August putsch- political events that took place in August 1991, characterized by the country's leadership as an illegal seizure of power and a coup d'etat, as a result of which the process of the collapse of the USSR began.

The August putsch took place from August 19 to August 21, 1991 in Moscow and became the main event in a series of various clashes that ultimately led to the overthrow of the current government and the collapse of the USSR. As a result of the coup, the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP), a new self-proclaimed state body, which included some officials from the top management of the USSR, wanted to come to power, but this never happened.

The main reason for the putsch was dissatisfaction with the policy of perestroika pursued by M.S. Gorbachev.

Reasons for the August coup

After an era of stagnation, the USSR economy was not in the best position, the country was in crisis and it was necessary to urgently begin reorganization. M.S., who was in power Gorbachev made several attempts to normalize the situation, carrying out a wide variety of reforms - this period was called “perestroika”. Despite the fact that the reforms carried out by Gorbachev were received quite well, they did not bring the desired result - the crisis intensified, the social sphere was falling apart, drunkenness and unemployment were growing.

As a result, the reforms that did not bring relief led to an acute crisis of confidence in Gorbachev, both on the part of his opponents and on the part of his former comrades. Gorbachev was considered a bad leader who was unable to save a country that was literally drowning in crisis and urgently needed a new economy. A struggle for power began in the highest party apparatus, and there were many supporters of Gorbachev’s overthrow.

One of the last straws was Gorbachev’s desire to transform the USSR into a Union of Sovereign States, which was already a commonwealth independent states, which did not suit many conservative politicians.

August putsch. Chronology of events

The putsch began on August 19 and lasted only three days, during which it was possible to completely change the system of government of the country. On the first day, the leaders of the coup d'etat announced pre-drafted documents on the creation of a new governing body of the country. First of all, a decree signed by the Vice-President of the USSR G. Yanaev was read out stating that the current leader of the country, Mikhail Gorbachev, can no longer perform his duties due to serious health conditions, so Yanaev himself takes his place and proclaims himself “Acting President of the USSR "

Then the “Statement of the Soviet Leadership” was read, which spoke of the creation of the State Committee for the State of Emergency, which included: O.D. Baklanov - First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council; V.A. Kryuchkov - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR; V.S. Pavlov - Prime Minister of the USSR; B.K. Pugo - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR; A.I. Tizyakov - President of the Association state enterprises and industrial, construction, transport and communications facilities of the USSR.

After the document on the creation of the State Emergency Committee was read out, members of the new government addressed citizens with a statement that perestroika and the reforms initiated by Gorbachev had suffered a complete collapse, so it was urgently necessary to change the situation in the country. On the same day, the first resolution of the State Emergency Committee was issued, which stated that a ban had been placed on the activities of any organizations and government structures that were not legalized in accordance with the Constitution of the USSR. The activities of many were suspended political parties, movements, associations that stood in opposition to the CPSU, many newspapers were closed, and censorship was restored. The new order had to be supported by security forces.

On August 19, the State Emergency Committee decided to send troops into the territory of Moscow in order to maintain order. The leader of the resistance to the putschists was the President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin, who addressed the citizens of Russia and issued a decree according to which all executive authorities were to become subordinate to the President of Russia (RSFRS). This made it possible to immediately organize defense in the White House.

On August 20, the confrontation between the Russian authorities and the Emergency Committee was resolved - Yeltsin and his government were able to turn the tide of the coup and take control of events.

On August 21, all members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested, and Gorbachev returned to Moscow. He was immediately presented with a series of ultimatums. As a result, Gorbachev was forced to agree to almost everything - the CPSU, the Union Cabinet of Ministers and other party structures were dissolved, and Gorbachev himself refused the post of Chairman of the CPSU Central Committee. The systematic disintegration of all old government structures began.

Results and significance of the August putsch

The August putsch launched the mechanism for the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had previously been in a deep economic and political crisis. Despite the fact that the members of the State Emergency Committee did not want to allow the collapse of the country, they themselves largely provoked it. After Gorbachev left, the ruling structure of the party collapsed, and the republics gradually began to gain independence and secede. The Soviet Union ceased to exist and gave way Russian Federation.

The events that took place from August to December 1991 in the USSR can safely be called the most important in the entire post-war world history. It was not for nothing that Russian President Vladimir Putin described the collapse Soviet Union as the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the century. And its course was determined to a certain extent by the coup attempt carried out by the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP). 25 years have passed, new generations have grown up Russian citizens, for whom these events are purely history, and those who lived in those years have probably forgotten a lot. However, the very fact of the destruction of the USSR and the timid attempt to save it still causes lively debate.

The weakening of the USSR: objective and artificial reasons

Centrifugal tendencies in the USSR began to be clearly visible already in the late 80s. Today we can confidently say that they were the consequences of not only internal crisis phenomena. Immediately after the end of World War II, the entire Western world and first of all the United States of America. This was enshrined in a number of directives, circulars and doctrines. Every year, fabulous funds were allocated for these purposes. Since 1985 alone, about $90 billion has been spent on the collapse of the USSR.

In the 1980s, the US authorities and intelligence services were able to form a fairly powerful agency of influence in the Soviet Union, which, although it did not seem to occupy key positions in the country, was capable of having a serious impact on the course of events at the national level. According to numerous evidence, the leadership of the USSR KGB repeatedly reported what was happening to the Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev, as well as the US plans to destroy the USSR, take control of its territory and reduce the population to 150-160 million people. However, Gorbachev did not take any actions aimed at blocking the activities of Western supporters and actively opposing Washington.

The Soviet elites were divided into two camps: conservatives, who proposed returning the country to traditional ways, and reformers, whose informal leader was Boris Yeltsin, demanding democratic reforms and greater freedom for the republics.

March 17, 1991 An all-Union referendum on the fate of the Soviet Union took place, in which 79.5% of citizens who had the right to vote took part. Almost 76.5% of them were in favor of preserving the USSR , but with a cunning wording - how "a renewed federation of equal sovereign republics."

On August 20, 1991, the old Union Treaty was supposed to be canceled and a new one was signed, giving rise to a virtually renewed state - the Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics (or Union of Sovereign States), of which he planned to become Prime Minister Nursultan Nazarbayev.

It was, in fact, the members of the State Committee for the State of Emergency who opposed these reforms and for preserving the USSR in its traditional form.

According to information actively disseminated by Western and Russian liberal media, KGB officers allegedly overheard a confidential conversation about the creation of the JIT between Gorbachev, Yeltsin and Nazarbayev and decided to act. According to the Western version, they blocked Gorbachev, who did not want to introduce a state of emergency, in Foros (and even planned his physical liquidation), declared a state of emergency, brought army and KGB forces onto the streets of Moscow, and wanted to storm White House, capture or kill Yeltsin and destroy democracy. Arrest warrants were printed en masse in printing houses, and handcuffs were produced in huge quantities in factories.

But this theory has not been objectively confirmed by anything. What really happened?

State Emergency Committee. Chronology of main events

August 17 Some of the heads of law enforcement agencies and executive authorities held a meeting at one of the secret facilities of the USSR KGB in Moscow, during which they discussed the situation in the country.

August 18 Some future members and sympathizers of the State Emergency Committee flew to Crimea to see Gorbachev, who was ill there, to convince him to introduce a state of emergency. According to the version popular in Western and liberal media, Gorbachev refused. However, evidence from participants in the events clearly indicates that Gorbachev, although he did not want to take responsibility for making a difficult decision, gave the go-ahead to the people who came to him to act at their own discretion, after which he shook their hands.

In the afternoon, according to the well-known version, communications were cut off at the presidential dacha. However, there is information that journalists managed to call there using a regular phone. There is also evidence that government special communications were working at the dacha all the time.

On the evening of August 18, documents on the creation of the State Emergency Committee are being prepared. And at 01:00 on August 19, the Vice-President of the USSR Yanaev signed them, including himself, Pavlov, Kryuchkov, Yazov, Pugo, Baklanov, Tizyakov and Starodubtsev in the committee, after which the State Emergency Committee decided to introduce a state of emergency in certain areas of the Union.

On the morning of August 19th The media announced Gorbachev’s inability to perform duties due to health reasons, the transfer of power to Gennady Yanaev and the creation of the State Emergency Committee for the entire country. In turn, the head of the RSFSR Yeltsin signed a decree “On the illegality of the actions of the State Emergency Committee” and began mobilizing his supporters, including through the radio station “Echo of Moscow”.

In the morning, units of the army, the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are moving to Moscow, taking protection of a number of important objects. And at lunchtime, crowds of Yeltsin’s supporters begin to gather in the center of the capital. The head of the RSFSR publicly demands to “repel the putschists.” Opponents of the State Emergency Committee begin to build barricades, and a state of emergency is introduced in Moscow.

August 20 A large rally is taking place near the White House. Yeltsin personally addresses its participants. Participants in mass actions are beginning to be frightened by rumors of an impending assault.

Later, Western media would tell heartbreaking stories about how the putschists were going to throw tanks and special forces at the “defenders of democracy,” and the special forces commanders refused to carry out such orders.

Objectively, there is no data on the preparation of the assault. The special forces officers would later deny both the existence of orders to attack the White House and their refusal to carry them out.

In the evening Yeltsin appoints himself and... O. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on the territory of the RSFSR, and Konstantin Kobets- Minister of Defense. Kobets orders the troops to return to their places of permanent deployment.

In the evening and at night from August 20 to 21 In the capital, there is a movement of troops, local clashes occur between protesters and the military, and three participants in mass actions die.

The command of the internal troops refuses to move units to the center of Moscow. Armed cadets educational institutions The Ministry of Internal Affairs arrives to protect the White House.

As morning approaches, the troops begin to leave the city. In the evening, Gorbachev already refuses to accept the State Emergency Committee delegation, and Yanaev officially dissolves it. Prosecutor General Stepankov signs a decree on the arrest of committee members.

August 22 Gorbachev returns to Moscow, interrogations of members of the State Emergency Committee begin, and they are relieved of their positions.

August 23“Defenders of Democracy” demolish the monument Dzerzhinsky(reminds me of nothing?), the activities of the Communist Party are prohibited in Russia.

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On August 24, Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary of the CPSU and proposed that the Central Committee dissolve itself. The process of the collapse of the USSR became irreversible, ending with the well-known events of December 1991.

Life after the USSR. Assessment of the events of 1991

Judging by the results of referendums and elections that took place at the end of 1991 in various parts of the USSR, the majority of the population of the Union then actually supported its collapse.

There is no time on the territory Wars and ethnic cleansing began to break out one after another as a unified state, the economies of most republics collapsed, crime increased catastrophically and the population began to decline rapidly. The “dashing 90s” burst into people’s lives like a whirlwind.

The fate of the republics developed differently. In Russia, the era of the aforementioned “dashing 90s” ended with the coming to power Vladimir Putin, and in Belarus - Alexandra Lukashenko. In Ukraine, the drift towards traditional ties began at the start of the 2000s, but it was interrupted by the Orange Revolution. Georgia was moving away from the general Soviet history jerkily. Kazakhstan emerged from the crisis relatively smoothly and rushed towards Eurasian integration.

Objectively, nowhere in the post-Soviet territory does the population have social guarantees USSR level. In most of the former Soviet republics, the standard of living did not approach the Soviet one.

Even in Russia, where household incomes have increased significantly, social security problems call into question the thesis of an increase in the standard of living compared to what it was before 1991.

Not to mention the fact that a huge superpower, which shared first place in the world in military, political and economic power only with the United States, of which the Russian people were proud for many years, ceased to exist on the world map.

It is indicative how Russians assess the events of 1991 today, 25 years later. The data from a study conducted by the Levada Center to some extent sums up the numerous disputes about the State Emergency Committee and the actions of Yeltsin’s team.

Thus, only 16% of Russian residents said that they would come out to “defend democracy” - that is, they would support Yeltsin and defend the White House - if they were the participants in the events of 1991! 44% answered categorically that they would not defend the new government. 41% of respondents are not ready to answer this question.

Today, only 8% of Russian residents call the events of August 1991 a victory of the democratic revolution. 30% characterize what happened as a tragic event that had disastrous consequences for the country and people, 35% - simply as an episode in the struggle for power, 27% found it difficult to answer.

Talking about possible consequences after the victory of the Emergency Committee, 16% of respondents said that with this development events Russia would live better today, 19% - that it would live worse, 23% - that it would live the same way as it lives today. 43% could not decide on an answer.

15% of Russians believe that in August 1991 the representatives of the State Emergency Committee were right, 13% - that Yeltsin’s supporters. 39% claim that they did not have time to understand the situation, and 33% do not know what to answer.

40% of respondents said that after the events of August 1991 the country went in the wrong direction, 33% said that it was in the right direction. 28% found it difficult to answer.

It turns out that approximately one third to half of Russians are not sufficiently informed about the events of August 1991 and cannot unambiguously assess them. Among the remaining part of the population, those who evaluate the “August revolution” and the activities of the “defenders of democracy” negatively predominate moderately. The overwhelming majority of Russian residents would not take any action to counter the State Emergency Committee. In general, few people today are happy about the defeat of the committee.

So what really happened in those days and how to evaluate these events?

State Emergency Committee - an attempt to save the country, an anti-democratic putsch or a provocation?

The day before it became known that the CIA predicted the emergence of the State Emergency Committee back in April 1991! An unknown speaker from Moscow informed the leadership of the intelligence service that “supporters of tough measures”, traditionalists, are ready to remove Gorbachev from power and reverse the situation. At the same time, Langley believed that it would be difficult for Soviet conservatives to retain power. A Moscow source listed all the leaders of the future State Emergency Committee and predicted that Gorbachev, in the event of a potential revolt, would try to maintain control over the country.

It is clear that there is not a word about the US response in the information document. But of course they had to be. When the State Emergency Committee arose, the US leadership harshly condemned it and did everything to achieve similar actions from others Western countries. The position of the heads of the USA, Great Britain and other Western states was voiced by journalists directly in the Vesti program, which, in turn, could not but influence the consciousness of doubting Soviet citizens.

In the whole story with the State Emergency Committee, there are a number of oddities.

Firstly, The leaders of the powerful security forces of the USSR, undisputed intellectuals and excellent organizers of the old school, for some reason acted spontaneously, uncertainly and even somehow confused. They were never able to decide on a tactic of action. Yanaev’s shaking hands while speaking on camera went down in history.

From which it is logical to assume that the creation of the State Emergency Committee was a completely unprepared step.

Secondly, Yeltsin’s team, which was by no means composed of such experienced and powerful people as their opponents, worked like clockwork. Warning schemes, transport, and communications operated effectively; the defenders of the barricades were well fed and watered; leaflets were printed and distributed in huge quantities; their own media worked.

Everything indicates that Yeltsin was well prepared for such a development of events.

Thirdly, Mikhail Gorbachev, who continued to be the official head of the USSR, fell ill at the right time and left Moscow. Thus, the country was deprived of supreme power, and he himself remained as if he had nothing to do with it.

Fourthly, The President of the USSR did not take any measures to try to stop the leaders of the State Emergency Committee. On the contrary, with his words he gave them complete freedom of action.

Fifthly, Today it is known that back in June 1991, the US authorities discussed the prospect of a putsch in the USSR with Gorbachev and the leadership of the USSR Foreign Ministry. Surely, in two months, the President of the Union, if he wanted, would not have prevented it?

All these strange facts raise questions and doubts about the official interpretation of the victorious side, according to which the State Emergency Committee was an illegal military junta that, without the knowledge of Gorbachev, tried to strangle the sprouts of democracy. Moreover, all of the above suggests the version that Gorbachev and Yeltsin could deliberately provoke their political opponents to take active action at an inconvenient time for them.

On the one hand, the signing of the new Union Treaty was a victory for the reformers. But the victory, to put it mildly, was half-hearted. The traditionalists, who occupied virtually all the key positions in the state, had, if they had been well prepared, all the necessary tools to disrupt the signing of the treaty during the event itself through political means and for a political counterattack during the crisis that would inevitably follow the signing itself. In fact, the traditionalists found themselves forced to act without preparation, at an inconvenient time, against opponents who, on the contrary, were well prepared for the fight.

Everything indicates that Gorbachev and Yeltsin could simply have lured the organizers of the State Emergency Committee into a trap, after falling into which they were forced to act according to someone else’s scenario. Everyone who could stop the death of the USSR in 1991 was thrown out of the game overnight.

Some of the members of the State Emergency Committee and people sympathizing with the committee died shortly after the coup. mysterious circumstances, committing strange suicides, and the other part was quietly amnestied in 1994, when they no longer posed any threat. The Gakachepists were framed, but when this became clear, it was too late to do anything.

The events of August 1991 fit perfectly into the scheme of color revolutions, with the only difference being that the head of state actually played on the side of the “revolutionaries - defenders of democracy.” Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev could probably tell a lot of interesting things, but he is unlikely to do it. A man whom fate had elevated to the very top of world politics, the head of a superpower, exchanged all this for advertising pizza and bags. And Russian citizens, even 25 years later, understand this perfectly well and evaluate it accordingly.

Those who propose to forget the history of August 1991 as a bad dream are categorically wrong. Then we experienced one of the most tragic events in our history, and it is simply vital to correct mistakes in this regard. Bloody consequences The collapse of the USSR still has to be dealt with - including in Ukraine: people are now being killed in the Donbass largely due to the fact that the State Emergency Committee was unable to stop the local princelings who wanted to tear apart the state for the sake of personal power.

At the same time, supporters of the other extreme, who deny the right to exist of the Russian Federation because of the tragedy of August 1991, are also wrong. Yes, the USSR was destroyed contrary to the will of the people, expressed in the referendum on March 17, but this is not a reason to deny Russia its current statehood - the guarantee of the sovereign existence of the Russian people. On the contrary, everything must be done to develop the Russian Federation as an internationally recognized successor to the USSR. And the ultimate task is to use it to restore the former greatness of our Fatherland.

STATE COMMITTEE FOR STATES OF EMERGENCY IN THE USSR (GKChP) - a body created by a number of higher government officials USSR on the night of August 19, 1991. Members of the Committee: O. D. Baklanov - first deputy. prev USSR Defense Council; V. A. Kryuchkov - pres. KGB of the USSR; V. S. Pavlov - Prime Minister; B.K. Pugo - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR; V. A. Starodubtsev - pres. Peasant Union of the USSR; A.I. Tizyakov - pred. Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities of the USSR; D. T. Yazov - Minister of Defense of the USSR; G.I. Yanaev is the Vice-President of the USSR, declared acting President of the USSR (instead of M.S. Gorbachev, who was allegedly ill, but in fact isolated at his dacha in Foros (Crimea).

The State Emergency Committee was formed in the context of the discussion of a new union treaty on the creation of the Commonwealth of Sovereign States (CCS) instead of . Some participants in the meeting in Novo-Ogarevo insisted on a confederation, others on a federation. The agreement was supposed to be signed on August 20, 1991, but the conspirators disrupted its conclusion.

From 4 o'clock on August 19, 1991, a state of emergency was declared in the country and censorship was introduced; KGB special forces troops were put on high alert, and some army units (tanks) were sent to Moscow.

The published Statement explained the purpose of creating the State Emergency Committee: overcoming “a deep and comprehensive crisis, political, interethnic and civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the life and safety of citizens of the Soviet Union, the sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and independence of our Fatherland...”.

However, the President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin and broad circles of the public refused to obey the orders of the State Emergency Committee; President and Supreme Council(SC) of the RSFSR adopted their decrees, calling on citizens to defend democracy. Rallies and demonstrations took place near the White House in Moscow (the seat of the Supreme Council meetings) and in other areas (during one of them D. Komar, I. Krichevsky and V. Usov died while trying to stop the tanks).

The coup attempt was foiled. Participants of the “August 1991 putsch” - members of the State Emergency Committee and their few supporters (except for B.K. Pugo, who committed suicide) - were arrested under Article 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR - treason to the Motherland with the aim of seizing power. They faced execution or 15 years of maximum security imprisonment. However, in 1994, former members of the State Emergency Committee were granted amnesty. (Only Army General V.I. Varennikov, who was not a member of the Committee, but supported the conspirators and did not accept the amnesty, appeared before the court.)

After the failure of the State Emergency Committee of the structure state power The USSR was paralyzed or collapsed. The “parade of sovereignties” intensified - eight more republics declared their independence. The process of concluding the GIT Treaty was disrupted. The CPSU was banned and dissolved. M. S. Gorbachev returned to power, but actually lost leadership of the country and was forced to resign in December 1991. The complete collapse of the USSR and the signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords were a natural result of those socio-political processes that the members of the State Emergency Committee tried to prevent.

Orlov A.S., Georgieva N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical Dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 135-136.

From the address of the State Committee on the State of Emergency in the USSR to the Soviet people. August 18, 1991

There are different opinions about the reasons for the creation of the State Emergency Committee, the main ones are:

1) fear of persons included in the State Emergency Committee of losing power;

2) saving the USSR from collapse.

According to the first version, scheduled for August 20, 1991. the signing of the new Union Treaty pushed conservatives to take decisive action, since the agreement deprived the top of the CPSU of real power, posts and privileges. According to the secret agreement of M. Gorbachev with B. Yeltsin and the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev, which became known to the Chairman of the KGB V. Kryuchkov, after the signing of the agreement it was planned to replace the Prime Minister of the USSR V. Pavlov with N. Nazarbayev. The same fate awaited the Minister of Defense, Kryuchkov himself, and a number of other high-ranking officials.

I would like to believe that the organizers of the State Emergency Committee were not driven by selfish intentions, but by patriotism and the desire to preserve the Soviet Union. Let's look at this version in more detail.

Since December 1990, Chairman of the KGB of the USSR V.A. Kryuchkov analyzed the situation in the country and tried to introduce a state of emergency using the methods provided for by the Constitution. The introduction of a state of emergency was necessary in order to restore legality in the USSR and stop the collapse of the Union. By the beginning of August 1991, it became clear that it would not be possible to do this using legal methods: they began to prepare a coup. August 7-15, 1991 V.A. Kryuchkov repeatedly met with future members of the State Emergency Committee. On August 18, surveillance was established over the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev, who at that moment was on vacation in Crimea, and the President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin.

On August 18, Vice President of the USSR G.I. Yanaev issued a decree on his assumption of the post of President of the USSR. On the same night, the State Emergency Committee was created. It included the Internet. "Statement of the Soviet leadership." 08/18/1991:

V.S. Pavlov - Prime Minister of the USSR;

D.T. Yazov - Minister of Defense of the USSR;

V.A. Kryuchkov - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR;

O.D. Baklanov - Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council;

B.K. Pugo - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR;

V.A. Starodubtsev - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR;

A.I. Tizyakov is the president of the Association of State Enterprises of the USSR.

The main goal of the putschists was to “prevent the collapse of the Union,” which, in their opinion, was supposed to begin on August 20 during the first stage of signing a new union treaty, turning the USSR into a confederation of independent states. It was on August 20 that the agreement was to be signed by representatives of the RSFSR and Kazakhstan.

The putschists chose the moment when the President was away and announced his temporary removal from power for health reasons.

The State Emergency Committee relied on the forces of the KGB (Alpha), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Dzerzhinsky Division) and the Defense Ministry (Tula Airborne Division, Taman Division, Kantemirovskaya Division). In total, about 4 thousand military personnel, 362 tanks, 427 armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles were brought into Moscow. Additional units of the Airborne Forces were transferred to the vicinity of Leningrad, Tallinn, Tbilisi, Riga "Itogi Nedeli" newspaper. Article: “Twenty years after the coup.” 08/21/2011 Commanded Airborne troops generals Pavel Grachev and his deputy Alexander Lebed. However, the putschists did not have complete control over their forces; So, on the very first day, parts of the Taman division went over to the side of the defenders of the White House. From a tank of this division, Yeltsin delivered his famous message to the assembled supporters.

Information support for the putschists was provided by the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (for three days, news releases certainly included revelations of various acts of corruption and violations of the law committed within the framework of the “reformist course”). The State Emergency Committee also secured the support of the Central Committee of the CPSU, but these institutions were unable to have a noticeable impact on the situation in the country, and for some reason the committee was unable or unwilling to mobilize that part of society that shared the views of the members of the State Emergency Committee.

The resistance to the Emergency Committee was led by the political leadership of the Russian Federation. By call Russian authorities masses of Muscovites gathered at the House of Soviets of the Russian Federation (the “White House”), among whom were representatives of various social groups- from the democratic public, students, intellectuals and veterans of the Afghan war to members of criminal structures and the “petty bourgeoisie”.

After the “putsch,” the career of the GKAC members was put to an end. Their active social and political life ended there. , and member of the State Emergency Committee Vasily Starodubtsev, at that time - chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR. After the failure of the “putsch” and arrest, he was officially charged under Art. 64 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR (“Treason to the Motherland”). During investigative activities Starodubtsev was in the “Matrosskaya Tishina” pre-trial detention center in Moscow. In June 1992, he was released from custody for health reasons on his own recognizance. After this, Starodubtsev returned to work in the agricultural industry - in the Agrarian Union of Russia, and for some time led the Peasant Union of the CIS. In 1993-1995 was a member of the Federation Council from the Tula region, in 1997 he became the governor of the Tula region and remained in this post until the end of his second term in 2005. In 2007 Starodubtsev elected to the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. He still works in the Duma to this day. As part of our front project, we offer an exclusive interview Vasily Alexandrovich, in which he talks about the events of August 1991 .

Gennady Yanaev (bbc.co.uk)

As for the other key figures among the organizers of the “putsch,” their fates were mostly unenviable. The formal head of the State Emergency Committee (in fact, the chairman of the State Emergency Committee was never elected) Gennady Yanaev On September 4, 1991, he was relieved of his duties as Vice President of the USSR by the extraordinary V Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR and placed in the Sailor's Silence prison. He was released in accordance with the amnesty decree adopted State Duma February 23, 1994. After release Yanaev worked as a consultant to the Committee of Veterans and Disabled Persons civil service, was also the head of the Fund for Assistance to Disabled Children (the Fund is part of the non-governmental organization “Spiritual and Educational Complex of Traditional Religions in Moscow”). IN recent years served as head of the department national history And international relations Russian International Academy of Tourism. September 24, 2010 Yanaev died of lung cancer.

Valentin Pavlov (sergeywaz.ucoz.ru)

The main economic ideologist of the State Emergency Committee is considered to be Valentin Pavlov, the then Prime Minister of the USSR, the very next day after the announcement of the creation of the State Emergency Committee, was hospitalized with a diagnosis of “hypertensive crisis” (his ill-wishers claimed that it was a binge). On August 22, by decree of those who returned from Foros Gorbachev he was dismissed from the post of head of government, security was assigned to him at the hospital, and on August 29, the now former prime minister was transferred to Matrosskaya Tishina. In 1994, he was amnestied along with other participants of the State Emergency Committee. Soon after his release, he became president of Chasprombank, left this post on August 31, 1995, and on February 13, 1996, the bank’s license was revoked. In 1996-1997 Pavlov served as an advisor at Promstroybank, then was an employee of a number of economic institutions, deputy chairman of Volny economic society(VEO). In August 2002, Valentin Pavlov suffered a heart attack. In January, he returned to work and discussed with the then leader of the Agrarian Party of Russia, Mikhail Lapshin, the possibility of nominating himself as a candidate from the APR in the State Duma elections in December 2003. But on March 12, 2003, Pavlov suffered a massive stroke and died on March 30.

Vladimir Kryuchkov (newsru.com)

“The Gray Cardinal” of the State Emergency Committee, as many call him, the then chairman of the KGB of the USSR Vladimir Kryuchkov was arrested on the evening of August 21, 1991. He was charged with a crime under Article 64 of the Criminal Code “Treason to the Motherland.” While under arrest, on July 3, 1992, Kryuchkov made an appeal to Yeltsin, in which, in particular, he accused him of shifting the blame for the collapse of the USSR onto members of the Emergency Committee. After the 1994 amnesty Kryuchkov was studying social activities, was a member of the organizing committee of the Movement in Support of the Army. He died on November 23, 2007 in Moscow at the age of 84 after a long illness.

Boris Pugo (megabook.ru)

The most tragic figure among the GKAC members is considered to be the then Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Boris Pugo. August 22, 1991 for arrest Pugo Chairman of the KGB of the RSFSR Viktor Ivanenko, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Viktor Erin, Deputy Prosecutor left Lisin, as well as Gregory Yavlinsky(it is not clear, however, in what capacity. Since the fall of 1990, Yavlinsky headed the Center for Economic and Political Research "EPIcenter", which, together with scientists from Harvard University, with the political support of Gorbachev, developed an integration program Soviet economy into the world economic system. The program was ultimately not implemented. - Approx. ed.). Two days later, Yavlinsky, in an interview with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper, told how they, without waiting for the capture group, “began to act.” According to him, the door was opened for them by Father-in-law Pugo, himself Pugo and his wife were still alive: “His head fell back on the pillow and he was breathing; (wife) looked insane. All her movements were absolutely uncoordinated, her speech was incoherent.” Yavlinsky especially emphasized that two circumstances seemed strange to him: 1) the pistol lay neatly on the nightstand, where to put it yourself Pugo it was difficult; 2) he saw three spent cartridges. The Moskovsky Komsomolets journalist adds at the end of the article: “A few hours after my conversation with Grigory Yavlinsky arrived new information. As a result of the investigation, it became known that the wife was the last to shoot. She put the gun on the nightstand.” However, son Pugo Vadim, according to a publication in the Den newspaper in 1993, said that his 90-year-old father-in-law put the gun on the nightstand: “They apparently lay down on the bed. The father put the gun to the mother's temple and fired, then shot himself, and the gun remained clutched in his hand. The grandfather heard the shot, although he has difficulty hearing, and went into the bedroom... The mother did not die: she rolled out of the bed and even tried to climb onto it. Grandfather took the gun from his father and put it on the nightstand. And I didn’t tell anyone about it for a month - I was afraid. It was unclear to him: to speak - not to speak. And he said about the pistol a month later, when the interrogations began...” The minister's wife, Valentina Ivanovna Pugo, candidate of technical sciences, associate professor at the Moscow Energy Institute, died in the hospital a day later, without regaining consciousness.

Dmitry Yazov (sgoroscop.ru)

Another security official among the members of the State Emergency Committee, the Minister of Defense of the USSR Dmitry Yazov already on the morning of August 21, he gave the order for the withdrawal of all troops from Moscow, after which he went to Foros to see Gorbachev, but was not accepted. Immediately upon returning to Moscow Yazov was arrested at the airport. According to Vlast magazine, from prison Yazov “appealed to the president Yeltsin with a videotaped message in which he repented and called himself an “old fool.” Myself Yazov he refuted this: “There was no such letter! This is all a falsification by a journalist who, with the permission of the investigator, was allowed to see me in the cell of Matrosskaya Tishina. And after our conversation, this fake appeared in one of the German magazines with words attributed to me.” After the amnesty, he was dismissed by decree of President Boris Yeltsin, however, was awarded a personalized pistol. Retained the title of Marshal of the Soviet Union. After his resignation, for some time he held the positions of chief military adviser to the Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and chief adviser and consultant to the head of the Academy of the General Staff. After the re-establishment of the Service of Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2011, Dmitry Yazov- Leading Analyst (Inspector General) of the Inspector General Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Member of the State Emergency Committee Oleg Baklanov(at the time of August 1991 - Deputy Chairman of the Defense Council under the President of the USSR) after the failure of the “putsch” he was arrested, kept in the “Matrosskaya Tishina” pre-trial detention center, and in 1992 was released under an amnesty. Currently, according to media reports, he works in the mechanical engineering sector.

Finally, another of the eight members of the State Emergency Committee Alexander Tizyakov ( at that moment - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Facilities of Industry, Construction, Transport and Communications of the USSR) was amnestied in 1994. Recently, according to media reports, he has been engaged in business and is a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.