(Yeltsin) and the right (party bureaucracy). December: Gorbachev trav-
els to Washington to sign series of arms control agreements. Vladimir
Kryuchkov, head of the KGB First Chief Directorate, attends as senior
intelligence adviser.1988 February: Mikhail Gorbachev announces that Soviet troops
will leave Afghanistan within a year. Spring: Ethnic and political vio-
lence escalates in the Caucasus, Baltic republics, and Central Asia.
May: Gorbachev names Vladimir Kryuchkov KGB chair. Moscow be-
gins withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.1989 February: Last Soviet troops leave Afghanistan. 7 April: Soli-
darity is legalized and enters Polish national elections. 4 June: Solidar-
ity wins parliamentary election in Poland, taking 99 of 100 senate seats
and all 161 seats in the Sejm. October: Demonstrations throughout East
Germany lead to the end of the Berlin Wall. Mikhail Gorbachev refuses
to authorize force to maintain regime.1990 November–December: Mikhail Gorbachev moves to the right,
firing MVD chief Vadim Bakatin and replacing him with Boris Pugo.
Vladimir Kryuchkov openly opposes Gorbachev’s agenda and warns of
CIA subversion as the root cause of Soviet weakness. December:
Growing unrest in Lithuania and Latvia begin with demands for inde-
pendence from the Soviet Union.1991 January: Violence in Vilnius and Riga leaves 16 dead. KGB
chair Vladimir Kryuchkov and MVD chief Boris Pugo begin plotting
coup with military and party leaders. 18–22 August: Putsch by party
conservatives attempts to bring down Mikhail Gorbachev regime; when
coup fails, Kryuchkov and three other senior KGB officers are arrested.
Pugo commits suicide. September: KGB is abolished, replaced by new
intelligence, security, and signals intelligence services. December:
SVR (Service of Foreign Intelligence) is created, with Yevgeny Pri-
makov as head. 25 December: Final day of the Soviet Union, which
dissolves into Russian Federation and other states.
1992 Boris Yeltsin administration’s massive market reforms lead to
inflation and economic decline. Russian organized crime becomes an
increasingly important player in the new capitalist economy. MVD
proves incapable of coping with criminal violence.xx •CHRONOLOGY06-313 (00) FM.qxd 7/27/06 7:53 AM Page xx