The role of the regional economic interests of the Russian Federation territories in the collapse of the USSR (on the example of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug)

Based on documents from the regional and municipal archives of the Tyumen Region, which are being put into scientific circulation for the first time, as well as materials from the local periodical press, the article attempts to trace the impact of the growing socio-economic crisis in a complex region on the radicalization of socio-political sentiments of the party and economic leaders of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug during the years of perestroika. The main focus is on the numerous disruptions in the work of the centralized planned economy in the region, which by the early 1990s led to an expansion of the list of scarce goods, the inability of local authorities to meet the needs of citizens in them, which manifested itself not only in hidden, but also in open forms – the growth of criticism of the government in the media and spontaneous rallies. As a result, even the key sector of the economy, oil and gas production, was in crisis, which forced the leaders of this industry to also join the fight for the rights of oil and gas workers. The authors conclude that the inability of the Soviet state to resolve acute socio-economic issues led in 1990-1991 to the ultimatum demands of the party and economic leaders of the district for a more equitable redistribution of state revenues between the center and the regions, as well as to the emergence of conscious steps by individual leaders to destroy the foundations of the Soviet planned economy, including with the help of foreign states. That is, the regional economic interests of the territories of the RSFSR at the final stage of perestroika were an additional reason for the weakening of Soviet power, which contributed to the disintegration of the unified state.