Source - Wikipedia

The State Committee for the State of Emergency is a self-proclaimed government body in the USSR that existed from August 18 to August 21, 1991. It was formed from the first state officials and officials of the Soviet government who opposed the reforms carried out by the President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev. Perestroika and transformation Soviet Union into a new “Union of Sovereign States”, which became a confederation consisting of part of the already sovereign republics.
The forces under the leadership of the President of Russia (RSFSR) B. N. Yeltsin refused to obey the State Emergency Committee, calling their actions unconstitutional; there was an attempt to declare a strike. The actions of the State Emergency Committee led to events that became known as the “August Putsch.”
From August 22 to August 29, 1991, former members of the dissolved Emergency Committee and persons who actively assisted them were arrested, but from June 1992 to January 1993, they were all released on their own recognizance. Started in April 1993 trial. On February 23, 1994, the defendants in the State Emergency Committee case were amnestied by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly Russian Federation, despite Yeltsin's objections. One of the defendants, Valentin Varennikov, refused to accept the amnesty and his trial continued. On August 11, 1994, the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of Russia acquitted Varennikov.

By the beginning of 1991, the situation in the USSR became critical. The country entered a period of disintegration. The leadership began to consider the issue of introducing a state of emergency.
From the “Conclusion on the materials of the investigation into the role and participation of USSR KGB officials in the events of August 19-21, 1991”:

Marat Nikolaevich asked my advice on what type of helicopter to choose - the Mi-8 or Mi-24. Naturally, I recommended the Mi-24, since it was armored against 12.7 mm bullets, and all the tanks that were in the White House area had machine guns of this caliber. But if one of the engines failed, the Mi-24 helicopter could not continue flying. The Mi-8 could fly on one engine. Tishchenko agreed with me. However, less than an hour later, he called back and joyfully reported that, according to information he received from the same KGB department, all the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles brought into Moscow do not have ammunition, so he is preparing the Mi-8. And after some time, a message came that the commander of the Airborne Forces, General Grachev, stopped the division in Kubinka. By the evening it became clear that the State Emergency Committee had failed disgracefully, and by lunchtime on August 21, all the media loudly announced this. The orgy of victory began.

Unfortunately, it was overshadowed by the death of three people under the wheels of an infantry fighting vehicle in the tunnel between Vosstaniya Square and Smolenskaya Square. It all seemed strange to me. Why send troops and armored vehicles into Moscow without ammunition? Why is the Moscow department of the KGB seeking to save Yeltsin and why is KGB Chairman Kryuchkov a member of the State Emergency Committee? All this resembled some kind of farce. Subsequently, in 1993, Yeltsin actually stormed the White House, and the tanks fired direct fire and not with blank charges. And in August 1991, all this looked like a grandiose performance or monstrous stupidity on the part of the leadership of the State Emergency Committee. However, what happened happened. I only express my opinion. Then events developed at lightning speed: the return of Gorbachev from Foros, the ban and dissolution of the CPSU, the Belovezhskaya Agreement on the liquidation of the USSR, the creation of the Union of Independent States on the basis of the former republics of the USSR.

The most absurd thing, of course, seemed to be the collapse of the single Slavic core: Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. It seemed that some kind of insanity had occurred among the leaders of these republics, who demonstrated complete ignorance of the history of the creation of Russian statehood. But the most striking thing was that all this was supported by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which hastened to dissolve itself, and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation ratified the Belovezhskaya Conspiracy.

I remembered the words of Denikin and Wrangel, who, after the defeat of the White movement in the Civil War of 1918, addressing descendants in their memoirs, noted the historical merit of the Bolsheviks in that they basically preserved Great Russia. Modern Bolsheviks, dressed in national clothes, completely destroyed a great power, completely disregarding the opinions of its people.

After some time, it became clear that at the head of all these processes was the apparatus of the CPSU Central Committee, headed by Politburo member A.N. Yakovlev and with a very dubious and incomprehensible role of Gorbachev. Most of the rulers in the new states belonged to the cohort of workers of the CPSU party apparatus, and most of the oligarchs and “new” Russians in the past belonged to the party or Komsomol elite. Before the eyes of the entire people, active supporters of the policies of the CPSU turned into its fierce enemies. Calls for a “witch hunt” began, although they were soon suspended, since this clearly could affect them themselves.

The people were deceived.

Links:
1. Ogarkov and Operation Herat
2. Akhromeev Sergey Fedorovich
3. Gorbacheva Raisa Maksimovna (ur. Titarenko)
17.

) - a self-proclaimed government body in the USSR, consisting of representatives of the leadership of the CPSU Central Committee and the USSR government, which carried out an attempt to remove M.S. on August 18-21, 1991. Gorbachev from the post of President of the USSR, seizure of power in the country, change of political course. The events of August 1991, which ended with the arrest of members of the State Emergency Committee, predetermined the collapse of the USSR.

The political and economic crisis that the USSR experienced since the late 1980s threatened the existence of the socialist system in the Soviet state and its hegemony communist party in it, the unity of the country. Part of the Soviet leadership saw the reasons for the negative phenomena in the policy of perestroika and glasnost, which was pursued by the President of the USSR and General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee M.S. Gorbachev. In their opinion, Gorbachev’s inconsistency, excessive liberalism, and carelessness led to the fact that outspoken enemies of socialism were able to launch a widespread protest movement in the USSR, weaken state discipline, and paralyze the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies.

The State Emergency Committee included Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev (Chairman of the State Emergency Committee), Prime Minister of the USSR Valentin Sergeevich Pavlov, First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council Oleg Dmitrievich Baklanov, Chairman of the KGB of the USSR Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kryuchkov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Boris Karlovich Pugo, Minister Defense of the USSR Dmitry Timofeevich Yazov, President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities of the USSR Alexander Ivanovich Tizyakov, Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR Vasily Aleksandrovich Starodubtsev. On August 18, 1991, President of the USSR M.S. Gorbachev, by means of specially created security groups, was isolated in his residence in Foros (Crimea), where he was on vacation with his family.

On the morning of August 19, members of the State Emergency Committee made an appeal on television, announced the introduction of a state of emergency for six months, the deployment of troops to Moscow, the introduction of censorship in the media and the banning of a number of them, the abolition of a number of constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. However, no effective measures were taken to ensure the state of emergency. This allowed opponents of the State Emergency Committee, primarily the leadership of the RSFSR led by B.N. Yeltsin, the city authorities of Moscow and Leningrad, organized powerful resistance. At the call of the Russian authorities, masses of Muscovites gathered at the House of Soviets of the Russian Federation (White House), among whom were representatives of various social groups: democratically minded public, students, intelligentsia, veterans of the Afghan war. The actions of the State Emergency Committee were qualified as a coup d'etat. On August 21, 1991, all members of the State Emergency Committee were arrested, with the exception of the USSR Minister of Internal Affairs Boris Pugo, who committed suicide.

In addition to members of the State Emergency Committee, they were involved in criminal liability persons who, according to the investigation, actively contributed to the State Emergency Committee. Among them were the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A.I. Lukyanov, member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee O.S. Shenin, First Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU Yu.A. Prokofiev, Army General V.I. Varennikov, head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee V.I. Boldin, head of the security of the President of the USSR V.T. Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR G.E. Ageev, head of security at the residence in Foros V.V. Generals. The State Emergency Committee was publicly supported by the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party V.V. Zhirinovsky, but he was not held accountable because he did not hold any public office.

The actions of the members of the State Emergency Committee and their supporters were considered by the investigation, but did not receive a legal assessment, since in 1994 all arrested members of the State Emergency Committee were amnestied before trial. Only V.I., who was not a member of the committee, voluntarily appeared before the court. Varennikov, who was acquitted.

The main opponents of the State Emergency Committee were supporters of the President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin, who declared the actions of the Committee members unconstitutional. After the defeat and self-dissolution of the State Emergency Committee, their actions were condemned by the legislative and executive authorities of the USSR, the RSFSR and a number of other union republics and qualified as a coup d'etat. In historiography, the events of August 18-21, 1991 were called the “August Putsch”.

20 years after these events, in August 2011, Mikhail Gorbachev stated that he knew in advance about the plans of future members of the State Emergency Committee.

In its first appeal, the State Emergency Committee assessed the general mood in the country as very skeptical of the new political course towards dismantling the highly centralized federal structure of governing the country and state regulation of the economy; condemned the negative phenomena that the new course, according to the drafters, brought to life, such as speculation and the shadow economy; proclaimed that “the development of the country should not be built on the decline in the living standards of the population” and promised to strictly restore order in the country and solve the main economic problems, without, however, mentioning specific measures.

Due to the impossibility for health reasons of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev to fulfill the duties of the President of the USSR and the transfer, in accordance with Article 127/7 of the USSR Constitution, of the powers of the President of the USSR to the Vice President of the USSR Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev.

In order to overcome the deep and comprehensive crisis, political, interethnic and civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the life and safety of citizens of the Soviet Union, the sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and independence of our state.

Based on the results, guided by the vital interests of the peoples of our Motherland, all Soviet people

1. In accordance with Article 127/3 of the USSR Constitution and Article 2 of the USSR Law on the legal regime of a state of emergency and meeting the demands of broad sections of the population about the need to take the most decisive measures to prevent society from sliding into a national catastrophe, to ensure law and order, introduce a state of emergency in certain areas of the USSR for a period of 6 months, from 4 o'clock Moscow time from August 19, 1991.

2. Establish that throughout the entire territory of the USSR the Constitution of the USSR and the Laws of the USSR have unconditional supremacy.

3. To govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency, create the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR (GKChP USSR) with the following composition:

4. Establish that decisions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR are binding for strict execution by all government and administrative bodies, officials and citizens throughout the territory of the USSR.

Following this, a statement by the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR A.I. Lukyanov was read on the radio about criticism of the draft Union Treaty.

Then the official appeal of the State Emergency Committee to the Soviet people was read, which, in particular, said that perestroika had reached a dead end and “extremist forces have emerged that have set a course for the liquidation of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the state and the seizure of power at any cost” and about the determination The State Emergency Committee to lead the country out of the crisis, and also contained a call on all Soviet people to “restore labor discipline and order as soon as possible, raise the level of production” and “provide full support to efforts to bring the country out of the crisis.”

Then official resolution No. 1 (GKChP) was read out, which, in particular, disbanded “power and management structures, paramilitary formations operating contrary to the Constitution of the USSR”, suspended the activities of parties and public organizations “obstructing the normalization of the situation”, introduced a ban on meetings, demonstrations and strikes and censorship of the media was introduced:

In the White House, B. N. Yeltsin refuses to cooperate with the State Emergency Committee and decides to disobey the actions of the State Emergency Committee, calling their actions unconstitutional. The leadership of the State Emergency Committee sends a tank battalion of the 1st motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd Taman division under the command of Chief of Staff Sergei Evdokimov to the building.

At 17:00 in Moscow, a press conference of the State Emergency Committee was held in the press center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shown on television. The committee members behaved uncertainly, Yanaev’s hands trembled. The words of the members of the State Emergency Committee were more like excuses (G. Yanaev: “Gorbachev deserves all respect...”). Yanaev stated that the course of democratic reforms (Perestroika) begun in 1985 will be continued, and Gorbachev is on vacation and treatment in Foros and nothing threatens him. He called Gorbachev his friend and expressed the hope that after a rest he would return to duty and they would work together.

On the evening of August 19, another story was shown on television, which showed Yeltsin speaking on a tank in front of the White House, where he called the State Emergency Committee putschists and called on the people to resist.

Resistance to the State Emergency Committee takes the form of rallies in Moscow near the White House and the Moscow City Council and in Leningrad near the Mariinsky Palace. On August 20, a demonstration took place in Moscow near the White House, which was the residence of the Russian authorities, bringing together 200,000 Muscovites in support of Yeltsin and democracy. Near the House of Soviets, Muscovites are building barricades in case of a possible storming of the building, a defense headquarters is being created in the White House, President of the RSFSR Yeltsin issues decrees reassigning the allied executive authorities and the allied army to him, General Kobets, appointed by Yeltsin as Minister of Defense of the RSFSR, issued a decree on the withdrawal of troops from Moscow and the return them to places of permanent deployment. Inside the White House, the defense was occupied by the police, White House security, some police and KGB officers, and Afghan veterans armed with small arms. Thousands of Muscovites formed a human ring around the White House and took up defensive positions on the barricades to prevent a possible assault.

In Leningrad on August 20, a 400,000-strong demonstration of protest against the coup took place on Palace Square, the entire center was filled with people and the State Emergency Committee did not dare to send troops into Leningrad, tanks and parachute units were stopped on the approaches to the city. During the days of the putsch, the apparatus of the Democratic Russia movement, which actively resisted the State Emergency Committee, received hundreds of messages from the field about readiness to begin a mass campaign of civil disobedience.

On the evening of August 20, a curfew is announced in Moscow. On the night of August 20-21, an incident occurs in the center of Moscow near the House of Soviets, which results in a clash between a motorized army patrol and the defenders of the White House. As a result of clashes with demonstrators, chaotic maneuvering of armored vehicles and the use of small arms by soldiers, three defenders of the House of Soviets were killed. The assault expected by the defenders of the White House on the night of August 20-21 never took place. By the night of August 21, a split had emerged in the army, most military units refused to carry out the orders of the State Emergency Committee, and the military activity of the emergency committee came to naught. At 3 a.m., Air Force Commander-in-Chief Marshal Shaposhnikov suggested that Defense Minister Yazov withdraw troops from Moscow and disperse the State Emergency Committee. On the morning of August 21, the Minister of Defense of the USSR D.T. Yazov at the military board gave the order to withdraw troops from Moscow to places of permanent deployment.

At 9 a.m. on August 21, at a meeting with acting. O. USSR President G.I. Yanaev decided to send a delegation to Foros to M.S. Gorbachev consisting of Lukyanov, Yazov, Ivashko and Kryuchkov

Members of the dissolved Emergency Committee and persons who actively assisted them were placed in the Matrosskaya Tishina prison. On January 14, 1992, the investigation into the State Emergency Committee case was completed, and on December 7 of the same year, the case materials were transferred to the Prosecutor General of Russia for approval of the indictment. Exactly a week later it was signed. By January 1993, after the end of the investigation and familiarization with the volumes of the criminal case, all the accused were released from custody on their own recognizance.

The trial in the State Emergency Committee case began on April 14, 1993. The trial began with a speech by Judge Anatoly Ukolov, who recalled that former members of the State Emergency Committee are accused of treason. The defendants began with a statement about the recusal of the entire composition of the Military Collegium, and Ukolov too. They motivated their statement by the fact that the Russian court is not the legal successor of the Supreme Court of the USSR and does not have the right to consider cases of the highest officials of the former USSR. The parties tried to challenge the entire composition of government prosecutors under the leadership of Eduard Denisov. Lawyers suggested trying the case in a jury trial. Genrikh Padva, Lukyanov's lawyer, expressed the opinion that the judges may be interested in the case, and it will be difficult for a military judge to evaluate the testimony of his superior, Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, who is one of the prosecution witnesses. After a break, the military board rejected the requests of the defendants and their lawyers to challenge the court. Ukolov said that the Military Collegium “does not see any legal basis” for satisfying these demands. He emphasized that the Supreme Court of Russia is the authorized legal successor of the Supreme Court of the USSR. Therefore, the petition of the defendants and their lawyers to create a special interstate court or jury trial to consider the case of the State Emergency Committee was also rejected. In conclusion, Ukolov noted that

Formation of the State Emergency Committee

Preparing to create a committee

From the “Conclusion on the materials of the investigation into the role and participation of USSR KGB officials in the events of August 19-21, 1991”:

Members of the Emergency Committee

1. Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich (1937-2010) - Vice-President of the USSR, Acting President of the USSR (August 18 - 21, 1991), member of the CPSU Central Committee. - Chairman of the State Emergency Committee
2. Baklanov Oleg Dmitrievich (b. 1932) - First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
3. (1924-2007) - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
4. Pavlov Valentin Sergeevich (1937-2003) - Prime Minister of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
5. Pugo Boris Karlovich (1937-1991) - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
6. (1931-2011) - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
7. Tizyakov Alexander Ivanovich (b. 1926) - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities of the USSR.
8. Yazov Dmitry Timofeevich (b. 1924) - Minister of Defense of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.

Political positions of the State Emergency Committee

In its first appeal, the State Emergency Committee assessed the general mood in the country as very skeptical towards the new political course of dismantling the highly centralized federal structure of governing the country, the one-party political system and state regulation of the economy, and condemned the negative phenomena that the new course, according to the drafters, caused life, such as speculation and the shadow economy, proclaimed that “the development of the country cannot be built on a decline in the living standards of the population” and promised a strict restoration of order in the country and a solution to basic economic problems, without, however, mentioning specific measures.

Television announcement about the creation of the State Emergency Committee

Official Statement of the State Emergency Committee

Due to the impossibility for health reasons of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev to fulfill the duties of the President of the USSR and the transfer, in accordance with Article 127/7 of the USSR Constitution, the powers of the President of the USSR to the Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev.

In order to overcome the deep and comprehensive crisis, political, interethnic, civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the life and safety of citizens of the Soviet Union, sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and independence of our state.

2. Establish that throughout the entire territory of the USSR, the Constitution of the USSR and the Laws of the USSR have unconditional leadership.

3. To govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency, form "State Committee on the State of Emergency" in the USSR (GKChP 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, Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR;
• Pugo Boris Karlovich - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Starodubtsev Vasily Aleksandrovich - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR;
• Tizyakov Alexander Ivanovich - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities;
• Yazov Dmitry Timofeevich - Minister of Defense of the USSR Ministry of Defense of the USSR;
• Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich - Vice-President of the USSR, Acting President of the USSR.

4. Establish that the decisions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR are mandatory for strict execution by all government and administrative bodies, officials and citizens throughout the territory of the USSR.

Signature: Yanaev, Pavlov, Baklanov.

In difficult, critical times for the fate of the fatherland and our peoples, we turn to you. A mortal danger looms over our great homeland. The policy of reforms launched on the initiative of M. S. Gorbachev, conceived as a means of ensuring the dynamic development of the country and democratization of public life, for various reasons, has reached a dead end. The initial enthusiasm and hopes were replaced by unbelief, apathy and despair. The authorities at all levels have lost the trust of the population. Politics has crowded out concern for the fate of the fatherland and the citizen from public life. Evil mockery of all state institutions is being instilled. The country has essentially become ungovernable. Taking advantage of the freedoms granted, trampling on the newly emerging sprouts of democracy, extremist forces arose, setting a course for the liquidation of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the state and the seizure of power at any cost. The results of the national referendum on the unity of the fatherland have been trampled. Cynical speculation on national feelings is just a screen for satisfying ambitions. Neither the present troubles of their peoples nor their tomorrows bother political adventurers. The power crisis had a catastrophic impact on the economy. The chaotic, spontaneous slide towards the market caused an explosion of regional, departmental, group and personal egoism. The war of laws and the encouragement of centrifugal tendencies resulted in the destruction of a single national economic mechanism that had been developing for decades. The result was a sharp drop in the standard of living of the vast majority of Soviet people, and the flourishing of speculation and the shadow economy. It’s high time to tell people the truth: if you don’t take urgent and decisive measures to stabilize the economy, then, in the very near future, famine and a new round of impoverishment are inevitable, from which it is one step to mass manifestations of spontaneous discontent with devastating consequences. Only irresponsible people can hope for some help from abroad. No amount of handouts will solve our problems - salvation is in our own hands. The time has come to measure the authority of each person or organization by its real contribution to the restoration and development of the national economy. The deepening destabilization of the political and economic situation in the Soviet Union is undermining our position in the world; Here and there notes of revenge were heard. Demands are being made to revise our borders. There are even voices about the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the possibility of establishing international trusteeship over individual objects and regions of the country. This is the sad reality. The State Committee for the State of Emergency” in the USSR is fully aware of the depth of the crisis that has struck our country. He accepts responsibility for the fate of the Motherland, and is determined to take the most serious measures to quickly bring the state and society out of the crisis. We promise to hold a broad nationwide discussion of the draft new union treaty, immediately restore law and order, put an end to the bloodshed, declare a merciless war on the criminal world, and put an end to the tyranny of the plunderers of people's property. We stand for truly democratic processes, for a consistent policy of reforms leading to the economic and social prosperity of our Motherland. In a healthy society, continuous improvement in the well-being of all citizens will become the norm. We will focus on protecting the interests of the broadest segments of the population. By developing the multi-structured nature of the national economy, we will also support private entrepreneurship. Our first priority will be to solve food and housing problems. We call on all Soviet people to restore labor discipline and order as soon as possible, to raise the level of production, so that we can decisively move forward - our lives and the fate of the fatherland depend on this. We are a peace-loving country and will strictly comply with all our obligations, but no one will ever be allowed to encroach on our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We call on all true patriots, people of good will to put an end to the current troubled times, realize their duty to the Motherland and provide full support to efforts to bring the country out of the crisis.

Official Resolution No. 1 (GKChP)

On August 19, 1991, in continuation of the information program “Time”, the announcer of the central television, Vera Shebeko, read out the official First Resolution of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR:

In order to protect the vital interests of the peoples and citizens of the USSR Union, the independence and territorial integrity of the country, restore law and order, stabilize the situation, overcome a severe crisis, prevent chaos, anarchy, and fratricidal civil war. The State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) decides: 1. All authorities and management bodies of the USSR, union and autonomous republics, territories, regions, cities, districts, towns and villages must ensure strict compliance with the state of emergency regime, in accordance with the Law of the USSR on the legal regime of a state of emergency and the resolutions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR. In case of failure to ensure the implementation of this regime, the powers of the relevant authorities and management are suspended, and the implementation of their functions is entrusted to persons specially authorized by the State Emergency Committee of the USSR. 2. Immediately disband the structures of power and control, paramilitary forces operating contrary to the Constitution of the USSR. 4. Suspend the activities of political parties, public organizations and mass movements that impede the normalization of the situation. 5. Due to the fact that the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP) in the USSR temporarily takes over the functions of the USSR Security Council, the activities of the latter are suspended. 6. Citizens, institutions and organizations must immediately surrender all types of firearms, ammunition, explosives, illegally in their possession, military equipment and equipment. The USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB and the USSR Ministry of Defense must ensure strict compliance with this requirement. In case of refusal to confiscate them forcibly, with the violators subject to strict criminal and administrative liability. In the government White House, B. N. Yeltsin refuses to cooperate with the State Emergency Committee and decides not to submit to the actions of the State Emergency Committee, calling their actions unconstitutional. The leadership of the State Emergency Committee sends a tank battalion of the 1st motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd Taman division under the command of Chief of Staff Sergei Evdokimov to the building. Liquidation of the State Emergency Committee and arrest On the night of August 20, the first clash between the army and demonstrators takes place in Moscow; three demonstrators died. On the morning of August 21, the Minister of Defense of the USSR D.T. Yazov gives the order to his military leaders and commanders to withdraw all units from Moscow to places of permanent deployment and lift the blockade of the White House. At 9:00 at a meeting with I. O. President of the USSR G.I. Yanaev, it was decided to send a delegation to Foros to M.S. Gorbachev consisting of: Luktyanov, Yazov, Ivashko and Kryuchkov Those arrested were placed in the Matrosskaya Tishina prison, where they remained until 1994, when they were released under a State Duma amnesty. "Accomplices" and "sympathizers" After the failure of the August putsch, in addition to members of the State Emergency Committee, some people were prosecuted and taken into custody, who, according to the investigation, actively assisted the State Emergency Committee. Among the “accomplices” were: Ageev Geniy ​​Evgenievich - Colonel General, First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Akhromeev Sergey Fedorovich - Marshal of the Soviet Union, adviser to the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adviser to the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adviser to President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev on military affairs. Boldin Valery Ivanovich - head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee. Varennikov Valentin Ivanovich - Army General, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Generalov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich - head of security at Gorbachev’s residence in Foros Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (born 1930) - Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; his address was broadcast on TV and radio along with the main documents of the State Emergency Committee. Medvedev Vladimir Timofeevich - Major General, head of Gorbachev's security. Makashov Albert Mikhailovich - commander of the Volga-Ural Military District Shenin Oleg Semyonovich - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Prokofiev Yuri Anatolyevich - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Kalinin Nikolai Vasilievich - commander of the Moscow Military District, military commandant from the State Emergency Committee in Moscow. Nikolai Efimovich Kruchina - manager of the affairs of the CPSU Central Committee. Grushko Viktor Fedorovich - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR All of them were released under an amnesty in 1994. According to the memoirs of Yu. A. Prokofiev, in preparing the decisions of the State Emergency Committee and bringing them to government agencies Secretary of the Central Committee Yu. A. Manaenkov took part, who, however, was later not brought to justice. The leaders of the republican authorities in most cases did not enter into open confrontation with the State Emergency Committee, but sabotaged its actions. Open support for the State Emergency Committee was expressed by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus N. I. Dementey, the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine S. I. Gurenko and the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR, President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Niyazi oglu Mutalibov, and the leaders of Russia declared themselves opponents of the State Emergency Committee - B.N. Yeltsin and Kyrgyzstan - A.A. Akaev. In the Baltic countries, the leadership of the Communist Party of Lithuania (CPSU) (M. Burokevičius), the Communist Party of Latvia (A. Rubiks), and the Intermovement of Estonia (E. Kogan), which had lost power by that time, came out in support of the State Emergency Committee. After the August events The Russian leadership, which led the fight against the State Emergency Committee, ensured the political victory of the supreme bodies of Russia over the Union Center. Since the fall of 1991, the Constitution and laws of the RSFSR, the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, as well as the President of the RSFSR received full supremacy over the laws of the USSR on Russian territory. With rare exceptions, the heads of regional authorities of the RSFSR who supported the State Emergency Committee were removed from office. On December 8, 1991, the presidents of the three founding states of the USSR B.N. Yeltsin, L.M. Kravchuk and S.S. Shushkevich, despite the decision of the all-Union referendum to preserve the USSR, signed the Belovezhskaya Agreement on the termination of the activities of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev officially resigned as President of the USSR. On December 26, 1991, the USSR officially ceased to exist. In its place, a number of independent states emerged (currently - 19, of which 15 are members of the UN, 2 are partially recognized by UN member countries, and 2 are not recognized by any UN member country). As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the territory of Russia (the successor country of the USSR in terms of external assets and liabilities, and in the UN) decreased compared to the territory of the USSR by 24% (from 22.4 to 17 million km²), and the population decreased by 49% (from 290 to 148 million people) (while the territory of Russia has remained virtually unchanged compared to the territory of the RSFSR). The ruble zone and the unified Armed Forces of the USSR collapsed (in their place the CSTO was created, except for the three Baltic republics, Moldova, Ukraine and subsequently Georgia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan). Shooting and dispersal of Parliament 1993 Opinion of former participants of the State Emergency Committee Referring to the memoirs of the 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU Yuri Prokofiev. Gorbachev himself claims that only practical steps were being prepared to implement the USSR Law “On the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency,” which did not involve unconstitutional actions, and that he never gave consent to the introduction of a state of emergency. Representation in art see also Literature Resolutions No. 1 and No. 2 of the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR memoirs A. S. Chernyaev“Diaries of A. S. Chernyaev. Soviet policy 1972-1991 - a look from the inside" G. I. Yanaev“GKChP against Gorbachev” - M.: Eksmo, 2010. - 240 p. - (The Court of History), ISBN 978-5-699-43860-0 A. I. Lukyanov“August '91. Was there a conspiracy? (2010; publishers: Eksmo, Algorithm) Links Chronicle: , Why the State Emergency Committee lost (excerpt from the book by A. Baigushev)

Formation of the State Emergency Committee

Preparing to create a committee

From the “Conclusion on the materials of the investigation into the role and participation of USSR KGB officials in the events of August 19-21, 1991”:

Members of the Emergency Committee

1. Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich (1937-2010) - Vice-President of the USSR, Acting President of the USSR (August 18 - 21, 1991), member of the CPSU Central Committee. - Chairman of the State Emergency Committee
2. Baklanov Oleg Dmitrievich (b. 1932) - First Deputy Chairman of the USSR Defense Council, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
3. (1924-2007) - Chairman of the KGB of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
4. Pavlov Valentin Sergeevich (1937-2003) - Prime Minister of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
5. Pugo Boris Karlovich (1937-1991) - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
6. (1931-2011) - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.
7. Tizyakov Alexander Ivanovich (b. 1926) - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities of the USSR.
8. Yazov Dmitry Timofeevich (b. 1924) - Minister of Defense of the USSR, member of the CPSU Central Committee.

Political positions of the State Emergency Committee

In its first appeal, the State Emergency Committee assessed the general mood in the country as very skeptical towards the new political course of dismantling the highly centralized federal structure of governing the country, the one-party political system and state regulation of the economy, and condemned the negative phenomena that the new course, according to the drafters, caused life, such as speculation and the shadow economy, proclaimed that “the development of the country cannot be built on a decline in the living standards of the population” and promised a strict restoration of order in the country and a solution to basic economic problems, without, however, mentioning specific measures.

Television announcement about the creation of the State Emergency Committee

Official Statement of the State Emergency Committee

Due to the impossibility for health reasons of Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev to fulfill the duties of the President of the USSR and the transfer, in accordance with Article 127/7 of the USSR Constitution, the powers of the President of the USSR to the Vice-President of the USSR Gennady Ivanovich Yanaev.

In order to overcome the deep and comprehensive crisis, political, interethnic, civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the life and safety of citizens of the Soviet Union, sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and independence of our state.

2. Establish that throughout the entire territory of the USSR, the Constitution of the USSR and the Laws of the USSR have unconditional leadership.

3. To govern the country and effectively implement the state of emergency, form "State Committee on the State of Emergency" in the USSR (GKChP 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, Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR;
• Pugo Boris Karlovich - Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs;
• Starodubtsev Vasily Aleksandrovich - Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR;
• Tizyakov Alexander Ivanovich - President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction, Transport and Communications Facilities;
• Yazov Dmitry Timofeevich - Minister of Defense of the USSR Ministry of Defense of the USSR;
• Yanaev Gennady Ivanovich - Vice-President of the USSR, Acting President of the USSR.

4. Establish that the decisions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR are mandatory for strict execution by all government and administrative bodies, officials and citizens throughout the territory of the USSR.

Signature: Yanaev, Pavlov, Baklanov.

In difficult, critical times for the fate of the fatherland and our peoples, we turn to you. A mortal danger looms over our great homeland. The policy of reforms launched on the initiative of M. S. Gorbachev, conceived as a means of ensuring the dynamic development of the country and democratization of public life, for various reasons, has reached a dead end. The initial enthusiasm and hopes were replaced by unbelief, apathy and despair. The authorities at all levels have lost the trust of the population. Politics has crowded out concern for the fate of the fatherland and the citizen from public life. Evil mockery of all state institutions is being instilled. The country has essentially become ungovernable. Taking advantage of the freedoms granted, trampling on the newly emerging sprouts of democracy, extremist forces arose, setting a course for the liquidation of the Soviet Union, the collapse of the state and the seizure of power at any cost. The results of the national referendum on the unity of the fatherland have been trampled. Cynical speculation on national feelings is just a screen for satisfying ambitions. Neither the present troubles of their peoples nor their tomorrows bother political adventurers. The power crisis had a catastrophic impact on the economy. The chaotic, spontaneous slide towards the market caused an explosion of regional, departmental, group and personal egoism. The war of laws and the encouragement of centrifugal tendencies resulted in the destruction of a single national economic mechanism that had been developing for decades. The result was a sharp drop in the standard of living of the vast majority of Soviet people, and the flourishing of speculation and the shadow economy. It’s high time to tell people the truth: if you don’t take urgent and decisive measures to stabilize the economy, then, in the very near future, famine and a new round of impoverishment are inevitable, from which it is one step to mass manifestations of spontaneous discontent with devastating consequences. Only irresponsible people can hope for some help from abroad. No amount of handouts will solve our problems - salvation is in our own hands. The time has come to measure the authority of each person or organization by its real contribution to the restoration and development of the national economy. The deepening destabilization of the political and economic situation in the Soviet Union is undermining our position in the world; Here and there notes of revenge were heard. Demands are being made to revise our borders. There are even voices about the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the possibility of establishing international trusteeship over individual objects and regions of the country. This is the sad reality. The State Committee for the State of Emergency” in the USSR is fully aware of the depth of the crisis that has struck our country. He accepts responsibility for the fate of the Motherland, and is determined to take the most serious measures to quickly bring the state and society out of the crisis. We promise to hold a broad nationwide discussion of the draft new union treaty, immediately restore law and order, put an end to the bloodshed, declare a merciless war on the criminal world, and put an end to the tyranny of the plunderers of people's property. We stand for truly democratic processes, for a consistent policy of reforms leading to the economic and social prosperity of our Motherland. In a healthy society, continuous improvement in the well-being of all citizens will become the norm. We will focus on protecting the interests of the broadest segments of the population. By developing the multi-structured nature of the national economy, we will also support private entrepreneurship. Our first priority will be to solve food and housing problems. We call on all Soviet people to restore labor discipline and order as soon as possible, to raise the level of production, so that we can decisively move forward - our lives and the fate of the fatherland depend on this. We are a peace-loving country and will strictly comply with all our obligations, but no one will ever be allowed to encroach on our sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. We call on all true patriots, people of good will to put an end to the current troubled times, realize their duty to the Motherland and provide full support to efforts to bring the country out of the crisis.

Official Resolution No. 1 (GKChP)

On August 19, 1991, in continuation of the information program “Time”, the announcer of the central television, Vera Shebeko, read out the official First Resolution of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR:

In order to protect the vital interests of the peoples and citizens of the USSR Union, the independence and territorial integrity of the country, restore law and order, stabilize the situation, overcome a severe crisis, prevent chaos, anarchy, and fratricidal civil war. The State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) decides: 1. All authorities and management bodies of the USSR, union and autonomous republics, territories, regions, cities, districts, towns and villages must ensure strict compliance with the state of emergency regime, in accordance with the Law of the USSR on the legal regime of a state of emergency and the resolutions of the State Emergency Committee of the USSR. In case of failure to ensure the implementation of this regime, the powers of the relevant authorities and management are suspended, and the implementation of their functions is entrusted to persons specially authorized by the State Emergency Committee of the USSR. 2. Immediately disband the structures of power and control, paramilitary forces operating contrary to the Constitution of the USSR. 4. Suspend the activities of political parties, public organizations and mass movements that impede the normalization of the situation. 5. Due to the fact that the State Committee for a State of Emergency (GKChP) in the USSR temporarily takes over the functions of the USSR Security Council, the activities of the latter are suspended. 6. Citizens, institutions and organizations must immediately hand over all types of firearms, ammunition, explosives, military equipment and equipment that they illegally possess. The USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, the KGB and the USSR Ministry of Defense must ensure strict compliance with this requirement. In case of refusal to confiscate them forcibly, with the violators subject to strict criminal and administrative liability. In the government White House, B. N. Yeltsin refuses to cooperate with the State Emergency Committee and decides not to submit to the actions of the State Emergency Committee, calling their actions unconstitutional. The leadership of the State Emergency Committee sends a tank battalion of the 1st motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd Taman division under the command of Chief of Staff Sergei Evdokimov to the building. Liquidation of the State Emergency Committee and arrest On the night of August 20, the first clash between the army and demonstrators takes place in Moscow; three demonstrators died. On the morning of August 21, the Minister of Defense of the USSR D.T. Yazov gives the order to his military leaders and commanders to withdraw all units from Moscow to places of permanent deployment and lift the blockade of the White House. At 9:00 at a meeting with I. O. President of the USSR G.I. Yanaev, it was decided to send a delegation to Foros to M.S. Gorbachev consisting of: Luktyanov, Yazov, Ivashko and Kryuchkov Those arrested were placed in the Matrosskaya Tishina prison, where they remained until 1994, when they were released under a State Duma amnesty. "Accomplices" and "sympathizers" After the failure of the August putsch, in addition to members of the State Emergency Committee, some people were prosecuted and taken into custody, who, according to the investigation, actively assisted the State Emergency Committee. Among the “accomplices” were: Ageev Geniy ​​Evgenievich - Colonel General, First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR. Akhromeev Sergey Fedorovich - Marshal of the Soviet Union, adviser to the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adviser to the chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, adviser to President of the USSR M. S. Gorbachev on military affairs. Boldin Valery Ivanovich - head of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee. Varennikov Valentin Ivanovich - Army General, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR. Generalov Vyacheslav Vladimirovich - head of security at Gorbachev’s residence in Foros Anatoly Ivanovich Lukyanov (born 1930) - Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR; his address was broadcast on TV and radio along with the main documents of the State Emergency Committee. Medvedev Vladimir Timofeevich - Major General, head of Gorbachev's security. Makashov Albert Mikhailovich - commander of the Volga-Ural Military District Shenin Oleg Semyonovich - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee. Prokofiev Yuri Anatolyevich - member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU. Ryzhkov Nikolai Ivanovich - Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Kalinin Nikolai Vasilievich - commander of the Moscow Military District, military commandant from the State Emergency Committee in Moscow. Nikolai Efimovich Kruchina - manager of the affairs of the CPSU Central Committee. Grushko Viktor Fedorovich - First Deputy Chairman of the KGB of the USSR All of them were released under an amnesty in 1994. According to the memoirs of Yu. A. Prokofiev, the Secretary of the Central Committee Yu. A. Manaenkov took part in preparing the decisions of the State Emergency Committee and communicating them to government bodies, who, however, was not later held accountable. The leaders of the republican authorities in most cases did not enter into open confrontation with the State Emergency Committee, but sabotaged its actions. Open support for the State Emergency Committee was expressed by the Chairman of the Supreme Council of Belarus N. I. Dementey, the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine S. I. Gurenko and the 1st Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Azerbaijan SSR, President of Azerbaijan Ayaz Niyazi oglu Mutalibov, and the leaders of Russia declared themselves opponents of the State Emergency Committee - B.N. Yeltsin and Kyrgyzstan - A.A. Akaev. In the Baltic countries, the leadership of the Communist Party of Lithuania (CPSU) (M. Burokevičius), the Communist Party of Latvia (A. Rubiks), and the Intermovement of Estonia (E. Kogan), which had lost power by that time, came out in support of the State Emergency Committee. After the August events The Russian leadership, which led the fight against the State Emergency Committee, ensured the political victory of the supreme bodies of Russia over the Union Center. Since the fall of 1991, the Constitution and laws of the RSFSR, the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, as well as the President of the RSFSR received full supremacy over the laws of the USSR on Russian territory. With rare exceptions, the heads of regional authorities of the RSFSR who supported the State Emergency Committee were removed from office. On December 8, 1991, the presidents of the three founding states of the USSR B.N. Yeltsin, L.M. Kravchuk and S.S. Shushkevich, despite the decision of the all-Union referendum to preserve the USSR, signed the Belovezhskaya Agreement on the termination of the activities of the USSR and the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev officially resigned as President of the USSR. On December 26, 1991, the USSR officially ceased to exist. In its place, a number of independent states emerged (currently - 19, of which 15 are members of the UN, 2 are partially recognized by UN member countries, and 2 are not recognized by any UN member country). As a result of the collapse of the USSR, the territory of Russia (the successor country of the USSR in terms of external assets and liabilities, and in the UN) decreased compared to the territory of the USSR by 24% (from 22.4 to 17 million km²), and the population decreased by 49% (from 290 to 148 million people) (while the territory of Russia has remained virtually unchanged compared to the territory of the RSFSR). The ruble zone and the unified Armed Forces of the USSR collapsed (in their place the CSTO was created, except for the three Baltic republics, Moldova, Ukraine and subsequently Georgia, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan). Shooting and dispersal of Parliament 1993 Opinion of former participants of the State Emergency Committee Referring to the memoirs of the 1st Secretary of the Moscow City Committee of the CPSU Yuri Prokofiev. Gorbachev himself claims that only practical steps were being prepared to implement the USSR Law “On the Legal Regime of a State of Emergency,” which did not involve unconstitutional actions, and that he never gave consent to the introduction of a state of emergency. Representation in art see also Literature Resolutions No. 1 and No. 2 of the State Committee for the State of Emergency in the USSR memoirs A. S. Chernyaev“Diaries of A. S. Chernyaev. Soviet policy 1972-1991 - a look from the inside" G. I. Yanaev“GKChP against Gorbachev” - M.: Eksmo, 2010. - 240 p. - (The Court of History), ISBN 978-5-699-43860-0 A. I. Lukyanov“August '91. Was there a conspiracy? (2010; publishers: Eksmo, Algorithm) Links Chronicle: , Why the State Emergency Committee lost (excerpt from the book by A. Baigushev)