The collapse of the USSR in 1991 was the result of the process of systemic disintegration (destruction) that took place in its socio-political sphere, social structure and national economy. As a state, it officially ceased to exist on the basis of an agreement signed on December 8 by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, but the events preceding that began in January. Let's try to restore them in chronological order.
The beginning of the end of a great empire
The first link in the chain of events that gave rise to the political crisis of 1991 and the collapse of the USSR was the events that began in Lithuania after M.S. Gorbachev, who was then president of the Soviet Union, demanded that the government of the republic restore the previously suspended operation of the Soviet Constitution on its territory. His appeal, sent on January 10, was reinforced by the introduction of an additional contingent of internal troops, blocking a number of important public centers in Vilnius.
Three days later, a statement was published by the National Salvation Committee created in Lithuania, in which its members expressed support for the actions of the republican authorities. In response to this, on the night of January 14, the units airborne troops the Vilnius television center was occupied.
First blood
The events became especially acute on December 20, after OMON units arrived from Moscow began to seize the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Lithuania, and as a result of the exchange of fire, four people were killed and about ten were injured. This first blood spilled on the streets of Vilnius served as a detonator for the social explosion that resulted in the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
The actions of the central authorities, trying to restore control over the Baltic states by force, led to the most negative consequences for them. Gorbachev has become the target of sharp criticism from representatives of both the Russian and regional democratic opposition. Protesting against the use of military force in relation to civilians, E. Primakov, L. Abalkin, A. Yakovlev and a number of other former associates of Gorbachev resigned.
The response of the Lithuanian government to Moscow's actions was a referendum on the republic's secession from the USSR, held on February 9, during which over 90% of its participants voted for independence. This can be rightfully called the beginning of the process that resulted in the collapse of the USSR in 1991.
An attempt to revive the Union Treaty and the triumph of B.N. Yeltsin
The next stage in the general chain of events was the referendum held in the country on March 17 of the same year. On it, 76% of the citizens of the USSR spoke in favor of preserving the Union in a renewed form, and the introduction of the post of President of Russia. In this regard, in April 1991, at the presidential residence Novo-Ogaryovo, negotiations began between the heads of the republics that were part of the USSR, on the conclusion of a new Union Treaty. They were chaired by M.S. Gorbachev.
In accordance with the results of the referendum, the first in the history of Russia was won by B.N. Yeltsin, confidently ahead of the rest of the candidates, among whom were such well-known politicians as V.V. Zhirinovsky, N.I. Ryzhkov, A.M. Tuleyev, V.V. Bakatin and General A.M. Makashov.
Finding a compromise
In 1991, the collapse of the USSR was preceded by a very complex and lengthy process of redistribution of power between the Union center and its republican branches. The need for it was due precisely to the establishment of the presidential post in Russia and the election of B.N. Yeltsin.
This greatly complicated the drafting of a new union treaty, the signing of which was scheduled for August 22. It was known in advance that a compromise was being prepared, providing for the transfer to individual subjects of the federation wide range powers, and leaving Moscow to decide only the most important issues, such as defense, internal affairs, finances and a number of others.
The main initiators of the creation of the State Emergency Committee
In these conditions, the August events of 1991 significantly accelerated the collapse of the USSR. They went down in the history of the country as the putsch of the State Emergency Committee (State Committee for a State of Emergency), or a failed coup attempt. It was initiated by politicians who previously held high government posts and were extremely interested in preserving the previous regime. Among them were G.I. Yanaev, B.K. Pugo, D.T. Yazov, V.A. Kryuchkov and a number of others. Their photo is shown below. The committee was established by them in the absence of the President of the USSR - M.S. Gorbachev, who was at that time at the government dacha "Foros" in Crimea.
Emergency measures
Immediately after the establishment of the State Emergency Committee, it was announced that its members had taken a number of emergency measures, such as the introduction of a state of emergency in a large part of the country and the abolition of all newly formed power structures, the creation of which was not provided for by the Constitution of the USSR. In addition, the activities of opposition parties were prohibited, as well as the holding of demonstrations and rallies. In addition, it was announced about the economic reforms being prepared in the country.
The August 1991 putsch and the collapse of the USSR began with the order of the State Emergency Committee on the introduction of troops into the largest cities of the country, among which was Moscow. This extreme, and, as practice has shown, a very unreasonable measure, was taken by the members of the committee to intimidate the people and give their statement more weight. However, they achieved just the opposite result.
The inglorious end of the putsch
Taking the initiative into their own hands, representatives of the opposition organized rallies of thousands in a number of cities of the country. More than half a million people took part in them in Moscow. In addition, the opponents of the GKChP managed to win over the command of the Moscow garrison to their side and thereby deprive the putschists of their main support.
The next stage of the coup and the collapse of the USSR (1991) was the trip of the members of the State Emergency Committee to Crimea, undertaken by them on August 21. Having lost the last hope to take control of the actions of the opposition led by B.N. Yeltsin, they went to Foros for talks with MS. Gorbachev, who, on their orders, was isolated from the outside world there and in fact was in the position of a hostage. However, the very next day, all the organizers of the coup were arrested and taken to the capital. Following them, M.S. Gorbachev.
Last Efforts to Preserve the Union
This is how the coup d'etat of 1991 was prevented. The collapse of the USSR was inevitable, but there were still attempts to preserve at least part of the former empire. To this end, M.S. When drafting a new union treaty, Gorbachev made significant and previously unforeseen concessions in favor of the union republics, endowing their governments with even greater powers.
In addition, he was forced to officially recognize the independence of the Baltic states, which actually launched the mechanism of the collapse of the USSR. In 1991, Gorbachev also made an attempt to form a qualitatively new democratic union government. Democrats popular among the people, such as V.V. Bakatin, E.A. Shevardnadze and their supporters.
Realizing that in the current political situation it is impossible to preserve the old structure of the state, in September they began to prepare an agreement on the creation of a new confederal Union, into which the former were to enter as independent subjects. However, the work on this document was not destined to be completed. On December 1, a nationwide referendum was held in Ukraine, and on the basis of its results, the republic seceded from the USSR, thereby canceling Moscow's plans to create a confederation.
Belovezhskaya Agreement, which marked the beginning of the creation of the CIS
The final collapse of the USSR took place in 1991. Its legal basis was the agreement concluded on December 8 at the government hunting dacha "Viskuli", located in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, from which it got its name. Based on the document signed by the heads of Belarus (S. Shushkevich), Russia (B. Yeltsin) and Ukraine (L. Kravchuk), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was formed, which put an end to the existence of the USSR. The photo is shown above.
Following this, eight more republics of the former Soviet Union joined the agreement concluded between Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. the document was signed by the heads of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The leaders of the Baltic republics greeted the news of the collapse of the USSR with approval, but refrained from joining the CIS. Georgia, headed by Z. Gamsakhurdia, followed their example, but soon after, as a result of the coup d'état that took place in it, EA came to power. Shevardnadze also joined the newly formed Commonwealth.
President out of work
The conclusion of the Belovezhskaya Agreement caused an extremely negative reaction from M.S. Gorbachev, who until then held the post of President of the USSR, but after the August putsch was deprived of real power. Nevertheless, historians note that there is a significant share of his personal guilt in the events that have taken place. No wonder B.N. Yeltsin said in one of his interviews that the agreement signed in Belovezhskaya Pushcha did not destroy the USSR, but merely stated this long-standing fact.
Since the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the post of its president was abolished as well. In this regard, on December 25, Mikhail Sergeevich, who remained out of work, submitted a letter of resignation from his high post. They say that when he came to the Kremlin two days later to pick up his belongings, he was already in full control of the office he had previously owned. new president Russia - B.N. Yeltsin. I had to put up with it. Time was moving inexorably forward, opening another stage in the life of the country and making history the collapse of the USSR in 1991, which is briefly described in this article.
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 through 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 this 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 proved to be more far-sighted.
December 25-26, 1991 the USSR as a subject international law ceased to exist.
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 its termination.
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, the absence 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 agreed with Saudi Arabia on lowering oil prices 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 Office of Intelligence and Research 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 ended up among 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 surveyed residents of Belarus regret the collapse of the Soviet Union, 68% - Russia and 59% - Ukraine.
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". For this 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 CIS treaty, 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, Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev met in Novo-Ogaryovo, at which they agreed to start 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. Liabilities 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, but 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 a position. 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!
Recently I was invited to a regular meeting of the Russian Thought seminar at the Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities in St. Petersburg. Doctor of Philosophy, Professor of the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy of St. Petersburg state university Vladimir Alexandrovich Gutorov.
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's 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 is 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 KINDED THE USSR?
© Nikolay Kofyrin - New Russian Literature -
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 are excessive bureaucratization, plan inflexibility, and 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 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, the top management is just beginning 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 authorities collapsed, the country was on the brink 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 memorize historical events, how to solve the USE tests in history, 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.
Recruitment for courses is carried out all year round, we guarantee an individual approach and that, having mastered all our recommendations, you will not only pass the USE in history above 90 points, but also enter a higher educational institution on a budget.
GO TO THE PAGE OF TRAINING COURSES = >>
Best regards, Andrey Puchkov
The end of the existence of the USSR (Belovezhskaya Pushcha)
held in secret from the Soviet president, the leaders of the three Slavic republics B.N. Yeltsin(Russia), L.M. Kravchuk(Ukraine), S.S. Shushkevich(Belarus) announced termination action of the union treaty of 1922 and the creation CIS- Commonwealth Independent States... V separately the interstate agreement said: “We, the leaders of the Republic of Belarus, the RSFSR, Ukraine, noting that negotiations on the preparation of a new Union Treaty have reached a dead end, the objective process of the republics' secession from the USSR and the formation of independent states has become a reality ... we declare the formation Commonwealth of Independent States, about which the parties signed an agreement on December 8, 1991 ”. The three leaders said in a statement that “the Commonwealth of Independent States within the republic Belarus, RSFSR, Ukraine is open for accession by all member states of the USSR, as well as for other states that share the goals and principles of this Agreement ”.
On December 21, at a meeting in Alma-Ata, to which the Soviet president was not invited, eleven former Soviet republics, now independent states, announced the creation of a Commonwealth with predominantly coordinating functions and without any legislative, executive or judicial powers.
Assessing these events later, the former president of the USSR said that he believed that in the question of the fate of the USSR, some were in favor of preserving the union state, taking into account its deep reform, transformation into a Union of Sovereign States, while others were against. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, behind the back of the President of the USSR and the Parliament of the country, all opinions were crossed out, and the USSR was destroyed.
From the point of view of economic and political expediency, it is difficult to understand why the former Soviet republics needed to “burn to the ground” all state and economic ties, but one should not forget that in addition to the clearly manifested processes of national self-determination in the Soviet republics there was a fact power struggle... And this fact played an important role in the decision of B.N. Yeltsin, L.M. Kravchuk and S.S. Shushkevich, adopted in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the termination of the Union Treaty of 1922. The collapse of the USSR drew a line under the Soviet period of modern Russian history.
The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the most impressive geopolitical situation since World War II. In fact, it was real geopolitical disaster, the consequences of which are still reflected in the economy, politics and social sphere of all the former republics of the Soviet Union.
Borders of the Russian Federation by the end of 1991TASS-DOSSIER / Kirill Titov /. Formed in 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was created by the leadership of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) as the basis for the future world revolution. The declaration on its formation said that the Union would become "a decisive step towards uniting the working people of all countries into the World Socialist Soviet Republic."
To attract as many socialist republics as possible to the USSR, the first Soviet constitution (and all subsequent ones) assigned each of them the right to freely secede from the Soviet Union. In particular, in the last Basic Law of the USSR - the Constitution of 1977 - this norm was enshrined in Article 72. Since 1956, 15 union republics were part of the Soviet state.
Causes of the collapse of the USSR
From a legal point of view, the USSR was an asymmetric federation (its subjects had a different status) with elements of a confederation. At the same time, the union republics were in an unequal position. In particular, the RSFSR did not have its own Communist Party, Academy of Sciences; the republic was also the main donor of financial, material and human resources for the rest of the Union.
The unity of the Soviet state system was ensured by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). It was built on a rigid hierarchical principle and duplicated everything government bodies Union. In Article 6 of the Basic Law of the USSR of 1977, the Communist Party was assigned the status of "the leading and guiding force of Soviet society, the nucleus of its political system, state and public organizations."
By the 1980s. The USSR found itself in a state of systemic crisis. A significant part of the population lost faith in the dogmas of the officially declared communist ideology. The economic and technological lag of the USSR from the Western states was manifested. As a result of the national policy of the Soviet government, independent national elites were formed in the union and autonomous republics of the USSR.
An attempt to reform the political system during perestroika 1985-1991. led to the aggravation of all existing contradictions. In 1988-1990 on the initiative general secretary The CPSU Central Committee of Mikhail Gorbachev significantly weakened the role of the CPSU.
In 1988, the reduction of the party apparatus began, and a reform of the electoral system was carried out. In 1990, the constitution was changed, Article 6 was eliminated, as a result of which the CPSU was completely separated from the state. At the same time, inter-republican relations were not revised, which led, against the background of the weakening of party structures, to a sharp increase in separatism of the union republics.
According to a number of researchers, one of the key decisions during this period was Mikhail Gorbachev's refusal to equalize the status of the RSFSR with other republics. As the assistant secretary general Anatoly Chernyaev recalled, Gorbachev was "ironically" opposed to the creation of the RSFSR Communist Party and the granting of full-fledged status to the Russian republic. "Such a measure, according to a number of historians, could contribute to the unification of Russian and union structures and ultimately preserve a single state.
Interethnic clashes
During the years of perestroika, interethnic relations in the USSR sharply deteriorated. In 1986, major interethnic clashes took place in Yakutsk and Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR, now Kazakhstan). In 1988, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began, during which the Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan SSR. This was followed by the Armenian-Azerbaijani armed conflict. In 1989, clashes began in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Moldova, South Ossetia and others. By the middle of 1990, more than 600 thousand citizens of the USSR had become refugees or forced migrants.
"Parade of sovereignties"
In 1988, the independence movement unfolded in the Baltics. It was led by the "popular fronts" - mass movements created with the permission of the allied authorities in support of perestroika.
On November 16, 1988, the Supreme Council (SC) of the Estonian SSR adopted a declaration on the state sovereignty of the republic and amended the republican constitution, which made it possible to suspend the operation of union laws on the territory of the Estonian SSR. On May 26 and July 28, 1989, similar acts were adopted by the Armed Forces of the Lithuanian and Latvian SSR. On March 11 and 30, 1990, the Lithuanian and Estonian Armed Forces adopted laws on the restoration of their own independent states, and on May 4 the same act was approved by the Latvian parliament.
On September 23, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a constitutional law on the state sovereignty of the republic. During 1990, similar acts were adopted by all other union republics.
Law on the secession of the union republics from the USSR
On April 3, 1990, the USSR Armed Forces adopted a law "On the procedure for resolving issues related to the secession of the union republic from the USSR." According to the document, such a decision was to be made through a referendum called by the local legislature. At the same time, in the union republic, which included autonomous republics, regions and districts, a plebiscite was to be held separately for each autonomy.
The decision to withdraw was considered competent if it was supported by at least two-thirds of the voters. The issues of the status of allied military facilities, enterprises, financial and credit relations of the republic with the center were subject to settlement during a transitional period of five years. In practice, the provisions of this law have not been implemented.
Proclamation of the sovereignty of the RSFSR
The Declaration on State Sovereignty of the RSFSR was adopted on June 12, 1990 by the 1st Congress of People's Deputies of the Republic. In the second half of 1990, the leadership of the RSFSR, headed by the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Boris Yeltsin, significantly expanded the powers of the government, ministries and departments of the RSFSR. Enterprises, branches of union banks, etc., located on its territory, were declared the property of the republic.
The declaration of sovereignty of Russia was adopted not in order to destroy the Union, but to stop the withdrawal of autonomies from the RSFSR. The plan of autonomization was developed by the Central Committee of the CPSU in order to weaken the RSFSR and Yeltsin, and assumed the endowment of all autonomies with the status of union republics. For the RSFSR, this meant the loss of half of the territory, almost 20 million of the population and most of the natural resources.
Sergey Shakhrai
in 1991 - advisor to Boris Yeltsin
On December 24, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a law according to which the Russian authorities could suspend the Union acts "if they violate the sovereignty of the RSFSR." It was also envisaged that all decisions of the authorities of the USSR enter into force on the territory of the Russian republic only after their ratification by the Supreme Soviet. At a referendum on March 17, 1991, the post of president of the republic was introduced in the RSFSR (on June 12, 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected by him). In May 1991, its own special service was created - the State Security Committee (KGB) of the RSFSR.
New Union Treaty
At the last, XXVIII Congress of the CPSU on July 2-13, 1990, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev announced the need to sign a new Union Treaty. On December 3, 1990, the USSR Armed Forces supported the project proposed by Gorbachev. The document provided for a new concept of the USSR: each republic that was part of it received the status of a sovereign state. The Union authorities retained a narrow scope of powers: organizing defense and ensuring state security, developing and implementing foreign policy, strategies for economic development, etc.
On December 17, 1990, at the IV Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev proposed "holding a referendum throughout the country so that every citizen speaks for or against the Union of Sovereign States on a federal basis." Nine of the 15 union republics took part in the voting on March 17, 1991: the RSFSR, the Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Uzbek, Azerbaijan, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Tajik and Turkmen SSRs. The authorities of Armenia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova and Estonia refused to hold the vote. The referendum was attended by 80% of citizens who had the right to do so. 76.4% of voters supported the preservation of the Union, 21.7% were against.
As a result of the plebiscite, a new draft of the Union Treaty was developed. On its basis, from April 23 to July 23, 1991, at the residence of the President of the USSR in Novo-Ogarevo, negotiations were held between Mikhail Gorbachev and the presidents of nine of the 15 Union republics (RSFSR, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Azerbaijan, Tajik, Kyrgyz and Turkmen SSR) on the creation of the Union of Sovereign States. They received the name "Novo-Ogarevsky process". According to the agreement, the abbreviation "USSR" in the name of the new federation was to be retained, but deciphered as "Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics". In July 1991, the negotiators approved the draft treaty as a whole and appointed its signing at the time of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR in September-October 1991.
On July 29-30, Mikhail Gorbachev held closed meetings with the leaders of the RSFSR and KazSSR Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev, during which he agreed to postpone the signing of the document until August 20. The decision was prompted by fears that the USSR people's deputies would vote against the treaty, which implied the creation of a de facto confederal state, in which most of the powers were transferred to the republics. Gorbachev also agreed to dismiss a number of top leaders of the USSR who had a negative attitude towards the "Novo-Ogarev process", in particular, Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Yanayev, Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov, and others.
On August 2, Gorbachev spoke on Central Television, where he said that on August 20, the RSFSR, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan would sign a new Union Treaty, and the rest of the republics would do it "at regular intervals." The text of the treaty for national discussion was published only on August 16, 1991.
August putsch
On the night of August 18-19, a group of eight senior leaders of the USSR (Gennady Yanaev, Valentin Pavlov, Dmitry Yazov, Vladimir Kryuchkov, etc.) formed the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP).
In order to prevent the signing of the Union Treaty, which, in their opinion, would lead to the collapse of the USSR, the members of the State Emergency Committee tried to remove the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev from power and introduced a state of emergency in the country. However, the leaders of the State Emergency Committee did not dare to use force. On August 21, the vice-president of the USSR, Yanaev, signed a decree on the dissolution of the State Emergency Committee and the invalidity of all its decisions. On the same day, the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin issued an act on the abolition of the orders of the State Emergency Committee, and the prosecutor of the republic, Valentin Stepankov, issued an order to arrest its members.
Dismantling of state structures of the USSR
After the August events of 1991, the union republics, whose leaders participated in the negotiations in Novo-Ogarevo, declared their independence (on August 24 - Ukraine, on the 30th - Azerbaijan, on the 31st - Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the rest - in September-December 1991 G.). On August 23, 1991, the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin signed a decree "On the suspension of the activities of the Communist Party of the RSFSR", all the property of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR on the territory of Russia was nationalized. On August 24, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
On September 2, 1991, the Izvestia newspaper published a statement by the President of the USSR and the top leaders of 10 union republics. It spoke of the need to "prepare and sign by all willing republics a Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States," and create union coordinating governing bodies for a "transitional period."
On September 2–5, 1991, the V Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR (the highest authority in the country) was held in Moscow. On the last day of the meetings, the law "On the State Power Bodies and Administration of the USSR in the Transition Period" was adopted, according to which the Congress dissolved itself, all the fullness of state power was transferred to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The State Council of the USSR was established as a temporary body of the highest union administration, "for a coordinated solution of issues of domestic and foreign policy," consisting of the President of the USSR and the heads of the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan. At the meetings of the State Council, the discussion of the new Union Treaty continued, which in the end was never signed.
The law also abolished the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, abolished the post of Vice President of the Soviet Union. The inter-republican economic committee (MEK) of the USSR, headed by the former chairman of the government of the RSFSR Ivan Silaev, became the equivalent of the union government. The activities of the IEC on the territory of the RSFSR were terminated on December 19, 1991, its structures were finally liquidated on January 2, 1992.
On September 6, 1991, in contradiction with the existing Constitution of the USSR and the law on the secession of the union republics from the Union, the State Council recognized the independence of the Baltic republics.
On October 18, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev and the leaders of eight union republics (excluding Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Azerbaijan) signed the Treaty on the Economic Community of Sovereign States. The document recognized that "independent states" are "former subjects of the USSR"; assumed the division of the all-Union gold reserve, Diamond and monetary fund; preservation of the ruble as a common currency, with the possibility of introducing national currencies; liquidation of the State Bank of the USSR, etc.
On October 22, 1991, the USSR State Council issued a decree to abolish the allied KGB. On its basis, it was ordered to create the Central Intelligence Service (CSR) of the USSR ( foreign intelligence, on the basis of the First Main Directorate), the Inter-Republican Security Service (internal security) and the Committee for the Protection of the State Border. The KGB of the union republics were transferred "to the exclusive jurisdiction of sovereign states." Finally, the all-union special service was liquidated on December 3, 1991.
On November 14, 1991, the State Council adopted a resolution on the liquidation of all ministries and other central bodies government controlled USSR since December 1, 1991. On the same day, the heads of seven union republics (Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, RSFSR, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to sign a new Union treaty on December 9, according to which the Union of Sovereign States will be formed as a "confederate democratic state". Azerbaijan and Ukraine refused to enter it.
Liquidation of the USSR and creation of the CIS
On December 1, a referendum on independence was held in Ukraine (90.32% of those who took part in the vote were in favor). On December 3, the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin announced the recognition of this decision.
Even already in Viskuli, even two hours before the signing of what we signed, I did not feel that the USSR would be scrapped. I lived within the framework of the myth of the great Soviet empire. I understood that if there was nuclear weapons no one will attack the USSR. And without such an attack, nothing will happen. I thought the transformation of the political system would be much smoother.
Stanislav Shushkevich
1991 - Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR
On December 8, 1991, the leaders of the RSFSR, Ukraine and Belarus Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich at the Viskuli government residence (Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus) signed an Agreement on the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the dissolution of the USSR. On December 10, the document was ratified by the Supreme Councils of Ukraine and Belarus. On December 12, the Russian parliament adopted a similar act. According to the document, the sphere of joint activities of the CIS members included: coordination foreign policy; cooperation in the formation and development of a common economic space, common European and Eurasian markets, in the field of customs policy; cooperation in the field of environmental protection; migration policy issues; the fight against organized crime.
On December 21, 1991, in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), 11 leaders of the former Soviet republics signed a declaration on the goals and principles of the CIS, and its foundations. The declaration confirmed the Belovezhsky agreement, indicating that with the formation of the CIS, the USSR ceases to exist.
On December 25, 1991 at 19:00 Moscow time, Mikhail Gorbachev appeared on the air of Central Television and announced the termination of his activities as President of the USSR. On the same day, the state flag of the USSR was lowered from the flagpole of the Moscow Kremlin and the state flag of the Russian Federation was raised.
On December 26, 1991, the Council of Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a declaration stating that in connection with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States Soviet Union as a state and a subject of international law ceases to exist. "
