Russia and the West: The Treaty That Never Was

... Russia’s relations with the West could possibly sink to their current level. Yeltsin’s strategy for winning the power struggle was simple—dissolve the state that Gorbachev headed. This he accomplished by conspiring with the Presidents of Ukraine and Belarus, who met secretly at Belovezhskaya Pushcha on 8 December 1991, to dissolve the Soviet Union. I will leave aside the question of whether dismantling a country that was well on the way to democratic reform, genuine federalism, and partnership ...