Collapse of the Soviet Union

• Many believed that Gorbachev had weakened Communism. On 19th Aug 1991, Communist officials ‘The Gang of 8’ organised a coup to remove Gorbachev from power and replace him with Yeltsin. This only lasted 3 days but Gorbachev lost popularity.
• On 21st Aug 1991, Gorbachev returned to Moscow to resume his position as leader and introduced even more independence.
• Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Moscow declared themselves as independent and Gorbachev began to realise he was unpopular in the West.
• Therefore, on the 25th December 1991, Gorbachev announced the dissolution of the Soviet Union and resigned. The Soviet Union split into separate states.
• The rivalry between Communist East and Capitalist West was now over.
• The Warsaw Pact also weakened further and officially ended in July 1991.