The August Coup fails and the Soviet Union dissolves
Hardliners try to save the USSR by force and instead hand it to Yeltsin
Quick facts
- August Coup
- 19-21 August 1991
- Belovezha Accords
- 8 December 1991
- Gorbachev resigns
- 25 December 1991
What happened
On 19 August 1991, Communist Party hardliners including Gorbachev's own vice president placed him under house arrest and declared a state of emergency, hoping to block a new union treaty that would have devolved power to the Soviet republics. Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian republic, rallied opposition to the coup from atop a tank outside the Russian parliament, and the coup collapsed within days. Yeltsin emerged as the dominant political figure; he suspended the Communist Party in Russia, and Gorbachev resigned as party General Secretary. Ukraine voted overwhelmingly for independence on 1 December 1991, and a week later Yeltsin, Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk, and Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich met at a hunting lodge in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and signed an agreement declaring that the USSR had ceased to exist. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president and transferred control of the nuclear launch codes to Yeltsin; that evening the Soviet flag was lowered from the Kremlin for the last time.
Why it matters
The August coup, meant to preserve central Soviet authority, instead accelerated the very collapse it was trying to prevent, and the Belovezha Accords ended the Soviet Union after 69 years and created the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place. Boris Yeltsin emerged as the first popularly elected leader of an independent Russia.
How we know
The August coup, the Ukrainian independence referendum, and the Belovezha Accords are documented in extensive contemporary press coverage, Soviet and Russian government records, and the participants' own later accounts.
Sources
- Lewis Siegelbaum, Seventeen Moments in Soviet History (Michigan State University). The End of the Soviet Union · Reputable sourcesoviethistory.msu.edu · The domain "soviethistory.msu.edu" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- Lewis Siegelbaum, Seventeen Moments in Soviet History (Michigan State University). The End of the Soviet Union · Reputable sourcesoviethistory.msu.edu · The domain "soviethistory.msu.edu" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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