Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the process of internal disintegration within the (USSR), also referred to as the Soviet Union, which began in the second half of the 1980s with growing unrest in the national republics and ended on 26 December 1991, when the USSR itself was voted out of existence by the, following the. Declaration number 142-Н by the Supreme Soviet resulted in self-governing independence to the, formally dissolving the USSR. The declaration acknowledged the independence of the former Soviet republics and created the (CIS), although five of the signatories ratified it much later or did not do so at all. On the previous day, 25 December,, the , resigned, declared his office extinct and handed over its powers—including control of the —to. That evening at 7:32 p.m., the was lowered from the  for the last time and replaced with the pre-.

Previously, from August to December, all the individual republics, including itself, had either seceded from the union or at the very least denounced the. The week before formal dissolution, eleven republics signed the formally establishing the CIS and declaring that the USSR had ceased to exist. Both the and the dissolution of the USSR also marked the end of the.

Several of the have retained close links with the  and formed multilateral organizations such as the, , the , the  and the  to enhance economic and security cooperation. On the other hand, the have joined  and the.

Moscow: Mikhail Gorbachev elected General Secretary
was elected by the  on March 11, 1985, three hours after predecessor 's death at age 73. Gorbachev, aged 54, was the youngest member of the Politburo. His initial goal as general secretary was to revive the, and he realized that doing so would require reforming underlying political and social structures. The reforms began with personnel changes of senior officials who would impede political and economic change. On April 23, 1985, Gorbachev brought two protégés, and, into the Politburo as full members. He kept the "power" ministries happy by promoting KGB Head from candidate to full member and appointing Minister of Defence Marshal  as a Politburo candidate.

This, however, fostered movements and ethnic disputes within the Soviet Union. It also led indirectly to the, in which Soviet-imposed socialist regimes of the were toppled peacefully , which in turn increased pressure on Gorbachev to introduce greater democracy and autonomy for the Soviet Union's constituent republics. Under Gorbachev's leadership, the (CPSU) in 1989 introduced limited competitive elections to a new central legislature, the  (although the ban on other political parties was not lifted until 1990).

In May 1985, Gorbachev delivered a speech in advocating reforms and an anti-alcohol campaign to tackle widespread. Prices of vodka, wine, and beer were raised, which was intended to discourage drinking by increasing the cost of liquor. A rationing program was also introduced, where citizens were assigned punch cards detailing how much liquor they could buy in a certain time frame. Unlike most forms of rationing, which is typically adopted as a strategy to conserve scarce goods, this was done to restrict sales with the overt goal of curtailing drunkenness. Gorbachev's plan also included billboards promoting sobriety, increased penalties for public drunkenness, and censorship of drinking scenes from old movies. This mirrored 's program during the First World War, which was intended to eradicate drunkenness in order to bolster the war effort. However, that earlier effort was also intended to preserve grain for only the most essential purposes, which did not appear to be a goal in Gorbachev's program. Gorbachev soon faced the same adverse economic reaction to his prohibition as did the last Tsar. The disincentivization of alcohol consumption was a serious blow to the state budget according to, who noted annual collections of alcohol taxes decreased by 100 billion rubles. Alcohol sales migrated to the and  became more prevalent as some made "bathtub vodka" with homegrown potatoes. Poorer, less educated Soviets resorted to drinking unhealthy substitutes such as nail-polish remover, rubbing alcohol, or men's cologne, resulting in an additional burden on Russia's healthcare sector due to the increased poisoning cases. The underlying purpose of these reforms was to prop up the existing, in contrast to later reforms, which tended toward.

On July 1, 1985, Gorbachev promoted, First Secretary of the , to full member of the Politburo, and the following day appointed him , replacing longtime Foreign Minister. The latter, disparaged as "Mr Nyet" in the West, had served for 28 years as Minister of Foreign Affairs. Gromyko was relegated to the largely ceremonial position of (officially Soviet Head of State), as he was considered an "old thinker". Also on July 1, Gorbachev sidelined his main rival by removing from the Politburo and he brought  and  into the.

In the fall of 1985, Gorbachev continued to bring younger and more energetic men into government. On September 27, 55-year-old replaced 79-year-old  as, effectively the Soviet prime minister, and on October 14,  replaced  as chairman of the  (GOSPLAN). At the next Central Committee meeting on October 15, Tikhonov retired from the Politburo and Talyzin became a candidate. On December 23, 1985, Gorbachev appointed Yeltsin replacing.

Sakharov
Gorbachev continued to press for greater liberalisation. On December 23, 1986, the most prominent Soviet dissident,, returned to Moscow shortly after receiving a personal telephone call from Gorbachev telling him that after almost seven years his internal exile for defying the authorities was over.

Baltic republics
The Baltic republics, forcibly reincorporated into the in 1944, pressed for independence, beginning with  in November 1988 when the Estonian legislature passed laws resisting the control of the central government. While Gorbachev had loosened Soviet control over Eastern Europe, he had made it known that Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian separatism would not be tolerated and be met with embargoes and force if need be, as there was a tacit agreement in the Politburo of the infeasibility of using force to keep Poland and Czechoslovakia communist, but said loss of power over those countries would not extend into the USSR itself.

Latvia's Helsinki-86
The CTAG (Cilvēktiesību aizstāvības grupa, Human Rights Defense Group) was founded in July 1986 in the n port town of  by three workers: Linards Grantiņš, Raimonds Bitenieks, and Mārtiņš Bariss. Its name refers to the human-rights statements of the. Helsinki-86 was the first openly anti-Communist organization in the U.S.S.R., and the first openly organized opposition to the Soviet regime, setting an example for other ethnic minorities' pro-independence movements.

On December 26, 1986, in the early morning hours after a rock concert, 300 working-class Latvian youths gathered in Riga's Cathedral Square and marched down Lenin Avenue toward the Freedom Monument, shouting, "Soviet Russia out! Free Latvia!" Security forces confronted the marchers, and several police vehicles were overturned.

Kazakhstan: Jeltoqsan riots
The "" ( for "December") of 1986 were riots in, , sparked by Gorbachev's dismissal of , the First Secretary of the and an , who was replaced with , an outsider from the. Demonstrations started in the morning of December 17, 1986, with 200 to 300 students in front of the Central Committee building on protesting Konayev's dismissal and replacement by a Russian. Protesters swelled to 1,000 then to 5,000 as other students joined the crowd. The CPK Central Committee ordered troops from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, druzhiniki (volunteers), cadets, policemen, and the to cordon the square and videotape the participants. The situation escalated around 5 p.m., as troops were ordered to disperse the protesters. Clashes between the security forces and the demonstrators continued throughout the night in Almaty.

On the next day, December 18, protests turned into civil unrest as clashes between troops, volunteers, militia units, and Kazakh students turned into a wide-scale confrontation. The clashes could only be controlled on the third day. The Alma-Ata events were followed by smaller protests and demonstrations in, , , and. Reports from Kazakh SSR authorities estimated that the riots drew 3,000 people. Other estimates are of at least 30,000 to 40,000 protestors with 5,000 arrested and jailed, and an unknown number of casualties. Jeltoqsan leaders say over 60,000 participated in the protests. According to the Kazakh SSR government, there were two deaths during the riots, including a volunteer police worker and a student. Both of them had died due to blows to the head. About 100 others were detained and several others were sentenced to terms in labor camps. Sources cited by the claimed that at least 200 people died or were summarily executed soon thereafter; some accounts estimate  at more than 1,000. The writer claimed that a KGB officer testified that 168 protesters were killed, but that figure remains unconfirmed.

Moscow: one-party democracy
At the January 28–30, 1987, Central Committee plenum, Gorbachev suggested a new policy of throughout Soviet society. He proposed that future Communist Party elections should offer a choice between multiple candidates, elected by secret ballot. However, the CPSU delegates at the Plenum watered down Gorbachev's proposal, and democratic choice within the Communist Party was never significantly implemented.

Gorbachev also radically expanded the scope of , stating that no subject was off-limits for open discussion in the media. Even so, the cautious Soviet intelligentsia took almost a year to begin pushing the boundaries to see if he meant what he said. For the first time, the Communist Party leader had appealed over the heads of Central Committee members for the people's support in exchange for expansion of liberties. The tactic proved successful: Within two years political reform could no longer be sidetracked by party conservatives. An unintended consequence was that having saved reform, Gorbachev's move ultimately killed the very system it was designed to save.

On February 7, 1987, dozens of political prisoners were freed in the first group release since the in the mid-1950s. On May 6, 1987,, a Russian nationalist group, held an unsanctioned demonstration in Moscow. The authorities did not break up the demonstration and even kept traffic out of the demonstrators' way while they marched to an impromptu meeting with Boris Yeltsin, head of the Moscow Communist Party and at the time one of Gorbachev's closest allies. On July 25, 1987, 300 staged a noisy demonstration near the  for several hours, calling for the right to return to their homeland, from which they were  in 1944; police and soldiers merely looked on.

On September 10, 1987, after a lecture from hardliner at the Politburo for allowing these two unsanctioned demonstrations in Moscow,  wrote a letter of resignation to Gorbachev, who had been holidaying on the. Gorbachev was stunned – no one had ever voluntarily resigned from the Politburo. At the October 27, 1987 plenary meeting of the Central Committee, Yeltsin, frustrated that Gorbachev had not addressed any of the issues outlined in his resignation letter, criticized the slow pace of reform, servility to the general secretary, and opposition from Ligachev that had led to his (Yeltsin's) resignation. No one had ever addressed the Party leader so brazenly in front of the Central Committee since in the 1920s. In his reply, Gorbachev accused Yeltsin of "political immaturity" and "absolute irresponsibility". Nevertheless, news of Yeltsin's insubordination and "secret speech" spread, and soon  versions began to circulate. This marked the beginning of Yeltsin's rebranding as a rebel and rise in popularity as an anti-establishment figure. The following four years of political struggle between Yeltsin and Gorbachev played a large role in the dissolution of the USSR. On November 11, 1987, Yeltsin was fired from the post of.

Baltic republics: Molotov–Ribbentrop protests
On August 23, 1987, the 48th anniversary of the secret protocols of the 1939 between  and  that ultimately turned the then-independent Baltic states over to the Soviet Union, thousands of demonstrators marked the occasion in the three Baltic capitals to sing independence songs and attend speeches commemorating Stalin's victims. The gatherings were sharply denounced in the official press and closely watched by the police but were not interrupted.

Latvia leads
On June 14, 1987, about 5,000 people gathered again at Freedom Monument in, and laid flowers to commemorate the anniversary of 's of Latvians in 1941. This was the first large demonstration in the Baltic republics to commemorate the anniversary of an event contrary to official Soviet history. The authorities did not crack down on demonstrators, which encouraged more and larger demonstrations throughout the Baltic States. The next major anniversary after the August 23 Molotov Pact demonstration was on November 18, the date of Latvia's independence in 1918. On November 18, 1987, hundreds of police and civilian militiamen cordoned off the central square to prevent any demonstration at Freedom Monument, but thousands lined the streets of Riga in silent protest regardless.

Estonia's first protests
In spring 1987, a arose against new  mines in. Signatures were collected in, and students assembled in the university's main hall to express lack of confidence in the government. At a demonstration on May 1, 1987, young people showed up with banners and slogans despite an official ban. On August 15, 1987, former political prisoners formed the MRP-AEG group (Estonians for the Public Disclosure of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact), which was headed by Tiit Madisson. In September 1987, the Edasi newspaper published a proposal by, , Tiit Made, and Mikk Titma calling for Estonia's transition to autonomy. Initially geared toward economic independence, then toward a certain amount of political autonomy, the project, Isemajandav Eesti ("A Self-Managing Estonia") became known according to its Estonian acronym, IME, which means "miracle". On October 21, a demonstration dedicated to those who gave their lives in the 1918–1920 took place in Võru, which culminated in a conflict with the militia. For the first time in years, the blue, black, and white was publicly displayed.

Lithuania's first protests
First anti-Soviet protests in Lithuania took place on August 23, 1987. The meeting intended to condemn Soviet occupation of Lithuania was organised by  took place at the monument to   in Vilnius and gathered around 2,000 participants.

Armenia: environmental concerns and Nagorno–Karabakh
On October 17, 1987, about 3,000 Armenians demonstrated in complaining about the condition of, the Nairit chemicals plant, and the , and air pollution in Yerevan. Police tried to prevent the protest but took no action to stop it once the march was underway. The demonstration was led by Armenian writers such as Silva Kaputikian, Zori Balayan, and Maro Margarian and leaders from the National Survival organization. The march originated at the Opera Plaza after speakers, mainly intellectuals, addressed the crowd.

The following day 1,000 Armenians participated in another demonstration calling for Armenian national rights in. The demonstrators demanded the annexation of and  to Armenia, and carried placards to that effect. The police tried to physically prevent the march and after a few incidents, dispersed the demonstrators. Nagorno-Karabakh would break out in violence the following year.

Moscow loses control
In 1988, Gorbachev started to lose control of two regions of the Soviet Union, as the Baltic republics were now leaning towards independence, and the Caucasus descended into violence and civil war.

On July 1, 1988, the fourth and last day of a bruising 19th Party Conference, Gorbachev won the backing of the tired delegates for his last-minute proposal to create a new supreme legislative body called the. Frustrated by the old guard's resistance, Gorbachev embarked on a set of constitutional changes to attempt separation of party and state, thereby isolating his conservative Party opponents. Detailed proposals for the new Congress of People's Deputies were published on October 2, 1988, and to enable the creation of the new legislature. The Supreme Soviet, during its November 29 – December 1, 1988, session, implemented amendments to the, enacted a law on electoral reform, and set the date of the election for March 26, 1989.

On November 29, 1988, the Soviet Union ceased to all foreign radio stations, allowing Soviet citizens for the first time since a brief period in the 1960s to have unrestricted access to news sources beyond Communist Party control.

Baltic Republics
In 1986 and 1987, Latvia had been in the vanguard of the Baltic states in pressing for reform. In 1988 Estonia took over the lead role with the foundation of the Soviet Union's first popular front and starting to influence state policy.

Estonian Popular Front
The was founded in April 1988. On June 16, 1988, Gorbachev replaced, the "old guard" leader of the , with the comparatively liberal. In late June 1988, Väljas bowed to pressure from the Estonian Popular Front and legalized the flying of the old blue-black-white flag of Estonia, and agreed to a new state language law that made Estonian the official language of the Republic.

On October 2, the Popular Front formally launched its political platform at a two-day congress. Väljas attended, gambling that the front could help Estonia become a model of economic and political revival, while moderating separatist and other radical tendencies. On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration of national sovereignty under which Estonian laws would take precedence over those of the Soviet Union. Estonia's parliament also laid claim to the republic's natural resources including land, inland waters, forests, mineral deposits, and to the means of industrial production, agriculture, construction, state banks, transportation, and municipal services within the territory of Estonia's borders. At the same time the started registration of citizens of the  to carry out the elections of the.

Latvian Popular Front
The was founded in June 1988. On October 4, Gorbachev replaced, the "old guard" leader of the , with the more liberal Jānis Vagris. In October 1988 Vagris bowed to pressure from the Latvian Popular Front and legalized flying the former carmine red-and-white flag of independent Latvia, and on October 6 he passed a law making the country's official language.

Lithuania’s Sąjūdis
The Popular Front of Lithuania, called ("Movement"), was founded in May 1988. On October 19, 1988, Gorbachev replaced, the "old guard" leader of the , with the relatively liberal. In October 1988 Brazauskas bowed to pressure from Sąjūdis and legalized the flying of the historic yellow-green-red flag of independent Lithuania, and in November 1988 passed a law making the country's official language and the former national anthem  was later reinstated.

Azerbaijan: violence
On February 20, 1988, after a week of growing demonstrations in, capital of the (the Armenian majority area within the ), the Regional Soviet voted to secede and join with the. This local vote in a small, remote part of the Soviet Union made headlines around the world; it was an unprecedented defiance of republican and national authorities. On February 22, 1988, in what became known as the "", thousands of Azerbaijanis marched towards Nagorno-Karabakh, demanding information about rumors of an Azerbaijani having been killed in Stepanakert. They were informed that no such incident had occurred, but refused to believe it. Dissatisfied with what they were told, thousands began marching toward, massacring 50 Armenian villagers in the process. Karabakh authorities mobilised over a thousand police to stop the march, with the resulting clashes leaving two Azerbaijanis dead. These deaths, announced on state radio, led to the. Between February 26 and March 1, the city of (Azerbaijan) saw violent anti-Armenian rioting during which 32 people were killed. The authorities totally lost control and occupied the city with paratroopers and tanks; nearly all of the 14,000 Armenian residents of Sumgait fled.

Gorbachev refused to make any changes to the status of Nagorno Karabakh, which remained part of Azerbaijan. He instead sacked the Communist Party Leaders in both Republics – on May 21, 1988, was replaced by  as First Secretary of the. From July 23 to September 1988, a group of Azerbaijani intellectuals began working for a new organization called the, loosely based on the. On September 17, when gun battles broke out between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis near, two soldiers were killed and more than two dozen injured. This led to almost tit-for-tat ethnic polarization in Nagorno-Karabakh's two main towns: The Azerbaijani minority was expelled from, and the Armenian minority was expelled from. On November 17, 1988, in response to the exodus of tens of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, a series of mass demonstrations began in 's Lenin Square, lasting 18 days and attracting half a million demonstrators. On December 5, 1988, the Soviet militia moved in, cleared the square by force, and imposed a curfew that lasted ten months.

Armenia: uprising
The rebellion of fellow Armenians in had an immediate effect in Armenia itself. Daily demonstrations, which began in the Armenian capital on February 18, initially attracted few people, but each day the Nagorno-Karabakh issue became increasingly prominent and numbers swelled. On February 20, a 30,000-strong crowd demonstrated in the, by February 22, there were 100,000, the next day 300,000, and a transport strike was declared, by February 25, there were close to 1 million demonstrators—more than a quarter of Armenia's population. This was the first of the large, peaceful public demonstrations that would become a feature of communism's overthrow in Prague, Berlin, and, ultimately, Moscow. Leading Armenian intellectuals and nationalists, including future first president of independent Armenia, formed the eleven-member to lead and organize the new movement.

Gorbachev again refused to make any changes to the status of Nagorno Karabakh, which remained part of Azerbaijan. Instead he sacked both Republics' Communist Party Leaders: On May 21, 1988, was replaced by Suren Harutyunyan as First Secretary of the. However, Harutyunyan quickly decided to run before the nationalist wind and on May 28, allowed Armenians to unfurl the red-blue-orange for the first time in almost 70 years. On June 15, 1988, the Armenian Supreme Soviet adopted a resolution formally approving the idea of Nagorno Karabakh joining Armenia. Armenia, formerly one of the most loyal Republics, had suddenly turned into the leading rebel republic. On July 5, 1988, when a contingent of troops was sent in to remove demonstrators by force from Yerevan's, shots were fired and one student protester was killed. In September, further large demonstrations in Yerevan led to the deployment of armored vehicles. In the autumn of 1988 almost all of the 200,000 Azerbaijani minority in Armenia was expelled by Armenian Nationalists, with over 100 killed in the process – this, after the earlier that year carried out by Azerbaijanis against ethnic Armenians and subsequent expulsion of all Armenians from Azerbaijan. On November 25, 1988, a military commandant took control of Yerevan as the Soviet government moved to prevent further ethnic violence.

On December 7, 1988, the struck, killing an estimated 25,000 to 50,000 people. When Gorbachev rushed back from a visit to the United States, he was so angered to be confronted by protesters calling for Nagorno-Karabakh to be made part of the Armenian Republic during a natural disaster that on December 11, 1988 ordered the entire Karabakh Committee to be arrested.

Georgia: first demonstrations
In, capital of , many demonstrators camped out in front of the republic's legislature in November 1988 calling for Georgia's independence and in support of Estonia's declaration of sovereignty.

Democratic Movement of Moldova
Beginning in February 1988, the Democratic Movement of (formerly Moldavia) organized public meetings, demonstrations, and song festivals, which gradually grew in size and intensity. In the streets, the center of public manifestations was the, and the adjacent park harboring Aleea Clasicilor (The " [of Literature]"). On January 15, 1988, in a tribute to at his bust on the Aleea Clasicilor,  submitted a proposal to continue the meetings. In the public discourse, the movement called for national awakening, freedom of speech, revival of Moldovan traditions, and for attainment of official status for the and return to the Latin alphabet. The transition from "movement" (an informal association) to "front" (a formal association) was seen as a natural "upgrade" once a movement gained momentum with the public, and the Soviet authorities no longer dared to crack down on it.

Demonstrations in Lviv, Ukraine
On April 26, 1988, about 500 people participated in a march organized by the Ukrainian Cultural Club on Kiev's Street to mark the second anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, carrying placards with slogans like "Openness and Democracy to the End." Between May and June 1988, in western Ukraine celebrated the Millennium of Christianity in  in secret by holding services in the forests of Buniv,, Hoshiv, and Zarvanytsia. On June 5, 1988, as the official celebrations of the Millennium were held in Moscow, the Ukrainian Cultural Club hosted its own observances in Kiev at the monument to, the grand prince of.

On June 16, 1988, 6,000 to 8,000 people gathered in Lviv to hear speakers declare no confidence in the local list of delegates to the 19th Communist Party conference, to begin on June 29. On June 21, a rally in Lviv attracted 50,000 people who had heard about a revised delegate list. Authorities attempted to disperse the rally in front of Druzhba Stadium. On July 7, 10,000 to 20,000 people witnessed the launch of the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. On July 17, a group of 10,000 gathered in the village for Millennium services celebrated by Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishop Pavlo Vasylyk. The militia tried to disperse attendees, but it turned out to be the largest gathering of Ukrainian Catholics since Stalin outlawed the Church in 1946. On August 4, which came to be known as "Bloody Thursday", local authorities violently suppressed a demonstration organized by the Democratic Front to Promote Perestroika. Forty-one people were detained, fined, or sentenced to 15 days of administrative arrest. On September 1, local authorities violently displaced 5,000 students at a public meeting lacking official permission at.

On November 13, 1988, approximately 10,000 people attended an officially sanctioned meeting organized by the cultural heritage organization Spadschyna, the student club , and the environmental groups Zelenyi Svit ("Green World") and Noosfera, to focus on ecological issues. From November 14–18, 15 Ukrainian activists were among the 100 human-, national- and religious-rights advocates invited to discuss human rights with Soviet officials and a visiting delegation of the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the Helsinki Commission). On December 10, hundreds gathered in Kiev to observe at a rally organized by the Democratic Union. The unauthorized gathering resulted in the detention of local activists.

Kurapaty, Belarus
The (Belarusian Popular Front) was established in 1988 as a political party and cultural movement for democracy and independence, à la the Baltic republics’ popular fronts. The discovery of mass graves in outside  by historian, the Belarusian Popular Front's first leader, gave additional momentum to the pro-democracy and pro-independence movement in Belarus. It claimed that the performed secret killings in Kurapaty. Initially the Front had significant visibility because its numerous public actions almost always ended in clashes with the police and the.

Moscow: limited democratization
Spring 1989 saw the people of the Soviet Union exercising a democratic choice, albeit limited, for the first time since 1917, when they elected the new Congress of People's Deputies. Just as important was the uncensored live TV coverage of the legislature's deliberations, where people witnessed the previously feared Communist leadership being questioned and held accountable. This example fueled a limited experiment with democracy in, which quickly led to the toppling of the Communist government in Warsaw that summer – which in turn sparked uprisings that overthrew communism in the other five Warsaw Pact countries before the end of 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell.

This was also the year that became the first non-Soviet broadcaster allowed to beam its TV news programs to Moscow. Officially, CNN was available only to foreign guests in the, but Muscovites quickly learned how to pick up signals on their home televisions. That had a major impact on how Soviets saw events in their country, and made censorship almost impossible.

Congress of People’s Deputies of the Soviet Union
The month-long nomination period for candidates for the of the USSR lasted until January 24, 1989. For the next month, selection among the 7,531 district nominees took place at meetings organized by constituency-level electoral commissions. On March 7, a final list of 5,074 candidates was published; about 85% were Party members.

In the two weeks prior to the 1,500 district polls, elections to fill 750 reserved seats of public organizations, contested by 880 candidates, were held. Of these seats, 100 were allocated to the CPSU, 100 to the, 75 to the Communist Youth Union , 75 to the Committee of Soviet Women, 75 to the War and Labour Veterans' Organization, and 325 to other organizations such as the. The selection process was done in April.

In the March 26 general elections, voter participation was an impressive 89.8%, and 1,958 (including 1,225 district seats) of the 2,250 CPD seats were filled. In district races, run-off elections were held in 76 constituencies on April 2 and 9 and fresh elections were organized on April 20 and 14 to May 23, in the 199 remaining constituencies where the required absolute majority was not attained. While most CPSU-endorsed candidates were elected, more than 300 lost to independent candidates such as Yeltsin, physicist and lawyer.

In the first session of the new Congress of People's Deputies, from May 25 to June 9, hardliners retained control but reformers used the legislature as a platform for debate and criticism – which was broadcast live and uncensored. This transfixed the population; nothing like this freewheeling debate had ever been witnessed in the U.S.S.R. On May 29, Yeltsin managed to secure a seat on the Supreme Soviet, and in the summer he formed the first opposition, the, composed of and. Composing the final legislative group in the Soviet Union, those elected in 1989 played a vital part in reforms and the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union during the next two years.

On May 30, 1989, Gorbachev proposed that nationwide local elections, scheduled for November 1989, be postponed until early 1990 because there were still no laws governing the conduct of such elections. This was seen by some as a concession to local Party officials, who feared they would be swept from power in a wave of anti-establishment sentiment.

On October 25, 1989, the Supreme Soviet voted to eliminate special seats for the Communist Party and other official organizations in national and local elections, responding to sharp popular criticism that such reserved slots were undemocratic. After vigorous debate, the 542-member Supreme Soviet passed the measure 254-85 (with 36 abstentions). The decision required a constitutional amendment, ratified by the full congress, which met December 12–25. It also passed measures that would allow direct elections for presidents of each of the 15 constituent republics. Gorbachev strongly opposed such a move during debate but was defeated.

The vote expanded the power of republics in local elections, enabling them to decide for themselves how to organize voting. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had already proposed laws for direct presidential elections. Local elections in all the republics had already been scheduled to take place between December and March 1990.

Loss of satellite states
The six countries of Eastern Europe, while nominally independent, were widely recognized as the. All had been occupied by the Soviet in 1945, had Soviet-style socialist states imposed upon them, and had very restricted freedom of action in either domestic or international affairs. Any moves towards real independence were suppressed by military force – in the and the  in 1968. Gorbachev abandoned the oppressive and expensive, which mandated intervention in the Warsaw Pact states, in favor of non-intervention in the internal affairs of allies – jokingly termed the in a reference to the  song "". was the first republic to democratize following the enactment of the, as agreed upon following the talks from February to April between the government and the  trade union, and soon the Pact began to dissolve itself. The last of the countries to end communism,, only did so following the violent.

Baltic Chain of Freedom
The or Baltic Chain (also Chain of Freedom Balti kett, Baltijas ceļš, Baltijos kelias, Балтийский путь) was a peaceful political demonstration on August 23, 1989. An estimated 2 million people joined hands to form a extending 600 km across,  and , which had been forcibly reincorporated into the Soviet Union in 1944. The colossal demonstration marked the 50th anniversary of the that divided Eastern Europe into  and led to the  in 1940.

Just months after the Baltic Way protests, in December 1989, the accepted—and Gorbachev signed—the report by the  Commission condemning the secret protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop pact which led to the annexations of the three Baltic republics.

Lithuania's Communist Party splits
In the March 1989 elections to the Congress of Peoples Deputies, 36 of the 42 deputies from Lithuania were candidates from the independent national movement. This was the greatest victory for any national organization within the USSR and was a devastating revelation to the Lithuanian Communist Party of its growing unpopularity.

On December 7, 1989, the under the leadership of, split from the  and abandoned its claim to have a constitutional "leading role" in politics. A smaller loyalist faction of the Communist Party, headed by hardliner, was established and remained affiliated with the CPSU. However, Lithuania's governing Communist Party was formally independent from Moscow's control – a first for Soviet Republics and a political earthquake that prompted Gorbachev to arrange a visit to Lithuania the following month in a futile attempt to bring the local party back under control. The following year, the Communist Party lost power altogether in multiparty parliamentary elections which had caused to become the first non-Communist leader (Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania) of Lithuania since its forced incorporation into the USSR.

Azerbaijan's blockade
On July 16, 1989, the held its first congress and elected, who would become President, as its chairman. On August 19, 600,000 protesters jammed Baku's Lenin Square (now Azadliq Square) to demand the release of political prisoners. In the second half of 1989, weapons were handed out in Nagorno-Karabakh. When Karabakhis got hold of small arms to replace hunting rifles and crossbows, casualties began to mount; bridges were blown up, roads were blockaded, and hostages were taken.

In a new and effective tactic, the Popular Front launched a rail blockade of Armenia, which caused petrol and food shortages because 85 percent of Armenia's freight came from Azerbaijan. Under pressure from the Popular Front the Communist authorities in Azerbaijan started making concessions. On September 25, they passed a sovereignty law that gave precedence to Azerbaijani law, and on October 4, the Popular Front was permitted to register as a legal organization as long as it lifted the blockade. Transport communications between Azerbaijan and Armenia never fully recovered. Tensions continued to escalate and on December 29, Popular Front activists seized local party offices in, wounding dozens.

Armenia's Karabakh Committee released
On May 31, 1989, the 11 members of the Karabakh Committee, who had been imprisoned without trial in Moscow's prison, were released, and returned home to a hero's welcome. Soon after his release,, an academic, was elected chairman of the anti-communist opposition , and later stated that it was in 1989 that he first began considering full independence as his goal.

Massacre in Tbilisi, Georgia
On April 7, 1989, Soviet troops and armored personnel carriers were sent to after more than 100,000 people protested in front of Communist Party headquarters with banners calling for  to secede from the Soviet Union and for  to be fully integrated into Georgia. On, troops attacked the demonstrators; some 20 people were killed and more than 200 wounded. This event radicalized Georgian politics, prompting many to conclude that independence was preferable to continued Soviet rule. On April 14, Gorbachev removed as  and replaced him with former Georgian  chief.

On July 16, 1989, in 's capital, a protest against the opening of a Georgian university branch in the town led to violence that quickly degenerated into a large-scale inter-ethnic confrontation in which 18 died and hundreds were injured before Soviet troops restored order. This riot marked the start of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict.

Popular Front of Moldova
In the March 26, 1989, elections to the Congress of People's Deputies, 15 of the 46 Moldovan deputies elected for congressional seats in Moscow were supporters of the Nationalist/Democratic movement. The founding congress took place two months later, on May 20, 1989. During its second congress (June 30 – July 1, 1989), was elected its president.

A series of demonstrations that became known as the (Marea Adunare Naţională) was the Front's first major achievement. Such mass demonstrations, including one attended by 300,000 people on August 27, convinced the Moldovan Supreme Soviet on August 31 to adopt the language law making the official language, and replacing the  alphabet  with  characters.

Ukraine's Rukh
In Ukraine, and  celebrated Ukrainian Independence Day on January 22, 1989. Thousands gathered in Lviv for an unauthorized  (religious service) in front of. In Kiev, 60 activists met in a Kiev apartment to commemorate the proclamation of the in 1918. On February 11–12, 1989, the Ukrainian Language Society held its founding congress. On February 15, 1989, the formation of the Initiative Committee for the Renewal of the was announced. The program and statutes of the movement were proposed by the and were published in the journal Literaturna Ukraina on February 16, 1989. The organization heralded Ukrainian dissidents such as.

In late February, large public rallies took place in Kiev to protest the election laws, on the eve of the March 26 elections to the USSR Congress of People's Deputies, and to call for the resignation of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine,, lampooned as "the mastodon of stagnation". The demonstrations coincided with a visit to Ukraine by Soviet President Gorbachev. On February 26, 1989, between 20,000 and 30,000 people participated in an unsanctioned ecumenical memorial service in Lviv, marking the anniversary of the death of 19th-century Ukrainian artist and nationalist.

On March 4, 1989, the Memorial Society, committed to honoring the victims of Stalinism and cleansing society of Soviet practices, was founded in Kiev. A public rally was held the next day. On March 12, A pre-election meeting organized in Lviv by the Ukrainian Helsinki Union and the Myloserdia (Compassion) was violently dispersed, and nearly 300 people were detained. On March 26, elections were held to the union Congress of People's Deputies; were held on April 9, May 14, and May 21. Among the 225 Ukrainian deputies, most were conservatives, though a handful of progressives made the cut.

From April 20–23, 1989, pre-election meetings were held in Lviv for four consecutive days, drawing crowds of up to 25,000. The action included a one-hour warning strike at eight local factories and institutions. It was the first labor strike in Lviv since 1944. On May 3, a pre-election rally attracted 30,000 in Lviv. On May 7, The Memorial Society organized a mass meeting at, site of a mass grave of Ukrainian and Polish victims of Stalinist terror. After a march from Kiev to the site, a memorial service was staged.

From mid-May to September 1989, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic hunger strikers staged protests on Moscow's to call attention to the plight of their Church. They were especially active during the July session of the World Council of Churches held in Moscow. The protest ended with the arrests of the group on September 18. On May 27, 1989, the founding conference of the Lviv regional Memorial Society was held. On June 18, 1989, an estimated 100,000 faithful participated in public religious services in in western Ukraine, responding to Cardinal 's call for an international day of prayer.

On August 19, 1989, the Russian Orthodox Parish of Saints Peter and Paul announced it would be switching to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. On September 2, 1989, tens of thousands across Ukraine protested a draft election law that reserved special seats for the Communist Party and for other official organizations: 50,000 in Lviv, 40,000 in Kiev, 10,000 in, 5,000 each in and , and 2,000 in. From September 8–10, 1989, writer was elected to head Rukh, the, at its founding congress in Kiev. On September 17, between 150,000 and 200,000 people marched in Lviv, demanding the legalization of the. On September 21, 1989, exhumation of a mass grave began in Demianiv Laz, a nature preserve south of. On September 28, First Secretary of the, a holdover from the Brezhnev era, was replaced by.

On October 1, 1989, a peaceful demonstration of 10,000 to 15,000 people was violently dispersed by the militia in front of Lviv's Druzhba Stadium, where a concert celebrating the Soviet "reunification" of Ukrainian lands was being held. On October 10, Ivano-Frankivsk was the site of a pre-election protest attended by 30,000 people. On October 15, several thousand people gathered in, , , and ; 500 in ; and 30,000 in Lviv to protest the election law. On October 20, faithful and clergy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church participated in a synod in Lviv, the first since its forced liquidation in the 1930s.

On October 24, the union Supreme Soviet passed a law eliminating special seats for Communist Party and other official organizations' representatives. On October 26, twenty factories in Lviv held strikes and meetings to protest the police brutality of October 1 and the authorities' unwillingness to prosecute those responsible. From October 26–28, the Zelenyi Svit (Friends of the Earth – Ukraine) environmental association held its founding congress, and on October 27 the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet passed a law eliminating the special status of party and other official organizations.

On October 28, 1989, the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet decreed that effective January 1, 1990, Ukrainian would be the official language of Ukraine, while Russian would be used for communication between ethnic groups. On the same day The Congregation of the Church of the Transfiguration in Lviv left the Russian Orthodox Church and proclaimed itself the. The following day, thousands attended a memorial service at Demianiv Laz, and a temporary marker was placed to indicate that a monument to the "victims of the repressions of 1939–1941" soon would be erected.

In mid-November The Shevchenko Ukrainian Language Society was officially registered. On November 19, 1989, a public gathering in Kiev attracted thousands of mourners, friends and family to the reburial in Ukraine of three inmates of the infamous Camp No. 36 in Perm in the : human-rights activists, , and. Their remains were reinterred in. On November 26, 1989, a day of prayer and fasting was proclaimed by Cardinal Myroslav Lubachivsky, thousands of faithful in western Ukraine participated in religious services on the eve of a meeting between Pope and Soviet President Gorbachev. On November 28, 1989, the Ukrainian SSR's Council for Religious Affairs issued a decree allowing Ukrainian Catholic congregations to register as legal organizations. The decree was proclaimed on December 1, coinciding with a meeting at the Vatican between the pope and the Soviet president.

On December 10, 1989, the first officially sanctioned observance of International Human Rights Day was held in Lviv. On December 17, an estimated 30,000 attended a public meeting organized in Kiev by Rukh in memory of Nobel laureate, who died on December 14. On December 26, the Supreme Soviet of Ukrainian SSR adopted a law designating, , and the official holidays.

In May 1989, a Soviet dissident,, was elected to lead the newly founded National Movement. He also led the campaign for return of Crimean Tatars to their homeland in Crimea after 45 years of exile.

Belarus: Kurapaty
On January 24, 1989, the Soviet authorities in agreed to the demand of the democratic opposition to build a monument to thousands of people shot by Stalin-era police in the Kuropaty Forest near  in the 1930s.

On September 30, 1989, thousands of Byelorussians, denouncing local leaders, marched through Minsk to demand additional cleanup of the 1986 site in Ukraine. Up to 15,000 protesters wearing armbands bearing radioactivity symbols and carrying the used by the  filed through torrential rain in defiance of a ban by local authorities. Later, they gathered in the city center near the government's headquarters, where speakers demanded resignation of Yefrem Sokolov, the republic's Communist Party leader, and called for the evacuation of half a million people from the contaminated zones.

Fergana, Uzbekistan
Thousands of Soviet troops were sent to the, southeast of the Uzbek capital , to re-establish order after clashes in which local Uzbeks hunted down members of the minority in several days of rioting between June 4–11, 1989; about 100 people were killed. On June 23, 1989, Gorbachev removed as First Secretary of the  and replaced him with Karimov, who went on to lead Uzbekistan as a Soviet Republic and subsequently as an independent state.

Zhanaozen, Kazakhstan
In on June 19, 1989, young men carrying guns,, iron bars and stones rioted in , causing a number of deaths. The youths tried to seize a police station and a water-supply station. They brought public transportation to a halt and shut down various shops and industries. By June 25, the rioting had spread to five other towns near the. A mob of about 150 people armed with sticks, stones and metal rods attacked the police station in Mangishlak, about 90 miles from Zhanaozen, before they were dispersed by government troops flown in by helicopters. Mobs of young people also rampaged through Yeraliev, Shepke, and, where they poured flammable liquid on trains housing temporary workers and set them on fire.

With the government and CPSU shocked by the riots, on June 22, 1989, as a result of the riots Gorbachev removed (the ethnic Russian whose appointment caused riots in December 1986) as First Secretary of the  for his poor handling of the June events, and replaced him with, an ethnic Kazakh who went on to lead Kazakhstan as a Soviet Republic and subsequently to independence. Nazarbayev would lead Kazakhstan for 27 years until he stepped down as president on 19 March 2019.

Moscow loses six republics
On February 7, 1990, the Central Committee of the CPSU accepted Gorbachev's recommendation that the party give up its on political power. In 1990, all fifteen constituent republics of the USSR held their first competitive elections, with reformers and s winning many seats. The CPSU lost the elections in six republics:
 * In, to , on February 24 (run-off elections on March 4, 7, 8, and 10)
 * In, to the , on February 25
 * In, to the , on March 18
 * In, to the , on March 18 (run-off elections on March 25, April 1, and April 29)
 * In, to the , on May 20 (run-off elections on June 3 and July 15)
 * In, to , on October 28 (run-off election on November 11)

The constituent republics began to declare their national sovereignty and began a "war of laws" with the Moscow central government; they rejected union-wide legislation that conflicted with local laws, asserted control over their local economy, and refused to pay taxes. Landsbergis, Chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania, also exempted Lithuanian men from in the Soviet Armed Forces. This conflict caused economic dislocation as supply lines were disrupted, and caused the to decline further.

Rivalry between USSR and RSFSR
On March 4, 1990, the held relatively free elections for the. was elected, representing, garnering 72 percent of the vote. On May 29, 1990, Yeltsin was elected chair of the of the RSFSR, despite the fact that Gorbachev asked Russian deputies not to vote for him.

Yeltsin was supported by democratic and conservative members of the Supreme Soviet, who sought power in the developing political situation. A new power struggle emerged between the and the. On June 12, 1990, the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR adopted a declaration of sovereignty. On July 12, 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the Communist Party in a dramatic speech at the.

Lithuania
Gorbachev's visit to the Lithuanian capital on January 11–13, 1990, provoked a pro-independence rally attended by an estimated 250,000 people.

On March 11, the newly elected parliament of the Lithuanian SSR elected, the leader of , as its chairman and proclaimed the , making Lithuania the first Soviet Republic to break away from the USSR. Moscow reacted with an economic blockade keeping the troops in Lithuania ostensibly "to secure the rights of s".

Estonia
On March 25, 1990, the voted to split from the CPSU after a six-month transition.

On March 30, 1990, the Estonian Supreme Council declared the since World War II to be illegal and began reestablishing Estonia as an independent state.

On April 3, 1990, of the  was elected chairman of the Council of Ministers (the equivalent of being Prime Minister).

Latvia
Latvia on May 4, 1990, with the declaration stipulating a transitional period to complete independence. The Declaration stated that although Latvia had de facto lost its independence in World War II, the country had de jure remained a sovereign country because the annexation had been unconstitutional and against the will of the Latvian people. The declaration also stated that Latvia would base its relationship with the Soviet Union on the basis of the, in which the Soviet Union recognized Latvia's independence as inviolable "for all future time". May 4 is now a national holiday in Latvia.

On May 7, 1990, of the  was elected chairman of the Council of Ministers (the equivalent of being Latvia's Prime Minister).

Azerbaijan's Black January
During the first week of January 1990, in the Azerbaijani of, the Popular Front led crowds in the storming and destruction of the frontier fences and watchtowers along the border with , and thousands of Soviet Azerbaijanis crossed the border to meet their ethnic cousins in. It was the first time the Soviet Union had lost control of an external border.

Ethnic tensions had escalated between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis in spring and summer 1988. On January 9, 1990, after the Armenian parliament voted to include Nagorno-Karabakh within its budget, renewed fighting broke out, hostages were taken, and four Soviet soldiers were killed. On January 11, Popular Front radicals stormed party buildings and effectively overthrew the communist powers in the southern town of. Gorbachev resolved to regain control of Azerbaijan; the events that ensued are known as "". Late on January 19, 1990, after blowing up the central television station and cutting the phone and radio lines, 26,000 Soviet troops entered the Azerbaijani capital, smashing barricades, attacking protesters, and firing into crowds. On that night and during subsequent confrontations (which lasted until February), more than 130 people died. Most of these were civilians. More than 700 civilians were wounded, hundreds were detained, but only a few were actually tried for alleged criminal offenses.

Civil liberties suffered. Soviet Defence Minister stated that the use of force in Baku was intended to prevent the de facto takeover of the Azerbaijani government by the non-communist opposition, to prevent their victory in upcoming free elections (scheduled for March 1990), to destroy them as a political force, and to ensure that the Communist government remained in power.

The army had gained control of Baku, but by January 20 it had essentially lost Azerbaijan. Nearly the entire population of Baku turned out for the mass funerals of "martyrs" buried in the Alley of Martyrs. Thousands of Communist Party members publicly burned their party cards. First Secretary Vezirov decamped to Moscow and was appointed his successor in a free vote of party officials. The ethnic Russian Viktor Polyanichko remained second secretary. In reaction to the Soviet actions in Baku and their backing of Armenia in the conflict,, Chair of the of the  of the  called a  where it was debated whether or not Nakhchivan could  from the USSR under Article 81 of the Soviet Constitution. Deciding that it was legal, deputies prepared a declaration of independence, which Aliyeva signed and presented on January 20 on national television. It was the first declaration of secession by a recognized region in the USSR. Aliyeva and the Nakhchivan Soviet's actions were denounced by government officials who forced her to resign and the attempt at independence was aborted.

Following the hardliners' takeover, the September 30, 1990 elections (runoffs on October 14) were characterized by intimidation; several Popular Front candidates were jailed, two were murdered, and unabashed took place, even in the presence of Western observers. The election results reflected the threatening environment; out of the 350 members, 280 were Communists, with only 45 opposition candidates from the Popular Front and other non-communist groups, who together formed a Democratic Bloc ("Dembloc"). In May 1990 Mutalibov was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet unopposed.

Ukraine
On January 21, 1990, organized a 300 mi human chain between Kiev, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. Hundreds of thousands joined hands to commemorate the proclamation of Ukrainian independence in 1918 and the reunification of Ukrainian lands one year later. On January 23, 1990, the held its first  since its liquidation by the Soviets in 1946 (an act which the gathering declared invalid). On February 9, 1990, the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice officially registered Rukh. However, the registration came too late for Rukh to stand its own candidates for the parliamentary and local elections on March 4. At the of  to the  (Verkhovna Rada), candidates from the  won landslide victories in. A majority of the seats had to hold run-off elections. On March 18, Democratic candidates scored further victories in the run-offs. The Democratic Bloc gained about 90 out of 450 seats in the new parliament.

On April 6, 1990, the Lviv City Council voted to return to the. The refused to yield. On April 29–30, 1990, the disbanded to form the. On May 15 the new parliament convened. The bloc of conservative communists held 239 seats; the Democratic Bloc, which had evolved into the National Council, had 125 deputies. On June 4, 1990, two candidates remained in the protracted race for parliament chair. The leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU),, was elected with 60 percent of the vote as more than 100 opposition deputies boycotted the election. On June 5–6, 1990, Metropolitan of the U.S.-based  was elected patriarch of the  (UAOC) during that Church's first synod. The UAOC declared its full independence from the of the Russian Orthodox Church, which in March had granted autonomy to the Ukrainian Orthodox church headed by the Metropolitan.

On June 22, 1990, withdrew his candidacy for leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine in view of his new position in parliament. was elected first secretary of the CPU. On July 11, Ivashko resigned from his post as chairman of the after he was elected deputy general secretary of the. The Parliament accepted the resignation a week later, on July 18. On July 16 Parliament overwhelmingly approved the Declaration on State Sovereignty of Ukraine – with a vote of 355 in favour and four against. The people's deputies voted 339 to 5 to proclaim July 16 a Ukrainian national holiday.

On July 23, 1990, was elected to replace Ivashko as parliament chairman. On July 30, Parliament adopted a resolution on military service ordering Ukrainian soldiers "in regions of national conflict such as Armenia and Azerbaijan" to return to Ukrainian territory. On August 1, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to shut down the. On August 3, it adopted a law on the economic sovereignty of the Ukrainian republic. On August 19, the first Ukrainian Catholic liturgy in 44 years was celebrated at St. George Cathedral. On September 5–7, the International Symposium on the was held in Kiev. On September 8, The first "Youth for Christ" rally since 1933 took place held in Lviv, with 40,000 participants. In September 28–30, the held its founding congress. On September 30, nearly 100,000 people marched in Kiev to protest against the new union treaty proposed by Gorbachev.

On October 1, 1990, parliament reconvened amid mass protests calling for the resignations of Kravchuk and of Prime Minister, a leftover from the previous régime. Students erected a tent city on, where they continued the protest.

On October 17 Masol resigned, and on October 20, of Kiev and all Ukraine arrived at, ending a 46-year banishment from his homeland. On October 23, 1990, Parliament voted to delete Article 6 of the Ukrainian Constitution, which referred to the "leading role" of the Communist Party.

On October 25–28, 1990, Rukh held its second congress and declared that its principal goal was the "renewal of independent statehood for Ukraine". On October 28 UAOC faithful, supported by Ukrainian Catholics, demonstrated near St. Sophia's Cathedral as newly elected Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Aleksei and Metropolitan Filaret celebrated liturgy at the shrine. On November 1, the leaders of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, respectively, Metropolitan Volodymyr Sterniuk and Patriarch Mstyslav, met in Lviv during anniversary commemorations of the 1918 proclamation of the.

On November 18, 1990, the enthroned Mstyslav as Patriarch of Kiev and all Ukraine during ceremonies at Saint Sophia's Cathedral. Also on November 18, announced that its consul-general to Kiev would be Ukrainian-Canadian. On November 19, the United States announced that its consul to Kiev would be Ukrainian-American John Stepanchuk. On November 19, the chairmen of the Ukrainian and Russian parliaments, respectively, Kravchuk and Yeltsin, signed a 10-year bilateral pact. In early December 1990 the Party of Democratic Rebirth of Ukraine was founded; on December 15, the was founded.

Tajikistan: Dushanbe riots
On February 12–14, 1990, anti-government riots took place in 's capital,, as tensions rose between nationalist and ethnic  refugees, after the  and anti-Armenian riots in Azerbaijan in 1988. Demonstrations sponsored by the nationalist movement turned violent. Radical economic and political reforms were demanded by the protesters, who torched government buildings; shops and other businesses were attacked and looted. During these riots 26 people were killed and 565 injured.

Kirghizia: Osh massacre
In June 1990, the city of and its environs experienced bloody  between ethnic  nationalist group Osh Aymaghi and   nationalist group Adolat over the land of a former. There were about 1,200 casualties, including over 300 dead and 462 seriously injured. The riots broke out over the division of land resources in and around the city.

Moscow's crisis
On January 14, 1991, resigned from his post as  of the, or premier of the Soviet Union, and was succeeded by  in the newly established post of Prime Minister of the Soviet Union.

On March 17, 1991, in a 76.4 percent of  voters endorsed retention of a reformed Soviet Union. The Baltic republics,, , and boycotted the referendum as well as  (an  within Russia that had a strong desire for independence, and by now referred to itself as Ichkeria). In each of the other nine republics, a majority of the voters supported the retention of a reformed Soviet Union.

Russia's President Boris Yeltsin
On June 12, 1991, won 57 percent of the popular vote in the, defeating Gorbachev's preferred candidate, , who won 16 percent of the vote. Following Yeltsin's election as president, Russia declared itself independent. In his election campaign, Yeltsin criticized the "dictatorship of the center", but did not yet suggest that he would introduce a.

Lithuania
On January 13, 1991, Soviet troops, along with the ,  in Lithuania to suppress the independence movement. Fourteen unarmed civilians were killed and hundreds more injured. On the night of July 31, 1991, Russian from, the Soviet military headquarters in the Baltics,  in Medininkai and killed seven Lithuanian servicemen. This event further weakened the Soviet Union's position internationally and domestically, and stiffened Lithuanian resistance.

Latvia
The bloody attacks in Lithuania prompted Latvians to organize defensive barricades (the events are still today known as "") blocking access to strategically important buildings and bridges in Riga. Soviet attacks in the ensuing days resulted in six deaths and several injuries; one person died later of their wounds.

Estonia
When Estonia had officially restored its independence during the coup (see below) in the dark hours of August 20, 1991, at 11:03 pm Tallinn time, many Estonian volunteers surrounded the in an attempt to prepare to cut off the communication channels after the Soviet troops seized it and refused to be intimidated by the Soviet troops. When confronted the Soviet troops for ten minutes, they finally retreated from the TV tower after a failed resistance against the Estonians.

August coup
Faced with growing, Gorbachev sought to restructure the Soviet Union into a less centralized state. On August 20, 1991, the Russian SFSR was scheduled to sign a that would have converted the Soviet Union into a  with a common president, foreign policy and military. It was strongly supported by the Central Asian republics, which needed the economic advantages of a common market to prosper. However, it would have meant some degree of continued Communist Party control over economic and social life.

More radical reformists were increasingly convinced that a rapid transition to a market economy was required, even if the eventual outcome meant the disintegration of the Soviet Union into several independent states. Independence also accorded with Yeltsin's desires as president of the Russian Federation, as well as those of regional and local authorities to get rid of Moscow's pervasive control. In contrast to the reformers' lukewarm response to the treaty, the conservatives, "patriots", and Russian nationalists of the USSR – still strong within the CPSU and the military – were opposed to weakening the Soviet state and its centralized power structure.

On August 19, 1991, Gorbachev's vice president,, Prime Minister , Defense Minister , KGB chief and other senior officials acted to prevent the union treaty from being signed by forming the "General Committee on the State Emergency", which put Gorbachev – on holiday in ,  – under house arrest and cut off his communications. The coup leaders issued an emergency decree suspending political activity and banning most newspapers.

Coup organizers expected popular support but found that public opinion in large cities and in the republics was mostly against them, manifested by public demonstrations, especially in Moscow. Russian SFSR President Yeltsin condemned the coup and garnered popular support.

Thousands of Muscovites came out to defend the (the Russian Federation's parliament and Yeltsin's office), the symbolic seat of Russian sovereignty at the time. The organizers tried but ultimately failed to arrest Yeltsin, who rallied opposition to the coup by making speeches from atop a tank. The special forces dispatched by the coup leaders took up positions near the White House, but members refused to storm the barricaded building. The coup leaders also neglected to jam foreign news broadcasts, so many Muscovites watched it unfold live on. Even the isolated Gorbachev was able to stay abreast of developments by tuning into the BBC World Service on a small transistor radio.

After three days, on August 21, 1991, the coup collapsed. The organizers were detained and Gorbachev was reinstated as president, albeit with his power much depleted.

Fall: August–December 1991
On August 24, 1991, Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee of the CPSU, resigned as the party's general secretary, and dissolved all party units in the government. On the same day, the was enacted by the, signalling the beginning of the end of the USSR as a whole. Five days later, the Supreme Soviet indefinitely suspended all CPSU activity on Soviet territory, effectively ending Communist rule in the Soviet Union and dissolving the only remaining unifying force in the country. Gorbachev established a on 5 September, designed to bring him and the highest officials of the remaining republics into a collective leadership, able to appoint a ; it never functioned properly, though  de facto took the post through the  and the  and tried to form  though with rapidly reducing powers.

The Soviet Union collapsed with dramatic speed in the last quarter of 1991. Between August and December, 10 republics declared their independence, largely out of fear of another coup. As earlier stated, Ukraine was the first of the republics of break ties with the Union. By the end of September, Gorbachev no longer had the authority to influence events outside of Moscow. He was challenged even there by Yeltsin, who had begun taking over what remained of the Soviet government, including the Kremlin.

On September 17, 1991, numbers 46/4, 46/5, and 46/6 admitted Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the, conforming to  numbers , , and  passed on September 12 without a vote.

By 7 November 1991, most newspapers referred to the country as the 'former Soviet Union'.

The final round of the Soviet Union's collapse began with a on December 1, 1991, in which 90 percent of voters opted for independence. The secession of Ukraine, long second only to Russia in economic and political power, ended any realistic chance of Gorbachev keeping the Soviet Union together even on a limited scale. The leaders of the three Slavic republics, Russia, Ukraine, and (formerly Byelorussia), agreed to discuss possible alternatives to the union.

On December 8, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus secretly met in, in western Belarus, and signed the , which proclaimed the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and announced formation of the (CIS) as a looser association to take its place. They also invited other republics to join the CIS. Gorbachev called it an unconstitutional coup. However, by this time there was no longer any reasonable doubt that, as the preamble of the Accords put it, "the USSR, as a subject of and a geopolitical reality, is ceasing its existence."

On December 12, the formally ratified the Belavezha Accords and renounced the. It also recalled the Russian deputies from the. The legality of this action was questionable, since Soviet law did not allow a republic to unilaterally recall its deputies. However, no one in either Russia or the Kremlin objected. Any objections from the latter would have likely had no effect, since the Soviet government had effectively been rendered impotent long before December. On the surface, it appeared that the largest republic had formally seceded. However, this is not the case. Russia apparently took the line that it was not possible to secede from a country that no longer existed. Later that day, Gorbachev hinted for the first time that he was considering stepping down.

On December 17, 1991, along with 28 European countries, the, and four non-European countries, the three Baltic Republics and nine of the twelve remaining Soviet republics signed the in  as sovereign states.

Doubts remained over whether the Belavezha Accords had legally dissolved the Soviet Union, since they were signed by only three republics. However, on December 21, 1991, representatives of 11 of the 12 remaining republics – all except – signed the, which confirmed the dissolution of the Union and formally established the CIS. They also "accepted" Gorbachev's resignation. While Gorbachev hadn't made any formal plans to leave the scene yet, he did tell CBS News that he would resign as soon as he saw that the CIS was indeed a reality.

In a nationally televised speech early in the morning of December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR – or, as he put it, "I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." He declared the office extinct, and all of its powers (such as control of the nuclear arsenal) were ceded to Yeltsin. A week earlier, Gorbachev had met with Yeltsin and accepted the  of the Soviet Union's dissolution. On the same day, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR adopted a statute to change Russia's legal name from "Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic" to "Russian Federation", showing that it was now a sovereign state.

On the night of December 25, at 7:32 p.m. Moscow time, after Gorbachev left the Kremlin, the was lowered  and the  was played for the last time, and the  was raised in its place at 11:40 pm, symbolically marking the end of the Soviet Union. In his parting words, he defended his record on domestic reform and, but conceded, "The old system collapsed before a new one had time to start working." On that same day, the  held a brief televised speech officially recognizing the independence of the 11 remaining republics.

On December 26, the, the upper chamber of the Union's Supreme Soviet, voted both itself and the Soviet Union out of existence. (The lower chamber, the, had been unable to work since December 12, when the recall of the Russian deputies left it without a .) The following day Yeltsin moved into Gorbachev's former office, though the Russian authorities had taken over the suite two days earlier. By the end of 1991, the few remaining Soviet institutions that had not been taken over by Russia ceased operation, and individual republics assumed the central government's role.

The Alma-Ata Protocol also addressed other issues, including UN membership. Notably, Russia was authorized to assume the Soviet Union's UN membership, including its permanent seat on the. The Soviet Ambassador to the UN delivered a letter signed by Russian President Yeltsin to the dated December 24, 1991, informing him that by virtue of the Alma-Ata Protocol, Russia was the successor state to the USSR. After being circulated among the other UN member states, with no objection raised, the statement was declared accepted on the last day of the year, December 31, 1991.

Sports
The breakup of the Soviet Union saw a massive impact in the sporting world. Before its dissolution, the had just qualified for, but their place was instead taken by the. After the tournament, the former Soviet Republics competed as separate independent nations, with FIFA allocating the Soviet team's record to.

Before the start of the and the, The Olympic Committee of the USSR formally existed until March 12, 1992, when it disbanded but it was succeeded by the. However, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics competed together as the and marched under the  in Barcelona, where they finished first in the medal rankings. Separately,, , and also competed as independent nations in the 1992 Games. The Unified Team also competed in Albertville earlier in the year (represented by six of the twelve ex-Republics), and finished second in the medal ranking at those Games. Afterwards, the individual IOCs of the non-Baltic former republics were established. Some NOCs made their debuts at the. and anothers made it at the.

Members of the Unified Team in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona consisted of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. In these Summer Games, the Unified Team secured 45 gold medals, 38 silver medals, and 29 bronze medals to beat second place United States by four medals, and third place Germany by 30 medals. In addition to great team success, the Unified Team also saw great personal success. of Belarus was able to secure six gold medals for the team in gymnastics, while also becoming the most decorated athlete of the Summer Games. Gymnastics, athletics, wrestling, and swimming were the strongest sports for the team, as the four combined earned 28 gold medals and 64 medals in total.

Only six teams competed earlier in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville. These countries were Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The Unified team placed second, losing to Germany by three medals. However, much like the summer games, the Unified team had the most decorated medalist in the Winter Games as well with Lyubov Yegorova of Russia, a figure skater with five total medals.

Telecommunications
The Soviet Union's calling code of +7 continues to be used by and. Between 1993 and 1997, many newly independent republics implemented their own numbering plans such as (+375) and  (+380). The Internet domain remains in use alongside the internet domains of the newly created countries.

Chronology of declarations of restored and newly independent states
States with are shown in italics.

Before the coup

 * – 11 March 1990
 * (transitional) – 30 March 1990
 * (transitional) – 4 May 1990
 * (transitional) – 23 August 1990
 *  – 25 August 1990
 *  – 30 August 1990
 *  – 2 September 1990
 * – 9 April 1991

During the coup

 *  – 19 August 1991
 * (effective) – 20 August 1991
 * (effective) – 21 August 1991

After the coup

 * – 24 August 1991
 * – 25 August 1991
 * – 27 August 1991
 * – 31 August 1991
 * – 1 September 1991
 *  – 2 September 1991
 * – 9 September 1991
 * (effective) – 21 September 1991
 * – 18 October 1991
 * – 27 October 1991
 *  – 1 November 1991
 *  – 28 November 1991
 * – 12 December 1991 (the formally ratified the Belavezha Accords, renounced the  and recalled Russian deputies from the ).
 * – 16 December 1991

Legacy
In, 12% of respondents said the USSR collapse did good, while 66% said it did harm. In, 16% of respondents said the collapse of the USSR did good, while 61% said it did harm. Ever since the collapse of the USSR, annual polling by the has shown that over 50 percent of Russia's population regretted its collapse, with the only exception to this being in 2012. A 2018 Levada Center poll showed that 66% of Russians lamented the fall of the Soviet Union. According to a 2014 poll, 57 percent of citizens of Russia regretted the collapse of the Soviet Union, while 30 percent said they did not. Elderly people tended to be more nostalgic than younger Russians. 50% of respondents in Ukraine in a similar poll held in February 2005 stated they regret the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, a similar poll conducted in 2016 showed only 35% Ukrainians regretting the Soviet Union collapse and 50% not regretting this. On 25 January 2016, Russian President blamed  and his advocating for the individual republics' right to political secession for the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The breakdown of economic ties that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a severe economic crisis and catastrophic fall in in  and the former, which was even worse than the. and surged between 1988–1989 and 1993–1995, with the  increasing by an average of 9 points for all former socialist countries. Even before Russia's in 1998, Russia's GDP was half of what it had been in the early 1990s. In the decades following the end of the Cold War, only five or six of the post-communist states are on a path to joining the wealthy capitalist West while most are falling behind, some to such an extent that it will take over 50 years to catch up to where they were before the end of communism. In a 2001 study by economist, he calculated that there were 3.4 million premature deaths in Russia from 1990 to 1998, which he partly blames on the "shock therapy" that came with the.

United Nations membership
In a letter dated December 24, 1991, Boris Yeltsin, the, informed the that the membership of the Soviet Union in the Security Council and all other UN organs was being continued by the Russian Federation with the support of the 11 member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

However, the and the  had already joined the UN as original members on October 24, 1945, together with the Soviet Union. After declaring independence, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic changed its name to on August 24, 1991 and on September 19, 1991, the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic informed the UN that it had changed its name to the.

The other twelve independent states established from the former Soviet Republics were all admitted to the UN:
 * 17 September 1991: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
 * 2 March 1992: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
 * 31 July 1992: Georgia

Explanations of Soviet dissolution in historiography
Historiography on Soviet dissolution can be roughly classified in two groups, namely intentionalist accounts and structuralist accounts.

Intentionalist accounts contend that Soviet collapse was not inevitable and resulted from the policies and decisions of specific individuals (usually Gorbachev and Yeltsin). One characteristic example of intentionalist writing is historian Archie Brown's The Gorbachev Factor, which argues Gorbachev was the main force in Soviet politics at least in the period 1985–1988 and even later largely spearheaded the political reforms and developments as opposed to being led by events. This was especially true of the policies of perestroika and glasnost, market initiatives and foreign policy stance as political scientist has seconded, labelling Gorbachev a "man of the events". In a slightly different vein, David Kotz and Fred Weir have contended that Soviet elites were responsible for spurring on both nationalism and capitalism from which they could personally benefit (this is also demonstrated by their continued presence in the higher economic and political echelons of post-Soviet republics).

By contrast, structuralist accounts take a more deterministic view in which Soviet dissolution was an outcome of deeply-rooted structural issues, which planted a "time-bomb". For example, Edward Walker has argued that while minority nationalities were denied power at the Union level, confronted by a culturally-destabilizing form of economic modernization and subjected to a certain amount of Russification, they were at the same time strengthened by several policies pursued by Soviet regime (such as indigenization of leadership, support for local languages and so on) which over time created conscious nations. Furthermore, the basic legitimating myths of the Soviet Union federative system—that it was a voluntary and mutual union of allied peoples eased the task of secession/independence. On 25 January 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin supported this view, calling Lenin's support of the right of secession for the Soviet Republics a "delay-action bomb".