The attempted coup known as the putsch and to prejudge the collapse of the USSR, has celebrated a quarter of a century. But still, the researchers stress: from the point of view of the practice of a coup this looks weird, not to say ridiculous. And it is possible that his “victim” in fact was the direct organizer.
Exactly 25 years ago, on 19 August 1991, a group of party and officials of the Soviet Union tried to enter in the country state of emergency to halt the processes of state disintegration, but instead their strange, inconsistent and sometimes inexplicable actions only accelerated the collapse of the country. So or approximately so would look like is dedicated to the emergency Committee article in the encyclopedia, claiming impartiality. Because any other notable features of the August 1991 events (such as “conspiracy”, “coup” “coup attempt”) give ideological predetermination. And despite the fact that in the history of those events so many open questions that it is time to question – about whether “coup” is actually to take power into their own hands and to isolate Gorbachev? Not the first and last President of the USSR sanctioned the whole event?
As it was
“Witnesses claim that at the meeting with Gorbachev was named all persons subsequently included in the putsch, and developed a seal of this body and forms
Recall the General chronology of events. March 17, 1991 all-Union referendum on the preservation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as a renewed Federation of equal sovereign republics”. Casuistic wording is concealed in the essence of the question posed, and still the vast majority of citizens are naive to think that it was a vote for preservation of the USSR.
The referendum opened the way to work on a new Union Treaty, which, as expected, was to resolve the crisis in relations between the centre and the Union republics. This approach, however, has caused some confusion. For example, Ruslan Khasbulatov, in an interview wondered why in the historical sources in General were unearthed this long-forgotten and lost all meaning in the document. “The first Union Treaty, he said, is connected the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Transcaucasia, was signed in 1922. It was the basis of the first Soviet Constitution in 1924. In 1936 he was admitted the second, and in 1978, the third Constitution. The Union and the contract they finally disappeared, to be remembered only by the historians.” Indeed, the Soviet Union for almost 70 years, lived in accordance with the Constitution, and the reincarnation of the Union Treaty and its review has raised numerous questions, until compliance with such a step the country’s basic law.
23 April, launched the so-called Novoogarevo process – the process of working on a new Treaty, held at the residence of Gorbachev at Novo-Ogaryovo. On July 17 the leaders of nine republics agreed on a draft Treaty on the Union of Sovereign States (SSG). On 29 July in Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow held a private meeting between Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev, on which the decision was made to appoint the signing of the Treaty on August 20. August 2, Gorbachev on television announced the agreed date of signing the contract (the text of the document was published in the press only August 15 – five days before the planned reformatting of the USSR in SSG), and August 4, went on vacation in his residence at foros in the Crimea.
From the morning of 19 August, citizens of the USSR with a puzzled looked on their television screens, where all channels went to the ballet “Swan lake”. They soon learned that the President of the Union for health reasons cannot perform their duties, in some areas introduced a state of emergency, and for effective management of the country created a special body – the State Committee for emergency situation.
A coup to disrupt the signing of a new Union Treaty and prevent reformatting of the country from the Union to Confederation, so today formulates the aims of the putsch the majority of researchers.
Putsch lasted for three days from 19 to 21 August. In the evening of the 21st the number of Vice-President of the USSR and head of the emergency Committee, Gennady Yanayev signed the document on the dissolution of the Committee, and in the morning of the 22nd the delegation of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR was taken to Moscow, “devoid of context, and isolated the conspirators in the Crimea” President Gorbachev. Then began the arrests of active participants in attempts to “coup”.
“We need extraordinary measures – extraordinary means”
Held in 1991, the post of head of administration of the President of the USSR Valery Boldin says that amid the rise of nationalist and centrifugal tendencies in the Baltic States and Transcaucasia Mikhail Gorbachev in early 1990 (not a typo, it was ‘ 90) brought together a group of members of the Politburo and the security Council put the question on introduction of a state of emergency. Everyone who was at that meeting, then joined the emergency Committee. “Everyone Gorbachev then called, said Boldin, the idea of emergency support. And we, in the office of Gorbachev, began to prepare the concept of state of emergency”.
Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee on defence Oleg Baklanov in one of his interviews said: “I learned about the creation of the Committee from Gorbachev, who a year and a half prior to August 1991… at one of the meetings suggested the creation of a body that in the event of an emergency could intervene to improve the situation in the country.”
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Anatoly Lukyanov told the press that the emergency Committee as a décor Committee was created in the spring of 1991 at a meeting with Gorbachev. At the same meeting, was named all persons subsequently included in the putsch, and developed a seal of this body and forms. On the puzzling question of the journalist: “And you knew about this?” – Lukyanov replied calmly: “I was present at that meeting”.
But back in August 4, when, having finished the work on the Union contract and establishing the date of its signing, Mikhail Gorbachev with quiet soul went to rest in foros. Interesting point – literally the day before, August 3, the President chaired an enlarged meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Prime Minister of the USSR Valentin Pavlov recalled that the situation in the country as otherwise disastrous was hard to call, inter-Republican interaction was bursting at the seams, failed to agree on fundamental questions of economic life of the state, from joint procurement of grain and a coordinated effort to harvest to create food and fuel stocks for the winter. Republic pulled the blanket over himself, and Gorbachev, according to Pavlov, from the conduct of this meeting has long shied away.
It can be assumed that the President of the Union did not want to get into issues of inter-Republican interaction and thereby further heat up the situation. But the key issue could be to each other. Still on July 29, during a confidential meeting in Novo-Ogarevo, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev pressured Gorbachev to after signing a new Union Treaty to change the composition of the government, the interior Minister, KGB chief and head of state television and radio. The Prime Minister of the SSG was to be maintained.
Anyway, August 3, Gorbachev had to preside over the Cabinet meeting, and heard about the scale of the problems, he could not resist. Pavlov quoted speech on the government head of state: “we Need extraordinary measures, then extraordinary. Make all! In emergency situations all States have acted and will act if the circumstances dictate extraordinary measures!”
Giving such “order”, the President went on a holiday.
15 August was published the text of the new Treaty, transforming the USSR into a Confederation. Around the same time, become aware of the circumstances of the meeting between Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev in Novo-Ogaryovo. Published materials allowed to conclude that on the speedy signing of a new Treaty categorically insist these Republican leaders. August 16 in Moscow hosted the first meeting of a range of future members of the emergency Committee, the 17th they met in an extended format. And decided in connection with the provision to send a delegation to Gorbachev in foros.
“Damn you, do what you want”
From USSR to Russia: how our country has changed over the thirty-letv delegation was composed of the secretaries of the Central Committee of the CPSU Oleg Baklanov, Oleg Shein, the President’s chief of staff Valery Boldin, General Valentin Varennikov and the head of the security service of the President Yury Plekhanov. They later became accused on business GKCHP, the “conspirators”. But on 18 August the “conspirators” had a different position – they planned to arrest a head of state, and to convince him that a new Union Treaty can not be signed, and to normalize the situation in the country needs to declare a state of emergency. Subsequently, the participants of the historic meeting in detail told about it in his memoirs.
The conversation was difficult. General Varennikov recalls: “Our meeting came to nothing. The results were very vague, as has happened generally in most cases, when Gorbachev had to make a decision on sensitive issues or just to talk on a heavy subject. In conclusion, he said, “to Hell with you, do what you want. But I will report back my opinion. We looked at each other – what is your opinion? Yes or no? Do what you want – and we proposed to introduce a state of emergency in certain areas of the country where people were dying, and in some sectors of the economy (railroads, for example). That is, he gave the nod to these actions, but himself to announce it was not want”.
Boldin recalls: “In the end Gorbachev said: “to hell with you, do as you want!” – and even gave some advice on how best, from his point of view, to introduce a state of emergency. Back in Moscow, we told Kryuchkov, Yazov, Pavlov, Lukyanov. Everyone knew that Gorbachev could not openly say: yeah, like, let’s.
The verdict of the Military Collegium of the Supreme court Varennikova in the case of the putsch in the Russian Federation, said that, according to the testimony of the participants, “Mikhail Gorbachev though, and called the attempt to save the country from collapse by emergency a gamble and talked about the possibility of adopting emergency measures through the Congress of people’s deputies or the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, however, finished the game with a handshake and the words: “to Hell with you, do what you want, but I will report back my opinion.
And then the sentence shall present the evidence of Mikhail Gorbachev, in which he admits the correctness of the assessment arrived the situation in the country” recognizes “his statement about the possibility of imposition of emergency by the decision of the Congress of people’s deputies or the Supreme Soviet of the USSR” and “a handshake at parting”. Recognizes Mikhail Gorbachev only the phrase “do what you want”.
In any case described meeting little resemblance to the visit of the conspirators, putting an ultimatum to the President.
Open issues putsch
The further course of events is well known, but many issues will not go away. For example, in one of his speeches, former head of the USSR, Gorbachev said that knew in advance about plans to make a “coup”. Why did nothing? Given his friendly conversation with the “coup” might not want to do anything? Gorbachev himself their inaction is explained by the unwillingness to provoke bloodshed and civil war. But who, with Anaeim?
The state emergency Committee in his first resolution listed is particularly vital sphere, which will be introduced a state of emergency (these areas generally correspond to distressed economic areas identified at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR with the participation of Gorbachev August 3), but the state of emergency in the country and not imposed. Only at the end of 19 August, a separate decree, this regime was extended to Moscow, and that was not respected. All further resolutions on the implementation of measures of emergency in Moscow and some areas of the USSR” – empty words, the relevant decrees of the emergency Committee were not released. What awaited the “usurpers of power” and can I assume that they were waiting for the convening of an extraordinary Congress of people’s deputies (according to the regulations – not less than five days from the date of announcement of the convocation to the state of emergency imposed by the Constitution the highest state body of the country?
“Usurpation of power” also get a strange indecision of the conspirators noticed everything. They like all the time was waiting for something. And not waiting, already 21st formalized the dissolution of the emergency Committee and went to the Crimea to Gorbachev.
Of course, the Soviet Union and Russia is not Latin America, but we have coups do not.