Reasons for the collapse of the USSR
Let's consider the most basic versions of why the USSR collapsed. In order to analyze the reasons for the collapse of the USSR, some return to 1991, to the days of the August Putsch, and others to 1985, when the “perestroika” Gorbachev came to power. But personally, I am inclined to think that we need to move back to the 1980s, it was then that the so-called point of no return began, from which the countdown to the existence of the USSR began. So let's start in order.
- Personnel shortage
Probably one of the main reasons for the collapse of the USSR is the shortage of party personnel. To do this, it is enough to remember, thanks to whom the USSR was formed and who was its leadership initially? At first, these were, in fact, fanatics of their idea, revolutionaries who sought to overthrow the tsarist regime and build communism, where all people are equal and, working, will live in abundance. After the war, leading positions in the USSR were occupied by former military men, this disciplined old generation who had an ardent communist ideology, they really wanted to build communism. Most of them could not even admit the thought that even one penny from state budget was stolen, although they took advantage of state benefits and their official position, but this can not be taken into account at all, especially when compared with today’s leaders. However, this old generation could not exist forever, when the leaders began to die; they could not find worthy personnel to replace them, or the worthy ones were simply not allowed in, since those who remained had their own plans.
Probably, it all started from the moment when “dear” Leonid Ilyich became completely “bad”; many witnesses of that period noted that General Sec. I failed very much, and quite quickly and strongly. The reason for this, many historians call “Brezhnev’s injections”, which were injected into him by a nurse, a KGB employee. At the same time, the logical chain converges, the chairman of the KGB at that time was Andropov, he had long been aiming to replace Brezhnev, and it is quite possible that such injections were actually purposefully administered to worsen the health of Leonid Ilyich. Andropov's dream came true; in November 1982, he headed the state after the death of Brezhnev, at 69 years old.
But Andropov’s reign ended after 15 months, since before taking up the post of General Secretary, he knew that he did not have long to live, but, nevertheless, he took such a high post. Andrpov's death was the second funeral in 2 years, since the last funeral of a Soviet leader was in 1953. The second death in a row of the country's leader in such a short period of time could not but affect the country in all its spheres. Andropov’s place was taken by Chernenko, who at that time was already 72 years old, but Konstantin Ustinovich also died almost a year after his appointment to the country’s main position. The third funeral was a blow for the USSR, the country is losing the ideological fundamentalists of communism, and also does not have a clear path of development, since Andropov and Chernenko had their own plans, but did not have time to implement them.
Jokes on this topic even began to circulate among the people. Understanding such an absurd situation, the Politburo decides to choose the relatively young Gorbachev as the leader of the country, who at that time was 54 years old, and he was really young in the political bureau. From that moment on, the collapse of the USSR began to occur at an irreversible pace, Gorbachev became the catalyst for this process.
The incompetence of the new leadership led by Gorbachev, as well as new personnel in the political system. bureau and leadership of the country, who ultimately turned out to be traitors, the desire of the leaders of the union republics to secede and make their countries independent in order to lead them themselves - all this is the result of Gorbachev’s perestroika.
- “Everyone pulled the blanket over themselves”
As was said just above, all the leaders of the union states “pulled the blanket over themselves” and they all wanted independence. Perestroika weakened tight control over both leaders and people. As a result, all the leaders of the union states, one way or another, tried to secede and declare independence at the right opportunity. The destruction of the Berlin Wall and the unification of Germany added fuel to the fire. Mass protests and unrest in the Baltic states and some other republics contributed to their imbalance.
The beginning of the end occurred in August 1991, when the “August Putsch” took place; as a result of this coup d’etat, within a month, Baltic countries. After this, the Soviet Union began to crumble. This also includes the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, where a military clash began between the Armenian SSR and the Azerbaijani USSR, Moldova, etc.
Against the backdrop of all these events, after the referendum on “preserving the union,” the leadership of the union republics nevertheless declared independence.
- Ideology has outlived its usefulness
It’s no secret that the USSR was based on communist ideology; it was propagated from everywhere. From birth, the child was instilled with communist values, even starting from kindergarten, and especially at school, in which all the students became Octobrists, and after that, pioneers, and so on. More than one generation lived according to this scheme, but the years passed, the world changed, and communist ideology could not resist it.
The main ideologists of the country and leaders passed away and in their place, as was said in the first reason, incompetent people came who did not believe in communism, they did not need it. Moreover, people themselves stopped believing in him, especially when the crisis began.
The rallies suppressed by the special services and the persecution of opposition figures were probably one of the keys to the successful existence of the USSR, but during perestroika, the oppositionists became more active and launched active, unhindered activities.
Perhaps this reason can be attributed to Chernobyl disaster, since it dealt a significant blow to both the reputation of the USSR and its leaders, and also affected people. The Soviet system, which forced builders into a framework for delivering objects within a certain time frame, and to coincide with communist holidays, made itself felt, and very cruelly, with the Chernobyl tragedy. The fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and exactly like all the previous three units, were put into operation with violations; according to experts, the fourth power unit could not be operated at all, since it did not meet safety standards; the builders needed to commission it on time. This factor, as well as the looseness of the system and the experiments carried out on that ill-fated night, became fatal in everything. The deliberate concealment of the consequences of the explosion further aggravated the situation. As a result, all this was a powerful blow to the entire Soviet system and the country as a whole.
- Crisis in all areas
As they say: the fish rots from the head, and this is what happened to the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was not a strong leader, and in order to hold such a large country, you need strong man. The country needed radical reforms, but all the reforms undertaken were failures. Lack of goods on shelves, constant shortages, huge queues, depreciation of money - all these are the consequences of perestroika. People are simply tired of living like this, or rather surviving, without any prospect that this crisis will ever end.
- "Pepsi-Cola and jeans"
With Gorbachev coming to power iron curtain began to slowly rise, and Western fashion poured in, its main attributes, perhaps, being jeans and Pepsi-Cola. Seeing how they live in the West, how they dress, what they drive, etc. Soviet citizens wanted the same. By the end of the 80s, the words “Lenin” and “communism” became the subject of ridicule, people felt the smell of freedom and wanted change, which was reflected in V. Tsoi’s song.
- The Americans still won
Everyone knows that America was the main enemy of the USSR. There has always been confrontation between the USA and the USSR, and in almost everything. Both countries were considered superpowers and fought for world domination, and the ideologies and worldviews of the two countries were completely different.
There is a version that Gorbachev collaborated with the United States, it was not for nothing that they called him “ good guy" There is also an opinion that Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko were killed, and all traces of these murders lead to the CIA. The neutralization of the entire old party nomenklatura, those hardened ones, and the appointment of Gorbachev, a pro-democratic politician, was to the advantage of the Americans. The Cold War of that time ended peacefully and in cold blood. Why fight the system with weapons if you can help this system become obsolete...
These, in my opinion, are the main reasons why the Soviet Union collapsed. Someone, for sure, will be inclined to one of the versions, but someone, including myself, is inclined to all these versions, that is, all the reasons listed above collectively provoked the collapse of the USSR, some of them to a greater extent, to some to a lesser extent, but, nevertheless, all of the above played a role.
As for the consequences, we can see them ourselves; not a single country that was part of the USSR, after the collapse, acquired the values it aspired to. But, nevertheless, there is no need to be nostalgic about the USSR, since life then was closed, people were simply kinder, and there was less theft by government managers, that’s the whole secret of the fabulous time.
How did political events develop in our country after the collapse of the USSR?
After the collapse of the USSR, a new period began in the history of Russia. In December 1991 The RSFSR was renamed the Russian Federation. (RF)
One of the most difficult issues for the Russian leadership was maintaining the integrity of the Russian Federation.
In 1992 a Federative Agreement was concluded, which represented a set of interrelated documents on the delimitation of objects of jurisdiction and powers between the federal bodies of state power of the Russian Federation and the subjects of the federation. However, Tatarstan and Chechnya did not sign the agreement.
In the first years of Russia's independence there were many
contradictions and discrepancies in the views of the executive and legislative branches of government. The contradictions resulted in an armed confrontation between the Supreme Council and President B.N. Yeltsin. The public reacted negatively to these events, and B.N. Yeltsin’s authority in the eyes of many Russians fell sharply. In 1994 he was the initiator in signing the Treaty of Social Accord. An amnesty was declared for participants in the events of August 1991. and October 1993
At the National Referendum on December 12, 1993. The Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted. According to official data, 32.9 million people voted for the Basic Law of the state (58.4% of participants in the referendum and 32.3% of total number voters of the country).
For modern Russia characterized by a multi-party system, which began to develop in the early 90s. Election campaigns became an important stage in the development of a multi-party system.
In the 1996 presidential elections. The main struggle began between the current President Boris Yeltsin and the communist leader G. Zyuganov. The elections showed an approximately equal number of forces, and in the second round Boris Yeltsin won.
During Yeltsin's reign, the most acute problem was the deterioration of relations federal center and Chechnya, which did not recognize Russian laws and sought to separate from Russia. In 1992 The post of President was established in this republic. The former became president Soviet general D. Dudayev. However, Russia did not recognize the acts of independence of Chechnya. In December 1994 Federal troops were sent into Chechnya to restore constitutional order.
In April 1996 during a special operation federal troops D. Dudayev was killed. In January 1997 A. Maskhadov was elected president of the Chechen Republic. Chechnya remained a source of instability and terrorism.
Since autumn 1999 has begun new stage worsening relations between Chechnya and the Russian Federation. After a series of terrorist attacks and the invasion of bandits into the territory of Dagestan Russian army had to start fighting against gangs.
December 31, 1999 B. N. Yeltsin resigned from the post of President of Russia. Since 2000 The president is V.V. Putin.
During his tenure as President, Putin announced the continuation of reforms and showed himself to be a skillful and consistent politician. A number of reforms were carried out in Russia to strengthen state power. The role of the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly, has changed. Members of the Federation Council are now elected on an alternative basis. The work of the President, the Government and the State Duma has become joint and coordinated.
Since November 2000 There is a new body - the State Council under the President. This structure includes governors and representatives of the Presidential Administration.
Eleven years before the collapse of the USSR
On the morning of May 20, 1980, Ronald Reagan (US President) received William Casey (Director of the CIA), who presented Reagan with new information about the state of affairs in the USSR, namely, Casey presented unofficial classified materials about problems in the USSR economy. Reagan loved to read such information on the USSR and in his diary on March 26, 1981, he wrote the following: The USSR is in a very bad situation, if we refrain from loans, they will ask others for help, because otherwise they will starve. Casey personally selected all the information on the USSR, bringing his old dream closer - collapse of the USSR.
On March 26, 1981, W. Casey arrived with a report to Reagan. Casey provided new information about the state of affairs in the USSR:
The USSR is in a very difficult situation, there is an uprising in Poland, the USSR is stuck in Afghanistan, Cuba, Angola and Vietnam. Casey insisted that there was no better time to collapse of the USSR does not exist. Reagan agreed and Casey began preparing his proposals for collapse of the USSR.
Members of the working group leading the collapse of the USSR
Ronald Reagan, William Joseph Casey, George H. W. Bush, Caspar Willard Weinberger
In early 1982, Casey, at a closed meeting in the White House, proposed plan for the collapse of the USSR. For some senior Reagan administration officials, the proposal collapse of the USSR came as a shock. Throughout the 70s, the West and Europe accustomed themselves to the idea that they should not fight with the USSR, but negotiate. The majority believed that there was simply no other way in the era of nuclear weapons. The NSDD plan was aimed in the other direction. On January 30, 1982, at a meeting of the working group, Casey's plan for the deployment of secret offensive operations against the USSR, classified top secret, it was called the “NSDD plan” (a directive of the Reagan administration in the matter of US strategy, goals and aspirations in relations with the USSR). The NSDD plan clearly stated that the next goal of the United States was no longer coexistence with the USSR, but change Soviet system. The entire working group recognized the necessary achievement of one goal - collapse of the USSR!
The essence of the NSDD plan for the collapse of the USSR boiled down to the following:
- Secret, financial, intelligence and political assistance to the Polish Solidarity movement. Goal: maintaining the opposition in the center of the USSR.
- Significant financial and military assistance to the Afghan Mujahideen. Goal: the spread of war on the territory of the USSR.
- Secret diplomacy in the countries Western Europe. Goal: limit the USSR's access to Western technologies.
- Psychological and information warfare. Goal: technical disinformation and destruction of the USSR economy.
- The growth of weapons and maintaining them at a high technological level. Goal: undermining the economy of the USSR and exacerbating the resource crisis.
- Cooperation with Saudi Arabia to reduce world oil prices. Goal: a sharp reduction in the flow of hard currency into the USSR.
CIA Director W. Casey realized that it was useless to fight the USSR; the USSR could only be destroyed economically.
Preparatory stage for the collapse of the USSR
In early April 1981, CIA Director W. Casey went to the Middle East and Europe. Casey had to solve 2 problems: falling oil prices and increasing resistance in Afghanistan. Therefore, Casey visited Egypt (supplier of weapons for Afghan Mujahideen). Here Casey told President Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat (a friend of the CIA) that the weapons that Egypt was supplying to the Afghan Mujahideen were scrap! The USSR could not be defeated with it, and offered financial assistance so that the supply of modern weapons could begin. However, Sadat was not destined to carry out the instructions of the CIA chief, because. 6 months later he was shot dead. But the United States still managed to supply the Afghan Mujahideen with weapons worth $8 billion!!! This is how the Mujahideen acquired the first Stinger air defense system. This is the largest covert operation since World War II.
Next, the CIA chief visited Saudi Arabia. The CIA analytical department calculated that if oil prices on the world market fell by just 1 dollar, the USSR would lose from 500 million to 1 billion dollars a year. In return, Casey promised the sheikh protection from possible revolutions, protection for family members, supplies of weapons, and guaranteed the inviolability of personal deposits in US banks. The sheikh agreed to the proposal, and oil production in Saudi Arabia jumped up sharply. So in 1986, the USSR's losses from falling oil prices amounted to $13 billion. Experts already realized then that Gorbachev would not be able to carry out any breakthrough or restructuring. Modernization required 50 billion dollars, which was taken away from the USSR by the NSDD plan.
Casey also managed to persuade the sheikh to secret participation Saudi Arabia in Afghan war and the strengthening of the Afghan Mujahideen by the Saudis. The sheikh's money was used to recruit the modest owner of a construction company, Osama bin Laden (terrorist No. 1 in the world).
After Saudi Arabia, the CIA chief visited Israel. The first points have already begun to work, next stage after the collapse of the USSR - this is an information and psychological war, without which collapse of the USSR it might not have happened. According to Casey, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad was to play a decisive role. Casey suggested that Israel use American spy satellites to obtain information about Iraq's nuclear facilities, as well as materials on Syria. In response, Israel opened part of its residency in the USSR to the CIA. The channels have been established.
The beginning of the implementation of the plan for the collapse of the USSR
The United States decided to carry out economic sabotage against Poland. One of the authors of this plan was Zbigniew Brzezinski. The meaning of this plan was that Western partners supplied enterprises to Poland with the assurance that they would take the products produced at these enterprises in the form of payment, and after the launch of the enterprise they refused to take the products. Thus, sales of products were slowed down, and the amount of Polish foreign currency debt went up. After this sabotage, Poland was in large debts; cards for goods began to be introduced in Poland (cards were even introduced for diapers and hygiene products). After this, workers' strikes began; the Poles wanted to eat. The burden of the Polish crisis fell on the economy of the USSR; Poland was provided with financial assistance in the amount of $10 billion, but Poland's debt remained in the amount of $12 billion. Thus began a revolution in one of the socialist countries.
The US administration was confident that the outbreak of a revolutionary fire in one of the USSR countries would lead to destabilization throughout the USSR. The Kremlin leadership, in turn, understood where the wind of change was blowing, intelligence reported that Polish revolutionaries were receiving financial assistance from Western countries (1.7 thousand newspapers and magazines, 10 thousand books and brochures were published underground, underground printing houses operated), on the radio “ Voice of America" and "Free Europe" Polish revolutionaries received hidden orders about when and where to strike. Moscow has repeatedly pointed out the danger coming from abroad and has begun to prepare for intervention. CIA intelligence decided to counter Moscow with the following trump card: Casey flies to Rome, where a key figure with influence on the Poles was located - this was the Pole Karol Jozef Wojtyla, after his enthronement - John Paul II (Primate of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005). The CIA remembered well how the Poles greeted John Paul II when he returned to his homeland. Then millions of excited Poles met their compatriot. After meeting Casey, he begins to actively support the Polish resistance and personally met with resistance leader Lech Walesa. Catholic Church begins to financially support the resistance (distributes humanitarian aid received from Western charitable foundations), provides shelters for oppositionists.
Report of the Director of the CIA on the collapse of the USSR
In February 1982, at a meeting in the oval office of the White House, the CIA director again reported on the work done. The loss of tens of millions of dollars, the tense situation in Poland, the protracted war in Afghanistan, instability in the socialist camp, all this led to the emptying of the USSR treasury. Casey also said that the USSR is trying to replenish the treasury with Siberian gas supplied to Europe - this is the Urengoy-6 project. This project was supposed to provide the USSR with colossal funds. In addition, Europe was very interested in the construction of this gas pipeline.
The failure of the Urengoy-6 project as one of the reasons for the collapse of the USSR
The Soviet Union was supposed to lay a gas pipeline from Siberia to the borders of Czechoslovakia, but imported pipes were required for the installation. It was then that the US administration introduced a ban on the supply of oil equipment to the USSR. But Europe, which was interested in gas, and which, by agreement with the USSR, had a significant 25-year discount on gas, secretly (the government secretly supported smuggled suppliers) continued to supply necessary equipment for the USSR. The US administration sent its own man to Europe, who campaigned for Europe for American coal, natural gas from the North Sea, and also for synthetic fuels. But Europe, feeling the benefits of cooperation with the USSR, continued to secretly help the USSR build a gas pipeline. Then Reagan again ordered the CIA to deal with this problem. In 1982, the CIA developed an operation according to which the USSR was supplied with gas equipment, V software which intentionally introduced errors. These errors were exploited after installation, resulting in large explosions on highways. As a result of these sabotages, Urengoy-6 was never completed, and the USSR again suffered losses in the amount of 1 trillion. dollars. This became one of the reasons for the bankruptcy and collapse of the USSR.
Another secret operation to collapse the USSR
On March 23, 1983, Reagan proposed deploying a system that would destroy enemy nuclear missiles in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars” program was the creation of a large-scale missile defense system with space-based elements. According to this program, the United States was supposed to launch satellites with laser weapons into geostationary orbits, which would constantly be located above their home base nuclear missiles and at the moment of their launch they could be shot down. The US administration, with the help of this program, intimidated the USSR and continued to deplete the USSR economy. The United States was led to believe that one day all Soviet missiles would become a pile of unnecessary metal. Soviet scientists began to study SDI and came to the conclusion that for laser weapons to work, powerful energy pumping was needed, and in order to hit a flying missile, the diameter of the laser beam had to be the size of a pinhead, and according to scientists’ calculations, the diameter of the missile’s laser beam turned into a circle of light diameter 100 sq. meters. Scientists have proven that SDI is a bluff! But the Soviet Union continued to devote too much effort and time to SDI, and the United States acted from a position of strength in the missile defense negotiations with the USSR.
Gorbachev also tried to somehow raise the economy of the USSR, he was counting on high oil prices, but oil prices fell from 35 to 10 dollars per barrel. Instead of improvement, Soviet citizens felt deterioration, store shelves became empty, and soon, as during the Second World War, cards appeared. The collapse of the USSR has entered its final stage.
Date of collapse of the USSR
Date of collapse of the USSR December 26, 1991. As a result collapse of the USSR The territory of Russia decreased compared to the territory of the USSR by 24%, and the population decreased by 49%. The unified armed forces and common currency disintegrated, and interethnic conflicts sharply escalated.
Collapse of the Soviet Union Socialist Republics and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States
Throughout 1990 and especially 1991, one of the main problems facing the USSR was the problem of signing a new Union Treaty. Work on its preparation led to the emergence of several projects that were published in 1991. In March 1991, on the initiative of M. Gorbachev, an all-Union referendum was held on the question of whether or not to exist the USSR and what it should be like. The majority of the population of the USSR voted to preserve the USSR.
This process was accompanied by an exacerbation of interethnic contradictions that led to open conflicts (pogroms of the Armenian population in Sumgait in 1989, in Baku in 1990, Nagorno-Karabakh, clashes between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the Osh region in 1990, armed conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia in 1991 year).
The actions of the Union Center and the army command (the dispersal of demonstrations in Tbilisi by troops in April 1989, the deployment of troops in Baku, the seizure of the television center in Vilnius by the army) contributed to the incitement of interethnic conflicts. As a result of interethnic conflicts, by 1991, about 1 million refugees appeared in the USSR.
The new authorities in the union republics, formed as a result of the 1990 elections, turned out to be more determined to change than the union leadership. By the end of 1990, almost all republics of the USSR adopted Declarations of their sovereignty and the supremacy of republican laws over union ones. A situation arose that observers dubbed a “parade of sovereignties” and a “war of laws.” Political power gradually shifted from the Center to the republics.
The confrontation between the Center and the Republic was expressed not only in the “war of laws”, i.e. situations when the republics declared, one after another, the supremacy of republican laws over union ones, but also in a situation when the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Supreme Councils of the union republics adopted laws that contradict each other. Some republics disrupted military conscription; Bypassing the Center, they concluded bilateral agreements on state relations and economic cooperation.
At the same time, both in the Center and locally, fears and fears of the uncontrollable collapse of the USSR were brewing. All this taken together gave special meaning negotiations on a new Union Treaty. In the spring and summer of 1991, meetings of the heads of the republics were held at the residence of the President of the USSR M. Gorbachev, Novo-Ogarevo, near Moscow. As a result of long and difficult negotiations, an agreement was reached, called “9 + 1”, i.e. nine republics and the Center that decided to sign the Union Treaty. The text of the latter was published in the press, the signing of the agreement was scheduled for August 20th.
M. Gorbachev went on vacation to Crimea, to Foros, intending to return to Moscow on August 19. On August 18, some senior officials from state, military and party structures arrived to M. Gorbachev in Foros and demanded that he authorize the introduction of a state of emergency throughout the country. The President refused to comply with these demands.
On August 19, 1991, the Decree of Vice-President G. Yanaev and the Statement of the Soviet leadership were read out on radio and television, in which it was announced that M. Gorbachev was ill and that he was unable to fulfill his duties, and that all power in the country was being taken over by The State Committee for the State of Emergency of the USSR (GKChP) itself was introduced, “to meet the demands of broad sections of the population,” throughout the entire territory of the USSR for a period of 6 months from 4 o’clock on August 19, 1991. The State Emergency Committee included: G. Yanaev - Vice-President of the USSR, V. Pavlov - Prime Minister, V. Kryuchkov - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, B. Pugo - Minister of Internal Affairs, O. Baklanov - first Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, A. Tizyakov is the chairman of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Transport and Communication Facilities of the USSR and V. Starodubtsev is the chairman of the Peasant Union.
On August 20, a kind of manifesto of the State Emergency Committee was published - “Appeal to the Soviet people.” It said that perestroika had reached a dead end (“the results of the national referendum on the unity of the Fatherland have been trampled, tens of millions have lost the joy of life Soviet people... in the very near future a new round of impoverishment is inevitable." The second part of the “Appeal” consisted of promises from the State Emergency Committee: to hold a national discussion of the draft of the new Union Treaty, restore law and order, support private entrepreneurship, solve food and housing problems, etc.
On the same day, Resolution No. 1 of the State Emergency Committee was published, which ordered that laws and decisions of government and administrative bodies that contradict the laws and Constitution of the USSR be considered invalid, that rallies and demonstrations be prohibited, that control be established over the media, that prices be reduced and that those wishing to receive 0, 15 hectares of land and increase wages.
The first reaction to the fact of the creation of the State Emergency Committee in Kazakhstan was wait-and-see. All republican newspapers, radio and television of the republic conveyed to the population all the documents of the State Emergency Committee. According to the chairman of the USSR State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company L. Kravchenko, N. Nazarbayev prepared a special video with words of recognition and support for the State Emergency Committee. N. Nazarbayev's televised address was sent to Moscow for broadcast on Channel One, but was not shown.
Published on August 19, N. Nazarbayev’s address “To the People of Kazakhstan” did not contain any assessments of what was happening and boiled down to calls for calm and restraint; it also indicated that a state of emergency was not being introduced on the territory of Kazakhstan. In Almaty on August 19, only a few representatives of democratic parties and movements - “Azat”, “Azamat”, “Alash”, “Unity”, “Nevada-Semey”, SDPK, the “Birlesy” trade union, etc. gathered a rally and issued a leaflet , in which the incident was called a coup d'etat and called on Kazakhstanis not to be accomplices in the crime and to bring the coup organizers to justice.
On the second day of the putsch, August 20, N. Nazarbayev issued a Statement in which he expressed his condemnation of the putsch in cautious terms, but still definitely. In the republic as a whole, many heads of regions and departments actually supported the putschists, developing, with varying degrees of readiness, measures to transition to a state of emergency.
On August 21, the coup failed. Gorbachev M. returned to Moscow. The Prosecutor General's Office opened criminal cases against the conspirators. After the defeat of the putsch, a series of actions by the President and Parliament of Kazakhstan followed.
On the same day, the Decree of N. Nazarbayev dated August 22 “On termination of activities organizational structures political parties, other public associations and mass social movements in the bodies of prosecutors, state security, internal affairs, police, state arbitration, courts and customs of the Kazakh SSR.”
On August 25, the Presidential Decree “On the property of the CPSU on the territory of the Kazakh SSR” was issued, according to which the property of the CPSU located on the territory of Kazakhstan was declared the property of the state.
On August 28, the Plenum of the CPC Central Committee was held, at which N. Nazarbayev resigned from his duties as the first secretary of the CPC Central Committee. The Plenum adopted two resolutions: on the termination of the activities of the Central Committee of the CPC and on the convening of the XVIII (extraordinary) Congress of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in September 1991 with the agenda “On the Communist Party of Kazakhstan in connection with the political situation in the country and the CPSU.”
On August 30, the Presidential Decree of August 28 “On the inadmissibility of combining leadership positions in government and administrative bodies with positions in political parties and other socio-political associations” was published.
August 29 - Decree on the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site.
In addition, N. Nazarbayev issued decrees “On the formation of the Security Council of the KazSSR”, “On the transfer of state-owned enterprises and organizations of union subordination to the jurisdiction of the government of the KazSSR”, “On the creation of the gold reserve and diamond fund of the KazSSR”, “On ensuring the independence of foreign economic activity of the KazSSR” .
After August 1991, the process of collapse of the USSR proceeded at a faster pace. In September 1991, the V (extraordinary) Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR took place in Moscow. At the suggestion of M. Gorbachev, N. Nazarbayev read out a statement by the President of the USSR and the top leaders of the union republics, which proposed:
- - firstly, to urgently conclude an economic union between the republics;
- -secondly, in the conditions of the transition period, to create the State Council as the highest authority of the USSR.
On September 5, 1991, the congress adopted the Constitutional Law on Power in the Transitional Period, and then resigned its powers to the State Council of the USSR and the then not yet formed Supreme Council of the USSR. This desperate attempt by M. Gorbachev to preserve the Center was not crowned with success - most of the republics did not send their representatives to the State Council.
However, the State Council, consisting of the highest officials republics of the USSR, began its work on September 9, 1991 with the recognition of the independence of the Baltic states. The USSR was officially reduced to 12 republics.
In October, eight union republics signed the Economic Community Treaty, but it was not respected. The process of disintegration increased.
In November 1991, in Novo-Ogarevo, seven republics (Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan) declared their intention to create a new interstate entity - the Union of Sovereign States (USS). The G7 leaders decided to sign a new Union Treaty by the end of 1991. Its initialing was scheduled for November 25, 1991. But this did not happen either. Only ML Gorbachev put his signature, and the project itself was sent for approval to the parliaments of seven republics. It was just an excuse. In fact, everyone was waiting for the outcome of the referendum on Ukrainian independence scheduled for December 1, 1991.
The population of Ukraine, which unanimously voted for the preservation of the USSR in March 1991, voted equally unanimously for the complete independence of Ukraine in December 1991, thereby burying M. Gorbachev’s hopes of preserving the USSR.
The powerlessness of the Center led to the fact that on December 8, 1991, in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, near Brest, the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine signed the Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This Agreement declared that the USSR as a subject of international law ceased to exist. The reaction of the Asian republics to the creation of the CIS was negative. Their leaders perceived the fact of the formation of the CIS as an application for the creation of a Slavic federation and, as a consequence, the possibility of political confrontation between the Slavic and Turkic peoples.
On December 13, 1991, at an urgently convened meeting in Ashgabat of the leaders of the “five” (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan), the leader of Turkmenistan S. Niyazov (according to N. Nazarbayev) proposed considering the possibility of creating a Confederation of Central Asian States in response to the decisions in Belovezhskaya Pushcha.
Ultimately, the leaders of the “five” made it clear that they did not intend to join the CIS as affiliated participants, but only as founders, on an equal basis, on “neutral” territory. Common sense prevailed, decency was observed, and on December 21, a meeting of the leaders of the Troika (Belarus, Russia, Ukraine) and the Five (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan) took place in Almaty. 
At the Alma-Ata meeting, the Declaration () was adopted on the cessation of the existence of the USSR and the formation of the CIS consisting of eleven states.
On December 25, M. Gorbachev signed a Decree relieving himself of the functions of Supreme Commander-in-Chief and announced his resignation from the post of President of the USSR. On December 26, one of the two chambers of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR that was able to convene - the Council of Republics - adopted a formal Declaration on the cessation of the existence of the USSR.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceased to exist.
The participants of the Alma-Ata meeting adopted a package of documents,
according to which:
- — the territorial integrity of the states that were members of the Commonwealth was stated;
- — unified command of military-strategic forces and unified control over nuclear weapons were maintained;
- — were created higher authorities CIS authorities “Council of Heads of State” and “Council of Heads of Government”;
- - the open character of the Commonwealth was declared.
The Soviet Union was dissolved December 26, 1991. This was announced in Declaration No. 142-N issued by the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union. The Declaration recognized the independence of the former Soviet republics and created the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), although five of its signatories ratified it much later or did not do so at all.
The day before, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned and transferred his powers, including control over the launch codes of Soviet nuclear missiles, to Russian President Boris Yeltsin. That same evening at 7:32 the Soviet flag was replaced by the pre-revolutionary Russian flag.
A week before the official termination Union of 11 republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, which formally created the CIS. The collapse of the USSR also marked end of the cold war.
Some of the republics have maintained close ties with the Russian Federation and have created multilateral organizations, such as:
- Eurasian Economic Community;
- Union State;
- Eurasian Customs Union and Eurasian Economic Union.
On the other hand, the Baltic countries have joined NATO and the European Union.
Spring 1989 The people of the Soviet Union, in a democratic choice, albeit limited, for the first time since 1917, elected a new Congress of People's Deputies. This example prompted the events that began to occur in Poland. The communist government in Warsaw was overthrown, which in turn sparked coups that overthrew communism in the other five Warsaw Pact countries before the end of 1989. The Berlin Wall was torn down.
These events showed that people of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union did not support Gorbachev’s desire to modernize the communist system.
October 25, 1989 The Supreme Council voted to expand the power of the republics in local elections, allowing them to decide for themselves how to organize voting. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have already proposed laws on direct presidential elections. Local elections in all republics were scheduled for the period from December to March 1990.
In December 1989 The Congress of People's Deputies took place and Gorbachev signed the report of the Yakovlev Commission condemning the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
The constituent republics of the union began to declare their national sovereignty and “war of laws” with the central government of Moscow; they rejected national legislation that conflicted with local laws, asserted control over the local economy, and refused to pay taxes. These processes began to occur everywhere and simultaneously.
Rivalry between the USSR and the RSFSR
March 4, 1990 The RSFSR Republic held relatively free elections. Boris Yeltsin was elected representing Sverdlovsk with 72 percent of the vote. On May 29, 1990, Yeltsin was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, despite the fact that Gorbachev asked Russian deputies not to vote for him.
Yeltsin was supported by democratic and conservative members of the Supreme Soviet, who were seeking power in the evolving political situation. A new struggle for power arose between the RSFSR and the Soviet Union. On July 12, 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in a dramatic speech at the 28th Congress.
Lithuania
11th of March The newly elected parliament of the Lithuanian SSR proclaimed the Law on the Restoration of Lithuania, making it the first republic to separate from the USSR.
Estonia
March 30, 1990 Estonia declared the Soviet occupation of Estonia after World War II illegal and began to restore Estonia as an independent state.
Latvia
Latvia announced the restoration of independence May 4, 1990 with a declaration providing for a transition period for full independence.
Ukraine
July 16, 1990 Parliament overwhelmingly approved the Declaration of Sovereignty of Ukraine - 355 votes and four against. MPs voted 339–5 to declare July 16 a national holiday in Ukraine.
March 17, 1991 In the All-Union referendum, 76.4 percent of people were in favor of preserving the Soviet Union. Boycotted the referendum:
- Baltic republics;
- Armenia;
- Georgia;
- Moldova;
- Checheno-Ingushetia.
In each of the remaining nine republics, a majority of voters supported maintaining the reformed Soviet Union.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the attempted coup
June 12, 1991 Boris Yeltsin won democratic elections, defeating Gorbachev's preferred candidate, Nikolai Ryzhkov. After Yeltsin's election to the presidency, Russia declared itself independent.
Faced with growing separatism, Gorbachev sought to rebuild the Soviet Union into a less centralized state. On August 20, 1991, the Russian SSR was supposed to sign a union treaty that would turn the Soviet Union into a federation. This was strongly supported by the Central Asian republics, who needed the economic benefits of a common market to prosper. However, this would mean some degree of continuation of the Communist Party over the economic and social life.
More radical reformists increasingly convinced of the need for a rapid transition to a market economy, even if the end result meant the collapse of the Soviet Union into several independent states. Independence also suited Yeltsin's desires for regional and local governments to be freed from Moscow's large-scale control.
In contrast to the warm reaction of the reformers to the treaty, the conservatives, "patriots" and Russian nationalists of the USSR, still strong within the CPSU and the military, opposed the weakening of the Soviet state and its centralized power structure.
August 19, 1991 years, high-ranking officials of the USSR formed the “General Committee for Emergency Situations”. The leaders of the coup issued an emergency decree suspending political activity and banning most newspapers.
The organizers of the coup expected public support, but found that public opinion was major cities and the republics were mostly against them. This manifested itself in public demonstrations, especially in Moscow. RSFSR President Yeltsin condemned the coup and received popular support.
After three days, August 21, 1991, the coup collapsed. The organizers were detained, and Gorbachev was restored as president, although his power was greatly shaken.
August 24, 1991 Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee of the CPSU, resigned as the party's general secretary and dissolved all party units in the government. Five days later, the Supreme Council indefinitely suspended all activities of the CPSU on Soviet territory, effectively ending communist rule in the Soviet Union and destroying the only remaining unifying force in the country.
In what year did the USSR collapse
Between August and December, 10 republics declared their independence, largely out of fear of another coup. By the end of September, Gorbachev no longer had the authority to influence events outside Moscow.
September 17, 1991 General Assembly resolutions 46/4, 46/5 and 46/6 recognized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as members of the United Nations in accordance with Security Council resolutions No. 709, 710 and 711, adopted on 12 September without a vote.
The final round of the collapse of the Soviet Union began with a popular referendum in Ukraine on December 1, 1991, in which 90 percent of voters chose independence. The events that took place in Ukraine destroyed any real chance for Gorbachev to preserve the USSR, even on a limited scale. The leaders of the three main Slavic republics: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus agreed to discuss possible alternatives to the USSR.
December 8 the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met secretly in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in the west of Belarus, and signed a document in which it was said that the USSR ceased to exist and announced the creation of the CIS. They also invited other republics to join the CIS. Gorbachev called it an unconstitutional coup.
Doubts remained as to whether the Bialowieza Agreement was legal, since it was signed by only three republics. However, on December 21, 1991, representatives of 11 of the 12 remaining republics, except Georgia, signed a protocol that confirmed the dissolution of the Union and officially formed the CIS.
On the night of December 25, at 19:32 Moscow time, after Gorbachev left the Kremlin, the Soviet flag was lowered into last time and in its place the Russian tricolor was raised, symbolically signifying the end of the Soviet Union.
That same day, United States President George W. Bush made a short televised speech officially recognizing the independence of the 11 remaining republics.
Alma-Ata Protocol also touched on other issues, including UN membership. Notably, Russia was authorized to accept membership of the Soviet Union, including its permanent seat on the Security Council. The Soviet Ambassador to the UN sent a letter to the UN Secretary General dated December 24, 1991, signed by Russian President Yeltsin, informing him that by virtue of the Alma-Ata Protocol, Russia had become the successor state of the USSR.
After being circulated to other UN member states without objection, the statement was declared accepted on the last day of the year, December 31, 1991.
Additional Information
According to a 2014 survey, 57 percent of Russian citizens regretted the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fifty percent of respondents in Ukraine in a February 2005 survey said they also regretted the collapse of the USSR.
The collapse of economic ties that occurred during the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a serious economic crisis and a rapid decline in living standards in the post-Soviet states and the former Eastern Bloc.
Membership in the United Nations
In a letter dated December 24, 1991 President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin informed Secretary General United Nations that membership in UN bodies continues Russian Federation with the support of 11 member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Belarus and Ukraine by this time were already members of the UN.
Other twelve independent states, created from former Soviet republics, were also admitted to the UN:
- 17 September 1991: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania;
- March 2, 1992: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan;
- July 31, 1992: Georgia.
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