In 1991 Gorbachev was overthrown temporarily by a coup led by the old guard of the apparatchiks. Although the coup failed after a few days, it exposed the extreme weakness of Gorbachev's regime and led to his forced resignation later that year. By the end of the year, the constituent republics had declared their independence and the death of the Soviet Union. In its wake, the fifteen republics pursued various economic and political courses, but all steered away from communism. The grand experiment of Soviet-style socialism had come to an end.