In the tense aftermath of the failed August 1991 coup, Ukraine declared independence, later confirmed by the December 1st referendum. Gorbachev’s adviser Georgy Shakhnazarov viewed with alarm the collapse of the Ukrainian Communist Party and Kravchuk’s nationalist turn. Believing Ukraine could remain «independent within the Union», he urged keeping ties through Crimea, Donbas, and the Southern Ukraine. Yet the referendum decisively sealed Ukraine’s break from the Ussr.
