The Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (CANWFZ) treaty is a legally binding commitment by Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , and Uzbekistan not to manufacture, acquire, test, or possess nuclear weapons. The treaty was signed on 8 September 2006 at Semipalatinsk Test Site , Kazakhstan, and is also known as Treaty of Semipalatinsk , Treaty of Semei , or Treaty of Semey .
23-548: The treaty was ratified by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, and entered into force 21 March 2009. Steps towards the establishment of such a zone began with the Almaty Declaration in 1992. A resolution calling for the establishment of such a zone was adopted by consensus by the United Nations General Assembly in 1997 and reaffirmed in 2000. Mindful of the lack of support by
46-623: A collegial State Council similar to those of East Germany , Bulgaria , and Romania , of which he would be the chairman, was also considered. In both instances, the collegial Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was ultimately retained as the highest body of power in the country. Members of the Communist Party voted on establishing a presidency on 7 February 1990. The first and only presidential election took place on 14 March 1990. The Congress of People's Deputies decided that they would elect
69-591: A declaration, three agreements and separate appendices. In addition, Marshal Yevgeny Shaposhnikov was confirmed as acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Separate treaty was signed between Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine "about mutual measures in regards to nuclear weapons". The Alma-Ata Protocols removed any doubt that the Soviet Union no longer existed "as
92-515: A subject of international law and geopolitical reality" (in the words of the Belovezha Accords' preamble), since 11 of the 12 remaining republics had declared that the Soviet Union had dissolved. The signatories preemptively accepted the resignation of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev , who told CBS News that he would resign when he saw the CIS was a reality. Gorbachev resigned on 25 December, and
115-483: The 1991 coup d'état attempt . The idea of the institution of a sole head of state (instead of collegial leadership) first appeared during the preparation of the draft 1936 Soviet Constitution . However, at the suggestion of the informal first person of the USSR, Joseph Stalin , who could compete with the official head of state, the idea was rejected. He formally justified the reason for this rejection as "[running] counter to
138-594: The Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR voted the Soviet Union out of existence on 26 December. A provisional agreement on the membership and conduct of Councils of Heads of State and Government was concluded between the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 30 December 1991. Concluded between the 11 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 30 December 1991. Concluded between
161-545: The nuclear powers for a similar Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty , the five permanent members of the Security Council were involved in the negotiations. While Russia and China approved of the treaty, United States , France and United Kingdom objected to a clause which stated that the Treaty would not affect the rights and obligations of the signatories under previous international agreements because of
184-549: The Alma-Ata Protocols, formally establishing the CIS. The latter agreement included the original three Belavezha signatories, as well as eight additional former Soviet republics. Georgia was the only former republic that did not participate while Lithuania , Latvia and Estonia refused to do so as according to their governments, the Baltic states were illegally incorporated into the USSR in 1940. The protocols consisted of
207-420: The Supreme Soviet, elected, not by the whole population, but by the Supreme Soviet, and accountable to the Supreme Soviet. Historical experience shows that such a structure of the supreme bodies is the most democratic, and safeguards the country against undesirable contingencies. Nonetheless, the establishment of a singular Presidency was considered during the elaboration of the next Soviet Constitution , both at
230-557: The Treaty, so this provision was removed. The United States , United Kingdom , and France were finally concerned about the possibility that the Treaty could forbid the transit of nuclear weapons through the territory. In spite of attempts by United States , United Kingdom , and France to block the Treaty, it was finally signed in September 2006, although they voted against the General Assembly Resolution which welcomed
253-509: The USSR ( Президент СССР ), was the head of state of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 15 March 1990 to 25 December 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev was the only person to occupy this office. Gorbachev was also General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between March 1985 and August 1991. He derived an increasingly large share of his power from his position as president through his resignation as General Secretary following
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#1732852110805276-480: The already existent Tashkent Treaty which involved Russia . The United States also objected on principle to establishment of any zone disturbing "existing security arrangements to the detriment of regional and international security or otherwise abridg[ing] the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense guaranteed in the UN charter". The United States also objected to possibility that Iran could apply to join
299-558: The coup attempt, Gorbachev remained president until the country's dissolution , when he resigned and declared his office to be extinct. The powers of the position were subsequently ceded to the new President of Russia , Boris Yeltsin . With his right hand on a red bound copy of the Soviet Constitution , placed on a small table before the Congress, President-elect Gorbachev took the following oath: " I solemnly swear to faithfully serve
322-526: The first attempt under Nikita Khrushchev in the early to mid-1960s and at the second, successful attempt under Leonid Brezhnev in the mid-to-late 1970s. The latter attempt at establishing a Presidency formed a part of Brezhnev's attempts at sidelining Nikolai Podgorny , who, as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, was the formal head of state and first-ranked in diplomatic protocol; an alternative path to making Brezhnev head of state, by establishing
345-504: The first president into a five-year term, then turn over presidential elections to the public beginning in the planned 1995 presidential election. The presidency was an executive post, based on a mixture of the US and French presidencies. Prior to the creation of the post of president, the de jure head of state of the Soviet Union was the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet , who
368-519: The members of the Commonwealth of Independent States on 30 December 1991. President of the Soviet Union The president of the Soviet Union ( Russian : Президент Советского Союза , romanized : Prezident Sovetskogo Soyuza ), officially the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( Президент Союза Советских Социалистических Республик ), abbreviated as president of
391-619: The protocols. Alma-Ata Protocol The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring the Soviet Union dissolved and forming the CIS. On 21 December 1991, Armenia , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Moldova , Russia , Tajikistan , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , and Uzbekistan agreed to
414-570: The signing of the treaty in December 2006. All five Permanent Members of the Security Council (also the five NPT nuclear weapons states) signed the Protocol to the treaty on May 6, 2014, which provides legally binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against CANWFZ Treaty parties. As of May 2016 all Permanent Members of the Security Council except the United States have ratified
437-467: The spirit of [the] Constitution", and elaborated: According to the system of our Constitution there must not be an individual president in the U.S.S.R., elected by the whole population on a par with the Supreme Soviet, and able to put himself in opposition to the Supreme Soviet. The president in the U.S.S.R. is a collegium, it is the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, including the President of the Presidium of
460-494: Was initially elected by the Congress of People's Deputies and served as ex officio chairman of that body, but all future elections were to have been by popular vote. The president reported to the Supreme Soviet . On 24 September 1990, Gorbachev persuaded the Supreme Soviet to give him the power to rule by unrestricted decree (on the economy, law and order, and the appointment of government personnel) until 31 March 1992. Another power
483-492: Was killed or unable to be in office, the vice president would become president. The only person to hold this office was Gennady Yanayev , who the following year became the leader of the Gang of Eight which attempted the August coup , assuming the position of acting president of the Soviet Union on 19 August 1991. After three days the coup collapsed and Gorbachev was restored. Following
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#1732852110805506-659: Was often called the "president" by non-Soviet sources. For most of the Soviet Union's existence, all effective executive political power was in the hands of the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , with the chairman of the Presidium exercising largely symbolic and figurehead duties. Starting with Leonid Brezhnev in 1977, the last four general secretaries—Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov , Konstantin Chernenko , and Gorbachev—simultaneously served as de jure head of state during their time in office. The president
529-402: Was the right to declare direct presidential rule in troubled areas and abolish democratic elected bodies if necessary. During the election of the president several candidates were nominated, among leading contenders were KGB Chairman Vadim Bakatin and Premier Nikolai Ryzhkov . The president's powers were: The vice president of the Soviet Union was the deputy head of state. If the president
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