“The collapse of perestroika in 1991 was the result of the actions of the putschists of the State Emergency Committee (State Committee on the State of Emergency in the USSR. - RT ) and those who took advantage of the situation after the coup to ruin the country,” Gorbachev said.
At the same time, he noted that "this in no way crosses out the significance of perestroika."
On August 19, 1991, the Emergency Committee announced a state of emergency in certain areas of the USSR. Thus, a group of representatives of the union leadership opposed the collapse of the country and the signing of an agreement on its transformation into a Union of sovereign states. President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin condemned the Emergency Committee. Numerous demonstrations were held in support of his position in Moscow and Leningrad. Troops were brought into the capital, but most of the military refused to comply with the orders of the State Emergency Committee. The state emergency committee was dissolved on August 21.