Parade of sovereignties
The parade of sovereignties was a series of declarations of sovereignty of various degrees by the republics of the Soviet Union and autonomous units within the republics from 1988 to 1991. The declarations stated the priority of the constituent republic power in its territory over the central power, which led to the War of Laws between the center and the republics. The process followed the loosened power grip of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a result of demokratizatsiya and perestroika policies under Mikhail Gorbachev. Despite the efforts of Gorbachev to preserve the union under a new treaty in the form of the Union of Sovereign States, many constituents soon declared their full independence. The process resulted in the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
History
The first top-level Soviet republic to declare independence was Estonia.The first lower-level subdivision to declare independence was the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
The massive secessionist event has served as a testbench for various theories of secession.