Serhii Plokhy.The Russo-Ukrainian War: From the bestselling author of Chernobyl. — Penguin Books Limited, 2023-05-16. — С. 45 - The role of Ukraine in bringing about the Soviet collapse can hardly be exaggerated. Not only was it a key political actor pushing for the dissolution of the USSR, but it also helped to ensure a peaceful disintegration. By declaring independence, rallying overwhelming voter support for it, and insisting on nothing less, Ukraine killed not only Gorbachev’s project of a reformed Union but also Yeltsin’s more modest plan of a confederation of republics under Russian control. At the same time, by going out of its way to adopt a demonstratively tolerant attitude toward its Russian minority—the largest outside Russia— Ukraine made it much easier for Yeltsin to ignore pressures to protect the formerly dominant nationality in the peripheries of the empire. The Ukrainian Russians were not apprehensive about an independent Ukrainian state and gave it their majority support, making the collapse of the USSR not only inevitable but also largely peaceful.. — 269 с. — ISBN 978-1-80206-179-6.
