TASS-DOSSIER /Kirill Titov/. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, formed in 1922, was created by the leadership of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) as the basis for the future world revolution. The declaration of its formation stated that the Union would be “a decisive step towards uniting the working people of all countries into the World Socialist Soviet Republic.”

To attract as many socialist republics as possible into the USSR, in the first Soviet constitution (and all subsequent ones), each of them was assigned the right to freely secede from the Soviet Union. In particular, in the last Basic Law of the USSR - the Constitution of 1977 - this norm was enshrined in Article 72. Since 1956, the Soviet state included 15 union republics.

Reasons for the collapse of the USSR

From a legal point of view, the USSR was an asymmetrical federation (its subjects had different statuses) with elements of a confederation. At the same time, the union republics were in an unequal position. In particular, the RSFSR did not have its own Communist Party or Academy of Sciences; the republic was also the main donor of financial, material and human resources for the other members of the Union.

The unity of the Soviet state system was ensured by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). It was built on a strict hierarchical principle and duplicated all state bodies of the Union. In Article 6 of the Basic Law of the USSR of 1977, the Communist Party was assigned the status of “the leading and directing force of Soviet society, the core of its political system, state and public organizations.”

By the 1980s The USSR found itself in a state of systemic crisis. A significant part of the population has lost faith in the dogmas of the officially declared communist ideology. The economic and technological lag of the USSR from Western countries became apparent. As a result of the national policy of the Soviet government, independent national elites were formed in the union and autonomous republics of the USSR.

An attempt to reform the political system during perestroika 1985–1991. led to the aggravation of all existing contradictions. In 1988–1990 On the initiative of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev, the role of the CPSU was significantly weakened.

In 1988, the reduction of the party apparatus began, and a reform of the electoral system was carried out. In 1990, the constitution was changed and Article 6 was eliminated, as a result of which the CPSU was completely separated from the state. At the same time, inter-republican relations were not subject to revision, which led, against the backdrop of weakening party structures, to a sharp increase in separatism in the union republics.

According to a number of researchers, one of the key decisions during this period was Mikhail Gorbachev’s refusal to equalize the status of the RSFSR with other republics. As Assistant Secretary General Anatoly Chernyaev recalled, Gorbachev “ironly” stood against the creation of the Communist Party of the RSFSR and the granting of full status to the Russian republic.” Such a measure, according to a number of historians, could contribute to the unification of Russian and allied structures and ultimately preserve a single state.

Interethnic clashes

During the years of perestroika in the USSR, interethnic relations sharply worsened. In 1986, major interethnic clashes occurred in Yakutsk and Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR, now Kazakhstan). In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began, during which the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region populated by Armenians announced its secession from the Azerbaijan SSR. This was followed by the Armenian-Azerbaijani armed conflict. In 1989, clashes began in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, South Ossetia, etc. By mid-1990, more than 600 thousand citizens of the USSR became refugees or internally displaced persons.

"Parade of Sovereignties"

In 1988, a movement for independence began in the Baltic states. It was led by the “popular fronts” - mass movements created with the permission of the Union authorities in support of perestroika.

On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Council (SC) of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration on the state sovereignty of the republic and introduced changes to the republican constitution, which made it possible to suspend the operation of union laws on the territory of the Estonia. On May 26 and July 28, 1989, similar acts were adopted by the Armed Forces of the Lithuanian and Latvian SSR. On March 11 and 30, 1990, the Armed Forces of Lithuania and Estonia adopted laws on the restoration of their own independent states, and on May 4, the Parliament of Latvia approved the same act.

On September 23, 1989, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a constitutional law on the state sovereignty of the republic. During 1990, similar acts were adopted by all other union republics.

Law on the withdrawal of union republics from the USSR

On April 3, 1990, the USSR Supreme Council adopted the law “On the procedure for resolving issues related to the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR.” According to the document, such a decision was to be made through a referendum appointed by the local legislative body. Moreover, in a union republic that included autonomous republics, regions and districts, a plebiscite had to be held separately for each autonomy.

A decision to withdraw was considered legitimate if it was supported by at least two-thirds of voters. Issues of the status of allied military facilities, enterprises, financial and credit relations of the republic with the center were subject to settlement during a transition period of five years. In practice, the provisions of this law were not implemented.

Proclamation of the sovereignty of the RSFSR

The Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR was adopted on June 12, 1990 by the First Congress of People's Deputies of the Republic. In the second half of 1990, the leadership of the RSFSR, headed by Chairman of the Supreme Council Boris Yeltsin, significantly expanded the powers of the government, ministries and departments of the RSFSR. Enterprises, branches of union banks, etc. located on its territory were declared the property of the republic.

The Declaration of Russian sovereignty was adopted not to destroy the Union, but to stop the withdrawal of autonomies from the RSFSR. The autonomization plan was developed by the CPSU Central Committee in order to weaken the RSFSR and Yeltsin, and envisaged giving all autonomies the status of union republics. For the RSFSR, this meant the loss of half of its territory, almost 20 million people and most of its natural resources.

Sergey Shakhrai

in 1991 - advisor to Boris Yeltsin

On December 24, 1990, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopted a law according to which Russian authorities could suspend the effect of union acts “if they violate the sovereignty of the RSFSR.” It was also stipulated that all decisions of the authorities of the USSR would come into force on the territory of the Russian republic only after their ratification by its Supreme Council. At a referendum on March 17, 1991, the post of president of the republic was introduced in the RSFSR (Boris Yeltsin was elected on June 12, 1991). In May 1991, its own special service was created - the State Security Committee (KGB) of the RSFSR.

New Union Treaty

At the last, XXVIII Congress of the CPSU on July 2–13, 1990, USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev announced the need to sign a new Union Treaty. On December 3, 1990, the USSR Supreme Council supported the project proposed by Gorbachev. The document provided for a new concept of the USSR: each republic included in its composition received the status of a sovereign state. The allied authorities retained a narrow scope of powers: organizing defense and ensuring state security, developing and implementing foreign policy, economic development strategies, etc.

On December 17, 1990, at the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev proposed “to hold a referendum throughout the country so that every citizen would speak for or against the Union of Sovereign States on a federal basis.” Nine of the 15 union republics took part in the vote on March 17, 1991: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Uzbek, Azerbaijan, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik and Turkmen SSR. The authorities of Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Estonia refused to hold a vote. 80% of citizens who had the right to do so took part in the referendum. 76.4% of voters were in favor of preserving the Union, 21.7% were against.

As a result of the plebiscite, a new draft of the Union Treaty was developed. On its basis, from April 23 to July 23, 1991, at the residence of the USSR President in Novo-Ogarevo, negotiations were held between Mikhail Gorbachev and the presidents of nine of the 15 union republics (RSFSR, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Azerbaijan, Tajik, Kyrgyz and Turkmen USSR) on the creation of the Union of Sovereign States. They were called the “Novo-Ogarevo process”. According to the agreement, the abbreviation “USSR” in the name of the new federation was to be retained, but stand for “Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics.” In July 1991, the negotiators approved the draft agreement as a whole and scheduled its signing for the time of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in September-October 1991.

On July 29–30, Mikhail Gorbachev held closed meetings with the leaders of the RSFSR and Kazakh SSR Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev, during which he agreed to postpone the signing of the document to August 20. The decision was caused by fears that the USSR people's deputies would vote against the treaty, which envisaged the creation of a de facto confederal state in which most powers were transferred to the republics. Gorbachev also agreed to dismiss a number of senior leaders of the USSR who had a negative attitude towards the “Novo-Ogarevo process”, in particular, Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Yanaev, Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov and others.

On August 2, Gorbachev spoke on Central Television, where he stated that on August 20, the new Union Treaty would be signed by the RSFSR, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and the remaining republics would do this “at certain intervals.” The text of the treaty was published for public discussion only on August 16, 1991.

August putsch

On the night of August 18-19, a group of eight senior leaders of the USSR (Gennady Yanaev, Valentin Pavlov, Dmitry Yazov, Vladimir Kryuchkov, etc.) formed the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP).

In order to prevent the signing of the Union Treaty, which, in their opinion, would lead to the collapse of the USSR, members of the State Emergency Committee tried to remove USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev from power and introduced a state of emergency in the country. However, the leaders of the State Emergency Committee did not dare to use force. On August 21, Vice President of the USSR Yanaev signed a decree dissolving the State Emergency Committee and invalidating all its decisions. On the same day, the act of canceling the orders of the State Emergency Committee was issued by the President of the RSFSR, Boris Yeltsin, and the prosecutor of the republic, Valentin Stepankov, issued an order to arrest its members.

Dismantling of government structures of the USSR

After the events of August 1991, the union republics, whose leaders participated in the negotiations in Novo-Ogarevo, declared their independence (August 24 - Ukraine, 30th - Azerbaijan, 31st - Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the rest - in September-December 1991 G.). On August 23, 1991, President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin signed a decree “On the suspension of the activities of the Communist Party of the RSFSR”, all property of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR in Russia was nationalized. On August 24, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.

On September 2, 1991, the Izvestia newspaper published a statement by the President of the USSR and senior leaders of 10 union republics. It spoke of the need to “prepare and sign by all willing republics a Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States” and to create union coordinating governing bodies for the “transition period.”

On September 2–5, 1991, the V Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (the highest authority in the country) took place in Moscow. On the last day of the meetings, the law “On Bodies of State Power and Administration of the USSR in the Transitional Period” was adopted, according to which the Congress dissolved itself and all state power was transferred to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

As a temporary body of the highest union administration, “for the coordinated resolution of issues of domestic and foreign policy,” the State Council of the USSR was established, consisting of the President of the USSR and the heads of the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. At meetings of the State Council, discussions continued on the new Union Treaty, which in the end was never signed.

The law also liquidated the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR and abolished the post of vice-president of the Soviet Union. The Interrepublican Economic Committee (IEC) of the USSR, headed by the former chairman of the government of the RSFSR Ivan Silaev, became the equivalent of the union government. The activities of the IEC on the territory of the RSFSR were terminated on December 19, 1991, its structures were finally liquidated on January 2, 1992.

On September 6, 1991, in contradiction with the current Constitution of the USSR and the law on the withdrawal of union republics from the Union, the State Council recognized the independence of the Baltic republics.

On October 18, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev and the leaders of eight union republics (excluding Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan) signed the Treaty on the Economic Community of Sovereign States. The document recognized that “independent states” are “former subjects of the USSR”; assumed the division of the all-Union gold reserves, the Diamond and Monetary Fund; maintaining the ruble as a common currency, with the possibility of introducing national currencies; liquidation of the State Bank of the USSR, etc.

On October 22, 1991, a resolution was issued by the State Council of the USSR on the abolition of the union KGB. On its basis, it was ordered to create the Central Intelligence Service (CSR) of the USSR (foreign intelligence, on the basis of the First Main Directorate), the Inter-Republican Security Service (internal security) and the Committee for the Protection of the State Border. The KGB of the union republics were transferred “to the exclusive jurisdiction of sovereign states.” The all-Union intelligence service was finally liquidated on December 3, 1991.

On November 14, 1991, the State Council adopted a resolution on the liquidation of all ministries and other central government bodies of the USSR from December 1, 1991. On the same day, the heads of seven union republics (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, RSFSR, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and the president USSR Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to sign a new Union Treaty on December 9, according to which the Union of Sovereign States would be formed as a “confederal democratic state.” Azerbaijan and Ukraine refused to join it.

Liquidation of the USSR and creation of the CIS

On December 1, a referendum on independence was held in Ukraine (90.32% of those who took part in the vote were in favor). On December 3, RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin announced recognition of this decision.

Even already in Viskuli, even two hours before the signing of what we signed, I did not feel that the USSR would be broken. I lived within the myth of the great Soviet empire. I understood that if there were nuclear weapons, no one would attack the USSR. And without such an attack, nothing will happen. I thought the transformation of the political system would happen much more smoothly

Stanislav Shushkevich

in 1991 - Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Belarusian SSR

On December 8, 1991, the leaders of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich at the government residence of Viskuli (Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus) signed an Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the dissolution of the USSR. On December 10, the document was ratified by the Supreme Councils of Ukraine and Belarus. On December 12, a similar act was adopted by the Russian parliament. According to the document, the scope of joint activities of CIS members included: coordination of foreign policy activities; cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, pan-European and Eurasian markets, in the field of customs policy; cooperation in the field of environmental protection; migration policy issues; fight against organized crime.

On December 21, 1991, in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), 11 leaders of the former Soviet republics signed a declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS, its foundations. The Declaration confirmed the Bialowieza Agreement, indicating that with the formation of the CIS, the USSR ceases to exist.

On December 25, 1991 at 19:00 Moscow time, Mikhail Gorbachev spoke live on Central Television and announced the termination of his activities as President of the USSR. On the same day, the state flag of the USSR was lowered from the flagpole of the Moscow Kremlin and the state flag of the Russian Federation was raised.

On December 26, 1991, the Council of Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a declaration which stated that in connection with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the USSR as a state and a subject of international law ceases to exist.

In most of the articles on our website, we touch on everyday issues and reveal the secrets of solving them. But sometimes, sitting at home in the evening, you want to read real secrets that relate to more global issues and topics that will raise questions and debates for many generations to come. Today we will try to consider the reasons for the collapse of the USSR and will touch a little on the consequences of its collapse, because this topic still causes ambiguous opinions among the majority. But well, let's go back more than 20 years ago and evaluate the situation at that time.

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.

1. 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 a single penny from the 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 cadres in politics. 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.

   

2. “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” occurred; as a result of this coup d’etat, within a month, the Baltic countries left the USSR. 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.

3. 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 the Chernobyl disaster can be attributed to this reason, since it dealt a significant blow to both the reputation of the USSR and its leaders and 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.

4. 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, a strong person is needed. 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.

   

5. "Pepsi-Cola and jeans"

   With Gorbachev’s coming to power, the 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.

6. 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, and it was not for nothing that they called him a “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...

Afterword

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.

Collapse of the USSR- processes of systemic disintegration that took place in the economy (national economy), social structure, social and political sphere of the Soviet Union, which led to the cessation of the existence of the USSR on December 26, 1991.

The collapse of the USSR led to the independence of 15 republics of the USSR and their emergence on the world political stage as independent states.

Background

The USSR inherited most of the territory and multinational structure of the Russian Empire. In 1917-1921 Finland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Tuva gained independence. Some territories in 1939-1946. were annexed to the USSR (the Polish campaign of the Red Army, the annexation of the Baltic states, the annexation of the Tuvan People's Republic).

After the end of World War II, the USSR had a vast territory in Europe and Asia, with access to seas and oceans, enormous natural resources, and a developed socialist-type economy based on regional specialization and interregional economic ties. In addition, the leadership of the “socialist camp countries” was under partial control of the USSR authorities.

In the 70-80s, interethnic conflicts (the 1972 riots in Kaunas, the 1978 mass demonstrations in Georgia, the 1980 events in Minsk, the December 1986 events in Kazakhstan) were insignificant, Soviet ideology emphasized that the USSR was a friendly family of fraternal peoples . The USSR was led by representatives of various nationalities (Georgian I.V. Stalin, Ukrainians N.S. Khrushchev, L.I. Brezhnev, K.U. Chernenko, Russians Yu.V. Andropov, Gorbachev, V.I. Lenin). Russians, the most numerous people, lived not only on the territory of the RSFSR, but also in all other republics. Each of the republics of the Soviet Union had its own anthem and its own party leadership (except for the RSFSR) - the first secretary, etc.

The leadership of the multinational state was centralized - the country was headed by the central bodies of the CPSU, which controlled the entire hierarchy of government bodies. The leaders of the union republics were approved by the central leadership. This actual state of affairs differed somewhat from the idealized design described in the Constitution of the USSR. The Byelorussian SSR and the Ukrainian SSR, based on the results of the agreements reached at the Yalta Conference, had their representatives in the UN from the moment of its founding.

After Stalin's death, some decentralization of power took place. In particular, it became a strict rule to appoint a representative of the titular nation of the corresponding republic to the post of first secretary in the republics. The second secretary of the party in the republics was a protege of the Central Committee. This led to the fact that local leaders had a certain independence and unconditional power in their regions. After the collapse of the USSR, many of these leaders were transformed into presidents of their respective states (except Shushkevich). However, in Soviet times, their fate depended on the central leadership.

Reasons for the collapse

Currently, there is no single point of view among historians on what was the main cause of the collapse of the USSR, and also on whether it was possible to prevent or at least stop the process of collapse of the USSR. Possible reasons include the following:

• centrifugal nationalist tendencies, which, according to some authors, are inherent in every multinational country and manifest themselves in the form of interethnic contradictions and the desire of individual peoples to independently develop their culture and economy;
• the authoritarian nature of Soviet society (persecution of the church, KGB persecution of dissidents, forced collectivism);
• the dominance of one ideology, ideological narrow-mindedness, a ban on communication with foreign countries, censorship, lack of free discussion of alternatives (especially important for the intelligentsia);
• growing dissatisfaction of the population due to shortages of food and the most necessary goods (refrigerators, televisions, toilet paper, etc.), ridiculous prohibitions and restrictions (on the size of a garden plot, etc.), a constant lag in living standards from developed Western countries;
• disproportions in the extensive economy (characteristic of the entire existence of the USSR), the consequence of which was a constant shortage of consumer goods, a growing technical gap in all spheres of the manufacturing industry (which can be compensated for in an extensive economy only by high-cost mobilization measures, a set of such measures under the general name “Acceleration "was adopted in 1987, but there was no longer any economic opportunity to implement it);
• crisis of confidence in the economic system: in the 1960-1970s. The main way to combat the inevitable shortage of consumer goods in a planned economy was to rely on mass production, simplicity and cheapness of materials; most enterprises worked in three shifts, producing similar products from low-quality materials. The quantitative plan was the only way to evaluate the efficiency of enterprises, quality control was minimized. The result of this was a sharp drop in the quality of consumer goods produced in the USSR, as a result, already in the early 1980s. the term “Soviet” in relation to goods was synonymous with the term “low quality”. The crisis of confidence in the quality of goods became a crisis of confidence in the entire economic system as a whole;
• a number of man-made disasters (plane crashes, the Chernobyl accident, the crash of the Admiral Nakhimov, gas explosions, etc.) and the concealment of information about them;
• unsuccessful attempts to reform the Soviet system, which led to stagnation and then the collapse of the economy, which led to the collapse of the political system (economic reform of 1965);
• the decline in world oil prices, which shook the economy of the USSR;
• monocentrism of decision-making (only in Moscow), which led to inefficiency and loss of time;
• defeat in the arms race, victory of “Reaganomics” in this race;
• The Afghan War, the Cold War, incessant financial assistance to the countries of the socialist camp, and the development of the military-industrial complex to the detriment of other areas of the economy ruined the budget.

The possibility of the collapse of the USSR was considered in Western political science (Hélène d’Encausse, “The Divided Empire,” 1978) and the journalism of Soviet dissidents (Andrei Amalrik, “Will the Soviet Union Exist Until 1984?”, 1969).

Course of events

Since 1985, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M. S. Gorbachev and his supporters began the policy of perestroika, the political activity of the people increased sharply, and mass movements and organizations were formed, including radical and nationalist ones. Attempts to reform the Soviet system led to a deepening crisis in the country. In the political arena, this crisis was expressed as a confrontation between USSR President Gorbachev and RSFSR President Yeltsin. Yeltsin actively promoted the slogan of the need for the sovereignty of the RSFSR.

General crisis

The collapse of the USSR took place against the backdrop of a general economic, foreign policy and demographic crisis. In 1989, the beginning of the economic crisis in the USSR was officially announced for the first time (economic growth was replaced by decline).

In the period 1989-1991. the main problem of the Soviet economy reaches its maximum - chronic commodity shortages; Almost all basic goods, except bread, disappear from free sale. Rationed supplies in the form of coupons are being introduced throughout the country.

Since 1991, a demographic crisis (an excess of mortality over the birth rate) has been recorded for the first time.

Refusal to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries entails the massive collapse of pro-Soviet communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989. In Poland, former leader of the Solidarity trade union Lech Walesa comes to power (December 9, 1990), in Czechoslovakia - former dissident Vaclav Havel (December 29, 1989). In Romania, unlike other countries of Eastern Europe, the communists were removed by force, and the dictator-president Ceausescu and his wife were shot by a tribunal. Thus, there is a virtual collapse of the Soviet sphere of influence.

A number of interethnic conflicts are flaring up on the territory of the USSR.

The first manifestation of tension during the Perestroika period was the events in Kazakhstan. On December 16, 1986, a protest demonstration took place in Alma-Ata after Moscow tried to impose its protege V. G. Kolbin, who had previously worked as the first secretary of the Ulyanovsk Regional Committee of the CPSU and had nothing to do with Kazakhstan, to the post of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the KazSSR. This demonstration was suppressed by internal troops. Some of its participants “disappeared” or were imprisoned. These events are known as "Zheltoksan".

The Karabakh conflict that began in 1988 was particularly acute. Mutual ethnic cleansing is taking place, and in Azerbaijan this was accompanied by mass pogroms. In 1989, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR announced the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Azerbaijan SSR began a blockade. In April 1991, a war actually began between the two Soviet republics.

In 1990, unrest occurred in the Fergana Valley, a feature of which was the mixing of several Central Asian nationalities (Osh massacre). The decision to rehabilitate the peoples deported by Stalin leads to increased tension in a number of regions, in particular, in Crimea - between returning Crimean Tatars and Russians, in the Prigorodny region of North Ossetia - between Ossetians and returning Ingush.

Against the background of the general crisis, the popularity of radical democrats led by Boris Yeltsin is growing; it reaches its maximum in the two largest cities - Moscow and Leningrad.

Movements in the republics for secession from the USSR and the “parade of sovereignties”

On February 7, 1990, the CPSU Central Committee announced the weakening of the monopoly on power, and within a few weeks the first competitive elections were held. Liberals and nationalists won many seats in the parliaments of the union republics.

During 1990-1991 the so-called “parade of sovereignties”, during which all the union republics (one of the first was the RSFSR) and many of the autonomous republics adopted Declarations of Sovereignty, in which they challenged the priority of all-union laws over republican ones, which began the “war of laws”. They also took actions to control local economies, including refusals to pay taxes to the union and federal Russian budgets. These conflicts cut off many economic ties, which further worsened the economic situation in the USSR.

The first territory of the USSR to declare independence in January 1990 in response to the Baku events was the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Before the August putsch, two union republics (Lithuania and Georgia) declared independence, four more refused to join the proposed new Union (USG, see below) and transition to independence: Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Armenia.

With the exception of Kazakhstan, none of the Central Asian union republics had organized movements or parties that aimed to achieve independence. Among the Muslim republics, with the exception of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, the independence movement existed only in one of the autonomous republics of the Volga region - the Ittifak party of Fauzia Bayramova in Tatarstan, which since 1989 has advocated the independence of Tatarstan.

Immediately after the events of the State Emergency Committee, independence was declared by almost all the remaining union republics, as well as several autonomous ones outside Russia, some of which later became the so-called. unrecognized states.

Baltic secession process

Lithuania

On June 3, 1988, the Sąjūdis movement “in support of Perestroika” was founded in Lithuania, with the unspoken goal of secession from the USSR and the restoration of an independent Lithuanian state. It held rallies of thousands and carried out active work to promote its ideas. In January 1990, Gorbachev’s visit to Vilnius gathered on the streets of Vilnius a huge number of supporters of independence (although formally they were talking about “autonomy” and “expansion of powers within the USSR”), numbering up to 250 thousand people.

On the night of March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of Lithuania, headed by Vytautas Landsbergis, declared the independence of Lithuania. Thus, Lithuania became the first of the union republics to declare independence, and one of two that did so before the August events and the State Emergency Committee. The independence of Lithuania was not recognized then either by the central government of the USSR or by other countries (except Iceland). In response to this, the Soviet government launched an “economic blockade” of Lithuania in mid-1990, and later used military force.

The Central Union Government made forceful attempts to suppress the achievement of independence by the Baltic republics. Starting from January 11, 1991, Soviet units occupied the Press House in Vilnius, television centers and hubs in cities, and other public buildings (so-called “party property”). On January 13, paratroopers of the 7th GVDD, with the support of the Alpha Group, stormed the television tower in Vilnius, stopping republican television broadcasting. The local population showed massive opposition to this, as a result of which 13 people were killed, including an Alpha Squad officer, and dozens of people were wounded. On March 11, 1991, the KPL (CPSU) formed the Committee for the National Salvation of Lithuania, and army patrols were introduced on the streets. However, the reaction of the world community and the increased influence of liberals in Russia made further forceful actions impossible.

Leningrad journalist A. G. Nevzorov (host of the popular program “600 Seconds”) covered events in the republic. On January 15, 1991, the First Program of Central Television showed his television film report entitled “Ours” about the January 1991 events at the Vilnius TV tower, which contradicted the interpretation in foreign as well as in Soviet liberal media. In his report, Nevzorov glorified the Vilnius riot police loyal to Moscow and the Soviet troops stationed on the territory of Lithuania. The plot caused a public outcry; a number of Soviet politicians called it a fake, aiming to justify the use of troops against civilians.

On the night of July 31, 1991, unknown persons (later it was established that they were officers of the Vilnius and Riga OMON detachments) at the checkpoint in Medininkai (on the border of Lithuania with the Belarusian SSR) shot 8 people, including traffic policemen, employees of the Regional Security Department and 2 soldiers of the Aras special forces detachment of the self-proclaimed Republic of Lithuania. It is worth noting that earlier, for several months before this incident, riot police with “Nashi” stripes came to the border, using physical force to disperse unarmed Lithuanian customs officers and set their trailers on fire, as Nevzorov demonstrated in his reports. One of the three 5.45 caliber machine guns used to kill the Lithuanian border guards was subsequently discovered at the base of the Riga riot police.

After the events of August 1991, the Republic of Lithuania was immediately recognized by most countries of the world.

Estonia

In April 1988, the Estonian People's Front was formed in support of perestroika, which did not formally set as its goal the exit of Estonia from the USSR, but became the basis for achieving it.

In June-September 1988, the following mass events took place in Tallinn, which went down in history as the “Singing Revolution”, at which protest songs were performed and propaganda materials and Popular Front badges were distributed:

• Night singing festivals on the Town Hall Square and on the Singing Field, held in June, during the traditional Old Town Days;
• rock concerts held in August;
• musical and political event “Song of Estonia”, which, according to the media, gathered about 300,000 Estonians, that is, about a third of the Estonian people, took place on September 11, 1988 at the Song Field. During the latest event, dissident Trivimi Velliste publicly voiced his call for independence.

On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR adopted the Declaration of Estonian Sovereignty by a majority vote.

On August 23, 1989, the Popular Fronts of the three Baltic republics held a joint action called the Baltic Way.

On November 12, 1989, the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR adopted the Resolution “On the historical and legal assessment of the events that took place in Estonia in 1940,” recognizing as illegal the declaration of July 22, 1940 on the entry of the ESSR into the USSR.

On March 30, 1990, the Supreme Council of the ESSR adopted a decision on the state status of Estonia. Having confirmed that the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by the Soviet Union on June 17, 1940 did not de jure interrupt the existence of the Republic of Estonia, the Supreme Council recognized the state power of the Estonian ESSR as illegal from the moment of its establishment and proclaimed the restoration of the Republic of Estonia.

On April 3, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a law declaring legally void the declarations of the Supreme Councils of the Baltic republics on the annulment of entry into the USSR and subsequent decisions ensuing from this.

On May 8 of the same year, the Supreme Council of the ESSR decided to rename the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic into Republic of Estonia.

On January 12, 1991, during the visit of the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin to Tallinn, the “Agreement on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations of the RSFSR with the Republic of Estonia” was signed between him and the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia Arnold Ruutel, in which both parties recognized each other as independent states.

On August 20, 1991, the Supreme Council of Estonia adopted a resolution “On the state independence of Estonia,” and on September 6 of the same year, the USSR officially recognized the independence of Estonia.

Latvia

In Latvia in the period 1988-1990. The People's Front of Latvia, which advocates independence, is strengthening, and the struggle with the Interfront, which advocates maintaining membership in the USSR, is intensifying.

On May 4, 1990, the Supreme Council of Latvia proclaims the transition to independence. On March 3, 1991, the demand was supported by a referendum.

The peculiarity of the separation of Latvia and Estonia is that, unlike Lithuania and Georgia, before the complete collapse of the USSR as a result of the actions of the State Emergency Committee, they did not declare independence, but a “soft” “transition process” to it, and also that, in order to gain control on their territory in the conditions of a relatively small relative majority of the titular population, republican citizenship was granted only to persons living in these republics at the time of their annexation to the USSR, and their descendants.

Georgian branch

Since 1989, a movement has emerged in Georgia to secede from the USSR, which has intensified against the backdrop of the growing Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. On April 9, 1989, clashes with troops occur in Tbilisi with casualties among the local population.

On November 28, 1990, during the elections, the Supreme Council of Georgia was formed, headed by the radical nationalist Zviad Gamsakhurdia, who was later (May 26, 1991) elected president by popular vote.

On April 9, 1991, the Supreme Council declared independence based on the results of a referendum. Georgia became the second of the union republics to declare independence, and one of two (with the Lithuanian SSR) that did so before the August events (GKChP).

The autonomous republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were part of Georgia, announced non-recognition of the independence of Georgia and their desire to remain part of the Union, and later formed unrecognized states (in 2008, after the armed conflict in South Ossetia, their independence was recognized in 2008 by Russia and Nicaragua, in 2009 by Venezuela and Nauru).

Azerbaijan branch

In 1988, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan was formed. The beginning of the Karabakh conflict led to the orientation of Armenia towards Russia, at the same time it led to the strengthening of pro-Turkish elements in Azerbaijan.

After demands for independence were heard at the beginning of the anti-Armenian demonstrations in Baku, they were suppressed on January 20-21, 1990 by the Soviet Army with numerous casualties.

Branch of Moldova

Since 1989, the movement for secession from the USSR and state unification with Romania has been intensifying in Moldova.

In October 1990, Moldovans clashed with the Gagauz, a national minority in the south of the country.

On June 23, 1990, Moldova declared sovereignty. Moldova declared independence after the events of the State Emergency Committee: August 27, 1991.

The population of eastern and southern Moldova, trying to avoid integration with Romania, declared non-recognition of the independence of Moldova and proclaimed the formation of the new republics of the Transnistrian Moldavian Republic and Gagauzia, which expressed a desire to remain in the Union.

Ukraine branch

In September 1989, the movement of Ukrainian national democrats was founded, the People's Movement of Ukraine (People's Movement of Ukraine), which participated in the elections on March 30, 1990 in the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) of the Ukrainian SSR was in the minority with a majority of members of the Communist Party of Ukraine. On July 16, 1990, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Ukrainian SCP.

As a result of the plebiscite, the Crimean region turns into the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within the Ukrainian SSR. The referendum is recognized by the Kravchuk government. Subsequently, a similar referendum is held in the Transcarpathian region, but its results are ignored.

After the failure of the August putsch on August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, which was confirmed by the results of the referendum on December 1, 1991.

Later in Crimea, thanks to the Russian-speaking majority of the population, the autonomy of the Republic of Crimea within Ukraine was proclaimed.

Declaration of Sovereignty of the RSFSR

On June 12, 1990, the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR. The Declaration approved the priority of the Constitution and Laws of the RSFSR over the legislative acts of the USSR. Among the principles of the declaration were:

• state sovereignty (clause 5), ensuring everyone’s inalienable right to a decent life (clause 4), recognition of generally recognized norms of international law in the field of human rights (clause 10);
• norms of democracy: recognition of the multinational people of Russia as the bearer of sovereignty and source of state power, their right to directly exercise state power (clause 3), the exclusive right of the people to own, use and dispose of the national wealth of Russia; the impossibility of changing the territory of the RSFSR without the will of the people, expressed through a referendum;
• the principle of providing all citizens, political parties, public organizations, mass movements and religious organizations with equal legal opportunities to participate in the management of state and public affairs;
• separation of legislative, executive and judicial powers as the most important principle of the functioning of the rule of law in the RSFSR (clause 13);
• development of federalism: a significant expansion of the rights of all regions of the RSFSR.

Parade of sovereignties in the autonomous republics and regions of the RSFSR

On August 6, 1990, the head of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, Boris Yeltsin, made a statement in Ufa: “take as much sovereignty as you can swallow”.

From August to October 1990, there was a “parade of sovereignties” of the autonomous republics and autonomous regions of the RSFSR. Most of the autonomous republics proclaim themselves Soviet socialist republics within the RSFSR and the USSR. On July 20, the Supreme Council of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Following this, on August 9, the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Karelian ASSR was adopted, on August 29 - the Komi SSR, on September 20 - the Udmurt Republic, on September 27 - the Yakut-Sakha SSR, on October 8 - the Buryat SSR, on October 11 - the Bashkir SSR-Bashkortostan, on October 18 - Kalmyk SSR, October 22 - Mari SSR, October 24 - Chuvash SSR, October 25 - Gorno-Altai ASSR.

Attempt to secede from Tatarstan

On August 30, 1990, the Supreme Council of the Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Tatarstan. The declaration, unlike some union and almost all other autonomous Russian (except Checheno-Ingushetia) republics, did not indicate that the republic was part of either the RSFSR or the USSR and declared that, as a sovereign state and subject of international law, it concludes treaties and alliances with Russia and other states. During the massive collapse of the USSR and later Tatarstan, with the same wording, adopted declarations and resolutions on the act of independence and entry into the CIS, held a referendum, and adopted a constitution.

On October 18, 1991, the Resolution of the Supreme Council on the act of state independence of Tatarstan was adopted.

In the fall of 1991, in preparation for the signing on December 9, 1991 of the Treaty on the creation of the GCC as a confederal union, Tatarstan again announced its desire to independently join the GCC.

On December 26, 1991, in connection with the Belovezhskaya agreements on the impossibility of establishing the GCC and the formation of the CIS, a Declaration was adopted on Tatarstan's entry into the CIS as a founder.

At the end of 1991, a decision was made and at the beginning of 1992 an ersatz currency (surrogate means of payment) - Tatarstan coupons - was introduced into circulation.

"Chechen revolution"

In the summer of 1990, a group of prominent representatives of the Chechen intelligentsia took the initiative to hold the Chechen National Congress to discuss the problems of reviving national culture, language, traditions, and historical memory. On 23-25, the Chechen National Congress was held in Grozny, which elected an Executive Committee headed by Chairman Major General Dzhokhar Dudayev. On November 27, the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, under pressure from the executive committee of the ChNS and mass actions, adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic. On June 8-9, 1991, the 2nd session of the First Chechen National Congress took place, which declared itself the National Congress of the Chechen People (NCCHN). The session decided to overthrow the Supreme Council of the Chechen Republic and proclaimed the Chechen Republic of Nokhchi-cho, and declared the Executive Committee of the OKCHN, headed by D. Dudayev, to be the temporary authority.

The attempted coup in the USSR on August 19-21, 1991 became a catalyst for the political situation in the republic. On August 19, at the initiative of the Vainakh Democratic Party, a rally in support of the Russian leadership began on the central square of Grozny, but after August 21 it began to be held under the slogans of the resignation of the Supreme Council along with its chairman for "aiding the putschists", as well as parliamentary re-elections. On September 1-2, the 3rd session of the OKCHN declared the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Republic deposed and transferred all power in the territory of Chechnya to the Executive Committee of the OKCHN. On September 4, the Grozny television center and the Radio House were seized. Chairman of the Grozny Executive Committee Dzhokhar Dudayev read out an appeal in which he named the leadership of the republic "criminals, bribe-takers, embezzlers" and announced that with "On September 5, before democratic elections are held, power in the republic passes into the hands of the executive committee and other general democratic organizations". In response, the Supreme Council declared a state of emergency in Grozny from 00:00 on September 5 until September 10, but six hours later the Presidium of the Supreme Council canceled the state of emergency. On September 6, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Doku Zavgaev, resigned, and acting. Ruslan Khasbulatov became the chairman. A few days later, on September 15, the last session of the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Republic took place, at which a decision was made to dissolve itself. As a transitional body, a Provisional Supreme Council (TSC) was formed, consisting of 32 deputies.

By the beginning of October, a conflict arose between supporters of the OKCHN Executive Committee, led by its chairman Khussein Akhmadov, and his opponents, led by Yu. Chernov. On October 5, seven of the nine members of the Air Force decided to remove Akhmadov, but on the same day the National Guard seized the building of the House of Trade Unions, where the Air Force met, and the building of the Republican KGB. Then they arrested the republic's prosecutor, Alexander Pushkin. The next day, the Executive Committee of the OKCHN “for subversive and provocative activities” announced the dissolution of the Air Force, taking over the functions “a revolutionary committee for the transitional period with full power”.

Declaration of Sovereignty of Belarus

In June 1988, the Belarusian Popular Front for Perestroika was officially established. Among the founders were representatives of the intelligentsia, including the writer Vasil Bykov.

On February 19, 1989, the organizing committee of the Belarusian Popular Front held the first sanctioned rally demanding the abolition of the one-party system, which attracted 40 thousand people. The BPF rally against the allegedly undemocratic nature of the 1990 elections attracted 100 thousand people.

Following the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR, the Belarusian Popular Front managed to form a faction of 37 people in the parliament of the republic.

The Belarusian Popular Front faction became the center of unification of pro-democratic forces in parliament. The faction initiated the adoption of a declaration on the state sovereignty of the BSSR and proposed a program of large-scale liberal reforms in the economy.

1991 referendum on preserving the USSR

In March 1991, a referendum was held in which the overwhelming majority of the population in each of the republics voted in favor of preserving the USSR.

In the six union republics (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia), which had previously declared independence or a transition to independence, an all-Union referendum was not actually held (the authorities of these republics did not form Central Election Commissions, there was no general voting of the population ) with the exception of some territories (Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria), but at other times referendums on independence were held.

Based on the concept of the referendum, it was planned to conclude a new union on August 20, 1991 - the Union of Sovereign States (USS) as a soft federation.

However, although the referendum overwhelmingly voted for maintaining the integrity of the USSR, it had a strong psychological impact, calling into question the very idea of ​​​​the “inviolability of the union.”

Draft of a new Union Treaty

The rapid increase in the processes of disintegration is pushing the leadership of the USSR, led by Mikhail Gorbachev, to the following actions:

• Conducting an all-Union referendum, in which the majority of voters spoke in favor of preserving the USSR;
• The establishment of the post of President of the USSR in connection with the prospect of the CPSU losing power;
• A project to create a new Union Treaty, in which the rights of the republics were significantly expanded.

Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to preserve the USSR were dealt a serious blow with the election of Boris Yeltsin on May 29, 1990 as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. This election took place in a bitter struggle, on the third attempt and with a margin of three votes over the candidate from the conservative part of the Supreme Council, Ivan Polozkov.

Russia was also part of the USSR as one of the union republics, representing the overwhelming majority of the population of the USSR, its territory, economic and military potential. The central bodies of the RSFSR were also located in Moscow, like the all-Union ones, but were traditionally perceived as secondary in comparison with the authorities of the USSR.

With the election of Boris Yeltsin as the head of these government bodies, the RSFSR gradually set a course towards declaring its own independence, and recognizing the independence of the remaining union republics, which created the opportunity to remove Mikhail Gorbachev by dissolving all all-union institutions that he could lead.

On June 12, 1990, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty, establishing the priority of Russian laws over union laws. From that moment on, the all-Union authorities began to lose control over the country; The “parade of sovereignties” intensified.

On January 12, 1991, Yeltsin signed an agreement with Estonia on the fundamentals of interstate relations, in which the RSFSR and Estonia recognized each other as sovereign states.

As Chairman of the Supreme Council, Yeltsin was able to achieve the establishment of the post of President of the RSFSR, and on June 12, 1991, he won the popular election for this position.

State Emergency Committee and its consequences

A number of government and party leaders, under the slogans of preserving the unity of the country and to restore strict party-state control over all spheres of life, attempted a coup d'etat (GKChP, also known as the “August putsch” on August 19, 1991).

The defeat of the putsch actually led to the collapse of the central government of the USSR, the resubordination of power structures to republican leaders and the acceleration of the collapse of the Union. Within a month after the coup, the authorities of almost all the union republics declared independence one after another. Some of them held independence referendums to give legitimacy to these decisions.

Since the Baltic republics left the USSR in September 1991, it has consisted of 12 republics.

On November 6, 1991, by decree of the President of the RSFSR B. Yeltsin, the activities of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR on the territory of the RSFSR were terminated.

The referendum in Ukraine, held on December 1, 1991, in which supporters of independence won even in such a traditionally pro-Russian region as Crimea, made (according to some politicians, in particular B. N. Yeltsin) the preservation of the USSR in any form completely impossible.

On November 14, 1991, seven of the twelve republics (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) decided to conclude an agreement on the creation of the Union of Sovereign States (USS) as a confederation with its capital in Minsk. The signing was scheduled for December 9, 1991.

Declaration of independence by the republics of the USSR

Union republics

Republic	Declaration of Sovereignty	Declaration of Independence	De jure independence
Estonian SSR
Latvian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
Georgian SSR
Russian SFSR
Moldavian SSR
Ukrainian SSR
Byelorussian SSR
Turkmen SSR
Armenian SSR
Tajik SSR
Kirghiz SSR
Kazakh SSR
Uzbek SSR
Azerbaijan SSR

ASSR and JSC

• January 19 - Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
• August 30 - Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (formally - see above).
• November 27 - Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (formally - see above).
• June 8 - Chechen part of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
• September 4 - Crimean ASSR.

None of the republics complied with all the procedures prescribed by the USSR law of April 3, 1990 “On the procedure for resolving issues related to the secession of a union republic from the USSR.” The State Council of the USSR (a body created on September 5, 1991, consisting of the heads of the union republics chaired by the President of the USSR) formally recognized the independence of only three Baltic republics (September 6, 1991, resolutions of the USSR State Council No. GS-1, GS-2, GS-3). On November 4, V.I. Ilyukhin opened a criminal case against Gorbachev under Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (treason) in connection with these resolutions of the State Council. According to Ilyukhin, Gorbachev, by signing them, violated the oath and the Constitution of the USSR and damaged the territorial integrity and state security of the USSR. After this, Ilyukhin was fired from the USSR Prosecutor's Office.

Signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords and creation of the CIS

In December 1991, the heads of the three republics, the founders of the USSR - Belarus, Russia and Ukraine gathered in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (the village of Viskuli, Belarus) to sign an agreement on the creation of the GCC. However, early agreements were rejected by Ukraine.

On December 8, 1991, they stated that the USSR was ceasing to exist, announced the impossibility of forming the GCC and signed the Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The signing of the agreements caused a negative reaction from Gorbachev, but after the August putsch he no longer had real power. As B.N. Yeltsin later emphasized, the Belovezhskaya Agreements did not dissolve the USSR, but only stated its actual collapse by that time.

On December 11, the USSR Constitutional Supervision Committee issued a statement condemning the Belovezhskaya Agreement. This statement had no practical consequences.

On December 12, the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, chaired by R.I. Khasbulatov, ratified the Belovezhsky Accords and decided to denounce the RSFSR Union Treaty of 1922 (a number of lawyers believe that the denunciation of this treaty was meaningless, since it lost force in 1936 with the adoption of the USSR Constitution) and on the recall of Russian deputies from the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (without convening the Congress, which was regarded by some as a violation of the Constitution of the RSFSR in force at that time). Due to the recall of deputies, the Council of the Union lost its quorum. It should be noted that formally Russia and Belarus did not declare independence from the USSR, but only stated the fact of the end of its existence.

On December 17, the Chairman of the Council of the Union, K. D. Lubenchenko, stated that there was no quorum at the meeting. The Council of the Union, having renamed itself the Conference of Deputies, turned to the Supreme Soviet of Russia with a request to at least temporarily cancel the decision to recall Russian deputies so that the Council of the Union could resign. This appeal was ignored.

On December 21, 1991, at a meeting of presidents in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), 8 more republics joined the CIS: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and the so-called Alma-Ata Agreement was signed, which became the basis of the CIS.

The CIS was founded not as a confederation, but as an international (interstate) organization, which is characterized by weak integration and a lack of real power among the coordinating supranational bodies. Membership in this organization was rejected by the Baltic republics, as well as by Georgia (it joined the CIS only in October 1993 and announced its withdrawal from the CIS after the war in South Ossetia in the summer of 2008).

Completion of the collapse and liquidation of the power structures of the USSR

The authorities of the USSR as a subject of international law ceased to exist on December 25-26, 1991. Russia declared itself a continuator of the USSR's membership (and not a legal successor, as is often erroneously stated) in international institutions, assumed the debts and assets of the USSR, and declared itself the owner of all USSR property abroad. According to data provided by the Russian Federation, at the end of 1991, the liabilities of the former Union were estimated at $93.7 billion, and assets at $110.1 billion. Vnesheconombank's deposits amounted to about $700 million. The so-called “zero option,” according to which the Russian Federation became the legal successor of the former Soviet Union in terms of external debt and assets, including foreign property, was not ratified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which claimed the right to dispose of the property of the USSR.

On December 25, USSR President M. S. Gorbachev announced the termination of his activities as President of the USSR “for reasons of principle,” signed a decree resigning from the powers of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Armed Forces and transferred control of strategic nuclear weapons to Russian President B. Yeltsin.

On December 26, the session of the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which retained a quorum - the Council of Republics (formed by the USSR Law of September 5, 1991 N 2392-1), - from which at that time only representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were not recalled, adopted under the chairmanship of A. Alimzhanov, declaration No. 142-N on the termination of the existence of the USSR, as well as a number of other documents (resolution on the dismissal of judges of the Supreme and Higher Arbitration Courts of the USSR and the collegium of the USSR Prosecutor's Office (No. 143-N), resolutions on the dismissal of the chairman State Bank V.V. Gerashchenko (No. 144-N) and his first deputy V.N. Kulikov (No. 145-N)). December 26, 1991 is considered the day the existence of the USSR ceased to exist, although some institutions and organizations of the USSR (for example, the State Standard of the USSR, the State Committee for Public Education, the Committee for the Protection of the State Border) still continued to function during 1992, and the Committee for Constitutional Supervision of the USSR did not exist at all officially dissolved.

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia and the “near abroad” constitute the so-called. post-Soviet space.

Impact in the short term

Transformations in Russia

The collapse of the USSR led to the almost immediate launch of a broad program of reform by Yeltsin and his supporters. The most radical first steps were:

• in the economic field - price liberalization on January 2, 1992, which served as the beginning of “shock therapy”;
• in the political field - the ban on the CPSU and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (November 1991); liquidation of the Soviet system as a whole (September 21 - October 4, 1993).

Interethnic conflicts

In the last years of the existence of the USSR, a number of interethnic conflicts flared up on its territory. After its collapse, most of them immediately went into the phase of armed clashes:

• Karabakh conflict - the war of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh for independence from Azerbaijan;
• Georgian-Abkhaz conflict - conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia;
• Georgian-South Ossetian conflict - conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia;
• Ossetian-Ingush conflict - clashes between Ossetians and Ingush in the Prigorodny region;
• Civil War in Tajikistan - inter-clan civil war in Tajikistan;
• The First Chechen War - the struggle of Russian federal forces with separatists in Chechnya;
• the conflict in Transnistria is the struggle of the Moldovan authorities with the separatists in Transnistria.

According to Vladimir Mukomel, the number of deaths in interethnic conflicts in 1988-96 is about 100 thousand people. The number of refugees as a result of these conflicts amounted to at least 5 million people.

A number of conflicts have not led to a full-scale military confrontation, but continue to complicate the situation in the territory of the former USSR to this day:

• friction between Crimean Tatars and the local Slavic population in Crimea;
• the situation of the Russian population in Estonia and Latvia;
• state affiliation of the Crimean peninsula.

Collapse of the ruble zone

The desire to isolate themselves from the Soviet economy, which had entered a phase of acute crisis since 1989, pushed the former Soviet republics to introduce national currencies. The Soviet ruble survived only on the territory of the RSFSR, but hyperinflation (in 1992 prices increased 24 times, in the next few years - an average of 10 times per year) almost completely destroyed it, which served as the reason for replacing the Soviet ruble with the Russian one in 1993 . From July 26 to August 7, 1993, a confiscation monetary reform was carried out in Russia, during which treasury notes of the State Bank of the USSR were withdrawn from the monetary circulation of Russia. The reform also solved the problem of separating the monetary systems of Russia and other CIS countries that used the ruble as a means of payment in internal money circulation.

During 1992-1993 Almost all union republics are introducing their own currencies. The exceptions are Tajikistan (the Russian ruble remained in circulation until 1995), the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldavian Republic (introduced the Transnistrian ruble in 1994), and partially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia (the Russian ruble remained in circulation).

In a number of cases, national currencies come from the coupon system introduced in the last years of the USSR by transforming one-time coupons into constant currency (Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Georgia, etc.).

It should be noted that the Soviet ruble had names in 15 languages ​​- the languages ​​of all union republics. For some of them, the names of national currencies initially coincided with the national names of the Soviet ruble (karbovanets, manat, rubel, som, etc.)

Collapse of the unified Armed Forces

During the first months of the existence of the CIS, the leaders of the main union republics considered the issue of forming a unified armed forces of the CIS, but this process did not develop. The USSR Ministry of Defense functioned as the Main Command of the United Armed Forces of the CIS until the October events of 1993. Until May 1992, after the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev, the so-called. The nuclear suitcase was in the possession of USSR Defense Minister Yevgeny Shaposhnikov.

Russian Federation

The first military department appeared in the RSFSR in accordance with the law “On Republican Ministries and State Committees of the RSFSR” dated July 14, 1990, and was called the “State Committee of the RSFSR for Public Security and Interaction with the Ministry of Defense of the USSR and the KGB of the USSR.” In 1991 it was reorganized several times.

The RSFSR's own Ministry of Defense was established temporarily on August 19, 1991, and abolished on September 9, 1991. Also, during the 1991 coup, the authorities of the RSFSR attempted to establish the Russian Guard, the formation of which was entrusted by President Yeltsin to Vice President Rutskoi.

It was supposed to form 11 brigades numbering 3-5 thousand people. each. In a number of cities, primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, recruitment of volunteers began; in Moscow, this recruitment was stopped on September 27, 1991, by which time the Moscow City Hall commission had managed to select about 3 thousand people for the proposed Moscow Brigade of the RSFSR National Guard.

A draft corresponding decree of the President of the RSFSR was prepared, and the issue was discussed in a number of committees of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR. However, the corresponding decree was never signed, and the formation of the National Guard was stopped. From March to May 1992, Boris Yeltsin was... O. Minister of Defense of the RSFSR.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation were formed by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin dated May 7, 1992 No. 466 “On the creation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” In accordance with this decree, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation is re-established.

On May 7, 1992, Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin took office as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, although the law “On the President of the RSFSR” in force at that time did not provide for this.

On the composition of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Order Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation In accordance with Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 7, 1992 No. 466 “On the creation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” and the act “On the composition of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”, approved by the President of the Russian Federation on May 7, 1992, I order: The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation shall include: associations, formations, military units, institutions, military educational institutions, enterprises and organizations of the Armed Forces of the former USSR, stationed on the territory of the Russian Federation; troops (forces) under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation stationed in the territory of the Transcaucasian Military District, Western, Northern and Northwestern Groups of Forces, Black Sea Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Caspian Flotilla, 14th Guards. army, formations, military units, institutions, enterprises and organizations on the territory of Mongolia, the Republic of Cuba and other states. The order is sent to a separate company. Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Army General P. Grachev

On January 1, 1993, instead of the regulations of the Armed Forces of the USSR, temporary general military regulations of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation came into force. On December 15, 1993, the Charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation was adopted.

In Estonia in the period 1991-2001. In accordance with the decision of the Supreme Council of Estonia on September 3, 1991, the Defense Forces were formed (est. Kaitsejoud, Russian Ka?itseyyud), including the Armed Forces (est. Kaitsevagi, Russian Ka?itsevyagi; army, air force and navy; formed on the basis of conscription) numbering about 4,500 people. and the voluntary paramilitary organization “Defense Union” (est. Kaitseliit, Russian Ka?itselit) numbering up to 10 thousand people.

Latvia

The National Armed Forces (Latvian) have been formed in Latvia. Nacionalie brunotie speki) numbering up to 6 thousand people, consisting of the army, aviation, navy and coast guard, as well as the voluntary paramilitary organization “Guardian of the Earth” (literally; Latvian. Zemessardze, Russian Ze?messardze).

Lithuania

The Armed Forces have been formed in Lithuania (lit. Ginkluotosios pajegos) numbering up to 16 thousand people, consisting of the army, aviation, navy and special forces, formed on the basis of conscription until 2009 (since 2009 - on a contract basis), as well as volunteers.

Ukraine

At the time of the collapse of the USSR, there were three military districts on the territory of Ukraine, numbering up to 780 thousand military personnel. They included numerous formations of the Ground Forces, one missile army, four air armies, an air defense army and the Black Sea Fleet. On August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on the subordination of all the Armed Forces of the USSR located on its territory to Ukraine. These included, in particular, 1272 intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, and there were also large reserves of enriched uranium. On November 3-4, 1990, the Ukrainian Nationalist Society (UNS) was created in Kyiv. On August 19, 1991, the State Emergency Committee was created to resist the troops UNSO

Currently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Ukrainian) Armed Forces of Ukraine) number up to 200 thousand people. Nuclear weapons have been transported to Russia. They are formed by urgent conscription (21,600 people as of spring 2008) and by contract.

Belarus

At the time of the death of the USSR, the Belarusian Military District numbering up to 180 thousand military personnel was located on the territory of the republic. In May 1992, the district was dissolved; on January 1, 1993, all military personnel were asked to swear allegiance to the Republic of Belarus or resign.

Currently, the Armed Forces of Belarus (Belarus. Uzbek forces of the Republic of Belarus) number up to 72 thousand people, divided into army, aviation and internal troops. Nuclear weapons have been transported to Russia. Formed by conscription.

Azerbaijan

In the summer of 1992, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan issued an ultimatum to a number of units and formations of the Soviet Army stationed on the territory of Azerbaijan to transfer weapons and military equipment to the republican authorities in pursuance of the decree of the President of Azerbaijan. As a result, by the end of 1992, Azerbaijan received enough equipment and weapons to form four motorized infantry divisions.

The formation of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan took place under the conditions of the Karabakh war. Azerbaijan was defeated.

Armenia

The formation of the national army began in January 1992. As of 2007, it consists of the Ground Forces, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, and Border Troops, and numbers up to 60 thousand people. Works closely with the army of the territory with an unsettled status of Nagorno-Karabakh (Defense Army of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, up to 20 thousand people).

Due to the fact that at the time of the collapse of the USSR there was not a single military school on the territory of Armenia, officers of the national army are trained in Russia.

Georgia

The first national armed formations existed already at the time of the collapse of the USSR (National Guard, founded on December 20, 1990, also the Mkhedrioni paramilitary forces). Units and formations of the disintegrating Soviet Army become the source of weapons for various formations. Subsequently, the formation of the Georgian army occurs in an atmosphere of sharp aggravation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, and armed clashes between supporters and opponents of the first president Zviad Gamsakhurdia.

As of 2007, the number of Georgian Armed Forces reached 28.5 thousand people, divided into Ground Forces, Air Force and Air Defense, Navy, and National Guard.

Kazakhstan

Initially, the government announced its intention to form a small National Guard of up to 20 thousand people, assigning the main tasks for the defense of Kazakhstan to the CSTO Armed Forces. However, already on May 7, 1992, the President of Kazakhstan issued a decree on the formation of a national army.

Currently, Kazakhstan has up to 74 thousand people. in the regular troops, and up to 34.5 thousand people. in paramilitary forces. Consists of the Ground Forces, Air Defense Forces, Navy and Republican Guard, four regional commands (Astana, West, East and South). Nuclear weapons have been transported to Russia. Formed by conscription, service period is 1 year.

Division of the Black Sea Fleet

The status of the former USSR Black Sea Fleet was settled only in 1997 with a division between Russia and Ukraine. For several years it maintained an uncertain status and served as a source of friction between the two states.

The fate of the only Soviet full-fledged aircraft carrier, Admiral of the Fleet Kuznetsov, is noteworthy: it was completed by 1989. In December 1991, due to its uncertain status, it arrived from the Black Sea and joined the Russian Northern Fleet, which remains part of it to this day. At the same time, all aircraft and pilots remained in Ukraine; re-staffing took place only in 1998.

The aircraft carrier Varyag (of the same type as the Admiral Kuznetsov), being built simultaneously with the Admiral Kuznetsov, was 85% ready at the time of the collapse of the USSR. Sold by Ukraine to China.

Nuclear-free status of Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan

As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the number of nuclear powers increased, since at the time of the signing of the Belovezh Accords, Soviet nuclear weapons were stationed on the territory of four union republics: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

The joint diplomatic efforts of Russia and the United States of America led to the fact that Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan renounced their status as nuclear powers and transferred to Russia all the military atomic potential found on their territory.

• On October 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution on the nuclear-free status of Ukraine. On January 14, 1992, a trilateral agreement between Russia, the United States and Ukraine was signed. All atomic charges are dismantled and transported to Russia, strategic bombers and missile launch silos are destroyed with US money. In return, the United States and Russia provide guarantees of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

On December 5, 1994, a Memorandum was signed in Budapest, by which Russia, the USA and Great Britain pledged to refrain from using force, economic coercion and to convene the UN Security Council to take the necessary measures if there is a threat of aggression towards Ukraine.

• In Belarus, the nuclear-free status is enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The United States and Russia provide guarantees of independence and territorial integrity.
• During 1992-1994, Kazakhstan transferred up to 1,150 units of strategic nuclear weapons to Russia.

Status of the Baikonur Cosmodrome

With the collapse of the USSR, the largest Soviet cosmodrome, Baikonur, finds itself in a critical situation - funding collapsed, and the cosmodrome itself ended up on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Its status was regulated in 1994 with the conclusion of a long-term lease agreement with the Kazakh side.

The collapse of the USSR entails the introduction of new independent states of their citizenship, and the replacement of Soviet passports with national ones. In Russia, the replacement of Soviet passports ended only in 2004; in the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldavian Republic they remain in circulation to this day.

Russian citizenship (at that time - citizenship of the RSFSR) was introduced by the Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” of November 28, 1991, which came into force upon publication on February 6, 1992. In accordance with it, citizenship of the Russian Federation was granted to all citizens of the USSR, permanently residing on the territory of the RSFSR on the day the law came into force, if within a year after that they do not declare their renunciation of citizenship. On December 9, 1992, the RSFSR government issued Decree No. 950 “On temporary documents certifying citizenship of the Russian Federation.” In accordance with these regulations, the population was issued with inserts in Soviet passports about Russian citizenship.

In 2002, the new Law “On Citizenship of the Russian Federation” came into force, establishing citizenship in accordance with these inserts. In 2004, as noted above, Soviet passports were being replaced with Russian ones.

Establishment of a visa regime

Of the republics of the former USSR, Russia, as of 2007, maintains a visa-free regime with the following:

• Armenia,
• Azerbaijan (stay up to 90 days),
• Belarus,
• Kazakhstan,
• Kyrgyzstan (stay up to 90 days),
• Moldova (stay up to 90 days),
• Tajikistan (with Uzbek visa),
• Uzbekistan (with Tajik visa),
• Ukraine (stay up to 90 days).

Thus, a visa regime exists with the former Soviet Baltic republics (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), as well as Georgia and Turkmenistan.

Status of Kaliningrad

With the collapse of the USSR, the territory of the Kaliningrad region, which was included in the USSR after World War II and was administratively part of the RSFSR in 1991, also became part of the modern Russian Federation. At the same time, it was cut off from other regions of the Russian Federation by Lithuanian and Belarusian territory.

In the early 2000s, in connection with the planned entry of Lithuania into the European Union, and then into the Schengen zone, the status of transit land connections between Kaliningrad and the rest of the Russian Federation began to cause certain friction between the authorities of the Russian Federation and the European Union.

Status of Crimea

On October 29, 1948, Sevastopol became a city of republican subordination within the RSFSR (belonging or not belonging to the Crimean region was not specified by law). The Crimean region was transferred in 1954 by USSR law from the RSFSR to Soviet Ukraine, as part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Rada (“reunification of Russia and Ukraine”). As a result of the collapse of the USSR, independent Ukraine included a region where the majority of the population is ethnic Russian (58.5%), traditionally pro-Russian sentiments are strong, and the Russian Black Sea Fleet is located. In addition, the main city of the Black Sea Fleet - Sevastopol - is a significant patriotic symbol for Russia.

During the collapse of the USSR, Crimea held a referendum on February 12, 1991 and became the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within Ukraine; the Declaration of Sovereignty of Crimea was adopted on September 4, 1991; the Constitution of Crimea was adopted on May 6, 1992.

Attempts by Crimea to secede from Ukraine were thwarted, and in 1992 the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was established.

As a result of the collapse of the USSR, uncertainty arose about the borders between the former Soviet republics. The process of border delimitation lasted until the 2000s. The delimitation of the Russian-Kazakh border was carried out only in 2005. By the time of joining the European Union, the Estonian-Latvian border was virtually destroyed.

As of December 2007, the border between a number of newly independent states was not delimited.

The absence of a delimited border between Russia and Ukraine in the Kerch Strait led to a conflict over the island of Tuzla. Disagreements over borders led to territorial claims by Estonia and Latvia against Russia. However, some time ago the Border Treaty between Russia and Latvia was signed and came into force in 2007, resolving all the painful issues.

Compensation claims from the Russian Federation

In addition to territorial claims, Estonia and Latvia, which gained independence as a result of the collapse of the USSR, put forward demands for multimillion-dollar compensation to the Russian Federation, as the legal successor of the USSR, for their inclusion in the USSR in 1940. After the Border Treaty between Russia and Latvia came into force in 2007, painful territorial issues between these countries were resolved.

The collapse of the USSR from a legal point of view

Legislation of the USSR

Article 72 of the 1977 USSR Constitution determined:

The procedure for the implementation of this right, enshrined in law, was not observed (see above), but was legitimized mainly by the internal legislation of the states that left the USSR, as well as subsequent events, for example, their international legal recognition by the world community - all 15 former Soviet republics are recognized by the world community as independent states and are represented in the UN. Until December 1993, the Constitution of the USSR was in force on the territory of Russia in accordance with Article 4 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation - Russia (RSFSR), despite numerous amendments made to it that excluded mention of the USSR.

International law

Russia declared itself the successor of the USSR, which was recognized by almost all other states. The remaining post-Soviet states (with the exception of the Baltic states) became the legal successors of the USSR (in particular, the USSR's obligations under international treaties) and the corresponding union republics. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia declared themselves successors to the respective states that existed in 1918-1940. Georgia declared itself the successor of the Republic of Georgia 1918-1921. Moldova is not a successor to the MSSR, since a law was passed in which the decree on the creation of the MSSR was called illegal, which is perceived by many as a legal justification for the PMR’s claims to independence. Azerbaijan declared itself a successor to the ADR, while maintaining some agreements and treaties adopted by the Azerbaijan SSR. Within the UN framework, all 15 states are considered successors of the respective union republics, and therefore the territorial claims of these countries to each other are not recognized (including the pre-existing claims of Latvia and Estonia to Russia) and the independence of state entities that were not in including the union republics (including Abkhazia, which had such status, but lost it).

Expert assessments

There are different points of view on the legal aspects of the collapse of the USSR. There is a point of view that the USSR formally still exists, since its dissolution was carried out in violation of legal norms and ignoring the popular opinion expressed in the referendum. This point of view has been repeatedly challenged by supporters of the opinion that it is pointless to demand compliance with formal rules from such significant geopolitical changes.

Russia

• No. 156-II GD “On deepening the integration of the peoples united in the USSR and the repeal of the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of December 12, 1991 “On the denunciation of the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR””;
• No. 157-II GD “On the legal force for the Russian Federation - Russia of the results of the USSR referendum on March 17, 1991 on the issue of preserving the USSR.”

The first of the Resolutions invalidated the corresponding Resolution of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of December 12, 1991 and established “that legislative and other regulatory legal acts arising from the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of December 12, 1991 “On the denunciation of the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR” will be adjusted as fraternal peoples move along the path of ever deeper integration and unity.”
The second of the Resolutions of the State Duma denounced the Belovezhskaya Accords; The resolution read, in part:

1. Confirm for the Russian Federation - Russia the legal force of the results of the USSR referendum on the issue of preserving the USSR, held on the territory of the RSFSR on March 17, 1991. 2. To note that the officials of the RSFSR, who prepared, signed and ratified the decision to terminate the existence of the USSR, grossly violated the will of the peoples of Russia to preserve the USSR, expressed at the USSR referendum on March 17, 1991, as well as the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which proclaimed the desire of the peoples of Russia to create a democratic rule of law state as part of the renewed USSR. 3. Confirm that the Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States of December 8, 1991, signed by the President of the RSFSR B. N. Yeltsin and the State Secretary of the RSFSR G. E. Burbulis and not approved by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR - the highest body of state power of the RSFSR, did not have and has no legal force insofar as it relates to the termination of the existence of the USSR.

On March 19, 1996, the Federation Council sent Appeal No. 95-SF to the lower house, in which it called on the State Duma to “return to the consideration of the mentioned acts and once again carefully analyze the possible consequences of their adoption,” referring to the negative reaction of “a number of state and public figures of the participating states Commonwealth of Independent States" caused by the adoption of these documents.

In a response address to members of the Federation Council, adopted by State Duma Resolution No. 225-II GD of April 10, 1996, the lower house actually disavowed its position expressed in the Resolutions of March 15, 1996, indicating:

… 2. The Resolutions adopted by the State Duma are primarily of a political nature, they assess the situation that has developed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, responding to the aspirations and hopes of the fraternal peoples, their desire to live in a single democratic state governed by the rule of law. Moreover, it was the Resolutions of the State Duma that contributed to the conclusion of a quadrilateral Agreement between the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic on deepening integration in the economic and humanitarian fields... 3. The Treaty on the Formation of the USSR of 1922, which the Supreme Council of the RSFSR “denounced” on December 12, 1991, did not exist as an independent legal document. The original version of this Treaty was subjected to radical revision and, in a revised form, was included in the 1924 Constitution of the USSR. In 1936, a new Constitution of the USSR was adopted, with the entry into force of which the Constitution of the USSR of 1924, including the Treaty on the Formation of the USSR of 1922, ceased to be in force. In addition, by the Resolution of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR of December 12, 1991, an international treaty of the Russian Federation was denounced, which, in accordance with the norms of international law codified by the Vienna Convention on the Law of International Treaties of 1969, was not subject to denunciation at all. 4. The Resolutions adopted on March 15, 1996 by the State Duma in no way affect the sovereignty of the Russian Federation, much less other member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. In accordance with the Constitution of the USSR of 1977, the Russian Federation, like other union republics, was a sovereign state. This excludes all kinds of unlawful allegations that with the adoption by the State Duma of the Resolutions of March 15, 1996, the Russian Federation “ceases” to exist as an independent sovereign state. Statehood does not depend on any treaties or regulations. Historically, it is created by the will of peoples. 5. Resolutions of the State Duma do not and cannot liquidate the Commonwealth of Independent States, which in the current conditions is actually a really existing institution and which must be used as much as possible to deepen integration processes...

Thus, the denunciation did not entail any practical consequences.

Ukraine

During the inauguration of the first president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk, Mykola Plaviuk (the last president of the UPR in exile) presented Kravchuk with the state regalia of the UPR and a letter where he and Kravchuk agreed that the independent Ukraine, proclaimed on August 24, 1991, is the legal successor of the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Ratings

Assessments of the collapse of the USSR are ambiguous. The USSR's Cold War opponents perceived the collapse of the USSR as their victory. In this regard, in the United States, for example, one can often hear disappointment in victory: the “Russians” who lost the war are still a nuclear power, defend national interests, interfere in foreign policy disputes, and so on. “A loser hasn't lost... a loser doesn't think he's a loser... and hasn't acted like a loser since 1991,” former commander of the US Strategic Nuclear Forces General Eugene Habiger said in an interview featured on the network's "Doomsday Rehearsal" CNN.

On April 25, 2005, Russian President V. Putin, in his message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, stated:

A similar opinion was expressed in 2008 by the President of Belarus A.G. Lukashenko:

The first President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin in 2006 emphasized the inevitability of the collapse of the USSR and noted that, along with the negative ones, one should not forget about its positive aspects:

A similar opinion was repeatedly expressed by the former Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus S.S. Shushkevich, who noted that he was proud of his participation in the signing of the Belovezhskaya Agreements, which formalized the collapse of the USSR that actually took place by the end of 1991.

In October 2009, in an interview with the editor-in-chief of Radio Liberty Lyudmila Telen, the first and only president of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev admitted his responsibility for the collapse of the USSR:

According to the sixth wave of regular international population surveys within the framework of the Eurasian Monitor program, 52% of respondents in Belarus, 68% in Russia and 59% in Ukraine regret the collapse of the Soviet Union; 36%, 24% and 30% of respondents, respectively, do not regret; 12%, 8% and 11% found it difficult to answer this question.

Criticism of the collapse of the USSR

Some parties and organizations refused to recognize the Soviet Union as collapsed (for example, the Bolshevik Platform in the CPSU). According to some of them, the USSR should be considered a socialist country occupied by Western imperialist powers with the help of new methods of warfare, which drove the Soviet people into information and psychological shock. For example, O. S. Shenin has headed the Communist Party of the Soviet Union since 2004. Sazhi Umalatova presents orders and medals on behalf of the Presidium of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Rhetoric about betrayal “from above” and calls for the liberation of the country from economic and political occupation are used for political purposes by Colonel Kvachkov, who received an unexpectedly high rating in the elections to the State Duma in 2005.

Critics consider the USSR occupation to be temporary and note that “The Soviet Union continues to exist de jure, in the status of a temporarily occupied country; The Constitution of the USSR of 1977 continues to be in force de jure, the legal personality of the USSR in the international arena remains.”.

The criticism is justified by numerous violations of the Constitution of the USSR, the Constitutions of the Union republics and the current legislation, which, according to critics, accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union. Those who do not agree to recognize the USSR as disintegrated elect and support Soviets in the cities and Republics of the Soviet Union, still electing their representatives to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Supporters of the Soviet Union consider their important political achievement to be the ability to retain a Soviet passport while accepting Russian citizenship.

The ideology of the occupied country and the inevitable liberation of the Soviet people from the “Americans” is reflected in modern creativity. For example, it can be clearly seen in the songs of Alexander Kharchikov and Vis Vitalis.

The criteria for the power of all empires from antiquity to the present day are approximately the same - a thriving economy, a strong army, developed science and ambitious citizens. But all great powers die in different ways. What stands apart here is the USSR, which collapsed despite the presence of the main condition for its existence - a submissive population, ready to endure violations of human rights and inconveniences in everyday life in exchange for the greatness of their country. The mentality of this population has been preserved in modern capitalist Russia, but these people betrayed their socialist homeland in 1991 and did not preserve it.

The main reason is the fact that V.I. Lenin and the Bolsheviks managed to attract more people to their side than other reformers. However, this was by no means a democratic process where people make informed and balanced choices.

The Bolsheviks achieved success thanks to several factors:

1. Their development program may not have been the best, but their slogans were simple and understandable to the illiterate majority of the population;
2. The Bolsheviks were more decisive and active than their political opponents, including in the use of violence;
3. Both whites and reds made mistakes and shed blood, but the latter felt better the mood and aspirations of the people;
4. The Bolsheviks managed to find foreign sources of financing for their activities.

The Soviet state was born as a result of a long-overdue revolution and a bloody civil war. The monarchy brought the people down to such an extent that the model of development that was completely opposite to it seemed to many to be the only correct one.

What was really good about the USSR?

"Evil Empire" lived up to its name. Repressions, Gulags, mysterious deaths of great poets and other unpleasant pages of history have not yet been thoroughly studied. However, there were some positive aspects:

• Elimination of illiteracy. By the end of the Russian Empire, according to various estimates, from 30 to 56 percent of the population were literate. It took about 20 years to improve this catastrophic situation;
• Lack of social stratification. If you do not take into account the ruling elite, then among citizens there was no such monstrous inequality in living standards and wages as in tsarist or modern Russia;
• Equality of opportunity. People from worker-peasant families could rise to senior positions. There were a majority of these in the Politburo;
• Cult of Science. Unlike today, on television and in the media much attention was paid not only to the activities of the top officials of the state, but also to science.

The world is not divided only into black and white; many phenomena in our lives are very contradictory. The USSR hindered the development of the Eastern European and Baltic countries, but provided medicine, education and infrastructure to the Central Asian republics.

In 1939, a non-aggression pact was signed, in a secret protocol of which the countries divided Eastern Europe. The same year was marked by a solemn parade of the Wehrmacht and the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army in Brest.

At first glance there was no reason for the war. But it started anyway and here’s why:

1. In 1940, the Soviet Union failed to reach an agreement with the Axis countries (Third Reich, Fascist Italy, Empire of Japan) on the terms of joining the Berlin Pact (a treaty on the division of Europe and Asia). The largest country in the world did not have enough of the territories that Germany offered, so it was not possible to reach an agreement. Many World War II experts believe that it was after these events that Hitler finally decided to attack the USSR;
2. According to the trade agreement, the Soviet Union already supplied raw materials and food to the Third Reich, but this was not enough for Hitler. He wanted to acquire the entire resource base of the USSR;
3. Hitler had a strong dislike for Jews and communism. In the Land of Soviets, his two main objects of hatred were intertwined together.

The logical and obvious reasons for the attack are listed here; it is unknown what other hidden motives Hitler was guided by.

The main reason is that people no longer wanted to live in this state. Observing today a large number of people who are nostalgic and want to revive the Union, we can conclude that in 1991 the majority did not make intellectual conclusions, but only wanted change because there was nothing to eat.

Among the others reasons for the collapse it is necessary to highlight the following:

• Inefficient economy. If the socialist system managed to solve at least the problem of food shortages, then the population could endure the lack of normal clothing, equipment and cars for a long time;
• Bureaucracy. It was not professionals in their field who were appointed to key and leadership positions, but members of the Communist Party who strictly followed instructions from above;
• Propaganda and censorship. The streams of propaganda were endless, and information about emergencies and disasters was hushed up and hidden;
• Weak industrial diversification. There was nothing to export except oil and weapons. When the price of oil collapsed, problems began;
• Lack of personal freedom. This hindered people's creative potential, including in the field of scientific discoveries and innovations. The result has been technical lag in many industries;
• Isolation of the ruling elite from the population. While the people were forced to be content with the low-quality creations of the mass industry of the USSR, members of the Politburo had access to all the benefits of their ideological opponents from the West.

To finally understand the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, you need to look at the modern Korean Peninsula. In 1945, South Korea came under the jurisdiction of the United States, and North Korea came under the jurisdiction of the USSR. There was a famine in North Korea in the 90s, and as of 2006, a third of the population was chronically malnourished. South Korea is the “Asian Tiger”, with a territory smaller than the Orenburg region, now this country produces everything from phones and computers to cars and the world’s largest sea vessels.

Video: 6 reasons for the collapse of the USSR in 6 minutes

In this video, historian Oleg Perov will tell you about the 6 main reasons why the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991:

On the eve of the celebration of the next New Year, on December 30, 1922, one state was created from four republics, which was called the USSR. Initially, it included Ukraine, Belarus, Russia (with the autonomous Kazakh and Kyrgyz republics), as well as the Transcaucasian Federative Republic, which by that time united Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. During 1924-1925 The USSR adopted the Bukhara and Khorezm Socialist Republics, which were soon disbanded, and Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan appeared in their place. Thus, by that time the Union consisted of 6 powers. Tajikistan was part of Uzbekistan as an autonomous region. In 1929, it became a full-fledged Soviet Republic - the 7th in a row. Exactly 7 years later, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan left the Transcaucasian Republic, and Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan left Russia.

All of them became separate powers within the USSR. After another 4 years, the Karelian Autonomous Republic left the RSFSR, becoming the Karelo-Finnish SSR. During the first ten days of August 1940, the USSR was replenished with Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Attention! Until 1944, the Tuvan People's Republic existed. This formation became part of the structure of the USSR, but not as a separate state, but as an autonomous region within Russia.

By the beginning of the 1950s. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics consisted of 16 powers. However, already in the summer of 1956, the Karelo-Finnish SSR again returned as autonomy to Russia. There are 15 republics, and this number remains unchanged until the collapse of the powerful Soviet state. There is an opinion that Bulgaria should have become part of the USSR, but this remained at the proposal level.

The process of splitting the Socialist Union was not overnight: it lasted several years. The republics left the USSR in the same way as they entered - gradually:

• Estonia initially declared sovereignty back in 1988;
• Lithuania was the first to leave the USSR (March 1990). At that time, the world community was not ready to recognize the new state;

• 5 more republics managed to leave the Union before the coup in August 1991: Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Azerbaijan and Georgia;
• As a result of the August putsch, almost all the remaining republics declared their independence. By early December 1991, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan had not done this.

Attention! Officially, the Soviet Union ceased to exist on December 26, 1991. However, many historians are confident that 1985 was a kind of point of no return, when M.S. was elected as the last general secretary. Gorbachev.

When putting forward assumptions about why the USSR collapsed, historians do not come to the same opinion. Therefore, there are several reasons that are considered the most likely.

Decline of state power. The Union of Republics was founded by people who faithfully and even fanatically believed in the idea of ​​​​the equality of all citizens. Ardent communists were allowed to govern the state, but every year there were fewer and fewer of them. The average age of the leaders was 75 years old, and they passed away quickly. When Mikhail Gorbachev took the helm of power, he was slightly over 50. The only president of the USSR was not ideological enough; his reforms led to a weakening of the monocentrism of state power.

The desire for independence. The leaders of the republics wanted to get rid of centralized power, to which they had accumulated a lot of complaints:

• decision-making was slow, since everything was decided at the level of the Union. This constrained the activities of the republics themselves;
• regions of a huge country wanted to independently develop their culture and national traditions;
• not without manifestations of nationalism, characteristic of many republics of the USSR, etc.

Attention! It is believed that the split process was accelerated by the fall of the Berlin country and the unification of Germany.

Crisis in all sectors of life. He expressed:

• there is a shortage of essential goods;
• in the production of low quality products;
• in the ban on the church and strict censorship in the media. The Soviet people were especially outraged by the suppression of the truth about man-made disasters, in particular the Chernobyl tragedy. In the era of the USSR there was crime and drugs, but it was not customary to talk about it out loud.

The failure of communist ideology. The propaganda of equality and brotherhood turned out to be alien to the younger generation. People stopped believing in a bright communist future: buying something in a store was problematic, speaking and thinking were forced to use almost cliche phrases. The old generation, on which Soviet ideology was based, was passing away, leaving behind no ardent admirers of communism.

It is believed that the United States also played a significant role in the split of the Union. The Cold War, the fall in oil prices - all this accelerated the process. External and internal reasons did not leave the USSR a chance to maintain unity. The collapse of the state turned out to be natural.

Collapse of the USSR: video