In the Revolutions of 1989, most of the Marxist–Leninist states of Central and Eastern Europe held multi-party elections resulting in regime change.^[341] In most countries, like Poland and Hungary, this was achieved peacefully, but in Romania, the revolution turned violent, and led to Ceaușescu's overthrow and execution.^[341] Gorbachev was too preoccupied with domestic problems to pay much attention to these events.^[342] He believed that democratic elections would not lead Eastern European countries into abandoning their commitment to socialism.^[343] In 1989, he visited East Germany for the fortieth anniversary of its founding;^[344] shortly after, in November, the East German government allowed its citizens to cross the Berlin Wall, a decision Gorbachev praised. Over the following years, much of the wall was demolished.^[345] Neither Gorbachev nor Thatcher or Mitterrand wanted a swift reunification of Germany, aware that it would likely become the dominant European power. Gorbachev wanted a gradual process of German integration but Kohl began calling for rapid reunification.^[346] With German reunification in 1990, many observers declared the Cold War over.^[347]

1990–1991: presidency of the Soviet Union

In February 1990, both liberalisers and Marxist–Leninist hardliners intensified their attacks on Gorbachev.^[348] A liberalizer march took place in Moscow criticizing Communist Party rule,^[349] while at a Central Committee meeting, the hardliner Vladimir Brovikov accused Gorbachev of reducing the country to "anarchy" and "ruin" and of pursuing Western approval at the expense of the Soviet Union and the Marxist–Leninist cause.^[350] Gorbachev was aware that the Central Committee could still oust him as general secretary, and so decided to reformulate the role of head of government to a presidency from which he could not be removed.^[351] He decided that the presidential election should be held by the Congress of People's Deputies. He chose this over a public vote because he thought the latter would escalate tensions and feared that he might lose it;^[352] a spring 1990 poll nevertheless still showed him as the most popular politician in the country.^[353]

In March, the Congress of People's Deputies held the first (and only) Soviet presidential election, in which Gorbachev was the only candidate. He secured 1,329 in favor to 495 against; 313 votes were invalid or absent. He therefore became the first (and only) executive President of the Soviet Union.^[354] A new 18-member Presidential Council de facto replaced the Politburo.^[355] At the same Congress meeting, he presented the idea of repealing Article 6 of the Soviet constitution, which had ratified the Communist Party as the "ruling party" of the Soviet Union. The Congress passed the reform, undermining the de jure nature of the one-party state.^[356]

In the 1990 elections for the Russian Supreme Soviet, the Communist Party faced challengers from an alliance of liberalisers known as "Democratic Russia"; the latter did particularly well in urban centers.^[357] Yeltsin was elected the parliament's chair, something Gorbachev was unhappy about.^[358] That year, opinion polls showed Yeltsin overtaking Gorbachev as the most popular politician in the Soviet Union.^[353] Gorbachev struggled to understand Yeltsin's growing popularity, commenting: "he drinks like a fish ... he's inarticulate, he comes up with the devil knows what, he's like a worn-out record".^[359] The Russian Supreme Soviet was now out of Gorbachev's control;^[359] in June 1990, it declared that in the Russian Republic, its laws took precedence over those of the Soviet central government.^[360] Amid a growth in Russian nationalist sentiment, Gorbachev had reluctantly allowed the formation of a Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic as a branch of the larger Soviet Communist Party. Gorbachev attended its first congress in June, but soon found it dominated by hardliners who opposed his reformist stance.^[361]

German reunification and the Gulf War

In January 1990, Gorbachev privately agreed to permit East German reunification with West Germany, but rejected the idea that a unified Germany could retain West Germany's NATO membership.^[362] His compromise that Germany might retain both NATO and Warsaw Pact memberships did not attract support.^[363] On 9 February 1990 in a phone conversation with James Baker, then the US secretary of state, he set out his position that "a broadening of the NATO zone is not acceptable" to which Baker agreed. Scholars are puzzled why Gorbachev never pursued a written pledge.^[364] In May 1990, he visited the US for talks with President Bush;^[365] there, he agreed that an independent Germany would have the right to choose its international alliances.^[363] Ultimately he acquiesced to the reunification on the condition that NATO troops not be posted to the territory of Eastern Germany.^[366] There remains some confusion over whether US secretary of state James Baker led Gorbachev to believe that NATO would not expand into other countries in Eastern Europe as well. There was no oral or written US promise that explicitly said so. Gorbachev himself has stated that he was only made such a promise regarding East Germany and that it was kept.^[367]^[368] In July, Kohl visited Moscow and Gorbachev informed him that the Soviets would not oppose a reunified Germany being part of NATO.^[369] Domestically, Gorbachev's critics accused him of betraying the national interest;^[370] more broadly, they were angry that Gorbachev had allowed the Eastern Bloc to move away from direct Soviet influence.^[371]

In August 1990, Saddam Hussein's Iraqi government invaded Kuwait; Gorbachev endorsed President Bush's condemnation of it.^[372] This brought criticism from many in the Soviet state apparatus, who saw Hussein as a key ally in the Persian Gulf and feared for the safety of the 9,000 Soviet citizens in Iraq, although Gorbachev argued that the Iraqis were the clear aggressors in the situation.^[373] In November the Soviets endorsed a UN Resolution permitting force to be used in expelling the Iraqi Army from Kuwait.^[374] Gorbachev later called it a "watershed" in world politics, "the first time the superpowers acted together in a regional crisis".^[375] However, when the US announced plans for a ground invasion, Gorbachev opposed it, urging instead a peaceful solution.^[376] In October 1990, Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; he was flattered but acknowledged "mixed feelings" about the accolade.^[377] Polls indicated that 90% of Soviet citizens disapproved of the award, which was widely seen as a Western and anti-Soviet accolade.^[378]

With the Soviet budget deficit climbing and no domestic money markets to provide the state with loans, Gorbachev looked elsewhere.^[379] Throughout 1991, Gorbachev requested sizable loans from Western countries and Japan, hoping to keep the Soviet economy afloat and ensure the success of perestroika.^[380] Although the Soviet Union had been excluded from the G7, Gorbachev secured an invitation to its London summit in July 1991.^[381] There, he continued to call for financial assistance; Mitterrand and Kohl backed him,^[382] while Thatcher—no longer in office—also urged Western leaders to agree.^[383] Most G7 members were reluctant, instead offering technical assistance and proposing the Soviets receive "special associate" status—rather than full membership—of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.^[384] Gorbachev was frustrated that the US would spend $100 billion on the Gulf War but would not offer his country loans.^[385] Other countries were more forthcoming; West Germany had given the Soviets DM60 billion by mid-1991.^[386] Bush visited Moscow in late July, when he and Gorbachev concluded ten years of negotiations by signing the START I treaty, a bilateral agreement on the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms.^[387]

August coup and government crises

At the 28th Communist Party Congress in July 1990, hardliners criticized the reformists, but Gorbachev was re-elected party leader with the support of three-quarters of delegates, and his choice of deputy general secretary, Vladimir Ivashko, was also elected.^[388] Seeking compromise with the liberalizers, Gorbachev assembled a team of both his own and Yeltsin's advisers to come up with an economic reform package: the result was the "500 Days" programme. This called for further decentralization and some privatization.^[389] Gorbachev described the plan as "modern socialism" rather than a return to capitalism but had many doubts about it.^[390] In September, Yeltsin presented the plan to the Russian Supreme Soviet, which backed it.^[391] Many in the Communist Party and state apparatus warned against it, arguing that it would create marketplace chaos, rampant inflation, and unprecedented levels of unemployment.^[392] The 500 Days plan was abandoned.^[393] At this, Yeltsin railed against Gorbachev in an October speech, claiming that Russia would no longer accept a subordinate position to the Soviet government.^[394]

By mid-November 1990, much of the press was calling for Gorbachev to resign and predicting civil war.^[395] Hardliners were urging Gorbachev to disband the presidential council and arrest vocal liberals in the media.^[396] In November, he addressed the Supreme Soviet where he announced an eight-point program, which included governmental reforms, among them the abolition of the presidential council.^[397] By this point, Gorbachev was isolated from many of his former close allies and aides.^[398] Yakovlev had moved out of his inner circle and Shevardnadze had resigned.^[399] His support among the intelligentsia was declining,^[400] and by the end of 1990 his approval ratings had plummeted.^[401]

Amid growing dissent in the Baltics, especially Lithuania, in January 1991 Gorbachev demanded that the Lithuanian Supreme Council rescind its pro-independence reforms.^[402] Soviet troops occupied several Vilnius buildings and attacked protesters,^[403] 15 of whom were killed.^[404] Gorbachev was widely blamed by liberalizers, with Yeltsin calling for his resignation.^[405] Gorbachev denied sanctioning the military operation, although some in the military claimed that he had; the truth of the matter was never clearly established.^[406] Fearing more civil disturbances, that month Gorbachev banned demonstrations and ordered troops to patrol Soviet cities alongside the police. This further alienated the liberalizers but was not enough to win over hardliners.^[407] Wanting to preserve the Union, in April Gorbachev and the leaders of nine Soviet republics jointly pledged to prepare a treaty that would renew the federation under a new constitution; but six of the republics—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia—did not endorse this.^[408] A referendum on the issue brought 76.4% in favor of continued federation but the six rebellious republics had not taken part.^[409] Negotiations took place to decide what form the new constitution would take, again bringing together Gorbachev and Yeltsin in discussion; it was planned to be formally signed in August.^[410]

In August, Gorbachev and his family holidayed at their dacha, "Zarya" ('Dawn') in Foros, Crimea.^[411] Two weeks into his holiday, a group of senior Communist Party figures—the "Gang of Eight"—calling themselves the State Committee on the State of Emergency launched a coup d'état to seize control of the Soviet Union.^[412] The phone lines to his dacha were cut and a group arrived, including Boldin, Shenin, Baklanov, and General Varennikov, informing him of the take-over.^[413] The coup leaders demanded that Gorbachev formally declare a state of emergency in the country, but he refused.^[414] Gorbachev and his family were kept under house arrest in their dacha.^[415] The coup plotters publicly announced that Gorbachev was ill and thus Vice President Yanayev would take charge of the country.^[416]

Yeltsin, now President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, went inside the Moscow White House. Tens of thousands of protesters massed outside it to prevent troops storming the building to arrest him.^[417] Outside of the White House, Yeltsin, atop a tank, gave a memorable speech condemning the coup.^[418] Gorbachev feared that the coup plotters would order him killed, so had his guards barricade his dacha.^[419] However, the coup's leaders realized that they lacked sufficient support and ended their efforts. On 21 August, Vladimir Kryuchkov, Dmitry Yazov, Oleg Baklanov, Anatoly Lukyanov, and Vladimir Ivashko arrived at Gorbachev's dacha to inform him that they were doing so.^[419]

That evening, Gorbachev returned to Moscow, where he thanked Yeltsin and the protesters for helping to undermine the coup.^[420] At a subsequent press conference, he pledged to reform the Soviet Communist Party.^[421] Two days later, he resigned as its general secretary and called on the Central Committee to dissolve.^[422]^[423] Several members of the coup committed suicide; others were fired.^[424] Gorbachev attended a session of the Russian Supreme Soviet on 23 August, where Yeltsin aggressively criticized him for having appointed and promoted many of the coup members to start with.^[425]

Final days and collapse

After the coup, the Supreme Soviet indefinitely suspended all Communist Party activity, effectively ending communist rule in the Soviet Union.^[426]^[427] From then on, the country collapsed with dramatic speed.

On 30 October, Gorbachev attended a conference in Madrid trying to revive the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The event was co-sponsored by the US and Soviet Union, one of the first examples of such cooperation between the two countries. There, he again met with Bush.^[428] En route home, he traveled to France where he stayed with Mitterrand at the latter's home near Bayonne.^[429]

To keep unity within the country, Gorbachev continued to pursue plans for a new union treaty but found increasing opposition to the idea of a continued federal state as the leaders of various Soviet republics bowed to growing nationalist pressure.^[430] Yeltsin stated that he would veto any idea of a unified state, instead favoring a confederation with little central authority.^[431] Only the leaders of Kazakhstan and Kirghizia supported Gorbachev's approach.^[432] The referendum in Ukraine on 1 December with a 90% turnout for secession from the Union was a fatal blow; Gorbachev had expected Ukrainians to reject independence.^[433]

Without Gorbachev's knowledge, Yeltsin met with Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk and Belarusian president Stanislav Shushkevich in Belovezha Forest, near Brest, Belarus, on 8 December and signed the Belavezha Accords, which declared the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) as its successor.^[434] Gorbachev only learned of this development when Shushkevich phoned him; Gorbachev was furious.^[435] He desperately looked for an opportunity to preserve the Soviet Union, hoping in vain that the media and intelligentsia might rally against the idea of its dissolution.^[436] Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian Supreme Soviets then ratified the establishment of the CIS.^[437] On 9 December, Gorbachev issued a statement calling the CIS agreement "illegal and dangerous".^[438]^[439] On 20 December, the leaders of 11 of the 12 remaining republics—all except Georgia—met in Kazakhstan and signed the Alma-Ata Protocol, agreeing to dismantle the Soviet Union and formally establish the CIS. They also provisionally accepted Gorbachev's resignation as president of what remained of the Soviet Union. Accepting the fait accompli of the Soviet Union's dissolution, Gorbachev revealed that he would resign as soon as he saw that the CIS was a reality.^[440]^[441]

Gorbachev reached a deal with Yeltsin that called for Gorbachev to formally announce his resignation as Soviet president and Commander-in-Chief on 25 December, before vacating the Kremlin by 29 December.^[442] Yakovlev, Chernyaev and Shevardnadze joined Gorbachev to help him write a resignation speech.^[440] Gorbachev then gave his speech in the Kremlin in front of television cameras, allowing for international broadcast.^[443] In it, he announced, "I hereby discontinue my activities at the post of President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." He expressed regret for the breakup of the Soviet Union but cited what he saw as the achievements of his administration: political and religious freedom, the end of totalitarianism, the introduction of democracy and a market economy, and an end to the arms race and Cold War.^[444] Gorbachev was the third out of eight Soviet leaders, after Malenkov and Khrushchev, not to die in office.^[445]^[446] The following day, 26 December, the Soviet of the Republics, the upper house of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, formally voted the country out of existence.^[447] As of 31 December 1991, all Soviet institutions that had not been taken over by Russia ceased to function.^[448]^[449]