Belavezha Accords Belavezha Accords The Belavezha Accords (, , ) is the agreement that declared the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as effectively ceasing to exist and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place as an successor entity. It was signed at the state dacha near Viskuli in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on December 8, 1991, by the leaders of three of the four republics-signatories of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR — Russian President Boris Yeltsin and First Deputy Prime Minister of RSFSR/Russian Federation Gennady Burbulis, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Prime Minister of Ukraine Vitold Fokin, Belarusian
Bill Clinton pardon controversy Bill Clinton pardon controversy Former U.S. President Bill Clinton was criticized for some of his pardons and acts of executive clemency. Pardoning or commuting sentences is a power granted by the U.S. Constitution to all sitting U.S. Presidents. While most presidents grant pardons throughout their terms, Clinton chose to make nearly a third of them on January 20, 2001, his last day in office. This came to be known as Pardongate. While Clinton pardoned a large number (450) of people compared with his immediate one-term predecessor Republican George H. W. Bush, who pardoned only 75, the number of people pardoned