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n 1991, a delegation of hard-line leaders Gorbachev resigned his post as General Secretary of unexpectedly interrupted Gorbachev' s the Communist Party, the Baltic states gained full Ivacation on Sunday, August 18th. independence, and became the most Speaking for a State Committee, the group powerful leader in the . But the changes demanded that Gorbachev accept emergency rule or unleashed by the failed coup had only just begun. resign. When he refused, the plotters returned to This section concludes by describing the events that , leaving Gorbachev's compound surrounded led to Gorbachev's resignation, the final collapse of by well-armed troops and cut off from the rest of the the Soviet Union, and the formation of a new country. Commonwealth of Independent States. Although the people of the Soviet Union remained unaware that a coup had begun, they would Turning Points in History: The August Coup soon find out. At 6 A.M. Monday morning, the Soviet news agency suddenly announced that Mikhail Monday, August 19. The news bulletin announcing Gorbachev could no longer perform his duties as the coup sent shock waves of concern around the President because of "health reasons." Vice world. President Yaneyev and several other senior officials Worried leaders in Eastern Europe had therefore formed a State Committee for the State wondered if the new Soviet leaders would honor of Emergency to govern the Soviet Union. Gorbachev's commitment to withdraw troops from The Committee promptly issued a statement eastern Germany and Poland. announcing a state of emergency. The statement also Meanwhile, President Bush and his top declared that Gorbachev's reforms had placed the advisors held emergency meetings to evaluate the Soviet Union in "mortal danger" by leading it "into a crisis. "The whole world just went topsy-turvy," said blind alley." Shortly afterwards, the Committee issued one alarmed aide. "Everything is out the window." As a second decree suspending political parties, banning the world watched and waited, the people of Moscow strikes, and closing all independent newspapers. By awoke to the sound of tanks and armored personnel midmorning hundreds of tanks and armored carriers rumbling through their streets. personnel carriers began rolling into Moscow and the The State Committee assumed that this Baltic states. show of force would stifle public criticism and ensure The August coup obedience. But they were marked a turning point in wrong. Gorbachev's world history. It began as reforms had created a an attempt to restore the new generation willing to old order. speak its mind and Convinced that defend its freedoms. ordinary citizens would "Those fools are out of choose security over touch," said one freedom; the plotters contemptuous 32-year- believed that a show of old electronics force would enable them to technician. easily gain control over the "They do not country. But they had realize that things have underestimated the people. changed and we are not Instead of turning the clock back, they changed the going to stay home just because they have sent Soviet Union forever. soldiers into the streets." As word of the coup spread This reading will begin by describing the across Moscow, the first signs of public resistance coup and explaining why it failed. As you will see, the began to appear. Angry citizens confronted Soviet fateful confrontation between the hard-liners and the soldiers demanding to know who sent them. "Why reformers shattered the Soviet Union. Within days, The Second Russian Revolution 1914-Present Ch 34 tanks?" screamed one furious woman, "Tanks against While resistance increased in the republics, whom? What are you doing? What do you want”? world attention remained focused on the dramatic By noon, many protestors began to gather at standoff between the State Committee and Boris the Russian Parliament building just two miles from Yeltsin. At noon, Yeltsin told a huge crowd of the Kremlin. Nicknamed the White House because of supporters, "We will hold out here as long as we have its marble facade, the 19-story building served as to remove this junta from power. We will win!" Still Boris Yeltsin's headquarters. "We are waiting for fearing that an armed attack could come at any time, Yeltsin's response. We are ready to defend him," volunteers strengthened the barricades surrounding shouted one demonstrator. the White House. As the evening hours began, The crowd outside the White House didn't thousands of men and women ignored a cold rain and have to wait for long. Like everyone else, Yeltsin had formed a human shield 30 rows deep in front of the been caught off guard by the coup. He narrowly building. A Russian Orthodox priest blessed avoided arrest by quickly leaving his home outside volunteers who vowed to die defending their elected Moscow and dashing to his office in the White House. leaders. At about 12:30 P.M., he walked outside the White While the tense vigil continued at the White House and boldly climbed atop one of the nearby House, the coup leaders frantically ordered tank units tanks. As his supporters cheered, Yeltsin defiantly to attack. predicted that "the reactionaries will not triumph." He But once again key units ignored their then called for a general strike and urged his orders. Although the coup was rapidly unraveling, the followers to disobey the State Committee's decrees. volunteers protecting the White House were unaware Yeltsin's courageous action helped inspire of the insubordination sweeping through the Soviet others to step forward. Fearing that an armed attack military. At midnight, a confused scuffle between could come at any time, volunteers worked feverishly troops and protestors broke out on a nearby street. to build barricades around the White House. By Three civilians died in the brief clash. Monday evening thousands of demonstrators Wednesday, August 21. The Army's refusal gathered outside the White House to protect Yeltsin. to attack the White House doomed the coup. In an Their fears were not misplaced. Yaneyev early morning meeting at the Defense Ministry, top Air and his fellow plotters had originally hoped to avoid a Force and Navy commanders demanded that bloody confrontation like the one in Tiananmen Defense Minister Yazov withdraw all troops from Square. But they now recognized that the coup would Moscow. After Yazov angrily stormed out of his office, fail unless they stormed the White House. the generals issued an order to begin troop Determined to seize and, if necessary, kill withdrawals at about 3:00 P.M. Yeltsin and his aides, the plotters ordered an elite Abandoned by the military and confronted by force of KGB commandos to assault the White massive public opposition, the coup quickly fell apart. House. But the Alpha commanders and their men While crowds cheered the departing soldiers, refused to obey the order. Despite threats that they panicked coup leaders flew to Gorbachev's villa to would be court-martialed or even executed, the Alpha beg for his forgiveness. Gorbachev refused to see members steadfastly refused to launch an attack that them and instead ordered their arrest. Later that could kill innocent civilians and ignite a civil war. night, Gorbachev and his family flew back to Moscow Yeltsin later admitted that if they had attacked, the where they would soon discover that the nation was Alpha force "would have killed us all." changing far more rapidly than anyone could imagine. Tuesday, August 20. The Committee's failure to seize Yeltsin marked a key turning point in Why did the coup fail? the coup. As the second day began, resistance The August coup marked a watershed in Soviet and rapidly spread. Huge crowds in Leningrad and world history. Had the coup succeeded, the West may Moldavia denounced the coup. have faced a new Cold War while the Soviet people Despite the presence of heavily armed faced the prospect of a return to totalitarian controls. soldiers, the Baltic States continued to defy Soviet Although many forces played a role, three key factors authorities. doomed the coup. The Second Russian Revolution 1914-Present Ch 34

communism sweeping the county. "We are all sick of 1. The coup leaders proved to be disorganized and the Communists," said one retired worker. "They have incompetent. For example, they thought to order been strangling us for 70 years." As public anger 250,000 pairs of handcuffs but neglected to cut the shifted from the eight leaders of the coup to the communications of resistance leaders. As a result, Communist Party, the crowds became more militant. Yeltsin was able to monitor events in the Soviet Union After listening to Yeltsin, thousands of demonstrators and solicit support from President Bush and other marched to the KGB headquarters where they tore world leaders. down a 14 ton statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police. 2. The coup leaders failed to immediately arrest Boris In the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, a jubilant Yeltsin. Once established within the White House, crowd pulled down statues of Lenin. "I spent 12 years Yeltsin became a highly visible rallying point for in Siberia," said one elderly man. "But this is a popular resistance. happier day for me than the day I was released from the camps." Public resentment against the 3. The coup leaders Communist Party had been failed to understand how building for a long time. The much Gorbachev's Communists first seized reforms had changed the power in 1917. Under the Soviet people. Faced leadership of Lenin and with the choice of Stalin, the Communist Party submitting to more completely dominated Soviet communism or risking political, economic, and social their lives for more life. Although never more I democracy, an ever- than 1 0 percent of the Soviet growing number of population, party members people chose to stand up enjoyed privileges denied the for their freedoms. "They rest of the people. While most [the plotters] thought we Soviet citizens waited in long were sheep, and they lines for scarce goods, party were wrong," said a officials shopped in well- proud demonstrator stocked stores, received guarding the White medical care in special House. "It was terrible to hospitals, and lived in wake up Monday and spacious homes. feel ourselves being At first, Gorbachev smothered. And we tried to curb the outcry simply refused to be against the party. In his first smothered again." appearance after the coup, he argued that most party The Collapse of the members were loyal citizens Communist Party who should not be blamed for The failure of the coup. Saying that he still the coup sparked joyous believed in "the socialist celebrations across the choice," Gorbachev Soviet Union. At a victory contended that the rally in Moscow, a huge Communist Party could still crowd roared its approval as Boris Ye1tsin be reformed. condemned the Communist Party for supporting the Gorbachev's attempt to defend the Party coup. Yeltsin's speech captured the mood of anti- seriously damaged his credibility. Outraged delegates The Second Russian Revolution 1914-Present Ch 34 in the Russian Parliament heckled him during a leadership won him global praise while vastly speech two days after the coup. "Had come here increasing his authority. immediately, we would have carried him on our Yeltsin moved quickly to use his new power. shoulders," said one dismayed delegate. "Instead, he In the days following the coup, he issued a series of started saying that he is still a Communist. He missed decrees seizing Communist Party property and a great opportunity." Gorbachev soon realized that stripping the Kremlin of its authority within the public sentiment was not on his side. On August 24, Russian republic. 1991, he resigned as General Secretary of the Yeltsin also forced Gorbachev to replace his Communist Party and called upon the party's Central cabinet with advisers loyal to him. Criticizing Committee to disband. Five days later, the Soviet Gorbachev as a "lover of half-measures and half- Parliament voted to suspend all party activities. steps," Yeltsin promised to launch a vigorous program Stunned Muscovites watched in amazement as of political and economic reforms. officials sealed the Central Committee’s headquarters near the Kremlin. The collapse of the Soviet Union Having first seized power in 1917 in a coup By shattering the Communist Party, the coup that succeeded, the once all-powerful Communist reduced Gorbachev's power while enhancing Yeltsin's Party now collapsed in the aftermath of a coup that position. At the same time, it also played an important had failed. role in accelerating the breakup of the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union spun apart, Gorbachev Hard-liners tried to overthrow Gorbachev to prevent desperately pleaded for unity. "We should not him from signing a new treaty granting more power to destroy! We should the republics. But the coup's not break things failure helped cause the very down! We do not outcomes it was intended to have the right to make prevent. a mistake of this As the coup began to proportion." unravel, both Estonia and Latvia declared their The decline of unconditional independence. Gorbachev and "Things are happening so the rise of Yeltsin quickly," said an amazed The coup did Estonian official. "We are more than just taking advantage of discredit the opportunities we didn't have Communist Party; it before." The three Baltic states also dealt a severe did not have to wait long for blow to Gorbachev's international recognition. Within power. Although his authority had been dwindling two weeks, the United States prior to the coup, Gorbachev still exercised great joined over 30 nations in recognizing Lithuania, influence as the General Secretary of the Communist Latvia, and Estonia as independent nations. Party. Gorbachev hoped to reform and revitalize the On September 6, 1991, the Soviet party. But the coup forced him to give up his post as government officially granted them their General Secretary and close down the party. Without independence. The Baltics thus reclaimed the party support, Gorbachev's power began to evaporate freedom they had lost in 1940 as a result of the Nazi- rapidly. Soviet Pact. Other republics soon followed the While Gorbachev lost power, his longtime example set by the Baltic states. On August 24, 1991, rival Boris Yeltsin suddenly surged ahead. Prior to the the Ukrainian Parliament declared full independence coup, Yeltsin had enjoyed great popular support while subject to a popular referendum to be held on exercising limited power. But the coup dramatically December 1, 1991. The drive toward independence enhanced Yeltsin's stature. His courageous from the Soviet Union soon gathered more The Second Russian Revolution 1914-Present Ch 34 momentum. During the next three days, Byelorussia history. Having tasted freedom, the republics and Moldavia also left the Soviet Union. demanded full independence. As the Soviet Union spun apart, Gorbachev desperately pleaded for unity. At a special meeting of 2. The Soviet Union's 285 million people were divided the Soviet Parliament on August 27th, he stressed the into over 100 ethnic groups. Despite repeated efforts high cost of disunion: "We should not destroy! We to promote uniformity, a desire for independence should not break things down! . . . This collapse always existed beneath the surface of Soviet society. threatens the lives and property of millions of people, For example, many Lithuanians had secretly taught and the defense potential of our country, which is a their children to revere their national flag and heroes superpower. We do not have the right to make a as symbols of a once great past. When the coup mistake of this proportion." Gorbachev then urged the broke the power of the central government, long republics to sign a new Union Treaty that would suppressed national feelings swiftly broke out. create a "renewed union, a reformed union." Gorbachev's plea for unity failed to stem the 3. The Russian Republic contained half of the Soviet tide of secession. By the end of August, three more population and three-quarters of its land area. republics chose to leave the Soviet Union. Only 5 of 's great size and vast resources always gave it the 15 Soviet republics still retained formal a dominant voice in the Soviet Union. The fear of membership in the union. continued Russian domination motivated many of the As the Soviet Union slid toward chaos, republics to declare their independence. Gorbachev declared that the nation was "on the brink of catastrophe." At an emergency meeting of the "An awesome, awesome mess" Congress of People's Deputies, he and Yeltsin The collapse of the coup and the republic's presented a plan transferring all central authority to a declarations of independence produced jubilant State Council. The new executive body would include celebrations across the Soviet Union. But the public's Gorbachev as union President and the leaders of all optimistic hopes for the future soon collided with participating republics. harsh economic realities. "The Soviet economy is a The Council would be responsible for mess," reported an American economist, "an coordinating foreign policy and overseeing the armed awesome, awesome mess." This bleak description forces. On September 5, 1991, the Congress of did not exaggerate the problems facing Gorbachev People's Deputies reluctantly approve the new and his new government. Gorbachev's program of republic-controlled government, thus voting itself out perestroika, or economic restructuring, was designed of existence. to reform the Soviet Union's inefficient command economy. While perestroika succeeded in dismantling Why did the republics leave the Soviet the old command economy, it failed to replace it with Union? a new market system. As a result, the nation's Like all of the great empires you have economy plunged into chaos. studied, the Soviet Union collapsed and broke apart. Grim economic statistics showed how far the But while the Roman, Ottoman, and Spanish empires economy was falling. During 1991, the Soviet gross slowly retreated over a period of centuries, the Soviet national product (GNP) plummeted by 10 percent. Union fell apart with astonishing speed. Three key While industrial production fell, the annual factors explain why the republics were so eager to rate of inflation soared to over 300 percent. At the leave the Soviet Union. same time, oil and coal production dipped by 10 percent. 1. The Soviet Union had always been held together Soviet agricultural news was equally bleak. by fear and force. As Gorbachev's reforms eroded the Although farmers produced an adequate supply of power of the Communist Party, more and more food, they couldn't get it to market. For example, milk people enjoyed the right to speak and worship freely spoiled in un-refrigerated trucks while potatoes rotted and to elect their own leaders. The coup marked the on the ground because of a shortage of harvesters. first successful defense of democracy in Russian Since the military had long spent at least 25 percent The Second Russian Revolution 1914-Present Ch 34 of the GNP, farmers did not have enough money to Both glasnost and perestroika brought build modem storage facilities. As a result, one-fourth revolutionary changes to the Soviet Union. Dissidents of their grain harvest decayed in open-air bins. were released from confinement. Soviet citizens were Empty food stores presented the most encouraged to speak; write, and worship freely. And visible evidence of this economic breakdown. Pictures for the first time in Soviet history, citizens were of frustrated shoppers waiting in long lines to buy allowed to vote in free elections. scarce goods symbolized the country's growing plight. Gorbachev's "new thinking" also brought "Never forget that empty pots can be more sweeping foreign policy changes. He allowed the threatening to democracy than tanks," warned one Berlin Wall to fall, freed Eastern Europe, accepted Russian reformer. German reunification, and slowed the arms race. As a Although Gorbachev was acutely aware of result of these dramatic changes, the Cold War these problems, there was little he could do to solve thawed and then melted away. them. As the nation's economic crisis worsened, the Gorbachev's historic achievements earned powers of the central government shrank. On him global praise. Western leaders such as Margaret November 29, 1991, the Soviet State Bank Thatcher, Helmut Kohl, and Ronald Reagan hailed announced that it had only enough money left to pay him as a leader with whom they could work. At first, government workers for just three more days. Faced Gorbachev was also popular in the Soviet Union. with the imminent bankruptcy of the Soviet However, his popularity began to erode as the Soviet government, the Russian republic agreed to finance economy failed to improve. Although Gorbachev temporarily the central government wanted to reform the Communist system, he did not want to abandon it. But this goal may have been The end of an era impossible. "He tried to reform the un-reformable," While Yeltsin prepared to assume his new concluded one leading Soviet politician. responsibilities, Gorbachev prepared to give up the Although Gorbachev failed to completely job he had fought so hard to save. Realizing that he reform Soviet society, he did help to transform it. Like was now a leader without a country, Gorbachev other great leaders, Gorbachev proved that chose to resign on December individuals can make a 25, 1991. As a world-wide difference. A leading Russian television audience watched, he author wrote that future began by calmly announcing, "I generations will look back on hereby discontinue my activities Gorbachev's political career as at the post of the President of "a gripping drama of a man who the Union of Soviet Socialist changed his country and the Republics." world…a man whose name will Saying that this was his forever remain in history for "last opportunity" to address the putting an end to Communism people, Gorbachev admitted that he had made on earth." mistakes during his six years as President. But then A few minutes after Gorbachev's resignation, he proudly reviewed his achievements, declaring, Kremlin guards lowered the Soviet flag for the last "We're now living in a new world." time. The red flag bearing the distinctive gold Gorbachev was right. The world was vastly hammer-and-sickle emblem had flown over the different than when he first took power in 1985. At Kremlin since the Russian Revolution in 1917. The that time the Soviet Union was the world's most guards then raised the whit~, red, and blue tricolor feared totalitarian dictatorship. But Gorbachev quickly flag of the Russian Republic. recognized that "something was wrong." Blaming poor Chimes from the Kremlin's Spas sky Tower living conditions on the country's rigid political and rang for several minutes to mark the historic event economic system, he launched a bold program of that had just taken place. The Soviet Union had reforms. passed into history.