In August 1991, conservative communists opposed to the reform of the Soviet Union attempted to stage a coup against its president, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was on vacation in the Crimea.

But their attempt was thwarted by the resistance led by the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, which dealt the final blow to 70 years of communism and sealed the fate of the Soviet Union.

Tanks in Moscow

  • On Monday, August 19, 1991, the official TASS news agency of the USSR announced that Mikhail Gorbachev was "unable to assume his duties for health reasons," and was replaced by Vice President Gennady Yanayev.

  • At that time, the term "perestroika" (reform) and "glasnost" (opening) was allowed in the Crimea on the shores of the Black Sea.

  • The putschists led a "state of emergency committee" that put the powers in its hands, when the first armored vehicles and troop transport trucks entered the capital.

Yeltsin on a tank

  • President Boris Yeltsin led the resistance from the first hour.

  • Before noon, he condemned the move by the "White House", considering it "a right-wing, reactionary and unconstitutional coup."

  • In defiance of the country's new leaders, the hugely popular Russian leader demanded that Gorbachev be able to "speak to the people".

  • As the population flocked to Manezh Square in front of the Kremlin, Yeltsin, who was standing on the back of a tank, called for a general strike and civil disobedience.

  • All the media in the world carried the image of the man who excited the crowd.


gathering

  • A few thousand Muscovites erected makeshift barricades to protect Parliament at nightfall, and demonstrators remained assembled in front of the seat of Russian power.

  • On the morning of Tuesday 20 August 1991, flak jackets, helmets and gas masks were distributed to those in Parliament, including MPs, ministers, artists or musicians, including cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who had arrived from Paris.

  • Intermittent shooting was heard in the ocean, 3 military units lined up with Boris Yeltsin and the flag of the Russian Federation, the symbol of disobedience, was raised.

  • Groups of deputies roamed the barracks in the Moscow region to persuade the officers to support Boris Yeltsin.

    At the invitation of Yeltsin, the rally gathered more than 50,000 people in front of the Russian parliament.

Yeltsin led the resistance against the coup leaders (Reuters - Archive)

crazy day

  • At around 2 a.m., Boris Yeltsin was joined by former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, to a thunderous applause from the crowd.

  • Although the feared attack did not take place, 3 youths were killed in a clash with a column of tanks trying to block his path.

  • A crazy day began on Wednesday, August 21, 1991, with the decision of the Russian Parliament to bring Mikhail Gorbachev from his country home in Foros, and the Ministry of Defense ordered the troops to return to their barracks.

  • The military measures imposed around sensitive points in Moscow were eased, censorship and curfews were lifted, the decrees of the putschists were cancelled, and television resumed broadcasting and directly transmitted the session of the Russian Parliament.

Gorbachev's return

  • During the night Gorbachev returned to the Kremlin, but he was weaker in all respects, his chosen collaborators betrayed him or abandoned him, the army was shaken, the party wavered, and Boris Yeltsin became the de facto master of the country.

  • On December 8, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus declared that the Soviet Union "no longer exists."

  • Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991.