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History–Tours
19918–26 December 1991 · Viskuli, Belovezhskaya Pushcha

Belovezha Accords and the end of the Soviet Union

Leaders signing the agreement dissolving the USSR and founding the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991
Archival image: U. Ivanov / Ю. Иванов. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At a government hunting lodge at Viskuli in the Białowieża Forest, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed an agreement declaring that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and creating the Commonwealth of Independent States. Gorbachev resigned on 25 December, and the Soviet flag was lowered over the Kremlin. Fifteen independent states took the USSR's place.

Travel advisory. Belarus and Russia: Western governments advise against all travel because of the war in Ukraine and the risk of arbitrary detention. Viskuli itself is a closed state residence. We list this event for reference, and don't list guides here until travel is possible again.

Sites

  1. Site 1: Viskuli state residenceThe lodge where the accords were signed, inside the national park; not open to the public.Map ↗
  2. Site 2: Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park, KamenyukiPark centre with a nature museum and bison enclosures.Map ↗
  3. Site 3: Moscow KremlinWhere the Soviet flag came down on 25 December 1991.Map ↗

More from the Cold War

Read more: reference. Summary written by History-Tours.com.