Former President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev explained his decision to resign by saying that “he had no right to do otherwise.” According to the politician, the last days before his departure were “dark days” for the Soviet Union. Mr. Gorbachev believes that an attempt to remain in office by force would entail a civil conflict with unpredictable consequences.
Mikhail Gorbachev told TASS that “these were the dark days of the Union and Russia.” “And dark days for me, although I did not lose my composure. I signed a decree on the resignation of the president of the USSR, I think that I had no right to act differently, ”the politician is convinced.
The ex-president of the USSR clarified that he could not decide “on some kind of forceful option.” “Firstly, in this case, I would cease to be myself. And, secondly, such a decision would entail an acute civil conflict with unpredictable consequences. I thought that this should not be allowed, ”the politician explained.
He also expressed disagreement with the opinion that the Soviet Union could have been saved if he had not resigned. “Immediately after the Belovezhskaya agreement, I made a statement in which I emphasized that the fate of a multinational state cannot be determined by the will of the leaders of the three republics, this issue should be resolved only by constitutional means,” he said. Mr. Gorbachev called the mentioned agreement “hasty”
Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on December 25, 1991. On the same day, the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the collapse of the USSR a tragedy, “the collapse of historical Russia.” The day before, the State Duma introduced a bill on the day of commemoration of the collapse of the USSR, which is proposed to be introduced on December 26.
About what we inherited from the Soviet Union, see the special project “Kommersant” “30 years without the USSR”.
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