A New
Begining
uOn December 7,
1991 the leaders of the three largest republics in Europe signed an agreement proclaiming the Soviet
Union to be defunct
and announcing the formation of a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) without any central state
structure.
uEight other
republics joined the CIS two weeks later.
uOn December 25, 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his
resignation as
president in a solemn television address.
uThe Soviet
parliament passed its final resolution, acknowledging the dissolution of the Soviet Union, on December 26.
uOn December 31 all functions of the first Communist
state ceased: The USSR no
longer existed.