History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991)
On 7th February 1990, the Central Committee of the CPSU was forced to loosen its control over power. At around the same time, different "republics" of the Soviet Union started to claim their right to become independent. They stopped following the laws of the central government of the Soviet Union. They also stopped paying taxes to the central authorities (of Moscow) of the Soviet Union. These weakened the Soviet authority and economy.