WEBVTT

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In March 1985, as General Secretary
of the Central Committee of the CPSU,

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the 54-year-old Mikhail Gorbachev
effectively became head of state.

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Unlike previous General Secretaries, he was young,
energetic, capable of speaking directly with

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the people — and gave the impression
of a man capable of reforming

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the Soviet economic
and political systems.

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Democracy is triumphant.

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The country stood on the
brink of a deep crisis.

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The perestroika proposed by Gorbachev,
however, did not provide for

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sweeping transformations.

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The actions of the authorities were marked
by inconsistency and half-measures,

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and so very soon the reservoir of public trust
in the new leadership was exhausted.

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The failure of economic reforms
grew into a full-scale crisis:

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empty store shelves,
mass poverty, and unemployment.

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The country found itself in need of foreign
humanitarian aid for the first time since

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the Great Patriotic War.

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The democratization and glasnost conceived
for the good of the country led to precisely
the opposite

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results: a sharp destabilization of
the political situation, a parade

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of sovereignties, the rise to power of separatist
forces in several republics,

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and interethnic and internecine
conflicts in which people died.

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The central government found itself unable
to control the processes unfolding in

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the country. Seeking to consolidate society

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and once again secure the support of the population,

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Gorbachev — now in his capacity as President
of the Soviet Union — at the Fourth Congress

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of People's Deputies in December 1990
proposed holding a nationwide vote

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on the question of preserving the USSR
as a unified state.

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The resolution was adopted
by an overwhelming majority.

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The referendum — the first in the entire
history of Soviet power — took place

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on March 17, 1991.

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The ballot contained a single question:

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"Do you consider it necessary to preserve
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

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as a renewed federation of equal
sovereign republics, in which the rights and

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freedoms of a person of any nationality
will be fully guaranteed?"

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In six republics — Lithuania, Estonia,
Latvia, Georgia, Armenia, and Moldova —

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which had declared or wished
to declare themselves independent,

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the referendum was not held.

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In some of the remaining nine republics,
the wording of the question

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could differ from that stated.

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In the Russian Federation, on voting day
one was also required to answer a question about

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the possibility of establishing the post of president.

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Gorbachev had no doubt
about the outcome of the referendum.

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You understand, this country took shape
over centuries — in recent decades

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as a unified entity, which means a unified
economy, unified connections throughout.

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Human destinies are intertwined —
everything is bound together.

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If some madman were to be found
who actually managed to provoke

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the breakup of this country, it would be
for this country, for everyone, for the entire world —

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for Europeans too — simply unthinkable.

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More than 148 million people
participated in the vote.

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"Yes" was said by 113,512,812.

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That is 76.4% against 21.7%.

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Gorbachev could celebrate victory.

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The time had come to finalize the definitive
version of the Union Treaty.

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Gorbachev and the leaders of Russia, Ukraine,
Byelorussia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,

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Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan
had agreed upon even the program for the signing ceremony,

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which was scheduled to take place
in Moscow on August 20, 1991.