MOSCOW -- The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Byelarus declared yesterday that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist and proclaimed a new Commonwealth of Independent States open to all states of the former union.
In a series of statements issued after a two-day meeting at a Byelarussian government retreat, the leaders of the three Slavic republics declared void all efforts to create a new union on the ruins of the old one. But they called for the creation of new "coordinating bodies" for defense, foreign affairs and the economy that would have their seat in Minsk, the capital of Byelarus, and decided to maintain the ruble as their common currency.
They declared that the "norms" and activities of the former union had ceased at the moment the commonwealth agreement was signed and that the new commonwealth had assumed all international obligations of the Soviet Union, as well as control over its nuclear arsenal.
"The U.S.S.R., as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality, is ceasing its existence," the three leaders declared.
The action essentially stripped Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev of his office and authority, and the immediate question was whether the tough and tenacious Soviet leader would resist and, if he did, whether the military or other centers of power would support him.
The three co-founders of the new commonwealth -- President Boris N. Yeltsin of Russia, President Leonid M. Kravchuk of Ukraine and Stanislav Shushkevich, chairman of the Byelarussian Parliament -- were scheduled to meet today with Mr. Gorbachev and with Nursultan A. Nazarbayev, the president of Kazakhstan and the unofficial spokesman for the Muslim republics of Central Asia.
Mr. Gorbachev had no immediate reaction, but in a taped interview with a French television station broadcast yesterday, he argued that dismantling the union spelled disaster and that the consequences would make the war in Yugoslavia "a simple joke by comparison."
The Central Asian republics had all indicated an interest in retaining some form of union, and it was not immediately clear why Mr. Nazarbayev was excluded from the commonwealth declaration or how he would respond.
In their declarations, the three predominantly Slavic republics said they drew their authority to dissolve the union from the fact that they were its co-founders. They and the Transcaucasian republic, later divided into Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, were co-signers of the original 1922 treaty that created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
The "sphere of joint activity" assigned to the new commonwealth resembled closely the functions that Mr. Gorbachev had been seeking for his new "Union of Sovereign States": foreign policy, development of a "common economic space," customs and "migratory policy," transportation and communication systems, the environment and the battle against organized crime.
One major difference was that the three Slavic republics, which together account for 73 percent of the population and 80 percent of the territory of the Soviet Union, were inviting other republics to join, not to negotiate, a new association.
It was a stance certain to irritate the Muslim and Transcaucasian republics, but also one that stood to curtail the endless bickering that has characterized negotiations among the republics since the failed August coup.
Another major difference was that the move to Minsk and the formal disbanding of the old union cleared the slate of old structures and bureaucracies, freeing the participating republics of the need to haggle with Mr. Gorbachev and the old ministries over the new order they meant to shape.
But the approach has its own dangers. Besides Mr. Gorbachev, other potential sources of resistance include the potent military-industrial complex and the trade unions, which could feel threatened by their transfer to new masters dedicated to reducing the budget.
Resistance also could come from republican parliaments and nationalist movements, especially in Ukraine, which might see in the agreement a trick to revive the old union in a new guise.
Yet the commonwealth appears to be the most practical compromise available for the republic leaders. It disassociates the new commonwealth from Moscow, creates a core made up of the most important republics and blocks the disintegration that threatened to destroy critical economic ties among the republics.
The commonwealth agreements touched on the major areas of concern in the three republics. They called for coordinated economic reforms, echoing fears in Ukraine and Byelarus that the impending reforms in Russia could create havoc with their prices.
They declared the ruble to be the currency of common commerce, and they called for mutual agreement before the introduction of any new currency, responding to Russia's fear that a separate currency in Ukraine could flood Russia with excess rubles.
And they declared the Chernobyl disaster site a common responsibility, touching on the fears of all three republics that the damaged nuclear power plant might be left untended.
The leaders of the three republics pledged that existing borders would remain open and unchanged, and vowed to respect each other's sovereignty and "observe international norms of human and national rights."
On an issue that has raised considerable anxiety abroad, the leaders said they had decided "to preserve the joint command over the common military-strategic space and the single nuclear arms controlling body."
Outlining the responsibilities of the central authority proposed for Minsk, the agreement said, "The parties regard the following as the sphere of joint activity: the coordination of external political activity, the formation and the development of the common economic space, the European and Eurasian markets, the customs and migratory policy, the development of the transportation and communication systems, protection of the environment and ecological security, and the struggle against organized crime."
A separate statement on joint economic policy declared that "preservation and development of close economic ties that have taken shape between our states is vitally important in order to stabilize the situation in the national economy and create preconditions for economic revival."
The key provision called on the three republics to coordinate their economic reforms, indicating that Ukraine and Byelarus will follow Russia's lead in lifting controls on prices and the ruble. The agreement raised doubts, however, that Mr. Yeltsin could follow his announced timetable, which called for prices to be freed next Monday.
The bulk of the agreement pledges to cooperate in critical areas of financial and economic policy -- bringing finances under control, reducing budgetary deficits, liberalizing prices, setting a value-added tax, ensuring freedom of transit, setting customs policies, assessing debts of former union-owned enterprises and general abstaining "from any actions that can cause harm to each other's economic interests."
The agreement confirmed anew the growing stature of Mr. Yeltsin as the prime arbiter of the fate of the former Soviet empire. The Ukrainian vote Dec. 1 was the catalyst, but it was his decision to choke off spending by the center and to proceed with radical reform, with or without other republics, that first signaled the end of the central government.
Commonwealth's statement
Here is a text of the declaration issued by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Byelorussia, as carried by the Soviet news agency Tass:
We, the heads of state of Byelorussia, Russia and Ukraine:
* Noting that talks on the preparation of a new union treaty have reached a dead end and the process of the secession of republics from the U.S.S.R. and forming the independent states has come to reality;
* Stating that the shortsighted policy of the center has led to a deep political and economic crisis, to disintegration of the economy and catastrophic decline of the living conditions of practically all the sectors of the population;
* Taking into account growing social tension in many regions of the former U.S.S.R. which have led to ethnic conflicts and resulted in numerous victims;
* Acknowledging the responsibility before our people and the world community and the growing necessity of practical implementation of political and economic reforms;
Hereby declare the formation of a Commonwealth of Independent States, about which the parties signed an agreement on Dec. 8, 1991.
The Commonwealth of Independent States, consisting of the Republic of Byelorussia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, is open to all member-states of the former U.S.S.R., as well as to other states who share the aims and principles of this agreement.
The member-states of the Commonwealth intend to conduct a policy aimed at reinforcing international peace and security. They guarantee fulfillment of international obligations from treaties and agreements of the former U.S.S.R. and ensure unified control over nuclear weapons and their non-proliferation.
Stanislav Shushkevich, chairman of the Supreme Soviet
of the republic of Byelorussia.
Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Federation
Leonid Kravchuk, president of Ukraine
Dec. 8, 1991
Minsk
Highlights of Soviet history
Nov. 7, 1917 -- Bolsheviks overthrow the provisional Russian government.
4 1918 -- Ex-Czar Nicholas II and family executed.
1922 -- Soviet states form U.S.S.R.
April 1922 -- Josef V. Stalin becomes general secretary of the Communist Party.
Jan. 21, 1924 -- Party founder V. I. Lenin dies.
Aug. 23, 1939 -- German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact signed. Contains a secret protocol calling for the partition of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union.
Feb. 3-11, 1945 -- During Yalta Conference, Soviet Union agrees it will enter World War II against Japan.
April-June, 1945 -- United Nations charter is drawn up in San Francisco; the Soviet Union is one of five permanent members of the Security Council.
September 1949 -- First Soviet atomic bomb exploded.
March 5, 1953 -- Stalin dies. Nikita Khrushchev becomes first secretary.
February 1956. At the 20th Party Congress, Khrushchev denounces Stalin's policies.
October 1956 -- Soviet troops suppress uprising in Hungary.
Oct. 4, 1957 -- Soviets launch first space satellite, Sputnik 1.
Oct. 16, 1964 -- Khrushchev is replaced by Leonid Brezhnev.
Aug. 20, 1968 -- Soviet forces occupy Czechoslovakia.
Nov. 10, 1982 -- Brezhnev dies and is succeeded by Yuri Andropov.
Feb. 9, 1984 -- Andropov dies and is succeeded by Konstantin Chernenko.
March 10, 1985 -- Chernenko dies.
March 11, 1985 -- Mikhail S. Gorbachev elected head of the Communist Party.
L May 1989 -- Gorbachev becomes president of the Soviet Union.
Nov. 24, 1990 -- A new union treaty is proposed as a replacement for 1922 version, offering greater powers to the republics.
June 12, 1991 -- Boris N. Yeltsin is elected president of Russia.
Aug. 19-21, 1991 -- Coup by party hard-liners fails.
Sept. 6, 1991 -- Soviet Congress of People's Deputies recognizes independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Nov. 25, 1991 -- Gorbachev and seven republics fail to agree on treaty.
Dec. 1, 1991 -- Ukraine votes for independence.