Quote from Timothy Fitzpatrick on May 15, 2025, 14:02

RUSO: "Belovezhskaya conspiracy". December 8 is a tragic date in Russian history

December 8 is a tragic date in Russian history. On this day in 1991, the heads of three Soviet republics, Boris Yeltsin (RSFSR), Leonid Kravchuk (Ukrainian SSR), Stanislav Shushkevich (BSSR), gathered in the hotel of the Viskuli hunting estate on the territory of the state residence in Belovezhskaya Pushcha and signed an agreement that "the USSR as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality ceases to exist." In exchange, they proposed creating a Commonwealth of Independent States. Four days later, on December 12, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR approved all the Belovezhskaya documents. And already on December 26, 1991, the Council of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a declaration stating the termination of the existence of the Soviet Union as a state and a subject of international law. Thus, 29 years ago, the Power, which was always reckoned with by all countries of the world, ceased to exist: enemies feared it, friends loved it.

Pavel Anokhin.
2020-12-08

                                    “Knowledgeably stupid!”

The authors of the Belovezh Accords have spent all this time explaining and justifying their decision. Thus, Boris Yeltsin , speaking on December 12, 1991 at the memorable session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, which was called the "Belovezh Accusation", already then emotionally rejected the "accusation against the signatories of the Agreement that they allegedly arbitrarily liquidated the USSR". He proved his innocence by the fact that "the Union is no longer capable of playing a positive role in relation to its former members. The world community began to consider it bankrupt. Vnesheconombank declared that it had no means at all to pay any expenses". He recalled: "The Declarations of Sovereignty of 1990 radically changed the situation. The unitary model of the Union was practically put to rest". He blamed everything on the Center, where "a multi-month period of preparation of the Union Treaty began, which was often carried out from a position of strength. One after another, new drafts of the Treaty began to appear. In essence, the same model of the Union with a strong center was being pushed through. The principle of sovereignty was recognized only as a decorative embellishment, but in reality it was mercilessly trampled. Only in April in Novo-Ogaryovo was a step towards reality finally taken. But it was too late. During the entire period of negotiations, 8 republics out of 15 had already turned away from the Union."

The signed Agreement, as Boris Yeltsin emphasized, "is the basis for the dynamic development of a new type of relations between sovereign states. An end has been put to the main obstacle to this - the union center, which proved incapable of freeing itself from the traditions of the previous system, the main one of which is the assumed right to command peoples and fetter the independence of the republics." If he had known where he fell, as they say, he would have laid down some straw. Two years later, the politician who once called for "taking as much sovereignty as you can swallow", by the same right "to command peoples and fetter the independence of the republics" himself started a war in Chechnya. In 1996, Russian President Boris Yeltsin said that he regretted signing the Belovezh Accords.

Stanislav Shushkevich still does not regret inviting Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk to Belovezhskaya Pushcha in December 1991. Another matter is where and why everything went afterwards. According to him, he and the Belarusian delegation only wanted to discuss “the possibility of obtaining energy resources by non-market methods while the transition process exists.” “And when Burbulis suddenly said during the meeting that the USSR was ceasing to exist as a geopolitical reality, we agreed with this,” he told journalists in an interview. “I said that I agreed to sign this, I had such a constitutional right, and Leonid Makarovich agreed, and since Gennady Burbulis proposed this, it means that Boris Yeltsin was also “for it.” This happened on December 7, 1991, and then everything else was strung onto this axis. We had previously understood very well internally that we wanted real independence for our republics, but we had never discussed this among ourselves.”

Leonid Kravchuk , like the first President of Russia, later regretted what he had done. In 2005, he said: if he had known what would happen in Ukraine later, he would have rather cut off his hand than sign that Agreement. In an interview with the author of this material, Leonid Makarovich spoke about the corridors of Belovezhskaya Pushcha. For him, as for Shushkevich, the wording of the document was a surprise. “At the meeting, each of us had our own ‘homework’. For example, I had them written by hand. Gennady Burbulis also took his papers out of his pocket. The biggest argument was over the first question: does the Soviet Union as a geopolitical system, as a subject of international law cease to exist? In any case, we had doubts. We wavered: maybe limit ourselves to a declaration and return to the union treaty?” the first President of Ukraine reflected. According to him, if the Novo-Ogarevo process had not reached a dead end and had taken on a constructive character, then Belovezhskaya Pushcha probably would not have happened. "There were lances broken there over what to create: a federation or a confederation? Let's say, I proposed to prepare a confederative treaty instead of a union treaty. Yeltsin and Nazarbayev supported me in this. If Gorbachev and Lukyanov had agreed, then everything might have gone differently," Leonid Kravchuk argued that he was right.

He also revealed the secret of the presidential multi-coloredness that suddenly flared up on the country's political horizon: "The leadership of the CPSU knew about the growth of anti-communist sentiments and looked for various ways out. For example, they began to form parallel parties. I can say that there was a secret protocol of the CPSU Central Committee, which recommended creating and strengthening presidential power in the republics. It was supposed to centralize it, and then unite the country with the help of presidents. Znayshly durniv! (Found fools! - Author.) What kind of person, having received presidential power by the will of the people, would refuse it and go back to the Soviet Union!" Leonid Kravchuk completely disagrees when their meeting is called a "conspiracy"? "Let me remind you," the first president of Ukraine emphasized, "we adopted an agreement in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, which clearly states: it comes into force after ratification by parliaments . And if the deputies had not ratified this document, our signatures would have meant nothing. But all three parliaments – Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian – approved the agreement. And without any amendments. So everything is according to the law."

What about parliaments?

The Belovezh Accords and the documents signed with them were ratified by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR on December 12, 1991, which resulted in the termination of the Union Treaty of 1922. Of the 250 deputies, seven voted against the ratification of the Belovezh Accords: S. Baburin, N. Pavlov, V. Isakov, I. Konstantinov, S. Polozkov, V. Balala, P. Lysov. Seven also abstained. Three voted against the denunciation of the Union Treaty: S. Baburin, V. Isakov, P. Lysov. Nine deputies abstained on this issue: V. Grachev, N. Pavlov, S. Reshulsky, Z. Oykina, K. Ruppel, V. Shuikov, V. Sanayev, I. Shashviashvili, A. Lugovoy.

A number of parliamentarians insisted that, in accordance with the Constitution of the RSFSR that was in effect (until December 1993), the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR, the highest body of state power, had to be convened to ratify the Belovezh Accords. In April 1992, the Congress of People's Deputies refused three times to consider the issue of ratifying the agreement and excluding the mention of the Constitution and laws of the USSR from the text of the Constitution of the RSFSR. This would later become one of the reasons for the confrontation between the Congress of People's Deputies and Russian President Boris Yeltsin and lead to the events of October 1993. Thus, despite the fact that the USSR de facto ceased to exist, the USSR Constitution of 1977 de jure, according to its Article 4, continued to operate on the territory of Russia until December 25, 1993, when the Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted by popular vote, came into force. Remember: "yes" - "yes" - "no" - "yes"? The new Basic Law finally transformed the union republic of the RSFSR into an independent state of Russia (Russian Federation).

In accordance with the decisions of the parliaments of the union republics, the Agreement of December 8, 1991 “On the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States” entered into force for the participating states:

• Belarus and Ukraine - since December 10, 1991;
• Russia - since December 12, 1991;
• Kazakhstan - since December 23, 1991;
• Turkmenistan - since December 26, 1991;
• Uzbekistan - since January 4, 1992;
• Armenia - since February 18, 1992;
• Kyrgyzstan - since March 6, 1992;
• Tajikistan - since June 26, 1993;
• Azerbaijan - since September 24, 1993;
• Georgia - since December 3, 1993;
• Moldova - since April 8, 1994.

On March 15, 1996, the State Duma, through the efforts of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction, adopted the resolutions "On Deepening the Integration of the Peoples United in the USSR, on the Cancellation of the Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR of December 12, 1991" and "On the Legal Force of the USSR Referendum of March 17, 1991 on the Issue of Preserving the USSR." Its third point stated: "To confirm that the Agreement on the Establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States of December 8, 1991, signed by the President of the RSFSR B. N. Yeltsin and the State Secretary of the RSFSR G. E. Burbulis, and not approved by the Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR - the highest body of state power of the RSFSR - did not have and does not have legal force in the part relating to the termination of the existence of the USSR."

By this resolution, as well as by Resolution No. 156-II of the State Duma, the Russian Federation effectively denounced the Belovezh Accords and recognized the existence of the USSR. In doing so, the State Duma expressed its legal position with respect to the Belovezh Accords as an illegal, unconstitutional act adopted with the grossest violation of the Constitution of the RSFSR, the norms of international law and the legislation in force at that time. Thus, by its actions 24 years ago, the State Duma opened the way for the creation of appropriate legal foundations for the gradual restoration of the state unity of the peoples previously united in the USSR.

                                            Over the abyss of lies

 

This is how many politicians, scientists, journalists, and representatives of public and political organizations perceive the time that has passed since the Belovezh Accords in their search for the roots of the "largest geopolitical catastrophe of the century." This is how Russian President Vladimir Putin called the "collapse of the Soviet Union" in his Address to the Russian Parliament on April 25, 2005. "For the Russian people, it has become a real drama," the document says. "Tens of millions of our fellow citizens and compatriots have found themselves outside of Russian territory. The epidemic of disintegration has spread to Russia itself." 

The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction in the State Duma, Gennady Zyuganov, considers the signing of the Belovezh Accords, which drew a line under the existence of the Soviet Union, a catastrophe worse than the attack of Nazi Germany. He assesses the fact that it was carried out against the will of "two thirds of the citizens of the USSR who voted in the referendum to preserve our common Motherland" as "a national betrayal of an unprecedented scale." And he sees in it the causes of all the current troubles. The leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is sure: "Yeltsin and all three of them should have been arrested."

"When the Belovezh Accords were discussed in the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, I was among the deputies who voted against ratification - for the preservation of a single union state," explains his position the prominent political and state figure of Russia, deputy of the State Duma of the 1st, 2nd and 4th convocations, leader of the political party Russian All-People's Union, Doctor of Law, Professor Sergei Baburin . - The people who signed the agreement committed a crime against the Russian people, because the Soviet Union was a natural-historical form of Russian civilization in the 20th century. Russia must regain its economic and political positions in the former USSR and once again become the geopolitical center of Russian civilizational unity. Today it is clear to everyone: peace will reign on our borders only if Russia firmly declares the post-Soviet space a zone of its national interests and consistently does not allow foreign forces there."

"The Union was destroyed by the betrayal of the elites and the thoughtless actions of poorly educated politicians," said Viktor Arkhipov, Deputy Chairman of the Party of Russia's Revival, in a commentary . "If we talk about the Belovezhskaya conspiracy, everyone knows that it violated the Constitution of the USSR. And it came into conflict with the famous March referendum, where the overwhelming majority of the population voted for the preservation of the USSR, and the government changed everything in its own way. Communist deputies prepared and submitted the relevant documents several times, demanding a trial, but to no avail. History and life, I think, will put everything in its place over time."

Political scientist and Doctor of Philosophy Alexander Tsipko also agrees that the greatest crime took place in December 1991. "Three people got together, abolished the country, retroactively approved their decision through parliament - this is not just a violation of the Constitution, it is a coup," he says. "The consequences of Belovezhskaya have not yet been fully realized. Through the efforts of Vladimir Putin, the trends towards the disintegration of the Russian Federation have been frozen, but not stopped. They often talk about the CIS as a prototype of a new state association, but at the same time they forget that the Russian State is possible when three Russian peoples - Great Russians, Little Russians and Belarusians - live together."

Dmitry Orlov, CEO of the Agency for Political and Economic Communications, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, PhD in history, in a conversation with the author of these lines emphasized that the Belovezhskaya tragedy of the country demonstrated the incompetence and egoism of the ruling elite, which sacrificed the global interests of the state to its personal interests. In his opinion, third-level politicians who did not understand either historical processes, or global challenges, or the role of the state found themselves in power in a difficult situation for the country. "Was the collapse of the USSR predetermined?" he asked. - In my opinion, the economic crisis was predetermined, since we had an extremely ineffective economic system. The collapse of the socialist camp was predetermined, but the USSR was not. The state, held together by powerful economic ties, a strong internal identity of the population, developed within these borders for many years and had good prospects. The change of the elite, which occurred in the mid-80s, played a negative role. But even if the USSR was destined to collapse, this does not mean that it had to happen so quickly and so dramatically. With the implementation of a competent policy, it was possible to build a very effective system of economic ties, as the British Empire ensured. In this regard, the emerging integration programs, Russia's active efforts to unite the Russian world are encouraging."

Andrey Savelyev , State Duma deputy (2003-2007), Doctor of Political Science, head of the international foundation "Russian Information Center" published the book "How the USSR was killed. Who became a billionaire." In it, he documented how the Soviet Union was destroyed with the support of foreign countries. "In a short period of time, 1991-1995," says the author, "colossal capitals arose in Russia, the power of money acquired a hypertrophied character. During this period, political power in the country relied on newly-minted oligarchs who robbed the people. Such should be considered both major managers controlling huge property complexes and presidents of some republics, both within Russia and the Commonwealth. Many of them are named in the book. They are the ones who have been pursuing a policy of disunity between our peoples all these years, blocking any serious steps towards integration. Their strategic goal, on the one hand, is to acquire ownership of our country’s natural resources, and on the other, to prevent Russia from being reborn as a coherent, powerful state…”

The Roots of the "Geopolitical Catastrophe"

It was a coup d'etat, insisted and insists Yuri Voronin, Doctor of Economics, Professor, First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation (1992-1993): "What is the meaning of the resolutions adopted by the State Duma on March 15, 1996? After five years, the deputies stated that the Soviet Union was destroyed against the will of the people with gross violations of the Constitution of the USSR. On behalf of their voters, they declared to the whole world that the three "leaders" of the former republics of the Union stole the country from them. The Federation Council did not support the decisions of the State Duma, and the issue was put on the back burner. But it is not closed and still testifies: those who signed the Belovezh Accords and those who supported them carried out an anti-Union coup d'etat."

The politician recalled that the "gravediggers of the Union" first informed US President George Bush (senior) of their decision, and only then the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev. "The first "took note of the information", the second was indignant, but did not lift a finger to strengthen the Constitution of the USSR," Yuri Voronin dotted the "i's".

George Bush called a press conference that same day and announced: “The USSR no longer exists… The United States won the Cold War… The greatest victory over the USSR was achieved, and at the hands of its internal opposition…” He did not hide the fact that “the United States spent five trillion dollars to liquidate the Soviet Union.” The US President, in his statement on December 25, 1991, after Mikhail Gorbachev informed him of his resignation, emphasized: “The United States welcomes the historic choice in favor of freedom made by the new states of the Commonwealth. Despite the potential for instability and chaos, these events clearly meet our interests.”

It is noteworthy that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , speaking in Houston back in November 1991, two weeks before the signing of the Belovezh Accords, said: "The Soviet Union has now de facto collapsed, but de jure the Soviet Union exists. I assure you that within the next month you will hear about the legal formalization of the collapse of the Soviet Union." And indeed, a few weeks later, as if by magic, the Belovezh Accords were signed in December 1991.

Speaking about this, it is worth recalling the famous speech of Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945, 1951-1955), delivered on March 5, 1946 in Fulton (USA), where the main directions of the "cold war" against the USSR were outlined. Doctor of Economics Vladimir Embulaev , in his book "Socialism as a Socio-Economic Formation" writes: "Historical facts and secret US documents open to date indicate that immediately after the defeat of fascist Germany, the USA and England intercepted Hitler's baton in destroying the USSR and the rebellious Russian people in order to open access to our resources. The ideology of destroying the USSR with the help of atomic weapons was created by Truman and Churchill, and the military practice of aggression was developed by generals and the military-industrial capital of the USA, headed by the National Council of Chiefs of Staff. In the first decade after the Victory over Germany alone, about a dozen such plans were developed in the United States.”

In November 1945, US President Harry Truman signed a plan of aggression against the USSR, which provided for atomic strikes on 20 of our cities. On September 28, 1948, he approved Directive NSC-10/2, which ordered the deployment of subversive actions against the USSR. The document stated: "Covert operations include propaganda; economic warfare; preventive direct actions, including sabotage, assistance to the underground movement..."

Dwight Eisenhower , having become the US President in 1953, publicly declared: "We must adapt our military policy to the strategy of the "cold war". We must take care to extract from the "cold war" a chance to win without losses." It was about victory over the USSR, yesterday's ally of the US in the anti-Hitler coalition. The strategy of US foreign policy no longer corresponded to the doctrine of "containing communism" formulated under Truman; the stake was placed on "liberating Eastern Europe", on "throwing back communism".

And already in 1953, the Dulles plan was put on the US President's desk, which envisaged "provoking maximum unrest and popular resistance in all countries of the Soviet bloc." This was called "the policy of dynamic political warfare" against the socialist countries. In addition to direct support for counterrevolutionary groups, it assumed "the tireless pursuit of a targeted and assertive political strategy in all areas and by all means: military, economic, diplomatic, secret (i.e. espionage and sabotage) and propaganda." Including the active use of a "fifth column" in power. The Belovezh Accords, which marked the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union, showed that the plan had succeeded.

Why didn't Gorbachev arrest the "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" people?

This question literally flew off the lips of most Soviet citizens. I couldn’t help but ask it in a conversation with Leonid Kravchuk. “USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev had full power, he could give the relevant directives, and everything would have been decided unambiguously,” the first president of Ukraine calmly answered. “For example, I arrived without security. Boris Yeltsin had conditional security. I think he understood that after the events of August 19-21, the arrest of the leader of Russia could have unpredictable consequences. I agree with Gorbachev on one thing – he did not know the contents of the document being prepared, but on December 6, I also had only a general idea of ​​it.”

And yet, why didn’t he arrest them? The answer can be found in Viskuli, a hunting lodge on the territory of the state residence in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, where there was a three-story brick hotel with two dozen rooms that barely qualified for three stars. Why was it here on December 8, 1991 that an act of political betrayal was committed, leading to the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century? Informed hotel employees, among whom were representatives of the secret services, eventually revealed that Belovezhskaya Pushcha was chosen only because it was literally a few kilometers from the state border of the USSR. The assembled trio of conspirators had an escape plan, including walking through the forest to Poland, in case Gorbachev attempted to arrest them. Moreover, as soon as the KGB leaders of the Byelorussian SSR learned of Yeltsin, Kravchuk and Shushkevich's intention to sign agreements liquidating the USSR, this was immediately reported to Moscow, including Mikhail Gorbachev. The Byelorussian KGB special forces moved to Viskuli, surrounded the forest in the area of ​​the hunting residence and waited for an order to arrest the liquidators of the USSR. In response, Moscow ordered them to remain in position and wait for the order. However, the order to arrest never came...

Another Belovezhskaya secret has become public knowledge: the original of the treacherous declaration cannot be found in Russia, Belarus or Ukraine. The head of the State Archival Service of Ukraine, Olga Ginzburg, told journalists about their absence at a briefing in Kyiv: "We, as well as the archives of the Federal Archival Agency of Russia and the Department of Archives and Records Management of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, constantly receive requests to provide the original of the Belovezhskaya Accords for review. We shrug our shoulders - there is no original of this document in Ukraine, Russia or Belarus."

Is there God's providence behind this to revive a powerful Russian State?! "I am far from thinking that today it is possible to recreate a union of 15 republics, but doing nothing in this direction and letting everything slide is irresponsible," Nikolai Ryzhkov, President of the Russian Union of Manufacturers, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (1985-1991), Deputy of the Council of the Union of Supreme Soviets of the USSR (1974-1989), adamantly insists . - A good example of how to unite is given by the European Union, which has a common parliament, a common council of ministers, common money, and a common visa regime in Brussels. We need to unite, first of all, economically, while creating certain supranational bodies to solve socio-economic problems, for joint defense. The core of integration in the post-Soviet space, in my opinion, is the Common Economic Space and the Eurasian Economic Community. Their goals and objectives are almost identical: to create a common market. It is time for our state and political leaders to understand: different states emerged on the territory of the former Union, but the peoples have many of the same aspirations. And those who turn the near abroad into the distant abroad are going against the people."

It is time for us to stop bowing and scraping, noted the well-known statesman and political figure Franz Klintsevich , leader of the Russian Union of Veterans of the War in Afghanistan, in a conversation with the author of this material. “Moscow’s integration efforts in the former USSR,” he emphasized, “are facing very strong resistance. Remember, at one time US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: “We want the Russians to recognize that we have legitimate interests and our own relations with their neighbors, even if these countries were once part of the Soviet Union.” Now there is a new government in Washington, but the policy of squeezing Russia out of the near abroad, despite the “reset,” continues. And not without success, judging by the “sanitary cordon” that is being built along the Russian borders. However, throughout the post-Soviet space there are powerful political forces that understand the danger of what is happening. And they are starting to fight from below for the rapprochement of our peoples, who are connected by genetic memory. And we have together experienced many difficulties and many good things, we are connected not only by memories of the past, but also by concerns about the well-being of relatives who live in neighboring republics, dreams of our common future. For example, I live and work in Moscow, but I was born in Belarus in the village of Kreyvantsy in the Oshmyany district of the Grodno region. I graduated from school here, worked as a teacher in the Kreyvantsy eight-year school. All my relatives and childhood friends are here. That is why I do everything possible at my level to unite our peoples. And there are many such people."

                                  Like a Phoenix

The entire historical path of development of the Russian state, which represents an independent civilization, an independent culture, convincingly proves: it will always have an inescapable urge to control not only its own territory, but also to ensure its own security, going beyond national borders. Let's face it, both United Europe and the United States gravitate towards the same thing! Any strong power immediately forms a zone of vital interests around itself, provides partner countries with everything they need, including their military security. You cannot count on national success if you look at the situation in your own home from the outside, while other political forces brazenly act inside post-Soviet countries to the detriment of Russia. It is time for the citizens of the Commonwealth to get rid of alien influence on their historical perspective, to begin moving towards a full-fledged Union of our countries themselves. And then it will be reborn, like a Phoenix from the ashes.

Pavel ANOKHIN

Source: https://kprf.ru/ruso/199033.html