There is another year in the history of the Russian state that can be called revolutionary. When the crisis in the country escalated to the limit, and Mikhail Gorbachev could no longer influence even his inner circle, and they tried in every possible way to resolve the current situation in the state by force, and the people themselves chose whom to give their sympathy to, the coup of 1991 occurred.
Old Heads of State
Many leaders of the CPSU, who remained adherents of conservative methods of management, realized that the development of perestroika was gradually leading to the loss of their power, but they were still strong enough to prevent the market reform of the Russian economy. By doing this, they tried to prevent the economic crisis.
And yet, these leaders were no longer so authoritative as to impede the democratic movement by methods of persuasion. Therefore, the only way out of the current situation, which seemed to them the most possible, was to declare a state of emergency. No one then expected that in connection with these events, the putsch of 1991 would begin.
The ambiguous position of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, or Suspensionmanuals
Some conservative figures even tried to put pressure on Mikhail Gorbachev, who had to maneuver between the old leadership and representatives of the democratic forces in his inner circle. These are Yakovlev and Shevardnadze. This unstable position of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev led to the fact that he began to gradually lose the support of both sides. And soon information about the upcoming putsch began to penetrate into the press.
From April to July, Mikhail Gorbachev was preparing a treaty, called "Novo-Ogarevsky", with the help of which he was going to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union. He intended to transfer the main part of the powers to the authorities of the Union republics. On July 29, Mikhail Sergeevich met with Nursultan Nazarbayev and Boris Yeltsin. It discussed in detail the main parts of the agreement, as well as the upcoming removal from their posts of many conservative leaders. And this became known to the KGB. Thus, the events were increasingly approaching the period that in the history of the Russian state began to be called the "August Putsch of 1991".
Conspirators and their demands
Naturally, the leadership of the CPSU was concerned about the decisions of Mikhail Sergeevich. And during his vacation, she decided to take advantage of the situation with the use of force. Many famous personalities took part in a kind of conspiracy. These are Vladimir Kryuchkov, who at that time was the chairman of the KGB, Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev, Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov,Valentin Sergeevich Pavlov, Boris Karlovich Pugo and many others who organized the 1991 putsch.
GKChP on August 18 sent a group representing the interests of the conspirators to Mikhail Sergeevich, who was vacationing in the Crimea. And they presented him with their demands: to declare a state of emergency in the state. And when Mikhail Gorbachev refused, they surrounded his residence and turned off all types of communications.
Provisional government, or Expectations did not materialize
In the early morning of August 19, about 800 armored vehicles were brought into the Russian capital, accompanied by troops consisting of 4,000 people. It was announced in all the media that the State Emergency Committee was created, and it was to him that all the powers to govern the country were transferred. On this day, waking up people, turning on their televisions, could only see an endless broadcast of the famous ballet called "Swan Lake". This was the morning when the August putsch of 1991 began.
People responsible for the conspiracy claimed that Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was seriously ill and temporarily unable to govern the state, and therefore his powers were transferred to Yanaev, who was vice president. They hoped that the people, already tired of perestroika, would take the side of the new government, but the press conference they organized, where Gennady Yanaev spoke, did not make the proper impression.
Yeltsin and his supporters
Beginning coup 1991 did not live up to expectationsorganizers of the GKChP. The people did not take their side. Many considered their actions illegal. Moreover, on August 19, at a rally held near the White House, Yeltsin addressed the people. He announced that the situation in the state that led to the 1991 putsch was a coup.
The photograph of Boris Nikolaevich, taken at the time of his speech to people, was published in many newspapers, even in Western countries. Several officials agreed with Boris Yeltsin's opinion and fully supported his position.
Coup 1991. Briefly about the events that took place on August 20 in Moscow
A huge number of Muscovites took to the streets on August 20. All of them demanded to dissolve the GKChP. The White House, where Boris Nikolayevich and his supporters were located, was surrounded by defenders (or, as they were called, resisting the putschists). They set up barricades and surrounded the building, not wanting the old order to return.
Among them there were a lot of native Muscovites and almost the entire color of the intelligentsia. Even the famous Mstislav Rostropovich flew in from the United States on purpose to support his compatriots. The August putsch-1991, the reasons for which are the unwillingness of the conservative leadership to voluntarily give up their powers, rallied a huge number of people. Most countries supported those who defended the White House. And the ongoing events were broadcast abroad by all leading television companies.
Failure of the plot and return of the President
The demonstration of such mass disobedience caused the putschists to decide to storm the White House building, which they scheduled for three in the morning. This terrible event resulted in more than one victim. But on the whole, the coup failed. Generals, soldiers, and even most of the Alpha fighters refused to shoot ordinary citizens. The conspirators were arrested, and the President safely returned to the capital, canceling absolutely all orders of the State Emergency Committee. Thus ended the August putsch of 1991
But these few days have greatly changed not only the capital, but the whole country. Thanks to these events, a radical change occurred in the history of many states. The Soviet Union ceased to exist, and the political forces of the state changed their alignment. As soon as the putsch of 1991 ended, on August 22 rallies were again held in Moscow, representing the democratic movement of the country. On them, people carried panels of the new tricolor national flag. Boris Nikolaevich asked the relatives of all those who died during the siege of the White House for forgiveness, as he could not prevent these tragic events. But in general, the festive atmosphere remained.
Reasons for the failure of the coup, or the final collapse of communist power
The putsch-1991 is over. The reasons that led to its failure are fairly obvious. First of all, most of the people living in the Russian state no longer wanted to return to the times of stagnation. Distrust of the CPSU began to be expressed very strongly. Other reasons are the indecisive actions of the conspirators themselves. On the other hand, rather aggressivepart of the democratic forces represented by Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, who received support not only from the numerous masses of the Russian people, but also from Western countries.
The putsch of 1991 had not only tragic consequences, but also brought significant changes to the country. It made the preservation of the Soviet Union impossible, and also prevented the further expansion of the power of the CPSU. Thanks to the decree signed by Boris Nikolaevich on the suspension of its activities, after some time all Komsomol and communist organizations throughout the state were dissolved. And on November 6, another decree finally banned the activities of the CPSU.
The consequences of the tragic August coup
The conspirators, or representatives of the State Emergency Committee, as well as those who actively supported their positions, were immediately arrested. Some of them committed suicide during the investigation. The putsch of 1991 claimed the lives of ordinary citizens who stood up to defend the White House building. These people were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union. And their names entered the history of the Russian state forever. These are Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky and Vladimir Usov - representatives of Moscow youth who got in the way of moving armored vehicles.
The events of that period crossed out the era of communist rule in the country forever. The collapse of the Soviet Union became obvious, and the main public masses fully supported the positions of the democratic forces. The coup that took place had such an impact on the state. August1991 can be safely considered the moment that abruptly turned the history of the Russian state into a completely different direction. It was during this period that the dictatorship was overthrown by the masses, and the choice of the majority was on the side of democracy and freedom. Russia has entered a new period of its development.
