Belovezha Accords
The Belovezha Accords (, , ) are accords forming the agreement that declared the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) as effectively ceasing to exist and established the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in its place as a successor entity. It was signed at the state dacha near Viskuli in Belovezhskaya Pushcha on December 8, 1991, by the leaders of three of the four republics-signatories of the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR – Russian President Boris Yeltsin and First Deputy Prime Minister of RSFSR/Russian Federation Gennady Burbulis, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and Ukrainian Prime Minister Vitold Fokin, Belarusian Parliament Chairman Stanislav Shushkevich and Prime Minister of Belarus Vyacheslav Kebich. The original document could not be found as of 2013 (see below).