  We analyze the behavior of the parsec-scale jet of the quasar 3C~454.3 during
pronounced flaring activity in 2005-2008. Three major disturbances propagated
down the jet along different trajectories with Lorentz factors $\Gamma>$10. The
disturbances show a clear connection with millimeter-wave outbursts, in 2005
May/June, 2007 July, and 2007 December. High-amplitude optical events in the
$R$-band light curve precede peaks of the millimeter-wave outbursts by 15-50
days. Each optical outburst is accompanied by an increase in X-ray activity. We
associate the optical outbursts with propagation of the superluminal knots and
derive the location of sites of energy dissipation in the form of radiation.
The most prominent and long-lasting of these, in 2005 May, occurred closer to
the black hole, while the outbursts with a shorter duration in 2005 Autumn and
in 2007 might be connected with the passage of a disturbance through the
millimeter-wave core of the jet. The optical outbursts, which coincide with the
passage of superluminal radio knots through the core, are accompanied by
systematic rotation of the position angle of optical linear polarization. Such
rotation appears to be a common feature during the early stages of flares in
blazars. We find correlations between optical variations and those at X-ray and
$\gamma$-ray energies. We conclude that the emergence of a superluminal knot
from the core yields a series of optical and high-energy outbursts, and that
the mm-wave core lies at the end of the jet's acceleration and collimation
zone.
