The curtains closed on the Soviet Union as Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich, and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk converged in Belovezh Forest to sign the Belavezha Accords, effectively dissolving the USSR and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This watershed moment marked the end of the Soviet era, a turning point in world politics, and paved the way for a new era of international relations.