The break-up of the USSR and the resurgence of national identities
The break-up of the USSR and the resurgence of national identities
The resurgence of national identities in the USSR: the case of the Baltic States
Cartoon by Opland on the Baltic States (27 October 1988)
ImageIn October 1988, Opland, Dutch cartoonist, depicts the first signs of political protest shown by the three Baltic States — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — against Moscow.
Demonstration in favour of greater independence for Estonia in the Soviet Union (Tallinn, 16 November 1988)
ImageOn 16 November 1988, the Estonian people take to the streets of Tallinn to call for greater independence for Estonia in the Soviet Union.
‘Gorbachev makes it easier' from Der Spiegel (11 September 1989)
TextOn 11 September 1989, Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland, grants to the German weekly magazine Der Spiegel an interview in which he analyses relations between the Baltic States and the European Community.
Letter from Jacques F. Poos to Edward Shevardnadze (Luxembourg, 13 January 1991)
TextOn 13 January 1991, Jacques F. Poos, Luxembourg Foreign Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, writes a letter to Edward Shevardnadze, Foreign Minister of the USSR, in which he condemns the Soviet attack at the Lithuanian television station in Vilnius.
Declaration by the Twelve on the Baltic States (Brussels, 14 January 1991)
TextOn 14 January 1991, at an extraordinary meeting of Ministers in Brussels on European Political Cooperation (EPC), the Twelve adopt a joint declaration in which they condemn the Soviet military intervention in Lithuania.
‘Coup de grâce for perestroika’ from Le Monde (15 January 1991)
TextOn 15 January 1991, commenting on the Soviet military intervention in Lithuania, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the limits of the Soviet Union’s policy of openness.
Demonstration for the independence of the Baltic States (Stockholm, 18 March 1991)
ImageOn 18 March 1991, the Swedish people take to the streets in Stockholm in support of the independence of the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania).
Vytautas Landsbergis (Strasbourg, 9 July 1990)
ImageBorn in 1932 in Kaunas, Vytautas Landsbergis, former opponent of the Soviet Communist regime in Lithuania and founder of Sajudis, the pro-independence movement, was President of Lithuania from 1990 to 1992 and Chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament from 1992 to 1996. He has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2004.
Vytautas Landsbergis and Enrique Barón Crespo (Strasbourg, 9 July 1991)
ImageOn 9 July 1991, during his meeting with Vytautas Landsbergis, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania, Enrique Barón Crespo, President of the European Parliament, guarantees European Community support for Lithuania’s ambition for independence.
‘The Baltic States prepare to form governments in exile' from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (21 August 1991)
TextOn 21 August 1991, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes how the Baltic States intend to form governments in exile if the Putschists in Moscow use force to prevent their independence.
‘Serious incidents in Riga’ from the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (22 August 1991)
TextOn 22 August 1991, following Gennady Yanayev’s coup d’état in the USSR, the Swiss daily newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung comments on the growing tensions between the Baltic authorities and the new central government.
‘The Baltic States declare independence from the Soviet Union’ from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (22 August 1991)
TextOn 22 August 1991, the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung comments on the successive declarations of independence made by the three Baltic States.
‘The EEC has decided to recognise the Baltic States’ from Le Monde (29 August 1991)
TextOn 29 August 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde comments on the decision taken by the Twelve to establish diplomatic relations with the Baltic States and to support their rapid integration into international organisations.
The 1991 coup d'état
'Shattered hopes' from Le Figaro (20 August 1991)
TextOn 20 August 1991, following the hard-line Communist putsch in Moscow, Alain Peyrefitte comments in the French daily newspaper Le Figaro on the reasons behind the forced removal from office of Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the USSR.
Coup d'état in the Soviet Union (1991)
ImageOn 22 August 1991, Boris Yeltsin, President of the Supreme Soviet of Russia, addresses the Russian Parliament in Moscow following the failure of the putsch incited by Soviet military and political leaders against Mikhail Gorbachev.
‘The EEC suspends its aid until constitutional order is re-established’ from Le Monde (22 August 1991)
TextFollowing the coup d'état in the Soviet Union, the Foreign Ministers of the European Economic Community, meeting in The Hague on 20 August 1991, decide to suspend the aid granted by the EEC to the USSR until Mikhail Gorbachev is restored as Soviet Head of State.
Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, Avant-Mémoires
TextDans ses Mémoires, Mikhaïl Gorbatchev, ancien président de l'URSS, commente l'échec de la tentative de putsch organisé en août 1991 par des hauts fonctionnaires de l'État et du Parti communiste soviétique.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Memoirs
TextIn his memoirs, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former German Foreign Minister, refers to the attempted coup d’état in the Soviet Union in August 1991 and focuses on the demands for independence in the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) which are becoming increasingly strident.
Mikhail Gorbachev
ImageOn 23 August 1991, following the failure of the coup d'état spearheaded by members of the Soviet military and political elite, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, addresses the Duma, lower house of the Soviet Parliament.
‘A party vanishes' from Der Spiegel (26 August 1991)
TextOn 26 August 1991, commenting on the failed putsch led by conservative leaders against President Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow the week before, the German daily newspaper Der Spiegel assesses Gorbatchev's political strategies and considers the role of Boris Yeltsin, Russia's new President.
‘A country in tatters’ from Le Monde (27 August 1991)
TextOn 27 August 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the possible collapse of the Soviet Union in the light of the declarations of independence made by several republics and the gradual disintegration of the Communist Party.
‘The West wanted Yeltsin’ from L’Humanité (18 August 2001)
TextOn 18 August 2001, 10 years after the coup d’état in the Soviet Union, the French Communist daily newspaper L’Humanité considers the varied reactions of Western countries to the putsch: the United States and the United Kingdom strongly supported Boris Yeltsin; Germany called for Gorbachev’s return to power; and France firstly took the side of Gennady Yanayev and his putschist junta before giving its support to the Russian President, Yeltsin.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Cartoon by Behrendt on the powerlessness of the USSR (1990)
Image‘The big move’.In 1990, the German cartoonist Behrendt observes that the Soviet Empire is doomed to break up.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Cartoon by Behrendt on the end of the Communist regime in the USSR (1991)
Image‘The end is in sight'. In 1991, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt announces the end of the Communist regime in the USSR.
‘The Conservatives fight against the “Community of Republics”’ from La Libre Belgique (4 September 1991)
TextOn 4 September 1991, the Belgian daily newspaper La Libre Belgique considers the confrontation between federalists and confederalists over the redefining of links between the Republics at the Extraordinary Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR.
Recommendation 1161 (1991) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (19 September 1991)
TextOn 19 September 1991, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe welcomes the failure of the coup d’état of 18–21 August in the Soviet Union and comments on the development of the economic and political situation in the Soviet Republics.
Agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (Minsk, 8 December 1991)
TextOn 8 December 1991, in Minsk, the Republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign the Treaty establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 21 December, in Alma-Ata in Kazakhstan, eight other former Soviet Republics also sign the Minsk Treaty, thus joining the founder members of the CIS.
Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (8 December 1991)
ImageOn 8 December 1991, in Minsk, Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, Stanislau Shushkevich, President of the Republic of Belarus, and Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation, sign the Treaty of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
‘The “Confederal State” of Mr Gorbachev seems to be irreparably compromised’ from Le Monde (8–9 December 1991)
TextOn 9 December 1991, the day after the meeting between the leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in Minsk, the French daily newspaper Le Monde wonders whether the solution of a confederal state, backed by Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, is not doomed to failure.
‘The centre, c'est moi' from Le Monde (10 December 1991)
TextOn 10 December 1991, commenting on the political break-up of the USSR and the actions of Mikhaïl Gorbachev, the French newspaper Le Monde considers the reaction of the Moscow leadership.
‘We erase everything …’ from Le Monde (10 December 1991)
TextOn 10 December 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde notes that Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, is not able to stop the leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from declaring the end of the USSR by proclaiming the Commonwealth of Independent States in Minsk on 8 December 1991.
Cartoon by Haitzinger on the demise of the Soviet Union (11 December 1991)
ImageOn 11 December 1991, the German cartoonist, Horst Haitzinger, illustrates the political collapse of the Soviet Union in his own inimitable fashion.
Cartoon by Million on the break-up of the USSR
Image‘USSR — The break-up of the USSR.’ In the early 1990s, the French cartoonist Georges Million portrays the political break-up of the Soviet Union.
Protocol to the Agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (Alma-Ata, 21 December 1991)
TextOn 8 December 1991, in Minsk, the Republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign the Treaty establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 21 December, eight other former Federated Soviet Republics also sign the Treaty of Minsk in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, thus joining the founding members of the CIS.
Alma-Ata Declaration (Alma-Ata, 21 December 1991)
TextOn 21 December 1991, in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a consultation body in the area of trade, clearly marks the fragmentation of the Soviet Empire.
Signatories of the agreement enlarging the CIS (Alma-Ata, 21 December 1991)
ImageOn 21 December 1991, in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, welcomes the signing of the agreement enlarging the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). From left to right: Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Stanislau Shushkevich, President of the Republic of Belarus.
Statement by the Twelve on the future status of Russia and the other former Soviet Republics (23 December 1991)
TextOn 23 December 1991, the Twelve comment on the decision adopted on 21 December in Alma-Ata by the Presidents of 11 Soviet Republics to create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from the ruins of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
Conclusions of the Lisbon Conference on assistance to the new independent States of the former Soviet Union (23 and 24 May 1992)
TextOn 23 and 24 May 1992, the European Community organises an international conference in Lisbon on the coordination of economic assistance to the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.
‘Eleven Republics confirm the end of the Soviet Union’ from Le Monde (22–23 December 1991)
TextOn 23 December 1991, commenting on the official establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the viability of the confederal structures of the CIS given Russia’s hegemonic aspirations.
‘The dismantling of the USSR and the establishment of the CIS’ from Le Monde (24 December 1991)
TextOn 24 December 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde observes that Western countries are reacting favourably to the consolidation and enlargement of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following the Alma-Ata meeting.
‘What is to be done with the Red Army?' from Le Monde (17 February 1992)
TextOn 16 February 1992, following the Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Minsk, Belarus, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the future of the Soviet Red Army.
European Parliament resolution on relations between the European Community and the CIS (17 September 1992)
TextOn 17 September 1992, the European Parliament adopts a resolution in which it advocates a new approach to relations between the European Community and the Commonwealth of Independent States and to the establishment of a renewed partnership between East and West.
Conclusions of the Edinburgh European Council: Declaration on Russia and the CIS (11–12 December 1992)
TextOn 12 December 1992, at the Edinburgh European Council, the Twelve adopt a declaration on future relations between the European Community, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).