The short period of power of the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) began 30 years ago. One of the few attempts to preserve what was created and accumulated by Russia during the USSR, to keep the nation on the brink of disaster. It failed because of the weakness and indecision of the members of the State Emergency Committee and the active actions of the fifth column, supported by the international community interested in weakening and fragmentation of Russia.
Attempt to save the Union
By August 1991, the actions of the fifth column, personified by Mikhail Gorbachev and his team ("perestroika architect" A. Yakovlev, E. Shevardnadze, G. Aliev, etc.) and B. N. Yeltsin, led the Soviet state and the people to collapse and disaster. Gorbachev handed over literally everything he could to the West, set up an internal crisis and took a wait and see attitude. Yeltsin, with the great energy inherent in him then, continued to rock the boat. He gained great popularity by criticizing the privileges of the party elite.
At the same time, the overwhelming majority of the people, the army, and the communist party were in favor of preserving the Union. That is, there was a powerful potential for the renovation and modernization of the USSR (in essence, Great Russia). But for this it was necessary to suppress the rats, a small group of the Soviet elite, including hidden nationalist separatists, traitors who decided that it was better to surrender Soviet civilization, capitulate to the West and get the opportunity to privatize the people's wealth, enter the world elite. And also to rein in the insignificant, but very "loud" groups supporting them - liberal-democratic organizations, liberal intelligentsia, nationalists, decomposed youth in the capital, etc. And also not to pay attention to the howling and hysteria of the "world community", when the USSR / Russia would begin to carry out cleansing, health-improving procedures.
In this situation, the conservative part of the Soviet elite oriented towards preserving the power, which included Vice-President of the USSR G. Yanayev, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Council O. Baklanov, Chairman of the KGB V. Kryuchkov, Prime Minister V. Pavlov, Minister of Defense D. Yazov, Interior Minister B. Pugo, Chairman of the Peasant Union V. Starodubtsev, President of the Association of State Enterprises and Industrial, Construction and Communications Facilities A. Tizyakov, took power into their own hands.
On the night of August 18-19, the State Committee for the State of Emergency was established. On August 19, a statement was made about the removal from power in connection with the health of President M. S. Gorbachev, his duties were transferred to Vice President Yanaev. In order to overcome the crisis, civil confrontation and anarchy, preserve the sovereignty, territorial integrity and freedom of our state, as well as as a result of a nationwide referendum on the preservation of the Union, a state of emergency was introduced.
During this period, the country was ruled by the State Emergency Committee.
Vladimir Kryuchkov noted:
“We opposed the signing of a treaty destroying the Union. I feel like I was right. I regret that no measures were taken to strictly isolate the President of the USSR, no questions were raised before the Supreme Soviet about the abdication of the head of state from his post."
Collapse
Troops were led to Moscow by order of Yazov. Additional forces were deployed in Leningrad, Kiev, Riga, Tallinn, Tbilisi, etc. The Alpha special unit blocked Yeltsin's dacha. But the order for his arrest was not received.
Yeltsin freely left for the building of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (White House) and called the actions of the State Emergency Committee an anti-constitutional coup. The fifth column activates its actions. Crowds of people take to the streets of the capital and large cities. Without decisive actions, orders from the command, the disintegration of the security forces begins.
In turn, the GKChP did not appeal to the people with a reasonable and simple explanation of the situation and an appeal to the party, army and people to rise up to fight for the preservation of the Union.
GKChP members, generally elderly people, products of the era of "stagnation", showed fear and weakness. They lacked will and energy. They did not understand that in order to save the state and the people, it was necessary to act quickly in order to save the lives of millions, the fate of entire generations of Soviet (Russian) people. Either they understood, but did not dare. In dealing with the press, they showed uncertainty, the media retained a fairly high freedom.
At this time, President Yeltsin demonstrates confidence, climbs on the tank, declares the members of the State Emergency Committee as putschists and calls on people to resist. The White House has its own headquarters, Yeltsin is forming his own center of power. Some of the security forces are going over to his side.
On August 20, the GKChP did not dare to carry out an operation to suppress the White House by force, although the troops, led by the Deputy Minister of Defense of the USSR, Colonel General V. Achalov were in full readiness. In fact, this was the last opportunity to turn the tide in their favor. True, at the very beginning it was possible to simply arrest the leaders and activists of the fifth column.
After that, the power structures were demoralized, and the troops began to refuse to carry out the orders of the State Emergency Committee.
On the morning of August 21, the troops were withdrawn from Moscow; in the evening, the dissolution of the GKChP was announced. Its members were arrested.
Unfortunately, the weak will of the leaders of the USSR and the State Emergency Committee did not allow the "cleansing" and rehabilitation of the Soviet elite. They only wanted to at least postpone the signing of the Union Treaty, which meant the legal registration of the collapse of the Union. It was necessary to act in a completely different way: tough and swift.
As a result, this led to a tragedy, one of the greatest geopolitical catastrophes in human history.
What could be done?
As a result, we see a desperate, poorly organized attempt by part of the leadership of the USSR to save the country from disaster.
Unfortunately, among them there were no decisive and strong-willed people like A. Suvorov, Napoleon Bonaparte or Stalin to realize their noble task.
We observed a similar situation in February-March 1917 in Petrograd. When in the capital there were not a few generals loyal to the tsar, strong-willed and energetic, who could suppress the rebellion in the bud and decapitate the fifth column among the Russian elite.
Otherwise, we would see a different picture.
After all, the leaders of the State Emergency Committee had all the opportunities and tools. They controlled the KGB, the army, special forces, they were supported by the Cabinet of Ministers of the USSR and most of the members of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU.
There was an opportunity to appeal to the people with an appeal and raise millions of members of the Communist Party, the people. Yeltsin should have been immediately arrested as an "American agent." All prominent opponents of the GKChP should have been immediately detained, frank rats should be arrested. Arrest Gorbachev, Shevardnadze, Yakovlev and other “architects of perestroika”. Thus, the liberal-democratic opposition would be deprived of leaders and activists. Resistance would become spontaneous, disorganized.
The hysteria of the world community should be ignored. All treacherous agreements concluded by Gorbachev's team would be subject to cancellation and revision. Moscow should have shown the West and NATO that we will go all the way to avoid a national catastrophe. That any attempt to oppose us or impose economic sanctions would receive a tough response. For example, gas pipelines to Western Europe would be cut off. Or nuclear technology would be transferred to Iran.
It was necessary to introduce a curfew in major cities. Raise the KGB troops. All prominent nationalists, separatists, Western Democrats, "perestroika", Western agents of influence would be arrested and sent to prison. At the same time, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB would carry out a large-scale "purge" of the state from shadow dealers, speculators, nascent organized crime (including ethnic), associated officials and members of the party apparatus.
The actions of the security forces had to be as tough as possible and supported by the people. Cities would be cleared of anti-social and criminal elements.
At the same time, a purge of the CPSU would be carried out, in which hidden nationalists (Caucasian, Ukrainian, Baltic, etc.), careerists-money-grubbing, supporters of "unity" with Europe (the West) nestled.
In the national economy, the shadow economy, mercantile-speculative cooperatives would be subject to destruction. In the future, after studying the Chinese and Japanese experience, as well as the experience of the Stalinist empire, some economic reforms would be possible.
In particular, it would be necessary to restore production, research artels, cooperatives that existed under Stalin. The service sector should be left at the mercy of private entrepreneurs, private small and medium enterprises should be allowed, which are not speculative, parasitic in nature. In agriculture, it would be allowed to organize farms, while preserving the advanced state and collective farms (the basis of the country's food security).
Thanks to the renewal, the Soviet Union would remain as a superpower, a competitor to the West. There would be a balance on the planet, that is, there would be no current global crisis. The Russian world and the Russian super-ethnos would have avoided catastrophe (Ukraine alone has already lost more than 10 million people).
Destroyer rat victory
The GKChP members really wanted to save the Union and the Soviet people from a terrible catastrophe.
But desire alone is not enough. What was needed was the will and energy of the leaders, transmitted to their subordinates. A definite plan-program, readiness for action. If you're going to save a power, you need to take control of it. Fortunately, all the opportunities and resources for this were available. Arrest, perhaps, opponents, the most ardent rats. To occupy all the most important centers.
The members of the State Emergency Committee did not do this.
Moreover, they were confused. It is believed that they were waiting for support for their actions by Gorbachev, who in December 1990 instructed the KGB to prepare a draft decree on the introduction of a state of emergency in the USSR.
However, Gorbachev, who knew about the plans to introduce the State Emergency Committee, again showed "flexibility", did not take responsibility and went into the shadows.
The members of the Emergency Committee, representatives of the Brezhnev "stagnant" era, did not have the iron will and grip of the professional revolutionaries of the 1917 model, the strength and determination of those who stormed Vienna and Berlin. Yazov fought, but was already an elderly, tired man. All GKChP leaders were born in the 20s and 30s. And the late USSR was going through a personnel crisis. Compared to the current 2000s - these people were eagles, but against the background of the managers of the previous Soviet generations - they were already very much inferior.
The managers of the late USSR were weaned from the initiative and could not make a decision on their own. They sat and waited.
Meanwhile, the rats were acting. Break not build.
As a result, they could not become heroes who saved the country and the people, but they were not traitors, “rebel coup”. On the contrary, they wanted to preserve the Union, but lost to the destroyer rats.
As a result, representatives of the fifth column used the GKChP as a provocation, a detonator to destroy the USSR.
The stupid, sluggish and completely toothless "putsch" disorganized, paralyzed and discredited all patriotic forces that could have come out in defense of the Union. Including the army and the KGB, which were completely demoralized.
The entire conservative, patriotic public was denigrated, exposed as enemies of freedom and democracy. At that time, liberal-democratic, nationalist, pro-Western forces and movements began to completely dominate the public consciousness.
