The end of the Soviet Union, stories of a collapse

Audio 19:30

The Russian flag flying above the Kremlin visible between the spirals of St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, December 26, 1991. The Spasskaya Clock Tower can be seen on the left.

© AP - Alexander Zemlianichenko

By: Daniel Vallot Follow

On December 25, 1991, just thirty years ago, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation in a televised speech which confirmed the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

That same evening, the Russian flag replaced the red flag struck with sickle and hammer on the Kremlin.

From the failed putsch of summer 1991, to the last days of December, witnesses to this collapse tell RFI's microphone how they experienced these events and the brutal shift into a new world.

The end of the Soviet Union, stories of a collapse

 ", a Grand Reportage by Daniel Vallot directed by Pauline Leduc. 

  • Russia

  • Fall of the USSR, 30 years later

  • Story

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