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The “ Putsch ”

The “ Putsch ”. 19-22 August 1991. Events Leading to August 1991. June 6, 1989, Tien-an-men massacre in China September – December 1989 “ Velvet ” revolutions in GDR, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria

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The “ Putsch ”

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  1. The “Putsch” 19-22 August 1991

  2. Events Leading to August 1991 • June 6, 1989, Tien-an-men massacre in China • September – December 1989 “Velvet” revolutions in GDR, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria • Breakup of the Soviet bloc in East Europe and reunification of Germany on October 30, 1990.

  3. Inside the USSR: democratic vs. authoritarian forces • 15 March 1990 Gorbachev is elected president of the USSR by the Congress of People’s Deputies (not by popular vote). • May 1990 Gorbachev’s rival Boris Eltsin elected by popular vote Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. • 12 June 1990 Russian Federation (RSFSR) declared its sovereignty and primacy of its laws over the Soviet Union’s – a threat to cohesion of USSR • In the course of 1990 Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia and Georgia declare themselves independent

  4. The Conspiracy • December 1990 Eduard Shevardnadze steps down as Foreign Minister – sign that the soft line is over: “Dictatorship is coming.” • 11 December 1990 Vladimir Kriuchkov, chairman of the KGB,begins moves to change the direction away from reform. • Kriuchkov joined by: Dmitry Yazov, Defence Minister; Boris Pugo, Minister of Internal Affairs; Valentin Pavlov, Prime Minister; Gennady Yanaev, Vice-President; and others.

  5. The Vilnius Action • 8-9 January 1991 Soviet special forces sent to Lithuania. • 10 January 1991 Gorbachev broadcasts a demand to Lithuania to respect the constitution of the USSR. • 11-12 January 1991 Soviet troops surround key buildings in Vilnius. • 13 January TV tower surrounded by tanks and broadcasting disrupted. • Large crowds gather around the Parliament building; Soviet forces back off.

  6. Lessons of Vilnius • As in Eastern Europe in 1989 (GDR, Czechoslovakia, Romania), tanks are not enough. • Strong leader able to rally people: Vitautas Landsbergis. • Importance of controlling TV to keep people informed. • Soviet troops unwilling to shoot at unarmed civilians.

  7. Boris Eltsinvs Mikhail Gorbachev • March 1991 a referendum is called by Gorbachev in most republics asking whether the people want a new Soviet Union (78% for). In the RSFSR there is an additional question: do you want the President of the RSFSR to be elected by universal suffrage. • 12 June 1991 Eltsin is elected President of the RSFSR with 57% of the vote. He is the first freely elected leader in Russian history, acquiring enormous legitimacy. • Gorbachev, elected only by the members of the Supreme Soviet of the disintegrating USSR, is outmanoeuvred.

  8. The conspiracy hatches… • August 4, 1991 Gorbachev flies to dacha in Crimea on vacation. • August 20 – day set to sign new Union treaty giving more powers to republics • The power ministers and Communist hardliners devise a coup, to be called the State Committee for the Emergency Situation (GKChP).

  9. August 19, 1991 • 6:00 a.m. Declaration of seizure of power by GKChP and state of emergency in parts of the USSR. • Tanks ordered into Moscow; TV stations cut off. • Eltsin drives to the White House – seat of Parliament of Russian Federation – declares GKChP illegal. • Commander of tank forces declares his loyalty to the RSFSR; Eltsin climbs onto tank and makes his declaration. • Gorbachev held incommunicado in Foros, Crimea. • Members of GKChP hold evening news conference.

  10. The Emergency State Committee

  11. August 20, 1991 • Barricades around the White House • Support for Eltsin pours in from regions, other republics. • Aleksiy II, patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, expresses his support for Eltsin, and calls for no blood to be spilled. • Eltsin plans resistance: back up government if the White House is taken and he is arrested or killed. • Kriuchkov, Pugo, and Yazov decide to send troops to take White House. • Just after midnight three protesters killed in class with tanks blocked in tunnel.

  12. August 21, 1991 • Coup leaders lose heart, give up the fight. • Kriuchkov phones Eltsin. • Troops refuse to fire, begin to withdraw at 8 a.m. • Some members of GKChP fly to Crimea; Gorbachev refuses to see them. • Eltsin sends vice-president of Russian Federation AleksandrRutskoi to Crimea to bring back Gorbachev.

  13. August 22 – 24, 1991 • Gorbachev returns to Moscow. • Members of GKChP arrested. • Blue red and white flag becomes the flag of the Russian federation. • Statue of Felix Dzerzhinsky removed. • August 24 Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary of the CPSU.

  14. The Coalition in the “White House” • Democratic forces of the intelligentsia who sought personal liberty of the individual, parliamentary democracy • Economic libertarians who wanted a dismantling of socialism and privatization • Russian nationalists who wanted out of the USSR

  15. September - December • Independence of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania recognized. • Subsequently republics declare their independence, beginning with Ukraine on August 24th. • Gorbachev tries to revive the USSR in some form, unsuccessfully. • December 8thEltsin, Leonid Kravchuk (Ukraine) and StanislavShushkevich (Belarus) create the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Minsk. • December 25th, 1991 Gorbachev resigns as President of the USSR, the red flag is pulled down, and the USSR is history.

  16. Immediate causes of the break-up of the USSR • Economic crisis because of the inefficacy of the Soviet “command-administrative” system, confused reforms • The break-up of the Soviet bloc deals a hammer-blow to Soviet prestige and provides a model for the further disintegration of the USSR itself. • Nationalism replaces Communism as the new ideology and paves the way for the independence of the constituent republics of the USSR. • The Communist Party does not have the authority to put down dissidence and halt the disintegration

  17. Why did the Soviet Union collapse?

  18. The Transfer of Power • Gorbachev’s belief in the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy. • He headed a party and country based on dictatorship. • He shifts the political power to the elected Congresses in the Federal level and the republics, leaving the Party (and himself) powerless.

  19. The Decentralization of Power • In the USSR all power had been centred in Moscow through the Communist Party. • By allowing freely elected Congresses (parliaments) and freely elected presidents in the republics, G. paved the way for fifteen different power centres. • Republican leaders (including Eltsin) acquired legitimacy through the ballot box.

  20. Economic reforms: Not far enough? His economic reforms were half-measures: • the creation of cooperatives (private businesses) and private banks made some fantastically wealthy; • the rest relied on subsidized goods in short supply. • Too much money chasing too few goods led to inflation.

  21. The Transfer of Wealth • Many Communists running factories and businesses realized they could take them over. • Overnight “Red Directors” become owners of huge chunks of the economy. • It was more profitable to become an independent business owner than to stay in the Party. • De facto privatization: grab while you can.

  22. Loss of Prestige • The USSR lost enormous prestige from the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc. • Gorbachev’s reforms created economic chaos, empty shelves, a debased currency. • Glasnost meant that people could openly complain and express their contempt for the Party. • The lack of centralized power and rules and laws brought a criminalization of society.

  23. Questions to consider • Could Gorbachev’s reforms have succeeded and the USSR been saved? • Would the USSR have collapsed without Gorbachev, i.e., with a different leader? • Was Eltsin’s seizure of power from Gorbachev legitimate, or a coup d’état? • Could the Putsch have led to a civil war? • Was the collapse of the USSR a good or a bad thing?

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