Editing Mikhail Gorbachev (section)

== Unraveling of the USSR ==
In the [[Revolutions of 1989]], most of the Marxist–Leninist states of Central and Eastern Europe held multi-party elections resulting in regime change.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=465}} In most countries, like Poland and Hungary, this was achieved peacefully, but in Romania, the [[Romanian Revolution|revolution turned violent]], and led to Ceaușescu's overthrow and execution.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=465}} Gorbachev was too preoccupied with domestic problems to pay much attention to these events.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=465–466}} He believed that democratic elections would not lead Eastern European countries into abandoning their commitment to socialism.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=133|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=481}} In 1989, he visited East Germany for the fortieth anniversary of its founding;{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=35–36|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=484–485}} shortly after, in November, the East German government allowed its citizens to cross the [[Berlin Wall]], a decision Gorbachev praised. Over the following years, much of the wall was demolished.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=462–463}} Neither Gorbachev nor Thatcher or Mitterrand wanted a swift reunification of Germany, aware that it would likely become the dominant European power. Gorbachev wanted a gradual process of German integration but Kohl began calling for rapid reunification.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=488–494}} With German reunification in 1990, many observers declared the Cold War over.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=427}}

=== 1990–1991: presidency of the Soviet Union ===
[[File:RIAN archive 485307 Mikhail Gorbachev.jpg|thumb|upright|Gorbachev addressing the [[United Nations General Assembly]] in 1988. During the speech, he dramatically announced deep unilateral cuts in Soviet military forces in Eastern Europe.]]

In February 1990, both liberalisers and Marxist–Leninist hardliners intensified their attacks on Gorbachev.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=505}} A liberalizer march took place in Moscow criticizing Communist Party rule,{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=505–506}} while at a Central Committee meeting, the hardliner [[Vladimir Brovikov]] accused Gorbachev of reducing the country to "anarchy" and "ruin" and of pursuing Western approval at the expense of the Soviet Union and the Marxist–Leninist cause.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=506–507}} Gorbachev was aware that the Central Committee could still oust him as general secretary, and so decided to reformulate the role of head of government to a presidency from which he could not be removed.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=160–161|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=507}} He decided that the presidential election should be held by the Congress of People's Deputies. He chose this over a public vote because he thought the latter would escalate tensions and feared that he might lose it;{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=165|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=508–509}} a spring 1990 poll nevertheless still showed him as the most popular politician in the country.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=509}}

In March, the Congress of People's Deputies held the first (and only) [[1990 Soviet Union presidential election|Soviet presidential election]], in which Gorbachev was the only candidate. He secured 1,329 in favor to 495 against; 313 votes were invalid or absent. He therefore became the first (and only) executive [[President of the Soviet Union]].{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=164–165|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=509}} A new 18-member [[Presidential Council (USSR)|Presidential Council]] ''de facto'' replaced the Politburo.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=165–166|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=511}} At the same Congress meeting, he presented the idea of repealing Article 6 of the Soviet constitution, which had ratified the Communist Party as the "ruling party" of the Soviet Union. The Congress passed the reform, undermining the ''de jure'' nature of the one-party state.{{sfnm|1a1=Doder|1a2=Branson|1y=1990|1p=408|2a1=McCauley|2y=1998|2p=161|3a1=Taubman|3y=2017|3pp=510–522}}

In the [[1990 Russian Supreme Soviet election|1990 elections]] for the [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Russian Supreme Soviet]], the Communist Party faced challengers from an alliance of liberalisers known as "[[Democratic Russia]]"; the latter did particularly well in urban centers.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=170|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=513}} Yeltsin was elected the parliament's chair, something Gorbachev was unhappy about.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=169|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=513–514}} That year, opinion polls showed Yeltsin overtaking Gorbachev as the most popular politician in the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=509}} Gorbachev struggled to understand Yeltsin's growing popularity, commenting: "he drinks like a fish&nbsp;... he's inarticulate, he comes up with the devil knows what, he's like a worn-out record".{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=515}} The Russian Supreme Soviet was now out of Gorbachev's control;{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=515}} in June 1990, it declared that in the Russian Republic, its laws took precedence over those of the Soviet central government.{{sfn|McCauley|1998|p=172}} Amid a growth in [[Russian nationalism|Russian nationalist]] sentiment, Gorbachev had reluctantly allowed the formation of a [[Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] as a branch of the larger Soviet Communist Party. Gorbachev attended its first congress in June, but soon found it dominated by hardliners who opposed his reformist stance.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=174–175|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=500–501, 515–516}}

==== German reunification and the Gulf War ====

In January 1990, Gorbachev privately agreed to permit East German reunification with West Germany, but rejected the idea that a unified Germany could retain West Germany's NATO membership.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=543}} His compromise that Germany might retain both NATO and Warsaw Pact memberships did not attract support.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=552}} On 9 February 1990 in a phone conversation with [[James Baker]], then the US secretary of state, he said that "a broadening of the NATO zone is not acceptable" to which Baker agreed. Scholars are puzzled why Gorbachev never pursued a written pledge.<ref name="moh119">{{cite book |last1=Savranskaya |first1=Svetlana |last2=Blanton |first2=Thomas |last3=Zubok |first3=Vladislav |title=MASTERPIECES OF HISTORY |url=https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2906?lang=en |chapter=Document No. 119: Record of Conversation between Mikhail Gorbachev and James Baker, February 9, 1990 |series=National Security Archive Cold War Readers |publisher=Central European University Press |date=2010 |pages=675–684 |isbn=9786155211881 |archive-date=20 February 2023 |access-date=20 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220220436/https://books.openedition.org/ceup/2906?lang=en |url-status=live }}</ref> In May 1990, he visited the US for talks with President Bush;{{sfnm|1a1=Doder|1a2=Branson|1y=1990|1p=422|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=550}} there, he agreed that an independent Germany would have the right to choose its international alliances.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=552}} Ultimately he acquiesced to the reunification on the condition that NATO troops not be posted to the territory of Eastern Germany.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=546}} There remains [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany#Eastward expansion of NATO|some confusion]] over whether US secretary of state James Baker led Gorbachev to believe that NATO would not expand into other countries in Eastern Europe. There was no oral or written US promise that explicitly said so. Gorbachev stated that he was only made such a promise regarding East Germany and that it was kept.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mikhail Gorbachev: I am against all walls |url=http://rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html |access-date=31 January 2022 |website=Russia Beyond |date=16 October 2014 |archive-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131025347/https://www.rbth.com/international/2014/10/16/mikhail_gorbachev_i_am_against_all_walls_40673.html |url-status=live |last1=Kórshunov |first1=Maxim }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Eckel|first=Mike|date=20 May 2021|title=Did The West Promise Moscow That NATO Would Not Expand? Well, It's Complicated.|language=en|publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-expansion-russia-mislead/31263602.html|access-date=28 May 2023|archive-date=23 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423112504/https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-expansion-russia-mislead/31263602.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In July, Kohl visited Moscow and Gorbachev informed him that the Soviets would not oppose a reunified Germany's being part of NATO.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=564}} Domestically, Gorbachev's critics accused him of betraying the national interest;{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=565}} more broadly, they were angry that Gorbachev had allowed the Eastern Bloc to move away from direct Soviet influence.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=540–541}}

[[File:Bush Gorba P15623-25A.jpg|thumb|left|In September 1990, Gorbachev met repeatedly with US president George Bush (Sr) at the [[Helsinki Summit (1990)|Helsinki Summit]]]]

In August 1990, [[Saddam Hussein]]'s Iraqi government [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]]; Gorbachev endorsed President Bush's condemnation of it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oral History – Mikhail Gorbachev |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/gorbachev/1.html |publisher=PBS |access-date=29 January 2022 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701012210/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/gorbachev/1.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This brought criticism from many in the Soviet state apparatus, who saw Hussein as a key ally in the [[Persian Gulf]] and feared for the safety of the 9,000 Soviet citizens in Iraq, although Gorbachev argued that the Iraqis were the clear aggressors.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=213 |2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=540–541, 566–567}} In November the Soviets endorsed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 660|a UN Resolution]] permitting force to be used in expelling the Iraqi Army from Kuwait.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=567–568}} Gorbachev later called it a "watershed" in world politics, "the first time the superpowers acted together in a regional crisis".{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=568}} However, when the US announced plans for [[Gulf War|a ground invasion]], Gorbachev opposed it, urging instead a peaceful solution.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=588–589}} In October 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]]; he was flattered but acknowledged "mixed feelings" about the accolade.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=220 |2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=572}} Polls indicated that 90% of Soviet citizens disapproved of the award, widely seen as an anti-Soviet accolade.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=572}}

With the Soviet budget deficit climbing and no domestic money markets to provide the state with loans, Gorbachev looked elsewhere.{{sfn|McCauley|1998|p=214}} Throughout 1991, Gorbachev requested sizable loans from Western countries and Japan, hoping to keep the Soviet economy afloat and ensure the success of perestroika.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=568–569}} Although the Soviet Union had been excluded from the [[G7]], Gorbachev secured an invitation to [[17th G7 summit|its London summit]] in July 1991.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=218–219 |2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=593}} There, he continued to call for financial assistance; Mitterrand and Kohl backed him,{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=570}} while Thatcher—no longer in office—urged Western leaders to agree.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=215|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=595–596}} Most G7 members were reluctant, instead offering technical assistance and proposing the Soviets receive "special associate" status—rather than full membership—of the [[World Bank]] and [[International Monetary Fund]].{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=218–219|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=595}} Gorbachev was frustrated that the US would spend $100&nbsp;billion on the Gulf War but would not offer his country loans.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=214|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=595}} Other countries were more forthcoming; West Germany had given the Soviets [[Deutsche Mark|DM]]60&nbsp;billion by mid-1991.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=569}} Bush visited Moscow in late July, when he and Gorbachev concluded ten years of negotiations by signing the [[START I]] treaty, a bilateral agreement on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=221|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=596–598}}

==== August coup and government crises ====

{{Further|1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt}}

[[File:GorbachevMS.jpg|thumb|upright|Gorbachev in October 1991]]

At the [[28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|28th Communist Party Congress]] in July 1990, hardliners criticized the reformists, but Gorbachev was re-elected party leader.{{sfnm|1a1=Doder|1a2=Branson|1y=1990|1p=425|2a1=McCauley|2y=1998|2p=178|3a1=Taubman|3y=2017|3pp=519–520}} Seeking compromise with the liberalizers, Gorbachev assembled a team of his own and Yeltsin's advisers to come up with an economic reform package: the result was the "[[500 Days]]" programme. This called for further decentralization and some privatization.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=183–185|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=521–528}} In September, Yeltsin presented the plan to the Russian Supreme Soviet, which backed it.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=185–186|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=529}} Many in the Communist Party and state apparatus warned against it, and it was abandoned.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=529–531}}

By mid-November 1990, much of the press was calling for Gorbachev to resign and predicting civil war.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=532}} In November, he announced an eight-point program with governmental reforms, among them the abolition of the presidential council.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=188|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=533}} By this point, Gorbachev was isolated from many of his former close allies and aides.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=536}} Yakovlev had moved out of his inner circle and Shevardnadze had resigned.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=193–194|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=534–535}}

Amid growing dissent in [[the Baltics]], in January 1991 Gorbachev demanded that the [[Lithuanian Supreme Council]] rescind its pro-independence reforms.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=575}} Soviet troops occupied buildings in [[Vilnius]] and [[January Events|attacked protesters]],<ref name="dw-january events">{{cite news |title=The January bloodbath in Lithuania 25 years on |url=https://www.dw.com/en/the-january-bloodbath-in-lithuania-25-years-on/a-18976152 |publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]] |date=13 January 2021}}</ref> 15 of whom were killed.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=199–200|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=575}} A [[1991 Soviet Union referendum|referendum on the issue]] brought 76.4% in favor of continued federation; the six rebellious republics had not taken part.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=206–207|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=580}} Negotiations took place to decide what form the new constitution would take; it was planned to be signed in August.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=580–582}}

[[File:August 1991 coup - awaiting the counterattack outside the White House Moscow - panoramio.jpg|thumb|left|Tens of thousands of anti-coup protesters surrounding the [[White House (Moscow)|White House]], Moscow]]

In August, Gorbachev holidayed at his dacha in [[Foros, Crimea]].{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=233|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=602, 605}} Two weeks into his holiday, a group of senior Communist Party figures—the "[[Gang of Eight (Soviet Union)|Gang of Eight]]" launched a [[1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt|coup d'état]].{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=607–608}} The coup leaders demanded that Gorbachev declare a state of emergency, but he refused.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=608}} He was kept under [[house arrest]] in the dacha.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=608–610}} The coup plotters publicly announced that Gorbachev was ill and thus Vice President Yanayev would take charge of the country.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=237|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=610}}

Yeltsin entered the Moscow [[White House (Moscow)|White House]]. Protesters prevented troops storming the building to arrest him.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=237–238|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=611}} In front of the White House, Yeltsin, atop a tank, gave a memorable speech condemning the coup.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 June 2023 |title=1991 Soviet coup attempt {{!}} Facts, Results, & Significance {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/1991-Soviet-coup-attempt |access-date=10 August 2023 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |archive-date=27 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230727054402/https://www.britannica.com/topic/1991-Soviet-coup-attempt |url-status=live }}</ref> The coup's leaders realized that they lacked sufficient support and ended their efforts.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=612}} Gorbachev returned to Moscow and thanked Yeltsin.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=614–615}} Two days later, he resigned as general secretary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.illuminats.ru/component/content/article/29-new/1198-statement-by-mikhail-gorbachev-on-the-addition-of-duties-the-secretary-general-of-the-cpsu-24-august-1991?directory=29 |title=Заявление М. С. Горбачева о сложение обязанностей генерального секретаря КПСС (24 августа 1991) |website=illuminats.ru |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-date=21 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180721014247/http://www.illuminats.ru/component/content/article/29-new/1198-statement-by-mikhail-gorbachev-on-the-addition-of-duties-the-secretary-general-of-the-cpsu-24-august-1991?directory=29 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=244|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=621}}

=== Final days and collapse ===

{{main|Dissolution of the Soviet Union}}

After the coup, the Supreme Soviet indefinitely suspended all Communist Party activity, effectively ending communist rule in the Soviet Union.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 December 2013 |title=Page 1. Постановление Верховного Совета СССР от 29 августа 1991 г. N 2371-I "О ситуации, возникшей в стране в связи с имевшим место государственным переворотом" |url=http://www.ruspravo.org/list/89358/1.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207002848/http://www.ruspravo.org/list/89358/1.html |archive-date=7 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="Президент России">{{Cite web |title=Указ Президента РСФСР от 06.11.1991 г. № 169 |url=http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/385 |website=Президент России |access-date=30 August 2022 |archive-date=1 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301170411/http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/385 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 848095 Signing the Agreement to eliminate the USSR and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.jpg|thumb|[[Republics of the Soviet Union|Leaders of the Soviet Republics]] sign the [[Belovezha Accords]], which eliminated the USSR and established the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]], 1991]]

On 30 October, Gorbachev attended [[Madrid Conference of 1991|a conference]] in Madrid trying to revive the [[Israeli–Palestinian peace process]]. The event was co-sponsored by the US and Soviet Union. There, he again met with Bush.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=248–249|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=631–632}} En route home, he traveled to France where he stayed with Mitterrand at the latter's home near [[Bayonne]].{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=249|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=633}}

To maintain unity, Gorbachev continued to plan for a union treaty, but met opposition to the continuation of a federal state as the leaders of several Soviet republics bowed to nationalist pressure.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=624}} Yeltsin stated that he would veto any idea of a unified state, instead favoring a [[confederation]] with little central authority.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=252|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=627}} Only the leaders of [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]] and [[Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic|Kirghizia]] supported Gorbachev's approach.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=628}} The [[1991 Ukrainian independence referendum|referendum in Ukraine]] on 1 December with a 90% turnout for secession from the Union was a fatal blow; Gorbachev had expected Ukrainians to reject independence.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=253|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=628–629}}

[[File:Cold War border changes.png|thumb|upright=1.13|Changes in national boundaries after the end of the [[Cold War]] and the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]] in 1991]]

Without Gorbachev's knowledge, Yeltsin met with Ukrainian president [[Leonid Kravchuk]] and Belarusian president [[Stanislav Shushkevich]] in [[Belovezha Forest]], near [[Brest, Belarus]], on 8 December and signed the [[Belavezha Accords]], which declared the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and formed the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) as its successor.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1pp=254–255|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2pp=629–630}} Gorbachev only learned of this development when Shushkevich phoned him; Gorbachev was furious.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=255|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=630}} He desperately looked for an opportunity to preserve the Soviet Union, hoping that the media and intelligentsia would rally against its dissolution.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|pp=634–635}} Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian Supreme Soviets then ratified the establishment of the CIS.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=256|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=625}} On 9 December, Gorbachev issued a statement calling the CIS agreement "illegal and dangerous".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gorby.ru/userfiles/file/zayavlenie_prezidenta_sssr_09_12_91.pdf |title=Заявление Президента СССР М. С. Горбачёва 9 декабря 1991 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924023311/http://www.gorby.ru/userfiles/file/zayavlenie_prezidenta_sssr_09_12_91.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015 |publisher=gorby.ru |access-date=16 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=636}} On 20 December, the leaders of 11 of the 12 remaining republics—all except Georgia—met in Kazakhstan and signed the [[Alma-Ata Protocol]], agreeing to dismantle the Soviet Union and formally establish the CIS. They provisionally accepted Gorbachev's resignation as president of what remained of the Soviet Union. Accepting the ''fait accompli'', Gorbachev said he would resign as soon as he saw that the CIS was a reality.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=637}}<ref>{{cite web |author-first=Francis X. |author-last=Clines |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/22/world/end-soviet-union-11-soviet-states-form-commonwealth-without-clearly-defining-its.html |title=11 Soviet States Form Commonwealth Without Clearly Defining Its Powers |website=The New York Times |date=22 December 1991 |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-date=14 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414022306/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/22/world/end-soviet-union-11-soviet-states-form-commonwealth-without-clearly-defining-its.html |url-status=live}}.</ref>

Gorbachev reached a deal with Yeltsin that called for Gorbachev to announce his resignation as Soviet president and Commander-in-Chief on 25 December, vacating the Kremlin by 29 December.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=638}} Yakovlev, Chernyaev and Shevardnadze joined Gorbachev to help him write a resignation speech.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=637}} Gorbachev gave his speech in the Kremlin in front of television cameras, for international broadcast.{{sfnm|1a1=McCauley|1y=1998|1p=257|2a1=Taubman|2y=2017|2p=645}} In it, he announced, "I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." He expressed regret for the breakup of the Soviet Union but cited what he saw as the achievements of his administration: political and religious freedom, the end of totalitarianism, the introduction of democracy and a market economy, and an end to the arms race and Cold War.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=646}} Gorbachev was the third out of eight Soviet leaders, after [[Malenkov]] and [[Khrushchev]], not to die in office.{{sfn|Taubman|2017|p=651}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/26/world/end-of-the-soviet-union-text-of-gorbachev-s-farewell-address.html |title=End of the Soviet Union: Text of Gorbachev's Farewell Address |website=The New York Times |date=26 December 1991 |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-date=4 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104205652/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/26/world/end-of-the-soviet-union-text-of-gorbachev-s-farewell-address.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The following day, 26 December, the [[Soviet of the Republics]], the upper house of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, voted the country out of existence.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vt5OLD3vp4UC&q=26+december+1991+ussr&pg=PR5 |title=Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States: Documents, Data, and Analysis |isbn=978-1-56324637-1 |author-last1=Brzezinski |author-first1=Zbigniew |author-last2=Brzezinski |author-first2=Zbigniew K. |author-last3=Sullivan |author-first3=Paige |date=1997 |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |access-date=24 October 2020 |archive-date=17 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201217230805/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vt5OLD3vp4UC&q=26+december+1991+ussr&pg=PR5 |url-status=live}}</ref> As of 31 December 1991, all Soviet institutions that had not been taken over by Russia ceased to function.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors=((Plokhy, S.)) | year=2015 | title=The Last Empire: The Final Days of the Soviet Union | publisher=Basic Books | chapter=Chapter 18: Christmas in Moscow }}</ref>{{sfn|McCauley|1998|p=258}}