SOVIET SHOWDOWN
August 19, 1991

Communist hardliners storm Moscow in an attempt to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev.

 

Online Special: 10 Years after the Coup. Online Special: The Putin Election and Life after Yelstin Browse the NewsHour's coverage of Russia and Europe   BBC's Report on the Russian Coup Russian Embassy in the U.S.	ROBERT MacNEIL: The stunning overthrow of Mikhail Gorbachev by Communist hardliners dominates the news this Monday. Gorbachev was reported under house arrest as Soviet tanks took up positions throughout Moscow. Russian leader Boris Yeltsin called for a nationwide strike to protest the ouster. President Bush said the U.S. would not recognize the new regime and called for Gorbachev's return to power. We'll have the details in a moment. Judy Woodruff's in Washington tonight. Judy. JUDY WOODRUFF: We spend the entire NewsHour tonight on the developments in the Soviet Union. We'll have reports from Moscow and reaction around the world. Then four Soviet analysts, including two former KGB agents, will join us to assess what's happened. And we'll get the U.S. view of it all from three American policy experts.   ROBERT MacNEIL: Mikhail Gorbachev was removed from power today in a pre-dawn coup by Communist hardliners backed by troops and tanks. The man who turned the Soviet Union from cold war towards free institutions was pushed out by a committee of eight led by his own vice president, Gennady Yanayev. Yanayev said Gorbachev was ill, but there were reports he was under house arrest at his vacation home in the Crimea. The new leaders immediately declared a state of emergency, banned demonstrations, and asserted control over the media. But Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation, declared the coup illegal and called for a general strike in defiance. In return, the new regime warned of the danger of armed conflict. We have a report from Moscow by Independent Television News Correspondent Robert Moore.
	Report from Moscow
	MR. MOORE: There were scenes of desperation in Moscow this afternoon, scenes of anger, frustration. The Red Army tanks had rolled into the heart of the city and not even heroic gestures could stop them. Workers and shoppers quickly surrounded the security forces -- pleading with them, appealing for the sake of the Russian motherland for them to go home. Some even tried grappling with the tank crews. But it was an act of futility, an act of people bewildered, not violent. The tanks had come not to the Kremlin, but to the seat of the Russian parliament a mile away. There was a reason for this, for inside the building was one man who has the popular appeal that might yet reverse this right wing coup de ta. From the Baltics to the Soviet Far East, life is now paralyzed. There are growing fears that a massive purge against the reformers may soon begin. No one knows whether they have time to regroup and what will happen if they do. A senior general gave the protesters some hope this afternoon, raising the specter that the army might refuse to disburse the crowds. "Don't assume that everyone in uniform will obey orders," He said. "The army will never fight against its own people. But tonight the tension is still rising with an announcement that all but nine newspapers will be banned, that Moscow is under a state of emergency. Soviet TV gave the news, reading a statement that was cataclysmic in tone. "We're addressing you at a critical hour," the announcer said. "There is mortal danger for our motherland. The country has become ungovernable." The timing was no coincidence. Tomorrow the Kremlin was due to sign an historic union treaty that would have redistributed much of Gorbachev's power to the individual republics. It was too much for the hardliners to bear. The man who has taken over is Vice President Gennady Yanayev, whose reputation as a hard-liner is matched only by his image as a gray man who would serve loyally. But that was Gorbachev's error, for many of the men he promoted have now turned round and destroyed his frail program. Dimitri Yasov, the defense minister, the KGB boss, Vladimir Krichkov, even his own prime minister, Valentin Pavlov, all have deserted Gorbachev when he needed them most.
	The Yeltsin factor
	ROBERT MacNEIL: Early in the day, Russian President Republic -- Republic President Boris Yeltsin called on the Soviet people to challenge the coup leaders. The onetime Gorbachev rival made the appeal on top of a tank near the Russian parliament building. Later he told a crowd of about 5,000 people the reactionaries who staged the coup would not succeed. The crowd chanted, "Bring them to justice." A column of 10 tanks reportedly loyal to Yeltsin took up positions near the Russian parliament and barricades around the building were reinforced. Yeltsin also ordered the responsibilities of the KGB and Soviet defense forces in the Russian Republic be turned over to forces loyal to him. It was not clear how he intended to enforce that decree. Also today Soviet naval and land forces moved to take control of the three breakaway Baltic republics. Government officials said they were threatened with arrest if they resisted. Judy. JUDY WOODRUFF: President Bush issued a statement tonight condemning what he called "an unconstitutional resort to force." He said, "This misguided and illegitimate effort bypasses both Soviet law and the will of the Soviet people." He called for Gorbachev to be restored to power and said the U.S. will not recognize the new regime. The President interrupted his vacation to deal with the crisis. He returned to the White House this afternoon for meetings with top advisers, including the man he appointed to be ambassador to the Soviet Union, Bob Strauss. Strauss will be sworn into that job tomorrow morning. Before leaving Kennebunkport, Maine, this morning, Mr. Bush spoke to reporters. PRES. BUSH: It seems clearer all the time that contrary to official statements out of Moscow, that this move was extra- constitutional, outside of the constitutional provisions for governmental change. Clearly, it's a disturbing development. There's no question about that. And it could have serious consequences for the Soviet society and in Soviet relations with other countries, including the United States. JUDY WOODRUFF: The President said it was in the U.S. interest to go ahead with the recently signed Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, but he said the U.S. and other countries will suspend economic aid to the Soviet Union because of the coup. National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft traveled with mr. Bush on the trip from Maine to Washington. Aboard Air Force One reporters asked Scowcroft if the U.S. was considering other options to show its disapproval, including military ones. BRENT SCOWCROFT, National Security Adviser: I think you've got to remember this is an internal development in the Soviet Union and it is not something that we are directly engaged in, other than as we react either, you know, good government, bad government, and so on, but it's not up to the United States. The Soviet Union is going to have to work it out for itself. JUDY WOODRUFF: Both Sec. of State James Baker and Defense Sec. Dick Cheney are cutting short their vacations to return to Washington late tonight. They are not expected to meet with President Bush until tomorrow. The Soviet ambassador to the United States went to the State Department at mid-day. He reiterated to Deputy Sec. of State Lawrence Eagleburger the new government's pledge to continue reforms and good relations with the West. There was swift and stunned reaction around the world to the Soviet news. UN Sec. General Javier Perez DeCuellar said he hoped the coup would not lead to violence or derail democracy in Eastern Europe. We get more reaction in this report narrated by Louise Bates of Worldwide Television News.
	International reaction
	MS. BATES: At the Soviet embassy in Bonn security was increased for fear of protest after the overthrow of the popular Soviet President, but there was no real trouble, just a small and peaceful gesture which illustrated the feelings many Germans have toward Gorbachev. The real protesting was left to the world leaders sharing sympathy for the deposed President. Many saw German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as the closest Western leader to Gorbachev. He cut short his summer holiday to warn the new Soviet leadership it could lose aid if it halts the process of reform. He issued a five point list of demands, one of which stated that Gorbachev should not be harmed. Britain joined the international voice of condemnation. British Prime Minister John Major had been early consulting with other leaders. JOHN MAJOR, Prime Minister, Britain: 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 to the Soviet Union. They have not been used. MS. BATES: His predecessor, who broke the ice with Gorbachev, wants a freeze on Western defense cuts. MARGARET THATCHER, Former Prime Minister, Britain: Those cuts which were going to be implemented should not be implemented now. We must pause to see what happens. MS. BATES: Eastern Europeans like Czechoslav President Vaclav Havel pledged that there was no turning back from their own freedom, despite the problems in Moscow. President Havel said the process of radical political and economic reform could not be reversed, but East European nations are still tied to the Soviet economy. All of Czechoslovakia's fuel, for example, comes from the Soviet Union. Like many Western leaders, French President Francois Mitterrand voiced disapproval of the coup after lengthy talks. He has a warm relationship with Gorbachev. The two men signed a wide ranging Franco-Soviet friendship treaty. Meanwhile, in Brussels, there was an emergency session of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A meeting of foreign ministers of member states has been called for later in the week. JUDY WOODRUFF: The government of Iraq was one of the few to welcome today's dramatic change in the Soviet Union. A spokesman said under Gorbachev the Soviet Union followed a policy that negatively affected the international situation and had negative consequences in third world countries, especially in Iraq. The spokesman expressed hope that the new regime would redress what he called "the international imbalance." ROBERT MacNEIL: World financial markets were thrown into turmoil by the news from the Soviet Union. The dollar shot up against foreign currencies and gold surged more than $2 an ounce. Stocks fell sharply around the world. The London Exchange closed down more than 4 percent. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Average fell nearly 6 percent, its third worst day ever. On the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Industrial Average plummeted more than a hundred points in the first hour of trading. It later recovered some of that loss, closing down nearly 70 points on the day.

REGIONS TOPICS RECENT PROGRAMS ABOUT US FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS / FEEDS:

Support the kind of journalism done by the NewsHour...Become a member of your local PBS station.
PBS Online Privacy Policy Copyright ©1996- MacNeil/Lehrer Productions. All Rights Reserved.