Belovezha Accords
Stanislav Shushkevich stood in the snow of Belovezhskaya Pushcha on the 8th of December 1991. The air was cold enough to freeze breath, yet three men sat inside a wooden state dacha near Viskuli. They held pens that would sign away the existence of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev had tried to save his country through reforms called Glasnost and Perestroika. Those policies instead accelerated the unraveling of the system he led. Nationalist movements gained momentum across the republics while Communist Party control weakened. By August 1991, putschists had attempted to remove Gorbachev from power. Shushkevich later said the union had already been broken up by those events. The three leaders wanted to avoid what happened during the breakup of Yugoslavia. There was no other way out of the situation than a divorce.
Boris Yeltsin arrived at the dacha with First Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Burbulis. Leonid Kravchuk came from Ukraine alongside Vitold Fokin. Vyacheslav Kebich represented Belarus as its prime minister. These six men signed an agreement declaring the USSR effectively ceased to exist. Only three of the four original signatories of the 1922 Treaty on Creation of the USSR were present because the Transcaucasian SFSR dissolved in 1936. Yeltsin immediately called U.S. president George H.W. Bush after signing. He read Article 6 aloud which established a common military and strategic space. Shaposhnikov fully agreed and supported their position regarding armed forces. Yeltsin told Bush this was extremely important due to tradition between them. He could not even wait ten minutes to call his American counterpart. The meeting took place without public discussion or parliamentary approval beforehand.
Article 72 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution stated that union republics had the right to secede freely. A special law regulated withdrawal procedures since 1990. Yet the Belovezh Accords did not use this legal framework for dissolution. Instead they combined the 1922 Treaty with the 1969 Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties. This route allowed original signatories to bypass other Soviet Republics entirely. Gorbachev argued the fate of the multinational state could not be determined by three leaders alone. He said Unionwide legal norms ceasing to be effective was illegal and dangerous. It would only worsen chaos and anarchy in society. The hastiness with which the document appeared raised serious concerns. It was not discussed by populations nor by Supreme Soviets of the republics whose names it bore. Some members of Russian parliament disputed legality under the 1978 RSFSR Constitution.
George H.W. Bush gave a short speech on national television in the United States on the 25th of December 1991. He marked the end of the Cold War while recognizing independence of former Soviet states. That same day the flag of the Soviet Union lowered from the Kremlin Senate for final time. The flag of Russia rose in its place immediately afterward. Yeltsin informed UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar that Russia would continue Soviet membership in the United Nations. The document confirmed credentials of representatives as those of Russia. It requested name changes from Soviet Union to Russian Federation in all records. There being no objection from any Member State, the Russian Federation took the Soviet Union seat. On the 31st of January 1992, Yeltsin personally attended a Security Council meeting as representative of Russia. This was the first meeting where Russia occupied the permanent seat originally granted to the USSR.
The Alma-Ata Protocol dated the 21st of December 1991 expanded the agreement through eleven republics. Representatives signed it except Georgia which remained absent. Eleven of twelve remaining Soviet republics agreed the Soviet Union no longer existed. Gorbachev accepted the fait accompli three days later after a secret meeting with Yeltsin. He resigned as soon as he knew CIS became reality. The Summit issued a statement supporting Russia's claim to be recognized successor state. Leonid Kravchuk answered journalists about refusing Commonwealth of Euro-Asian and Independent States naming. He said beginning laid in Minsk so changing name legally or politically unreasonable. Ukraine ratified documents entirely without reservations as of 2025 according to official depository records. The Vienna Convention meant both original document and parliamentary amendments were binding on each state.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When and where did the Belovezha Accords take place?
The Belovezha Accords were signed on the 8th of December 1991 in the snow of Belovezhskaya Pushcha near Viskuli. Three leaders met inside a wooden state dacha to sign an agreement that established the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Who signed the Belovezha Accords on behalf of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?
Boris Yeltsin represented Russia alongside First Deputy Prime Minister Gennady Burbulis. Leonid Kravchuk came from Ukraine with Vitold Fokin while Vyacheslav Kebich represented Belarus as its prime minister. These six men signed the document declaring the USSR effectively ceased to exist.
Why was the legal basis for the Belovezha Accords considered controversial by critics?
Critics argued the Belovezha Accords bypassed Article 72 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution which granted republics the right to secede freely. The document combined the 1922 Treaty with the 1969 Vienna Convention on Law of Treaties without parliamentary approval or public discussion.
What happened to the Soviet Union seat at the United Nations after the Belovezha Accords were signed?
Yeltsin informed UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar that Russia would continue Soviet membership in the United Nations. On the 31st of January 1992, Yeltsin personally attended a Security Council meeting as representative of Russia occupying the permanent seat originally granted to the USSR.
How did the Alma-Ata Protocol expand the original Belovezhskaya Pushcha agreement?
The Alma-Ata Protocol dated the 21st of December 1991 expanded the agreement through eleven republics except Georgia which remained absent. Eleven of twelve remaining Soviet republics agreed the Soviet Union no longer existed and ratified documents entirely without reservations as of 2025 according to official depository records.