View source for 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt

{{short description|Attempted coup d'état against Mikhail Gorbachev's government}}
{{distinguish|1993 Russian constitutional crisis}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = 1991 August Coup<br>Августовский путч<br>{{small|(''Avgustovskiy putch'')}}
| partof = the [[dissolution of the Soviet Union]]<br>and [[Revolutions of 1989–93]]
| image = File:August Coup montage.png
| image_size = 280px
| caption = {{collapsible list
|title=<center>'''(Clockwise from top left)'''</center>
|1=<center>{{flatlist|
* A place where three [[State Committee on the State of Emergency|GKChP]] confronters died during the coup
* [[List of leaders of the RSFSR|Russian president]] [[Yeltsin]] waving a newly adopted [[Flag of Russia|national flag]]
* Barricade on Smolenskaya street that says ''«Ban, dissolve, prosecute the [[CPSU]]!»''
* Pro-Yeltsin forces' barricades near the Moscow [[White House (Moscow)|White House]]
* GKChP tanks on the [[Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge]] near the [[Red Square]]
}}
</center>
}}
| date = 19–22 August 1991 {{small|({{Age in months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=19|year1=1991|month2=8|day2=22|year2=1991}})}}
| place = [[Moscow]], [[Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union]]
| territory = 
| causes = * Increasing independence of republican elites from the central Soviet government
* Proposed [[Union of Sovereign States|New Union treaty]]
* Political reforms, [[perestroika]] and [[glasnost]] politics
| goals = * Gorbachev's resignation
* {{nowrap|Abolish the New Union treaty proposal}}
* Stop political reforms
| result = * Surrender of the [[GKChP]]
* Failure of the [[Union of Sovereign States|New Union treaty]] proposal
* [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] dissolved and banned and its banks and buildings seized by the [[Russian SFSR]]
* Restoration of [[Estonia]]n and [[Latvia]]n independence
* [[Declaration of Independence of Ukraine|Ukraine's declaration of independence]]
* Power still switched to the republican elites, [[President of the Soviet Union|President]] is left with effectively no authority
* [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]]
| side1 = '''{{flagicon|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics}}''' '''[[State Committee on the State of Emergency]]'''
* {{Flagicon image|Red Army flag.svg}} [[2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division|Taman Guards]]
* {{Flagicon image|Red Army flag.svg}} [[4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division|Kantemir Division]]
* [[File:КПСС.svg|21px]] [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]]
* [[File:Emblema KGB.svg|12px]] [[Alpha Group]]
* [[File:Emblema KGB.svg|12px]] [[Vympel|Vympel Group]]

----
'''Supporting [[Republics of the Soviet Union|republics]]''':<ref name="repcoup1991">[http://old.russ.ru/antolog/1991/vasil2.htm Ольга Васильева, «Республики во время путча» в сб.статей: «Путч. Хроника тревожных дней».] // Издательство «Прогресс», 1991. '''(in Russian)'''. Accessed 14 June 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071001010614/http://old.russ.ru/antolog/1991/vasil2.htm Archived] 17 June 2009.</ref><br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Abkhaz ASSR.svg}} ''[[Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic|Abkhazia]]''<br/>{{flag|Azerbaijan SSR|1991|name=Azerbaijan}}<br/>{{flag|Byelorussian SSR|name=Byelorussia}}<br/> {{flagicon image|Flag of the Gagauz people.svg}} ''[[Gagauz Republic|Gagauzia]]''<br/>{{flag|Kazakh SSR|name=Kazakhstan}}<br/>{{flag|Kirghiz SSR|name=Kirghizia}}<br/>{{flag|Tajik SSR|name=Tajikistan}}<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1990).svg}} ''[[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Transnistria]]''<ref>Solving Transnistria: Any Optimists Left? by Cristian Urse. p. 58. Available at http://se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/Files/RESSpecNet/57339/ichaptersection_singledocument/7EE8018C-AD17-44B6-8BC2-8171256A7790/en/Chapter_4.pdf</ref><br/>{{flag|Turkmen SSR|name=Turkmenia}}<br/>{{flag|Uzbek SSR|name=Uzbekistan}}
----
{{collapsible list
|title=[[Interfront]] movement{{nobold|:}}
|1={{flagicon|Estonian SSR}} [[Intermovement]]
|2={{flagicon|Latvian SSR}} [[International Front of the Working People of Latvia|IFWP]]
|3={{flagicon|Lithuanian SSR}} [[Yedinstvo (Lithuania)|Yedinstvo]]
|4={{flagicon|Moldavian SSR}} [[Unity Movement for Equality in Rights|Unitate-Edinstvo]]}}[[LDPSU|Liberal Democratic Party]]<ref>A party led by the politician [[Vladimir Zhirinovsky]] – http://www.lenta.ru/lib/14159799/full.htm. Accessed 13 September 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090408033136/http://lenta.ru/lib/14159799/full.htm Archived] 16 September 2009-.</ref> 
----
{{collapsible list
|title=Diplomatic support{{nobold|:<br><ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/russia/newsid_5261000/5261982.stm|title=Би-би-си - Россия - Хроника путча. Часть II|website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=eth>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070911002221/http://ethics.iph.ras.ru/works/N/9.html Р. Г. Апресян. Народное сопротивление августовскому путчу] (recuperato il 27 novembre 2010 tramite [[Internet Archive]])</ref><ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>}}
|1={{flag|China}}
|2={{flag|Cuba}}
|3={{flagcountry|Ba'athist Iraq}}
|4={{flagcountry|Laos}}
|5={{flagcountry|Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|1977}}
|6={{flag|North Korea|1948}}
|7={{flag|Syria}}
|8={{flag|Vietnam}}
|9={{flag|Yugoslavia}}
|10={{flagicon image|Flag_of_Palestine.svg}} [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]]<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20070911002221/http://ethics.iph.ras.ru/works/N/9.html</ref>
}}
| side2 = '''{{flagicon|RSFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Russian SFSR]]'''
*[[File:Coat of arms of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.svg|18px]] [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Supreme Soviet]]
*[[File:Coat of arms of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.svg|18px]] [[Council of Ministers of Russia|Council of Ministers]]
----
'''Supporting [[Republics of the Soviet Union|republics]]''':<ref name="repcoup1991"/><br/>{{flag|Armenian SSR|1990|name=Armenia}}<br/>{{flag|Estonia}}<br/>{{flag|Georgian SSR|1990|name=Georgia}}<br/>{{flag|Latvia}}<br/>{{flag|Lithuania|1988}}<br/>{{flag|Moldavian SSR|1990|name=Moldova}}<br/> {{flagicon image|Flag of Azerbaijan.svg}} ''[[Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic|Nakhichevan]]''<br/>{{flagicon|Ukrainian SSR}}{{flagicon image|Flag of Ukraine (1991–1992).svg}} [[Ukrainian SSR|Ukraine]]
----
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Russian Empire (black-yellow-white).svg}}{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Russian nationalism|Russian nationalists]] and [[Monarchism in Russia|monarchists]]<br>
[[File:UNSO-flag.svg|20px|border|Flag of the UNA-UNSO]] [[Ukrainian National Assembly – Ukrainian National Self Defence|UNA–UNSO]]<br/>
{{flagicon|Belarus|1991}} [[Belarusian Popular Front|BPF "''Adradžeńnie''"]]
----
{{collapsible list
|title=Diplomatic support{{nobold|:<br><ref name="bbc"/><ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/><ref name=Gupta/>}}
|1={{Flag|Australia}}
|2={{Flag|Bulgaria}}
|3={{Flag|Canada}}
|4={{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czech and Slovak Federative Republic|Czechoslovakia]]
|5={{Flagicon|European Union}} [[European Economic Community|EEC]]
|6={{Flag|France}}
|7={{flag|Germany}}
|8={{Flag|Hungary}}
|9={{flag|Israel}}
|10={{flag|Italy}}
|11={{flag|Japan|1870}}
|12={{flagcountry|Mongolian People's Republic}}
|13={{flag|NATO}}
|14={{Flag|Poland}}
|15={{Flag|Romania}}
|16={{Flag|South Korea|1984}}
|17={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|18={{Flag|United States}}
}}
| leadfigures1 = {{nowrap|'''{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Gennady Yanayev]]'''{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Dmitry Yazov]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Vladimir Kryuchkov]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Valentin Pavlov]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Boris Pugo]]{{KIA|Suicide}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Oleg Baklanov]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{Flagicon|USSR}} [[Vasily Starodubtsev]]{{Surrendered}}}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{flagicon|USSR}} Alexander Tizyakov{{Surrendered}}}}
----
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Abkhaz ASSR.svg}} ''[[Vladislav Ardzinba]]''<br/>{{flagicon|Azerbaijan SSR|1991}} [[Ayaz Mutallibov]]<br/>{{flagicon|Byelorussian SSR}} [[Anatoly Malofeyev]]<BR>{{flagicon|Byelorussian SSR}} [[Mikalay Dzyemyantsyey|Nikolay Dementey]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Gagauz people.svg}} ''[[Stepan Topal]]''<br/>{{flagicon|Kazakh SSR}} [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]]<br/>{{flagicon|Kirghiz SSR}} [[Askar Akayev]]<br/>{{flagicon|Tajik SSR}} [[Qahhor Mahkamov]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (1952–1990).svg}} ''[[Igor Smirnov]]''<br/>{{flagicon|Turkmen SSR}} [[Saparmurat Niyazov]]<br/>{{flagicon|Uzbek SSR}} [[Islam Karimov]]
| leadfigures2 = '''{{flagicon|Russian SFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Boris Yeltsin]]'''<br/>{{nowrap|{{flagicon|Russian SFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Alexander Rutskoy]]}}<br/>{{nowrap|{{flagicon|Russian SFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Ruslan Khasbulatov]]}}<br/>{{flagicon|Russian SFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Ivan Silayev]]<br/>{{flagicon|Russian SFSR}}{{flagicon|Russia|1991}} [[Konstantin Kobets]]{{-}}{{flagd|RSFSR}}{{flagd|RU|1991}} [[Gavriil Kharitonovich Popov|Gavriil Popov]]{{-}}{{flagd|RSFSR}}{{flagd|RU|1991}} [[Pavel Grachev]]{{-}}{{flagd|RSFSR}}{{flagd|RU|1991}} [[Anatoly Sobchak]]<hr/>'''{{flagicon|USSR}} [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]''' {{small|(under house arrest)}}<hr/>{{flagicon|Armenian SSR|1990}} [[Levon Ter-Petrosyan]]<br/>{{flagicon|Estonian SSR|1990}} [[Edgar Savisaar]]<br/>{{flagicon|Georgian SSR|1990}} [[Zviad Gamsakhurdia]]<br/>{{flagicon|Latvian SSR|1990}} [[Ivars Godmanis]]<br/>{{flagicon|Lithuanian SSR|1988}} [[Vytautas Landsbergis]]{{-}}{{flagicon|Lithuanian SSR|1988}} [[Gediminas Vagnorius]]<br/>{{flagicon|Moldavian SSR|1990}} [[Mircea Snegur]]<br/>{{flagicon|Moldavian SSR|1990}} [[Valeriu Muravschi]]<br/>{{flagicon image|Flag of Azerbaijan.svg}} ''[[Heydar Aliyev]]''<br/>{{flagicon|Ukrainian SSR}}{{flagicon image|Flag of Ukraine (1991–1992).svg}} [[Leonid Kravchuk]]<hr/>[[File:UNSO-flag.svg|20px|border|Flag of the UNA-UNSO]] [[Yuriy Shukhevych]]<br/>{{flagicon|Belarus|1991}} [[Stanislav Shushkevich]]
| casualties1 =
* [[Ministry of Internal Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Interior]] [[Boris Pugo]] committed suicide
* Military advisor to Gorbachev [[Sergey Akhromeyev]] committed suicide
* Administrator of Affairs of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee]] [[Nikolay Kruchina]] committed suicide<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/08/26/Third-Soviet-official-commits-suicide/5619683179200/|title=Third Soviet official commits suicide|date=26 August 1991|publisher=[[United Press International]]|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.deseretnews.com/article/179916/THE-CENTRAL-COMMITTEE-CHIEF-OF-ADMINISTRATION-KILLS-HIMSELF.html|title=THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE CHIEF OF ADMINISTRATION KILLS HIMSELF|publisher=Deseret News|access-date=7 March 2019}}</ref>
| casualties2 = * 3 civilians killed on 21 August
}}
{{History of the Soviet Union}}

The '''1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt''', also known as the '''August Coup''',{{Efn|{{lang-rus|Августовский путч|r=Avgustovskiy Putch}}, "August Putsch".}} was a failed attempt made by reactionary [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist leaders]] of the [[Soviet Union]] to take control of the country from [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], who was [[Soviet President]] and [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]]. The [[Coup d'état|coup]] leaders were [[hard-line]] opponents of Gorbachev's reform program and of the [[Union of Sovereign States|new union treaty]] that he had negotiated. The treaty decentralized much of the [[Government of the Soviet Union|central government]]'s power to the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|republics]]. The hard-liners were opposed, mainly in Moscow, by a short but effective campaign of [[civil resistance]]<ref name="Kramer">Mark Kramer, "The Dialectics of Empire: Soviet Leaders and the Challenge of Civil Resistance in East-Central Europe, 1968–91", in [[Adam Roberts (scholar)|Adam Roberts]] and [[Timothy Garton Ash]] (eds.), ''Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present'', Oxford University Press, 2009 [https://books.google.com/books?id=BxOQKrCe7UUC&dq=Civil+resistance+and+power+politics&source=gbs_navlinks_s pp. 108–09].</ref> led by [[List of leaders of the Russian SFSR|Russian president]] [[Boris Yeltsin]], who had been both an ally and critic of Gorbachev. Although the coup collapsed in only two days and Gorbachev returned to power, the event destabilized the USSR and is widely considered to have contributed to both the demise of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] and the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|dissolution of the USSR]].

After the capitulation of the [[State Committee on the State of Emergency]] (GKChP), both the Supreme Court of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] (RSFSR) and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev described their actions as a coup attempt.

==Background==

Since assuming power as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] in 1985, Gorbachev had embarked on an ambitious program of reform, embodied in the twin concepts of ''[[perestroika]]'' and ''[[glasnost]]'', meaning economic/political restructuring and openness, respectively.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/gorrev.html |title=''Gorbachev and Perestroika''. Professor Gerhard Rempel, Department of History, Western New England College, 1996-02-02, accessed 2008-07-12 |publisher=Mars.wnec.edu |access-date=31 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828102933/http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/gorrev.html |archive-date=28 August 2008}}</ref> These moves prompted resistance and suspicion on the part of hardline members of the ''[[nomenklatura]]''. The reforms also unleashed some forces and movements that Gorbachev did not expect.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Specifically, [[nationalist]] agitation on the part of the [[Soviet Union]]'s non-[[Russians|Russian]] minorities grew, and there were fears that some or all of the [[Republics of the Soviet Union|union republics]] might secede. In 1991, the Soviet Union was in a severe economic and political crisis. Scarcity of food, medicine, and other consumables was widespread,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Sarker|first1=Sunil Kumar|title=The rise and fall of communism|date=1994|publisher=Atlantic publishers and distributors|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-8171565153|page=94|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rGf2b1nsn9cC&q=economic+conditions+in+the+the+Soviet+Union+1991+food|access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref> people had to stand in long [[Queue area|lines]] to buy even essential goods,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T00591R000100140005-4.pdf|title=USSR: The food supply situation|website=CIA.gov}}</ref> fuel stocks were up to 50% less than the estimated need for the approaching winter, and inflation was over 300% per year, with factories lacking in cash needed to pay salaries.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gupta|first1=R.C.|title=Collapse of the Soviet Union|date=1997|publisher=Krishna Prakashan Media|location=India|isbn=978-8185842813|page=62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_UwroC6xtPQC&q=Collapse+of+the+Soviet+Union+Gupta|access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref>
In 1990, [[Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic|Estonia]],<ref name="Ziemele5">[[#Ziemele2005|Ziemele (2005)]]. p. 30.</ref> [[Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic|Latvia]],<ref name="Ziemele8">[[#Ziemele2005|Ziemele (2005)]]. p. 35.</ref> [[Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic|Lithuania]]<ref name="Ziemele10">[[#Ziemele2005|Ziemele (2005)]]. pp. 38–40.</ref> and [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]]<ref>''Маркедонов Сергей'' [https://www.apn.ru/publications/article10413.htm Самоопределение по ленинским принципам]</ref> had already declared the restoration of their independence from the Soviet Union. In January 1991, there was an [[January Events (Lithuania)|attempt to return Lithuania to the Soviet Union by force]]. About a week later, there was [[The Barricades|a similar attempt]] by local pro-Soviet forces to overthrow the Latvian authorities. There were continuing armed ethnic conflicts in [[First Nagorno-Karabakh War|Nagorno Karabakh]] and [[Georgian–Ossetian conflict|South Ossetia]].{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

[[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]] [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|declared its sovereignty]] on 12 June 1990 and thereafter limited the application of Soviet laws, in particular the laws concerning finance and the economy, on Russian territory. The [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR]] adopted laws which contradicted Soviet laws (the so-called [[War of Laws]]).{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

In the [[1991 Soviet Union referendum|unionwide referendum on 17 March 1991]], boycotted by the [[Baltic states]], [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]], [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic|Georgia]], and [[Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic|Moldova]], the supermajority of the residents of the rest of the republics expressed the desire to retain the renewed Soviet Union, with 77.85% voting in favor. Following negotiations, eight of the nine republics (except [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Ukraine]]) approved the [[Union of Sovereign States|New Union Treaty]] with some conditions. The treaty would make the Soviet Union a federation of independent republics with a common president, foreign policy, and military. [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]], [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]], and [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbekistan]] were to sign the Treaty in [[Moscow]] on 20 August 1991.<ref>[https://yeltsin.ru/day-by-day/1991/08/03/33235/ Многоступенчатый запуск нового Союза намечен на 20 августа]</ref><ref>[https://www.gorby.ru/userfiles/union_could_be_saved.pdf Союз можно было сохранить. Белая книга: Документы и факты о политике М. С. Горбачёва по реформированию и сохранению многонационального государства]. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. — М.: АСТ, 2007. — С. 316 — 567 с.</ref>

==Preparation==
On 11 December 1990, [[KGB]] Chairman [[Vladimir Kryuchkov]], made a "call for order" over Central television in Moscow.<ref
name="State">[[Yevgenia Albats]] and Catherine A. Fitzpatrick. ''The State Within a State: The KGB and Its Hold on Russia – Past, Present, and Future''. 1994. {{ISBN|0-374-52738-5}}, pages 276-293.</ref> That day, he asked two KGB officers<ref>KGB Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Zhizhin and KGB Col. Alexei Yegorov, ''The State Within a State'', p. 276–277.</ref> to prepare a plan of measures that could be taken in case a [[state of emergency]] was declared in the USSR. Later, Kryuchkov brought Soviet Defense Minister [[Dmitry Yazov]], Internal Affairs Minister [[Boris Pugo]], [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Premier]] [[Valentin Pavlov]], Vice-President [[Gennady Yanayev]], Soviet Defense Council deputy chief [[Oleg Baklanov]], Gorbachev secretariat head {{Interlanguage link multi|Valery Boldin|2=ru|3=Болдин, Валерий Иванович|preserve=1|WD=}}, and [[Secretariat of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU Central Committee Secretary]] [[Oleg Shenin]] into the conspiracy.<ref name=91internalkgbreport>{{Cite web|url=https://flb.ru/material.phtml?id=3632|title=Заключение по материалам расследования роли и участии должностных лиц КГБ СССР в событиях 19-21 августа 1991 года|website=flb.ru}}</ref><ref name=NovayaGazeta51>{{in lang|ru}} [http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/51n/n51n-s15.shtml "Novaya Gazeta" No. 51 of 23 July 2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120215063833/http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/51n/n51n-s15.shtml |date=15 February 2012 }} (extracts from the indictment of the conspirators)</ref>

The members of the [[State Committee on the State of Emergency|GKChP]] hoped that Gorbachev could be persuaded to declare the state of emergency and to "restore order".{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

On 23 July 1991, a number of party functionaries and literati published in the hardline newspaper ''[[Sovetskaya Rossiya]]'' a piece entitled [[A Word to the People]] which called for decisive action to prevent calamity.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Six days later, on July 29, Gorbachev, [[President of Russia|Russian President]] [[Boris Yeltsin]] and [[President of Kazakhstan|Kazakh President]] [[Nursultan Nazarbayev]] discussed the possibility of replacing such hardliners as Pavlov, Yazov, Kryuchkov and Pugo with more liberal figures, with Nazarbayev as Prime Minister (In Pavlov's place). Kryuchkov, who had placed Gorbachev under close surveillance as Subject 110 several months earlier, eventually got wind of the conversation.<ref name=Timeline>{{in lang|ru}} [http://archive.rusbg.com/viewtopic.php?p=183469&sid=ab7f23384901f822938fcbc1b4e31240 Timeline of the events] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127115224/http://archive.rusbg.com/viewtopic.php?p=183469&sid=ab7f23384901f822938fcbc1b4e31240 |date=27 November 2007 }}, by Artem Krechnikov, Moscow BBC correspondent</ref><ref name=Mitrokhin>[[Christopher Andrew (historian)|Christopher Andrew]] and [[Vasili Mitrokhin]] (2000). ''The [[Mitrokhin Archive]]: The KGB in Europe and the West''. [[Gardners Books]]. {{ISBN|0-14-028487-7}}, pages 513–514.</ref><ref>The KGB surveillance logbook included every move of Gorbachev and his wife [[Raisa Gorbacheva]], ''Subject 111'', such as "18:30. 111 is in the bathtub."''The State Within a State'', page 276–277</ref>

On 4 August, Gorbachev went on holiday to his [[dacha]] in [[Foros, Crimea]]. He planned to return to Moscow in time for the [[Union of Soviet Sovereign Republics|New Union Treaty]] signing on 20 August.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

On 17 August, the members of the [[GKChP]] met at a [[KGB]] guesthouse in Moscow and studied the treaty document. They believed the pact would pave the way to the Soviet Union's breakup, and decided that it was time to act. The next day, Baklanov, Boldin, Shenin, and USSR Deputy Defense Minister General [[Valentin Varennikov]] flew to Crimea for a meeting with Gorbachev. They demanded that Gorbachev either declare a state of emergency or resign and name Yanayev as acting president to allow the members of the GKChP "to restore order" in the country.<ref name=NovayaGazeta51/><ref name=NovayaGazeta59>{{in lang|ru}} [http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/59n/n59n-s16.shtml ''Novaya Gazeta'' No. 59 of 20 August 2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929122150/http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/59n/n59n-s16.shtml |date=29 September 2007 }} (extracts from the indictment of the conspirators)</ref><ref name=Kommersant79717>[http://www.nr2.ru/projects/79717.html ''Kommersant''], 18 August 2006 {{in lang|ru}}</ref>

Gorbachev has always claimed that he refused point blank to accept the ultimatum.<ref name=NovayaGazeta59/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/news/newsid_1494000/1494325.stm|title=Горбачев: "Я за союз, но не союзное государство"|trans-title=Gorbachev: "I am for the union, but not the union state"|language=ru|date=16 August 2001|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> Varennikov has insisted that Gorbachev said: "Damn you. Do what you want. But report my opinion!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mysteriouscountry.ru/wiki/index.php/%D0%92%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2_%D0%92%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD_%D0%98%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87/%D0%9D%D0%B5%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B5/%D0%9A%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B3%D0%B0_6/%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%8C_9/%D0%93%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0_2|title=Варенников Валентин Иванович/Неповторимое/Книга 6/Часть 9/Глава 2 — Таинственная Страна|website=mysteriouscountry.ru}}</ref> However, those present at the dacha at the time testified that Baklanov, Boldin, Shenin, and Varennikov had been clearly disappointed and nervous after the meeting with Gorbachev.<ref name=NovayaGazeta59/> With Gorbachev's refusal, the conspirators ordered that he remain confined to the Foros dacha; at the same time the dacha's communication lines (which were controlled by the KGB) were shut down. Additional KGB security guards were placed at the dacha gates with orders to stop anybody from leaving.{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

The members of the [[GKChP]] ordered 250,000 pairs of handcuffs from a factory in [[Pskov]] to be sent to Moscow<ref>''Revolutionary Passage'' by Marc Garcelon [https://books.google.com/books?id=2dqGABT3Yw0C&pg=PA157 p. 159]</ref> and 300,000 arrest forms. Kryuchkov doubled the pay of all KGB personnel, called them back from holiday, and placed them on alert. The [[Lefortovo Prison]] was emptied to receive prisoners.<ref name=Mitrokhin/>

==The coup chronology==
{{Main|Timeline of Soviet coup d'état attempt 1991}}
The members of the [[State Committee on the State of Emergency|GKChP]] met in the [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] after Baklanov, Boldin, Shenin and Varennikov returned from Crimea. Yanayev (who had only just been persuaded to join the plot), Pavlov and Baklanov signed the so-called "Declaration of the Soviet Leadership" in which they declared the state of emergency in all of the USSR and announced that the '''State Committee on the State of Emergency''' (Государственный Комитет по Чрезвычайному Положению, ГКЧП, or ''Gosudarstvenniy Komitet po Chrezvichaynomu Polozheniyu'', ''GKChP'') had been created "to manage the country and to effectively maintain the regime of the state of emergency". The GKChP included the following members:
* [[Gennady Yanayev]], Vice President
* [[Valentin Pavlov]], Prime Minister
* [[Vladimir Kryuchkov]], Head of the [[KGB]]
* [[Dmitry Yazov]], Minister of Defence
* [[Boris Pugo]], Minister of Interior
* [[Oleg Baklanov]], Member of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU Central Committee]]
* [[Vasily Starodubtsev]], Chairman of the Peasant Union
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Alexandr Tizyakov|ru|3=Тизяков, Александр Иванович|lt=Alexandr Tizyakov}}, President of the Association of the State Enterprises and Objects of Industry, Transport, and Communications<ref name=Kommersant79717/><ref name=gkchppost>{{Cite web|url=http://souz.info/library/other/gkchp/gkchppost.htm|title=Souz.Info Постановления ГКЧП|website=souz.info}}</ref>

Yanayev signed the decree naming himself as acting USSR president on the pretext of Gorbachev's inability to perform presidential duties due to "illness".<ref name=gkchppost/> These eight collectively became known as the "[[State Committee on the State of Emergency|Gang of Eight]]".

The GKChP banned all newspapers in Moscow, except for nine Party-controlled newspapers.<ref name=gkchppost/> The GKChP also issued a populist declaration which stated that "the honour and dignity of the Soviet man must be restored."<ref name=gkchppost/>

===19 August===

All of the [[State Committee on the State of Emergency]] (GKChP) documents were broadcast over the state radio and television starting from 7 a.m. The Russian SFSR-controlled [[Radio Rossii]] and [[All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company|Televidenie Rossii]], plus "[[Echo of Moscow|Ekho Moskvy]]", the only independent political radio station, were cut off the air. Gorbachev and his family heard the announcement on a small [[Sony]] radio that had not been taken away.<ref name=Kommersant79720>{{in lang|ru}} [http://www.nr2.ru/ekb/publications/79720.html another "Kommersant" article], 18 August 2006</ref> Armour units of the [[2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division|Tamanskaya Division]] and the [[4th Guards Tank Division|Kantemirovskaya tank division]] rolled into Moscow along with [[Russian Airborne Troops|paratroops]]. Around 4000 soldiers, 350 tanks, 300 armoured personnel carriers and 420 trucks were mobilised to Moscow. Four [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|Russian SFSR people's deputies]] (who were considered the most "dangerous") were detained by the KGB at an army base near Moscow.<ref name=91internalkgbreport/> The conspirators considered detaining Russian SFSR President [[Boris Yeltsin]] upon his arrival from a visit to [[Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic|Kazakhstan]] on 17 August, or after that when he was at his [[dacha]] near Moscow, but for an undisclosed reason did not do so. The failure to arrest Yeltsin proved fatal to their plans.<ref name=91internalkgbreport/><ref name=NovayaGazeta55>{{Cite web|url=http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/55n/n55n-s14.shtml|title="Novaya Gazeta" No. 55 of 6 August 2001 (extracts from the indictment of the conspirators)|access-date=26 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051224101119/http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/55n/n55n-s14.shtml|archive-date=24 December 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=NovayaGazeta57>{{Cite web|url=http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/57n/n57n-s12.shtml|title="Novaya Gazeta" No. 57 of 13 August 2001 (extracts from the indictment of the conspirators)|access-date=26 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929123630/http://2001.novayagazeta.ru/nomer/2001/57n/n57n-s12.shtml|archive-date=29 September 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Moscow White House area 1980 Central Moscow (30849056096) (cropped).jpg|thumb|U.S. map of Moscow with 1980s street names]]
Yeltsin arrived at the [[White House (Moscow)|White House]], Russia's parliament building, at 9 am on Monday 19 August. Together with Russian SFSR [[Prime Minister of Russia|Prime Minister]] [[Ivan Silayev]] and [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Supreme Soviet]] Chairman [[Ruslan Khasbulatov]], Yeltsin issued a declaration that condemned the GkChP's actions as a reactionary anti-constitutional coup. The military was urged not to take part in the coup. The declaration called for a [[general strike]] with the demand to let Gorbachev address the people.<ref name=russianbook>{{cite web|url=http://old.russ.ru/antolog/1991|title=Путч. Хроника тревожных дней.|website=old.russ.ru|access-date=26 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522071605/http://old.russ.ru/antolog/1991/|archive-date=22 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> This declaration was distributed around Moscow in the form of [[Pamphlet|flyers]].

In the afternoon, the citizens of Moscow began to gather around the White House and to erect barricades around it.<ref name=russianbook/> In response, Gennady Yanayev declared the state of emergency in Moscow at 16:00.<ref name=Kommersant79717/><ref name=gkchppost/> Yanayev declared at the press conference at 17:00 that Gorbachev was "resting". He said: "Over these years he has got very tired and needs some time to get his health back." Yanayev's shaking hands led some people to think he was drunk, and his trembling voice, and weak posture made his words unconvincing. The TV lines at Gorbachev's dacha were restored, so he and his family could watch the press conference.<ref name=Kommersant79717/>

Yanayev and the rest of the State Committee ordered the [[Cabinet of Ministers]] to alter the then current [[Five-year plans for the national economy of the Soviet Union|five year plan]] to relieve the housing shortage. All city dwellers were given one third of an acre each to combat winter shortages by growing fruit and vegetables. In connection with the illness of Valentin Pavlov, the duties of the head of the government of the USSR were entrusted to First Deputy Prime Minister [[Vitaly Doguzhiyev]].<ref>[https://online.lexpro.ru/document/2238 Распоряжение Кабинета Министров СССР от 19.08.1991 № 943р]</ref><ref name=Timeline/>

Meanwhile, Major Evdokimov, chief of staff of a tank battalion of the [[2nd Guards Tamanskaya Motor Rifle Division|Tamanskaya Division]] guarding the White House, declared his loyalty to the leadership of the [[Russian SFSR]].<ref name=russianbook/><ref>"Izvestia", 18 August 2006 {{in lang|ru}}[http://www.izvestia.ru/hystory/article3095759]</ref> Yeltsin climbed one of the tanks and addressed the crowd. Unexpectedly, this episode was included in the state media's evening news.<ref>"Moskovskie Novosty", 2001, No.33 {{cite web |url=http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2001-33-3 |title=Archived copy |access-date=2007-06-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127062600/http://www.mn.ru/issue.php?2001-33-3 |archive-date=27 November 2007|language=ru}}</ref>

===20 August===
[[File:1991 coup attempt4.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Tanks at the Red Square]]
At noon, [[Moscow Military District#note-0|Moscow military district]] commander General [[Nikolai Vasilyevich Kalinin|Kalinin]], whom Yanayev appointed as [[Military Commandant of Moscow|military commandant of Moscow]], declared a [[curfew]] in Moscow from 23:00 to 5:00, effective from 20 August.<ref name=NovayaGazeta51/><ref name=Kommersant79720/><ref name=russianbook/> This was understood as the sign that the attack on the White House was imminent.

The defenders of the White House prepared themselves, most of them being unarmed. Evdokimov's tanks were moved from the White House in the evening.<ref name=Kommersant79717/><ref name=Nezavisimoe>{{in lang|ru}} [http://nvo.ng.ru/history/2006-08-18/1_19aug91.html "Nezavisimoe Voiennoye Obozrenie"], 18 August 2006</ref> The makeshift White House defense headquarters was headed by General [[Konstantin Kobets]], a Russian SFSR [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|people's deputy]].<ref name=Nezavisimoe/><ref name=heroes>{{cite web|url=http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1201|title=Усов Владимир Александрович|website=warheroes.ru}}</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsF4c06txHM</ref>

In the afternoon, Kryuchkov, Yazov and Pugo finally decided to attack the White House. This decision was supported by other GKChP members (minus Pavlov, who had been sent to his dacha and his wife due to drunkenness). Kryuchkov and Yazov's deputies, KGB general Ageyev and Army general [[Vladislav Achalov]], respectively, planned the assault, codenamed "Operation Grom" (Thunder), which would gather elements of the [[Alpha Group]] and [[Vympel]] elite special forces units, with the support of paratroopers, Moscow [[OMON]], the Internal Troops of the [[ODON]], three tank companies and a helicopter squadron. Alpha Group commander General [[Viktor Fyodorovich Karpukhin|Viktor Karpukhin]] and other senior officers of the unit together with Airborne Troops deputy commander Gen. [[Alexander Lebed]] mingled with the crowds near the White House and assessed the possibility of such an operation. After that, Karpukhin and Vympel commander Colonel Beskov tried to convince Ageyev that the operation would result in bloodshed and should be cancelled.<ref name=91internalkgbreport/><ref name=NovayaGazeta51/><ref name=Timeline/><ref name=Argumenty>[http://nd.flb.ru/?path=3&info_id=1222&text_version=19 "Argumenty i Facty"]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, 15 August 2001</ref> Lebed, with the consent of his immediate superior, [[Pavel Grachev]], returned to the White House and secretly informed the defense headquarters that the attack would begin at 2:00.<ref name=Timeline/><ref name=Argumenty/>

While the events were unfolding in the capital, [[Estonia]]'s Supreme Council declared at 23:03 the full reinstatement of the independent status of the Republic of Estonia after 51 years.

===21 August===
At about 1:00, not far from the [[White House (Moscow)|White House]], [[trolleybus]]es and street cleaning machines were used to barricade a tunnel against oncoming Taman Guards [[infantry fighting vehicle]]s (IFVs). Three men were killed in the incident, Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov, and Ilya Krichevsky, while several others were wounded. Komar, a 22-year-old veteran from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, was shot and crushed trying to cover a moving IFV's observation slit. Usov, a 37-year-old economist, was killed by a stray bullet whilst coming to Komar's aid. The crowd set fire to an IFV and Krichevsky, a 28-year-old architect, was shot dead as the troops escaped.<ref name=Kommersant79717/><ref name=heroes/><ref>{{Cite news| work=[[The Guardian Online]] |title=Calls for recognition of 1991 Soviet coup martyrs on 20th anniversary| date=16 August 2011| url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/16/soviet-coup-martyrs-anniversary|access-date=9 March 2018}}</ref><ref>A Russian site on Ilya Krichevsky {{cite web |url=http://amkworks113.ru/pbl/pbl-8.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2010-12-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811105836/http://amkworks113.ru/pbl/pbl-8.html |archive-date=11 August 2011}}. Accessed 15 August 2009.  [https://archive.today/20120527070658/http://amkob113.narod.ru/kobra/pbl/pbl-8.html Archived] 17 August 2009.</ref> According to [[Sergey Parkhomenko]], a journalist and democracy campaigner who was in the crowd defending the White House, "Those deaths played a crucial role: Both sides were so horrified that it brought a halt to everything."<ref>{{Cite news| work=[[The Moscow Times]] |title=Russia's Brightest Moment: The 1991 Coup That Failed| date=19 August 2016| url=https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/the-forgotten-coup-55030|access-date=9 March 2018}}</ref> Alpha Group and Vympel did not move to the White House as had been planned and Yazov ordered the troops to pull out from Moscow. Reports also surfaced that Gorbachev had been placed under house arrest in Crimea.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/21/world/the-soviet-crisis-gorbachev-reportedly-arrested-in-the-crimea.html|title=THE SOVIET CRISIS; Gorbachev Reportedly Arrested in the Crimea|first=Serge|last=Schmemann|work=The New York Times|date=21 August 1991|access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/21/gorbachev-reported-under-house-arrest/228b8d36-69c2-4df6-841d-1eae059afd8d|title=GORBACHEV REPORTED UNDER HOUSE ARREST|first=Michael|last=Dobbs|work=The Washington Post|date=21 August 1991|access-date=15 October 2020}}</ref>

The troops began to move from Moscow at 8:00. The GKChP members met in the Defence Ministry and, not knowing what to do, decided to send Kryuchkov, Yazov, Baklanov, Tizyakov, [[Anatoly Lukyanov]], and Deputy [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU General Secretary]] [[Vladimir Ivashko]] to Crimea to meet Gorbachev, who refused to meet them when they arrived. With the dacha's communications to Moscow restored, Gorbachev declared all the GKChP's decisions void and dismissed its members from their state offices. The [[Procurator General of the Soviet Union|USSR General Prosecutors Office]] started the investigation of the coup.<ref name=Timeline/><ref name=russianbook/>

During that period, the Supreme Council of the [[Latvia|Republic of Latvia]] declared its sovereignty officially completed with a law passed by its deputies, confirming the independence restoration act of 4 May as an official act.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=69512|title= Constitutional law on statehood of the Republic of Latvia|access-date= 7 January 2008|author= Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR|author-link= Supreme Council of the Republic of Latvia|date= 21 August 1991|publisher=[[Latvijas Vēstnesis]]|language= lv}}</ref> In Tallinn, just a day after the restitution of independence, the Tallinn TV Tower was taken over by the Airborne Troops, while the television broadcast was cut off for a while, the radio signal was strong as a handful of [[Estonian Defence League]] (the unified paramilitary armed forces of Estonia) members barricaded the entry into signal rooms.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.estonica.org/en/The_August_coup_and_Estonian_independence_1991/|title=Estonica.org - The August coup and Estonian independence (1991)|website=www.estonica.org}}</ref> In the evening, as news of the failure of the coup reached the republic, the paratroopers departed from the tower and left the capital.

===22 August===
Gorbachev and the GKChP delegation flew to Moscow, where [[Vladimir Kryuchkov|Kryuchkov]], [[Dmitry Yazov|Yazov]], and Tizyakov were arrested upon arrival in the early hours. [[Boris Pugo|Pugo]] committed suicide along with his wife the next day. Pavlov, [[Vasily Starodubtsev]], [[Oleg Baklanov|Baklanov]], Boldin, and Shenin would be in custody within the next 48 hours. While in custody, Pavlov would be hospitalised with [[hypertension]].<ref name=Timeline/>

==Aftermath==
Since several heads of the regional [[Committee|executive committees]] supported the GKChP, on 21 August the [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR]] adopted Decision No. 1626-1, which authorized Russian President [[Boris Yeltsin]] to appoint heads of regional administrations, although the Russian constitution did not empower the president with such authority.<ref name=Konsultant>Konsultant+ (Russian legal database){{full citation needed|date=August 2011}}</ref> It passed another decision the next day which declared the [[Flag of Russia|old imperial colors]] as Russia's national flag.<ref name=Konsultant/> It eventually replaced the Russian SFSR flag two months later.

On the night of 24 August, the [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]] statue in front of the [[Lubyanka Building|KGB building at Dzerzhinskiy Square (Lubianka)]] was dismantled, while thousands of Moscow citizens took part in the funeral of Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov and Ilya Krichevsky, the three citizens who died in the tunnel incident. Gorbachev posthumously awarded them with the title of [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. Yeltsin asked their relatives to forgive him for not being able to prevent their deaths.<ref name=Timeline/>

===End of the CPSU===
Gorbachev resigned as [[CPSU]] [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] on 24 August.<ref>[http://www.illuminats.ru/component/content/article/29-new/1198-statement-by-mikhail-gorbachev-on-the-addition-of-duties-the-secretary-general-of-the-cpsu-24-august-1991?directory=29 Заявление М. С. Горбачева о сложение обязанностей генерального секретаря ЦК КПСС (24 августа 1991)]</ref><ref name=Timeline/> [[Vladimir Ivashko]] replaced him as acting General Secretary but resigned on 29 August{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} when the [[Supreme Soviet of the USSR]] suspended the activities of the party throughout the country.<ref>[http://constitution20.info/ckeditor_assets/attachments/490/1991_08_29_postvs_sssr.pdf Постановление Верховного Совета СССР от 29 августа 1991 г. № 2371-I «О ситуации, возникшей в стране в связи с имевшим место государственным переворотом»]</ref> Around the same time, Yeltsin decreed the transfer of the CPSU archives to the state archive authorities, as well as [[nationalizing]] all CPSU assets in the Russian SFSR (which included not only the headquarters of party committees but also educational institutions, hotels, etc.).{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} On November 6, Yeltsin issued a decree banning the party in Russia.<ref>[http://kremlin.ru/acts/bank/385 Указ Президента РСФСР от 6 ноября 1991 г. № 169 «О деятельности КПСС и КП РСФСР»]</ref>

===Dissolution of the Soviet Union===
{{See also|Belavezha Accords|Dissolution of the Soviet Union}}
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2016}}
On 24 August, Mikhail Gorbachev created the so-called "Committee for the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy" (Комитет по оперативному управлению народным хозяйством СССР), to replace the [[USSR Cabinet of Ministers]]<ref>[http://www.libussr.ru/doc_ussr/usr_19391.htm Указ Президента СССР от 24.08.1991 N УП-2461 "О Кабинете Министров СССР"]</ref> headed by [[Valentin Pavlov]], a GKChP member. Russian prime minister [[Ivan Silayev]] headed this committee. On the same day the [[Verkhovna Rada]] adopted the [[Declaration of Independence of Ukraine|Act of Independence of Ukraine]] and called for a referendum on support of the Act of Independence. 

On August 25, the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian SSR announced the [[Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic|Declaration of Sovereignty]] as a constitutional law.<ref name="byind">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/belarus/39.htm|title=Belarus&nbsp;– Prelude to Independence|access-date=22 December 2007|last=Fedor|first=Helen|year=1995|work=Belarus: A Country Study|publisher=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref><ref>[https://belzakon.net/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A0%D0%91/199/2106 Закон Республики Беларусь от 25 августа 1991 г. №1017-XII "О придании статуса конституционного закона Декларации Верховного Совета Белорусской ССР о государственном суверенитете Белорусской ССР"]</ref>.

On August 28, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dismissed Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov<ref>[http://base.garant.ru/6334608/ Постановление Верховного Совета СССР от 28 августа 1991 г. № 2366-I «Об освобождении Павлова В. С. от обязанностей Премьер-министра СССР»]</ref> and entrusted the functions of the government of the USSR to Committee for the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy.<ref>[http://base.garant.ru/6334609/ Постановление Верховного Совета СССР от 28 августа 1991 г. № 2367-I «О недоверии Кабинету Министров СССР»]</ref>  The next day, the speaker of the union parliament Anatoly Lukyanov was arrested.<ref name=Timeline/>

On 5 September, the [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union]] adopted Soviet Law No. 2392-1 "On the Authorities of the Soviet Union in the Transitional Period" under which the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]] had replaced Congress of People's Deputies and was reformed. Two new legislative chambers—the Soviet of the Union (Совет Союза) and the Soviet of Republics (Совет Республик)—replaced the [[Soviet of the Union]] and the [[Soviet of Nationalities]] (both elected by the USSR Congress of Peoples Deputies). The Soviet of the Union was to be formed by the popularly elected [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union|USSR people's deputies]], and would consider only issues concerning civil rights and freedoms and other issues which didn't fall under the jurisdiction of the Soviet of Republics. It decisions would have to be reviewed by the Soviet of Republics. The Soviet of Republics was to include 20 deputies from each union republic plus one deputy to represent each [[Republics of Russia|autonomous region]] of each union republic (both USSR people's deputies and [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|republican people's deputies]]) delegated by the legislatures of the union republic. Russia was an exception with 52 deputies. However, the delegation of each union republic was to have only one vote in the Soviet of Republics. The laws were to be first adopted by the Soviet of the Union and then by the Soviet of Republics, which would set procedures for the central government, approve the appointment of central ministers and consider inter-republican agreements.<ref name="pravo.levonevsky.org">{{cite web|url=http://pravo.levonevsky.org/baza/soviet/sssr0036.htm|title=Закон СССР от 05.09.1991 N 2392-1 об органах государственной|website=pravo.levonevsky.org|access-date=27 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713021550/http://pravo.levonevsky.org/baza/soviet/sssr0036.htm|archive-date=13 July 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Also created was the [[State Council of the Soviet Union|Soviet State Council]] (Государственный совет СССР), which included the [[Soviet President]] and the presidents of union republics. The "Committee for the Operational Management of the Soviet Economy" was replaced by the USSR Inter-republican Economic Committee (Межреспубликанский экономический комитет СССР)<ref name="pravo.levonevsky.org" />, also headed by [[Ivan Silayev]].

On 27 August, [[Parliament of the Republic of Moldova|Supreme Soviet of Moldova]] [[Moldovan Declaration of Independence|declared the independence of Moldova from the Soviet Union]]. The Supreme Soviets of Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan did the same on 30 and 31 August, respectively. Afterwards, on 6 September the newly created Soviet State Council recognized the independence of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rian.ru/history/20050906/41308028.html|title=6 сентября|date=5 September 2005}}</ref> Estonia had declared re-independence on 20 August, Latvia on the following day, while Lithuania had done so already on 11 March 1990. Three days later, on 9 September the [[Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic|Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan]] declared the independence of [[Tajikistan]] from the Soviet Union. Furthermore, in September over 99% percent of voters in [[Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic|Armenia]] voted for a referendum approving the Republic's commitment to independence. The immediate aftermath of that vote was the Armenian [[Supreme Soviet]]'s declaration of independence, issued on 21 September. By 27 October the [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic|Supreme Soviet of Turkmenistan]] declared the independence of [[Turkmenistan]] from the Soviet Union. On 1 December Ukraine held a [[1991 Ukrainian independence referendum|referendum]], in which more than 90% of residents supported the Act of Independence of Ukraine.

By November, the only Soviet Republics that had not declared independence were Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. That same month, seven republics (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan) agreed to a new union treaty that would form a confederation called the Union of Sovereign States. However, this confederation never materialized.

On 8 December [[Boris Yeltsin]], [[Leonid Kravchuk]] and [[Stanislav Shushkevich]]—respectively, leaders of [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Belarus]] (which adopted that name in August 1991)—as well as the prime ministers of the republics met in [[Minsk]], the capital of Belarus, where they signed the [[Belovezha Accords]]. This document declared that the Soviet Union had ceased to exist "as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality." It repudiated the [[Treaty on the Creation of the USSR|1922 union treaty]] that established the Soviet Union, and established the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]] (CIS) in the Union's place. On 12 December, the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR ratified the accords and recalled the Russian deputies from the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Although this has been interpreted as the moment that Russia seceded from the Union, in fact Russia took the line that it was not possible to secede from a state that no longer existed. The lower chamber of the Supreme Soviet, the Council of the Union, was forced to halt its operations, as the departure of the Russian deputies left it without a quorum.

Doubts remained about the legitimacy of the signing that took place on 8 December, since only three republics took part. Thus, on 21 December in [[Alma-Ata]] on 21 December, the [[Alma-Ata Protocol]] expanded the CIS to include [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]] and the five republics of [[Central Asia]]. They also pre-emptively accepted Gorbachev's resignation. With 11 of the 12 remaining republics (all except [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]) having agreed that the Union no longer existed, Gorbachev bowed to the inevitable and said he would resign as soon as the CIS became a reality (Georgia joined the CIS in 1993, only to withdraw in 2008 after [[Russo-Georgian War|conflict between Georgia and Russia]]; the three Baltic states never joined, instead going on to join the [[European Union]] and [[NATO]] in 2004.)

On 24 December 1991, the Russian SFSR—now renamed the Russian Federation—with the concurrence of the other republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States, informed the [[United Nations]] that it would [[Russia and the United Nations|inherit the Soviet Union's membership in the UN]]—including the Soviet Union's permanent seat on the [[United Nations Security Council]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/inf397.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031123143520/http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Documents/Infcircs/Others/inf397.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2003|title=INFCIRC/397 - Note to the Director General from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation|date=23 November 2003}}</ref> No member state of the UN formally objected to this step. The legitimacy of this act has been [[Russia and the United Nations#Legality|questioned by some legal scholars]] as the Soviet Union itself was not constitutionally succeeded by the Russian Federation, but merely dissolved. Others argued that the international community had already established the precedent of recognizing the Soviet Union as the legal successor of the [[Russian Empire]], and so recognizing [[Russia|the Russian Federation]] as the Soviet Union's successor state was valid.

On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev announced his resignation as Soviet president. The red hammer and sickle flag of the Soviet Union was lowered from the Senate building in the Kremlin and replaced with the tricolor flag of Russia. The next day, 26 December 1991, the Council of Republics, the upper chamber of the Supreme Soviet, formally voted the Soviet Union out of existence (the lower chamber, the Council of the Union, had been left without a quorum after the Russian deputies withdrew), thus ending the life of the world's first and oldest socialist state. All former Soviet embassies became Russian embassies while Russia received the nuclear weapons from the other former republics by 1996. A [[1993 Russian constitutional crisis|constitutional crisis]] occurred in 1993 had been escalated into violence and the new [[Constitution of Russia|constitution]] finally abolished the soviet political system.

===Beginning of radical economic reforms in Russia===
{{See also|Economic history of the Russian Federation}}
On 1 November 1991, the [[Congress of People's Deputies of Russia|RSFSR Congress of People's Deputies]] issued Decision No. 1831-1 On the Legal Support of the Economic Reform whereby the Russian president ([[Boris Yeltsin]]) was granted the right to issue decrees required for the economic reform even if they contravened the laws. Such decrees entered into force if they were not repealed within 7 days by the [[Supreme Soviet of Russia|Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR]] or its Presidium.<ref name=Konsultant/> Five days later, Boris Yeltsin, in addition to the duties of the President, assumed the duties of the prime minister. [[Yegor Gaidar]] became deputy prime minister and simultaneously economic and finance minister. On 15 November 1991, Boris Yeltsin issued Decree No. 213 On the Liberalization of Foreign Economic Activity on the Territory of the RSFSR whereby all Russian companies were allowed to import and to export goods and to acquire foreign currency (previously all foreign trade had been tightly controlled by the state).<ref name=Konsultant/> Following the issuing of Decree No. 213, on 3 December 1991 Boris Yeltsin issued Decree No. 297 On the Measures to Liberalize Prices whereby from 2 January 1992 most previously existing [[price controls]] were abolished.<ref name=Konsultant/>

===Trial of the members of the GKChP===
The [[GKChP]] members and their accomplices were charged with [[treason]] in the form of a conspiracy aimed at capturing power. However, by January 1993, they had all been released from custody pending trial.<ref>[http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5308?isSearch=True Ъ-Власть — Стародубцев на воле. С Лениным в башке и подпиской в руке]</ref><ref>[http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/36887 Ъ-Газета — Пресс-конференция по делу ГКЧП]</ref> The trial in the Military Chamber of the [[Supreme Court of Russia|Russian Supreme Court]] began on 14 April 1993.<ref>"Vzgliad", 18 August 2006 {{in lang|ru}}[http://vzglyad.ru/politics/2006/8/18/45786.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407154904/http://vzglyad.ru/politics/2006/8/18/45786.html |date=7 April 2011 }}</ref> On 23 February 1994, the [[State Duma]] declared [[amnesty]] for all GKChP members and their accomplices, along with the participants of the [[1993 Russian constitutional crisis|October 1993 crisis]].<ref name=Konsultant/> They all accepted the amnesty, except for General Varennikov, who demanded the continuation of the trial and was finally acquitted on 11 August 1994.<ref name=Timeline/>

===Commemoration of the civilians killed===
[[File:Vladimir Usov, Ilya Krichevsky, Dmitri Komar Stamps.png|thumb|Russian stamps commemorating Ilya Krichevsky, Dmitry Komar and Vladimir Usov, respectively]]
Thousands of people attended the funeral of Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky, and Vladimir Usov on 24 August 1991. [[Gorbachev]] made the three men posthumous [[Hero of the Soviet Union|Heroes of the Soviet Union]], for their bravery "blocking the way to those who wanted to strangle democracy.".<ref>{{Cite news| work=[[The New York Times]] |title=SOVIET TURMOIL; Moscow Mourns And Exalts Men Killed by Coup| date=25 August 1991| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/25/world/soviet-turmoil-moscow-mourns-and-exalts-men-killed-by-coup.html|access-date=8 March 2018}}</ref>

===Parliamentary commission===
In 1991, the Parliamentary Commission for Investigating Causes and Reasons of the coup attempt was established under [[Lev Ponomaryov]], but in 1992, it was dissolved at [[Ruslan Khasbulatov]]'s insistence.

==International reactions==

===United States===
[[File:Bush Gorba P15623-25A.jpg|thumb|George H. W. Bush, left, is seen with Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990. Bush condemned the coup and the actions of the "Gang of Eight".]]
During his vacation in [[Kennebunkport, Maine]], the [[President of the United States]], [[George H. W. Bush]] made a blunt demand for Gorbachev's restoration to power and said the United States did not accept the legitimacy of the self-proclaimed new Soviet Government. He returned to the White House after rushing from his vacation home. Bush then issued a strongly-worded statement that followed a day of consultations with other leaders of the Western alliance and a concerted effort to squeeze the new Soviet leadership by freezing economic aid programs. He decried the coup as a "misguided and illegitimate effort" that "bypasses both Soviet law and the will of the [[Soviet people]]s." President Bush called the overthrow "very disturbing," and he put a hold on U.S. aid to the Soviet Union until the coup was ended.<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl>{{Cite web | title = World reacts with shock to Gorbachev ouster | last = Isherwood | first = Julian M. | work = United Press International | date = 19 August 1991 | access-date = 31 May 2017 | url = http://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/08/19/World-reacts-with-shock-to-Gorbachev-ouster/5234533009911/ }}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/20/world/the-soviet-crisis-bush-condemns-soviet-coup-and-calls-for-its-reversal.html|title=THE SOVIET CRISIS; Bush Condemns Soviet Coup And Calls For Its Reversal|first=Andrew|last=Rosenthal|date=20 August 1991|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

The Bush statement, drafted after a series of meetings with top aides at the White House, was much more forceful than the President's initial reaction that morning in Maine. It was in keeping with a unified Western effort to apply both diplomatic and economic pressure to the group of Soviet officials seeking to gain control of the country.

Former President [[Ronald Reagan]] had said:
{{quote|"I can't believe that the Soviet people will allow a reversal in the progress that they have recently made toward economic and political freedom. Based on my extensive meetings and conversations with him, I am convinced that President Gorbachev had the best interest of the Soviet people in mind. I have always felt that his opposition came from the communist bureaucracy, and I can only hope that enough progress was made that a movement toward democracy will be unstoppable."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>}}

On 2 September 1991, the United States re-recognized the independence of [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]] when Bush delivered the press conference in Kennebunkport.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/03/world/soviet-turmoil-excerpts-bush-s-conference-strong-support-for-baltic-independence.html|title=SOVIET TURMOIL; Excerpts From Bush's Conference: 'Strong Support' for Baltic Independence|date=3 September 1991|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

===United Kingdom===
The [[British Prime Minister]] [[John Major]] had expressed feelings in a 1991 interview on behalf of the UK about the coup and said "I think there are many reasons why it failed and a great deal of time and trouble will be spent on analysing that later. There were, I think, a number of things that were significant. I don't think it was terribly well-handled from the point of view of those organising the coup. I think the enormous and unanimous condemnation of the rest of the world publicly of the coup was of immense encouragement to the people resisting it. That is not just my view; that is the view that has been expressed to me by Mr. Shevardnadze, Mr. Yakovlev, President Yeltsin and many others as well to whom I have spoken to the last 48 hours. The moral pressure from the West and the fact that we were prepared to state unequivocally that the coup was illegal and that we wanted the legal government restored, was of immense help in the Soviet Union. I think that did play a part."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.johnmajor.co.uk/page2106.html|title=Mr Major's Comments on the Soviet Coup - 21st August 1991|website=johnmajor.co.uk}}</ref>

Major met with his cabinet that same day on 19 August to deal with the crisis. He added, "There seems little doubt that President Gorbachev has been removed from power by an unconstitutional seizure of power. There are constitutional ways of removing the president of the Soviet Union; they have not been used. I believe that the whole world has a very serious stake in the events currently taking place in the Soviet Union. The reform process there is of vital importance to the world and of most vital importance of course to the Soviet people themselves and I hope that is fully clear. There is a great deal of information we don't yet have, but I would like to make clear above all that we would expect the Soviet Union to respect and honor all the commitments that President Gorbachev has made on its behalf, he said, echoing sentiments from a litany of other Western leaders."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>

However, the British Government had frozen $80 million in economic aid to Moscow, and the European Community scheduled an emergency meeting in which it was expected to suspend a $1.5 billion aid program.<ref name="nytimes.com"/>

===Other sovereign states===
*{{flag|Australia}}: [[Prime Minister of Australia]] [[Bob Hawke]] said "The developments in the Soviet Union ... raise the question as to whether the purpose is to reverse the political and economic reforms which have been taking place. Australia does not want to see repression, persecution or vindictive actions against Gorbachev or those associated with him."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Bulgaria}}: President [[Zhelyu Zhelev]] has stated "Such anti-democratic methods can never lead to anything good neither for the Soviet Union, nor for Eastern Europe, nor for the democratic developments in the world."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Canada}}: Several reactions to coup quickly happened such as the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], [[Brian Mulroney]] had huddled with his top advisers discussed the toppling of Mikhail Gorbachev, but his officials said the Prime Minister will likely react cautiously to the stunning development. Mulroney condemned the coup and suspended food aid and other assurances with the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/25/world/canadian-is-attacked-for-remarks-on-soviet-coup.html|title=Canadian Is Attacked for Remarks on Soviet Coup|first=Clyde H.|last=Farnsworth|date=25 August 1991|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> External Affairs Minister [[Barbara McDougall]] suggested on 20 August 1991 that "Canada could work with any Soviet junta that promises to carry on Gorbachev's legacy, Lloyd Axworthy and Liberal Leader Jean Chretien said Canada must join with other Western governments to back Russian President Boris Yeltsin, former Soviet foreign minister and Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze and others fighting for Soviet democracy." McDougall met with the chargé d'affaires of the Soviet embassy, Vasily Sredin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/436458189.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+21,+1991&author=Tim+Harper+Toronto+Star&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.4&desc=McDougall+hints+Ottawa+may+recognize+Moscow+junta|title=archives|website=thestar.com}}</ref> 
*{{flag|China}}: The Chinese government appeared tacitly to support the coup when it issued a statement saying the move was an internal affair of the Soviet Union and the [[Communist Party of China]] released no immediate comment. Confidential Chinese documents have indicated that China's hardline leaders strongly disapprove of Gorbachev's program of political liberalization, blaming him for "the loss of Eastern Europe to capitalism." Several Chinese people said that a key difference between the Soviet coup leaders' failed attempts to use tanks to crush dissent in Moscow and the hard-line Chinese leaders' successful use of tank-led forces during the [[1989 Tiananmen Square protests|1989 Tiananmen Massacre]] was that the Soviet people had a powerful leader like Russian President Boris Yeltsin to rally around, whereas the Chinese protesters did not. The Soviet coup collapsed in three days without any major violence by the Soviet army against civilians; in June 1989, the [[People's Liberation Army]] killed hundreds of people to crush the democracy movement.<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/08/23/chinese-dissidents-hail-moscow-events/6fea0a33-ccc8-4e93-b6d5-665faa846e64/|title=CHINESE DISSIDENTS HAIL MOSCOW EVENTS|first1=Daniel|last1=Southerl|date=23 August 1991|work=The Washington Post}}</ref>
*{{flagdeco|Czechoslovakia}} [[Czech and Slovak Federative Republic|Czechoslovakia]]: [[Vaclav Havel]], the Czechoslovak president, warned his nation could face a possible "wave of refugees" crossing its border with the [[Ukrainian SSR]]. However, Havel said "It is not possible to reverse the changes that have already happened in the Soviet Union. We believe democracy will eventually prevail in the Soviet Union."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/> Interior Ministry spokesman Martin Fendrych said an unspecified number of additional troops had been moved to reinforce the [[Slovakia–Ukraine border|Czechoslovak border]] with the Soviet Union.<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Denmark}}: Foreign Minister [[Uffe Ellemann-Jensen]] said the process of change in the Soviet Union could not be reversed. In a statement he said, "So much has happened and so many people have been involved in the changes in Soviet Union that I cannot see a total reversal."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|France}}: [[President of France|President]] [[François Mitterrand]] called on the new rulers of the Soviet Union to guarantee the ''life and liberty'' of Gorbachev and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who was "Gorbachev's rival in the changing Soviet Union." Mitterrand added, "France attaches a high price to the life and liberty of Messrs. Gorbachev and Yeltsin being guaranteed by the new Moscow leaders. These will be judged by their acts, especially on the fashion in which the two high personalities in question will be treated."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Germany}}: [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Helmut Kohl]] cut his vacation short in Austria and returned to [[Bonn]] for an emergency meeting. Kohl had said he was sure Moscow would withdraw its remaining 272,000 troops from the [[former East Germany]] on schedule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/doc/436460688.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+20,+1991&author=&pub=Toronto+Star&edition=&startpage=A.17&desc=Keep+up+reform,+Kohl+urges+Soviets|title=archives|website=thestar.com}}</ref> [[Björn Engholm]], leader of Germany's opposition [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]], urged member states of the [[European Community]] "to speak with one voice" on the situation and said "the West should not exclude the possibility of imposing economic and political sanctions on the Soviet Union to avoid a jolt to the right, in Moscow."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Greece}}: Greece described the situation in the Soviet Union as "alarming". The Communist-led Alliance of the Left and former Socialist Prime Minister [[Andreas Papandreou]] both issued statements condemning the coup.<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Hungary}}: Deputy Speaker of Parliament [[Mátyás Szűrös]] said the coup increased the risk of a civil war in the Soviet Union. "Undoubtedly, the Soviet economy has collapsed but this has not been the result of Gorbachev's policy but of the paralyzing influence of conservatives" Szűrös said. "Suddenly, the likelihood of a civil war in the Soviet Union has increased."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Ba'athist Iraq|name=Iraq}}: [[Saddam Hussein]]'s Iraq was a close ally of the Soviet Union until Gorbachev had denounced the invasion of Kuwait during the [[Gulf War]]. One Iraqi spokesman quoted by the official Iraqi News Agency: "It is natural that we welcome such change like the states and people who were affected by the policies of the former regime."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Israel}}: Israeli officials said they hoped Gorbachev's attempted removal had not derailed the [[Madrid Conference of 1991|conference held in Madrid]] or a slower Soviet Jewish immigration. The quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, which has coordinated the massive flow of Jews arriving from the Soviet Union, called an emergency meeting to assess how the coup would affect Jewish immigration. "We are closely following what is happening in the Soviet Union with concern," Foreign Minister David Levy said. "One might say that this is an internal issue of the Soviet Union, but in the Soviet Union ... everything internal has an influence for the entire world."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Italy}}: Prime Minister [[Giulio Andreotti]] released a statement and said "I'm surprised, embittered and worried. We all know the difficulties that Gorbachev encountered. But I don't know how a new president, who, at least for now, doesn't have (Gorbachev's) prestige and international connections, can overcome the obstacles." [[Achille Occhetto]], the head of the [[Democratic Party of the Left]], direct heir of the [[Italian Communist Party]], called the ouster of Gorbachev "a most dramatic event of world proportions (which) will have immense repercussions on international life. I am personally and strongly struck, not only for the incalculable burden of this event, but also for the fate of comrade Gorbachev."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Japan|1870}}: Prime Minister [[Toshiki Kaifu]] ordered the Foreign Ministry to analyze the developments. "I strongly hope that the leadership change will not influence the positive policies of perestroika and new thinking diplomacy." said Chief Cabinet Secretary [[Misoji Sakamoto]].<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/> In addition, Soviet aid and technical loans from Japan was frozen.<ref name=Gupta>R.C. Gupta. (1997) ''Collapse of the Soviet Union''. p. 57. {{ISBN|9788185842813}},</ref>
*{{flag|South Korea|1984}}: [[President of South Korea|President]] [[Roh Tae-woo]] welcomed the coup's collapse as a symbolic victory for the Soviet people. He quoted "It was a triumph of the courage and resolve of the Soviet citizens towards freedom and democracy."<ref name=Gupta/>
*{{flag|Philippines|1986}}: Philippine President [[Corazon Aquino]] expressed "grave concern" and said "We hope that the progress toward world peace... achieved under the leadership of President Gorbachev will continue to be preserved and enhanced further."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|Poland}}: In a statement released by the [[President of Poland|President]] [[Lech Wałęsa]], whose [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] union helped prompt the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe, appealed for calm. "May unity and responsibility for our state gain the upper hand." Wałęsa said in a statement read on Polish radio by spokesman Andrzej Drzycimski, "The situation in the USSR is significant for our country, It can affect our bilateral relations. We want then to be friendly." But he emphasized Poland kept its hard-won sovereignty while it pursued its economic and political reforms.<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>
*{{flag|South Africa|1982}}: Foreign Minister [[Pik Botha]] said: "I very much hope that (developments in the Soviet Union) will neither give rise to large-scale turbulence within the Soviet Union itself or more widely in Europe, nor jeopardize the era of hard-won international cooperation upon which the world has embarked."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>

===Supranational bodies and organizations===
*{{flag|NATO}}: The alliance held an emergency meeting in Brussels condemning the Soviet coup. "If indeed this coup did fail, it will be a great victory for the courageous Soviet people who have tasted freedom and who are not prepared to have it taken away from them." the United States Secretary of State [[James A. Baker III]] said "It will also, to some extent, be a victory, too, for the international community and for all those governments who reacted strongly to these events." NATO Secretary General Manfred Woerner also said, "We should see how the situation in the Soviet Union develops. Our own plans will take into account what happens there."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-08-21/news/9103020365_1_foreign-ministers-kremlin-coup-coup-leaders|title=Nato's Response Covers All Bases}}</ref>
*{{flag|Palestine Liberation Organization}} – The Palestinian Liberation Organization was dissatisfied with the coup. [[Yasser Abed Rabbo]], who was a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said he hoped the putsch "will permit resolution in the best interests of the Palestinians of the problem of Soviet Jews in Israel."<ref name=SovietCoup_Intl/>

==Further fate of GKChP members==
* [[Gennadiy Yanayev]], amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994, headed the Department of History and International Relations for the Russian International Academy of Tourism,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/politics-obituaries/8060046/Gennady-Yanayev.html|title=Gennady Yanayev|date=12 October 2010}}</ref> died in 2010
* [[Valentin Pavlov]], amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994 (financial expert for several banks and other financial institutions, chairman of [[Free Economic Society]]),<ref>[https://articles.latimes.com/2003/apr/01/local/me-pavlov1]"LA Times", March 2015</ref> died in 2003
* [[Vladimir Kryuchkov]], amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994, died in 2007
* [[Dmitriy Yazov]], amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994 (adviser to Ministry of Defense and the Academy of General Staff)<ref>Simon Saradzhyan [https://web.archive.org/web/20150402104544/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/1998/6/article/coup-leader-may-join-defense-team/288967.html Coup Leader May Join Defense Team], "The Moscow Times", March 2015</ref> died in 2020
* [[Boris Pugo]], committed suicide on 22 August 1991<ref>[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7323341]"Find A Grave", March 2015</ref>
* [[Oleg Baklanov]], amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994 (chairman of board of directors for "Rosobshchemash"){{citation needed|date=December 2015}}
* [[Vasiliy Starodubtsev]], freed from arrest in 1992 due to health complications (deputy to the [[Federation Council of Russia]] 1993–95, governor of [[Tula Oblast]] 1997–2005, member of the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]] since 2007),<ref>Rupert Cornwell [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/vasily-starodubtsev-politician-who-tried-to-topple-gorbachev-in-1991-6284480.html]"Vasily Starodubtsev: Politician who tried to topple Gorbachev in 1991", March 2015</ref> died in 2011.
* {{Interlanguage link multi|Alexander Tizyakov|ru|3=Тизяков, Александр Иванович|lt=Alexander Tizyakov}}, amnesty of the Russian State Duma of 1994 (member of the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]], founder of series of enterprises such as "Antal" (machine manufacturing), "Severnaya kazna" (insurance company), "Vidikon" (production of [[electric arc furnace]]), "Fidelity" (production of [[fast-moving consumer goods]])),<ref>Vladimir Socor [http://www.jamestown.org/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5407&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=217&no_cache=1#.VQGVXGSxNF9]"The Jamestown Foundation", March 2015</ref> died in 2019.

==See also==
{{Portal|Soviet Union|1990s|Politics}}
* [[Civil resistance]]
* [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union]]
* [[History of the Soviet Union]]
* [[1993 Russian constitutional crisis]]
* [[State collapse]]

==Notes and references==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
: See also: {{section link|Bibliography of the Post Stalinist Soviet Union|The Dissolution of the Soviet Union and Bloc}}
{{Refbegin}}
* Bonnell, Victoria E., and Gregory Freidin. "Televorot: The role of television coverage in Russia's August 1991 coup." ''Slavic Review'' 52.4 (1993): 810–838. [http://www-leland.stanford.edu/~gfreidin/Publications/Televorot1.pdf online]
* Matthee, Heinrich. "A breakdown of civil-military relations: the Soviet coup of 1991." Scientia ''Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies'' 29 (1999): 1-17. [https://www.ajol.info/index.php/smsajms/article/download/81370/71546 online]
* Meyer, Stephen M. "How the threat (and the coup) collapsed: the politicization of the soviet military." ''International Security' 16.3 (1991): 5-38. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2539087 online]
* Varney, Wendy, and Brian Martin. "Lessons from the 1991 Soviet coup." ''Peace Research'' 32.1 (2000): 52–68. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23607685 online]
* Vogt, William Charles. "The Soviet coup of August 1991: why it happened, and why it was doomed to fail. Diss. Monterey, California." (Naval Postgraduate School, 1991). [https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/36721382.pdf online]
*{{Cite book|last1=Ziemele |first1=Ineta |author-link1=Ineta Ziemele |title= State Continuity and Nationality: The Baltic States and Russia |year=2005 |publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers |isbn=90-04-14295-9 |ref=Ziemele2005}}

===Primary sources===
* Gorbachev, Mikhail (1991). ''The August Coup: The Truth and the Lessons''. New York: HarperPerennial. Includes transcript of videotaped statement made 19/20 August 1991 as his Foros dacha.
*  Bonnell, Victoria E. and Gregory Freidin, eds. ''Russia at the Barricades: Eyewitness Accounts of the Moscow Coup'' (August 1991), (M.E. Sharpe, 1994). Includes the chronology of the coup, photos, and accounts from a broad cross-section of participants and eyewitnesses, including the editors.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|1991 coup d'état attempt in the Soviet Union}}
* [https://sites.google.com/site/jiriksoviet/ Voices From An (Attempted) Soviet Coup.] 1st person accounts and documents from both sides of the barricades. Compiled and edited by Anya Chernyakhovskaya, Dr John Jirik and Nikolai Lamm.
* [http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/academic/communications/logs/report-ussr-gorbatchev IRC logs]: Transcript of internet chat from the time of the coup
* [http://ian.chard.org/stuff/un_gorby.html TASS transmissions at the time of the coup] (captured from short-wave radio transmissions, contains decoding errors)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051125113124/http://www.andrewcoyne.com/Essays/Newspapers/Globe%2091-96/Soviet%20coup%20analysis%20(1991).rtfd/TXT.html Andrew Coyne: Getting to the Roots of a Deserved Failure]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070217162124/http://archive.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=1&i_number=696 ''The St. Petersburg Times'' #696(63), 17 August 2001] The issue of [[St. Petersburg Times (Russia)|''The St. Petersburg Times'']] devoted to the 10th anniversary of the coup attempt.
* [http://www.marxist.net/stalinism/collapse/script.htm?5.htm The Collapse of Stalinism] Chronology of the Coup The USSR in 1991: The Implosion of a Superpower by Dr Robert F. Miller
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927043613/http://www.memoryarchive.org/en/Moscow_Coup%2C_August_1991%2C_Anonymous Moscow Coup, August 1991, Anonymous]: Memories of an anonymous Russian in Wiki Memory Archive
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080107010002/http://www.douglassmith.info/143/the-1991-soviet-coup.-a-personal-account..html Personal account and photographs of historian Douglas Smith, eyewitness to the coup]
* {{YouTube|8VAHy76QO7o|Vadim Anatov, a programmer for Relcom (the first public ISP in the USSR)}} talking about the role of the Internet in resistance to the coup.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040923072304/http://www.ccc.nps.navy.mil/si/2004/sep/tsypkinSept04.asp Adventures of the "Nuclear Briefcase": A Russian Document Analysis], ''Strategic Insights'', Volume III, Issue 9 (September 2004), by Mikhail Tsypkin
* [http://omniatlas.com/maps/europe/19910819/ Map of Europe showing areas affected by Soviet Coup Attempt]

{{Russian Conflicts}}
{{Fall of Communism}}
{{Coup d'état}}
{{Boris Yeltsin}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1991 Soviet Coup D'etat Attempt}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 1991]]
[[Category:Post-Soviet conflicts]]
[[Category:1991 in the Soviet Union|Coup d'etat attempt]]
[[Category:Military history of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1990s coups d'état and coup attempts|Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Attempted coups in the Soviet Union and Russia]]
[[Category:1991 in politics]]
[[Category:Rebellions in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt| ]]
[[Category:Political scandals in Russia]]
[[Category:1991 in Moscow]]
[[Category:August 1991 events in Europe]]