The parade of sovereignties (russian: Парад суверенитетов, translit=Parad suverenitetov) was a series of declarations of
sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of various degrees by the
Soviet republics
The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics ( rus, Сою́зные Респу́блики, r=Soyúznye Respúbliki) were national-based administrative units of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( ...
in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
from 1988 to 1991. The declarations stated the priority of the constituent republic power in its territory over the central power, which led to the
War of Laws
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
between the centre and the republics. The process followed the loosened power grip of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a result of ''
demokratizatsiya'' and ''
perestroika'' policies under
Mikhail Gorbachev. Despite the efforts of Gorbachev to preserve the union under a new treaty in the form of the
Union of Sovereign States
The New Union Treaty (russian: link=no, Новый союзный договор, Novyy soyuznyy dogovor) was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the USSR to salvage and reform the Soviet Union. A ceremon ...
, many constituents soon declared their full independence. The process resulted in the
dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The first top-level Soviet republic to declare independence was
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
(November 16, 1988:
Estonian Sovereignty Declaration, March 30, 1990: decree on the transition to the restoration of the Estonian statehood, May 8, 1990: Law on the State Symbols, which declared the independence, August 20, 1991: Law of the
Estonian restoration of Independence
Estonian Restoration of Independence, legally defined as the Restoration of the Republic of Estonia, was proclaimed on 20 August 1991. On that day at 23:02 local time, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia, in agreement with the Eston ...
).
The first lower-level subdivision to declare independence was the
Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (January 19, 1990 although
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oghlu Aliyev ( az, Һејдәр Әлирза оғлу Әлијев, italic=no, Heydər Əlirza oğlu Əliyev, ; , ; 10 May 1923 – 12 December 2003) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani politician who served as the third president of Az ...
, the leader of
Soviet Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
, having roots in
Nakhchivan, managed to keep Nakhchivan within Azerbaijan).
The massive
secessionist
Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...
event has served as a testbench for various theories of secession.
[Emizet F. Kisangani, Vicki L. Hesli, "The Disposition to Secede: An Analysis of the Soviet Case", ''Comparative Political Studies'' vol. 27, January 1995, ]
References
{{reflist
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Secession
Perestroika