Tracing the history of the world with Andrey Sidorchik
December 1991 was a very strange month. The usual expectation of the most popular vacation in & nbsp; Soviet Union was combined with a & nbsp; feeling of confusion and & nbsp; afraid of what was going on. Even though people really couldn't understand what was going on.
A king without an army
During the & nbsp; referendum of & nbsp; March 1991, the overwhelming majority of citizens voted in favor of the & nbsp; preservation of the Soviet Union. However, subsequent work on a new Union Treaty led to & nbsp; an unexpected result: countries within & nbsp; the old borders, in & nbsp; in accordance with & nbsp ;, would no longer be & nbsp; & nbsp; would like. Yes & nbsp; and & nbsp; powers have been distributed in such a way that it is fair not to talk about & nbsp; of & nbsp; federation, but of & nbsp; of & nbsp; & nbsp; confederation.
Confrontation of the ambitions of Mikhail Gorbachev and & nbsp; leaders of the federated republics (in & nbsp; first of all & mdash; Boris Yeltsin ) aggravated the crisis. At the same time, people were cheated, and didn't do what they voted for.
The desperate rebellion of dissidents within the Soviet leadership, known as GKChP, was initially doomed to failure. Allied ministers spoke harshly, withdrew the troops, but did not dare to give the order to quell the resistance by any means available. And & nbsp; was the beginning of the end.
Returning from his self-imprisonment in Foros, Gorbachev has become a “king without an army”. The head of the USSR interior ministry committed suicide, the defense minister and the president of the KGB were thrown in jail. The newly appointed were no longer guided by & nbsp; & nbsp; the President of the USSR, but & nbsp; & nbsp; the head of the RSFSR who had real power.
Those who wanted to end the Soviet Union saw Gorbachev with an annoying obstacle getting under their feet. Supporters of a unified state did not see Gorbachev as anything other than a traitor.
“ It seemed the fate of the USSR was just my problem ''
And & nbsp; after all, the Belovezhskaya Accords of December 8, 1991 came as a shock to the majority. Even Mikhail Sergeevich himself did not believe in & nbsp; their & nbsp; reality. The & nbsp; the next day at & nbsp; Kremlin, it & nbsp; tried to get answers to & nbsp; questions from & nbsp; Yeltsin, but & nbsp; after a skirmish, by designating & nbsp; a place in & nbsp; Gorbachev's office, he said: & nbsp; i will sit down & nbsp; this chair./p>
The general public learned of this disgusting scene years later. And & nbsp; so everything that happened to people remained a mystery.
During the celebration of his 85th birthday, Mikhail Sergeevich described the days following the signing of the Belovezhskaya agreements: a reaction from & nbsp; intelligentsia, & nbsp; People. Of course, the country was in shock. But & nbsp; person & nbsp; n & # 39; got off & nbsp; in the streets. It seemed the fate of the USSR was just my problem. The decree on & nbsp; my resignation was not it was. I made this decision on my own. ” Yes & nbsp; and & nbsp; does not have Gorbachev turned to & nbsp; these days at & nbsp; people with & nbsp; a request for assistance.
Oath without mentioning the Soviet Union
& Nbsp; those who continued to feel like Soviet citizens had no possibility of operational self-organization. Yes & nbsp; and & nbsp; there was simply no leader who could & nbsp; to be believed.
Yes & nbsp; and & nbsp; Gorbachev himself did not in practice & nbsp; resist everything. For example, December 17th & nbsp; he approved a new text of the military oath, in which the Soviet Union was no longer & nbsp; mentioned at all.
December 21 & nbsp; December 1991, during the & nbsp; meeting of the presidents in & nbsp; Alma-Ata, eight other republics joined the Commonwealth of Independent States created by the RSFSR: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. The Alma-Ata Declaration and the Belovezhskaya Protocol to the Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS have been signed. Mikhail Sergeevich has been informed of & nbsp; that the post of President of the USSR was abolished.
It was already the end, definitive and & nbsp; irrevocable. But despite everything, I wanted to believe in the impossible. And, when the address of the President of the USSR to the people was announced, many were still hoping for something.
'We will be happy to receive you once everything has calmed down'
The spirit, the honor and & nbsp; of Gorbachev no longer believed in & nbsp; But & nbsp; all of a sudden, if & nbsp; the fear of losing power would make him remember the & nbsp; oath to the people, of the covenants given to them, & nbsp; of the referendum even on & nbsp; the preservation of the USSR, which was his initiative …
But & nbsp; Mikhail Sergeyevich n & nbsp; n & nbsp; was going to deliver the last and & nbsp; decisive battle. He was getting ready to deliver files to & nbsp; exchange for & nbsp; guarantees of personal well-being.
December 25 in the morning & nbsp; a meeting of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR was held, which approved the law of the RSFSR n ° & nbsp; 2094 – I & laquo; On & nbsp; State name change Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic & # 39; & # 39 ;. The Russian Federation has appeared.
Gorbachev, before addressing the people, called on the US president George W. Bush announcing that he will announce & nbsp; his resignation. He also & nbsp; evoked & nbsp; the next transfer of the 'nuclear suitcase' Yeltsin.
“ You & nbsp; will be a welcome guest, we & nbsp; will be happy to receive you once everything is settled & # 39; & # 39 ;, & nbsp; & mdash; American leader Mikhail Sergeevich promised.
“The threat of world war has been averted”: what Gorbachev said in his & nbsp; last speech
Before appearing before his fellow citizens in the rank of leader, Gorbachev signed a decree “ on the resignation by the President of the USSR from the powers of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the USSR and & nbsp; the abolition of the Defense Council under the President of the USSR. & # 39; & # 39;
“ Dear compatriots! Fellow citizens! Due to the current situation with the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, I cease my activity as President of the USSR. I am making this decision for & nbsp; policy considerations & raquo ;, & nbsp; & mdash; Gorbachev began his speech.
In this speech almost nothing was said about & nbsp; errors, there were no & nbsp; there was & nbsp; a shadow of remorse. Mikhail Sergeevich preferred to talk about & nbsp; Achievements: “ Society has been granted freedom, has become politically liberated and & nbsp; spiritually. And & nbsp; this is the most important conquest, which we & nbsp; to & nbsp; have not yet carried out, because we have not yet & nbsp; learned to use freedom … & raquo;
Three decades later, some of the provisions of Gorbachev's last speech sound like a form of mockery. For example, on the economy: “ When turning the economy towards the market, it is important to remember: this is done for the good of man. In & nbsp; this difficult period, everything must be done for its social protection, especially for the elderly and & nbsp; children.
Already at the very beginning of 1992, marketers were going to throw millions of people into the maelstrom of 'shock therapy', letting everyone out to the extent of his strength. The elderly will search the & nbsp; garbage cans in & nbsp; in search of food, and & nbsp; talk about & nbsp; welfare will only elicit a bitter smile.
And & nbsp; here is what Gorbachev said about & nbsp; international relations: “ The cold war is over, the arms race has been stopped and & nbsp; the senseless militarization of the country, which has disfigured our economy, public conscience and & nbsp; the moral. The threat of a world war has been averted … We have opened up to the world, refused to interfere in the affairs of others and the use of troops for the sake of it. outside the country. And & nbsp; we were answered with confidence, solidarity and & nbsp; respect & raquo;.
Respect transformed into a rapid advance of NATO towards the east, including in & nbsp; its composition not only the former countries of the socialist bloc, but & nbsp; and & nbsp; the former Soviet republics. The new cold war against our country is being waged in & nbsp; conditions for us much worse than & nbsp; those in which Gorbachev took the country in & nbsp; 1985.
“ I am convinced that sooner or later our common efforts will bear fruit, our people will live in a prosperous and democratic society. I wish you all the best, & nbsp; & mdash; Mikhail Sergeevich said at the end of the speech.
Flag change
To & nbsp; 19 & nbsp; 35 & nbsp; minutes 25 & nbsp; December 25, 1991, the flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was lowered from the mast above the dome of the Kremlin. The banner, which once became a symbol of victory over fascism, the conquest of outer space by mankind, came down shamefully, almost like a thief, just as a great country was destroyed .
Ten minutes later, the triumphant Yeltsin was informed that the Russian tricolor had been raised above the Kremlin.
Gorbachev, having handed over his things, went to a & nbsp; dine in a narrow circle of entourage. He had a well-nourished and comfortable life ahead of him, honor and respect on the side of Americans and Europeans. The & nbsp; abandoned by him & nbsp; citizens of a country that was no longer was & mdash; pain, fear and fight for & nbsp; survival.
To discuss & nbsp; if it was possible to save the USSR, historians will be for a long time. But the & nbsp; first and & nbsp; last president of the Soviet Union did not touch the finger on the & nbsp; finger to save the state.
A few years later, Mikhail Sergeevich will appear in a & nbsp; advertisement for a pizza. In the West, this will be seen as a good advertising ploy. And & nbsp; on the & nbsp; territory of the former USSR they will find with bitterness that Gorbachev has finally found a job according to his abilities.
