New Union Treaty
신연방조약
The New Union Treaty was a draft treaty pushed by Gorbachev to prevent the dissolution of the USSR and reform the federation, replacing the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR with a looser federation (later confederation) that granted republics substantial sovereignty. The drafting process, conducted at the Novo-Ogaryovo government estate (the Novo-Ogaryovo process), gained momentum when the March 1991 referendum returned 76% support for preserving the Union, and a signing ceremony with the RSFSR and other republics was scheduled for 20 August 1991. The August Coup on the eve of the signing derailed the treaty; after the coup collapsed, declarations of independence by the republics and the Belavezha Accords dissolved the Soviet Union itself, and the treaty was never signed.
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- Wikipedia (EN) Core article: draft treaty to replace 1922 treaty, Novo-Ogaryovo process, 17 March 1991 referendum (76% in favor), scheduled signing 20 August 1991, derailed by the August Coup, subsequent replacement by CIS.
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian article: details on republic-by-republic signing schedule announced by Gorbachev on 3 August 1991, transformation from federation (СССР as Союз Советских Суверенных Республик) to confederation (ССГ as Союз Суверенных Государств) after the coup, and the Belovezha meeting on 8 December 1991.
- soviethistory.msu.edu Full English text of the 15 August 1991 draft published in Sovetskaia Rossiia, showing the treaty's structure: basic principles, Union structure, citizenship, territory, division of powers between Union and republics.
- history.state.gov U.S. State Department historical account confirming the August Coup was triggered by the imminent signing of the New Union Treaty on 20 August and that the coup's failure propelled Yeltsin and the republics toward dissolution.