Republics of the Soviet Union Republics of the Soviet Union The Republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Union Republics () of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) were ethnically based proto-states that were subordinated directly to the Government of the USSR. For most of its history, the USSR was a highly centralized state; the decentralization reforms during the era of "Perestroika" ("Restructuring") and "Glasnost" ("Openness") conducted by Mikhail Gorbachev are cited as one of the factors which led to the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. According to Article 76 of the 1977 Soviet Constitution, a Union Republic was a
Dissolution of the Soviet Union to exist. Both the Revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the USSR also marked the end of the Cold War. Several of the former Soviet republics have retained close links with the Russian Federation and formed multilateral organizations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eurasian Economic Community, the Union State, the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union to enhance economic and security cooperation. On the other hand, the Baltic states have joined NATO and the European Union. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary by the Politburo on March 11, 1985, three hours after predecessor Konstantin Chernenko's