3. Authorities & decisions: The dissolution of the Soviet Union

Decision-makers, laws and consequences

Mikhail Gorbachev introduced glasnost and perestroika after becoming Soviet leader in 1985. Republic-level independence movements intensified, and an attempted hardline coup failed in August 1991.

Boris Yeltsin and leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha accords in December 1991. The Soviet Union formally dissolved later that month; economic and political consequences varied across successor states.

Institutional consequences

The authorities identified above acted within institutions that determined who could govern, enforce decisions and challenge official power. The resulting changes to political participation, legal status, military control or property administration are part of the historical record of this specific event, rather than evidence that every later government followed the same path.

Legal restrictions, rights & enforcement

Compare who exercised authority, whether opponents could organize independently, how the government handled economic and social demands, and whether neighboring populations were exposed to invasion or coercion. The record above describes this particular case rather than treating every movement with a similar label as identical.