Translated Excerpts Emergency Session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR August 21 1991 R K Mikailov – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Makhachkalinski nationalterritorial electoral district Soviet Socialist Republic of Dagestan “You have all probably heard the kind of news that’s been going around…more accurately disinformation There is a lack of objective news and facts In essence no one knows what’s going on Our session is the only opportunity to inform people about what’s actually happening ” A N Greshnevikov – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Uglichski territorial electoral district Yaroslavskaya Oblast “Two strangers approached me I requested that they show their documents and they didn’t react They took me from my hotel led me to the train station and demanded that I buy a ticket and leave town I was only saved by my legs I would like to know if laws regarding the status of people’s deputies will be observed or will every deputy have to protect himself ” R I Khasbulatov – First Deputy Chair of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR -“The emergency session of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR has been called amid truly tragic days for our fatherland when a self-proclaimed junta known as the State Committee of the State of Emergency removed the country’s lawful president from power and implemented a counter-reformist coup d’état putting our country on the brink of civil war Along with Gorbachev’s removal from power the strategic objectives of the plotters also included ousting the head of the Russian state as well as the capture and internment of the Russian president progressive members of the Supreme Soviet and government This is obvious and beyond all doubt These goals were addressed sequentially strictly shamelessly and with massive scope Soldiers were stationed in Moscow more than 500 tanks nearly 10 distinct divisions and separate regiments - including the Special Forces KGB riot police and assault teams The primary objective was the capture of the building housing the Supreme Soviet and government of Russia which had been surrounded with a thick ring of armored vehicles and military units These units were prepared at a moment’s notice to capture the last stronghold of freedom which after having been taken would allow the coup’s perpetrators to achieve country-wide victory and unleash a bloody terror against the people who choose the path to freedom and a rejuvenation of the Motherland In these trying hours we could resist these soldiers only with the will and resolve of the people Lines of heroic Muscovites appeared They stood in the path of the plotters and their Special Forces and they defended the honor and dignity of Russia’s first president the Supreme Soviet and the government of the Russian Federation We admire their courage…We admire their courage and sincerely thank them ” -“…I would like to add that leaders of Western countries - including President Bush and the Prime Minister of Great Britain as well as Eastern European leaders – including President Gavel of Bulgaria had a very significant effect on the coup’s perpetrators This morning the President of Russia called Francois Mitterrand They said with absolute resolve and clarity that the only guarantee for the free development of the USSR at this stage is seen in the position of the Russian Federation its president and the Supreme Soviet In this particular case the conversation obviously pertained to several decisions made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Russian government And thanks to this understanding of the broader political trend on the part of progressive forces our progressives first and foremost for the time being we have successfully avoided massive bloodshed…although any blood the blood of one person one casualty is an entire world and we mourn the tragic loss of life that is a general result of this coup But we have nevertheless succeeded in stopping an intensification of this process at a sufficiently high level ” -“…So why do you think this event occurred on the eve of the signing of the Union Treaty Why did this signing frighten the counter-reform plotters so much Doesn’t it seem that there are some extremely serious and deep-seated reasons Remember how we were reproached Boris Nikolayevich got it especially bad because as they said they don’t want to support a reformed union they don’t want to re-work and sign the Union Treaty There were so many critics and unjustifiably so We then proved through our actions that we are in favor of both a united Soviet Union and a united Russia And then when we actually began to participate practically taking charge of the Union Treaty’s development finalization and signing…all of a sudden the same critics that had criticized us precisely over these issues were silent for the first time Then they began to criticize us saying ‘Aha So this new Union is beneficial to Russia and Russia’s leadership’ and they started searching for some sort of hidden explanation that could clarify why it’s beneficial For some reason they never used common sense – it’s beneficial because there will be a united Soviet Union and a united Russia The logic is simple common sense and nothing else No trickery or catch in this matter whatsoever and there never was But it really was necessary to catch as they say the fish in filthy water to find some sort of scheme some sort of advantage with which to torpedo the Union Treaty Of course I’m talking about the self-sufficiency of republics about the very serious decentralization of a rigidly centralized administrative system I’m talking of course about traditional party-state structures losing almost all of their power So interests institutional interests in this case have started to catalyze and absorb to a significant extent the same reactionary forces that found the Union Treaty to be problematic By all means it wasn’t the only reason Another reason is that serious and profound changes especially those that have taken place in Russia didn’t suit reactionary forces Naturally these changes that occurred here in the Russian Federation and the laws that were implemented by the Supreme Soviet as you know had such tremendous significance for the Union’s Supreme Soviet and for Union republics and also for the Supreme Soviets of other republics Naturally that sort of development just didn’t suit these reactionary circles The third reason obviously was the fact that after long deliberations hesitation indecisiveness and concessions to the right and to the extreme-right – but nothing to the left Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev more or less chose the path to reform under the influence of domestic public opinion and the opinion of the international community The reactionaries didn’t care for such a change of heart by a national leader And so as a result of this intermingling of various causes and problems…the reactionary forces responsible for the coup d'état were drawn together The regime has an enduring character it didn’t disappear this regime is active and we should seriously confront and reckon with them This is indisputable It therefore behooves us to make a very complex and serious decision about this issue today I think that the entire block of issues must specifically concern the observations I have made from the standpoint of concrete actions ” Pg 2-4 Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin – President of the Russian Federation -“Respected peoples deputies our country Russia is experiencing dramatic and perhaps tragic moments in its history This has already happened many times in the history of our country and unfortunately even in this period when it would seem democratization has begun to catch on and gain momentum right-wing forces have attempted to implement a coup several times and finally they did As you remember the first attempt was at the beginning of the year but at that time Minister of Foreign Affairs Shevardnadze scared them with an announcement about dictatorship that conformed to the opinion of Russia other countries and the entire world You remember the Supreme Soviet session where basically the same individuals – Pavlov Kryuchkov Yazov – tried to demand special authority and a strangulation of the rights of the country’s president along with his removal from power and so forth That was the second attempt which didn’t work and which wasn’t supported by the Supreme Soviet Finally the third attempt succeeded When the country’s president was on vacation and it isn’t a vacation anymore isolated in the Crimea at his summer home in Foros this unconstitutional coup was executed This coup is undoubtedly unconstitutional insofar as no announcements whatsoever were issued by the president – not in writing not on television not on the radio…there weren’t any medical examinations either on our side or from the World Health Organization verifying that the president is unfit to rule On the contrary our information which we received from the president’s personal doctor – with whom he met on exactly August 19th after which they were kept from contacting one another asserts that the president is healthy with the sole exception of minor back pain – which can’t be incapacitating This coup is brazen and unprecedented in the context of a truly developing democratic society and what’s more all of the surnames that you see present they are all right-wing absolutely all are one and the same and all are well-known… The plotters couldn’t even find two or three pseudo-democrats to somehow make their list of members a bit prettier Although attempts were made by pseudodemocrats democrats they were rejected by the plotters and their comrades refused to take part in this unconstitutional plot Thus it began First in the coup’s initial hours literally on the morning of the 19th an appeal was made to the citizens of Russia an appeal signed by Comrades Silayev Khasbulatov and me Although at present all media outlets – especially Russian media – have been blocked we didn’t have the opportunity to immediately broadcast this appeal to everyone but by means of this building’s powerful radio station through phone calls and so forth we transmitted our appeal and the following orders of the Russian President to the majority of regions In these days the following decrees were given about the appeal made by this committee being unconstitutional – Decree number 59 about the chairman of the State Committee of Russia for Matters of Defense about the organizational transfer of all executive power of the USSR KGB Ministry of Internal Affairs Ministry of Defense of the USSR on the territory of the RSFSR to a position subordinate to the President of the RSFSR Insofar as the supreme commander of the armed forces and Minister of Defense who entered into this Committee is absent and a criminal we had to assume command of USSR troops stationed on the territory of the Russian Federation Furthermore there was a declaration about the formation of a special group headed by the first deputy chairman of the Soviet of Ministers of the Russian Federation and that such a group would begin to work in the event that a capture and disposal of the leadership of the Russian Federation were executed tonight and maybe such a danger still can’t be totally discounted In such a situation the group would take on the executive power of Russia Next a decree was issued about the actions of Yanaev Pavlov and others The decree about direction of the armed forces that is to say control of the armed forces in such a situation would be assumed by the President of the Russian Federation In fact many military units and divisions – Tamanskaya Kantemirovskaya a group of paratroopers – switched over to the side of the Russian Federation and carried out the orders and directions of the President of Russia Applause We are thankful to this division and for its leadership for General Lebed although of course he is in definite danger But I think that also by decree of the President of Russia in addition to the fact that they are now located within the jurisdiction of Russia I took it upon myself to protect them from actions on the part of USSR law enforcement organs Applause Decrees were signed about the functioning of enterprises in the Russian Federation and about the maintenance of the economic sovereignty of the RSFSR I would like to talk a bit more about this in greater detail Taking into account that the signing of the Union Treaty was set to take place on the 20th and that there was an understanding with the President of the USSR that on the 21st or 22nd he would sign a decree concerning a transfer of enterprises and property located on the territory of the Russian Federation over to Russian Federation jurisdiction we had a prepared decree so that these enterprises would be transferred to Russian Federation jurisdiction Also on account of the fact that it was the fault of an unconstitutional group with no connection to the country’s president that this didn’t happen on the 20th I signed a decree about the maintenance of RSFSR economic sovereignty and correspondingly about all property on Russian territory transferring over to Russian jurisdiction Applause Due to the fact that a curfew has been implemented in Moscow Leningrad and so on I have changed up the command districts In the districts of Moscow and Leningrad new individuals have been appointed who will obey corresponding Soviets and the mayors of Moscow and Leningrad Also General-Colonel Konstantin Ivanovich Kobetz was appointed Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Applause Appeals to the citizens of the country as I already said or more accurately to the citizens of Russia to Muscovites to serving members of the armed forces were signed And also an appeal was sent to US President Bush Vice President Aleksandr Vladimirovich Rutskoy dispatched an appeal to his Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia Aleksei the Second His Holiness expressed his full support for the position of the Russian leadership in these hard times and said that worshippers will support this position Applause As Ruslan Imranovich said an ultimate demand was worked out with ten points Three officials led a discussion with Lukyanov It is impossible to believe that Lukyanov didn’t participate or that he didn’t know that this group was prepared to commit a coup Applause Special instructions were made for the defense of the House of the Soviets It was justified since a seizure of the House of the Soviets was being prepared Moreover this seizure had been worked out in great detail by minute and hour And only our very decisive actions and in very large part the actions of Muscovites who just like us were here around the clock Only we spent two days inside this building while Muscovites spent two days outside in the rain Perhaps precisely these actions played a decisive role when tanks armored vehicles and special forces troops which had been sent to take the House of Soviets and intern the leadership of the Russian Federation were stopped Applause Muscovites should be thanked for such decisive actions Applause Besides this the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was sent to the United Nations in order to inform Mr Perez de Cuellar and also the United Nations in general about all events connected with these anti-constitutional actions taking place in our country and also about the actions of the leadership of the Russian Federation During this time I was called by President Bush President Mitterand English Prime-Minister Major Czechoslovakian President Havel Bulgarian President Zhelev Ms Thatcher and also leaders of USSR republics It should be said frankly that Bush Mitterand and others announced that they strongly condemn this unconstitutional coup and actions taken by the group that announced the state of emergency and also that they do not recognize any of the group’s decisions They support the actions of the Russian leadership and accordingly will take measures so that the international community supports such actions and expresses this position It should be said that I turned to them so that they could demand from their side first – connections to the President of the USSR The connection was disrupted or more accurately blocked in Foros and the Crimea by none other than soldiers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR the KGB and also by sailors - that is to say three circles Today the air-strip is also practically blocked off and for the time being there is no way to bring the President here Attempts to break through these cordons have failed twice My telephone conversations with Yanaev and Kryuchkov show that they are essentially trying to justify their actions – as if all of this were constitutional and Gorbachev is incapable of fulfilling his duties This of course doesn’t match up with reality Yesterday evening after our demands and even late at night at about 3 o’clock Kryuchkov finally cancelled plans implemented to blockade and take by force the House of Soviets In accordance with my proposal he agreed to fly to Foros together and pick up President Gorbachev But I need your permission for this Noise in the hall From the hall No Chairman I say the same thing to the President Noise in the hall Just a minute let’s talk this out Questions later Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin At your insistence Kryuchkov must appear here in the session of the Supreme Soviet by 13 00 so that you may inquire as to the nature of the flight I think that otherwise we won’t clarify an objective situation By Kryuchkov’s definite guarantees… Noise in the hall cries I’ll say it again you have to decide There perhaps all actions are going to be dealt with now The leadership of Russia – the president leadership of the Supreme Soviet and the Soviet of Ministers – is energetically acting not panicking not despondent and hopes that the days of this coup are through The coup must be suspended The Committee must be dissolved and all eight of its members must stand trial Long wild applause ” I V Vinogradova – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Zavodskoy territorial electoral district Novosibirskaya oblast “Today the fate of our homeland is being decided and every citizen must make their own choice Totalitarianism will not survive ” A N Manokhin – Sovetski territorial electoral district Nobosibirskaya oblast “Once again they will talk about yesterday’s events and claim that people Muscovites attacked the soldiers first You know this is the accepted propaganda As such I come to you and an array of deputies Yesterday was certainly an attack by a column of soldiers on the outer defensive barricades of the “White house” I can say that deputies Manokhin Granberg Kim and Evtushenko approached an armored vehicle requesting that the soldiers stop as their columns descended on the barricades The deputies told them that it was the defense of the “White house” the defense of parliament and the president of Russia You can trust me I’m your comrade the armored vehicle’s driver told me as I stood in front of the vehicle’s hatch “I will run you over ” Afterwards they moved and once more stopped immediately above our heads…people from the barricades had already surrounded them… the soldiers opened fire We got out of their way let’s say we dodged and they just attacked and sent the barricades flying…” S F Gorban – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Zavodskoy national-territorial electoral district Mariskaya Soviet Socialist Republic -“The criminal junta which risked a coup at the very moment when the entire country was clearly moving towards democratization committed an offense for which there is no forgiveness ” -“Esteemed comrades As you know blood was spilled last night It seems to me that this is no longer a political issue but rather a moral one We are indebted to those that died ” V I Zhigulin – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Chukotski autonomous territorial electoral district Chukotskaya Special Administrative Region -“Having passed the colonnade of soldiers four other people and I went into the street in hopes of approaching the soldiers to request that they stop attacking the people that were standing there These vehicles drove at top speed we just happened to get out of the way… seeing that there were no extremists but people’s deputies they didn’t even slow down they sped past We caught up with them again en route to the House of Soviets near the American Embassy These armored personnel carriers…their crews opened fire and not with blanks but with live rounds They practically shot right above our heads The people there at the barricades had already stopped the soldiers People were conducting themselves peacefully there weren’t even any insults…they posed no threat to these soldiers The protesters requested that the soldiers not run anyone over The shooting continued for several minutes and after this the armored personnel carriers advanced on the barricades…Soldiers and officers in the front of the armored personnel carrier were extremely aggressive An officer removed his magazine showed the bullets and said that they were live rounds…we will follow our orders ” -“We are willing to testify all five of us that on the side of the people of Moscow people that stood at the barricades there was absolute self-control Not a single profane word there were no drunkards no extremist chants…adults stood there solid people not fussy youth or anybody else The order had been given and the colonnade of armored personnel vehicles knowingly moved in order to provoke bloodshed and then lay blame for that bloodshed on our Supreme Soviet on us deputies ” N V Kluyev – Satkinski territorial electoral district Chelyabinskaya oblast “Well such movements which put soldiers against a peaceful population should probably be categorically nipped in the bud even by force Soldiers supporting the coup are criminals natural criminals following the orders of state criminals ” V N Lyubimov – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Ryazanski nationalterritorial electoral district Ryazanskaya oblast “We condemned Afghanistan we condemned the movement of troops into Czechoslovakia and all the same we are unleashing forces at home in our Russia in our country ” “I have been a communist since 1969 and must say that those members of the Central Committee of the CPSU that took this step deserve every possible condemnation from the Soviet people and not just from a single party ” V V Bakatin – Adviser to the President of the USSR “…all of the complexity of this struggle with lawlessness with unconstitutional movements is in not escalating the danger of bloodshed and not allowing civil war to be unleashed ” G K Shakhnazarov – People’s Deputy and aide to the President of the USSR -“In essence the state of emergency’s method of implementation only proved if it proved anything at all the powerlessness of power Once again the idea has been proven one which M S Gorbachev tirelessly echoes that in our society all questions must be settled by political means in the framework of the constitution and the laws of the country ” -“Entry into a state of emergency is the same as an airplane’s entry into a nosedive and it’s just as difficult getting out of either one ” B C Mikhailov – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Djangarski nationalterritorial electoral district Kalimskaya Soviet Socialist Republic “In history everything is repeated only at a higher loop on the spiral of development But for some reason in our state this repetition has set development back several decades and several loops lower And this scenario or more accurately this game executed by the State Committee of the State of Emergency is reminiscent of scenarios of the Khrushchev era ” L B Gurevich – Murmanskaya national-territorial electoral district Murmanskaya oblast “When I was among the rank and file with the Tamanskaya division and the Kantemirovskaya division practically no one even knew the information that had been broadcast since morning by the media on central television and radio The rank and file didn’t know that a coup was taking place or that the president of the USSR was being intentionally kept in isolation That is to say the soldiers were intentionally kept in the dark ” A A Alekseyev – Kronstadtski territorial electoral district city of Leningrad -“…all of us together respected people’s deputies along with the Presidium and the Supreme Soviet are unfortunately unprepared for such extraordinary situations when dictatorship descends on the country It should be frankly said that we were stupefied especially on the first day It should be said that the government’s representative organs that have now more or less been fixed up were almost entirely absent on the first day And if we draw upon the strategic and tactical views of our adversaries or in simpler terms of these state criminals under more intense pressure they still could have – unfortunately – realized their diabolical plans Therefore I would like us – first and foremost the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Supreme Soviet along with the president and presidential apparatuses – to draw a suitable conclusion from this experience It is necessary that we stamp out in an organized fashion our opponents and enemies ” -“If we are to discuss the main issues following last night then it can be said that we suffered great losses We didn’t succeed in avoiding bloodshed – three people were killed But if we are to discuss our triumphs then such an example can be given Not everyone obviously knows that with the help of the people’s deputies of Russia and with the help of our Muscovites we took “prisoner” let’s say nine Soviet Army armored personnel carriers fully stocked with ammunition and personnel ” R I Khasbulatov – First Deputy Chair of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR “Let’s think seriously for a moment does it seem like we have to be prepared to deal with conspiracies Noise in the hall Should we Comrades it’s an unusual event think first and then speak WE don’t have to be prepared to deal with conspiracies noise in the hall In a normal democratic society conspiracies are what exactly No we won’t prepare ourselves to deal with conspiracies It’s another issue altogether – strengthening our power Instead of saying that we aren’t ready to deal with conspiracies you would have been better off proposing that we nationalize half of the Kremlin laughter in the hall and from behind the jagged walls of the Kremlin it will be much easier to protect Russian power ” O V Basilashvili – Viborgski territorial electoral district city of Leningrad “Violence was used first and foremost against Russia against Russians Everything that’s occurring is part of an attempt to return to the rights-less order of the Stalin era The coup - which cannot be called anything else - that took place was a shameful act in the history of our country Under these conditions we consider ourselves indebted by honor and conscience to support the government of Russia and her president – the highest powers of the Russian state ” Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Unannounced “…Everything that happened was made possible by just one thing…The army found itself in a paradoxical situation On the one hand their hearts are with us although they are obligated to follow orders and obey the coup plotters As such we should place on the day’s agenda a change in statutes and regulations of all military branches so that servicemen won’t be forced to obey orders that lead to such unconstitutional coups ” Pg 37 -“…This situation…we’re winning I’m sure of it The political situation is stabilizing but what’s next Let’s think about the future I surmise that if we fail to quickly carry out reforms radical reforms then we will lose in the long run We will end up in the same situation as the government of the USSR ” R I Khasbulatov – First Deputy Chair of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR -“In these days the eleventh floor of this “White House” turned into a truly integrated brigade of journalists – foreign journalists from the foreign media And at times there were hours and minutes when we were cut off only by means of a receiver could we listen to radio “Freedom” “BBC” “CNN” and our citizens could learn something openly honestly and objectively Therefore in the name of this session of the Supreme Soviet in the name of every deputy in attendance here I would like to express deep gratitude to our foreign journalists ” -“Indeed when dictatorship arises the toughest smartest people…profound people already start to think about strategic objectives about long-term developments and not simply about short-term interests ” V A Rebrikov – Kracnostroitelny territorial-electoral district city of Moscow “…I consider Moscow as being first of all the capital of Russia In second place it is the capital of the USSR ” V A Boyko – Member of the Supreme Soviet RSFSR Seversky territorial electoral district Krasnodarsky Krai “I would like to address Muscovites During these days they set for us an example of bravery and showed that indeed the processes of democratization occurring in this country are irreversible ” V I Gerasimov – Vyborgsky territorial electoral district Leningradskaya Oblast “Moscow isn’t all of Russia A debt should be owed noting the courage of those that today and every day have made great efforts Not just Russian deputies not just deputies of the USSR but deputies of local Soviets that while not having full information already made a decision on August 19th to support the legally-elected president of Russia with their actions It was precisely there that we worked during those two days And if we hadn’t worked there nobody knows how this situation would have turned out ” Translated by Matt McGorrin for The National Security Archive