Photo:
© RIA Novosti / Alexei Nikolsky
Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with Director Oliver stone explained why he considers the collapse of the Soviet Union the biggest catastrophe of the XX century.
In a 2005 address to the Federal Assembly Putin described the collapse of the Soviet Union as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the last century.
“I often heard criticism about the fact that I deplore the collapse of the Soviet Union. First, and most important, is that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, 25 million Russian people in one night turned out to be abroad, and it is really one of the biggest disasters of the XX century”, — Putin said in an interview with Oliver stone in the film shown on television channel Showtime.
The Russian President noted that citizens of the USSR lived within a single country, they had family ties, a job, an apartment, they were equal, but one second turned out to be abroad. “But in the country there is first signs, and then full-scale civil war. And, of course, I’ve seen it all perfect, especially when you became the Director of the Federal security service”, — said Putin.
“At the same time, we had completely destroyed the social security system was completely shut down entire sectors of the economy, virtually destroyed the health care system, in poor as was the army, and millions of people were below the poverty line. About it is also impossible to forget” — said Putin.
In fact, the Soviet Union ceased to exist on 25 December 1991, when Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in an address to the Soviet people announced the termination of its activities as President. This followed the agreement signed on 8 December leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, declaring the dissolution of the Soviet Union and proclaimed the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This act went down in history as the Belavezha agreement.
Back in 1990, all the Soviet republics adopted the Declaration on state sovereignty. To stop the disintegration of the country on 17 March 1991 a referendum was held on preserving the Soviet Union. “For,” then voted, 76.4% took part in voting. Based on the results of the referendum in the spring and summer of 1991 was developed a draft Treaty “On the Union of sovereign republics”, the signing of which was scheduled for August 20. But it never took place because of the coup attempt of August 19-21, 1991, known as the August putsch.