Questions about 1993 Russian constitutional crisis
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis?
The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis was a confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and the Russian parliament in September and October 1993. Yeltsin dissolved the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet by decree on the 21st of September; parliament responded by impeaching him and declaring Vice President Alexander Rutskoy acting president. The crisis ended on the 4th of October when army tanks shelled the parliament building and special forces arrested the surviving leaders.
How many people were killed in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis?
The official death toll, presented on the 27th of July 1994 by the Prosecutor General's investigation team, was 147 people: 45 civilians and 1 serviceman killed at Ostankino, and 77 civilians plus 24 military personnel in the White House area. An additional 437 people were wounded according to official Russian government statistics.
Why did Boris Yeltsin dissolve the Russian parliament in 1993?
Yeltsin dissolved parliament on the 21st of September 1993 after years of escalating conflict over economic reform, constitutional authority, and presidential powers. Parliament had blocked his reform agenda, refused to ratify his preferred prime minister, eroded his emergency powers, and in March 1993 had nearly impeached him. Yeltsin argued that the Supreme Soviet had become an obstacle to Russia's transition to a market economy and that a new constitutional order was the only way out of the political deadlock.
Who were Ruslan Khasbulatov and Alexander Rutskoy in the 1993 crisis?
Ruslan Khasbulatov was the chairman of the Supreme Soviet and the leading figure of the parliamentary opposition to Yeltsin. Alexander Rutskoy was Russia's elected vice president and Yeltsin's running mate in 1991, who had turned against the economic reform program and was proclaimed acting president by parliament after Yeltsin's dissolution decree. Both were arrested on the 15th of October 1993 and charged with organizing mass disorders before receiving amnesty from the State Duma on the 23rd of February 1994.
What happened at Ostankino during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis?
On the evening of the 3rd of October 1993, pro-parliament forces led by General Albert Makashov attacked the Ostankino television center after Rutskoy urged the crowd to seize it. Interior Ministry and OMON units defended the complex. Forty-six people were killed in the fighting, according to official figures, including Terry Michael Duncan, an American lawyer present in Moscow, and several foreign journalists killed by sniper fire. Russian state television went off the air during the battle.
What was the result of the December 1993 Russian constitutional referendum?
On the 12th of December 1993, Russian voters approved Yeltsin's new constitution, which created a strong presidency and ended the constitutional period defined by the 1978 Russian SFSR document. On the same day, parliament elections saw Vladimir Zhirinovsky's Liberal Democratic Party win 23 percent of the vote, while Gaidar's Russia's Choice received only 15.5 percent and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation received 12.4 percent, a significant rebuke of Yeltsin's economic program despite his constitutional victory.