Dissolution of the Soviet Union

The attempted self-coup in August 1991, Moscow. Eventually leading to the Soviet dissolution.

The dissolution of the Soviet Union was a geopolitical and one of the biggest events of the 20th century ever since. It started when Estonia declared independence on 16 November 1988. After that, many Soviet republics followed and eventually all 15 state republics left the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This marked the end of the long-run Cold War with the United States. With the Soviet Union no longer existed, China became the only major communist, socialist and Marxist-Leninist state following economic reforms, and the U.S. became the world's sole superpower.

With the 1989 revolutions, many European nations left communist ideals. The Soviet Union at the time was struggling with the economy and protests following the withdrawal from Afghanistan (see article Soviet–Afghan War). In August 1991, an attempted self-coup in the Soviet Union occurred to overthrow the Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev failed, leading to the total ban of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The Belovezha Accords, which recognized every Soviet republic's sovereignty, were signed on 8 December 1991 and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Kazakhstan was the only Soviet republic at the time until 16 December. On 21 December, every former Soviet republic joined the CIS except Georgia and the Baltic states. Ultimately, on 26 December, Gorbachev resigned, officially dissolved the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin became the president of Russia in the same day. The Soviet flag was taken down from the Kremlin and replaced by the Russian flag. Marking the end of the Cold War.