‘The big move’.In 1990, the German cartoonist Behrendt observes that the Soviet Empire is doomed to break up.

‘The end is in sight'. In 1991, the cartoonist Fritz Behrendt announces the end of the Communist regime in the USSR.

On 4 September 1991, the Belgian daily newspaper La Libre Belgique considers the confrontation between federalists and confederalists over the redefining of links between the Republics at the Extraordinary Congress of People’s Deputies of the USSR.

On 19 September 1991, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe welcomes the failure of the coup d’état of 18–21 August in the Soviet Union and comments on the development of the economic and political situation in the Soviet Republics.

On 8 December 1991, in Minsk, the Republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign the Treaty establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 21 December, in Alma-Ata in Kazakhstan, eight other former Soviet Republics also sign the Minsk Treaty, thus joining the founder members of the CIS.

On 8 December 1991, in Minsk, Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, Stanislau Shushkevich, President of the Republic of Belarus, and Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation, sign the Treaty of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

On 9 December 1991, the day after the meeting between the leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine in Minsk, the French daily newspaper Le Monde wonders whether the solution of a confederal state, backed by Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, is not doomed to failure.

On 10 December 1991, commenting on the political break-up of the USSR and the actions of Mikhaïl Gorbachev, the French newspaper Le Monde considers the reaction of the Moscow leadership.

On 10 December 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde notes that Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, is not able to stop the leaders of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from declaring the end of the USSR by proclaiming the Commonwealth of Independent States in Minsk on 8 December 1991.

On 11 December 1991, the German cartoonist, Horst Haitzinger, illustrates the political collapse of the Soviet Union in his own inimitable fashion.

‘USSR — The break-up of the USSR.’ In the early 1990s, the French cartoonist Georges Million portrays the political break-up of the Soviet Union.

On 8 December 1991, in Minsk, the Republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign the Treaty establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On 21 December, eight other former Federated Soviet Republics also sign the Treaty of Minsk in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, thus joining the founding members of the CIS.

On 21 December 1991, in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a consultation body in the area of trade, clearly marks the fragmentation of the Soviet Empire.

On 21 December 1991, in Alma-Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan, the Russian President, Boris Yeltsin, welcomes the signing of the agreement enlarging the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). From left to right: Leonid Kravchuk, President of Ukraine, Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Stanislau Shushkevich, President of the Republic of Belarus.

On 23 December 1991, the Twelve comment on the decision adopted on 21 December in Alma-Ata by the Presidents of 11 Soviet Republics to create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) from the ruins of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

On 23 and 24 May 1992, the European Community organises an international conference in Lisbon on the coordination of economic assistance to the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union.

On 23 December 1991, commenting on the official establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the viability of the confederal structures of the CIS given Russia’s hegemonic aspirations.

On 24 December 1991, the French daily newspaper Le Monde observes that Western countries are reacting favourably to the consolidation and enlargement of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) following the Alma-Ata meeting.

On 16 February 1992, following the Summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) held in Minsk, Belarus, the French daily newspaper Le Monde speculates on the future of the Soviet Red Army.

On 17 September 1992, the European Parliament adopts a resolution in which it advocates a new approach to relations between the European Community and the Commonwealth of Independent States and to the establishment of a renewed partnership between East and West.

On 12 December 1992, at the Edinburgh European Council, the Twelve adopt a declaration on future relations between the European Community, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).