<P> On December 8 , the leaders of Russia , Ukraine , and Belarus secretly met in Belavezhskaya Pushcha , in western Belarus , and signed the Belavezha Accords , which proclaimed the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and announced formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) as a looser association to take its place . They also invited other republics to join the CIS . Gorbachev called it an unconstitutional coup . However , by this time there was no longer any reasonable doubt that , as the preamble of the Accords put it , `` the USSR , as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality , is ceasing its existence . '' </P>
<P> On December 8 , the leaders of Russia , Ukraine , and Belarus secretly met in Belavezhskaya Pushcha , in western Belarus , and signed the Belavezha Accords , which proclaimed the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and announced formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS ) as a looser association to take its place . They also invited other republics to join the CIS . Gorbachev called it an unconstitutional coup . However , by this time there was no longer any reasonable doubt that , as the preamble of the Accords put it , `` the USSR , as a subject of international law and a geopolitical reality , is ceasing its existence . '' </P>
where did the fall of the soviet union take place
where did the fall of the soviet union take place
Belavezhskaya Pushcha , in western Belarus
Belavezhskaya Pushcha , in western Belarus