A
referendum on the future of the Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was held on 17 March 1991. The question put to voters was
Do you consider necessary the preservation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics in which the rights and freedom of an individual of any nationalityHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
will be fully guaranteed?
In
KazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
the wording of the referendum was changed by substituting "equal sovereign states" for "equal sovereign republics."
Although the vote was boycotted by the authorities in
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
,
EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
,
GeorgiaGeorgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
(though not the breakaway province of
AbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
, where
the resultOn 17 March 1991 a referendum was organised in the Abkhazian ASSR, in which the population was asked to express its opinion over the New Union Treaty, through which the Soviet Union would have been reorganised into a less centralised state...
was over 98% in favour, and in
South OssetiaSouth Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
),
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
,
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
,
MoldovaMoldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
(though not
TransnistriaTransnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
or
GagauziaGagauzia , formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia , is an autonomous region of...
), turnout was 80% across the USSR. The referendum was approved by at least 70% of voters in all nine other republics that took part. It was the first, and only, referendum in the history of the Soviet Union, which was dissolved on 26 December 1991.
In participating republics
| Republic |
For |
Against |
Invalid
votes |
Total
votes |
Turnout |
| Votes |
% |
Votes |
% |
| Republic of Azerbaijan |
2,709,246 |
94.1 |
169,225 |
5.9 |
25,326 |
2,903,797 |
75.1 |
| Byelorussian SSR |
|
82.7 |
|
17.3 |
|
|
83.3 |
| Kazakh SSR |
|
95.6 |
|
4.4 |
|
|
88.2 |
Kirghiz SSRThe Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kirghiz SSR, the Kyrgyz SSR, or even Kirghizia, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union...
|
|
94.5 |
|
5.5 |
|
|
96.4 |
Russian SFSRThe Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....
|
|
71.3 |
|
28.7 |
|
|
75.4 |
| Tajik SSR |
|
96.2 |
|
3.8 |
|
|
94.4 |
| Turkmen SSR |
1,766,584 |
98.3 |
31,203 |
1.7 |
|
|
97.7 |
| Ukrainian SSR |
|
70.2 |
|
29.8 |
|
|
83.5 |
| Uzbek SSR |
9,196,848 |
94.8 |
|
5.2 |
|
9,830,782 |
95.6 |
| Total |
|
76.4 |
|
23.6 |
|
|
80.0 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. |
In boycotting republics
In these republics central electoral commissions weren't created, however, in some constituencies referendum was held voluntarily.. Turnout of voting here was less than 50%, but this information was not included in official statement of the Central Commission of the Referendum of USSR
| Republic |
Total
votes |
For |
Against |
Invalid
votes |
| Votes |
% |
Votes |
% |
| Republic of Armenia |
3,549 |
2,549 |
71.6 |
966 |
27.2 |
42 |
| Republic of Georgia |
210,556 |
208,181 |
98.9 |
1,575 |
0.7 |
800 |
| Republic of Estonia |
222,240 |
211,090 |
95.0 |
10,040 |
4.5 |
1,110 |
| Republic of Latvia |
436,783 |
415,147 |
95.1 |
18,015 |
4.1 |
3,621 |
| Republic of Lithuania |
501,375 |
496,050 |
98.9 |
4,355 |
0.9 |
970 |
| SSR Moldova |
700,893 |
688,905 |
98.3 |
8,916 |
1.3 |
3,072 |
Additional questions
In several of the republics, additional questions were added to the ballot. In Russia, an additional
question was askedA referendum was held in Russia on 7 March 1991, asking about the introduction of the post of President of RSFSR. This referendum was held at the same time as the referendum of the preservation of USSR....
on whether elective post of the president of the Russian SFSR should be created. In Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan the additional question was on the sovereignty of their republics as part of a new union.
Kyrgyz SSR
In the Kyrgyz SSR, voters were also asked "Do you agree that the Republic of Kyrgyzstan should be in the renewed Union as a sovereign republic with equal rights?" It was approved by 62.2% of voters, although turnout was only 81.7%, compared to 92.9% in the Union-wide referendum.
| Choice |
Votes |
% |
| For |
|
62.2 |
| Against |
|
37.8 |
| Invalid/blank votes |
|
| Total |
|
100 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. |
Uzbek SSR
In the
Uzbek SSRThe Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Uzbek SSR for short, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union since its creation in 1924...
, voters were also asked "Do you agree that Uzbekistan should remain part of a renewed Union (federation) as a sovereign republic with equal rights?" It was approved by 94.9% of voters, with a turnout of 95.5%.
| Choice |
Votes |
% |
| For |
|
94.9 |
| Against |
|
5.1 |
| Invalid/blank votes |
|
1.1 |
| Total |
9,824,304 |
100 |
| Source: Nohlen et al. |