Yeltsin donned a bulletproof vest, followed by a shirt and suit, and set off with his aides toward the White House — not the American White House, but the seat of the Russian Parliament. The Alpha Group was ordered to accompany him and take up strategic positions; they now had a list of 70 men, ready to be arrested at a moment’s notice.
At the White House in Moscow, Yeltsin and his supporters began active campaigning, sending urgent appeals to Russian citizens nationwide. More and more Muscovites flocked to the building and began constructing barricades nearby. Yeltsin also signed an order establishing the Russian Ministry of Defense, appointing General Kobets as its minister, with the ministry’s offices housed within the Russian White House itself.
Around noon on August 19, 1991, Yeltsin walked out of the White House, boarded a tank, and delivered a speech, reading aloud the now-famous Order No. 59: “All decisions made in the name of the so-called State Committee on the State of Emergency are illegal and invalid on the territory of the Russian Federation Republic.” That afternoon, a battalion of the Ryazan Guards Airborne Division defected and assumed responsibility for the defense of the White House. Their arrival was warmly welcomed by those already defending the building.
Meanwhile, panic spread among members of the Kremlin’s State Committee on the State of Emergency. Vice President Yanayev grew increasingly hysterical, repeatedly muttering: “I’ll get shot.” Prime Minister Pavlov fell ill and was hospitalized. Defense Minister Yazov, though he had ordered troops into Moscow, remained hesitant and failed to take decisive action.
…
Read the full article on Nspirement
Comments