In this essay, I am going to talk about the breakup of the Soviet Union and all of the events that took place before, during, and after the split. I will look into the C.I.S (Commonwealth of Independent States), the Government, the economy, and the conflicts of the former U.S.S.R.
             In July of 1991, President Mikhail Gorbachev and ten other Repulic leaders all met and signed a treaty giving each Republic more self-government. Five more leaders were to sign the treaty on August 20, but on the 19th of the month Communist leaders, led by Boris Yeltsin planned a coup against Gorbachev's Government. They trapped him and his family in their vacation home just as they were preparing to return from their vacation in Crimea for the first signing of the union treaty. He was placed under house arrest but he refused to give in to the demands. While this was going on, protesters held demonstrations and strikes broke out all over the country. The Communist party was suspended in many republics, including the Russian Federation. A few days after the coup, Gorbachev resigned from the party leadership. In the aftermath of the coup, Yeltsin emerged as the strongest political figure in the country.
             In September 1991 an interim government was set up until a new treaty could be worked out. This government included Gorbachev and the leaders of the other Republics. On December 8th Russia proclaimed itself the Soviet Union's successor. Boris Yeltsin and the Presidents of Ukraine and Belarus announced the formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States and that the U.S.S.R had no longer existed. The Commonwealth of Independent States was an association of nations that were formerly republics of the Soviet Union. They encouraged all others to join with them. On December 21, eleven republics joined Armenia, Belarus. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Georgia became a member in 1993....