The late 1980s witnessed the Soviet Union begin to fall apart, and along with it, so did their women’s artistic gymnastics program. Concurrently, Ukrainian gymnasts were dominating. The year 1989 saw six Ukrainians active at the senior level reach outstanding heights: Oksana Omelianchik, Olga Strazheva, Yulia Kut, Ludmilla Stovbchataya, Olesia Dudnik and Natalia Kalinina.