However, this did not come to pass when the hardliners took control of Moscow for three days in August 1991. Askar Akayev, the first president, unequivocally condemned the putsch and gained fame as a democratic leader. The country declared its independence on 31 August 1991 and the Soviet Union was formally dissolved on 26 December 1991. However, the 1978 constitution remained in effect after its independence until 1993.