The Bela Vezha accords and the collapse of the former Soviet Union

are the roots of the present-day crisis in Ukraine, including the events

in Crimea, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev suggested in his

letter to former Nezavisimaya Gazeta chief editor Vitaly Tretyakov.

“I see it as the disruption of perestroika and the thoughtless and

opportunistic “disbandment” of the Union,” he said, speaking about the

cause of the contemporary developments.