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
European Union disability policy the year 2003 as the "European Year of People with Disabilities." Following the success of this event, the European Commission introduced the "Equal opportunities for people with disabilities: a European action plan for the years 2004-2010". It aimed to develop a sustainable-operational approach to the case for the disabled in the extended Europe, finding out and protecting the rights of the disabled. European Union disability policy The European Union policy for disabled people guarantees governmental responsibility for all disabled people in all of EU's member states. This policy operates in the framework of the subsidiarity principle: if possible, one should