President Gorbachev’s Last Phone Call
Less than two hours before announcing his resignation as president of the Soviet Union on Dec. 25, 1991, Mikhail S. Gorbachev placed a telephone call to President George H. W. Bush, who was celebrating Christmas with his grandchildren at Camp David.
In the weeks before, it was clear that the Soviet Union was disintegrating: Ukrainians had voted for independence in a national referendum, and other Soviet republics were following suit. Boris N. Yeltsin’s star was rising as a leader, and he was determined to get rid of the “center” and Mr. Gorbachev.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Gorbachev had been working together to try to prevent a bloody breakup of the Soviet Union and to solve regional conflicts like the Middle East.… Seguir leyendo »