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Gorbachev finally negotiated the New Union Treaty, which would allow each republic to be more independent. It was to be signed on August 20, 1991. However, the hard-liners, including the head of the KGB (the Russian secret police) and the head of the armed forces, opposed the treaty and seized power in a coup d’etat while Gorbechev was away from the capital.

But the reformers looked to Yeltsin for action. Yeltsin made a rousing speech in the streets calling for firm resistance to the hard-liners. Many people came out to show their support and troops were unwilling to disperse them with force. Faced with this opposition, the leaders of the coup resigned. Within two hours, Yeltsin had taken over full control of the armed forces.

Yeltsin was now the new hero of democracy. In the central Russian parliament, Yeltsin battled for leadership with Gorbachev and pushed for the break up of the Soviet Union, ending 70 years of communism. Yeltsin proved the stronger of the two and on midnight, 31 December 1991, the USSR ceased to exist. The Russian Federal Republic became a separate state and the other republics became independent.

Russia was now free of communist rule. But the fate of the country remains uncertain because of chronic economic and social problems such as rising crime rates and rampant corruption in the government. The recent economic woes of the country have also taken their toll on living standards and morale. Today, the lot of the Russian people is better than that of their parents and grandparents. But not by that much.