2 Nov 2021 10:00 30 years ago

Address of congress of Russian parliament members to former Soviet republics

This news story first came out 30 years ago to the day, and we are publishing it today as part of Interfax's project, "Timeline of the Last Days of USSR. This Day 30 Years Ago." The project's goal is to reconstruct as fully as possible the timeline of the last few months of 1991 and to give everyone interested in understanding the historical processes of that period the opportunity to study and analyze the events that led to and accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the new Russian state. The complete timeline can be found in Russian.


MOSCOW. Nov 2 (Interfax) – The Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) has called on Supreme Councils of former Soviet republics, including of the Baltic States, to sign special treaties and agreements and define and guarantee the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities living there.

The special address points out that a civilized solution to this problem is needed. That is why it is proposed to take legitimate measures to uphold the rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities, to ensure the right of every citizen to freely choose citizenship and to enshrine the right to dual citizenship in legislative acts of former Soviet republics before bilateral treaties and agreements are signed.

The Congress of People's Deputies also called on the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia "not to tear apart our kindred, our unity." The drive for independence must be prevented from severing ties between the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, the address reads.

The congress also adopted a resolution backing the decision of Russia's Supreme Council that recognized the October 27 elections of the Chechen-Ingush Supreme Council as invalid.