A referendum on the

New Union Treaty The New Union Treaty () was a draft treaty that would have replaced the 1922 Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to salvage and reform the USSR. A ceremony of the Russian SFSR signing the treaty was scheduled ...

was held in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

on 17 March 1991, as part of the wider Soviet referendum. The treaty was approved by 99.06% of voters.

Background

The treaty would have reorganised the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

into a less centralised state. However, it was largely boycotted by the Georgian population in Abkhazia, whilst in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

no referendum was held.

Results

Aftermath

The Union Treaty was approved in the republics where referendums were held, but its coming into effect was prevented by the August 1991 coup attempt and the subsequent

dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...

on 26 December. The fact that voters in Abkhazia approved the new union treaty while the Georgian SSR declared its independence on 9 April has been used by Abkhazia as an argument that Georgia became de jure independent from the Soviet Union without Abkhazia, which was then free to choose its own future.

References

Abkhazian New Union Treaty referendum

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Abkhaz–Georgian conflict New Union Treaty referendum Abkhazian New Union Treaty referendum Referendums in the Soviet Union Abkhazian New Union Treaty referendum {{Georgia-election-stub