"Personal Experiences of the Collapse of the Soviet Union (Volume 1 and 2)"
Little Jack by F. Matlock
Translated by Zhang Minqian et al
Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore
The collapse of the Soviet Union is one of the most significant historical events of the 20th century, as the largest superpower in terms of land area, the Soviet Union and the United States have been fighting for half a century, why did it unexpectedly and peacefully disintegrate in 1991 under the silence of guns?
The author has served in the US foreign service for 35 years, has long been responsible for the formulation of policy toward the Soviet Union, and has been engaged in academic research in Columbia, Princeton and other universities for many years after leaving the ambassador, with both insider and academic research internal and external perspectives, with the advantages of general witnesses and researchers. The author served as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union during the critical period of the collapse of the Soviet Union, participated in almost every U.S. and Soviet summit in the 20 years before the collapse of the Soviet Union, traveled to various republics, and finally painted a broad picture from Moscow to Washington, from Vilnius to Almaty, from Moscow to Washington, from Vilnius to Almaty, in 700,000 words, restoring the long process of the decline and fall of the great powers, and depicting a panoramic image of the twilight of the empire.
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On Sunday, August 18, 1991, before 5 p.m., Gorbachev was told that a group of people had come to see him and was now in the presidential holiday room on the beach of Crimea. Gorbachev had never asked anyone out, so he was surprised that the gang could come in without his permission. He had heard that they had been able to come in because "Plekhanov was with them." Yuri Plekhanov was in charge of the KGB's Ninth Bureau and was responsible for protecting the personal safety of the President and other dignitaries of the government. Roughly speaking, in the United States, his role is equivalent to that of the head of the United States secret agency.
Gorbachev (file image)
To find out what was going on, Gorbachev picked up the phone and asked. No sound. He hurriedly dialed the other phones on the desk with a look of fear—each dedicated phone was connected to a different device, but none of them worked. He gathered the rest of the family and told them they were in confinement and that someone might be planning to take their lives.
Only then did Gorbachev see these uninvited guests, who broke into his upstairs study without notice. In addition to Plekhanov, chief of security, the group included the Chief of Staff, Valery Polkin, two Secretaries of the Central Committee, Oleg Bakranov and Oleg Schönin, and the Commander of the Soviet Army, Valentin Valennikov, one of the well-known loud-voiced and belligerent diehards in soviet military circles. When Polkin was selected for the task at the bathroom meeting, Yazov joked that Gorbachev would shout when he saw him; indeed, Polkin had been one of Gorbachev's most trusted subordinates.
At first, the group tried to persuade Gorbachev to approve of the state of emergency and temporarily hand over power to Yanayev, but when refused, Valennikov angrily demanded his resignation. Gorbachev later recalled that he had tried to reason with them, predicting that they would not succeed and that it might lead to a brutal civil war, but when he found out that the wood was in a boat, he verbally ordered them to retreat.
When the members of the "delegation" flew back to Moscow, their accomplices began to converge in the Kremlin. According to the evidence later gathered by the prosecutor, Pavlov came late, and he was already a little drunk on Sunday evening. Yanayev broke in a little later, and he was even more drunk. Then there was Lukyanov, and when he came in, Kryuchkov gave way to the top seat where he was sitting and sat down next to the table.
Although Kryuchkov made a gesture of obedience, the meeting was still presided over by him. First, he reported to the participants that Gorbachev did not heed the advice of "the comrades" who had gone to Crimea, and then he added that the president was no longer able to perform his duties because he was ill.
"If he is really sick, there should be a doctor's diagnosis or announced by himself." Lukyanov said with an anxious face.
"Later we will get the diagnosis," replied Kryuchkov, "and when the comrades come back, they will tell us what has happened." ”
Lukyanov then suggested that he did not want to join the Emergency Committee. As a representative of the legislature, he did not think it was appropriate for him to do so. The others began to argue with him until 10:15 when Bakranov, Schönin, Polkin, and Plekhanov walked in (Valennikov had gone to Kiev to try to get the Ukrainian authorities to join). Several of them were drunk. Bakranov and Schönin described their meeting with Gorbachev and how Gorbachev categorically refused to set up an emergency committee or declare a state of emergency.
The focus then shifted to Yanayev, who had not spoken much. He has yet to sign the document to exercise acting presidency powers, and it looks like he is still hesitating. Kryuchkov is said to have told him, "Can't you see it?" If we don't save the harvest, there will be famine, and in a few months, people will take to the streets and we will face a civil war. ”
Yanayev was not persuaded, he was well aware that Gorbachev was not ill, because on the same day (before Gorbachev's contact was severed), he also spoke to Gorbachev by phone about his planned return to Moscow the next day. He smoked one cigarette after another, reading the document that was ready for him to sign.
"I won't sign it." He announced suddenly. The room suddenly became silent. Yanayev went on to say: "I believe the president will come back after his leave, the illness will be better, he will recover." And I felt that I had neither moral rights nor the need to perform his duties. ”
The prosecutor who published the testimony later commented that in retrospect it is difficult to say whether Yanayev was really suspicious at the time, or whether he deliberately prevaricated so as not to be accused of his pursuit of power later. In any case, he collapsed shortly afterwards, and the other conspirators reassured him that they would all take responsibility for each other and that the president would return to the situation once his condition improved.
After 11 o'clock, Yanayev picked up his pen with a trembling hand and signed a crooked name on the document announcing the acting presidency. Yazov, Pugo, Kryuchkov, Pavlov and Bakranov immediately signed Order No. 1 of the State Emergency Committee declaring a 6-month state of emergency.
Foreign Minister Alexander Besmeltneh, who was on holiday in Belarus, was called to the meeting. When he came in, the documents were just signed. He was wearing jeans and a twill jacket.
Upon hearing what was going on, Besmeltnech grabbed his pen and crossed his name off the list of the emergency committee, protesting that it was ridiculous to write his name on it. If he did, no foreign leader would have dealt with him again.
After signing all the documents, Kryuchkov said he was also prepared to detain some democratic leaders and announced a list of more than a dozen people who had been prepared in advance. "You should catch a thousand." Pavlov suggested loudly in a mocking tone.
Shortly after midnight, some of the planners went home. Yazov later testified that when he walked out of the Kremlin's Spasky Gate and faced Red Square, he looked at the clock on the tower, which was already 12:16 p.m.
The Council of Ministers will take over
TASS first announced its takeover about five hours later, before 5:30 a.m. Moscow time on August 19. This was followed by various declarations, the main ones of which included: Yanayev would perform the presidency, the State Emergency Commission was proclaimed, and the authorities at all levels of the country would be subordinated to it, otherwise they would be suspended. Moreover, Order No. 1 of the Emergency Committee called for the cessation of activities by political parties and public bodies, the prohibition of strikes and demonstrations in the streets, the restoration of the instruments of public opinion and the imposition of martial law whenever and wherever necessary. Later in the day, there was another order to close the circulation of the most independent newspapers.
Some organizations and political leaders quickly agreed to the establishment of the Council. These organizations and individuals include the highly misleadingly named Liberal Democrats led by Vladimir Zhirinovsky; the communist leaders of the Baltic states, whose communist parties have remained loyal to Moscow despite the split (and who have participated in the activities of the National Salvation Committee earlier this year); and Marshal Sergei Akhromeyev, who has hurried back to Moscow from his resort in Crimea to contribute to the emergency committee.
Throughout the day, military equipment was transported to Moscow from all directions. But apart from clearing the kremlin walls of the demonstrators on Red Square and racecourse, the army enforcing the curfew was merely standing guard. Many political leaders of the pro-democracy movement were placed under surveillance, and two of them were arrested, but there were no mass arrests.
But the Emergency Committee and its supporters were not the only force that was active that day.
Yeltsin took action
On August 18, Yeltsin consulted with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Almaty and boarded a plane at 8 p.m. to leave, driving back to his villa on the outskirts of Moscow after arriving in Moscow.
Kryuchkov did not immediately arrest Yeltsin, but ordered the KGB to monitor him. He seems determined to wait for Yeltsin to violate the order issued by the Emergency Committee so that he can be justifiably arrested.
The next morning, Yeltsin was woken up by his daughter Tania to read a television announcement. He said he immediately realized that there had been a coup d'état, and that while members of the Russian government were arriving at his villa, Yeltsin began to speak to the heads of other republics and tried to get in touch with Gorbachev, but Crimean officials did not connect him. It took a lot of effort for him to finally speak with Kravchuk, Nazarbayev, and the Leader of Belarus, Nikolai Jementei, but to his surprise he was reluctant to take a stand before receiving further information.
Yeltsin (file image)
Russian government officials rushed to the villa one after another and collectively drafted a "Letter to the Russian People", which they first wrote down, and then gave each person a few copies for distribution. After drafting the appeal, they decided to hurry back to the White House, the Russian government facing the Moscow River. They realized that the villa was under KGB surveillance and that they could be arrested at any moment, but they did not know exactly what orders the security forces had received. At one or two o'clock in the evening, the KGB squad stationed at Yeltsin's villa was apparently only ordered to monitor the house. So they watched Yeltsin and other Russian officials leave the villa and rush to the city without taking any action.
At about 10 o'clock, they arrived at the White House, published the appeal they had just written, and then took a series of major actions. Yeltsin received the invited diplomats from various countries in the Soviet Union. Just after noon, he learned that tanks from Taman had arrived at the White House and were friendly (they had been ordered to be stationed at the White House). He walked out to talk to the soldiers and boarded one of the tanks to create the best photography opportunity for journalists in 10 years.
Much of the Soviet news media had closed to The Russian leadership, but it turned out that while it was a bit inconvenient, there were other channels. Members of the public have received detailed facts from the independent news agency "Interfax" and foreign broadcasts. Even Mikhail Gorbachev, who was trapped in Crimea, had heard all the news from the BBC, The Voice of America and The Voice of Freedom.
The Russian government called for a general strike, but at first no one seemed to care too much. But more and more people are starting to appear in the White House. There were only a few thousand people at noon, and by the evening it had grown to tens of thousands. At noon, news of a strike of coal miners in the Kuznetsk Basin reached the Kremlin. Pavlov telegraphed Yazov to have the army arrest them, but the latter took no action. He later told investigators he thought Pavlov must have been drunk. In fact, pavlov returned to the villa after presiding over a cabinet meeting on the afternoon of August 19, after which he was never voiced again in the coup.
Although the three Baltic States and the newly elected Government of Moldova immediately condemned the coup, several republican leaders, such as Karimov of Uzbekistan and Jemetei of Belarus, endorsed the actions of the Emergency Committee. Others initially looked hesitant, but by the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 20, both Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev and Ukraine's Kravchuk had declared the conspiracy illegal, but ukraine's Communist Party agreed to the emergency committee's decree.
The coup d'état collapsed
Yeltsin and his colleagues spent the most painful two nights inside the Russian White House, not knowing if they could get through it. Now, however, it appears that the fate of the failed coup was determined fourteen or five hours after the first manifesto was issued. During this time, they failed to imprison Yeltsin immediately, Yeltsin was able to openly resist, many armies were reluctant to use force against their own people, the ranks of demonstrators in the big cities grew, and finally, the coup leaders held a press conference in the evening.
Yanayev, Pugo, Bakranov, Staro Dubtsev and Zijakov all attended the press conference. Kryuchkov and Yazov's absence was clearly intended to emphasize the non-military character of the Council. But in any case, it was a disaster. Because all coup leaders are afraid. Yanayev's hands were shaking. He seemed apologetic, promising over and over again that their rule was temporary, hoping that Gorbachev would return soon. When asked what gorbachev was suffering from, he flashed his words, saying only that "he is resting and receiving treatment now.".
As the press conference progressed, the questions became increasingly disrespectful and even somewhat disrespectful. Tatyana Malkina of The Independent asked them if they realized they had actually staged a coup. The Corriere della Sera reporter asked them if they had consulted General Pinochet in doing so. Finally, the silhouette is reminiscent of Aleksander Bowen of Hitchcock asking in a cordial tone, Staro Dubtsev, whom he has known since school: "How did you end up in such a situation?" ”
Russians can forgive the evil of their leaders, but they can never tolerate their weakness and cowardice. When members of the Emergency Committee appear before the people as objects of contempt, their defeat is inevitable. People don't follow them, and they don't have the will or the means to force people to do that. Most people seem to have felt this on the morning of Tuesday, August 20, though many still fear that they will make a desperate bet on a military attack on the White House, which could result in the murder of thousands of defenders.
On the same day, the State of Emergency Committee itself began to disintegrate: Pavlov left due to "illness", and Yanayev disappeared shortly after. The Soviet Constitutional Supervisory Commission also raised serious questions about the legality of the State of Emergency Commission. Lukyanov reported Tuesday morning that through Monday's consultations with the deputies of the Supreme Soviet, he was convinced that he could not get two-thirds of the vote to legitimize the committee. Their promised doctor's report on Gorbachev's condition was also not honoured.
But in any case, there is fear that they may attack the White House on the night of August 20 and 21. Reports of the August 19 attack on the White House have proven false, but the army still surrounds the building and could easily take it at any time, though many people may have been killed as so many people gathered around it.
People's concerns are not without reason. After a day of hesitation, Kryuchkov finally ordered the arrest of Yeltsin and his colleagues. Yazov tried his best to persuade army commanders to attack the White House. Some, such as The Commander of the Air Force, General Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, and the Commander of the Airborne Corps, General Pavel Grachev, flatly refused, and Shaposhnikov even threatened to shell the Kremlin if anyone attacked the White House. Everyone else gave up halfway. Major General Alexander Lebed transferred troops from Tula, south of Moscow, but he immediately told Yeltsin that he would not attack the White House, and some of his soldiers even joined Yeltsin's ranks at one point to defend the White House.
The well-known and intimidating KGB elite special forces Alpha Group, which controlled the Vilnius television network in January, was also not prepared to fire on its compatriots. When it was learned that two of the three deputy commanders opposed the use of force to arrest Yeltsin, they refused to carry out the order. They are unhappy with the treatment they have received since the January action, particularly the lack of assistance from the family of one of their fallen soldiers. In addition, it is one thing to fight against the Lithuanian "rebels", but it is another thing to attack a democratically elected Russian government. Even the KGB elite did not want to engage in a civil war.
It is worth noting that the masses supporting the Russian government include not only many young people, but also a large number of middle-aged and elderly people. There are as many women as men. When an elderly librarian left for the White House on the evening of Aug. 20, Billington said it was especially important for their generation to join "because we've been silent for a long time." The feeling of leaving the words "forgive us" and "never again" on Andrei Sakharov's coffin in December 1989 seems to have revived.
The feared attack on the White House did not occur, but several bodies remained during the night. Three young men, Dmitry Komar, Ilya Klitzewski and Vladimir Usov, encountered tank soldiers in the street garden in front of the old building of the United States Embassy and were killed. While the incident was not the result of a military attack, it made the demonstrators aware of the dangers they faced, and it also made military commanders aware that as long as heavy military equipment was present and the operators were a large group of untrained soldiers, more bloody sacrifices could occur, even if the soldiers did not act on the demonstrators as ordered.
At 3 a.m. on Wednesday, less than 51 hours before the end of the conspirators' decisive Kremlin meeting, Kryuchkov and Yazov had seen no hope of success. Yazov ordered the army to withdraw from Moscow and return to the garrison, while Kryuchkov telegraphed Yeltsin that he would not attack the White House again.
A few hours later, the members of the Emergency Committee had room for action (drunken Pavlov and Yanayev were arrested later) and flew to Crimea, apparently to make amends to Gorbachev. The latter refused to see them and returned to Moscow late at night, accompanied by Soviet government officials and their retinue, such as Bakakin and Primakov, who had always been loyal to him.
Members of the State of Emergency Committee and their active accomplices were arrested, targeting those coupists who were members of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, which first voted to revoke their parliamentary immunity before arresting them. Several people committed suicide. When officials went to arrest Interior Minister Pugo, they found that he and his wife had shot themselves. Two days later, Sergei Akhromeyev wrote a report to Gorbachev detailing his activities during the Emergency Committee and leaving a farewell letter to his family before hanging himself in the Kremlin office. He also left 50 rubles to pay for his meals in the canteen with great personality.
Author:Little Jack F. Matlock
Edit: Jin Jiuchao