and something inspired me..., I remembered a long-postponed topic

Eleven years before the collapse of the USSR

On the morning of May 20, 1980, Ronald Reagan (US President) received William Casey (Director of the CIA), who introduced Reagan new information about the state of affairs in the USSR, namely, Casey presented unofficial classified materials about problems in the USSR economy. Reagan liked to read similar information on the USSR, and in his diary on March 26, 1981, he wrote next entry: The USSR is in a very bad situation, if we refrain from loans, they will ask others for help, because otherwise they will die of hunger. Casey personally selected all the information on the USSR, bringing his old dream closer - collapse of the USSR.

On March 26, 1981, W. Casey arrived with a report to Reagan. Casey provided new information about the state of affairs in the USSR:
The USSR is in a very difficult situation, there is an uprising in Poland, the USSR is stuck in Afghanistan, Cuba, Angola and Vietnam. Casey insisted that there was no better time to collapse of the USSR does not exist. Reagan agreed and Casey began preparing his proposals for collapse of the USSR.

Members of the working group leading the collapse of the USSR

Ronald Reagan, William Joseph Casey,

George Bush Sr., Caspar Willard Weinberger

In early 1982, Casey, at a closed meeting in the White House, proposed plan for the collapse of the USSR. For some senior Reagan administration officials, the proposal collapse of the USSR came as a shock. Throughout the 70s, the West and Europe accustomed themselves to the idea that they should not fight with the USSR, but negotiate. The majority believed that there was simply no other way in the era of nuclear weapons. The NSDD plan was aimed in the other direction. On January 30, 1982, at a meeting of the working group, Casey's plan for the deployment of secret offensive operations against the USSR, classified top secret, it was called the “NSDD plan” (a directive of the Reagan administration in the matter of US strategy, goals and aspirations in relations with the USSR). The NSDD plan clearly stated that the next goal of the United States was no longer coexistence with the USSR, but a change in the Soviet system. The entire working group recognized the necessary achievement of one goal - collapse of the USSR!

The essence of the NSDD plan for the collapse of the USSR boiled down to the following:

1. Secret, financial, intelligence and political assistance to the Polish Solidarity movement. Goal: maintaining the opposition in the center of the USSR.
2. Significant financial and military assistance Afghan Mujahideen. Goal: the spread of war on the territory of the USSR.
3. Secret diplomacy in the countries of Western Europe. Goal: limit the USSR's access to Western technologies.
4. Psychological and information warfare. Goal: technical disinformation and destruction of the USSR economy.
5. The growth of weapons and maintaining them at a high technological level. Goal: undermining the economy of the USSR and exacerbating the resource crisis.
6. Cooperation with Saudi Arabia to reduce world oil prices. Goal: a sharp reduction in the flow of hard currency into the USSR.

CIA Director W. Casey realized that it was useless to fight the USSR; the USSR could only be destroyed economically.

Preparatory stage for the collapse of the USSR

In early April 1981, CIA Director W. Casey went to the Middle East and Europe. Casey had to solve 2 problems: falling oil prices and increasing resistance in Afghanistan. Therefore, Casey visited Egypt (supplier of weapons to the Afghan mujahideen). Here Casey told President Mohammed Anwar al-Sadat (a friend of the CIA) that the weapons that Egypt was supplying to the Afghan Mujahideen were scrap! The USSR cannot be defeated with him, and he suggested financial assistance in order for the supply of modern weapons to begin. However, Sadat was not destined to carry out the instructions of the CIA chief, because. 6 months later he was shot dead. But the United States still managed to supply the Afghan Mujahideen with weapons worth $8 billion!!! This is how the Mujahideen acquired the first Stinger air defense system. This is the largest covert operation since World War II.

Next, the CIA chief visited Saudi Arabia. The CIA analytical department calculated that if oil prices on the world market fell by just 1 dollar, the USSR would lose from 500 million to 1 billion dollars a year. In return, Casey promised the sheikh protection from possible revolutions, protection for family members, supplies of weapons, and guaranteed the inviolability of personal deposits in US banks. The sheikh agreed to the proposal, and oil production in Saudi Arabia skyrocketed. So in 1986, the USSR's losses from falling oil prices amounted to $13 billion. Experts already realized then that Gorbachev would not be able to carry out any breakthrough or restructuring. Modernization required 50 billion dollars, which was taken away from the USSR by the NSDD plan.
Casey also managed to convince the Sheikh of the secret participation of Saudi Arabia in Afghan war and the strengthening of the Afghan Mujahideen by the Saudis. The sheikh's money was used to recruit the modest owner of a construction company, Osama bin Laden (terrorist No. 1 in the world).

After Saudi Arabia, the CIA chief visited Israel. The first points have already begun to work, the next stage of the collapse of the USSR is information and psychological warfare, without which collapse of the USSR it might not have happened. According to Casey, the Israeli intelligence service Mossad was to play a decisive role. Casey suggested that Israel use American spy satellites to obtain information about Iraq's nuclear facilities, as well as materials on Syria. In response, Israel opened part of its residency in the USSR to the CIA. The channels have been established.

The beginning of the implementation of the plan for the collapse of the USSR

The United States decided to carry out economic sabotage against Poland. One of the authors of this plan was Zbigniew Brzezinski. The meaning of this plan was that Western partners supplied enterprises to Poland with the assurance that they would take the products produced at these enterprises in the form of payment, and after the launch of the enterprise they refused to take the products. Thus, sales of products were slowed down, and the amount of Polish foreign currency debt went up. After this sabotage, Poland was in large debts; cards for goods began to be introduced in Poland (cards were even introduced for diapers and hygiene products). After this, workers' strikes began; the Poles wanted to eat. The burden of the Polish crisis fell on the USSR economy; Poland was provided with financial assistance in the amount of $10 billion, but Poland's debt remained at $12 billion. Thus began a revolution in one of the socialist countries.

The US administration was confident that the outbreak of a revolutionary fire in one of the USSR countries would lead to destabilization throughout the USSR. The Kremlin leadership, in turn, understood where the wind of change was blowing, intelligence reported that Polish revolutionaries were receiving financial assistance from Western countries (1.7 thousand newspapers and magazines, 10 thousand books and brochures were published underground, underground printing houses operated), on the radio “ Voice of America" ​​and "Free Europe" Polish revolutionaries received hidden orders about when and where to strike. Moscow has repeatedly pointed out the danger emanating from abroad and has begun to prepare for intervention. CIA intelligence decided to counter Moscow with the following trump card: Casey flies to Rome, where a key figure with influence on the Poles was located - this was the Pole Karol Jozef Wojtyla, after his enthronement - John Paul II (Primate of the Roman Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005). The CIA remembered well how the Poles greeted John Paul II when he returned to his homeland. Then millions of excited Poles met their compatriot. After meeting Casey, he begins to actively support the Polish resistance and personally met with resistance leader Lech Walesa. The Catholic Church begins to financially support the resistance (distributes humanitarian aid, received from Western charitable foundations), provides shelters for oppositionists.

Report of the Director of the CIA on the collapse of the USSR

In February 1982, at a meeting in the oval office of the White House, the CIA director again reported on the work done. The loss of tens of millions of dollars, the tense situation in Poland, the protracted war in Afghanistan, instability in the socialist camp, all this led to the emptying of the USSR treasury. Casey also said that the USSR is trying to replenish the treasury with Siberian gas supplied to Europe - this is the Urengoy-6 project. This project was supposed to provide the USSR with colossal funds. In addition, Europe was very interested in the construction of this gas pipeline.

The failure of the Urengoy-6 project as one of the reasons for the collapse of the USSR

The gas pipeline was supposed to be laid from Siberia to the borders of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union, but the installation required imported pipes. It was then that the US administration imposed a ban on the supply of oil equipment to the USSR. But Europe, which was interested in gas, and which, by agreement with the USSR, had a significant 25-year discount on gas, secretly (the government secretly supported smuggled suppliers) continued to supply the necessary equipment to the USSR. The US administration sent its own man to Europe, who campaigned for Europe for American coal, natural gas from the North Sea, and also for synthetic fuels. But Europe, feeling the benefits of cooperation with the USSR, continued to secretly help the USSR build a gas pipeline. Then Reagan again ordered the CIA to deal with this problem. In 1982, the CIA developed an operation according to which gas equipment was supplied to the USSR through a long chain of intermediaries, the software of which was deliberately introduced with errors. These errors were introduced after installation, resulting in big explosions on transport routes. As a result of these sabotages, Urengoy-6 was never completed, and the USSR again suffered losses in the amount of 1 trillion. dollars. This became one of the reasons for the bankruptcy and collapse of the USSR.

Another secret operation to collapse the USSR

On March 23, 1983, Reagan proposed deploying a system that would destroy enemy nuclear missiles in space. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) or “Star Wars” program was the creation of a large-scale missile defense system with space-based elements. According to this program, the United States was supposed to launch satellites with laser weapons into geostationary orbits, which would constantly be located above the base of nuclear missiles and could shoot them down at the moment of their launch. The US administration, with the help of this program, intimidated the USSR and continued to deplete the USSR economy. The United States was led to believe that one day all Soviet missiles would become a pile of unnecessary metal. Soviet scientists began to study SDI and came to the conclusion that for laser weapons to work, powerful energy pumping was needed, and in order to hit a flying missile, the diameter of the laser beam had to be the size of a pinhead, and according to scientists’ calculations, the diameter of the missile’s laser beam turned into a circle of light diameter 100 sq. meters. Scientists have proven that SDI is a bluff! But the Soviet Union continued to devote too much effort and time to SDI, and the United States acted from a position of strength in the missile defense negotiations with the USSR.

Gorbachev also tried to somehow raise the economy of the USSR, he was counting on high oil prices, but oil prices fell from 35 to 10 dollars per barrel. Instead of improvement, Soviet citizens felt deterioration, store shelves became empty, and soon, as during the Second World War, cards appeared. The collapse of the USSR has entered its final stage.

Date of collapse of the USSR

Date of collapse of the USSR December 26, 1991. As a result collapse of the USSR The territory of Russia decreased compared to the territory of the USSR by 24%, and the population decreased by 49%. The unified armed forces and common currency disintegrated, and interethnic conflicts sharply escalated.

Everything changed on December 8, 1991, after the statement of three (President RSFSR – B. Yeltsin, President of Ukraine - L. Kravchuk, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus – S. Shushkevich) formation occurred independent states . The Commonwealth of Independent Countries was formed.

This is how an event occurred that can be compared to a natural disaster, but which was much more tragic in its consequences. On December 9, 1991, we woke up in another country, and not many people still know what kind of country it is. Cracks occurred not only across the earth, but also through the destinies of the nation and peoples; each seceding country had to survive alone, and Russia too. Since Soviet Union lived and developed as a single organism, the separated parts took with them objects vital for the country.

Baltic states ( Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) the most modern ports, a nuclear power plant, and many high-tech industries have moved away.
Became independent Ukraine And Moldova and the centuries-old economic ties that united the coal, industrial, metallurgical, transport and food systems were broken.
Traditional holiday destinations remained abroad Crimea And Transcaucasia(Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan).
The pride of the Soviet Union, the Baikonur cosmodrome, began to belong to Kazakhstan.
Cotton plantations and deposits of strategic raw materials gained independence in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan), but at the same time all the country’s borders were wide open.

Modern Russia moved east and north. We were left with a terrain unsuitable for farming, coupled with impressive distances and a harsh climate. The regions of the far north occupy more than 2/3 of the territory of our country. Yes, they say we got fantastic ones natural resources, however, they are located in inaccessible, sparsely populated and completely undeveloped areas of the Arctic, eastern Siberia and the Far East, in the so-called global refrigerator.

We can cope with the global refrigerator, but along the perimeter of the Russian borders, many hotbeds of tension have arisen, this is so natural, any state tries to improve, increase its territory and power at the expense of a weakened country.
For example, Norway wouldn’t mind annexing a piece of the Arctic, how many oil and gas rigs can be placed there? How many fish should I catch? And the Russian fleet can be locked in rocky bays so as not to interfere.
Finns- the people are peace-loving and cautious, but they are absolutely sure that Karelia would be managed more efficiently.
European Union inspired by Germany – feels incomplete without the Kaliningrad region.
Along the southern border of our State ( Georgia), a fuse is laid, which flares up at the command of the directors of world politics. The technology is interesting; first, the former Soviet Republic declares its neutrality and demands the withdrawal Russian troops and military bases, then conducts exercises with NATO peacekeepers and, forgetting about neutrality, opens the doors to the “masters of the new world order.” It's no secret that with the collapse of the USSR, the republics of the former Soviet Union, as well as central Asia, The United States declared it a zone of its national interests. It seems that the so-called Islamic threat was designed specifically for “New Russia”
China: When 2 billion people are suffocating in the space they occupy, they involuntarily look for somewhere to spill out.
Japan: the Japanese, with their characteristic pedantry, decide to transfer 4x to them Kuril Islands, having in the future the large Kuril Islands and Sakhalin.
Once upon a time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, the generous Georgian Shevardnadze, gave his American friends a royal gift - the richest part of the Bering Sea.
Finally « world community» in general, is considering the option of Russia abandoning the Arctic sector and transferring it under international control.
In the apt expression of D. Mendeleev: Russia lies between the hammer of Europe and the anvil of Asia.

So-called sanitary cordons are being formed along the perimeter of our borders.

According to the idea of ​​​​creating buffer states, Ukraine, Moldova and the Baltic states, Western strategists have assigned the role of this very buffer, for which they are united in the “Baltic sanitary belt”, by the way, not for the first time in history.

In matters of global geopolitical strategy, the initiative belongs to the United States. The American administration clearly sets goals and clearly achieves their implementation.

What are the interests of our Motherland?

Why does Russia need the Kuril Islands? Just think of some rocks in the ocean! Let's figure it out. It doesn’t matter at all who discovered the islands, the important thing is that the Sea of ​​Okhotsk freezes in winter, so much so that if at least one island goes to Japan, from October to April the Pacific naval fleet will be closed in the bays of the Far East. And we will buy the fish resources of the Kuril-Kamchatka trench from the Japanese, the price of the issue is 2.5 billion. dollars per year.

Amber region provides Russia with its presence in the Baltic. We have been fighting for access to this sea for many centuries. Our country is surrounded from the west by the NATO military bloc, and former compatriots (Ukraine and the Baltic states) would like to represent its interests.

IN Kaliningrad region our latest trade and technology showcase in Western world, if the western gates of Russia close, then our European friends will immediately lower a new iron curtain in front of us.

North: Why do we need such uncomfortable spaces? People who thought about the future of Russia called the Arctic coast its seaside settlement. Here are our combat lines(missile shield, submarine fleet), our storerooms (oil, gas, gold, diamonds). In the 20th century, it was we Russians who built the Northern Sea Route - the shortest road between Asia and Europe. There is also a transpolar air bridge across the Arctic - a promising route between America and Asia. This is probably why the world community decided that it itself would breathe life into these lifeless spaces.

If this happens, Russia will slowly die in armed conflicts in its backyard on the borders with China, Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Geography, the most fundamental factor in the life of our State, is the most constant. Rulers come and go, but the territory remains, and it must be preserved.
I'd like to believe that good attitude between States is formed thanks to the friendly feelings of their leaders, but all 5 thousand years of the history of international relations do not confirm such a belief.

“We especially need well-educated people who closely know Russian nature,
our entire reality, so that we can make independent,
and not imitative steps in the development of one’s country.”
D. I. Mendeleev

The question of why the USSR collapsed still worries not only the old, but also the new generation. Being a great and strong power, the union of states left its mark on the minds and economies of many nations. Disputes about why the great union fell apart have not subsided to this day, since there were many reasons for the breakup, and new details are discovered every year. Most researchers tend to believe that the main contribution was made by the influential politician and former president Mikhail Gorbachev.

Reasons why the USSR collapsed

The Soviet Union was a large-scale project, but it was destined to fail due to the internal and foreign policies of the states. Many researchers believe that the fate of the USSR was predetermined with the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. The official date of the collapse of the Soviet Union was 1991. Possible reasons There are a great many reasons why the USSR collapsed, and the main ones are considered to be the following:

• economic;
• ideological;
• social;
• political.

Economic difficulties in the countries led to the collapse of the union of republics. In 1989, the government officially recognized the economic crisis. This period was characterized main problem Soviet Union - commodity shortage. There were no goods on free sale except bread. The population was transferred to special coupons, with which they could get the necessary food.

After the decline in world oil prices, the union of republics faced a big problem. This led to the fact that over two years foreign trade turnover decreased by 14 billion rubles. Low quality products began to be produced, which provoked a general economic decline in the country. The Chernobyl tragedy accounted for 1.5% of national income and led to mass unrest. Many were outraged by the government's policies. The population suffered from hunger and poverty.

The main factor why the USSR collapsed was the rash economic policy of M. Gorbachev. The launch of mechanical engineering, a reduction in foreign purchases of consumer goods, an increase in salaries and pensions and other reasons undermined the country's economy. Political reforms ahead of economic processes and led to the inevitable weakening of the established system. In the first years of his reign, Mikhail Gorbachev enjoyed wild popularity among the population, as he introduced innovations and changed stereotypes. However, after the era of perestroika, the country entered years of economic and political hopelessness. Unemployment began, shortages of food and essential goods, hunger, and crime increased.

The ideological reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union were that previous ideals were changing to new, freer and more democratic ones. Young people needed radical changes; the ideas of the USSR no longer attracted them. During this period soviet man finds out how they live in Western countries, and strives for the same lifestyle. Many people leave the country if possible.

The political factor in the collapse of the union was the desire of the leaders of the republics to get rid of centralized power. Many regions wanted to develop independently, without orders from centralized authorities; each had its own culture and history. Over time, the population of the republics begins to incite rallies and uprisings on national grounds, which forced the leaders to make radical decisions. The democratic orientation of M. Gorbachev's policy helped them create their own internal laws and a plan for leaving the Soviet Union.

Historians highlight another reason why the USSR collapsed. The leadership and foreign policy of the United States played a significant role in the end of the union. The United States and the Soviet Union have always been fighting for world domination. It was in America's first interest to wipe the USSR off the map. Evidence of this is the ongoing “cold curtain” policy and the artificially low price of oil. Many researchers believe that it was the United States that contributed to the emergence of Mikhail Gorbachev at the helm of a great power. Year after year, he planned and executed the fall of the Soviet Union.

In 1998, the Republic of Estonia left the union. After it are Lithuania, Latvia and Azerbaijan. The Russian SFSR declared its independence on June 12, 1990. Gradually, 15 independent states left the Soviet Union. In 1991, on December 25, Mikhail Gorbachev renounced power and the post of President. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union officially ceased to exist. Some political parties and organizations did not want to acknowledge the collapse of the USSR, believing that the country was attacked and influenced by Western powers. The leaders of the Communist Party called on the people to liberate the country from political and economic occupation.

Economic and other reasons for the collapse of the USSR should teach other countries to conduct the right policies

The Soviet Union is a state that was legally formed in 1922 and existed for just under 70 years. In December 1991, it was officially liquidated by the denunciation of the union treaty. The way the collapse of the USSR took place, the causes and consequences of this process are relevant for our time.

How did it all start?

To understand why the USSR collapsed, you need to look at the history of its origins. It appeared as a result of the victory of the red communist forces in civil war, which, in turn, required the revival of a full-fledged public education, built not on the Bolshevik slogan of world revolution, but on the need to preserve the gains made. It was necessary to revive and develop industry, agriculture, education, management structures, and establish normal peaceful life for citizens.

This required combining the resources of all those territories that were previously part of the Russian Empire (with the exception of part of the Polish lands and Finland) and already had experience of coexistence. This also ensured the solution of complex foreign policy problems for the country of “victorious socialism,” which at that moment was in diplomatic isolation and was experiencing military pressure from former allies and to ensure its development could rely only on its own strength.

The Soviet Union was legally created as a federal state entity with the declared sovereignty of the republics included in it, which gave them the right to secede from this common state. However, in fact, it represented a unitary model with a rigid vertical power structure, based on Marxist ideology.

Economic reasons for the collapse of the USSR

When discussing the question of what are the main reasons for the collapse of the USSR, they most often list the acute economic problems that it experienced.

• The main one is considered to be the so-called “resource trap”: the presence of significant reserves of raw materials, primarily oil and gas, in demand on the foreign market has led to the predominance of an extensive type of economic development of the country, its technological backwardness and dependence on energy prices on the world market. The economic crisis of the second half of the 1980s led to a sharp decrease in energy consumption and provoked turbulence in the Soviet socio-economic system, more than half of whose income was generated by the export of oil and gas. Thus, a shortage of resources arose and difficulties arose with the state fulfilling its obligations.

• Since the Soviet Union was one of the two superpowers in the bipolar system of international relations, it bore a very significant burden associated with maintaining the viability of the so-called world system of socialism and part of the developing countries of the third world. This required a lot large resources, which by the end of the 1980s were exhausted.
• The main branch of the Soviet economy was the so-called military-industrial complex, which ensured the defense capability of not only the USSR, but also countries Warsaw Pact. In the conditions of the Cold War and the arms race, this led to a disproportionality in the economic system, which was focused on the priority development of the military industry to the detriment of other sectors of the economy. By the end of its existence, the USSR actually no longer had the resources to ensure parity with the United States in the military-technical field, especially taking into account the SDI program that was unfolding at that time.
• The planned economy built in the USSR was unable to fully resolve the issue of supplying the population with goods necessary for everyday life. The permanent shortage of what a person needs every day, including food, their low quality, and queues for the most necessary things gave rise, on the one hand, to the emergence of shadow economy and the black market, on the other, loss of confidence in the authorities, which are unable to solve these problems. The lag in the level and quality of life from European countries, self-isolation from the outside world caused legitimate discontent among the majority of the population.

It is likely that all these problems, now considered as socio-economic reasons for the collapse of the USSR, could be resolved. However, perestroika started by M.S. Gorbachev in 1985, did not contain adequate ways to develop national production and improve the life of the country's population.

Video about the reasons for the collapse of the USSR

A set of other reasons for the collapse of the USSR

By the end of its existence, the Soviet Union had accumulated serious problems that were not limited to economic difficulties, which became driving force the collapse of this state model.

• The partocratic conservative governance of the country, which emerged during the Brezhnev era, had stereotypical thinking, was unable to appreciate the challenges of our time and, as a result, rejected the possibility of modernizing the Soviet system. Perestroika was an attempt to overcome accumulated difficulties, but since it was not a precisely calibrated strategy for national development, it ultimately only further destabilized the situation.
• The reason for the collapse of the USSR is the sharp growth of the bureaucratic system, which ultimately led to the loss of its effectiveness. At the end of the Brezhnev era, the number of central ministries reached 70. To these should be added 24 state committees and an equally cumbersome apparatus in each of the republics. With Gorbachev coming to power, the administrative apparatus was cut in half. As a result, a serious institutional problem arose: if under Brezhnev management was clumsy due to excessive bureaucratization, then under Gorbachev a functional crisis arose when some important areas were actually left without management.
• The monoideology of Marxism, elevated to dogma, censorship in the media and refusal to accept other ideological concepts led to self-isolation during the Brezhnev era. The “new thinking” proposed by Gorbachev did not mean a rejection of Marxism as the leading ideological system, but demanded greater openness towards the world. In fact, it resulted in sharp criticism of the country’s past, a rejection of pride in its achievements and an uncritical perception of the West, which, as it seemed then, was ready for equal cooperation with the USSR.

• Accumulated national problems, expressed in the centrifugal aspirations of the union republics (parade of sovereignties) and the emergence of a series of national conflicts (Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgian-Abkhaz conflict). The failure to sign a new union treaty and the State Emergency Committee led to the final collapse of the Soviet Union.

Consequences of the collapse of the USSR

The consequences of the collapse of the USSR are systemic in nature and affect both domestic and international aspects.

As a result of the Belovezhskaya Accords of 1991, 15 new ones appeared on the world map. sovereign states, but only the Russian Federation became the legal successor of the USSR. There was a collapse of the single economic space, the ruble zone, and the armed forces, which negatively affected all new state formations. There was also a humanitarian catastrophe associated with the separation of family and family ties, a stream of refugees from those republics where local elites began a war for power, which turned into a civil confrontation.

The Russian Federation has declared a course towards a market economy and democratization of the political system. The reforms launched under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin were carried out on the basis of recommendations from the Russian Federation’s Western partners in the form of so-called “shock therapy.” They led to the destruction of national production, external economic dependence and the actual loss of economic sovereignty. The sharp impoverishment of the population gave rise to acute social confrontation, which resulted in the conflict of 1993.

Video about the causes and consequences of the collapse of the USSR

National problems were not resolved, and the issue of the possible collapse of the Russian Federation was on the agenda. Tatarstan and Chechnya made claims to state sovereignty. This resulted in a long-term armed conflict - the first and second Chechen wars.

The Russian Federation lost its position as a superpower in international affairs and began to build its foreign policy line in full agreement with the opinion of the United States. The destruction of the bipolar system provoked increased international tension and intensified military conflicts, which for the first time since 1945 affected Europe (Yugoslavia).

The collapse of the USSR and the formation of the CIS actually confirmed the idea of ​​the Prussian “Iron Chancellor” Otto von Bismarck, who believed that Russia could not be liquidated as a result of a military takeover, since it has a unique ability to unite and self-heal. Bismarck believed that it could only be self-destructed as a result of degenerative processes occurring within the country. This statement was fully confirmed by the Soviet Union.

Why do you think the USSR collapsed, and what were the consequences of this event? Share your opinion on

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 concern 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 believe 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 badly, 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, when last funeral Soviet leader were in 1953. The second death in a row of the country's leader in such a short period of time could not but affect the country in all its spheres. Andropov’s place was taken by Chernenko, who at that time was already 72 years old, but Konstantin Ustinovich also died almost a year after his appointment to the country’s main position. The third funeral was a blow for the USSR, the country is losing the ideological fundamentalists of communism, and also does not have a clear path of development, since Andropov and Chernenko had their own plans, but did not have time to implement them.

   Jokes on this topic even began to circulate among the people. Understanding such an absurd situation, the Politburo decides to choose the relatively young Gorbachev as the leader of the country, who at that time was 54 years old, and he was really young in the political bureau. From that moment on, the collapse of the USSR began to occur at an irreversible pace, Gorbachev became the catalyst for this process.

   The incompetence of the new leadership led by Gorbachev, as well as new personnel in the political system. bureau and leadership of the country, who ultimately turned out to be traitors, the desire of the leaders of the union republics to secede and make their countries independent in order to lead them themselves - all this is the result of Gorbachev’s perestroika.

   

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.

   Rallies suppressed by special services and persecution of opposition figures were probably one of the keys to the successful existence of the USSR, but during perestroika, the oppositionists became more active and launched active, unhindered activities.

   Perhaps this reason can be attributed to Chernobyl disaster, since it dealt a significant blow to both the reputation of the USSR and its leaders, and also affected people. The Soviet system, which forced builders into a framework for delivering objects within a certain time frame, and to coincide with communist holidays, made itself felt, and very cruelly, with the Chernobyl tragedy. The fourth power unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and exactly like all the previous three units, were commissioned 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. In the end, all this was a powerful blow to the entire Soviet system and for 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, but in order to keep such big country– needed strong man. The country needed radical reforms, but all the reforms undertaken were failures. Lack of goods on shelves, constant shortages, huge queues, depreciation of money - all these are the consequences of perestroika. People are simply tired of living like this, or rather surviving, without any prospect that this crisis will ever end.

   

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 V to a greater extent, 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 ​​that 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.

Today is a significant date: 18 years ago, in December 1991, the Soviet Union officially died. It should be noted that in fact the “Union Soviet socialist republics" ceased to exist about a year earlier, by the time almost all of its constituent republics declared their sovereignty or even independence. Declarations on these decisions also contained a rejection of the definitions “Soviet” and “socialist”, therefore the name USSR in 1991 was used only out of inertia. The collapsing state was finally crippled by the August “putsch of shaking hands”, and in December it was all over.

I propose to trace how the former colossus agonized:

1988
February 20- an extraordinary session of the regional council of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region (NKAO) decided to ask the Supreme Councils of the Azerbaijani and Armenian USSR to transfer the region from Azerbaijan to Armenia, as well as the Supreme Council of the USSR to support this option for resolving the issue.
June 14- The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR agreed to the inclusion of NKAO into the republic.
June 17- The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR decided to preserve the NKAO as part of the AzSSR.
June 22- repeated appeal of the regional council of the NKAO to the Supreme Council of the USSR about the transfer of the region to Armenia.
July 12- a session of the regional council of the NKAO decided to secede from the Azerbaijan SSR.
July 18- the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR announced that it considered it impossible to change the borders and the national-territorial division of the Azerbaijani and Armenian SSR established on a constitutional basis.
September 11- the first public call for the restoration of Estonia's independence on the Singing Field.
October 6- The Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR adopted a resolution giving the Latvian language the status of the state language.
October 30- popular vote on the issue of language in the Estonian SSR.
November 16- at an extraordinary session of the Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR, the Declaration of Sovereignty and the Declaration of the Union Treaty were adopted.
November 17-18- at a session of the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR, an addition to the constitution of the republic was adopted, providing for giving the Lithuanian language the status of the state language.
November 26- the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR declared the decisions of the Supreme Council of Estonia dated November 16, 1988 invalid due to non-compliance with the Constitution of the Union.
December 5-7- The Supreme Council of the Estonian SSR introduced changes to the constitution of the republic, according to which the Estonian language on its territory becomes the state language.

1989
January 12- the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR introduced a special form of governance in the NKAO.
February 22- an appeal from the highest authorities and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Estonian SSR was published declaring February 24 as Independence Day of Estonia.
March 18- in the village of Lykhny, Gudauta region of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, a gathering of many thousands of Abkhazians took place, in which both ordinary workers and party and government leaders of the republic took part. On the agenda was the issue of the political status of the Abkhaz Republic. The result of the gathering was the adoption of a special appeal to the leaders of the USSR and leading scientists of the USSR Academy of Sciences - the “Lykhny Appeal” with a request for “the return of political, economic and cultural sovereignty to Abkhazia within the framework of the Leninist idea of ​​a federation.” More than 30 thousand people signed the appeal.
May 7- a session of the Supreme Council of Latvia adopted a law on the language, which gave Latvian the status of a state language.
May 18- The Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic. The Supreme Soviets of Lithuania and Estonia condemned the Soviet-German treaty of 1939 and demanded that it be recognized as illegal from the moment it was signed. Later they were joined by the Supreme Council of Latvia.
May 29- The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR adopted a decree recognizing May 28 as the Day of Restoration of Armenian Statehood.
June 6- a message was published about the adoption by the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR of a law on languages, by which Ukrainian received the status of a state language, Russian was recognized as a language of interethnic communication.
July 28- The Supreme Council of the Latvian SSR adopted a law on the sovereignty of the republic.
August 22- the commission of the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian SSR to study German-Soviet treaties and their consequences stated that since these treaties are illegal, they have no legal force, which means that the Declaration of Lithuania’s accession to the USSR and the USSR Law on the admission of the Lithuanian SSR to the USSR are not valid.
September 1- a session of the Supreme Council of the Moldavian SSR adopted a language law that recognized Moldavian as the state language, and Moldovan and Russian as the languages ​​of interethnic communication.
September 19- a plenum of the CPSU Central Committee was convened on the national issue.
September 23- The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a law on the sovereignty of the republic.
September 25- The Supreme Council of Lithuania declared the republic’s accession to the USSR in 1940 illegal.
October 21- The Supreme Council of the Uzbek SSR adopted the law on the state language (Uzbek).
November 10- the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution on the inconsistency of some legislative acts of the Union republics (Azerbaijan, Baltic) with the Constitution of the USSR. The Council of People's Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region of the Georgian SSR decided to transform it into an autonomous republic.
November 19- The Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR adopted an amendment to the republican constitution, giving it the right to veto union laws and declaring natural resources the property of the republic. The right to freely secede from the USSR was confirmed.
November 27- The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a law on the economic independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
December 1- The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR adopted a resolution “On the reunification of the Armenian SSR and Nagorno-Karabakh.”
December 3- a referendum was held in Rybnitsa on the feasibility of creating the Transnistrian Autonomous Socialist Republic. 91.1% of those who took part in the vote were in favor of creating autonomy.
December 4- The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a resolution “On measures to normalize the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Azerbaijan SSR.”
December 7- The Supreme Council of Lithuania abolished Article 6 of the constitution of the republic on the leading and guiding role of the Communist Party.

1990
January 10- the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted resolutions on the inconsistency of the Armenian acts on the NKAO with the Constitution of the USSR and the incompetence of the Azerbaijani decisions.
January 15- the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the decree “On the announcement state of emergency in the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region and some other areas."
January 19- independence of the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed
January 22- The Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan SSR declared the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR dated January 19, 1990 an aggression against the republic.
January 26- The Supreme Council of the Byelorussian SSR adopted a law on languages, according to which Belarusian was proclaimed the state language of the republic.
March 9- The Supreme Council of Georgia adopted a decree on guarantees for the protection of the sovereignty of the republic. The treaty of 1921 and the treaty of union of 1922 were denounced.
March 11- session of the Supreme Council of Lithuania. The Act “On the Restoration of the Independent State of Lithuania” was adopted. The Lithuanian SSR was renamed the Lithuanian Republic. The Constitution of the USSR and the Lithuanian SSR was canceled on the territory of the republic.
March 12- The III Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR abolished Article 6 of the USSR Constitution (“The leading and guiding force of Soviet society, the core of its political system, state and public organizations is the CPSU”). After this, about 30 different parties emerged within a few days.
March 14- At the same Congress, a decision was made to establish the post of President of the USSR. He elected General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada M.S. Gorbachev.
March 23- The Communist Party of the Estonian SSR announced its secession from the CPSU.
March 24- at a session of the Supreme Council of the Uzbek SSR, the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party I.A. was elected president of the republic. Karimov.
March 30- The Supreme Council of Estonia adopted the law “On the state status of Estonia”, denying the legality state power The USSR in Estonia from the moment of its establishment and proclaiming the beginning of the restoration of the Estonian Republic.
April 3- The Supreme Council of the USSR adopted the law “On the procedure for resolving issues related to the withdrawal of a union republic from the USSR.” In particular, he declared legally void the declarations of the Supreme Soviets of the Baltic republics on the annulment of entry into the USSR and the resulting legal consequences and solutions.
April 24- The Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR elected the first secretary of the Communist Party N.A. as the first president of Kazakhstan. Nazarbayev.
April 26- The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted the law “On the division of powers between the USSR and the constituent entities of the federation.” According to it, “autonomous republics are Soviet socialist states that are subjects of the federation - the USSR”
May 4- The Supreme Council of Latvia adopted the Declaration on the restoration of the independence of the Republic of Latvia.
May 8- The Estonian SSR was officially renamed the Republic of Estonia.
June 12- The 1st Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the RSFSR.
June 20- The Supreme Council of Uzbekistan adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Uzbek SSR.
June 23- The Supreme Council of Moldova adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty of the SSR of Moldova, and also approved the Conclusion of the Special Commission on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, in which the creation of the Moldavian SSR was declared illegal, and Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina were occupied Romanian territories.
July 16- The Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine.
July 20- The Supreme Council of the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic.
July 27- The Supreme Council of the Belarusian SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Belarus.
August 1- A statement from the Council of the Baltic States was published stating that they do not consider it possible to participate in the development of the Union Treaty.
August 17- M.S. Gorbachev during maneuvers in the Odessa Military District: “In the form in which the Soviet Union has existed until now, it has exhausted its capabilities.”
August 19- independence of Gagauzia from Moldova was proclaimed.
August 22- The Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the Declaration “On State Independence of the Turkmen SSR.”
August 23- The Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR adopted the Declaration of Independence. A new name was approved: “Republic of Armenia”, which, however, remained part of the USSR.
August 24- The Supreme Council of Tajikistan adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Tajik SSR.
August 25- the Abkhaz part of the deputies of the Supreme Council of the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration “On the State Sovereignty of the Abkhaz SSR” and the resolution “On Legal Guarantees for the Protection of the Statehood of Abkhazia.”
August 26- The Supreme Council of the Georgian SSR declared the acts of the Supreme Council of Abkhazia invalid.
September 2- at the II Extraordinary Congress of Deputies of all levels of Transnistria, it was decided to proclaim the Transnistrian Moldavian SSR as part of Soviet Union.
September 3- by resolution of the Supreme Council of the SSR of Moldova, M.I. was appointed president of the republic. Snegur.
September 20- The Council of People's Deputies of the South Ossetian Autonomous Region proclaimed the South Ossetian Soviet democratic republic, the Declaration of National Sovereignty was adopted.
October 25- The Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic.
October 27- President of the Academy of Sciences A.A. was elected president of the Kirghiz SSR. Akaev. The 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada S.A. was elected President of the Turkmen SSR by popular vote. Niyazov (98.3% of voters voted for).
November 14- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia adopted the law “On declaring a transition period” with the aim of preparing the foundations for “restoring the full state independence of Georgia.” All former state attributes of the Georgian SSR (anthem, state flag and coat of arms) have been changed.
November 24- a draft Union Treaty providing for the creation of a Union of sovereign Soviet republics was submitted for public discussion.
December 15- The Supreme Council of the Kyrgyz SSR adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan.
December 9-10- elections to the Supreme Council of the South Ossetian Republic (residents of Georgian nationality boycotted them). T. Kulumbegov was elected Chairman of the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia decided to abolish Ossetian autonomy.
December 17- at the first meeting of the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, a proposal was put forward for a vote of no confidence in the President of the USSR (author - S. Umalatova).
December 22- Decree of the President of the USSR “On measures to normalize the situation in the SSR of Moldova,” which drew attention to the fact that “in a number of acts adopted by the Supreme Council of the Republic, the civil rights of the population of non-Moldavian nationality are infringed.” At the same time, the decisions on the proclamation of the Gagauz Republic and the TMSSR were declared to have no legal force.
December 24- The 4th Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, on the initiative of the president, adopted a resolution on holding a referendum of the USSR on the issue of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
December 27- at the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR G.N. was elected vice-president of the Union. Yanaev. The Supreme Council of the RSFSR adopted a resolution declaring January 7 (Christmas Day) a non-working day.
? December- The Supreme Council of the Adjara Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Georgian SSR decided to rename it to the Adjara Autonomous Republic.

1991
January 12- the Treaty on the Fundamentals of Interstate Relations between the RSFSR and the Republic of Estonia was signed in Tallinn. In Article I of the Treaty, the parties recognized each other as independent states.
January 20- the first referendum in the history of the USSR took place on the territory of the Crimean Autonomous Region, in which 81.3% of voters participated. To the question: “Are you for the re-establishment of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a subject of the USSR and a party to the Union Treaty?” - 93.26% of referendum participants answered positively.
January 28- President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev confirmed the constitutional right of Estonia (and other union republics) to leave the USSR.
February- by the beginning of the month, the Baltic republics, as well as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova, announced their decision not to participate in the referendum on March 17. Lithuania's independence is recognized by Iceland.
February 12- The Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted the Law “On the restoration of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic” (within the territory of the Crimean region within the Ukrainian SSR).
March 3- a referendum on the independence of the Republic of Estonia, in which only successor citizens of the Republic of Estonia (mainly Estonians by nationality), as well as persons who received the so-called “green cards” of the Estonian Congress took part. 78% of voters supported the idea of ​​independence from the USSR.
March 9- a revised draft of the Treaty on the Union of Sovereign Republics was published.
March 17- a referendum of the USSR was held on the issue of preserving the Soviet Union as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics. It was held in 9 union republics (RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan), as well as in the republics that are part of the RSFSR, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Georgia, in Transnistria.
April 9- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia adopted the “Act on the restoration of state independence of Georgia”.
May 4- The meeting of deputies of councils of South Ossetia at all levels voted (with 1 vote against) for the abolition of the self-proclaimed South Ossetian Republic and a return to the status of an autonomous region. This decision was rejected by the Supreme Council of Georgia.
May 22- The Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a resolution requiring the text of the draft Union Treaty to be brought into line with the results of the referendum.
May 23- The Supreme Council of the SSR Moldova adopted a law renaming it to the Republic of Moldova.
May 26- presidential elections were held in Georgia, in which the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Z.K. won. Gamsakhurdia.
June 7- The Supreme Council of Ukraine decided to transfer all state-owned enterprises and organizations of union subordination under the control of the republic.
June 12- elections of the President of the RSFSR, won by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada B.N. Yeltsin (57.30% of votes in favor).
July 17- published an Appeal to the Supreme Council of the USSR from representatives of the regions (Transnistrian Moldavian SSR, Gagauz Republic, Abkhaz Autonomous Republic, South Ossetian Autonomous Okrug, Interregional Council of the Estonian SSR, Shalchininkai region of the Lithuanian SSR), whose population expressed a desire to remain part of the renewed Union.
July 23- the next meeting of the heads of delegations of the republics in Novo-Ogarevo. Work on the draft Union Treaty has been completed. The signing of the agreement is scheduled for August 20.
July 29- Russia recognized the independence of Lithuania.
August 15- the draft Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States (Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics) was published.
August 19- “Appeal from the Soviet leadership” on the creation of the State Emergency Committee for the effective implementation of the state of emergency.
August 20- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia adopted the Resolution “On the State Independence of Estonia.”
August 21- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia adopted the Constitutional Law on the state status of the republic.
August 22- Decree of the President of the USSR “On the abolition of anti-constitutional acts of the organizers of the coup d’etat.”
August 23- Yeltsin signed a decree suspending the activities of the Communist Party of the RSFSR, its property was confiscated. The Communist Party of Moldova was dissolved.
August 24- The Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR proclaimed Ukraine an independent democratic state. Yeltsin announced the RSFSR recognition of the independence of the Baltic republics.
August 25- The Supreme Council of the Byelorussian SSR decided to give the Declaration of State Sovereignty status constitutional law. Resolutions were also adopted to ensure the political and economic independence of the republic and to suspend the activities of the Communist Party. The Supreme Council of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR adopted the “Declaration of Independence of the PMSSR”.
August 27- an emergency session of the Supreme Council of Moldova adopted the law “On the Declaration of Independence”, which declared the law 02.08.40 “On the formation of the Union Moldavian SSR” to be null and void.
August 30- The Supreme Council of Azerbaijan adopted the Declaration of Independence of the Republic.
August 31- the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan was adopted (September 1 was declared Independence Day). The independence of Kyrgyzstan is declared.
September 1- the session of the Council of People's Deputies of South Ossetia canceled the decisions of the Assembly of Deputies of Councils of all levels on 05/04/91 as legally incompetent, abolished the Assembly as an unconstitutional body and proclaimed the Republic of South Ossetia as part of the RSFSR. This decision was annulled by the Georgian parliament.
September 2- at the joint session of the Nagorno-Karabakh regional and Shaumyan district councils of people's deputies of Azerbaijan, the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed. The IV Congress of Deputies of all levels of Transnistria approved the constitution, flag and coat of arms of the PMSSR.
September 6- in connection with the declaration of independence of Ukraine, an emergency session of the Supreme Council of the Crimean Autonomy adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Republic of Crimea.
September 6- The State Council of the USSR at its first meeting recognized the independence of the Baltic republics.
September 9- in connection with the declaration of independence, the Tajik SSR was renamed the Republic of Tajikistan.
September 17- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia became full members of the United Nations.
September 19- The Belarusian SSR was renamed the Republic of Belarus, a new state emblem and a new state flag were adopted.
September 21- according to the results of the referendum in Armenia, the overwhelming majority of the population was in favor of secession from the USSR and the establishment of independent statehood. The Supreme Council of the Republic adopted the “Declaration of Independence of Armenia”.
October 1- during the work on the Union Treaty, a new name for the future union arose: “Union of Free Sovereign Republics.”
October 18- in the Kremlin, the President of the USSR and the leaders of 8 republics (excluding Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan) signed the Treaty on economic community sovereign states. At the Congress of Judges of Russia B.N. Yeltsin said that Russia had stopped funding allied ministries (except for the ministries of defense, railways and nuclear energy).
October 21- the first session of the USSR Supreme Council, renewed by the republics, opened.
October 27- following the results of the referendum, the Supreme Council of the Turkmen SSR adopted the Declaration of Independence and approved a new name: Turkmenistan.
October 31- The Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR approved a new state flag - white-blue-red.
November 1- an alternative draft of the Union Treaty is presented, in which the future union is defined as a “Union of sovereign states - a confederal state”, acting within the framework of powers voluntarily delegated by its participants.
November 5- in connection with the actual collapse of the USSR, by the decision of the Supreme Council, the Pridnestrovian Moldavian SSR was renamed the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
November 6- Yeltsin signed a decree on the termination of the activities of the CPSU on the territory of the RSFSR, its dissolution organizational structures and nationalization of property. The Supreme Council of Ukraine agreed to the government of the republic initialing the Economic Community Agreement, which was signed on the same day.
November 15- Yeltsin formed under his leadership a new government of the RSFSR (“reform cabinet”) and signed a package of 10 presidential decrees and government regulations on a real transition to a market economy.
November 18- at the session of the Verkhovna Rada, the state flag of the Republic of Uzbekistan was approved, and the law on presidential elections was adopted.
November 23- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan adopted a resolution on the liquidation of NKAO. The Supreme Soviet of the USSR recognized this decision as invalid.
November 24- Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic R.N. was elected the first president of Tajikistan. Nabiev.
November 27- the latest draft of the Union Treaty was published: “Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States.” The last meeting of the USSR State Council was on the issue of aggravating the situation between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
December 1- a referendum in Ukraine on the issue of independence of the republic (90.32% of those voting in favor) and presidential elections (L.M. Kravchuk). A referendum on the autonomy of Transcarpathia, 78% of voters were in favor. Presidential elections in Kazakhstan (“98.7% of voters voted for” N.A. Nazarbayev). Referendum on the independence of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic: 78% of voters took part in the voting, of which 97.7% voted “for”.
December 3- The Supreme Council of the USSR approved the draft Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States. Vnesheconombank of the USSR began freely selling currency to citizens (purchase - 90 rubles for 1 $, sale - 99 rubles for 1 $).
December 4- a statement by the President of the RSFSR on recognition of the independence of Ukraine was published.
December 5- The Supreme Council of Ukraine adopted the “Message to the parliaments and peoples of all countries.” In particular, it was announced that the Union Treaty of 1922 had lost force.
December 8- the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus at a meeting at the Viskuli residence in Belovezhskaya Pushcha announced: “The USSR as a subject international law and geopolitical reality ceases to exist.” The Statement of the Heads of State on the Formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States was signed. M.I. was elected in the presidential elections of Moldova. Snegur.
December 10- The Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus ratified the Agreement on the creation of the CIS and adopted a resolution on the denunciation of the 1922 Treaty on the formation of the USSR. The Supreme Council of Ukraine ratified the Belovezhskaya Agreement. A referendum was held on the status of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (99.89% of participants were in favor of independence).
December 11- Kyrgyzstan and Armenia announced their accession to the CIS.
December 12- The Supreme Council of the RSFSR ratified the Agreement on the creation of the CIS (76.1% of those voting in favor).
December 13- meeting of the heads of state of Central Asia and Kazakhstan in Ashgabat, the initiative to create the CIS was approved.
December 16- The Supreme Council of Kazakhstan adopted the Law on State Independence of the Republic.
December 18- Gorbachev's message to the participants future meeting in Almaty on the creation of the CIS. It, in particular, proposed “the most appropriate name: the Commonwealth of European and Asian States.” Russia recognized the independence of Moldova.
December 19- Yeltsin announced the cessation of the activities of the USSR Foreign Ministry.
December 20- The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a resolution on the abolition of the State Bank of the USSR.
December 21- the signing of the “Declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS” (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine) took place in Almaty. “With the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceases to exist.” Ukraine recognized the independence of Moldova. In Georgia, units of the National Guard led by T. Kitovani rebelled against the regime of Z.K. Gamsakhurdia.
December 24- The USSR officially ceased to be a member of the United Nations. Its place was taken by the Russian Federation, which also acquired the rights of a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
December 25- Gorbachev made a statement on television about the termination of his activities as President of the USSR and Supreme Commander-in-Chief. Following this, the red flag was lowered at the Kremlin, replaced by the Russian tricolor. After his resignation, Gorbachev transferred the residence in the Kremlin and the so-called to Yeltsin. "nuclear suitcase" The Supreme Council of the RSFSR decided to adopt the new official name of the republic - the Russian Federation (Russia). The United States announced official recognition of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
December 26- under the chairmanship of the Kazakh writer A.T. Alimzhanov, the last meeting of the Council of Republics, the upper house of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, took place. Official declaration No. 142-N was adopted, which states that with the creation of the CIS, the USSR as a state and subject of international law ceases to exist. The activities of the Verkhovna Rada itself are also terminated.
December 27- In the morning, Yeltsin occupied Gorbachev’s office in the Kremlin.
December 29- I.A. was elected the first president of Uzbekistan. Karimov (86% of votes in favor).