A group of Russian lawmakers has officially asked the prosecutor-general to launch an investigation into the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
Russia's popular "Izvestia" newspaper reported on April 10 that the State Duma deputies are members of the ruling United Russia, the Communist Party, and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
In their request, the lawmakers said the Soviet leadership "illegally" dissolved the Soviet Union because the referendum results in 1991 showed that the majority of its citizens wanted to preserve the U.S.S.R.
The deputies want former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to be investigated as well.
Gorbachev, 83, called the lawmakers' move "rash, hasty, and populist PR action," adding that the decision on the Soviet Union's dissolution was made by parliament in December 1991.
Russia's popular "Izvestia" newspaper reported on April 10 that the State Duma deputies are members of the ruling United Russia, the Communist Party, and the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party.
In their request, the lawmakers said the Soviet leadership "illegally" dissolved the Soviet Union because the referendum results in 1991 showed that the majority of its citizens wanted to preserve the U.S.S.R.
The deputies want former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to be investigated as well.
Gorbachev, 83, called the lawmakers' move "rash, hasty, and populist PR action," adding that the decision on the Soviet Union's dissolution was made by parliament in December 1991.