Victoria Bonnell: Russia at the Barricades

5:50 A.M. The leaderships of several republics of the USSR are preparing an ultimatum to the Emergency Committee. The Russian Supreme Soviet will consider it at 11:00 A.M. The central demand: the coup must be ended today.

Early morning. Yanaev calls Burbulis and explains: “I only wanted to improve the country economically, not knowing what consequences this would have.”

6:07 A.M. The Russian Information Agency reports that, thanks to the intervention by People’s Deputies Gleb Yakunin, Vladimir Kriuchkov [not the KGB Chairman], Sergei Yushenkov, and others, the six APCs trapped in the underpass and blocked by an irate crowd of protesters were able to leave in peace. Part of the retreating Kantemir Division, they were mistakenly thought to be on their way to attack the White House.

8:00 A.M. The defense staff of the Russian parliament reports that the danger of an attack has not passed and calls upon the defenders to remain.

A meeting of the executive collegium of the USSR Ministry of Defense is convened.

9:00 A.M. Defense Minister Dmitrii Yazov signs the order for the troops to begin returning to their permanent bases immediately.

9:25 A.M. Defense Minister Yazov resigns.

10:18 A.M. Moscow Echo goes off the air, again, on the order of a unit of paratroopers. The unit was sent to the studio on the orders of the Moscow Commandant. The explanation: an unknown radio station calling itself Moscow Echo was broadcasting from 1:19 A.M. to 3:47 A.M., sharply exaggerating the number of victims and spreading other misinformation.

10:43 A.M. The Moscow City and Regional Soviets call on people to come to the defense of the White House in the evening and to report the movements of military units in the area by telephone.

11:00 A.M. The emergency session of Russia’s Supreme Soviet begins, as planned, with a single item on the agenda, “On the Political Situation in RSFSR Obtaining as a Result of a Coup d’Etat.” The session is televised live on the USSR TV channel.

Ruslan Khasbulatov opens the session of Russia’s Supreme Soviet with praise for those who opposed the coup and defended the Russian leadership. He says the response to the events by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Moldova, and the republics in the Caucasus was somewhat late in coming. He thanks the leaders of countries in the West and Eastern Europe for their strong support against the coup attempt.

The armored vehicles that have been posted outside the Novosti Information Agency for two days are being withdrawn.

11:09 A.M. Presidential Decree No. 65 “On Insuring the Functioning of Enterprises and Organizations in the Russian Republic” is circulated. The decree is dated August 20.

11:56 A.M. The Moscow city government declares the curfew introduced the previous day to be illegal and demands the immediate withdrawal of troops beyond the city limits. Soon after, the Commander of the Moscow Region Military District, Colonel General Nikolai Kalinin, makes the following statement: “Respected Muscovites! The past twenty-four hours have demonstrated the unsuitability of continuing the curfew in the capital city. Taking into account the sociopolitical situation in Moscow, I have decided to discontinue the curfew beginning August 21.”

11:00–12:00 Members of the Emergency Committee arrive at the Ministry of Defense to convince Yazov to rescind his order to withdraw the troops from Moscow. Yazov refuses and suggests that they all go to see Gorbachev in the Crimea.

12:00 noon. Yeltsin’s Press Secretary, Pavel Voshchanov, reports that an agreement has been reached with Kriuchkov that the Russian Republic leadership will go to Foros to meet with Gorbachev.

Deputy General Secretary of the CPSU Ivashko tries to contact Yanaev to learn the whereabouts of the CPSU General Secretary Gorbachev.

12:30 P.M. Russian Defense Minister Kobets has confirmed to a reporter that Kriuchkov’s order to attack the White House does indeed exist.

12:55 P.M. Yeltsin announces at the emergency session of the Russian Supreme Soviet that KGB chief Kriuchkov should be arriving there at one o’clock. He again calls the coup unconstitutional and refers to two previous attempts at a coup from the right. He requests that Western leaders attempt to contact Gorbachev who is still being held in the Crimea.

1:20 P.M. In his speech to the emergency session of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, Khasbulatov outlines the reasons for the coup, the chief among them, the desire of the “reactionary forces to torpedo the Union Treaty.” He expresses indignation about the coverage of events provided by the newspapers Pravda and Sovetskaia Rossiia and Soviet TV. He recommends the immediate transfer of these media organs to the authority of the RSFSR government.

1:31 P.M. The Russian Supreme Soviet authorizes Russian Prime Minister Silaev and Russian Vice President Rutskoi to accompany KGB chief Kriuchkov and medical experts to reach Gorbachev and confirm that he is both alive and in good health.

The session takes a recess during which time it is learned that Kriuchkov who, it is suspected, gave the orders to storm the White House, will not be appearing.

1:53 P.M. Yeltsin has announced that the members of the Emergency Committee are headed toward Vnukovo Airport in Moscow. He recommends the authorization of their detention at the airport.

2:00 P.M. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbaev resigns from the CPSU Central Committee Politburo, stating as his reason the fact that the Central Committee Secretariat supported the coup by attempting to force regional Party organizations to collaborate with the Emergency Committee.

2:12 P.M. Ruslan Khasbulatov reports that two officials of the KGB came to the White House and requested that the live TV broadcast of the Russian Supreme Soviet session be terminated. The broadcast continues uninterrupted.

2:18 P.M. The plane carrying several members of the Emergency Committee (Kriuchkov, Baklanov, Tiziakov and Yazov), along with Lukianov, Ivashko and the commander of the presidential guard, Plekhanov, takes off for the Crimea from the Vnukovo-2 Airport before a unit of Russia’s MVD forces arrives there to arrest them.

2:20 P.M. Officials of the Moscow city government and the militaiy conclude negotiations on the removal of troops from the city.

2:30 P.M. Radio Russia resumes broadcasting from its regular studios.

2:55 P.M. Commander of the Moscow Military District Colonel General Nikolai Kalinin announces that earlier in the morning the Defense Ministry Collegium met, in the absence of Dmitrii Yazov, and decided to rescind the curfew in Moscow and to withdraw the troops from the capital and return them to their permanent bases.

3:12 P.M. Sources at the Scientific-Industrial Union report that Arkadii Volskii spoke with President Gorbachev by phone today and that the President was in good health. [Gorbachev’s communications lines were not restored until after 4:15 P.M.]

3:15 P.M. According to the Russian Information Agency, the Chairman of Ukraine’s Supreme Soviet, Leonid Kravchuk, informed Lukianov in a telephone conversation that if the state of emergency were to be introduced in Ukraine, mass protests and disturbances would be likely and that he, Kravchuk, would not try to dissuade people from taking part in them.

4:00 P.M. The evening edition of Izvestiia goes on sale with a banner headline, “Reaction Has Failed.”

4:08 P.M. The presidential plane carrying members of the Emergency Committee, Lukianov, Ivashko, and others lands at the Belbek Military Airport in the Crimea. Two government limousines whisk the passengers off to Gorbachev’s dacha in Foros. As soon as they arrive, Gorbachev’s personal guard puts them under arrest. Gorbachev refuses to see them until his communications are restored; after they are restored, he refuses to see them until the arrival of the RSFSR government delegation.