August 1991 coup attempt

August 1991 coup attempt
Conflict	August 1991 coup attempt
Caption	Armored vehicles near the Moscow Kremlin during the August 1991 crisis
Date	19–21 August 1991
Place	Moscow, Soviet Union
Result	Failure of the coup; acceleration of Dissolution of the Soviet Union
Combatant1	State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP)
Combatant2	Supporters of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin
Commander1	Gennady Yanayev, Vladimir Kryuchkov, Dmitry Yazov, Boris Pugo
Commander2	Mikhail Gorbachev (detained), Boris Yeltsin, Dmitry Zhirohov
Strength1	Units of the Soviet Army, KGB, Internal Troops
Strength2	Civilian crowds, Russian SFSR authorities, elements of Russian Armed Forces

August 1991 coup attempt

In August 1991 a group of senior officials of the Soviet Union attempted to seize power in response to the New Union Treaty negotiations and reform policies pursued by Mikhail Gorbachev, precipitating a three-day constitutional crisis that hastened the Dissolution of the Soviet Union and elevated Boris Yeltsin to international prominence. The plotters, acting as the self-styled State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP), declared a state of emergency, detained Mikhail Gorbachev at his dacha in Foros, and deployed tanks to central Moscow; widespread public resistance, media interventions by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty allies, and decisive moves by Boris Yeltsin culminated in the coup's collapse. The episode reshaped institutions such as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Russian SFSR, and the KGB and influenced subsequent state-building by successor states including the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Background

By 1991 the Soviet Union faced entrenched political conflict among advocates of the Perestroika and Glasnost reforms led by Mikhail Gorbachev, hardliners in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union such as Vladimir Kryuchkov, and national movements in republics including Ukraine, Estonia, and Latvia. Negotiations over the New Union Treaty prompted opposition from figures associated with the KGB, the Ministry of Defense under Dmitry Yazov, and the Council of Ministers; tensions intensified after the failed 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt planning and economic crises exacerbated by policies from Nikolai Ryzhkov and fiscal strains tied to the Command economy transition. International factors included relations with the United States, George H. W. Bush, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the ongoing impact of the Cold War's end, while constitutional ambiguities between the Union Republics and the USSR Presidency under Mikhail Gorbachev created openings for extraconstitutional action.

The Coup (August 19–21, 1991)

On 19 August 1991 senior officials announced the creation of the State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP), citing a need to prevent the disintegration of the Soviet Union and invoking emergency powers akin to those in previous crises such as the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and interventions in Afghanistan (1979–1989). The GKChP declared Mikhail Gorbachev incapacitated while he was on holiday in Foros, replacing civil broadcasting with directives modeled on past Soviet censorship practice and deploying the Internal Troops and units of the Soviet Army to strategic points including the Moscow White House and the Moscow International Airport. In response, Boris Yeltsin delivered a defiant address from atop an armored vehicle outside the Russian White House, invoking the authority vested in the President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and calling on citizens, workers, and the OMON to resist. Massive crowds of demonstrators, journalists from outlets like ITAR-TASS and BBC News, and striking railway and postal workers formed human barriers; legal scholars referenced the Constitution of the Soviet Union (1977) and debates over emergency powers amplified by commentators in The New York Times and Pravda.

Key Figures and Forces Involved

The GKChP leadership included Gennady Yanayev as its nominal head, Vladimir Kryuchkov of the KGB, Dmitry Yazov of the Ministry of Defense, Boris Pugo of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union), and economic hardliners worried about the New Union Treaty's decentralizing effects. Defenders of the constitutional order featured Mikhail Gorbachev (isolated in Crimea), Boris Yeltsin backed by allies such as Aleksei Arbatov and Anatoly Sobchak, and military figures who refused to follow GKChP orders including elements loyal to Yevgeny Shaposhnikov and regional commanders from Sverdlovsk Oblast and Leningrad Oblast. Civil society actors included members of the Inter-Regional Deputies' Group, journalists from Echo of Moscow, lawyers from the Moscow Helsinki Group, and striking workers organized via networks connected to Solidarity-era activists and republic legislatures in Lithuania and Georgia.

Domestic and International Response

Domestically, republic leaders such as Boris Yeltsin, Stanislav Shushkevich of Belarus, and the parliamentarians of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic condemned the action, while the Communist Party of the Soviet Union split between supporters and dissenters. Mass mobilization in Moscow and demonstrations in Riga, Vilnius, and Kyiv contrasted with compliance in parts of Central Asia and Transcaucasia where figures like Eduard Shevardnadze faced complex choices. International reactions included condemnations from George H. W. Bush, statements from Margaret Thatcher, emergency diplomatic activity by James Baker and Andrei Kozyrev, and market volatility in Moscow Exchange-linked trading; international broadcasters such as CNN and Voice of America transmitted scenes that influenced public opinion. Financial institutions including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank reassessed assistance amid fears of systemic collapse.

Collapse and Aftermath

By 21 August the GKChP had lost control as key military units refused orders, presidential aides regained communication channels with Mikhail Gorbachev, and pressure from mass protests, strike actions, and political isolation rendered the coup unsustainable. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union faced rapid delegitimization, with Boris Yeltsin moving to ban party activities in the Russian SFSR and seize party assets; republics accelerated declarations of sovereignty and independence, exemplified by Ukraine's referendum and the later formation of the Commonwealth of Independent States under leaders like Leonid Kravchuk and Stanislav Shushkevich. Economic and institutional collapse unfolded alongside diplomatic recognitions of emergent states by actors including Canada and Germany, and the Belavezha Accords soon formalized the union's end with signatories such as Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kravchuk.

Legal Proceedings and Legacy

Aftermath prosecutions targeted GKChP members including Gennady Yanayev, Vladimir Kryuchkov, Dmitry Yazov, and Boris Pugo (who died), involving trials in Moscow City Court and inquiries by legal bodies such as the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Reforms accelerated under Boris Yeltsin's presidency, including constitutional changes culminating in the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis and the adoption of a new Constitution of the Russian Federation (1993). The episode reshaped intelligence and security services, prompting reorganization of the KGB into entities like the Federal Security Service (Russia) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia), and influenced transitional justice debates in successor states including Ukraine, Estonia, and Georgia. Internationally, the coup's failure altered United States–Russia relations, informed scholarly work on coups such as studies by John Lewis Gaddis and Samuel P. Huntington, and remains a focal point in analyses of democratization, state collapse, and elite bargaining during the end of the Cold War.

Category:Political history of Russia Category:1991 in the Soviet Union