Moscow, December 25, 1991

^{How can we survive? Gorbachev discusses the bleak future for the Soviet Union with aides Anatoly Chernyaev, on right, and Georgy Shakhnazarov. Courtesy of Gorbachev Foundation}

^{DECEMBER 21, 1991: Yeltsin in Alma-Ata with, from left, Kravchuk, Nazarbayev, and Shushkevich, as they celebrate creating the Commonwealth of Independent States to replace the Soviet Union. VITALY ARMAND/AFP/Getty Images}

^{DECEMBER 23, 1991: Coats off as Gorbachev and Yeltsin come together in the Kremlin for a nine-hourdiscussion on transfer of power. They will never meet again. Yeltsin’s security chief Alexander Korzhakov is behind Gorbachev. Courtesy of Gorbachev Foundation}

^{Russian White House: Boris Yeltsin’s power base before his takeover of the Kremlin. Canstockphoto}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Claire Shipman and Steve Hurst interview a carefully-groomed and triumphant Boris Yeltsin shortly before Gorbachev’s resignation. Courtesy of Stuart H. Loory}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Mikhail Gorbachev walks to his Kremlin office accompanied by Ted Koppel of ABC. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Happy Christmas, dear George! Mikhail Gorbachev calls President Bush for emotional farewell minutes before his resignation. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Pavel Palazchenko interprets during telephone conversation between Gorbachev and President Bush—who does not realize ABC’s Ted Koppel is listening in. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Andrey Grachev leads Gorbachev from real to mock presidential office for resignation speech. Courtesy of Andrey Grachev}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Grachev passes Johnson’s Mont Blanc ballpoint to Gorbachev when official Soviet pen runs dry. Courtesy of Tom Johnson}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Gorbachev signs resignation documents before his speech rather than after, catching television crews unawares. VITALY ARMAND/AFP/Getty Images}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: “If you have to go, you have to go. It’s that time.” Nothing left for Gorbachev but to end his activities as Soviet president. Courtesy of Stuart H. Loory}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Gorbachev closing the file on his speech and his presidency. Liu Heung Shing’s celebrated photograph earns him a thump from a Kremlin security guard and helps AP win the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography. Associated Press}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Yegor Yakovlev, on right, prepares Gorbachev for post-resignation interview. Courtesy of Tom Johnson}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Muscovites watching broadcast of Gorbachev’s resignation speech on railway station television set. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Kremlin officials lower red flag from Senate Dome for last time. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Kremlin officials gather in red flag. ABC Television}

^{DECEMBER 25, 1991: Kremlin worker takes bundled-up red flag to storage basement. Courtesy of Stuart H. Loory}

^{Pen used by Gorbachev to end Soviet Union on display in Newseum in Washington. Courtesy Tom Johnson}

^{Gorbachev’s apartment building in Lenin Hills from which he was evicted the day he resigned. Author}

^{DECEMBER 26, 1991: Gorbachev’s official portrait being disposed of by official in St. Petersburg. Novosti}

^{Yeltsin meets Bush shortly after his triumph over Gorbachev, and at last becomes a member of the club of world leaders. Courtesy George Bush Presidential Library and Museum}

^{Senate Building today with new Russian flag flying above Gorbachev’s former Kremlin office, now ceremonial residence of President Medvedev. Author}

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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—————. Russia’s Revolution: Essays 1989—2006 Washington, DC: AEI Press, 2007.

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