When the USSR collapsed. The collapse of the USSR: general course of events. Attempted secession of Tatarstan

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

The main reason is the fact that V.I. Lenin and the Bolsheviks were able to win more people to their side than the rest of the reformers. However, this was by no means a democratic process, when people make an informed and balanced choice.

The Bolsheviks achieved success thanks to several factors:

Their development program may not have been the best, but their slogans were simple and understandable to the majority of the illiterate population;
The Bolsheviks were more resolute and more active than their political opponents, including in the use of violence;
Both white and red made mistakes and shed blood, but the latter felt the mood and aspirations of the people better;
The Bolsheviks were able to find foreign sources of funding for their activities.

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

What was really good in the USSR?

The Evil Empire lived up to its name. Repressions, gulags, mysterious deaths of great poets and other hard-hitting pages of history have not yet been thoroughly studied. However, some positive aspects did take place:

Eradication of illiteracy... Towards the end of existence Russian Empire literate were according to various estimates from 30 to 56 percent of the population. It took about 20 years to improve such a catastrophic situation;
Lack of social stratification... If you do not take into account the ruling elite, then among the citizens there was no such monstrous inequality in living standards and wages, as in tsarist or modern Russia;
Equality of opportunity... People from workers 'and peasants' families could rise to the highest positions. In the Politburo there were a majority of them;
The cult of science... Unlike today, on television and in the media, much attention was paid not only to the activities of top officials of the state, but also to science.

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

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

At first glance, there was no reason for war. But still it started and here's why:

In 1940, the Soviet Union failed to come to an agreement with the Axis countries (Third Reich, fascist Italy, Empire of Japan) on the conditions for joining the Berlin Pact (agreement on the division of Europe and Asia). The largest country in the world had few of those territories that Germany proposed, so it was not possible to agree. Many experts on the Second World War believe that it was after these events that Hitler finally decided to attack the USSR;
According to the trade agreement, the Soviet Union already supplied raw materials and food to the Third Reich, but this was not enough for Hitler. He wanted to get hold of the entire resource base of the USSR;
Hitler had a strong dislike for Jews and communism. In the Land of the Soviets, his two main objects of hatred were woven together.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The collapse of the USSR is the most important event not only in world history, but also in the history of Russia. Today this topic is temporarily not so popular, it is generally not customary to somehow recall the Soviet past. But in all public holidays on many central channels only Soviet films are shown. This is weird. But it is understandable - the modern state power, against the background of its inaction in the social sphere, in the sphere of industry and science, has absolutely nothing to oppose to the Soviet Union. Only an unprecedented level of corruption, with which, judging by the central channels, there is a continuous struggle.

Why do we now live in such a country? Why did the Soviet Union collapse? What is the exact date? Was it inevitable? Who is to blame and what to do? We will try to ask these two eternal questions for Russia in this article. And maybe even an answer, as well as analyze the causes and consequences briefly.

Causes

Some part of the population is still convinced that the USSR was destroyed by "American intelligence". In fact, this argument has a very shaky basis, or rather, it has none. Because always with the weakening of the central government: (1) centrifugal tendencies arise, and (2) opposition becomes more active. The most important thing is to understand that this is neither bad nor good until rivers of blood are shed and the state does not collapse.

Why was the Soviet Union ordered to live long?

At first, crisis of the economic system built under Stalinism. Let me remind you that during the years of industrialization, a command-and-control planning model of management was created. This Soviet model gave the country tremendous production: in a poor and half-starved country suddenly began to appear their own cars, agricultural machinery, airplanes, modern weapons... It is thanks to the successes of industrialization, including (on a par with the unsurpassed heroism of the Soviet people) the country and fascist Italy.

However, in the long term, this command-administrative planning model of management could not be effective, since it was clumsy. Its main costs: excessive bureaucratization, inflexibility of the plan, the course towards an arms race. These three conditions depleted the Soviet economy as a result of which there was: (1) a constant shortage of consumer goods (consumer goods), (2) as a result of public discontent.

Secondly, a crisis political system was also the reason for the collapse of the Soviet Union. By crisis we mean the crisis of national politics, the crisis of domestic politics, the inflexibility of the party ideology, the old age of the members of the party apparatus. Gradually, ideology took on a life of its own and stopped responding to the times.

The country demanded a change in the very system of management. An example for the USSR could be the reforms in China, which were carried out by the government of Deng Xiaoping. Reforms in China actually included a smooth transition to capitalism: through the gradual withdrawal of the state from the economy and the formation of profitable production.

However, the Russians need everything at once: capitalism means the old must be destroyed, and the new must be built. As a result, I think, the Soviet people, seeing modern Russia, would be horrified ... What do you think? Write in the comments.

Formally, the Union collapsed December 8, 1991 when the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine signed an agreement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha to terminate the 1922 union treaty. In reality, the USSR ceased to exist already in 1989-90, when its republics withdrew from the union.

Effects

The consequences of the collapse of the USSR were simply catastrophic both for world politics and for domestic politics.

First corollary: the world has not become a counterweight to American militarism and imperialism. As a result of the absence of such a counterbalance, the world has received two US wars with Iraq, the invasion of Afghanistan and the bombing and dismemberment of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Second corollary: the world began to focus primarily on one model - the model of liberal democracy. However, the indiscriminate borrowing of Western forms of labor and production led to unpredictable consequences, for example, in our country. However, there are a number of countries that are developing along the path of capitalism, but adapting it to their conditions. These countries include: China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, India.

At the same time, the collapse of the Soviet state led to the formation of the CIS.

Only now, when sanctions have been imposed on Russia, are the top management just starting to think about creating domestic production of everything necessary ... In fact, in my opinion, our country is now in the same situation as it was in 1921: a completely destroyed economy, with a lack of production and infrastructure. Recently, in the State Duma, a leading analyst said that just to maintain the existing infrastructure of Russia (roads, pipes, bridges, etc.) requires at least 3 trillion rubles a year.

Third corollary : a real catastrophe has come in the internal life of the country. The system of government authorities collapsed, the country found itself on the brink of a civil war (the GKChP putsch, the events of September-October 1993), a redistribution of state property arose, as a result of which the bulk of state assets passed by the steadily poorer population. But we have a lot dollar billionaires... More details about the 90s

Watch my video on this topic:

There were other consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union. But we carry out their analysis outside the scope of this post. Write in the comments what you think about this.

Post Scriptum. If you are on this site for the first time, and you are preparing for the USE in history, then you probably faced a number of problems: how to remember historical events, how to solve the USE tests in history of part 2 in general? How to enroll in a university on a budget in general? You can find answers to all these and other questions on our exam preparation courses.

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Best regards, Andrey Puchkov

The Soviet Union was dissolved December 26, 1991... This was announced in Declaration No. 142-N issued by the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration recognized the independence of the former Soviet republics and created the Commonwealth Independent States(CIS), although five of its signatory supporters ratified it much later or did not do so at all.

The day before, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned and handed over his powers, including control over the launch codes of the Soviet nuclear missiles, to the President of Russia - Boris Yeltsin. On the same evening at 7:32 am, the Soviet flag was replaced by the pre-revolutionary Russian flag.

One week before the official termination Union of 11 republics signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, which formally created the CIS. The collapse of the USSR also marked end of cold war.

Some of the republics have maintained close ties with the Russian Federation and created multilateral organizations such as:

Eurasian Economic Community;
Union State;
Eurasian Customs Union and Eurasian Economic Union.

On the other hand, the Baltic states have joined NATO and The European Union.

Spring 1989 the people of the Soviet Union in a democratic choice, albeit limited, for the first time since 1917, elected a new Congress of People's Deputies. This example prompted the events that began to take place in Poland. The communist government in Warsaw was overthrown, which in turn triggered coups that overthrew communism in the other five Warsaw Pact countries before the end of 1989. The Berlin Wall was torn down.

These events showed that the people of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union did not support Gorbachev's aspirations to modernize the communist system.

October 25, 1989 Years, the Supreme Soviet voted to expand the power of the republics in local elections, which allowed them to decide for themselves how to organize the vote. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have already proposed laws on direct presidential elections. Local elections in all republics were scheduled for the period from December to March 1990.

December 1989 Years, the Congress of People's Deputies was held and Gorbachev signed the report of the Yakovlev Commission, condemning the secret protocols of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

The republics that make up the union began to declare their national sovereignty and a "war of laws" with the central government of Moscow; they abandoned national legislation that contradicted local laws, asserted control over the local economy, and refused to pay taxes. These processes began to take place everywhere and at the same time.

Rivalry between the USSR and the RSFSR

March 4, 1990 RSFSR Republic held relatively free elections. Boris Yeltsin was elected to represent Sverdlovsk with 72 percent of the vote. On May 29, 1990, Yeltsin was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, despite the fact that Gorbachev asked Russian deputies not to vote for him.

Yeltsin was supported by democratic and conservative members of the Supreme Soviet, who sought power in an evolving political situation. A new struggle for power arose between the RSFSR and the Soviet Union. On July 12, 1990, Yeltsin resigned from the Communist Party in a dramatic speech at the 28th Congress.

Lithuania

11th of March the newly elected parliament of the Lithuanian SSR proclaimed the Law on the restoration of Lithuania, making it the first republic to secede from the USSR.

Estonia

March 30, 1990 Estonia declared the Soviet occupation of Estonia after World War II illegal and began to rebuild Estonia as an independent state.

Latvia

Latvia announced the restoration of independence May 4, 1990 with a declaration providing for a transitional period for full independence.

Ukraine

July 16, 1990 Parliament overwhelmingly approved the Declaration of Sovereignty of Ukraine - 355 votes and four against. The MPs voted 339-5 to declare July 16 the national holiday of Ukraine.

March 17, 1991 in the All-Union referendum, 76.4 percent of the people voted for the preservation of the Soviet Union. The referendum was boycotted:

Baltic republics;
Armenia;
Georgia;
Moldova;
Chechen-Ingushetia.

In each of the remaining nine republics, a majority of voters supported the preservation of the reformed Soviet Union.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the attempted coup

June 12, 1991 Boris Yeltsin won the democratic election by defeating Gorbachev's preferred candidate, Nikolai Ryzhkov. After Yeltsin was elected president, Russia declared itself independent.

Faced with growing separatism, Gorbachev sought to rebuild the Soviet Union into a less centralized state. On August 20, 1991, the Russian SSR was supposed to sign a union treaty that would turn the Soviet Union into a federation. This was strongly supported by the Central Asian republics, who needed the economic benefits of a common market to prosper. However, this would mean some degree of continuation of the communist party over the economic and social life.

More radical reformists increasingly convinced of the need for a quick transition to a market economy, even if the end result meant the collapse of the Soviet Union into several independent states. Independence was also in line with Yeltsin's wishes, and regional and local governments would get rid of Moscow's widespread control.

In contrast to the warm reaction of the reformers to the treaty, the conservatives, "patriots" and Russian nationalists of the USSR, still strong within the CPSU and the military, opposed the weakening of the Soviet state and its centralized power structure.

August 19, 1991 years, high-ranking officials of the USSR formed the "General Committee for emergencies". The coup leaders issued an emergency decree suspending political activity and banning most newspapers.

The organizers of the coup expected public support, but found that public opinion in major cities and republics was largely against them. This manifested itself in public demonstrations, especially in Moscow. President of the RSFSR Yeltsin condemned the coup and received the support of the people.

After three days, August 21, 1991, the coup collapsed. The organizers were detained and Gorbachev was reinstated as president, although his power was severely shaken.

August 24, 1991 Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee of the CPSU, resigned as general secretary of the party and dismissed all party units in the government. Five days later, the Supreme Soviet indefinitely suspended all activities of the CPSU on Soviet territory, effectively ending communist rule in the Soviet Union and destroying the only remaining unifying force in the country.

In what year did the USSR collapse?

Between August and December, 10 republics declared their independence mainly out of fear of another coup. By the end of September, Gorbachev no longer had the authority to influence events outside Moscow.

September 17, 1991 General Assembly resolutions 46/4, 46/5 and 46/6 recognized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with the United Nations in accordance with Security Council resolutions 709, 710 and 711, adopted on 12 September without a vote.

The latest round of the collapse of the Soviet Union began with a popular referendum in Ukraine on December 1, 1991, in which 90 percent of voters chose independence. The events taking place in Ukraine destroyed any real chances of Gorbachev to preserve the USSR, even on a limited scale. The leaders of the three main Slavic republics: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus agreed to discuss possible alternatives to the USSR.

8 december the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus met secretly in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in western Belarus, and signed a document stating that the USSR had ceased to exist and announced the creation of the CIS. They also invited other republics to join the CIS. Gorbachev called it an unconstitutional coup.

Doubts remained as to whether the Belovezhskaya Agreement was legal, since it was signed by only three republics. However, on December 21, 1991, representatives of 11 of the 12 remaining republics, except Georgia, signed a protocol that confirmed the dissolution of the Union and formally formed the CIS.

On the night of December 25 At 19:32 Moscow time, after Gorbachev left the Kremlin, the Soviet flag was lowered for the last time and the Russian tricolor was raised in its place, symbolizing the end of the Soviet Union.

On the same day, United States President George W. Bush made a short televised speech officially recognizing the independence of the 11 remaining republics.

Alma-Ata Protocol also touched upon other issues, including UN membership. It is noteworthy that Russia was authorized to accept membership in the Soviet Union, including its permanent seat on the Security Council. The Soviet ambassador to the UN sent a letter to the UN Secretary General dated December 24, 1991, signed by Russian President Yeltsin, informing him that, by virtue of the Alma-Ata Protocol, Russia became the successor state of the USSR.

After being circulated to other UN member states without objection, the statement was declared adopted on the last day of the year, December 31, 1991.

Additional Information

According to a 2014 survey, 57 percent of Russian citizens regretted the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fifty percent of respondents in Ukraine, in a February 2005 poll, said they also regretted the collapse of the USSR.

The collapse of economic ties that took place during the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a serious economic crisis and a precipitous drop in living standards in the post-Soviet states and the former Eastern Bloc.

Membership in the United Nations

By letter dated December 24, 1991 President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin informed the Secretary General of the United Nations that membership in UN bodies continues Russian Federation with the support of 11 member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

By this time Belarus and Ukraine were already members of the UN.

Other twelve independent states, created from the former Soviet republics, were also admitted to the UN:

September 17, 1991: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania;
March 2, 1992: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan;
July 31, 1992: Georgia.

Video

From the video you will learn about the reasons for the collapse of the USSR.

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The collapse of the USSR- the processes that took place in the socio-political life and economy of the Soviet Union in the second half of the 80s - early 90s of the XX century, which led to the termination of the existence of the USSR on December 26, 1991 and the formation of independent states in its place.

Since 1985, the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S.Gorbachev and his supporters began the policy of perestroika. Attempts to reform the Soviet system led to a deepening crisis in the country. In the political arena, this crisis was expressed as a confrontation between the President of the USSR Gorbachev and the President of the RSFSR Yeltsin. Yeltsin actively promoted the slogan of the need for the sovereignty of the RSFSR.

General crisis

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

In the period 1989-1991, the main problem of the Soviet economy reaches its maximum - a chronic commodity deficit; practically all basic commodities, except bread, disappear from free sale. Throughout the country, rationed supplies in the form of coupons are being introduced.

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

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

A number of interethnic conflicts flared up on the territory of the USSR.

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

The Karabakh conflict, which began in 1988, was distinguished by the greatest severity. Massive pogroms of both Armenians and Azerbaijanis take place. In 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Armenian SSR announced the annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, the Azerbaijan SSR began a blockade. In April 1991, a war actually breaks out between the two Soviet republics.

In 1990, riots took place in the Fergana Valley, a feature of which is the mixing of several Central Asian nationalities. The decision to rehabilitate the peoples deported by Stalin leads to an increase in tension in a number of regions, in particular, in the Crimea - between the returned Crimean Tatars and Russians, in the Prigorodny region of North Ossetia - between the Ossetians and the returned Ingush.

On February 7, 1990, the Central Committee of the CPSU announced the weakening of the monopoly on power; within a few weeks, the first competitive elections were held. During 1990-1991, the so-called. "Parade of sovereignty", during which all the Union (including the RSFSR, one of the first) and many of the autonomous republics adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty, in which they challenged the priority of all-Union laws over republican ones, which started a "war of laws." They also took action to control local economies, including refusals to pay taxes to the federal and federal Russian budgets. These conflicts cut many economic ties, which further worsened the economic situation in the USSR.

The first territory of the USSR to declare independence in January 1990 in response to the Baku events was the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Before the massive collapse of the USSR as a result of the actions of the State Emergency Committee, two union republics (Lithuania and Georgia) declared independence, and four more (Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Armenia) refused to join the proposed new Union and the transition to independence.

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

Branch of Lithuania.

On June 3, 1988, the Sajudis independence movement was founded in Lithuania. In January 1990, Gorbachev's visit to Vilnius provoked a demonstration of up to 250,000 supporters of independence.

On March 11, 1990, the Supreme Council of Lithuania headed by Vytautas Landsbergis declared independence. Thus, Lithuania became the first of the union republics to declare independence, and one of the two that did so before the events of the Emergency Committee. The independence of Lithuania was not recognized by the central government of the USSR and by almost all other countries. The Soviet government began an economic blockade of Lithuania, and later the troops were used.

Branch of Estonia.

In 1988, the Estonian Popular Front was formed, proclaiming the goal of restoring independence. In June 1988, the so-called. "Singing Revolution" - up to one hundred thousand people take part in the traditional festival on the Song Festival Grounds. March 23, 1990 The Estonian Communist Party leaves the CPSU.

On March 30, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Estonia declared the entry into the USSR in 1940 illegal, and began the process of transforming Estonia into an independent state.

Branch of Latvia.

In Latvia, in the period 1988-1990, the Popular Front of Latvia, which stands for independence, was strengthened, and the struggle against the Interfront, which advocated retaining membership in the USSR, was intensifying.

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

The peculiarity of the secession of Latvia and Estonia is that, unlike Lithuania and Georgia, before the complete collapse of the USSR, they declared not independence, but a "soft" "transitional process" to it, as well as the fact that, in order to gain control on their territory in the conditions of a relatively small relative majority of the titular population, republican citizenship was granted only to persons living in these republics at the time of their accession to the USSR, and their descendants.

The central union government undertook forceful attempts to suppress the achievement of independence by the Baltic republics. On January 13, 1991, a special forces detachment and the Alpha group stormed the TV tower in Vilnius and stopped the republican broadcasting. On March 11, 1991, the Committee for National Salvation of Lithuania was formed, troops were brought in. One of the most famous persons of the democratic movement of that time - St. Petersburg journalist Alexander Nevzorov, leading the popular program "600 seconds", covers events in Vilnius, approving the actions of special forces, the word "Nashi" is repeated many times in reports. On July 31, 1991, riot police clashed with Lithuanian border guards in Medininkai.

Branch of Georgia.

Beginning in 1989, a movement for secession from the USSR emerged in Georgia, which intensified against the background of the escalation of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. On April 9, 1989, clashes with troops with casualties among the local population take place in Tbilisi.

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

On April 9, 1991, the Supreme Soviet declared independence based on the results of a referendum. Georgia became the second of the union republics to declare independence, and one of the two that did so before the events of the Emergency Committee.

The autonomous republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which were part of Georgia, announced their non-recognition of Georgia's independence and their desire to remain part of the Union, and later formed unrecognized states.

Branch of Azerbaijan.

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

After the first anti-Armenian demonstrations in Baku sounded demands for independence, they were suppressed on January 20-21, 1990 by the Soviet Army.

Branch of Moldova.

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

October 1990 - clashes between Moldovans and Gagauz, a national minority in the south of the country.

June 23, 1990 Moldova declares its sovereignty. Moldova proclaims independence after the events of the State Emergency Committee - August 27, 1991.

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

Branch of Ukraine.

In September 1989, the movement of Ukrainian national democrats, the People's Movement of Ukraine (People's Movement of Ukraine), was founded, which participated in the elections on March 30, 1990 to the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Soviet) of Ukraine, and gained significant influence in it.

During the events of the Emergency Committee on August 24, 1991, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a declaration of independence.

Later in Crimea, thanks to the Russian-speaking majority of the population, who did not want to secede from Russia, the sovereignty of the Republic of Crimea was proclaimed for a short time.

Attempts to secede Tatarstan and Chechnya

Tatarstan on August 30, 1990 adopted the Declaration of Sovereignty, in which, unlike some union and almost all other autonomous Russian (except for Checheno-Ingushetia) republics, the republic's membership was not indicated either in the RSFSR or the USSR, and it was declared that as a sovereign state and subject international law it concludes treaties and alliances with Russia and other states. During the collapse of the USSR and later, Tatarstan, with the same wording, adopted declarations and resolutions on an act of independence and entry into the CIS, held a referendum, and adopted a constitution.

Similarly, membership in the RSFSR and the USSR was not indicated in the Declaration on the Sovereignty of the Chechen-Ingush Republic adopted on November 27, 1990. On June 8, 1991, the independence of the Chechen Republic of Nokhchi-cho, the Chechen part of the former Chechen-Ingushetia, was declared.

Later (in the spring of 1992) Tatarstan and Chechnya-Ichkeria (as well as Ingushetia) did not sign the Federal Treaty establishing a renewed Russian Federation.

1991 referendum on the preservation of the USSR

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

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

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

However, although in the referendum the overwhelming majority of votes were cast in favor of preserving the integrity of the USSR.

The role of the authorities of the RSFSR in the collapse of the Soviet Union

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

With the election of Boris Yeltsin as the head of these bodies of power, the RSFSR gradually took a course towards the proclamation of its own independence, and the recognition of the independence of the other union republics, which made it possible to remove Mikhail Gorbachev by dissolving all the all-union institutions that he could head.

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

January 12, 1991 Yeltsin signs an agreement with Estonia on the foundations of interstate relations, in which the RSFSR and Estonia recognize each other as sovereign states.

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

GKChP and its consequences

A number of statesmen and party leaders, in order to preserve the unity of the country, attempted a coup d'etat and the removal of those in power in the USSR and leading an anti-Soviet policy, actions directed against their own? the same people (GKChP, also known as the "August putsch" on August 19, 1991).

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

None of the republics fulfilled all the procedures prescribed by the USSR law of April 3, 1990 "On the procedure for resolving issues related to the secession of the union republic from the USSR." The State Council of the USSR (created on September 5, 1991, a body consisting of the heads of the union republics under the chairmanship of the President of the USSR) formally recognized the independence of only three Baltic republics (September 6, 1991, resolutions of the USSR State Council No. GS-1, GS-2, GS-3). On November 4, V.I.Ilyukhin opened a criminal case against Gorbachev under Article 64 of the RSFSR Criminal Code (treason to the Motherland) in connection with these resolutions of the State Council. According to Ilyukhin, Gorbachev, by signing them, violated the oath and the Constitution of the USSR and caused damage to the territorial inviolability and state security of the USSR. After that, Ilyukhin was dismissed from the USSR prosecutor's office. Which proves him right.

Signing of the Belovezhskaya agreements. Founding of the CIS

On December 8, 1991, the heads of the 3 republics - Belarus, Russia and Ukraine - at a meeting in Belovezhskaya Pushcha (Belarus) stated that the USSR was ceasing to exist, announced the impossibility of forming a JIT and signed an Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December 11, the USSR Constitutional Supervision Committee issued a statement condemning the Belovezhskaya Agreement. This statement had no practical consequences, since those in power were those who by their actions had already violated the Constitution of the USSR, went against the country, betrayed the interests of the state, which they had to defend, in fact, not fulfilling their official duties, and ultimately achieved its goal: the collapse of the USSR.

On December 16, the last republic of the USSR - Kazakhstan - proclaimed its independence. Thus, in the last 10 days of its existence, the USSR, which had not yet been abolished legally, was in fact a state without territory.

Completion of the disintegration. Liquidation of the power structures of the USSR

On December 25, the President of the USSR M.S.Gorbachev announced the termination of his activities as President of the USSR "for reasons of principle," nuclear weapons President of Russia Boris Yeltsin.

On December 26, the session of the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which retained a quorum - the Council of Republics (formed by the Law of the USSR dated 05.09.1991 N 2392-1) - from which at that time only representatives of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were not withdrawn, adopted under the chairmanship of A. Alimzhanov, Declaration No. 142-N on the termination of the existence of the USSR, as well as a number of other documents (resolution on the dismissal of judges of the Supreme and Supreme arbitration courts USSR and the USSR Prosecutor's Office collegiums (No. 143-N), resolutions on dismissing the chairman of the State Bank V.V. Gerashchenko (No. 144-N) and his first deputy V.N. Kulikov (No. 145-N)).

December 25 marks twenty years since the famous "abdication" of the first and last president of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, from power. But few people remember that a few days before that there was another speech by Gorbachev, in which the President of the USSR spoke firmly and decisively that he would protect the country from disintegration with all the means at his disposal.
Why did Mikhail Gorbachev refuse to defend the USSR and renounced power?

Was the USSR doomed or ruined? What caused the collapse of the USSR? Who is to blame for this?

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created in December 1922 by the unification of the RSFSR, the Ukrainian SSR, the BSSR and the ZSFSR. It was the largest country, occupying 1/6 of the earth's land mass. According to the agreement on December 30, 1922, the Union consisted of sovereign republics, each retained the right to freely withdraw from the Union, the right to enter into relations with foreign states, participate in the activities of international organizations.

Stalin warned that such a form of alliance was unreliable, but Lenin reassured: as long as there is a party that holds the country together like a reinforcement, the country's integrity is out of danger. But Stalin turned out to be more far-sighted.

On December 25-26, 1991, the USSR ceased to exist as a subject of international law.
This was preceded by the signing of an agreement on the establishment of the CIS on December 8, 1991 in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. The Belovezhskaya agreements did not dissolve the USSR, but only stated its actual disintegration by that time. Formally, Russia and Belarus did not proclaim independence from the USSR, but only recognized the fact of the termination of its existence.

The secession from the USSR was a collapse, since legally none of the republics fulfilled all the procedures prescribed by the law "On the procedure for resolving issues related to the secession of a union republic from the USSR."

The following reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union can be distinguished:
1 \ the totalitarian nature of the Soviet system, extinguishing individual initiative, lack of pluralism and real democratic civil liberties
2 \ imbalances in the planned economy of the USSR and a shortage of consumer goods
3 \ interethnic conflicts and corruption of elites
4 \ "cold war" and the US conspiracy to lower world oil prices in order to weaken the USSR
5\ Afghan war, man-made and other large-scale disasters
6 \ "sale" to the West of the "socialist camp"
7 \ subjective factor, expressed in the personal struggle of Gorbachev and Yeltsin for power.

When I served in the Northern Fleet, in those years of the Cold War, I myself guessed and explained through political information that the arms race serves not to defeat us in the war, but to economically undermine our state.
80% of the budgetary expenditures of the USSR went to defense. Alcohol was drunk more than under the king, about 3 times. The state budget received vodka every 6 rubles.
Perhaps the anti-alcohol campaign was and was needed, but as a result, the state did not receive 20 billion rubles.
In Ukraine alone, people have accumulated 120 billion rubles in savings books, which it was impossible to buy. It was necessary in any way to get rid of this burden on the economy, which was done.

The collapse of the USSR and the socialist system led to an imbalance and caused tectonic processes in the world. But it would be more correct to speak not about disintegration, but about the deliberate collapse of the country.

The collapse of the USSR was a Western Cold War project. And the Westerners successfully implemented this project - the USSR ceased to exist.
US President Reagan set himself the goal of defeating the "evil empire" - the USSR. To this end, he negotiated with Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices in order to undermine the economy of the USSR, which was almost entirely dependent on the sale of oil.
On September 13, 1985, Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Yamani said that Saudi Arabia was ending its policy of containing oil production and was beginning to regain its share of the oil market. Over the next 6 months, Saudi Arabia's oil production increased 3.5 times. After that, prices fell 6.1 times.

In the United States, in order to constantly monitor the development of events in the Soviet Union, the so-called "Center for the Study of the Course of Perestroika" was created. It included representatives of the CIA, DIA (military intelligence), the Intelligence and Research Directorate of the State Department.
US President George W. Bush said at the August 1992 Republican Party convention that the collapse of the Soviet Union was due to "the foresight and decisive leadership of presidents from both parties."

The ideology of communism turned out to be just a bogey of the Cold War. “They aimed at communism, but they hit the people,” admitted the famous sociologist Alexander Zinoviev.

“Whoever does not regret the collapse of the USSR has no heart. And those who want to restore the USSR have neither mind nor heart. " According to various sources, 52% of the respondents from Belarus, 68% from Russia and 59% from Ukraine regret the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Even Vladimir Putin admitted that “the collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. For the Russian people, it has become a real drama. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and compatriots found themselves outside the Russian territory. "

It is obvious that the chairman of the KGB Andropov was mistaken in choosing Gorbachev as his successor. Gorbachev failed to carry out economic reforms. In October 2009, in an interview with Radio Liberty, Mikhail Gorbachev admitted his responsibility for the collapse of the USSR: “This is a settled issue. Ruined ... "

Someone considers Gorbachev an outstanding figure of the era. He is credited with democratization and publicity. But these are only means of carrying out economic reforms that have never been implemented. The purpose of "perestroika" was the preservation of power, as well as the "thaw" of Khrushchev and the famous XX Congress to debunk Stalin's "personality cult".

The USSR could have been saved. But the ruling elite betrayed socialism, the communist idea, its people, exchanged power for money, Crimea for the Kremlin.
The "terminator" of the USSR Boris Yeltsin purposefully destroyed the Union, urging the republics to take as much sovereignty as they could.
Similarly, at the beginning of the 13th century in Kievan Rus appanage princes destroyed the country, placing the thirst for personal power above national interests.
In 1611, the same elite (boyars) sold out to the Poles, letting false Dmitry into the Kremlin, if only they would retain their privileges.

I remember Yeltsin's speech at the higher Komsomol school at the Central Committee of the Komsomol, which was his triumphant return to politics. Compared to Gorbachev's background, Yeltsin seemed consistent and decisive.

Greedy "young wolves", who no longer believed in any fairy tales about communism, began to destroy the system in order to get to the "feeding trough". It was for this that it was necessary to destroy the USSR and remove Gorbachev. To get unlimited power, almost all republics voted for the collapse of the USSR.

Stalin, of course, blew a lot, but did not allow the collapse of the country.
What is more important: human rights or the integrity of the country? If the collapse of the state is allowed, then it will be impossible to ensure the observance of human rights.
So either the dictatorship of a strong state, or pseudo-democracy and the collapse of the country.

For some reason, in Russia, the problem of a country's development is always a problem of the personal power of a particular ruler.
I happened to visit the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1989, and I noticed that all the talk was about the personal struggle between Yeltsin and Gorbachev. The employee of the Central Committee of the CPSU who invited me directly said: "the gentlemen are fighting, but the lads' foreheads are cracking."

The first official visit of Boris Yeltsin to the United States in 1989, Gorbachev regarded as a conspiracy to seize power from him.
Is it because, immediately after the signing of the agreement on the CIS, the first person Yeltsin called was not Gorbachev, but US President George W. Bush, who apparently promised in advance to recognize the independence of Russia.

The KGB knew about the West's plans for a controlled collapse of the USSR, reported to Gorbachev, but he did nothing. He has already received the Nobel Peace Prize.

They just bought the elite. The West bought the former secretaries of the regional committees with the presidential honors given to them.
In April 1996, I witnessed US President Clinton's visit to St. Petersburg, saw him near the Atlanteans near the Hermitage. Anatoly Sobchak got into Clinton's car.

I am against totalitarian and authoritarian government. But did Andrei Sakharov, who fought for the abolition of Article 6 of the Constitution, understand that the prohibition of the CPSU, which constituted the backbone of the state, would automatically lead to the collapse of the country into national appanage principalities?

At that time I published a lot in the domestic press, and in one of my articles in the St. Petersburg newspaper Smena I warned: "The main thing is to prevent confrontation." Alas, it was "a voice crying in the wilderness."

On July 29, 1991, a meeting of Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev took place in Novo-Ogaryovo, at which they agreed to begin signing a new union treaty on August 20, 1991. But those who led the Emergency Committee proposed their own plan to save the country. Gorbachev decided to leave for Foros, where he simply waited to join the winner. He knew everything, since the GKChP was formed by Gorbachev himself on March 28, 1991.

During the days of the August putsch, I rested in the Crimea next to Gorbachev - in Simeiz - and I remember everything well. The day before, I decided to buy an Oreanda stereo tape recorder in the local store, but they did not sell it using the checkbook of the USSR bank, due to the local restrictions at that time. On August 19, these restrictions were suddenly lifted, and on August 20, I was able to make a purchase. But on August 21, the restrictions were again introduced, apparently as a result of the victory of democracy.

The rampant nationalism in the union republics was explained by the reluctance of the local leaders to drown with Gorbachev, whose mediocrity in carrying out reforms was already understood by everyone.
In fact, it was about the need to remove Gorbachev from power. Both the top of the CPSU and the opposition leaders headed by Yeltsin aspired to this. The failure of Gorbachev was obvious to many. But he did not want to transfer power to Yeltsin.
That is why Yeltsin was not arrested, hoping that he would join the conspirators. But Yeltsin did not want to share power with anyone, he wanted complete autocracy, which was proved by the dissolution of the Supreme Soviet of Russia in 1993.

Alexander Rutskoi called the GKChP a "performance". While the defenders were dying on the streets of Moscow, the democratic elite held a banquet on the fourth underground floor of the White House.

The arrest of the GKChP members reminded me of the arrest of the members of the Provisional Government in October 1917, who were also soon released, because that was the "agreement" on the transfer of power.

The indecision of the GKChP can be explained by the fact that the "coup" was only a staging with the aim of "leaving nicely", taking with it the country's gold and foreign exchange reserves.

At the end of 1991, when the Democrats seized power and Russia became the legal successor of the USSR, Vnesheconombank had only $ 700 million in its account. The liabilities of the former Soviet Union were estimated at $ 93.7 billion, assets at $ 110.1 billion.

The logic of the reformers Gaidar and Yeltsin was simple. They calculated that Russia can survive thanks to the oil pipe only if it refuses to feed its allies.
The new rulers had no money, and they devalued the monetary deposits of the population. The loss of 10% of the country's population as a result of shock reforms was recognized as acceptable.

But it was not economic factors that dominated. If private property were allowed, the USSR would not have collapsed. The reason is different: the elite stopped believing in the socialist idea and decided to cash out their privileges.

The people were a pawn in the struggle for power. Commodity and food shortages were created deliberately in order to displease people and thereby destroy the state. Trains with meat and butter stood on the tracks near the capital, but they were not allowed into Moscow in order to displease Gorbachev's government.
It was a war for power, where the people served as a bargaining chip.

The conspirators in Belovezhskaya Pushcha were not thinking about preserving the country, but about how to get rid of Gorbachev and get unlimited power.
Gennady Burbulis - the one who proposed the formulation of the termination of the USSR as a geopolitical reality - later called the collapse of the USSR "a great disaster and tragedy."

Vyacheslav Kebich, co-author of the Belovezhskaya Agreements (in 1991, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus), admitted: “If I were Gorbachev, I would send a group of riot police and we would all sit quietly in Matrosskaya Tishina and await amnesty.”

But Gorbachev only thought about what position he would be left in the CIS.
And it was necessary, without hiding his head in the sand, to fight for the territorial integrity of our state.
If Gorbachev had been elected by the people and not by the deputies of the congress, it would have been more difficult to deprive him of his legitimacy. But he was afraid that the people would not elect him.
In the end, Gorbachev could have transferred power to Yeltsin, and the USSR would have survived. But, apparently, pride did not allow. As a result, the struggle between the two vanities led to the collapse of the country.

If it were not for Yeltsin's maniacal desire to seize power and topple Gorbachev, to avenge his humiliation, then one could still hope for something. But Yeltsin could not forgive Gorbachev for public discrediting, and when he “knocked down” Gorbachev, he gave him a humiliatingly low pension.

We have often been told that the people are the source of power and the driving force of history. But life shows that sometimes it is the personality of this or that political figure that determines the course of history.
The collapse of the USSR is largely the result of the conflict between Yeltsin and Gorbachev.
Who is more to blame for the collapse of the country: Gorbachev, unable to retain power, or Yeltsin, unrestrainedly striving for power?

At the referendum on March 17, 1991, 78% of citizens spoke in favor of preserving the renewed union. But did the politicians listen to the opinion of the people? No, they were pursuing personal selfish interests.
Gorbachev said one thing and did another, gave orders and pretended not to know anything.

For some reason, in Russia, the problems of the country's development have always been the problem of the personal power of a particular ruler. Stalin's terror, Khrushchev's thaw, Brezhnev's stagnation, Gorbachev's perestroika, Yeltsin's collapse ...
In Russia, a change in political and economic course is always associated with a change in the personality of the ruler. Is it because of this there is a desire among terrorists to overthrow the leader of the state in the hope of a change in course.

Tsar Nicholas II would listen to the advice of smart people, share power, make the monarchy constitutional, live like a Swedish king, and his children would now live, and not die in terrible agony at the bottom of the mine.

But history teaches no one. Since the time of Confucius, it has been known that officials need to be examined for office. And we appoint. Why? Because it is not the professional qualities of an official that are important, but personal loyalty to the authorities. And why? Because the boss is not interested in success, but primarily in maintaining his position.

The main thing for a ruler is to maintain personal power. Because if power is taken away from him, then he will not be able to do anything. No one has ever voluntarily renounced their privileges, did not recognize someone else's superiority. A ruler cannot simply give up power himself, he is a slave to power!

Churchill compared power to a drug. In fact, power is about maintaining control and management. And whether it is a monarchy or a democracy is not so important. Democracy and dictatorship are just the way to most effectively achieve the desired goals.

But the question is: democracy for the people or the people for democracy?
Representative democracy is in crisis. But direct democracy is no better.
Management is a complex activity. There will always be those who want and can manage and make decisions (rulers), and those who are happy to be the executor.

According to the philosopher Boris Mezhuev, "democracy is the organized distrust of the people in the authorities."
Managed democracy is being replaced by post-democracy.

When they say that the people were wrong, then those who think so are wrong. Because only the speaker like that definitely doesn't know the people he thinks about. People are not that stupid in their mass, and they are not cattle at all.

In relation to our soldiers and athletes, and all others who fought for the victory of our country and its flag with tears in their eyes, the destruction of the USSR was a real betrayal!

Gorbachev "voluntarily" renounced power not because the people abandoned the USSR, but because the West abandoned Gorbachev. "The Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave ..."

Personally, I support the trial of former politicians: French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Chilean dictator Pinochet and others.

Why is there still no trial over those who are guilty of the collapse of the USSR?
The people have the right and MUST know who is to blame for the destruction of the country.
It is the ruling elite that is responsible for the collapse of the country!

I was recently invited to a regular meeting of the seminar "Russian Thought" in the Russian Christian Humanitarian Academy in St. Petersburg. Vladimir Alexandrovich Gutorov, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Political Science Department of the Philosophical Faculty of St. Petersburg State University, made a report on the USSR as a Civilization.
Professor Gutorov V.A. believes that the USSR is the only country where the elite conducted an experiment, destroying their own people. It ended in complete disaster. And we are now living in a catastrophic situation.

Nikolai Berdyaev, when he was interrogated by F. Dzerzhinsky, said that Russian communism is a punishment to the Russian people for all those sins and abominations that the Russian elite and the renegade Russian intelligentsia have done over the past decades.
In 1922, Nikolai Berdyaev was expelled from Russia on the so-called "philosophical steamer".

The most conscientious representatives of the Russian elite who found themselves in exile admitted their guilt for the revolution.
But does our current "elite" really recognize its responsibility for the collapse of the USSR? ..

Was the USSR a civilization? Or was it an unprecedented social experiment?

The signs of civilization are as follows:
1 \ The USSR was an empire, and an empire is a sign of civilization.
2 \ The civilization is distinguished by a high level of education and a high technical base, which obviously existed in the USSR.
3 \ Civilization forms a special psychological type, which takes about 10 generations. But over 70 years of Soviet power, it could not develop.
4 \ One of the hallmarks of civilization is beliefs. The USSR had its own belief in communism.

Even the ancient Greeks noticed the cyclical nature of the alternation of forms of power: aristocracy - democracy - tyranny - aristocracy ... For two thousand years, mankind has not been able to come up with anything new.
History knows numerous social experiences of people's democracy. The socialist experiment will inevitably repeat itself. It is already being repeated in China, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela and other countries.

The USSR was an unprecedented social experiment, but the experiment turned out to be unviable.
The point is that justice and social equity conflict with economic efficiency. Where the main thing is profit, there is no place for justice. But it is inequality and competition that make society efficient.

Once I saw two men, one of whom was digging a hole, and the other was digging a hole after him. I asked what they were doing. And they answered that the third worker, who was planting trees, had not come.

The specificity of our mentality is that we do not see happiness in progress and do not strive for development as a Western person. We are more inclined to contemplation. Our national hero Ivan the Fool (Oblomov) lies on the stove and dreams of a kingdom. And he gets up only when he wants to.
We develop from time to time only under the pressure of the vital necessity of survival.

This is reflected in our Orthodox faith, which evaluates a person not by deeds, but by faith. Catholicism speaks of personal responsibility for choice and encourages activity. And with us everything is determined by providence and the grace of God, which is incomprehensible.

Russia is not just a territory, it is an Idea! Regardless of the name - USSR, SSG, CIS or Eurasian Union.
The Russian idea is simple: you can only be saved together! Therefore, the revival of great Russia in one form or another is inevitable. In our harsh climatic conditions what is needed is not competition, but cooperation, not rivalry, but community. And that's why external conditions will inevitably restore the union form of government.

The USSR as an Idea in one form or another is inevitable. The fact that the communist idea is not utopian and quite realistic is proved by the successes of communist China, which has managed to become a superpower, overtaking unprincipled Russia.

The ideas of social justice, equality and fraternity are ineradicable. Perhaps they are embedded in human consciousness as a matrix that periodically tries to come true.

What is wrong with the ideas of freedom, equality and brotherhood, universal happiness of people, regardless of religion and nationality?
These ideas will never die, they are eternal because they are true. Their truth lies in the fact that they correctly grasp the essence of human nature.
Only those ideas are eternal that are consonant with the thoughts and feelings of living people. After all, if they find a response in the souls of millions, it means that there is something in these ideas. People cannot be united by someone's one truth, because everyone sees the truth in his own way. All at the same time cannot be delusional. An idea is true if it reflects the truths of many people. Only such ideas find a place in the recesses of the soul. And whoever guesses what is hidden in the souls of millions will lead them along. "
LOVE TO CREATE A NECESSITY!
(from my novel "A strange strange strange strange unusual stranger" on the site New Russian Literature

And in your opinion, WHY DIED THE USSR?