On August 19, 1991, an attempted coup d’etat took place in the USSR. A State Committee on the State of Emergency was established. It included the following members: SSR Vice-President Gennady Yanayev, Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov, Interior Minister Boris Pugo, Defense Minister Dmitry Yazov, KGB chairman Vladimir Kryuchkov, Defense Council first deputy chairman Oleg Baklanov, Farmers’ Union chairman Vasily Starodubtsev and Association of the State Enterprises and Conglomerates of Industry, Transport, and Communications president Alexander Tizyakov.\n\nThe introduction of a state of emergency in certain Soviet regions and the establishment of the committee was explained by the need to “overcome the deep crisis as well as the political, interethnic and civil confrontation, chaos and anarchy that threaten the lives and safety of Soviet citizens and sovereignty, territorial integrity, freedom and the independence of our Fatherland.” \n\nBy 10:00 am on August 19, troops and military equipment took the main roads leading to Moscow center and surrounded the Kremlin. The reaction was strong: mass demonstrations and rallies were held in Moscow, Leningrad and other cities. The protesters wrote the address “To the Citizens of Russia,” calling the event a “reactionary and anti-constitutional coup d’etat.” The address was distributed to newspapers and information agencies in Russia and abroad.\n
