The materials in FOIA 2000-1202-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials....Read more
The materials in FOIA 2000-1202-F are a selective, not necessarily all inclusive, body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. FOIA 2000-1202-F contains materials related to the changes in the relationship between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR/Soviet Union) following the failed August 1991 Moscow Coup and the new relationships forged by the US with the newly independent republics which arose as a result of the subsequent dissolution of the Soviet Union. In accordance with his radical new policies of glasnost ("openness") and perestroika ("restructuring"), Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev presided over the decentralization of power in Moscow in favor of local control among the several Soviet republics. Prior to the signing of a new union treaty by the republics designed to allow more local control, Communist hardliners attempted to take control of the Soviet government in order to maintain the consolidated union. Popular resistance to the coup attempt (led publicly by Russian President Boris Yeltsin) prevented the takeover by the conservatives. The result was a weakening of the ties among the Soviet republics with the center and, ultimately, full independence. The USSR was officially dissolved on December 31, 1991. The newly independent states to emerge from the defunct Soviet Union were Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The materials in this request primarily cover the period of tumult in the Soviet Union during 1990 and 1991, though a small number of records from as early as 1989 and as late as 1992 are included as well. The bulk of the materials pertain to the development of diplomatic, economic, and military relations with the former Soviet republics once it was determined that the USSR would not survive events, as well as the calls for US humanitarian assistance for the former Soviet peoples. A significant portion of the materials relate to the disposition, protection, and command/control of Soviet nuclear missiles and facilities in several of the republics following the dissolution of the USSR. In addition, a number of records pertain to potential Soviet treaty obligations to be fulfilled by the independent republics. White House Office of Records Management (WHORM) Subject File categories contain letters, memcons (memoranda of conversation), and telcons (memoranda of telephone conversation) between President Bush and several members of the US Congress, heads of state of the various former Soviet republics, and other world leaders regarding the events unfolding in the Soviet Union. The Staff and Office Files contain a large number of memoranda and reports discussing the various contingencies and possible outcomes of the dissolution of the USSR as they relate to US-Soviet relations and future diplomatic or economic relationships with the independent republics. The materials include letters, cables, reports, and memoranda regarding US government and private assistance to the former Soviet republics in the area of economics (assisting in the transition to a free-market economy, monetary policy, etc.), trade (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls/COCOM, Most Favored Nation status, etc.), and humanitarian assistance, as well as draft agreements between various republics in this regard. The correspondence contains several letters between President Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, as 3 2000-1202-F well as with other Soviet republic and European heads of state. The vast majority of records are from the National Security Council and pertain to US-Soviet military agreements, including Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE), Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), and Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), as well as reports and memoranda regarding the disposition, protection, and the command and control of Soviet nuclear weapons and facilities in several former Soviet republics, e.g., Safety, Security, and Dismantlement (SSD) agreements. It should be noted that a significant majority of the records in this request have been closed due to national security restrictions. The files also contain correspondence to the President from interest groups concerned with the treatment of various ethnic groups in the fluctuating political conditions in the republics, such as Baltic American groups, the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, etc. Materials include reports regarding the status of the newly independent republics as they relate to United Nations membership and international treaties ("successor state" vs. new state debate) and schedules and trip information regarding visit to several republics by Secretary of State James Baker during December 1991. Read less