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Gorbachev is nominated General Secretary of the CPSU
A committed communist with firm convictions around the necessity of reform, his attempts to democratise the Soviet political system and modernise the economy would ultimately see the downfall of his state. -
An environmental disaster ensues after a nuclear reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine explodes, dispersing a cloud of radiation across Europe
he explosion is caused by a faulty reactor design and inadequately trained personnel. Attempts by the Government to conceal the disaster directly contradict Gorbachev’s policy of glasnost on the world stage, and directly harm the Soviet populace through premature death and internal displacement. This coverup would continue, in part, for years to come. -
Gorbachev gives his farewell speech, announcing his resignation as President of the Soviet Union.
Despite his attempts to preserve some semblance of a union and his own place within it, he is forced to concede his position to Yeltsin, the inaugural President of the Russian Federation. The Union is replaced with a much weaker Commonwealth of Independent States, which does not include many of the former constituent republics. One day later, the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet votes both itself and the Soviet Union out of existence, formally bringing the empire to an end. -
A coup d’état against Gorbachev takes place in Moscow.
Acting in advance of the signing of the New Union Treaty, which was Gorbachev’s initiative to preserve the Soviet Union by granting more autonomy to the constituent republics, a so-called ‘State Committee on the State of Emergency’ (GKChP) is formed by representatives of the Soviet State, KGB, CPSU, and the military-industrialists.