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| k. Russian Federation |
| 1990, June 12 |
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| The Russian Federation, the largest and most powerful republic of the Soviet Union, declared itself a sovereign state with the right to determine its own economic and political future and “the right to freely leave the USSR.” | 1 |
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| 1991, June 12 |
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| Boris Yeltsin was elected president of the Russian Federation (RFSFR) in the first general election in Russian history; he was sworn in on July 10. | 2 |
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| 1992, March 31 |
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| A Federation Treaty was signed by 18 of the 20 autonomous republics within the Russian Federation, delimiting powers between the center and the regions. | 3 |
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| April |
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| Confrontation between the Russian Congress and the Yeltsin government: the 6th Russian Congress of the People's Deputies, led by chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov, criticized the government's economic reforms. The criticism provoked the resignation of the government (made up of young economists), but Yeltsin refused to accept it. Compromise was eventually reached when the Congress declared its support for economic reforms. The conflict between the Congress and Yeltsin continued and reached a critical climax in March 1993, when Yeltsin claimed emergency powers and suspended the Congress. In an April 25 referendum, the majority voted confidence in Yeltsin and thus strengthened his position as president. | 4 |
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| May 7 |
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| President Yeltsin issued a decree to establish Russian Federation armed forces and made himself commander-in-chief. All former Soviet Union troops on Russian territory and those outside of Russia but under its jurisdiction were included in the armed forces. | 5 |
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| June |
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| Progress of economic reform in the Russian Federation: the Congress passed mass privatization legislation on June 11 to enable citizens to purchase shares in state property. A presidential decree on June 14 permitted the sale of land to private owners and allowed state enterprises to declare bankruptcy for liquidation. | 6 |
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| Dec. 1–14 |
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| The 7th Congress of Russian People's Deputies (Russia's supreme legislature) met, following months of political maneuvering between President Boris Yeltsin and the Civic Union. | 7 |
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