Democracy Through Decolonization: Russian Democrats and the Collapse of the Soviet Union

This article examines the impact of Russian democratic reformers on the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Drawing on original documents from the Russian democratic movement during 1989-1991, this article builds on the research of scholars examining why leading figures in the movement advocated for the dismantling of the Soviet state and the independence of its constituent republics. Russian democrats - radical democratic reformers emboldened by Gorbachev's perestroika - pursued the goal of weakening the Soviet state apparatus and devolving power from the Union "Center" to the republics. The rhetoric and actions of Russian democrats strongly demonstrate their view that the Soviet Union was a totalitarian empire which oppressed all of its peoples, Russians included. Motivated both by Russian nationalism and anticolonial sentiment, Russian democrats believed that all republics of the USSR should be granted independence in order for democracy and human rights to triumph over tyranny. To achieve their goals, they supported nationalist movements across the USSR, organizing massive protests against the actions of the Soviet government. Moreover, the grassroots support of Russian democrats enabled Boris Yeltsin to be elected President of Russia, allowing Yeltsin to fatally undermine Gorbachev's authority and dissolve the Soviet Union together with the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus. The national mobilization of Russians against the Soviet state, incited by the democrats, proved to be a decisive factor in the dissolution of the USSR.