmen Square 25 years ago

25 years ago, on June 4, 1989, the Chinese authorities shot down students and residents of Beijing in Tiananmen Square, who demanded democracy, urgent political reforms and the eradication of corruption. The exact number of victims during those events is still unknown. Their number varies, according to various estimates, from several hundred to several thousand. The Chinese government has not released information about this and is trying to destroy any memory of this uprising, but the evidence survives. For example, in the pictures, some of which you can see right now.

(Total 30 photos)

1. One warrior in the field: an unknown man, who became a symbol of the events on Tiananmen Square, single-handedly blocks a column of tanks in Beijing on June 5, 1989. He called for an end to the violence and bloodshed against the democratic demonstrators, but he was soon taken away, and the tanks continued on their way along Xi'an Boulevard. His further fate is unknown. This photograph, taken by Jeff Widener, made headlines around the world after the suppression of the uprising in the square. It is recognized as one of the most symbolic images in the history of photography. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

2. A student with a banner "Freedom" participates in a rally on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on April 22, 1989. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

3. Thousands of students from local colleges and universities march to Beijing's Tiananmen Square on May 4, 1989, calling on the government to reform. (© AP Photo / Sadayuki Mikami)

4. Students of Peking University, who announced the start of an indefinite hunger strike, participate in a grand demonstration on Tiananmen Square in Beijing on May 18, 1989. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

5. Doctors provide first aid to a student on a hunger strike at Peking University in a field hospital on Tiananmen Square, May 17, 1989. (© AP Photo / Sadayuki Mikami)

6. Youth participate in a rally on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, May 19, 1989. (© AP Photo / Sadayuki Mikami)

7. Passers-by greet demonstrators on their way to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, May 18, 1989. (© AP Photo / Sadayuki Mikami)

8. A woman introduces a soldier to her son, 8 km from Tiananmen Square, where they were surrounded and stopped by citizens. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

9. A military helicopter drops leaflets demanding to leave Tiananmen Square as soon as possible, May 22, 1989. (© Reuters / Shunsuke Akatsuka)

10. Workers try to drape a giant portrait of Mao Zedong in Beijing's Tiananmen Square after it was covered in paint, on May 23, 1989. (© Reuters / Ed Nachtrieb)

11. Peking University students listen to their leader's speech on Tiananmen Square, which they have been holding for the past two weeks, May 28, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

12. Students of the Beijing Academy of Arts create a 10-meter "Goddess of Democracy" in Tiananmen Square, May 30, 1989. In the early morning of June 4, during the suppression of the uprising, soldiers demolished the "Goddess of Democracy". (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

13. A plainclothes police officer tries to explain to students protesting in front of the Beijing police building that their activities violate martial law, May 30, 1989. (© AP Photo / Mark Avery)

14. Students burn copies of the Beijing Daily newspaper in front of the editorial office, which, in their opinion, publishes pro-government articles, June 2, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

15. A retired woman explains her views on democracy to students in Tiananmen Square on May 31, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

16. A student calls on the soldiers to go home, while crowds of people poured into the center of Beijing, June 3, 1989. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

17. A woman with a camera is sandwiched between soldiers and demonstrators in Beijing, June 3, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

18. Students try to hold back an aggressive crowd from chasing retreating soldiers on June 3, 1989 in Beijing. People were angered by the government's attempts to disperse the crowd with tear gas and batons. (© AP Photo / Mark Avary)

19. People stand on a bus blocking the road leading to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, June 3, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

20. Soldiers of the People's Liberation Army of China jump over the barrier on Tiananmen Square during clashes with demonstrators, June 4, 1989. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

21. Students set fire to an armored personnel carrier near Tiananmen Square, June 4, 1989. (© Tommy Cheng / AFP / Getty Images)

22. Corpses among the wreckage of bicycles near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, June 4, 1989. (©AP Photo)

23. A man on a cycle rickshaw carries an injured girl to the hospital, June 4, 1989. (© Manuel Ceneta / AFP / Getty Images)

24. In the late evening of 3 June 1989, protesters surrounded an armored car at the entrance to the House of People's Assembly. He broke through the barricades. And the soldiers are already preparing to open fire on the demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

25. A man on a cycle rickshaw carries the wounded to the hospital in Beijing, June 4, 1989. (© AP Photo / Liu Heung Shing)

26. Soldiers lead an arrested man in handcuffs along a street in Beijing in June 1989. Police and soldiers were looking for people involved in democratic protests. (© Manuel Ceneta / AFP / Getty Images)

27. Three unidentified people run away, while one Chinese man stands apart, blocking the way to Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a column of government tanks, June 5, 1989. (© AP Photo / Terril Jones)

28. A Chinese man stands apart, blocking the way to Beijing's Tiananmen Square, a convoy of government tanks, June 5, 1989. (© AP Photo / Jeff Widener)

29. The Chinese scatter after a soldier threatens them with a gun, demanding to disperse, June 5, 1989 in Beijing. (© Catherine Henriette / AFP / Getty Images)

30. Beijing residents look at more than twenty armored personnel carriers burned by demonstrators to block the way for the military to Tiananmen Square, June 4, 1989. (© Manuel Ceneta / AFP / Getty Images)