Christmas Special: An Era Is Over
1985.03.11 Moscow
Chernenko, ***** CPSU, died.
The Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU held an emergency meeting on March 11 and appointed Comrade Mikhail Hilgeyevich Gorbachev as the ***** of the CPSU and transferred his "close partner" Yeltsin to the Central Committee.
"I want to avoid a civil war, and the country is already moving in that direction," Mr. Gorbachev said, "and if I, we continue to cling to power, it means that many people will die, and the destruction that will come with it." β
Under this idea, Gorbachev began to advocate new thinking, implement democratic reforms, voluntarily renounce the leadership of the CPSU over the state and the army, and promoted the spread of Sinatryism, setting off the prelude to the drastic changes in Eastern Europe.
(* Sinatra Doctrine: The USSR allowed the Warsaw Pact member states to determine their own internal policy)
1989.10.23 The Hungarian People's Republic was renamed the "Republic of Hungary".
The Republic of Hungary announced the abolition of the provisions on the leading role of Marxist-Leninist parties in State institutions and the establishment of a democratic and free state under the rule of law in the form of a joint government of the Socialist Party and the Liberal Democratic League.
1989.11.17 Czechoslovakia launched the "Velvet Revolution".
The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia approved the amendment of the constitution, abolishing provisions on the leading role of the Czech Communist Party in society and introducing a multiparty parliamentary democracy.
On December 25, 1989, the regime of the Romanian Socialist Republic under Nicolas Ceausescu was overthrown.
The Romanian National Salvation Front Committee took over all power in the country and changed its name to Romania on the 28th.
1989.12.29 Polish People's Republic, renamed "Republic of Poland".
Since then, the free, democratic, and affluent new Republic of Poland has officially embarked on the path of development of a Western-style parliamentary democracy in politics and a market economy based on privatization in the economy.
1990.01.15 Bulgaria decided to implement a multi-party system and a market economy, and in the same year, the Bulgarian People's Republic was renamed the "Republic of Bulgaria".
1990.03.18 Free elections were held in the GDR, and the Warsaw Pact was subsequently fully incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany.
However, all this was acceptable in the eyes of the Soviet government at that time.
There was no way to build a new society without the participation of the people without solving the basic national problems, and at least at that time, everyone thought it was the right thing to do.
However, when certain fundamental issues began to be resolved, the process of reform was interrupted.
With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact-related countries, cracks began to appear within the once unbreakable alliance of the Soviet Union.
1990.03.11 Independence of Lithuania.
1991.04.09 Georgia became independent.
1991.08.20 Independence of Estonia.
......
Like a falling domino, over the next year or so, the 15 republics of the Soviet Union declared their independence and began to formulate steps and measures to achieve it.
Although on March 27, 1991, Gorbachev held a number of referendums throughout the Soviet Union on whether to retain the alliance, 76.4% of Soviet citizens voted in favor of the decision to keep the alliance, which did not play the right role.
Since 1989, when the Soviet Union opened up its foreign economic policy, the capital that poured into the Soviet Union has rapidly taken root, and the huge capital power and attractive benefits have successfully helped Yeltsin and other senior Soviet officials who supported the separatism to gain an advantage in the political struggle, and snuffed out the last shred of vitality for the Soviet Union's self-recovery.
1990.07.12
At the 28th Congress of the CPSU, Yeltsin announced his withdrawal from the CPSU.
1991.08.19 Moscow
The conservative wing of the CPSU staged a coup d'Γ©tat, hoping to prevent the reform from proceeding.
The coup lasted only two days.
The coup failed as Russian President Boris Yeltsin refused to obey and led the Soviet army to defect.
1991.08.23 Assembly of People's Deputies of the USSR
Gorbachev declared the CPSU an illegal organization, ordered the military police and KGB agents to expel all CPSU functionaries, and nationalized all CPSU property and restricted its activities in Russia.
1991.08.24
Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of ***** of the CPSU and suggested that the Central Committee of the CPSU dissolve itself.
1991.11.16
Russian leader Boris Yeltsin announced that he would deprive the Soviet Union of its financial resources, take over the State Bank of the Soviet Union and the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, and seize the monetary power of the Union.
1991.12.01
Ukraine voted for independence, and the Soviet Union was completely in the countdown to collapse.
1991.12.08
Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Ukrainian President Kravchuk, and Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus Shushkevich signed the CIS Agreement, which established the Commonwealth of Independent States to replace the Soviet Union by creating a Commonwealth-like structure, completely defeating the new agreement of the Soviet government, and ultimately making the old system fundamentally inoperable.
1991.12.21
A total of 11 republics signed the CIS in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the Soviet Union was sentenced to death.
......
25 December 1991, 7 p.m.
Office of the President of the USSR.
Sitting in the president's office, facing the cameras, Mr. Gorbachev delivered the phrase to the nation and the world, a phrase that he repeated countless times in films of various subjects and genres over the decades that followed.
"In view of the situation that developed after the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, I cease my activities as President of the USSR. This decision was taken on the basis of principle. β
"I firmly advocate the independence of the peoples of all nationalities and the sovereignty of the Republic, and at the same time I advocate the preservation of the Union State and the preservation of the integrity of the State. However, the situation is developing along a different path, and the policy of dismemberment and secession prevails, which I cannot agree with......"
"Even after the Almaty meeting and the adoption of the decision, the opinions of the delegates at the meeting were quite divided, and my position on this issue has not changed......
"In addition, I am convinced that such an important decision should be taken on the basis of a referendum of the citizens of the Union States. β
"In any case, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the successfully signed agreement will contribute to the actual harmony of society, get out of the social crisis and alleviate the difficulties in the reform process......"
"This is the last time I will give a speech in front of everyone as the President of the Soviet Union......"
"We have a lot of land, a vast land, rich in natural gas and oil, and other more valuable resources such as talented people. But our lives are much worse than those of the developed countries of the West, and we are falling behind them in all respects, and the reasons are already clear......"
"Society is almost suffocated under the constraints of the bureaucratic commanding constitution...... The country is losing its sustainable nature...... We can't go on like this, we need to fundamentally change everything......"
"But I have always believed that starting a reform of this magnitude in such a large social system is bound to be extremely difficult, even extremely risky......
"Either way, though, we've done historic work. β
"Society was freed, politically and spiritually liberated...... We will continue to advance the process of freedom, rights and, above all, human rights, which will be the measure of everything we do in the future......"
"The Soviet Union has opened its arms to the people of the world and solemnly promised not to interfere in the affairs of other countries and to renounce the use of force abroad......"
"Western societies will reward our efforts with trust, solidarity and respect......"
Moscow's Red Square, the main entrance to the Kremlin.
The sickle-and-hammer flag, which fluttered over the Kremlin for nearly a century, was slowly falling. And below the flagpole, several former Soviet guards are slowly unfurling a red, blue and white flag of the Russian Federation......
The whole of Moscow's Red Square was silent, there was no cheering, no talking, no national anthem played, no cannon salute and the sound of neat military boots......
Most of the people on Red Square froze in place, their eyes full of dazedness and helplessness, and they either watched numbly as the red flag that would never be raised again fell, or covered their mouths and noses with their mouths and noses and let out sad sobs......
In the silence......
The USSR, the big brother of the socialist system.
By far the largest red empire in human history.
This great alliance, which had stood for more than half a century, quietly fell on Christmas Day 1991.
And that also means......
"An era is over. β
In a corner of Moscow's Red Square, a little silver-haired girl wrapped in a black trench coat tightened her clothes, sighed rather complicatedly, and turned to the old wizard standing in the shadows behind her.
"Let's go, let's go back to Hogwarts...... A new era has begun. β
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