30 years since the declaration of the state of emergency in the USSR: how it happened in August 1991...
Sergey Baimukhametov
The participants in the meeting decided to demand that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resign and transfer powers to Vice President Gennady Yanayev. It was also planned to detain the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin.
On August 18, at 8 a.m., the Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Dmitry Yazov, ordered to prepare the entry into Moscow of two motorized rifle and one airborne division. Representatives of the Ministry of Defense flew to Leningrad, Riga, Tashkent, Kirovabad and Kaunas - with instructions for the commanders of military districts.
At 1632 hours on August 18, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev was isolated from the world at the state dacha Foros in Crimea, all types of stationary communications were turned off, including the channel that provided control of the strategic nuclear forces of the USSR.
On August 19, starting at 6 o'clock in the morning, on the radio and on the Central Television of the USSR they broadcast (the next day they published in the newspapers) "Statement of the Soviet leadership":
“In connection with the impossibility for health reasons of Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev to fulfill the duties of the President of the USSR and the transfer, in accordance with article 127/7 of the Constitution of the USSR, of the powers of the President of the USSR to the Vice-President of the USSR Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich,
In order to overcome the deep and all-round crisis, political, interethnic, civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the life and security of citizens of the Soviet Union, sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and independence of our Fatherland,
Based on the results of the national referendum on the preservation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), guided by the vital interests of the peoples of our Motherland, all Soviet people,
DECLARE:
- In accordance with Article 127/3 of the Constitution of the USSR and Article 2 of the Law of the USSR "On the Legal Regime of the State of Emergency" and meeting the demands of the general population about the need to take the most decisive measures to prevent the slide of society to a nationwide catastrophe, ensure law and order, introduce a state of emergency in some areas of the USSR for a period of 6 months from 4 a.m. Moscow time from August 19, 1991.
- To establish that the Constitution of the USSR and the Laws of the USSR have unconditional leadership throughout the territory of the USSR.
- To govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency, form the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR (GKChP of the USSR) in the following composition:
Baklanov Oleg Dmitrievich - First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council;
Kryuchkov Vladimir Aleksandrovich - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR;
Pavlov Valentin Sergeevich - Prime Minister of the USSR;
Pugo Boris Karlovich - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs;
Starodubtsev Vasily Alexandrovich - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR;
Tizyakov Alexander Ivanovich - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial Facilities, Construction, Transport and Communications of the USSR;
Yazov Dmitry Timofeevich - Minister of Defense of the USSR;
Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich - Vice-President of the USSR, Acting President of the USSR.
- Establish that the decisions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR are obligatory for strict implementation by all bodies of power and administration, officials and citizens throughout the territory of the USSR.
Signature: G. Yanaev, V. Pavlov, O. Baklanov.
August 18, 1991 "
By Resolution No. 1, the GKChP also announced a ban on rallies, demonstrations and strikes, the suspension of the activities of political parties, public organizations and mass movements, and the allocation of 15 acres of land to all interested city residents for gardening work.
At 0930 hours on August 19, 1991, tanks, armored personnel carriers, military trucks with soldiers entered Moscow, the capital of the USSR. The troops took up key positions in the city center, took under protection the Central Telegraph, the building of the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS), the television center in Ostankino, radio stations, water pumping stations, combined heat and power plants (CHP), bridges and entrances to them. In total, 279 infantry fighting vehicles, 148 armored personnel carriers, and 362 tanks were brought into Moscow.
The country froze in alarm. Many local leaders were at a loss. Most of the chairmen of regional councils, regional executive committees are former first secretaries of the regional committees of the CPSU, some of them combined both positions. No one doubted that the GKChP was initiated by the Central Committee of the CPSU. On August 19-20, the Central Committee of the Communist Parties of the Union republics received the documents of the State Emergency Committee, including a secret note: "In connection with the introduction of the state of emergency, take measures for the participation of the Communists in assisting the State Committee on the State of Emergency in the USSR", as well as a draft statement of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which, in fact, expressed support for the Emergency Committee and justified its actions.
Nobody believed in the legality of the GKChP. Including his supporters.
But at the same time, the GKChP was supported by the head of the highest legislative body in the USSR, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Anatoly Lukyanov. His official Statement contained arguments against the conclusion of a new Union Treaty, scheduled for signing on August 20, 1991, and was promulgated on the morning of August 19, 1991, together with the documents of the State Emergency Committee. At the same time, the Statement was the first, creating the appearance that all documents of the State Emergency Committee correspond to the position of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, that the actions of the State Emergency Committee are constitutional in nature.
A significant part of the party and state leaders in the territories and regions inclined to support the GKChP, portraits of the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev.
The conspirators were opposed by the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin and the entire leadership of Russia. Tens and tens of thousands of Muscovites took to the streets, they began to build barricades around the White House - the building of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR.
Although it is believed that history consists of regularities, it does not negate particular moments that can affect the destinies of countries and peoples, bring closer or postpone inevitable processes for some time.
Obviously, the GKChP could not intimidate the union republics. I didn't have the strength, the capabilities. First, by that time the republics had declared state sovereignty, albeit within the framework of the USSR. Secondly, there the resistance acquired the character of a national liberation movement.
And would only Russia remain under the rule of the State Emergency Committee? Despite the fact that it was with Russia that perestroika, glasnost, and democracy began in the Soviet Union.
History is rich in less paradoxes.
Of course, the reader may smile skeptically: “If only, mushrooms would grow in my mouth…” It is believed that history has no subjunctive mood. It has. There are times when everything sways on the scales, and one straw can turn the tide of events in one direction or another.
For example, the putschists planned to arrest President Yeltsin a day before the announcement of the transfer of power to the State Emergency Committee, a day before the people took to the streets of Moscow. Why they didn’t arrest, why they didn’t neutralize the potential main enemy in advance - it is still not very clear.
On the night of August 18-19, 60 fighters from the special forces group "Alpha" of the 7th Directorate of the KGB of the USSR took up positions three kilometers from the country residence of the President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin in Arkhangelskoye. They were waiting for the order. But he still did not exist and did not exist. Each request was answered: "Wait for the team!"
The morning of August 19 came. At 6 o'clock, radio and Central Television began broadcasting the Statement of the State Emergency Committee. That is, they announced the seizure / change of power. At that moment, Prime Minister of the RSFSR Ivan Silaev, Acting Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Soviet Ruslan Khasbulatov, State Secretary Gennady Burbulis, Minister of Press Mikhail Poltoranin, Chairman of the Russian TV and Radio Broadcasting Company Oleg Poptsov, State Adviser of the RSFSR on legal policy Sergei Shakhrai, Minister foreign economic relations Viktor Yaroshenko, Mayor of Leningrad Anatoly Sobchak.
At 8 am on August 19, from the posts pushed forward, they reported: “The column - two armored ZILs, two Volgas with Yeltsin's guards and persons arriving there, is moving out onto the highway. Get ready for the operation! "
The commander of "Alpha" General Viktor Karpukhin once again called Moscow, the chairman of the KGB Kryuchkov. And again I heard: "Wait for instructions!"
The deputy commander of Alpha, Colonel Sergei Goncharov, later recalled: “Nobody ... never dared to give the go-ahead for the capture of Yeltsin. The question is, why then did they make all this mess? If we go, then go all the way! I say this for those who still consider the position of the officers of "Alpha" to be the reason for the failure of the State Emergency Committee. Everything could be decided on the night of August 18-19. The time when the GKChP could win was wasted. Yeltsin was given precious time to mobilize his supporters and take action. "
Yeltsin arrived at the White House, went out to the square at 12.15, read from the tank "Appeal to the Citizens of Russia", in which he called the actions of the State Emergency Committee "a reactionary, anti-constitutional coup", called on citizens to a general strike without time.
And he became a leader, a symbol of resistance.
And if he, Silaev and Khasbulatov were arrested on the morning of August 19, as planned? Who would instead become the standard-bearer of the struggle?
During the day and night on August 19 and 20, tens and tens of thousands of Muscovites gathered around the White House. The impending assault would entail, everyone understood, the massacre of civilians.
On the evening of August 20, the commander of the Alpha group, General Karpukhin, summoned his deputies: Colonel Goncharov and Colonel Golovatov. From the story of Goncharov:
“He says to me and Mikhail Golovatov:“ Guys, we will probably have to storm the White House at three o'clock in the morning. "Alpha" is the main one, special forces of the Ministry of Defense, people from the Airborne Forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, armored vehicles will be attached to us, and helicopter support will be provided ... I received an order - I am carrying it out. Prepare an operation plan! "
To put it bluntly, the task would have been completed within half an hour. True, with very numerous victims. We knew where Yeltsin was, other leaders, had a floor plan ... Golovatov and I invited the heads of departments. "
From the testimony of the head of the department Leonid Humenny: “We began to be indignant. Karpukhin shouted that we began to talk too much, that there, near the building of the Supreme Soviet, there were young people, students, as he put it, suckers, whom we would quickly scatter. "
Yes, they were indignant, they did not want to. But this does not mean at all that they abandoned the assault, as is now universally asserted. Most likely, the order would have been carried out - people are not just military, but elite, special forces of the KGB.
But there was no order. Colonel Goncharov: “There was no command at 3 o'clock. Somewhere after 4 o'clock in the morning, Karpukhin arrives, already more or less calm: “Everyone, guys, lights out. Do not let people go ... We will wait for further instructions. "
What happened during that time?
The State Emergency Committee did not dare to storm.
Here it is necessary to mention one more special case that could have influenced the course of events.
"Alpha" is alpha, but the main and most powerful force is the army. The tanks moved towards the White House.
On August 20, Boris Yeltsin called the President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev on the only special communication line operating in the building of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, saying that an assault was being prepared, asking him to take all possible measures.
The Minister of Defense of the USSR, Marshal Dmitry Yazov, once commanded the military district in Kazakhstan, lived in Alma-Ata. Families of Nazarbayev and Yazov were friends. Having received confirmation of the impending night assault, Nazarbayev called Yazov: “Dmitry Timofeevich, you are a war hero, father, grandfather. Will you really allow women and children to be shot on the streets of Moscow? Do you really want to get your hands dirty with the blood of young people who have stood near the White House to defend their president? "
Perhaps personal relationships, personal friendship played a role here, and Nazarbayev found the words that kept Yazov from the fatal decisive step. Because the army at that moment did not recognize anyone except the Minister of Defense, and was subordinate only to the Minister of Defense. The commanders of the tank divisions would not have carried out any order, except for the order of the minister.
Twenty minutes later, Yazov's assistant called Nazarbayev and said that the tanks aimed at the White House had been stopped. Then the information was confirmed by Yeltsin's assistant.
At 03:00 am, the Air Force commander, General Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, suggested that Yazov withdraw the troops from Moscow, and that the State Emergency Committee "should be declared illegal and dispersed." At 05 o'clock at a meeting of the Collegium of the Ministry of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Admiral of the Fleet Vladimir Chernavin and the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces, General Yuri Maksimov, supported Shaposhnikov's proposal.
Yazov ordered the withdrawal of troops from Moscow.
At 07.42, all army units introduced to Moscow on August 19 left the capital.
At 22 o'clock, the Prosecutor General of the RSFSR Valentin Stepankov issued an order to arrest the members of the Emergency Committee.
The inglorious putsch lasted for three days. It was arranged by people whose socio-political authority was zero, political dwarfs. (Alas, Gorbachev himself surrounded himself with them, appointed him, for which he later repented, but it was too late.) Prime Minister Pavlov was considered the most harmful fool for the people, even for his decision to confiscate fifty-ruble bills when old women were dying in queues from heart attacks. And the Komsomol-youth-tourist biography of Vice-President Yanayev caused a frank grin from everyone, first of all - from the Soviet party and economic bison.
But in three days these political dwarfs actually overthrew Gorbachev and destroyed the USSR. One can only guess what the USSR would have become after the signing of the Union Treaty on August 20.
But the putsch turned reform into an overnight collapse of a giant country. Moscow in the eyes of the peoples and leaders of the union republics suddenly appeared not as an organizational, ideological and political center, but as a potential threat to stability.
The general understanding of the situation by the leaders of the republics, their general opinion and mood were best unofficially formulated in those days by the President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev: "What sovereignty can be when, at the command of the conspirators from Moscow, tank engines are warmed up in the garrison near Bishkek!"
Already on August 24, 1991 (three days after the coup was suppressed, but the document was introduced and discussed during the coup and in connection with the coup), the Ukrainian parliament adopted the Act of Independence of Ukraine. His first lines: "Proceeding from the mortal danger that hung over Ukraine in connection with the coup d'etat in the USSR on August 19, 1991 ...".
A day later, on August 25, 1991, the same Act was adopted by Belarus, then Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan ...
After the dramatic events of 19-21 August in Moscow, the allied authorities actually let go of the reins of government and lost their powers.
When Gorbachev flew from Foros to Moscow, shocked and bewildered, Yeltsin immediately realized that Gorbachev was weakened, that he no longer had the former levers of power.
On December 9, 1991, President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev made an appointment in the Kremlin with the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine.
But on December 8, 1991, at a secret meeting at the residence of the leaders of the Byelorussian SSR in Viskuli (Belovezhskaya Pushcha), Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR Stanislav Shushkevich, President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin and President of the Ukrainian SSR Leonid Kravchuk signed an Agreement in which it was announced: the subject of international political law and geopolitical reality ceased to exist ”.
The history of the USSR ended on December 8, 1991.
As you know, the members of the State Emergency Committee later shouted at all corners (and for some reason the press willingly quoted them) that they wanted to save the USSR, because "Gorbachev was destroying the country." And many believed them, and still do.
Therefore, it is not out of place to cite just one fact again and again.
On July 29, 1991, a meeting was held in Novo-Ogaryovo, President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev, President of the Kazakh SSR N.A. Nazarbayev and President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin. It was decided that after the signing of the Union Treaty on August 20, Nazarbayev will head the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR.
At the same time, Nazarbayev made it a condition for the independence of the Cabinet of Ministers and a radical renewal of its composition. It was planned to replace all deputy prime ministers and heads of key ministries.
As it turned out later, the office of the President of the USSR was wiretapped.
M.S. Gorbachev writes in his book of memoirs:
“A recording of our conversation has been made, and having familiarized himself with it, Kryuchkov received an argument that made the others finally lose their heads. Therefore, the statements of the Gekachepists that they were driven only by patriotic feelings are demagoguery designed for simpletons. I do not want to say that they were completely indifferent to the fate of the state. But they identified him with the previous system, and acted primarily on the basis of career or even selfish interests in order to retain their positions".
Gorbachev's words are confirmed by Yeltsin, who is more than difficult to suspect of sympathizing with Gorbachev:
“I began to convince the President that if he is counting on a renewed federation, the republics will enter it only if he changes at least part of his most odious circle. Who will believe in the new Union Treaty if Kryuchkov remains the chairman of the KGB? Or Defense Minister Yazov - can there be such a "hawk" from the old, obsolete times in the new community ... I was supported by Nursultan Nazarbayev, who said that it was necessary to replace the Minister of Internal Affairs Pugo and Chairman of the State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Kravchenko. Then he added: "And what is the vice-president from Yanaev ?!" Such was this meeting, and, I think, a lot would have turned out differently if what we had agreed on the three of us had been able to be implemented. History could have taken a completely different path. A little time will pass, and I will see with my own eyes the transcript of the conversation between the President of the USSR, the President of Russia and the leader of Kazakhstan ... Maybe this recording became the trigger of August 1991 ”.
That is, the putschists saved their posts, not the USSR.
And Yeltsin, Kravchuk and Shushkevich in Belovezhskaya Pushcha just took advantage of what the State Emergency Committee had already done. If it had not been for the coup, they would not have dared to go against the people. Indeed, in March 1991, at the All-Union referendum, 76.43% of the citizens of the Soviet Union spoke in favor of preserving the renewed USSR.
On December 12, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR ratified the Belovezhskaya agreements and denounced the agreement on the formation of the USSR of December 30, 1922.
On December 25, at 19:00 Moscow time, Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation from the post of President of the USSR on the air of Central Television. At 19:30 in the Kremlin, the red state flag of the USSR was lowered and the flag of the RSFSR was raised.
The trial of the putschists began on April 14, 1993. There was no shaky or windfall until February 23, 1994, when the State Duma decided: "To terminate all criminal cases pending on the events of August 19-21, 1991, connected with the formation of the State Emergency Committee." On March 1, amnesty was announced to all participants in the conspiracy.
Why? After all, the accusation is the most terrible: "a conspiracy to seize power", a measure of punishment - up to the death penalty.
There is still no answer.