The immediate cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union was the failed August Coup carried out by members of the Soviet government in 1991. The coup attempt against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev led to a rapid chain of events that culminated in the dissolution of the Soviet Union three months later.
Here are the key events that directly contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union:
1. August Coup: On August 19, 1991, a group of hardline Communist Party members, military leaders, and KGB officials attempted to overthrow Gorbachev and reverse perestroika and glasnost reforms. They formed the State Emergency Committee and claimed that Gorbachev was unable to fulfill his duties due to health reasons.
2. Boris Yeltsin's Resistance: Boris Yeltsin, then President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), the largest republic within the Soviet Union, emerged as a vocal opponent of the coup attempt. Yeltsin and his supporters took control of the Russian parliament building (the White House) and mobilized people to resist the coup.
3. Public Resistance and Media: Citizens in Moscow and other cities took to the streets in large numbers to protest against the coup. The media played a significant role in informing the public and broadcasting the resistance efforts, which further undermined the credibility of the coup plotters.
4. Failed Coup: Within three days, the coup collapsed as military units and KGB forces refused to support the coup leaders. The coup plotters were arrested, and Gorbachev was reinstated as the Soviet President. However, his authority was severely weakened by the events of the coup.
5. Belavezha Accords: On December 8, 1991, the leaders of Russia (Yeltsin), Ukraine (Leonid Kravchuk), and Belarus (Stanislav Shushkevich) met in the Belavezha Forest and signed the Belavezha Accords. They declared that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a loose confederation of the former Soviet republics.
The Belavezha Accords ultimately ended the existence of the Soviet Union as a political entity. Gorbachev resigned from his position on December 25, 1991, and the Soviet Union officially dissolved on December 31, 1991.