On This Day in History Newsrael News Desk DEC 9, 2025
Dec. 8, 1991: The day the USSR ceased to exist
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On this day, December 8, 1991, 34 years ago, the leaders of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia signed the Belovezha Accords, declaring that the Soviet Union had effectively ceased to exist and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).
The agreement marked a decisive moment in the dissolution of the USSR, which had been weakened by political turmoil, economic crisis, and growing demands for national sovereignty across its republics.
A few weeks later, on December 26, the Soviet parliament formally confirmed the end of the USSR, bringing 69 years of Soviet statehood to an end.
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