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Belarus: Shushkevich recalls events leading to Brest accords
Minsk Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta
7 December 2001
Correcting Kuchma to Kravchuk throughout
The former parliament speaker of Belarus, Stanislaw Shushkevich, has described the events 10 years ago which led to the signing of the CIS founding accords at a Belarusian government residence near Brest. Recalling his fateful summit with Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Shushkevich said the CIS was successful in preventing uncontrolled collapse of the USSR and establishing succession rights over nuclear weapons. The former Belarus leader said that he was the one to inform Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev of the USSR's demise, but that US President George Bush got the news minutes earlier from Yeltsin. He also revealed that the KGB had known the presidents' plans but did not cause any obstacles. The following is an excerpt from Shushkevich's interview with the Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta newspaper on 7 December:
This person is respected abroad for his boldness and political foresight. But at home he is misunderstood and misjudged for his failure to make the idiot's dream of the victory of communism all over the world come true. The blame for all the problems current leaders are unable to solve is laid at the door of Stanislaw Shushkevich because 10 years ago he brought the Republic of Belarus to the path of democratic development. Together with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, he declared the end of "the great and powerful" [Soviet Union, as described in the USSR national anthem], and gave all the former Soviet republics an opportunity to come together in a new economic community, the Commonwealth of Independent States. On the eve of the jubilee, a Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta correspondent met Stanislaw Shushkevich.
[Correspondent Yuryy Rabchuk] Mr Shushkevich, who do you expect to send you greetings on the 10th anniversary of the CIS?
[Shushkevich] Frankly speaking, nobody. It is not my own jubilee. It is a holiday for the whole of Belarus because, thanks to the agreements signed in Viskuli [government residence in Brest Region], our country gained its sovereignty and became an independent state.
[Passage omitted: general remarks]
[Rabchuk] A new generation has grown in these 10 years, to whom much of this is unfamiliar. Could you please describe how the events as they unfolded in December 1991?
[Shushkevich] On the eve of the meeting in Belavezhskaya Pushcha [natural reserve in Brest Region where the CIS accords were signed], I had no components of a political decision. We faced a whole range of economic problems. And the [Soviet] government had to solve urgent problems: how to get through the winter, how to make a transition to civilized capitalism without any capital- The ideals were not bad, but the initial conditions (in terms of paying for oil and gas) were zero. This was the purpose of our trip to Viskuli.
The Ukrainian delegation had similar thoughts. But by the time of our arrival (it is easy to say it now) it was clear that it was impossible to speak of further cooperation without solving political problems. The USSR, as a more or less steady and stable system, was not functioning. It was falling apart. And the threat of uncontrolled disintegration was substantial. Therefore, at least two problems had to be solved in the beginning: a civilized divorce and civilized integration.
It seems to me that we solved the first problem perfectly: the shoots of an uncivilized and bloody divorce were cut off. As for "the marriage", it was done in a Bolshevik manner. To tell you the truth, it did not fulfil its potential due to the low political literacy of all CIS member states. Therefore, the second part of the obligations undertaken by the CIS has not been fulfilled.
[Rabchuk] How can you explain [Soviet President Mikhail] Gorbachev's grudge against you?
[Shushkevich] I do not know why he bears a grudge against me. Gorbachev did the greatest thing and is respected for this throughout the world. I think by the time of the Viskuli agreements he had exhausted his potential and was practising Bolshevism on a capitalist basis.
[Passage omitted: Shushkevich compares the union treaty proposed by Gorbachev in 1991 to humorous stories by O. Henry; denies he, Yeltsin and Kravchuk were drunk when they signed the CIS accords.]
[Rabchuk] Mr Shushkevich, did you fear being arrested by special services when you were signing a death sentence on the USSR? Despite the country's weakness, the KGB was strong and it was quite easy for it to discover the plot.
[Shushkevich] I had faith in our Belarusian special services. [Former Belarusian KGB head Eduard] Shyrkowski briefed me two or three times a day on the state of affairs and his cooperation with Russian special services. My main task was to ensure the safety of the two [Ukrainian and Russian] presidential delegations in Viskuli. Certainly, the union special services knew what was going on. At that time, there was a mixture of different services and ours had more to do with the union than with Belarus. Now, the situation is the same. However, they were guarding the presidents' safety and they did it well. Besides, I knew Gorbachev's habits, and after [his house arrest in] Foros [during the August 1991 coup attempt] I did not expect him to take any active steps without the advice of Mrs Gorbachev. And this was a judicious and slow process (I had seen it in action). Therefore, I was absolutely not afraid of such a turn of events. I can say that Gorbachev behaved decently in this case.
[Passage omitted: Shushkevich says he is proud that Belarus became independent.]
[Rabcuk] Viskuli could be called not only "the grave" of the Soviet Union but also "the cradle" of the CIS-
[Shushkevich] It cannot be called "the grave" as the Soviet Union was already at the last gasp. A state that gets out of control no longer exists. Just imagine a nuclear state out of control! And the CIS determined control over nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, a whole range of provisions in the Viskuli agreements was not properly followed up. For example, we insisted on solving Chernobyl problems: if Russia became successor to the USSR, it would compensate us. Russia did not agree to it. The issue on the union's assets abroad was also raised. It was decided to draft a separate agreement on it, but it never saw the light of day and everything became Russia's property.
[Rabchuk] Mr Shushkevich, whom did you inform first that the Soviet Union no longer existed?
[Shushkevich] I started reporting to Gorbachev. But while I was being connected, [former Russian President Boris] Yeltsin, who began calling much later, was already talking to [US President George] Bush. When I was connected to Gorbachev, he asked me in a lecturing voice: "Do you understand how this will be received by the world community?" I said: "I do understand, we have told Bush and he received it normally."
[Passage omitted: Shushkevich criticizes current Belarusian policy, describes his good relations with former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk.]
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