In December 1991, which republics of the USSR for the first time declared that the Soviet Union was disbanded?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 2:

The correct option is 2: **Russia, Ukraine, Belarus**. These three Slavic republics—Russia (represented by Boris Yeltsin), Ukraine (represented by Leonid Kravchuk), and Belarus (represented by Stanislav Shushkevich)—are crucial to the final collapse of the Soviet Union. On December 8, 1991, their leaders met in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus, and signed the Belovezh Accords. This historic document formally declared that the Soviet Union, as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality, ceased to exist. They simultaneously announced the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as a successor body to coordinate relations between the newly sovereign states. This action effectively bypassed the central Soviet government in Moscow and President Mikhail Gorbachev, serving as the definitive political statement that sealed the fate of the USSR. While President Gorbachev officially resigned on December 25, 1991, the Belovezh Accords signed by these three major republics are recognized as the formal declaration of the dissolution of the Soviet state.

The incorrect option is 1: **Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan**

Kazakhstan, while a Soviet republic that later became a founder of the CIS, was not one of the original three signatories of the Belovezh Accords on December 8, 1991, that first declared the dissolution of the USSR. The Belovezh Accords initially involved only the three major Slavic republics due to their historical, political, and cultural centrality to the Union. Kazakhstan’s inclusion came shortly after. On December 21, 1991, the Alma-Ata Protocol was signed in Kazakhstan's capital, where eight more post-Soviet states joined the CIS, bringing the total number of members to eleven and cementing the final end of the Soviet Union, but they were not the *first* to declare the disbandment.

The incorrect option is 3: **Russia, Ukraine, Georgia**

Georgia was not a participant in the pivotal December 1991 events that disbanded the USSR. Unlike many other republics, Georgia had already taken a strong stance toward independence earlier in the year, declaring its sovereignty in April 1991. Furthermore, Georgia initially refused to join the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) due to internal political strife and disagreements regarding its neighbors, and only formally joined the CIS in 1993. Therefore, while Georgia contributed to the overall nationalist movements weakening the USSR, it was absent from the specific December 1991 signing that formally declared the Union's disbandment.

The incorrect option is 4: **Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan**

Uzbekistan, like Kazakhstan, is one of the Central Asian republics and was a crucial part of the Soviet Union’s southern tier. However, Uzbekistan was not one of the founding members that signed the initial Belovezh Accords on December 8, 1991, which declared the Soviet Union dissolved. Uzbekistan, along with the other Central Asian states, only formally joined the successor body, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), later that month at the Alma-Ata meeting on December 21, 1991. Their participation was necessary to ensure a smooth transition, but they did not initiate the formal declaration of dissolution; that critical step was taken solely by Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.