Overview
A failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991 accelerated the collapse of Soviet authority. Boris Yeltsin emerged in a stronger position, while the relationship between the union and its republics fractured.
Chronology
- August 1991 The attempted coup against Gorbachev failed.
- December 1991 The Soviet Union dissolved.
The US Office of the Historian’s account traces the political sequence and the American government’s response.
A crisis of authority
The coup’s failure damaged those trying to preserve the old order and weakened Gorbachev’s position. The formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States Key term · 1991 Commonwealth of Independent States An association formed as the Soviet Union broke up, initially agreed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Why it matters Its creation marked the shift away from Soviet union institutions towards cooperation among independent states, without restoring a single central government. See in glossary → in December signalled the replacement of union authority by relations between independent states.
This was not simply a change of leader within an otherwise unchanged government. An inquiry into transition must identify which institutions disappeared, which survived and where authority moved.
Interpreting the evidence
The Office of the Historian’s account concentrates on US diplomacy, security and responses to the crisis. That focus makes it useful for studying international reactions. It should be supplemented by evidence from people and institutions within the former Soviet republics when investigating their experiences.
Political dissolution did not by itself resolve questions about prices, ownership, employment or living standards. Claims about the outcomes of economic reform require evidence extending beyond the ceremony or declaration that marked a political transition.
Test yourself
Why did the failed coup matter beyond its immediate defeat? Reveal
It weakened Gorbachev and the authority of Soviet institutions while strengthening Yeltsin and accelerating the republics’ movement away from the union.
What further evidence would be needed to assess the economic effects of transition? Reveal
Evidence about policy implementation and changes in prices, ownership, employment and living standards, with attention to when those changes occurred and whose experiences were recorded.
Key terms
- Commonwealth of Independent States 1991
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An association formed as the Soviet Union broke up, initially agreed by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Significance: Its creation marked the shift away from Soviet union institutions towards cooperation among independent states, without restoring a single central government.