The Soviet Coup: Day One, August 19th 1991 

It’s somewhat ironic the coup leaders used the pretense of Gorbachev’s “poor health” to legitimize their actions when Gorbachev is still alive as of 3/3/2022

It's hard to believe this happened 30 years ago. Great piece of history.

The last time Yeltsin was sober.

....and finally, Yeltsin died in 2007, and Gorbachev is still alive in 2018. 😂😂😂

"Yeltsin is our only hope" i wonder if she tought the same, once her son was drafted into the army to fight in chechnya.

Gorbachev is still alive in 2022, and still gives interviews. But the gang of 8 that tried to overthrow him are all deceased.

"Yeltsin is our only hope"- meanwhile Yeltsin becomes the worst thing that ever happened to Russia.

Must have occurred early in the day as Yeltsin isn’t even buzzed yet.

As I recall, the soldiers had no clue why they were ordered to Moscow and milled about the city in confusion. The coup quickly collapsed and the Soviet Union with it.

“Due to his state of health” he will outlive Putin.

I was on a business trip for a few days when this happened. It seemed surreal and took a year for it to sink in to my head...that Communism had toppled in Russia.

In 1988 our Professor of Western Civilization told us, in case we didn't notice, these are historic times for the Soviet Union and the world.

In retrospect I recall that some of us expected changes in the Soviet Union, after the 1989 collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, but no one foresaw the coup and the rapid collapse of USSR in December 1991. The coup had weakened Gorbachev more than it was apparent at the time.

Imagine just driving to work and seeing a bunch military tanks drive alongside you

8:08 This man gets it. Maybe our current “leaders” should listen to him.

I was on the Norwegian Soviet border when this was coming down. A lot of Norwegian troops on the road as we travelled to Kirkenes. Tension were high within NATO

"...those who have the normal, honest hearts of Russian citizens will never allow the army to fight its own people."

Ah yes his poor health he’s literally still alive in 2022 😂😂

I love that this happened in August. Cause not even Russia would invade Russia in winter.

What is really tragic about this was that the USSR had already moved to being a multi-party liberal democracy and was about to sign an internal treaty that enshrined a new union, that respected the democratic sovereignty of each constituent republic, acknowledging the departure of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia. The new Union of Soviet *Sovereign* Republics would've been like the remaining 9 republics' version of the EU and NATO combined. Instead, the coup hastened a collapse which led to great poverty and the current war in Ukraine today.

Traitors are more dangerous than the most powerful enemy.

The one moment Yeltsin was sober.

2:35 the man standing on the tank on the far right is Viktor Zolotov. Current Director of the National Guard of Russia (Rosgvardiya) and a member of the Security Council of Russia.

"The Economy cannot be developt with tanks", well said!

Watching during 2023 coup. Anyone else?

The actual irony is that in the long run, Glasnost and the rise of Yeltsin was what allowed the original oligarchs to come into being, which is what led to Russia's economic decline and Putin's actions today.

Once again, YT Algo knows things we don't, suddenly this pops up in everyone's recommended to prepare us for events yet to occur this week--

*”IT’S JUST A PRANK, COMRADE!”*

Electing such a drunk was the worst mistake

I wish they hadn't cut the part where Yeltsin demanded the safe return of the Gorbachevs. That was so inspiring.

Google decided today was a good day to revive this video.

Рекомендации ютаба радуют, как и всегда

"The economy cannot be developed by tanks." so true words. I wish Putin had also learnt this.

You: Why are you recommending this now? Google: *Give it a few days*

This and the first Gulf War are among my earliest memories...

I read that the government held a referendum a few months before the coup asking people if they wanted the union to survive, but not necessarily as a communist country, rather, it would be a republic. Around 3/4 of the people said yes. If the coup hadn’t happened, the union might not have collapsed and Russia would be much larger.

And it looks like it's happening again. June 23rd, 2023

"The economy cannot be developed with tanks." I was in highschool when this aired.

Fun fact, all the way to the right of Yeltsin is Zolotov, who is now the head of the Russian national guard

Oh, Algorithm, what have you brought us today? A message for the future?

What an important archive. Thanks 4 shearing

"Перемен Требовали наши сердца Ну а теперь Поедим мы дружно говна"

I remember being up all night watching this in Seattle.

Prigozhin didn’t even make it to the Kremlin :(

Ready for the sequel!

The fact is that most nations are based on ethnicity. USSR was based on the ideology of socialism. Once they took it out, there was no point to it’s existence. It’s that simple. And yes, I was born in USSR. And it’s people identified by their own nationalities. USSR was multinational state, not a nation.

1991: Gorbachev has poor health (and he still is alive 30 years later)

3:13 that man in a black suit is now the head of repression service - "rosgvardia" (national guard). How things change.

The coup failed for one reason.The failure to take out yeltsin.Yes other factors played their part,but if Yeltsin had been arrested,all the other factors would not have happened. Any opposition in order to achieve final victory,must have a leader.Someone who can harness and organize and express people's complaints etc. Yeltsin was that person. In many ways in that time,the only one. Had the coups leaders had him,the coup would have have no real organized opposition,and as per Soviet history,the coup would have succeeded. Yeltsin,was brilliant in that he said at that time,he was only fighting to bring back the Soviet president and the Soviet constitutional order,thereby gaining allies from Gorbacheves allies and moderate communists as well as anti Soviet forces in the people,army and leaders. While in fact Yeltsin was really fighting for the destruction of the Soviet state. If he failed and the coup won he was finished. If he won,he knew he would have the means to finish not save Gorbachev,and the Soviet state. The coup plotters despite their high positions in the Soviet state tried to do a coup using Humane Gorbachev style methods,,while overthrowing him. They thought that just being in power and based on Soviet systems past power and fear,that when orders are given,that's it.But Gorbachev had already weakened the fear system and put other spheres of power in Soviet system that would fatally weaken them. Plus it was done on the spur of the moment and the military and KGB were not given orders at the outset or had unreliable leaders to carry them out. Poorly planned and was it seems done on a moment's notice. Sadly,most of the people who rallied to Yeltsin,did so to bring back Gorbachev and law. What they got was a ruthless man only concearned about himself and power,who sold the Russian state to the highest bidder. Destroying the life's of the Russian people,humiliating and tearing apart the Russian state.Leading to the Russian people's hatred of democracy,USA and leading to Putin. Something that has cost our nation greatly. But in the end cost the Russian people the most.As they still don't have the freedoms they so deserve to have.

What's plain is when KGB head as well as minister of defense asked army and internal troops to storm Yeltsin's compound and arrest him, the men who actually had guns in their hands and tank wheels under their control dithered, then refused; Only a few years later, when Yeltsin asked the military to do essentially the same thing for him against his opponents, ultimately the military obeyed and you saw tank firing at opposition building: point is there are reasons SU went down.

Russia reminds one of a person who has been so abused as a child that they end up spending all their adult years paranoid and lashing out against perceived enemies.

My God, did they know Yeltsin was a boob? A disastrous one at that.

if you ever feel stupid just remember Russian military fired at its own Parliament Building lmao

Stalin : I'm disappointed

Freedom doesn't benefit the authoritarians.

Most Russians, much later after 10-15 years, much regret that Yeltsin ever got to power. He basically sold out our country. In this video, all you hear is people who are hopeful for the best but history persistently shows us that Yeltsin was not a better choice for Russia. Those who really believe in democracy, understand, that one should do whats right for the country, not for whats best for others. Westerners, wouldn't you want whats best for YOUR country?

And apparently Russia still likes being isolated. 🤷‍♂️

Seeing this now I wonder how close Putin was to the head of the KGB back then. The KGB always hated democratic reforms.

YT algo remains undefeated

Щас все эти люди говорят "а мы его не выбирали, он сам силой власть взял" хехехе

No one mentions the destruction Yeltsin brought on that same building he's "Defending" Facism usually comes as a defender of freedom

thank you.how at age 66 have I never seen this?

I remember when this was reported and I thought there would be a nuclear war the way it was reported. The networks broke through and interrupted programming with an “emergency” broadcast. I was terrified until I realized it was sensationalized.

KGB officer: Yeah I kinda felt a little bad about silencing the media, but... man, what a rush 🤣

Winds of Change.

I remember this I was 15

So smooth..

I can live, with or without you

I'm always annoyed thinking about this, so many Russians call out Gorbachev for the loss and say the coup was justified, the coup happened in August and was cited in the Ukrainian declaration of Independence written shortly after the coup, Gorbachev officially dissolved the USSR in December.. do they not connect the dots? there was no USSR left by December

If Gorbachev stayed in power and the USSR wasn't dismantled the way it was it would be now one of the richest and most developed countries in the world.

thanks youtube this was very interesting

Chernobyl (1986) was the crumbling factor of the Soviet Empire... nobody looked to Moscow for the latest in computers, cars, fashion or anything else. Even in 1985, the Soviet empire was creaking...by 1991, it was done.

"the army will never fight against its own people" -- two years after, during the counter coup, the same army was fighting against its people under the orders of Usa, oops I mean Yeltsin.

The Soviet Union was born in the Bolshevik coup d’etat of 1917 and dissolved with the failed coup of 1991. From dust to dust.

wow top notch journalism, doesnt even compare to the tripe they make nowadays

“The economy cannot be developed by tanks” mannnn Russia didn’t learn lol.

Remember when news was like this and not cut up and set up to serve a narrative

I remember thinking must be some chernoble when viewing this with snowing looking on screen

Wow. This was a few days before I was born and it looks so damn old. Where has time gone...

2022 or 2023 the fall of Putin?

8:07 The wisest words ever spoken in Russia, if only his grandfather had said that in October 1917 and been heeded.

This news is so high quality.

Dam, I thought it was on and then I saw the date. Bummer.

I'm shocked there was a rush hour.

The old comment system i love it

oh boy... and the youtube algorithm has brought us all here... will history repeat itself?

Can’t wait to watch this happen again live on 2022

2:35 The man on the extreme right in the black suite is Viktor Zolotov- now he is the head of National Guard and Putin's closest supporter and enforcer.

So if these coup leaders brought tanks into Moscow, and had control of most of the military, how did yeltsin later get control of it?

Fascinating to recap, given recent events. I can’t say what to make of it though.

Damn this in your recommendations too?

The one day when Yeltsin was sober

Just think...some of those tanks might be burning wreckage in Ukraine right now

Hard to believe this happened in my lifetime wow

Unfortunately Gorbachev died this week. How sad. Best Anti Soviet leader of the Soviet Union ever

thanks Boris Yeltsin and Mikhail Gorbachev a lot ! Two of you make the life of me in Vietnam become easier, more comfort for me !

Good to know nothing really changed on the inside just got a nice face lift for a few decades

Thanks RU-vid recommended

Here's hoping for a sequel.

So much of this is still true to this day.