1985.03.11 Moscow

Konstantin Chernenko, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, passed away.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union held an emergency meeting on March 11th, appointing Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and transferring his "close partner" Yeltsin to the Central Committee.

"I want to avoid a civil war, the country is already heading in that direction," Gorbachev said. "If I, if we, continue to cling to power, it means many people will die, along with the massive destruction that follows."

Under this philosophy, Gorbachev began to advocate new thinking, implement democratic reforms, voluntarily relinquished the Communist Party's leadership over the state and the military, and promoted the spread of the Sinatra Doctrine, initiating the prelude to the Eastern European upheaval.

(*Sinatra Doctrine: The Soviet Union allowed Warsaw Pact member states to decide their own domestic policies)

1989.10.23 Hungarian People's Republic, renamed "Republic of Hungary".

The Republic of Hungary announced the abolition of the provision that Marxist-Leninist parties play a leading role in state institutions, replaced by a coalition government of the Socialist Party and the Alliance of Free Democrats, establishing a democratic and free rule of law state.

1989.11.17 Czechoslovakia launched the "Velvet Revolution".

The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia approved amendments to the Constitution, abolishing clauses such as the leading role of the Communist Party in society and implementing a multi-party parliamentary democracy.

1989.12.25, the regime of the Socialist Republic of Romania under Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown.

The National Salvation Front Committee of Romania took over all state power, and on the 28th, the country's name was changed to Romania.

1989.12.29 Polish People's Republic, renamed "Republic of Poland".

The free, democratic, and prosperous new Republic of Poland formally embarked on a development path that politically pursued Western-style parliamentary democracy and economically implemented a market economy based on privatization.

1990.01.15 Bulgaria decided to implement a multi-party system and a market economy. In the same year, the People's Republic of Bulgaria was renamed the "Republic of Bulgaria".

1990.03.18 East Germany implemented free elections, and subsequently, the Warsaw Treaty Organization was fully integrated into the Federal Republic of Germany.

However, all of this was acceptable to the Soviet government at the time.

If basic national problems are not solved, and without the participation of the people, there is no way to build a new society. At least at that time, everyone believed this was the right thing to do.

However, when some basic problems began to be solved, the reform process was also interrupted.

Along with the disintegration of countries associated with the Warsaw Pact, cracks began to appear within the once unbreakable Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

1990.03.11 Lithuania declared independence.

1991.04.09 Georgia declared independence.

1991.08.20 Estonia declared independence.

……

Just like a falling domino, in the following year or so, the 15 republics of the Soviet Union successively declared independence and began to formulate steps and measures to achieve independence.

Although on March 27, 1991, Gorbachev had held some nationwide referendums throughout the Soviet Union on whether to retain the Union, the decision of 76.4% of Soviet citizens to maintain the Union did not play a correct role.

Since the Soviet Union opened its foreign economic policy in 1989, the capital that had poured into the Soviet Union had quickly taken root. The huge capital power and attractive welfare successfully helped Yeltsin and other senior officials who supported the split of the Soviet Union gain an advantage in the political struggle, extinguishing the last hope of the Soviet Union's self-recovery.

1990.07.12

At the 28th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin announced his withdrawal from the Communist Party.

1991.08.19 Moscow

Conservative members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union launched a coup in an attempt to stop the reforms.

The coup lasted only two days.

As Russian President Yeltsin refused to obey and led the Soviet army to defect, the coup ultimately failed.

1991.08.23 Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union

Gorbachev announced that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was an illegal organization, ordered the military police and KGB agents to expel all Communist Party staff, confiscated all Communist Party property and nationalized it, and restricted its activities within Russia.

1991.08.24

Gorbachev announced his resignation as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and suggested that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union dissolve itself.

1991.11.16

Russian leader Yeltsin announced the deprivation of Soviet financial resources, took over the Soviet State Bank and the Bank for Foreign Economic Affairs, and controlled the monetary power of the Union.

1991.12.01

Ukraine held a referendum on independence, and the Soviet Union completely fell into the countdown to disintegration.

1991.12.08

Russian President Yeltsin, Ukrainian President Kravchuk, and Belarusian Supreme Soviet Chairman Shushkevich signed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) agreement, establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States, replacing the Soviet Union by creating a structure similar to the British Commonwealth, and completely defeating the new agreement of the Soviet government, which ultimately led to the fundamental inability of the old system to operate.

1991.12.21

A total of 11 republics signed the CIS agreement in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and the Soviet Union was completely sentenced to death.

……

December 25, 1991, 7:00 PM.

Soviet President's Office.

Gorbachev sat in the President's office, facing the camera, and delivered the speech to the country and the world that he would repeat countless times in various themes and types of films in his acting career over the next few decades.

"In view of the situation that has developed as a result of the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, I am discontinuing my activities as President of the Soviet Union. I am taking this decision on grounds of principle."

"I have firmly advocated the independence and autonomy of all peoples, advocated that the Republics have sovereignty; at the same time, I advocated the preservation of the Union state and maintaining the integrity of the country. However, events have developed along a different path, the policy of dismembering and splitting the country has prevailed, which I cannot agree to..."

"Even after the Almaty meeting and the decisions adopted at the meeting, there were major differences of opinion among the delegates attending the meeting, and my position on this issue has never changed..."

"Furthermore, I am convinced that such an important decision should be based on a referendum of citizens of all the Union Republics."

"In any case, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the successfully signed agreement can promote actual harmony in society, get rid of social crises, and alleviate the difficulties in the reform process..."

"This is the last time I am giving a speech to everyone as President of the Soviet Union..."

"Our country is vast and rich in resources, with abundant natural gas and oil, and naturally, there are also many other more valuable resources such as talented people. But our lives are much worse than those in developed Western countries, and we are falling behind them in all aspects, and the reasons are clear..."

"Society is almost suffocating under the shackles of the bureaucratic command system... The country is losing its sustainable development... We can't continue like this anymore, everything should be fundamentally changed..."

"But I have always believed that starting such a large-scale reform, and in such a huge social system, is destined to be extremely difficult, even an extremely risky thing..."

"However, in any case, we have completed historically significant work."

"Society has gained freedom and has been liberated politically and spiritually... We will continue to advance the process of freedom, rights, especially human rights, which will be the measure of all future work..."

"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 abandon the use of force abroad..."

"And Western society will repay our efforts with trust, solidarity, and respect..."

Red Square, Moscow, the main gate of the Kremlin.

The flag of the sickle and hammer, which has been flying over the Kremlin for nearly a century, is slowly falling. Below the flagpole, several former Soviet guards are slowly unfolding a red, blue, and white Russian flag...

The entire Red Square in Moscow is silent. There are no cheers, no discussions, no national anthems, no sounds of celebratory gunfire or the rhythmic steps of soldiers' boots...

Most of the people in Red Square stand there in a daze, their eyes filled with confusion and helplessness. Some watch numbly as the red flag that will never be raised again falls, while others cover their mouths and noses and sob mournfully...

Amidst the silence...

The Soviet Union, the old大哥 (lao da ge - big brother) of the socialist system.

The largest red empire in human history to date.

This great union, which stood for more than half a century, quietly fell on Christmas Day in 1991.

And this also means...

"An era has ended."

In a corner of Red Square in Moscow, a silver-haired little girl wrapped in a black trench coat tightened her clothes, sighed with a rather complex expression, turned around, and walked towards the old wizard standing in the shadows behind her.

"Let's go, we're going back to A Bite of Hogwarts... A new era has begun."

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