Composition of the GKChP in August 1991 surnames. The secrets of the GKChP over the years have acquired a large number of versions

Almost twenty years ago, the former USSR had to go through three days of coup, from August 19 to 21, 1991. During these three days, the first and last president of the USSR M. Gorbachev was under house arrest at the state dacha in Foros, in Crimea, and the press was shown on TV -a conference of five conspirators, one of whom was shaking hands. And neither these five nor the other seven (Pavlov, Pugo, Kryuchkov, Yanaev, Yazov, Sheinin, Baklanov, Varennikov, Plekhanov, Lukyanov, Starodubtsev, Tizyakov) looked too much like leaders capable of thinking through and carrying out a coup, not to mention to stay in power. Someone is behind this, everyone thought. A man with trembling hands, who by this time had already received the nickname “Accordion in the swamp” (like a piano in the bushes) among the people, cannot become the organizer and ideological inspirer of the conspiracy. Too unbelievable, this is a farce, not a coup. So it was, in fact.

But then who is the gray cardinal who organized the putsch? As you know, in everything that happened, you need to look for someone who benefits from it. And who benefited from the putsch?

First you need to remember what state the country was in before the putsch. The USSR was on the verge of collapse, and despite the fact that in the referendum the majority of the people voted against the collapse of the USSR, there was a mood among the people and among the leaders of the country and republics to secede, to declare sovereignty, including in Russia. On August 20, Gorbachev was scheduled to sign the Union Treaty, which was supposed to indicate the new position of the union republics, their rights and obligations, but within the limits of the Soviet Union. But how could the Union Treaty be signed if the president was declared ill, incompetent, and in fact was prevented from signing it?

The first conclusion: the putsch was organized in order to disrupt the signing of the Union Treaty. And it was beneficial for those who advocated the collapse of the Soviet Union, and not for the sake of the idea of ​​​​living separately, but for the sake of receiving the fullness of life from the fullness of power. After all, one can be the most important thing in Russia without having the most important thing in the USSR over oneself.

Now let us remember what were the results of the putsch. At the end of August 1991, the activities of the CPSU throughout the country were suspended. And exactly four months after the failure of the coup, the signing of the Belovezhskaya Agreement took place, according to which Russia, Ukraine and Belarus became sovereign states. The signatories of the agreement - B. Yeltsin, L. Kravchuk and S. Shushkevich - became the first presidents of these states.

The second conclusion: it is quite obvious who benefited from the putsch.

And now some interesting facts. It is worth referring to the notes of the wife of the President of the USSR R. Gorbacheva.

A minor fact, but a remarkable one. On August 4, after flying to Foros, she writes: “ Irina and I noticed that Yanaev had eczema on his hands. Among our loved ones there is a person who suffered from this kind of disease for a very long time and was cured quickly, quite unexpectedly by means of traditional medicine. On the plane, we agreed: as soon as we return from vacation, I will talk with Yanaev, give the address of this person, and advise him to turn to him for help.» This eczema, called psoriasis, comes from strong nerves. Those. the conspiracy by the time of M. Gorbachev's departure to the Crimea had already been organized and was waiting in the wings, and the figurehead was very nervous, no matter how something happened.

Another fact, also insignificant, but revealing. Upon Gorbachev's arrival in the Crimea, S. Gurenko, secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, usually spoke the first words at the table, but this time it was L. Kravchuk.

Members of the State Committee for the State of Emergency: before and now

The third fact is the most important. While Gorbachev and his family are in fear that they will be shot, and they are afraid not only to swim in the sea, but to leave the house ... While it is reported on the BBC that B. Yeltsin condemned the conspirators ... At the same time on August 21, Yazov, Kryuchkov, Baklanov, Ivashko, Lukyanov and Plekhanov arrive in Crimea and guiltily ask Gorbachev for a meeting, and a little later A. Rutskoi and his team calmly fly by plane to Crimea and freely take Gorbachev and his family to Moscow.

The third conclusion: when the coup is no longer needed, it calmly dissipates, and the conspirators return power back.

The fourth fact is also important. The trial of the GKChPists began in 1993, and ended in 1994 with nothing. The court decision says: "Stop all criminal cases that are in progress on the events of August 19-21, 1991, related to the formation of the State Emergency Committee."

Fourth conclusion: the conspirators were guaranteed in advance that they would not be touched, and the agreements had to be fulfilled.

In conclusion, a cartoon created four or five days after the defeat of the conspirators. The creators of the cartoon in the troubled days of August 19-21, 1991 defended the White House. True, now the halo of the romance of defending the White House has greatly faded, because people, without knowing it, played along with the one who benefited from the putsch.

Wrote on August 19th, 2011

What happened to the participants in the events of August 1991?
Organizers, opponents of the putsch - what do they think about the State Emergency Committee, what happened to them

August 19, 1991, 6:00 am. Radio stations and Central Television announce the introduction of a state of emergency in Russia and the transfer of power to the State Committee for the State of Emergency, the GKChP. Troops entered Moscow. President Gorbachev is blocked in a dacha in Crimea.

The most important clash in the history of Russia, which threatened to develop into a civil war, lasted ridiculously little: on August 22, members of the GKChP were arrested. There were three dead - not counting Pugo, a member of the State Emergency Committee who committed suicide, who left a mysterious note about "his completely unexpected mistake." What happened to the main actors of the coup? How do they comprehend, and some justify what happened?

The main characters of the August coup

Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the USSR

Who was in August 1991: the president of the USSR.

What did you do after 1991: December 25, 1991 resigned. In 1996, he ran for the presidency of the Russian Federation, won only 0.5% of the vote. Since 1992 - President of the Gorbachev Foundation.

Direct speech:“They say that Gorbachev knew, but how could he not know ... Why didn’t they call me, they didn’t warn me: putsch, putsch, putsch ... The most important thing was not to bring a big one to blood ... And we avoided it. There could be a civil war" - response at a press conference on August 17, 2011.

“I was betting on a new Union Treaty. It was ready, we could sign it within a few days. We could re-found the USSR on a new foundation. The thought did not leave me that I would have to return soon, I even ordered the preparation of the plane on which we were to return to Moscow. It was Sunday 18 August when it all started. I talked on the phone with Georgy Shakhnazarov, who was vacationing in the Crimea, in the Yuzhny sanatorium. It was the last phone call before the phones went off" - an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

Gennady Yanaev, Chairman of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: Vice President of the USSR, Chairman of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: released under an amnesty in 1994. After his release, he worked at the Russian International Academy of Tourism. Wrote the book “GKChP against Gorbachev. The last battle for the USSR. Died in September 2010.

Direct speech:“I absolutely never admitted that I carried out a coup d'état, and I never will. In order to understand the logic of my actions, as well as the logic of the actions of my comrades, one must know the situation in which the country found itself by August 1991. At that time, it was about an almost total crisis, there was an open struggle for power in the country between supporters of maintaining a single state and socio-political system and its opponents ”- from an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Boris Yeltsin, President of the RSFSR

Who was in August 1991: President of the RSFSR

What did you do after 1991: until December 31, 1999 - President of Russia. Died April 23, 2007.

Direct speech: “We decided to write an appeal to the citizens of Russia. Khasbulatov wrote down the text by hand, and everyone who was nearby, Shakhrai, Burbulis, Silaev, Poltoranin, Yaroshenko, dictated and formulated. The appeal was then reprinted. (...) Literally an hour after my daughters printed our appeal to the people, people in Moscow and other cities were reading this document. It was transmitted by foreign agencies, a professional and amateur computer network, independent radio stations such as Ekho Moskvy, stock exchanges, and a correspondent network of many central publications.

It seems to me that the elderly gekachepists simply could not imagine the full scope and depth of this new information reality for them. Before them was a completely different country. Instead of a party-like quiet and imperceptible putsch, an absolutely public duel suddenly turned out. (...) Frankly, there was little to please at that moment. Everything seemed shaky and unreliable. Now let's rush to the White House, and suddenly there is an ambush somewhere. And if we break through, there might be a trap there too. The habitual soil was leaving from under the feet ”- from the book “Notes of the President”.

Boris Pugo, Minister of the Interior, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR, member of the Security Council, member of the State Emergency Committee.

Direct speech: “I made an absolutely unexpected mistake for myself, tantamount to a crime” - from a suicide note.

Alexander Rutskoi, Vice President of the RSFSR

Who was in August 1991: vice-president of the RSFSR, one of the main organizers of the defense of the White House. On August 21, together with Ivan Silaev, he flew to Foros to fetch Mikhail Gorbachev.

What did you do after 1991: until September 1993 he was vice president of the Russian Federation. In 1992, he headed the commission of the Security Council to combat corruption, in April 1993 he announced "11 suitcases of compromising evidence" on government officials, including Yegor Gaidar, Gennady Burbulis and Anatoly Chubais. In 1993, he was one of the main characters in the October conflict with Boris Yeltsin, called for the storming of the Moscow City Hall and the Ostankino television center. He was arrested and released in February 1994 under an amnesty. From 1996 to 2000 - Governor of the Kursk region. Now he is the chairman of the board of directors of a cement plant under construction in the Voronezh region.

Direct speech:“After it all calmed down, I myself came to Boris Nikolayevich and said:“ Boris Nikolayevich, what are we sitting on, waiting? Let's fly, bring Gorbachev? - "How will you do it?" "Well, that's another question." If they really wanted to destroy us, how could I first go from the building of the Supreme Council to the Kremlin, talk with Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov, and then two days later I got into a car and in my car drove past the columns, past the troops to Vnukovo. Nobody prevented me from capturing Yanaev's plane. And fly on this plane. Yes, the command was given to put the tanks on the runway so that we would not land there, well, the commander of the marine brigade did not do this, and we calmly sat down ”- from an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station.

Dmitry Yazov, Minister of Defense, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: the Minister of Defense, a member of the State Emergency Committee, ordered the introduction of troops into Moscow.

What did you do after 1991: amnestied in February 1994, in 1998 he was appointed chief military adviser to the Main Directorate of International Military Cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Since 2008 - Leading Analyst of the Service of General Inspectors of the Ministry of Defense.

Direct speech: « And when the so-called GKChP began, Grachev calls me and reports that Boris Yeltsin asks him to send guards to the White House. I answer: "Please send a battalion of the 106th Airborne Division, which was coming from Tula, there." The division was commanded by Lebed, although he was already Grachev's deputy in combat as commander of the Airborne Forces. The battalion has arrived. But it was full of drunks. The military got drunk. Lebed went to Yeltsin and reported that he "arrived for protection." In general, it turned out that Yeltsin recruited them (Grachev and Lebed) ”- from an interview with Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

Ruslan Khasbulatov, and. about. Chairman of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR

Who was in August 1991: Acting Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. On August 19, I was at a dacha in the village of Arkhangelskoye next to Yeltsin's dacha. According to my own recollections, as soon as I saw “Swan Lake” on TV early in the morning, I ran to Yeltsin. He took part in the drafting of the appeal "To the Citizens of Russia", together with Yeltsin's team was in the White House.

What did you do after 1991: from 1991 to 1993 he was chairman of the Supreme Council. In September-October 1993, in the conflict between the Supreme Council and Boris Yeltsin, he was one of Yeltsin's main opponents, on October 4 he was arrested and placed in Lefortovo, released in February 1994. In the summer of 1994 he created the "peacekeeping mission of Professor Khasbulatov", trying to mediate between Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev and the Russian authorities, but the negotiations were not successful. Since 1994 - Head of the Department of World Economy of the Russian Academy. G. V. Plekhanov.

Direct speech:“The worst was the first night. We thought they were attacking the White House. We have seen many signs that the army is about to attack the building. It was then that Yeltsin wanted to take refuge in the US Embassy. I noticed that he was preparing to go down to the garage. “In half an hour they will start shooting at us,” he said. Fortunately, I convinced him to stay. We could not leave people, we would never be forgiven for this, ”from an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Pavel Grachev, commander of the Airborne Forces, participated in the preparation of the putsch

Who was in August 1991: Commander of the Airborne Troops of the USSR. He participated in the development of plans for the State Emergency Committee, on August 19 he carried out Yazov's order to send troops to Moscow, but then went over to Yeltsin's side and, instead of storming the White House, sent tanks to defend him.

What did you do after 1991: from 1992 to 1996 - Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, in 1994-1995 personally led the fighting in Chechnya. He was a suspect in the case of the murder of Dmitry Kholodov, a Moskovsky Komsomolets journalist. From 1998 to 2007, he was an adviser to the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Rosoboronexport. Now he is the head of the group of advisers to the general director of the OmPO “Radiozavod im. Popov.

Direct speech: “Then I spoke out against the GKChP, in fact, I did not allow the capture of Boris Nikolayevich in the White House. At least that's what many thought. That's probably why Yeltsin decided to thank me" - from an interview with the Trud newspaper.

Who was in August 1991: Secretary of the State Council under the President of the RSFSR, the right hand of Boris Yeltsin, participated in the preparation and signing of the Belovezhskaya Accords.

What did you do after 1991: from 1991 to 1992 - First Deputy Chairman of the Government of Russia. From 1993 to 2000 - State Duma deputy, one of the founders of the Russia's Choice party. From 2000 to 2007 - Vice Governor of the Novgorod Region, from 2001 to 2007 - Member of the Federation Council. Now he is the head of the department of political philosophy at the International University in Moscow.

Direct speech:“This is the political Chernobyl of the Soviet system, and these three days deprived us of our homeland and country, and already, say, after that there was no CPSU, there was no Soviet leadership, there was no Soviet government, and each republic was forced to solve the issues of the survival of an elementary almost alone" - from an interview with the radio station "Echo of Moscow".

Ivan Silaev, Prime Minister of the RSFSR

Who was in August 1991: Prime Minister of the RSFSR, signed the appeal "To the Citizens of Russia", together with Rutskoi flew to Foros for Gorbachev on August 21.

What did you do after 1991: opposed the Belovezhskaya Accords, September 26, 1991 was dismissed from the post of chairman of the Russian government. In 1991-1994 he was the Russian Ambassador to the EU in Brussels. From 2002 to 2006 - Chairman of the Russian Union of Mechanical Engineers.

Direct speech:“Today we can talk about complete uncertainty about what will happen to the Russian leadership in the coming days. We accept any situation. We don't have tanks or other weapons. But we have the trust of the Russian people, their support, and I have no doubt that it is the Russians who will have their say in defense of human rights, constitutional norms and rules concerning both the union president and the president of Russia and all legally elected bodies.<…>We are ready for anything. Even if the worst happens - which is also possible - the citizens of Russia will say a good word about us ”- an interview with RIA on August 19, 1991.

Oleg Baklanov, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU for defense issues, member of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: released under an amnesty in 1994. Now he is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Rosobshchemash.

Direct speech:“The main motive for our trip [to Foros] is to postpone the action prepared by Gorbachev, the signing of a new union treaty. The signing of the union treaty would have led, in fact, to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, because only six or seven republics could have signed it at that time. (...) I personally was not acquainted with it, I learned its contents only on the 16th or 17th from the publication of the newspaper. This issue needed to be discussed both in the Cabinet of Ministers and at the Supreme Council. Lukyanov also did not approve of him, there were questions. This is the task we faced in order to stop Gorbachev…” — from an interview with Radio Liberty.

Valentin Pavlov, Prime Minister, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: Prime Minister of the USSR, member of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: amnestied in 1994. In 1995, he was president of Chasprombank, whose license was later revoked. From 1996 to 1997 - Financial Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Promstroibank. Died in 2003.

Direct speech:“In Russian reality, the complete destruction of a functioning control mechanism at an accelerated pace and to the ground, starting from headquarters, from brains, and then construction. Naturally, there can be only one payment for the next acceleration - the paralysis of production and the destruction of production potential. It was not only predicted to the Russian leadership more than once, but also calculated, the last time in August 1991. The results of the assessment were known to all republics. It is no coincidence that almost none of them followed the Russian path, with the exception of some forced steps, ”- from an interview with Kommersant-Vlast magazine.

Vasily Starodubtsev, agrarian, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: People's Deputy, Chairman of the Union of Agrarians of the RSFSR and the Peasants' Union of the USSR, member of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: released from prison on health grounds in 1992. From 1997 to 2005 - Governor of the Tula Region. Since 2007, he has been a member of the State Duma from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

Direct speech: « Kryuchkov's headquarters developed the actions of the State Committee to restore order, primarily in Moscow, of course, but also throughout the country. And then the day of the performance of the State Emergency Committee was announced, when the capital<...>armored and other troops were introduced. But as a result of the betrayal of Grachev and, to some extent, Alfa, we were not able to restore order in Moscow ”- from an interview with km.ru.

Alexander Tizyakov, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: President of the Association of State Enterprises and Associations of Industry, Construction, Transport and Communications of the USSR, member of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: amnestied in February 1994, after which he returned to Yekaterinburg, where he headed the branch of the Association of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. He was the chairman of the board of directors of the New Technologies company. He was listed as a co-owner of the companies CJSC Stator, KomInfoPlus, Nauka93.

Direct speech: “There is an objective factor in the development of mankind, according to this factor, we will all sooner or later come to socialism” - an interview with regions.ru

Vladimir Kryuchkov, Chairman of the KGB, member of the State Emergency Committee

Who was in August 1991: Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, member of the State Emergency Committee.

What did you do after 1991: released in 1992, amnestied in 1994. Wrote memoirs "Personal business". He was a member of the board of directors of the information and analytical structure of the ASTR "Region" (part of AFK "Sistema"). Died in 2007.

Direct speech: « It was obvious to everyone: if the treaty had been signed on August 20, there would be no Soviet Union. We have extended the life of our country by 4 months" - an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.

TASS-DOSIER. On August 19-22, 1991, 25 years ago, an attempted coup d'etat took place in the Soviet Union (known as the "August Putsch").

In order to prevent the signing of the Union Treaty, which was supposed to replace the USSR with a new federation of sovereign states, representatives of the top Soviet leadership, headed by the Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Yanaev, removed the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev from power and introduced a state of emergency in the country.

The passivity of the conspirators, the active opposition of the authorities of the RSFSR and a number of other union republics, the mass protests of citizens in Moscow, Leningrad and other cities led to the fact that the coup attempt failed.

On the eve of the putsch

On August 18, 1991, a number of senior officials of the Soviet leadership, headed by Yanaev, visited President Gorbachev, who was in his dacha residence in Foros (Crimea). The purpose of the visit was to try to prevent the signing of the Union Treaty scheduled for August 20.

Yanaev, as well as First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council Oleg Baklanov, Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU for organizational and party work Oleg Shein, Head of the USSR Presidential Administration Valery Boldin and Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Valentin Varennikov demanded that the president stop signing the treaty, create a State Committee for the State of Emergency in USSR (GKChP) and introduce a state of emergency in the country. However, Mikhail Gorbachev did not give his consent to these terms.

On the same day, returning to Moscow, Yanaev signed a decree imposing on himself the powers of the President of the USSR from the next day "due to the impossibility" of their execution by Gorbachev "for health reasons", as well as a decree on the establishment of the State Emergency Committee. In addition to Yanaev, the committee included Prime Minister of the USSR Valentin Pavlov, Ministers of Defense and Internal Affairs Dmitry Yazov and Boris Pugo, Chairman of the Allied State Security Committee (KGB) Vladimir Kryuchkov, First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council Oleg Baklanov, Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR Vasily Starodubtsev, President of the Association of State Enterprises and Objects of Industry, Construction, Transport and Communications of the USSR Alexander Tizyakov.

By its first resolution, the State Emergency Committee introduced a state of emergency "in certain areas" of the USSR on August 19, and also banned mass events and suspended the activities of all political parties and movements, except for the CPSU and the Komsomol.

Chronicle of events August 19-22, 1991

On August 19, 1991, at six o'clock in the morning, the "Statement of the Soviet leadership", adopted by the members of the State Emergency Committee, was read on the radio and Central Television of the USSR, in which it was announced that the president of the USSR was removed from power and a state of emergency was introduced. On the same day in the morning, KGB units blocked Gorbachev at his residence in Foros, the connection was cut off. Troops were brought into Moscow, the environs of Leningrad, Tallinn, Tbilisi and Riga. In the Baltic republics, troops and police took control of a number of buildings of government agencies and the media.

RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin refused to obey the State Emergency Committee and declared its actions "an anti-constitutional coup." In Moscow, several thousand people gathered near the House of Soviets of the RSFSR, and the construction of barricades began. Rallies against the GKChP were also held in Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk, Tyumen and other Russian cities.

In the evening, the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the first and only press conference of members of the State Emergency Committee, which was broadcast live by the Central Television of the USSR State Radio and Television. Yanaev, Pugo, Baklanov, Starodubtsev and Tizyakov spoke to the journalists. Answering a question about the whereabouts of the President of the USSR, Yanaev replied that Gorbachev was "on vacation and treatment in the Crimea" and expressed the hope that he would soon "be in service, and we would work together."

The events in the Soviet Union provoked reactions all over the world. The leaders of Libya Muammar Gaddafi, Palestine Yasser Arafat, Serbia Slobodan Milosevic and Iraq Saddam Hussein spoke out in support of the GKChP. In particular, Gaddafi called the coup attempt "a job well done."

In turn, the leaders of European states - British Prime Minister John Major, French President Francois Mitterrand, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Spanish Prime Minister Filipe Gonzalez and a number of others - condemned the putschists. US President George W. Bush issued a statement in which he demanded the return of the President of the USSR to power and supported Yeltsin's actions to restore order.

In the Union republics, most of the leaders initially took a wait-and-see attitude towards the events in Moscow, but subsequently declared the unconstitutionality of the actions of the State Emergency Committee. In Latvia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, it was announced that they were ready to start a strike if the putschists came to power. All acts of the State Emergency Committee were recognized as illegal on the territory of the republics. Among those who supported the actions of the organizers of the coup attempt were the first secretaries of the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of Azerbaijan and Ukraine Ayaz Mutalibov and Stanislav Gurenko, as well as the chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus Nikolai Dementei.

The leadership of a number of Russian regions also supported the actions of the State Emergency Committee (Ryazan Region, Krasnodar Territory, etc.). The head of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, speaking on August 20 at a meeting of the presidential council of the republic, said that the committee's orders should be carried out in the region.

On August 20, 150,000 people took part in a rally against the GKChP in Moscow, and 300,000 people joined a similar protest in Leningrad.

On the same day, Yeltsin took over the powers of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in Russia and created the Ministry of Defense of the RSFSR. A curfew was introduced in Moscow. The defenders of the White House (House of Soviets of the RSFSR) expected a night assault on the building, which became the headquarters of the opponents of the State Emergency Committee.

On the night of August 21, during a clash between opponents of the State Emergency Committee and troops in the center of Moscow, three protesters were killed - Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov and Ilya Krichevsky. These were the only human casualties during the entire coup attempt. Later, on August 24, 1991, by Gorbachev's decrees, all three were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "for courage and civic prowess shown in the defense of democracy and the constitutional order of the USSR."

Early in the morning of August 21, Yazov ordered the withdrawal of troops from the capital. The delegation of the State Emergency Committee went to Foros to Gorbachev, but he refused to negotiate. Yanaev, who headed the GKChP, signed a decree on the dissolution of the committee and the invalidity of all decisions it had previously made. In turn, Yeltsin issued a decree to cancel the orders of the State Emergency Committee, and the RSFSR Prosecutor Valentin Stepankov ordered the arrest of its members.

On the night of August 22, the plane with Gorbachev and the vice-president of the RSFSR Alexander Rutskoi and the Prime Minister of the RSFSR Ivan Silaev, who accompanied him, landed at the Vnukovo-2 airport near Moscow. On the same day, the main members of the GKChP were arrested - Yanaev, Kryuchkov, Yazov. The Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Boris Pugo committed suicide. In Moscow, at the White House (House of Soviets of the RSFSR), a mass "rally of winners" was held. On it, Yeltsin announced the decision to make the historical white-blue-red canvas the state flag of Russia. The corresponding resolution was signed by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.

Subsequent events in 1991

On August 23, 1991, Yeltsin by his decree suspended the activities of the Communist Party of the RSFSR, which supported the State Emergency Committee, on the territory of Russia. On August 24, Gorbachev's statement was published on the resignation of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee. The text of the document also contained an appeal to the members of the Central Committee about the need for self-dissolution of the party. On November 6, by Yeltsin's decree, the activities of the CPSU and the Communist Party of the RSFSR on the territory of Russia were banned, all organizational structures were dissolved, party property was transferred to state ownership.

On December 8, in the estate of Viskuli (Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus), the heads of the RSFSR, the Byelorussian and Ukrainian SSRs signed an agreement on the termination of the existence of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States. On December 25, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted a law renaming the republic into the Russian Federation. On the evening of the same day, Gorbachev spoke live on Central Television with a statement about his resignation from the presidency of the USSR.

On December 26, 1991, the Council of Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a declaration according to which the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a state and subject of international law in connection with the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

On August 15, 1991, the draft Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Sovereign Soviet Republics (USSR) was published, developed on the basis of consultations in Novo-Ogaryovo of the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev with the leaders of the Union republics. According to the document, instead of the former state, a new political entity was established - a union, in fact, of sovereign states. A grandiose transformation of the USSR into a confederation was planned. Moreover, only nine out of fifteen republics agreed to sign the new Union Treaty. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia did not participate in the Novo-Ogaryovo process. Obviously, after the reformatting of the USSR, they would have to recognize their state independence. The signing of the Union Treaty by the heads of state power of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan was scheduled for August 20. The remaining six republics were to conclude an agreement before the end of October 1991.

The project immediately drew mixed responses. He was welcomed in democratic circles. Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A.I. Lukyanov on August 16 subjected him to harsh criticism. The conservative press spoke more insistently than before that the treaty was destroying the USSR as a state.

When in the European part of the country it was still the morning of Monday August 19, 1991, and in the Far East far after noon, the citizens of yet another country suddenly learned that last night the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev was removed from power “for health reasons”, that the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) was created in Moscow, which assumed full power, and that from 4 o’clock in the morning Moscow time in “certain areas of the USSR” (not specified in which) a state of emergency has already been introduced. On the same morning, Muscovites saw tanks on the streets, and in the evening they were told that a curfew would be in effect in the capital.

Such a disruption in the normal course of life of hundreds of millions of citizens pursued the following goals: the adoption of "the most decisive measures to prevent society from slipping into a national catastrophe"; "ensuring law and order"; countering extremist forces that have taken "a course towards the liquidation of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the state and the seizure of power at any cost"; restoration in the shortest possible time of "labor discipline and order"; increasing the level of production.

The television news programs did not give any details of what was happening. From time to time, the ballet "Swan Lake" was broadcast, interrupted by news releases, during which the next decrees of the State Emergency Committee were read out and it was said about the unanimous approval of his actions by the "workers" throughout the country. A person far from the center of events inevitably got the impression that the entire leadership of the Russian Federation, starting with President B.N. Yeltsin, should have already been arrested, and possibly shot without trial or investigation. After all, the entire previous political year in Moscow, since the summer of 1990, was marked by a growing confrontation between the leaders of the USSR and the RSFSR. But already on August 20, it became clear to many that the “coup” had somehow gone wrong.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that many leaders of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR, and power allied ministries and departments expressed their support for the State Emergency Committee. It is indicative that the reaction to the GKChP was ambiguous in circles that are usually associated with democratic and which are oriented towards the "progressive" world public opinion.

Among Russian politicians, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSS) V.V. Zhirinovsky, shortly before that, in June 1991, ran for the first time for the presidency of the Russian Federation and won about 8% of the vote. Therefore, the first decree of President B.N. Yeltsin, after the liquidation of the GKChP, announced the dissolution of the LDPSS, together with the CPSU, as parties that approved the "anti-constitutional coup."

Many leaders of the republican communist parties spoke for the GKChP, and the then chairman of the Supreme Council of the Byelorussian SSR N.I. Dementey. But the statement of the extremely anti-Soviet President of the Republic of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia on the recognition of the State Emergency Committee and on subordination to him was a complete surprise - first of all, for his supporters. After that moment, the political star of Gamsakhurdia, who was elected president of the republic with 87% of the votes only in May 1991, quickly faded. Obviously, Gamsakhurdia was frightened by the seriousness of the intentions of the GKCHPists and tried to ensure the preservation of his power, but, as it turned out later, he miscalculated.

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine L.M. evaded a public assessment of events in Moscow. Kravchuk. At the same time, he prevented the convocation of the Verkhovna Rada to discuss what was happening. According to the memoirs of the then commander of the Carpathian Military District, General of the Army V.I. Varennikov, who was subsequently brought to trial along with the GKCHPists, Kravchuk confidentially expressed his intention to follow all the instructions of the GKChP.

The reaction of the West to the coup in Moscow was generally negative. The tone was set by US President George W. Bush, who demanded that the State Emergency Committee immediately end the isolation of M.S. Gorbachev and give him the opportunity to communicate with the media. Only the statement of French President Francis Mitterrand about his readiness to cooperate with the "new leadership of the USSR" sounded dissonant. No one saw anything unusual in the fact that the Government of the People's Republic of China declared the same readiness. As well as the fact that the then leaders of Iraq (Saddam Hussein) and Libya (Muammar Gaddafi) came out with ardent support for the GKChP.

In conclusion, it should be said that the actions of the State Emergency Committee have not received a legal assessment as a "coup d'état." All those brought to trial in this case were amnestied by an act of the State Duma of Russia dated February 23, 1994. The only exception was General Varennikov. He refused to accept the amnesty, insisted on a trial and was fully acquitted due to the absence of corpus delicti in his actions. Therefore, the characterization of the events of August 19-21, 1991 as an "attempt at an unconstitutional coup" has no legal basis at present.

On the night of August 18-19, 1991, representatives of the top leadership of the USSR, who disagreed with the reform policy of Mikhail Gorbachev and the draft of the new Union Treaty, created the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR (GKChP of the USSR) ... Encyclopedia of newsmakers

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Books

• August coup 1991. As it was, Ignaz Lozo. Tanks on the streets of Moscow, a state of emergency, the Soviet president under house arrest in his summer residence in the Crimea: it was the dramatic culmination of the perestroika era - a coup against ...
• Committee-1991. The Untold Story of the Russian KGB, Mlechin Leonid Mikhailovich. People who are far from power do not even suspect that sophisticated intrigues lie at the heart of big politics, and that even good goals are achieved by very base means. Sometimes we find out over time...