Three Days in August

In 1985 Mr. Gorbachev came to power, and the economy continue decline steadily. One of the major holes in the country budget was made by the Gorbachev’s prohibition. Apparently, some people could not learn from other people mistakes. All the liquor production and distribution were stopped. The hundred years old wineries were shut down and vines themselves were torn out by tractors. The director of the oldest winery could not take it and committed suicide.

The population did not stop drinking though, as almost every family began its own moonshine production. I learned it too, and I should say, it is easy and very rewarding activity. As a result, the state budget did not get sizable portion of the revenue, derived traditionally from state monopoly in liquor production. The drop of the world oil price added significantly to the budget deficit and the wounded economy never recovered.

Gorbachev declared “glasnost” (freedom of speech) and “perestroika” (reconstruction). By 1990 we had already full swing of free speech. It was wild. Without hundreds of years of western experience and without the culture of open discussion, it looked like teenager approach: “Free speech means I can use F word any time I feel like using.” Or telling a teacher: “You suck!” Everybody was pouring dirt on others, truth or lies – does not matter. After just half a year we were completely lost. A big revelation or big lie was replaced by even bigger one. And every day it was getting worse.

The perestroika (reconstruction) affected the economy in the similar manner. Without any body of law or other regulatory documents, all the leaders could do is to say: “Everything not explicitly prohibited is allowed.” Anything you can imagine and much beyond any wild imagination happened. The acquired (read unlawfully appropriated) capital was used, misused and wasted, while its lion portion made it in the western banks in private accounts. Nobody cared about construction. Only the first half of reconstruction took place – destruction and rip off. Prices became wild. In 1990 inflation rate reached 3000 %

I had borrowed money – approximately 2500 dollars – in grivna (Ukrainian currency) that could buy us a small house. We wanted to buy one particular house, but after closer inspection it did not look attractive enough and we delayed the purchase. Then the inflation hit. We never experienced one. Prices did not change for generations. When we began to suspect that this “temporary situation” probably will not heal soon, I was able to buy only pack of cigarettes instead of a house. The money lender never even asked me to return the credit – everything went down the drain.

Sure, we did not want to go back to the Soviet times, but the current economic situation was not appealing either.

In August 1991 my employer sent me on a business trip to Saint Petersburg. Actually, at the time it was called Leningrad, and was renamed officially back to Saint Petersburg only in September.
I arrived and checked in a hotel on Sunday, August 18, called my family (not from cell phone, which did not exist yet, but from the city center of communication) and took the evening easy.

In the morning on Monday, August 19 I turned up TV in the hotel to watch the morning news, but all the channels showed ballet “The Swan Lake” and nothing else. Strange, I thought, and went to the office.

In the streets, there was noticeable unusual anxiety. In the office the radio was turned on, and emotionless voice of the professional news anchor read governmental communiqué: “… all the meetings are banned, theaters and restaurants are to be closed until special notice. Changing jobs, quitting jobs and hiring new employees are not allowed. All vacations are suspended, and all vacationers have to return to their offices immediately…”

It sounded scary. I tried to call home – no connection – all phone intercity communication is not allowed. Wow! I was cut off from my family, and it felt like a war time which we had seen in movies. Suddenly – out of the blue – something big happened that changed your life dramatically. Naturally, people tried to make sense of what was happening and cautiously discussed the situation, but nobody knew anything different from others.

It seemed though that KGB-connected folks were better informed. I remember I was talking to one of the employees about the purpose of my business trip. He had to sign up my invoice for me getting certain electronic devises back to Theodosia. Suddenly, he started pontificating about the new “long awaited” order in the country.

“At last the order is back. Now you all – egg-heads – will learn who is who. Everything will get back in the right prospective,” – were his phrases repeated several times.

Apparently, he was retired KGB officer. It sounded ominous. It brought up all the stories about KGB atrocities, which took place barely thirty years ago, but the full scale of the problem was revealed only recently. In 1991, the power of KGB, built during Stalin’s time, already lost its grip, but still had a strong presence in the mind of people. It takes generations to change the habits built over the lifetime.

In this turmoil nobody cared about business. It was obvious I had to go back home, but there was no way to buy a ticket. Everything was booked. People related horrible stories about the trains, packed with those who had and did not have tickets. They were traveling staying in the corridors all night long. The rumors also related that the army was moving into the city to enforce the new order.

In the evening I went to the city central phone station to call home. It was closed. No intercity communication was allowed – everything is taken under control. Even private lines were cut from intercity connections. Being not able to talk to my family made me really uneasy. I wondered, how were they? What was going on in the Ukraine – three thousand miles from me? Usually it was quieter there. All the big events usually happened in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and a few other big cities. I was smack in the middle of it, and my family probably was more concerned about me. But there was no way to know it for sure.

I was walking back to the hotel. The streets looked different than usual. No shopping crowds. Many younger people and men mostly. No loud talks. Only cautious looks and under the breath phrases.

Somebody said not loud but distinctly: “There is an email message on the wall.” I looked around. A few people were reading from the piece of paper glued to the house. I could not (or more probable I did not want to) come close enough to read the message myself. Somebody – closer to the message – said: “The troops are 60 miles from the city. Same in Moscow.” I was trying to think about the implications but did not feel I know enough to make an intelligent conclusion.

I went to the hotel and turned on TV. This time all channels showed the notorious press-conference with the eight country leaders. They had declared themselves a Temporary Emergency Committee in charge of correcting the political course of the country. They said that Gorbachev was sick (he might as well be killed) and the temporary committee had to take over the power.

What I and everybody else, who watched the press-conference, remember the most is the hands of one of the committee members. The hands were lying on the table, but he could not control the strong shaking. Later the newspaper article explained that the guy was alcoholic and drunk all night long. But during the conference these shaking hands created weird feeling of thieves who knew they were in the wrong.

The next day, August 20, 1991, the rumors continued circulating: “Gorbachev is alive. He is under the house arrest in his dacha in Crimea. He refused to approve the return to the old system.” At the moment, there was no visible unified support or resistance to the coup. Everybody was longing for a more sensible and structured way of life. The coup gave a hope for certain stabilization, but the committee failed to deliver.

TV continued to show “The Swan Lake”, interrupted by the same message from the Emergency Committee again and again. Apparently, the guys were not very creative. I went out for lunch. The weather was warm and very pleasant to be outside. It was this time of the year when the early signs of autumn started to show. Autumn with its colors that interplayed with the golden roofs of the cathedrals and astonishing baroque architecture is the most beautiful season in Saint Petersburg. Many Russian poets, including the father of Russian language Pushkin, were inspired by this beauty. I was looking forward to enjoying it, but the majestic background was in a stark contrast with the prevailing spirit.

There was no usual crowd in the streets. No colorful shopping bags and pictures taking at the famous monuments. The pedestrians were quiet and looked busy, but the quick cautious looks betrayed the pretenses of the appearance. The tension was palpable, but not concentrated – like in the dark sky just before the heavy rainstorm.

A young man was running along the street shouting: “Meeting! Meeting on the central square! Everybody, go to the meeting!” I strolled in the square direction. Not sure where is law, and who is right or wrong, I was scared of getting in trouble. And I did not want to step accidentally in the middle of the clash between army and people, when nobody cares and just kills each other.

My other concern was the potential presence of KGB cameras in the central square. They might tape all the event and later find you. Anything seemed possible. Especially after several years of free speech, when many real and made up dirty secrets were revealed. One did not trust anybody and believed everything. So, I developed a cover story. Since my hotel was one block away from the square, I pretended to just walk to my hotel. I also was trying to stay closer to the houses and avoid crowds.

I was not proud of myself. Sometimes an animal fear gripped my heart and I wanted to run away and hide somewhere. But the sky was blue, the people did not panic. There were no indications of disturbances. And I was very curious. Eventually, I made it to the square.

It was full of people, but not jammed. There was plenty of room to walk in any direction. I knew that a jammed crowd can be very dangerous, so I kept closer to the exits from the square.

An elevated platform was erected at one side of the square, and a dozen of people was staying on it. They took turns at the microphone. One man broke the news: “There are tanks moving to the city. They are at a distance of 20 miles now. We have to be ready and build barricades. Volunteers, please, assemble at that corner of that street,” – he pointed with the hand. Some people started to move in that direction.

A city police chief stepped to the microphone: “Local police is on people’s side. We are not going to arrest anybody for their participation in the meeting. Our duty is to maintain the order and to avoid unnecessary accidents.” The crowd cheered.

The barricade organizer stepped to the microphone again: “We need twenty people on that side, to turn over a few street cars to block that street. Local concrete production site had sent us thirty big trucks with concrete blocks for the barricade. Can somebody bring a crane to unload the trucks?” The crowd cheered again. I was thinking: “If tanks are coming, these few street cars in the middle will not make a difference.” I just hoped that some kind of turn of events happens, and the army with tanks will not enter the city.

The problem was that the army had to follow orders of the commander-in-chief, who was at this point isolated in Crimea, while the next level commander was a member of the emergency committee. Technically, the soldiers had to follow their orders, but they did not like to go against the people and were ready to use any excuse to avoid following the orders. Everybody was tensed. With weapons at hand, the situation could explode at any moment, as soon as a drop of blood was spilled.

Another man stepped to the microphone: “I just talked to the soldiers. They don’t want to go against the people, but they are under the oath. Please do not confront them. Try to make a peace. We will figure something out.”

The meeting continued in the same manner for several hours. Already in the evening, the city mayor Anatoly Sobchak was greeted cheerfully at the microphone. He said that he just flew in from Moscow. The situation there was also tensed, but more and more people and organizations declared their opposition to this temporary government.

“I have met the local representatives of the emergency committee and I told them they are bastards and traitors, that they are criminals who will be persecuted in the due order,” – the mayor said.

The crowd was elated: “Hurray!” That was the first definite strong statement that indicated to us there are forces able to take an action. What is right, we did not know. But the mess was not right, and any sensible move was very welcome.

Despite all these speeches and hopes, the rumors still continued that during the night the city is going to be overrun by the army. The situation remained dangerous. Suddenly, already in the dusk, the mayor stepped to the microphone again: “I just got news from Moscow. Boris Yeltsin declared himself the Chief Commander of all the military formation on Russian territory and ordered all the troops back to their barracks.”

Wow! That was the news we expected so desperately. Yeltsin was the President of Russian Federation, while Gorbachev was the President of the USSR, where Russia was a member. So, Yeltsin took over the army of the USSR that was located on the Russian territory. But at that moment nobody cared about the legal aspects of the claim. Everybody was happy to know the army got its excuse to stop. Yeltsin had guts to step in and to take the responsibility. It was the famous Yeltsin’s speech from the tank in Moscow.

Later I have read that Americans helped Yeltsin to establish communication with the troops using the American intelligence communication system. They also intersected the information exchange between the coup leaders and prompted Yeltsin about the coup. American National Security Agency opposed President Bush’s decision to share the secret communication channels with Yeltsin on the grounds that it would compromise its future ability to monitor Russian military communications. For the President, however, the overriding priority was to do everything possible to defeat the coup. For me, it explained the rapid breakthrough in the situation and the quick defeat of the coup.

That was the second time when Yeltsin had demonstrated his ability to make responsible decisions that correlated with the people’s desires. The first time it was in 1990, during the Communist Party session, when he declared that cannot be a member of the Communist Party anymore because in his position of the president of Russia he would like to make decisions that are the best for the people, not just in favor of one party (other parties were allowed a few months earlier). That said, he left the session.

It all happened on live TV. We could not believe our eyes. We could not breathe. We used to tell anecdotes about inept and corrupt Communist government, but nobody dared to say anything openly, especially in such a public setting. While Yeltsin was walking, we could easily imagine him being shot in the back or arrested just outside the hall.

His demonstration tipped the scales of Communist Party position. From that moment it was just sliding down to the eventual dissolution and even legal banning.

Now, in August 1991, Yeltsin stepped up the second time, and for these two moments, many people, including me, respect Yeltsin and forgive him many his deficiencies. In my eyes these two moments justify his life and put him outside usual moral code. He took chances and behaved as expected from a man according the books we were reading when children. He was big masculine guy from Siberia, and he expressed, in my opinion, the qualities and deficiencies of a typical Siberian man: strong and integral in his convictions, but weak in his love of a good company, which in Russia could not do without vodka. As any outstanding man, he reflected his time in all aspects.

The next day, August 21, all the conspirators were declared under arrest. One of them committed suicide, his wife too. Gorbachev was released from his Crimean imprisonment and started gregariously telling the story of his survival. We did not believe him. We suspected he was just biding his time in Crimea, waiting for the result of the coup. In a way we respected the conspirators even more than him, because they openly declared their position, while Gorbachev continued just talking around the issues.

This event delivered the final blow to the Communist Party. On August 24, Gorbachev stepped down from his position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union. During the next month eleven of former republics of the USSR declared their independence. Yeltsin, whose defiance led to the coup’s collapse, got huge power leverage and ordered the Communist Party to suspend its activity in Russia.

In December of 1991 the Presidents of three major republics – Russia, Ukraine and Belarus – founded the Commonwealth of Independent States and declared the end of Soviet Union. Gorbachev was presented with the fact and reluctantly agreed with Yeltsin, on December 17, to dissolve the Soviet Union.

Yeltsin took over Gorbachev’s office. The former USSR President office now belonged to the President of Russia. They talked, Yeltsin later told in an interview, for eight hours straight. The next day, Yeltsin said in an interview that, after that session with Gorbachev, he learned stuff that made him feel so dirty that he wanted to take a shower immediately (I think I have heard this interview myself on TV but could not confirm it now by internet search).