There were three main stages, in my view, in the process that resulted in the end of the communist Soviet Union in 91. The first one was the non-signing of the treaty to create a new confederation in June 1991 the Novo-Ogaryovo process. This practically represented the end of the Soviet Union, because afterwards, the individual republics did not even want to loosely maintain any kind of common structure with Moscow. Then came the Putsch in August, which was the last attempt on the part of the hard-liners. And then there was December 1991 when the leaders of the three Slavic states met in Belarus the most important republics in the Soviet Union, the core of the Russian empire and decided that they didnt want to preserve the common state. From my point of view, the August Putsch was only a part of dramatic developments which started in the 80s. The popular resistance to the Putsch played a huge role in the unfolding of events. There are two different stories of the Putsch that are told. One story is through the understanding of contemporary Russians. The other is that of direct observers and witnesses who were around in those days and remember. In my view, the August Putsch was like a real revolution in Russia, but the goal to maintain communism was lost. Full version of this article was originally published on www.valdaiclub.com
