On August 23, 1991, Ukrainian Parliament Speaker Kravchuk returned to Ukraine after returning from a rainy trip in Moscow, where he would face a political current. This time he no longer needed an umbrella, but a life jacket. Everyone was speculating about whether he would find a life jacket.
On the morning of August 24, the crowd still gathered in front of the Ukrainian parliament and shouted: "Shame on Kravchuk!" The looking exhausted speaker told delegates he had never acknowledged that the coup was legitimate, and his remarks were broadcast in real time to the rallying crowd outside the parliamentary wall. He proposed the promulgation of a large number of laws initiated by the opposition to strengthen Ukraine's sovereignty. He told the delegates: "A decree must be issued clarifying the status of the army now stationed on the borders of the Republic. The Internal Affairs Forces, the State Security Council of the USSR (KGB) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs must be subordinated to the command of the Ukrainian State leaders. Moreover, they could not get involved in any Soviet system. All that remains is the question of coordinated action. In addition, appropriate and relevant laws must be enacted. The issue of separating the GCD from the law enforcement agencies of the Republic must also be resolved. ”
The National Democrats wanted more. Their parliamentary leader, Academician Khayil Yukhnovsky, advocated Ukrainian independence. Writer Vladimir Yavolivsky read an article called the Declaration of Independence Bill and asked for a vote on it. Parliament is in chaos. Ukrainian GCD leader Gulenko asked for a temporary adjournment. Kravchuk also agreed, adjourning the meeting for a moment to allow the parties in parliament to summarize their positions on the issue. The biggest difficulty in adopting the initiative is the GCD people.
One of the main authors of the draft declaration of independence was Ukrainian Republican Leader Levko Lukyanenko, who was clearly the best political force in the organization at the time. Lukyannko, who has been working on the Ukrainian independence movement, spent 25 years in the Gulag concentration camps. He was a symbol of Ukraine's struggle for freedom, his sacrifice for freedom, and the democrats wanted him to be the first to read the manifesto. Because of the chaos within the democrats, this glory fell to Yavolivsky.
Opposed by Russia and Ukraine, Gorbachev (center) turned to Kazakhstan's leader, Nursultan Nazarbayev ( right ). Both of them wanted to keep the Soviet Union alive. On October 18, 1991, when an economic agreement was signed in Moscow, an anxious Yeltsin watched them. (Corbis Pictures)
A few weeks before the coup, when President Bush and Ukrainian political leaders had lunch, Lukyanenko walked up to Bush and handed him a note with 3 questions. Two of these issues are related to the Ukrainian opposition, and the third is about Ukrainian independence. The note read in less fluent English: "Now that the collapse of the Russian Empire is an inevitable fact, can the government of the world's most powerful country, the United States, help Ukraine become the sovereign subject of international relations?" ”
On the plane back to the United States, Bush dictated to his Soviet expert Hewitt a memorandum on the Lukyanenko issue: "At today's luncheon in Kiev, Lukyanenko greeted me first politely, and then to Chairman Kravchuk. He was a representative of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine. As a dissident, Lukyanenko spent more than 20 years in prison and now represents the independence movement, the People's Assembly. Bush told Hewitt to prepare for a response. On the question of whether Ukraine is internationally accepted, Hewitt gave the Standard U.S. position on the issue in a plan drafted on August 5: The transformation of the Soviet system could only be accomplished "through peaceful and sincere dialogue between the republic and the leaders of the Soviet Union."
Lukyanenko no longer believed in dialogue. However, he affirmed that smashing the coup would provide a breakthrough in achieving his goals. At a meeting of pro-democracy representatives on the morning of August 23, Lukyanenko took his colleagues by proposing that issues relating to Ukrainian independence would be discussed at an emergency session of parliament. Recalling the call on other delegates afterwards, he said: "This is a very special moment, at a time when we should address the fundamental issues and declare Ukraine an independent country." If we don't do it now, maybe we'll never be able to do it again. GCD players were a little confused for a moment, but they soon understood that they were the majority after all. ”
The representatives of the democrats understood that their time for real power was limited, so they not only accepted Lukyanenko's views, but also entrusted him with the task of drafting the manifesto. Lukyanenko personally selected another draftsman and said to him, "We have two ways of writing, either at length or in a short and concise manner. If we were to speak at length, the manifesto would inevitably provoke discussion; if we wrote a short essay, they would have less opportunity to judge it. Let's write the declaration as short as possible, so that they don't have much room to play when they are discussing where to put a comma and where they need to be revised. "The drafters did exactly that. Stapanchuk, acting U.S. Consul in Kiev, later remarked about how succinct the declaration was, joking that it was indeed different from the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
When Lukyanenko handed the freshly baked article to his colleagues at a meeting of pro-democracy cadres, they all agreed with his logic. After discussion, the declaration was not changed much and was distributed to the delegates at the beginning of the emergency meeting.
While delegates supported Lukyanenko's submission of the issue of independence to a parliamentary vote, there were divergent views among pro-democracy leaders as to what position they should be in on the agenda. Some delegates, including the highest-ranking democrat in Parliament, Deputy Speaker Grinov, argued that a vote on independence could only be held if the GCD's activities were suspended first. Because Grinov feared that unless a ban on GCD activities was first enacted, the result of Ukraine's independence was likely to be the creation of a state dominated by GCS. Some representatives of the democrats from Kiev also shared his views. But what are the chances that a parliament dominated by GCD members will pass a ban on suspending GCD activities while voting on independence? Despite the support of Lukyanenko and others, the chances of success are slim. They represent independence first and de-GCism second, although it will take time to achieve the latter. One delegate even threatened to go to 10 years in prison for this, as long as it was a prison in independent Ukraine. Many of his colleagues were not as ambitious, but Lukyanenko's views prevailed among the delegates.
In fact, when democrats came to the parliamentary meeting, their support for independence was a little stronger, and the GCD members were deeply surprised by this. Gulenko asked for a temporary adjournment, and Kravchuk agreed so that for the first time the GCD members could discuss the issue as a collective. The delegates, who had been staunchly opposed to independence, found themselves in a difficult situation. GCD members make up the majority in parliament, but the days of solidarity and synergy are long gone. The Kravchuk and GC camps, which had supported them, had long been committed to pushing Ukraine for sovereignty and preparing for full independence. When nervous and confused GCD members came to the viewing hall of the parliament building, their leader Gulenko demanded that they support independence, or they themselves and the KDP would be set on fire.
Conservatives in the KP know that the leadership in Moscow has basically abandoned them, because just earlier today Gorbachev resigned as a zongshuji, and they are somewhat overwhelmed by this.
As far as they know, Yeltsin has already unleashed a killing spree on GCD members, and it is only a matter of time before what Gorbachev calls "unwarranted persecution" sweeps through Ukraine. In fact, it's already happening – 100,000 people gathered outside the parliament building are fighting for independence and are ready to try them. Are the assembled populace content only with independence? Many Ukrainian GDYs are willing to compromise with independence, thus saving them from the anti-G wave from Russia and perhaps controlling Ukraine.
When opposition representatives appeared at the venue and asked them to compromise, U.S. GDY, who had been hesitant, did not hesitate at all. The opposition's proposal is that a referendum on Ukraine's independence will take place after the presidential election on December 1. This sounds like a good solution to many: Favoring the Declaration of Independence now protects them immediately, and future referendums may not happen. U.S. GDY therefore decided to support Lukyanenko.
During the break of the meeting, Kravchuk telephoned Moscow, and he seemed to follow the old tradition of the leaders of the Ukrainian Communist Party asking for approval from Moscow in every detail, but this time the opposite was true. Kravchuk briefed Yeltsin and Gorbachev on what had happened in the Ukrainian parliament, telling them that it was inevitable to vote for Ukrainian independence. Yeltsin calmly accepted the news, but Gorbachev was visibly uneasy. Ultimately, he told Kravchuk that the outcome of the ukrainian parliament's vote did not matter, just as the referendum held in Ukraine in March 1991 showed that the people's support for the Soviet Union was overwhelming. Parliament cannot override the referendum result. Kravchuk agreed. After the phone call, Kravchuk gradually affirmed his idea: a referendum to vote on whether parliament should vote on Ukraine's independence. One referendum will be annulled as a result of another. The shrewd Kravchuk seems to have succeeded in balancing forces again this time.
During the break of the meeting for an hour, Kravchuk was ready to let the parties vote on the declaration of Independence of Ukraine. On that day, he gave a powerful impetus to the events and thought they would help him through the immediate political crisis. His patriotism can also be regarded as one of the motives. Kravchuk later recalled: "How did I feel as we struggled to adopt that historic document? I'm happy. "He worked hard to get those who were reluctant to vote in favor. He knew that there were leaders of the two factions who disagreed on the matter, and as he later recalled, when meeting with representatives of local groups, he told the representatives from the western region not to dwell on the rumors, saying that the KNU should be dissolved first, and then a Ukrainian independence vote should be held. No one knows exactly what he said to the GCD members, but his message was clear: he wanted them to vote for independence.
President Bush, left, greets Chairman Kravchuk (right). Bush told future Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk: "Look people in the eye and you know immediately if they're going to vote for you." Kravchuk understood Bush's advice, and in December 1991 he won not only the presidency of Ukraine, but also the independence of his country. (Corbis Pictures)
There is only one last obstacle left on the road to Ukrainian independence, which Lukyanenko has long dreamed of, and that is that there is not enough quorum in the parliament in favour of independence. Kravchuk waited for the delegates to return to the venue, which would be a slow process. For those who support independence, every second is like a year. Rumor has it that Kravchuk has ordered the closure of the secret passage between the parliament and the nearby central building of the KNU, so it is impossible for GCD members to avoid the angry demonstrators and leave the parliament building. In the end, more than 300 parliamentarians were registered. Who will read the Declaration of Independence? Kravchuk suggested that Lukyanenko read the manifesto, but Kravchuk and the "liaison" of the People's Assembly, the poet Demitro Pavrečko, asked Kravchuk to read the manifesto. He hoped that the Speaker himself would read the resolution; otherwise, the GCD members might change their minds. Kravchuk, who was attacked for hesitation during the coup d'état, is now in the midst of a political crisis and has to agree to the man's demands.
He read aloud: "The Soviet coup of 19 August 1991 put Ukraine in mortal danger, and for thousands of years Ukraine has struggled to become a nation. For the above reasons... The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic solemnly proclaims the independence of Ukraine, and the state of the Ukrainian people, which declares independence, is born ... The resolution entered into force at the time of its adoption. ”
Krafchuk asked the delegates to vote. The number of votes for and against Ukrainian independence was displayed moments later on a large screen behind Kravchuk. Suddenly, the House erupted in cheers. The delegates stood up and hugged each other, making it difficult to tell who was a democrat and who was a GCD. The whole Chamber was filled with an atmosphere of jubilation. The Parliament of Ukraine has voted on independence, which resulted in 346 votes in favour, 2 against and 5 abstentions. At this point, there are still 5 minutes before 6 p.m. The crowd outside erupted in overwhelming cheers to celebrate the vote for independence. Diplomats rushed to their consulates to report.
[Excerpt from: The Collapse of Great Powers: Before and After the Collapse of the Soviet Union (Revised Edition)" / Translated by Shahili Purokchi (UNITED States) / Song Hong, Tiandi Publishing House]