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1991 Soviet coup attempt | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Background And Motivations —
1991 Soviet coup attempt.
~8 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
In 1991, the Soviet Union faced a severe economic crisis. Food and medicine were scarce. People stood in long lines to buy essential goods. Fuel stocks dropped by as much as fifty percent below what was needed for winter. Inflation exceeded three hundred percent per year. Factories lacked cash to pay salaries. Hardline members of the Communist Party felt betrayed by Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms. They feared the loss of control over Eastern European states. The New Union Treaty threatened to decentralize power among fifteen republics. Nationalist agitation grew among non-Russian minorities. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Armenia had already declared independence. A violent attempt to return Lithuania to the Soviet Union occurred in January 1991. Russia declared its sovereignty on the 12th of June 1990. British historian Dan Stone noted that many officers feared German revanchism after losing gains from the Great Patriotic War.
Conspiracy Planning Phase
The KGB began considering a coup in September 1990. Soviet politician Alexander Yakovlev warned Gorbachev about this possibility after the twenty-eighth Party Congress in June 1990. On the 11th of December 1990, KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov made a call for order over Moscow television. He asked two KGB officers to prepare measures for a state of emergency. Later, Kryuchkov brought Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, Central Control Commission Chairman Boris Pugo, Premier Valentin Pavlov, Vice President Gennady Yanayev, Oleg Baklanov, Valery Boldin, and Oleg Shenin into the conspiracy. Foreign Secretary Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in protest. He warned that dictatorship was coming. Gorbachev appointed Yanayev as his replacement. Members of the Cabinet hoped he could be persuaded to declare a state of emergency. They formed the State Committee on the State of Emergency. On the 17th of July 1991, Premier Pavlov requested extraordinary powers. Six days later, Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed replacing hardliners. Kryuchkov had placed Gorbachev under close surveillance as Subject 110 months earlier. The KGB logbook recorded every move of Gorbachev and his wife Raisa.
Execution And Resistance
On the 4th of August 1991, Gorbachev went on holiday to his dacha in Foros, Crimea. He planned to return for the New Union Treaty signing on August 20. On August 15, the draft treaty text was published. It would have stripped coup planners of authority. On August 17, GKChP members met at a KGB guesthouse in Moscow. They decided to introduce a state of emergency from August 19. At 4:32 pm on August 18, the committee cut communications to Gorbachev's dacha. Eight minutes later, Lieutenant General Yuri Plekhanov allowed the group inside. Baklanov, Boldin, Shenin, and Varennikov demanded that Gorbachev declare a state of emergency or resign. Gorbachev refused point-blank. He insulted Varennikov by pretending to forget his name. He told Boldin to shut up. The conspirators ordered him confined to the dacha. Additional security guards stopped anyone from leaving. At 7:30 pm, the leaders flew to Moscow. At 8:00 pm, Yanayev, Pavlov, Kryuchkov, Yazov, Pugo, and Lukyanov gathered in the Kremlin cabinet. They decided to publicly declare Gorbachev ill. At 11:25 pm, Yanayev signed a decree entrusting himself with presidential powers. The committee ordered 250,000 pairs of handcuffs sent from a factory in Pskov. Lefortovo Prison was emptied to receive prisoners. On August 19, units of the Tamanskaya mechanized infantry and Kantemirovskaya armored division rolled into Moscow. Around four thousand soldiers, three hundred tanks, three hundred armored personnel carriers, and four hundred twenty trucks were sent to Moscow. Almost no other arrests were made by the KGB during the coup.
The Three Days Of Collapse
At 6:00 am on August 19, all GKChP documents were broadcast over state radio and television. The KGB issued an arrest list including Boris Yeltsin. Radio Rossii and Ekho Moskvy were taken off the air. However, Ekho Moskvy later resumed broadcasts. BBC World Service and Voice of America provided continuous coverage. Gorbachev heard news from a small Sony transistor radio. He refused food from outside the dacha for several days. At 4:00 pm, Yanayev declared a state of emergency in Moscow. His shaking hands led some people to think he was drunk. His trembling voice made his words unconvincing. That night, his family smuggled out a videotape condemning the coup. Soviet forces began suffering mass defections. Soldiers refused orders to shoot civilians. Major Evdokimov declared loyalty to the Russian SFSR leadership. Yeltsin climbed one of the tanks and addressed the crowd. This episode appeared in state media evening news. On August 20, General Nikolai Kalinin declared a curfew from 11:00 pm to 5:00 am. Kryuchkov, Yazov, and Pugo decided to attack the White House. Alpha Group commander Viktor Karpukhin and Vympel commander Colonel Boris Beskov tried to convince Ageyev that bloodshed would result. Lebed returned to the White House and informed defense headquarters that an attack would begin at 2:00 am the next morning. At about 1:00 am on August 21, trolleybuses and street cleaning machines barricaded a tunnel against arriving infantry fighting vehicles. Three men were killed: Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov, and Ilya Krichevsky. The crowd set fire to an IFV. Alpha Group and Vympel did not move as planned. Yazov ordered troops to pull out of Moscow. Between 8:00 and 9:00 am, GKChP members met in the Defense Ministry. They decided to send Kryuchkov, Yazov, Baklanov, Tizyakov, Lukyanov, and Ivashko to Crimea.
Dissolution Of The Soviet Union
On the 24th of August 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev created the Committee for the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy. That same day, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada adopted the Act of Independence. On August 25, the Supreme Soviet of Byelorussia announced its Declaration of Sovereignty. On August 27, Moldova declared independence. Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan followed suit on August 30 and 31. On September 6, the Soviet State Council recognized Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In September, over ninety-nine percent of voters in Armenia voted for independence. On October 27, Turkmenistan declared independence. On December 1, Ukraine held a referendum where more than ninety percent supported independence. By November, only Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan had not declared independence. Seven republics agreed to form a confederation called the Union of Sovereign States. This confederation never materialized. On December 8, Boris Yeltsin, Leonid Kravchuk, and Stanislav Shushkevich met in Minsk to sign the Belovezha Accords. They declared that the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a subject of international law. On December 24, the Russian SFSR informed the United Nations it would inherit membership. On December 25, Gorbachev announced his resignation. The red hammer and sickle flag was lowered from the Senate building. On December 26, the Soviet of Republics formally voted the Soviet Union out of existence.
Aftermath And Legal Proceedings
On the 21st of August 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR adopted Decision No. 1626-1. It authorized Yeltsin to appoint heads of regional administrations. On August 22, the party's Central Committee headquarters were handed over to the Government of Moscow. On November 6, Yeltsin issued a decree banning the party in Russia. On August 24, Sergey Akhromeyev was found dead in his office. Nikolay Kruchina jumped from his apartment window on August 26. Georgiy Pavlov followed the same fate on October 6. Dmitriy Lisovolik was found dead after jumping from his apartment on October 17. These deaths faced extensive scrutiny by historians. By January 1993, all GKChP members had been released from custody pending trial. The trial began on the 14th of April 1993. On the 23rd of February 1994, the State Duma declared amnesty for all members and accomplices. They accepted the amnesty except General Varennikov. He demanded continuation of the trial and was acquitted on the 11th of August 1994. Thousands attended the funeral of Komar, Usov, and Krichevsky on the 24th of August 1991. Gorbachev posthumously awarded them the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
International Reactions And Geopolitics
Prime Minister Bob Hawke said Australia did not want to see repression against Gorbachev. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney condemned the coup and suspended food aid. Canadian leaders believed both the US and Canada would be treated as single targets. Israeli officials hoped the coup would not derail peace talks in Madrid. Japanese government spokesman Taizo Watanabe left open the question of legitimacy. President Roh Tae-woo welcomed the collapse as a triumph for freedom. British Prime Minister John Major met with his cabinet on August 19. The British Government froze eighty million dollars in economic aid. European Community scheduled an emergency meeting to suspend a billion five hundred million dollar aid program. US President George H. Bush made a blunt demand for Gorbachev's restoration. He issued a strongly-worded statement calling the overthrow very disturbing. Secretary of State James Baker warned that legitimacy flows from the will of the people. Former president Ronald Reagan commented on the situation. CPUSA Chairman Gus Hall supported the coup. Foreign Minister Uffe Ellemann-Jensen said change could not be reversed. President François Mitterrand called on new rulers to guarantee life and liberty. Chancellor Helmut Kohl cut his vacation short. China appeared to tacitly support the coup when it issued a statement saying it was an internal affair. Confidential documents indicated Chinese hardline leaders disapproved of Gorbachev's liberalization. Deng Xiaoping said the Soviet coup was good but they must not visibly be pleased.
Hardline members of the Communist Party launched the coup because they felt betrayed by Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and feared losing control over Eastern European states. The New Union Treaty threatened to decentralize power among fifteen republics, prompting nationalists in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Armenia to declare independence.
Who organized the 1991 Soviet coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev?
The State Committee on the State of Emergency led the conspiracy with KGB Chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, Premier Valentin Pavlov, Vice President Gennady Yanayev, Oleg Baklanov, Valery Boldin, and Oleg Shenin. Foreign Secretary Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in protest before the group formed their plan.
When did the 1991 Soviet coup attempt begin and end?
The coup began at 4:32 pm on August 18 when committee members cut communications to Mikhail Gorbachev's dacha in Foros, Crimea. It ended between 8:00 am and 9:00 am on August 21 when GKChP members met in the Defense Ministry and decided to send leaders back to Crimea after troops pulled out of Moscow.
How many soldiers participated in the 1991 Soviet coup attempt in Moscow?
Units of the Tamanskaya mechanized infantry and Kantemirovskaya armored division sent around four thousand soldiers, three hundred tanks, three hundred armored personnel carriers, and four hundred twenty trucks to Moscow. Almost no other arrests were made by the KGB during the operation.
Why did the 1991 Soviet coup attempt fail against Boris Yeltsin?
Soviet forces suffered mass defections because soldiers refused orders to shoot civilians while Major Evdokimov declared loyalty to the Russian SFSR leadership. Boris Yeltsin climbed onto a tank to address crowds, and trolleybuses barricaded tunnels against arriving infantry fighting vehicles before Alpha Group and Vympel failed to move as planned.