Democratisation and Nationalism in the Soviet Union

• Democratisation gave nationalists a chance to win elections and challenge the Soviet Union.
• Nationalists gained majorities in several republics' parliaments in the 1990 elections.
• In March 1990, the newly elected Lithuanian parliament declared independence from the Soviet Union, leading to economic sanctions imposed by Gorbachev.
• Yeltsin insisted in May 1990 that laws made by the Russian parliament were legally superior to Soviet laws, giving Russia more independence from the Soviet Union.
• The re-emergence of the old Russian flag and the double-headed eagle, banned by the Soviet government, showed the rise of nationalism in Russia and a desire for independence.