Timeline (New Union)

New era in the Soviet Union

 * 1985


 * March 11: After the sudden death of General Secretary Konstantin Chernenko, Mikhail Gorbachev is declared the General Secretary


 * 1986


 * April 26: In the Ukraine, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's fourth reactor has a meltdown.


 * 1987


 * June: Gorbachev establishes Glasnost and Perestroika in order to reform the Soviet Union.


 * 1990


 * March 15: Mikhail Gorbachev officially forms the office of "President of the Soviet Union." Gorbachev becomes the first President of the USSR.


 * July: At the 28th Congress, President Gorbachev proposes a solution to the Soviet Union's increasing ethnic problems, which will be morphed into the New Union Treaty.


 * November 23: The first draft of the New Union Treaty is submitted to the Supreme Soviet.


 * 1991


 * January 1: A drafting committee is formed. Nine of the Fifteen republics attended the drafting.


 * March 6: The proposal was approved by the Soviet of the Union and sent to the Supreme Soviets of the republics for approval. Agreement could not be reached on the distribution of power between the Union and the Republics and the proposal was not approved. As an additional restrictive element, some autonomous republics expressed the desire to raise their status and to be a party to the new Soviet treaty.


 * March 17: a popular referendum was held in the nine republics which participated in the drafting of the treaty. In the referendum 76% of voters supported maintaining the federal system of the Soviet Union, including a majority in all of the nine republics. Opposition was greatest in large cities like Leningrad and Moscow. The referendum was mostly boycotted in the other six republics already moving towards independence. The majority of residents of the Ukraine supported joining the Union on the terms of Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine.


 * April 23: An agreement between the Soviet central government and the nine republics, the so-called "9+1" agreement was finally signed in Novo-Ogaryovo. The New Union Treaty will convert the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics into a federation of independent republics with a common president, foreign policy, and military.


 * August: Eight of the nine republics, except the Ukraine, approved the draft of the new Treaty with some conditions.


 * August 20: The Russian SFSR signs the New Union Treaty. Within days, the Ukrainian SSR and the Belorussian SSR sign. Within a month, all the nine republics that drafted the treaty had signed it.


 * October 5: A referendum is held in six renaming republics on whether they will sign the treaty after all. The citizens of the Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR, and the Moldovan SSR vote to sign the treaty on a close margin. Where as the citizens of the Estonian SSR, Latvian SSR, and Lithuanian SSR strongly show that they do not want to join, and become independent.


 * October 25: The three remaining republics sign the treaty. President Mikhail Gorbachev gives a speech about the Baltic States.

"I do not support that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are moving away from the others, but as I have said to out international comrades, 'its your decision, not mine'. I hope that all the republics (no matter what government they are under) will continue to work together for the common goals."


 * November 7: On the 74th anniversary of the October Revolution, Gorbachev announces that the new Constitution has been drafted and awaiting approval from all the 12 republics. A referendum held in all 12 republics eventually agree to name the new country the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics (USSR). The name came from the debate from Russia and Belorussia on keeping the old name in some form, while Ukraine and Georgia wanted to loose it and start fresh.


 * December 25: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ceases to exist, and four new countries take its place (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics).