Collapse of the USSR

Gorbachev Assumes Power of USSR

1985

Mikhail Gorbachev assumes power of the Soviet Union. He would be the last man in charge of the USSR as he resigns the day of its collapse six years later.

Anti-Communist Revolutions

1989

Anti-communist revolutions topple regimes in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Czechoslovakia. Elsewhere, the Lithuanian Communist Party declares its independence from the Soviet Communist Party and nationalist riots are put down in Georgia. The Soviet Union begins its collapse.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Nov 9, 1989

A series of public rallies in East Germany led to the Berlin Wall being torn down.

Failed Coup

1991

A coup led by hard-line communist politicians fails to overthrow Gorbachev. Instead, Gorbachev is placed only on house arrest and the public greatly oppose the action.

States Declare Independence

1991

Ukraine and other Baltic nations declare their independence from the USSR and Boris Yeltsin, the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, recognises the independence of these states.

Formal Dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Dec 26, 1991

The Russian Government formally took over control of Russia