Events of September October 1993. Shooting of the White House and a complete list of those killed
MOSCOW, October 4 – RIA Novosti. The October 1993 putsch was not accidental - it was prepared for two years and in the end actually killed people’s trust in power, says the president of the Foundation for Socio-Economic and Intellectual Programs, former manager Administration of President Yeltsin Sergei Filatov.
Twenty years ago, on October 3-4, 1993, clashes occurred in Moscow between supporters of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (1991-1999). The confrontation between the two branches that lasted since the collapse of the USSR Russian authorities- executive represented by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and legislative represented by parliament - the Supreme Council (SC) of the RSFSR, headed by Ruslan Khasbulatov, around the pace of reforms and methods of building a new state on October 3-4, 1993, turned into an armed clash and ended with tank shelling of the parliament residence - House of Soviets (White House).
Chronicle of the events of the political crisis in the fall of 1993 in RussiaTwenty years ago, at the beginning of October 1993, tragic events took place in Moscow, ending with the storming of the Supreme Council building Russian Federation and the abolition of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council in Russia.The tension was rising
“What happened on October 3-4, 1993, was not predetermined in one day. It was an event that had been going on for two years. Over the course of two years, tension grew. And if you trace it at least through the congresses of people’s deputies, it becomes clear that this was a purposeful fight on the part of the Supreme Council against the reforms that the government was carrying out,” Filatov said at a multimedia round table on the topic: “October 1993 coup. Twenty years later...”, held at RIA Novosti on Friday.
According to him, the two top officials of the state - Boris Yeltsin and the head of the Supreme Council (SC) of the RSFSR Ruslan Khasbulatov - failed to reach the “normal path of relationship.” Moreover, “absolute and deep mistrust” arose between the two top officials, he added.
Political scientist Leonid Polyakov also agreed with this opinion.
“In fact, the putsch of 1993 is a postponement of the State Emergency Committee of 1991. In 1991, these people, seeing hundreds of thousands of Muscovites who surrounded the White House, the leaders of the State Emergency Committee were simply, as they say, afraid. At first they themselves frightened them by bringing tanks into the capital , and then they themselves were afraid of what they had done. But those forces that stood behind it, and the people who sincerely believed in what turned out to be destroyed in August 91, they did not go away. And two years followed, the most difficult, the most difficult in our history, which included the collapse of the USSR and the disappearance of the state... By October 1993, this explosive potential had accumulated,” Polyakov noted.
conclusions
Conclusions from the events of 1993, according to Filatov, can be drawn both positive and negative.
“The fact that we eliminated dual power is positive, the fact that we adopted the Constitution is positive. But the fact that we actually killed people’s trust in power and this continued for the rest of the 20 years is an obvious fact that we today We can’t restore it,” he said.
In turn, political scientist Polyakov expressed hope that the events of 1993 were “the last Russian revolution.”
Film about the events of 1993
During round table a film was presented about the events of October 1993, shot by RIA Novosti specialists in a web documentary format, which has received worldwide recognition due to the fact that the viewer has the opportunity to interact with the content and has greater freedom of action than the viewer of a plot with a linear form of narration, where the course of history is predetermined director. This is the third RIA Novosti film in 2013 in an interactive format.
"For each of the participants in these events, it was part of his life, part of his internal history. And it was these people we wanted to talk about in our film, interactive video; to make it possible to see those difficult days through their eyes, through their emotions, through their memories. Because now it seems like some rather distant and somewhat unusual event in our country. I really hope that this will continue, because the tanks shooting from the embankment White House- This is an absolutely terrible sight. And, probably, for every Muscovite and every resident of Russia it was something completely incredible,” RIA Novosti deputy editor-in-chief Ilya Lazarev shared his memories.
The film contains photographs of people who were later found by RIA Novosti and who spoke about their memories of those events.
“We revived the photographs and tried to bring some episodes of the video into our present time... Our colleagues, directors, have been working on this format for three months - this is quite complicated story. You can watch the film episodically, linearly, but main story and the task is to immerse yourself in this atmosphere, draw your own conclusions, but rather just get to know the people who experienced this story and let it pass through themselves,” Lazarev added.
As a result of the tragic events of October 3-4, 1993 in Moscow, the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation were liquidated. Before election Federal Assembly and the adoption of the new Constitution in the Russian Federation, direct presidential rule was established. By decree of October 7, 1993 "On legal regulation During the period of gradual constitutional reform in the Russian Federation, the President established that before the start of the work of the Federal Assembly, issues of a budgetary and financial nature, land reform, property, civil service and social employment of the population, previously decided by the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation, are now carried out by the President of the Russian Federation. Another decree dated 7 October "On the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation" the president actually abolished this body. Boris Yeltsin also issued a number of decrees ending the activities of representative bodies of government of the constituent entities of the Federation and local Soviets.
On December 12, 1993, a new Constitution of Russia was adopted, in which such a body state power, as a congress of people's deputies, was no longer mentioned.
One of the main problems of the government of B.N. By 1993, Yeltsin's relationship with the opposition had begun. A confrontation developed with the main organizer and center of the opposition - the Russian Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council. This war of legislative and executive power brought the already fragile Russian statehood into a dead end.
The conflict between the two branches of government that determined the development Russian politics in 1993 and ending in the bloody drama of early October, had a number of reasons. One of the main ones was the deepening disagreements on the issue of socio-economic and political course development of Russia. Supporters of a regulated economy and the national-state direction have established themselves among legislators, while defenders of market reforms find themselves in a clear minority. Change at the helm of government policy by E.T. Gaidar V.S. Chernomyrdin only temporarily reconciled the legislative branch with the executive branch.
An important reason for the antagonism between the branches of power was their lack of experience in interaction within the framework of the system of separation of powers, which Russia practically did not know. As the struggle with the president and the government became more intense, the legislative branch, taking advantage of the right to change the constitution, began to relegate the executive branch to the background. Legislators vested themselves with the broadest powers, including those that, according to the system of separation of powers in any version, should have been the prerogative of the executive and judicial bodies. One of the amendments to the Constitution gave the Supreme Council the right “to suspend the effect of decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation, to cancel orders of the Council of Ministers of the republics within the Russian Federation in case of their non-compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation.”
In this sense, bringing before voters the question of the fundamentals constitutional order seemed to be at least some way out of the current dramatic situation. However, the Eighth Congress of People's Deputies of Russia, held from March 8 to 12, 1993, vetoed any referendums, and the status quo was consolidated in the relationship between the two authorities in accordance with the principles of the then-current constitution. In response, on March 20, in an address to Russian citizens, Yeltsin announced that he had signed a decree on a special governing procedure until the crisis was overcome and that a referendum on confidence in the president and vice-president of the Russian Federation was scheduled for April 25, as well as on the issue of a draft new constitution and elections of a new parliament. In fact, presidential rule was introduced in the country until the entry into force of the new Constitution. This statement by Yeltsin caused a sharp protest from R. Khasbulatov, A. Rutsky, V. Zorkin and the Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yu. Skokov, and three days after Yeltsin’s speech, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation declared a number of its provisions illegal. The extraordinary congress of people's deputies that met attempted to impeach the president, and after its failure agreed to hold a referendum, but with the wording of the questions approved by the legislators themselves. 64% of voters took part in the referendum held on April 25. Of these, 58.7% spoke for trusting the president, social policy 53% approved of the president and government. The referendum rejected the idea of early re-elections of both the president and legislators.
YELTSIN'S IMPACT
The Russian president struck first. On September 21, by decree 1400, he announced the termination of the powers of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council. Elections to the State Duma were scheduled for December 11-12. In response, the Supreme Council swore in Vice President A. Rutsky as President of the Russian Federation. On September 22, the White House security service began distributing weapons to citizens. On September 23, the Tenth Congress of People's Deputies began at the White House. On the night of September 23-24, armed supporters of the White House, led by Lieutenant Colonel V. Terekhov, unsuccessful attempt capture the headquarters of the United Armed Forces of the CIS on Leningradsky Prospekt, as a result of which the first blood was shed.
On September 27-28, the blockade of the White House began, surrounded by police and riot police. On October 1, as a result of negotiations, the blockade was eased, but in the next two days the dialogue reached a dead end, and on October 3, the White House took decisive action to remove B.N. from power. Yeltsin. In the evening of the same day, at the call of Rutskoi and General A. Makashov, the Moscow City Hall building was seized. Armed defenders of the White House moved towards the Central Television studios in Ostankino. On the night of October 3-4, bloody clashes took place there. By decree of B.N. Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in Moscow, government troops began entering the capital, and the actions of White House supporters were called by the president “an armed fascist-communist rebellion.”
On the morning of October 4, government forces began a siege and tank shelling of the Russian parliament building. By the evening of the same day, it was captured, and its leadership, led by R. Khasbulatov and A. Rutsky, was arrested.
The tragic events, during which, according to official estimates, more than 150 people died, are still perceived differently by different forces and political trends in the Russian Federation. Often these assessments are mutually exclusive. February 23, 1994 The State Duma declared an amnesty for participants in the events of September-October 1993. Most of the leaders of the Supreme Council and people's deputies who were in the House of Soviets during the assault on October 4 found a place for themselves in active politics, science, business and public service.
YELTSIN'S MAN: TOO MUCH COMPROMISE
« I view the period from the summer of 1991 to the autumn of 1993 as the radical phase of the great bourgeois Russian revolution of the late 20th century, relatively speaking. Or - this formulation belongs to Alexei Mikhailovich Solomin, he also said - The first great revolution of the post-industrial era. Actually, with these events this radical phase ended, another one went on historical period- this is the first thing.
Secondly, if you go down to a smaller level, it seems to me that this was a consequence of Yeltsin’s too compromising position. My point of view is that he should have dissolved the Congress and the Supreme Council in the spring of 1993, after in fact the actions of the Supreme Council literally contradicted the results of the referendum. It must be said - this is now known - since May 1993, Yeltsin carried in his inner jacket pocket a draft of such a dissolution, which changed all this time. As I said, the Supreme Council gave reasons for this. And then there was maximum popularity, then there was reliance on the referendum decision, it would have been possible to act, and it would not have led to such tragic and bloody events.
Yeltsin took the path of compromise, which is actually typical of him - we consider him so brutal and decisive, in fact, he always looked for a compromise first and tried to drag everyone into the constitutional process. The result of this constitutional process, naturally, was not liked by those who politically opposed it, because it provided for the disappearance of those main bodies that acted under the old Constitution, they defended themselves, and this defense consisted of preparing an attack on Yeltsin, in preparing for the congress, where he was supposed to be removed from office, in the concentration of weapons in the Parliamentary Center on Trubnaya, and so on.”
G.Satarov,assistant to Russian President Boris Yeltsin
WHAT WAS SHOOT IN OCTOBER '93?
“In October 1993, democracy was shot in Russia. Since then, this concept has been discredited in Russia; people are allergic to it. The shooting of the Supreme Council led to autocratic thinking in the country.”
August 1991 coup
Since 1989, the power of the party-state nomenklatura has been steadily decreasing. New commercial and political structures slowly but steadily gained strength. All this caused open and hidden protest from the “ruling class”. The last straw that pushed the party and state leadership of the USSR to act was the threat of signing on August 22, 1991, a new Union Treaty, which was developed during negotiations between representatives of the republics in Novo-Ogarevo, at a government dacha near Moscow.
According to this agreement, the republics included in the new Union received significantly more rights, and the center was transformed from a manager into a coordinating one. In reality, only issues of defense, financial policy, internal affairs, and partly tax and social policy remained in the hands of the union leadership. Some republics refused to sign even this fairly liberal agreement (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia).
In order to disrupt the signing of this agreement and maintain their powers of power, part of the top party and state leadership tried to seize power. On August 19, 1991, a state of emergency was introduced in the country, troops, including tanks, were brought into the streets of Moscow and a number of other large cities, almost all central newspapers, with the exception of Pravda, Izvestia, Trud and some others, were banned, all channels of Central Television, with the exception of the 1st program, and almost all radio stations stopped working. The activities of all parties except the CPSU were suspended.
The coup was led by the “State Committee for the State of Emergency” (GKChP) consisting of: acting. O. President of the USSR G. I. Yanaev, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, First Deputy Chairman of the Defense Council O. D. Baklanov, Chairman of the KGB of the USSR V. A. Kryuchkov, Prime Minister of the USSR V. S. Pavlov, Minister of Internal Affairs of the USSR B. K. Pugo, Chairman of the Peasant Union of the USSR V. A. Starodubtsev, Minister of Defense of the USSR D. T. Yazov and President of the Association of State-Owned Enterprises A. I. Tizyakov. The State Emergency Committee saw the main task of the coup in restoring the order in the USSR that existed before 1985, that is, in eliminating the multi-party system, commercial structures, and destroying the sprouts of democracy.
The main political rival of the central leadership of the USSR was the leadership of the RSFSR. It was against him that the main blow was directed. Troops were concentrated around the building of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR ("The White House"), who were supposed to occupy the building, disperse the parliament and arrest its most active participants.
But the coup failed. The population of the country basically refused to support the State Emergency Committee, while the army did not want to use force against its citizens. Already on August 20, barricades grew up around the White House, on which there were several tens of thousands of people, and some military units went over to the side of the defenders. The coup was received very negatively abroad, where statements were immediately made about the suspension of aid to the USSR.
The coup was extremely poorly organized and prepared. Already on August 22, he was defeated, and the members of the State Emergency Committee themselves were arrested. As a result of the events of August 19-21, 1991, three of its defenders were killed near the White House.
Immediately after the defeat of the coup in almost all major cities Mass demonstrations took place against the CPSU, which served as a convenient reason for suspending the activities of the CPSU in the country. By order of the President of the RSFSR B.N. Yeltsin, the buildings of the CPSU Central Committee, regional committees, district committees, archives, etc. were closed and sealed. Since August 23, 1991, the CPSU has ceased to exist as a ruling state structure.
Simultaneously with the cessation of the activities of the CPSU, a number of newspapers were temporarily closed by decree of the President of the RSFSR. In September, all Union republics that had not yet declared their full sovereignty and independence made these declarations.
After the events of August 1991, the importance of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR came to naught. The next Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, held at the end of August - beginning of September 1991, was the last. The congress declared self-dissolution.
In September - November 1991, feeble attempts were made to prevent the final economic and political collapse of the already former Soviet Union. The work was carried out in two directions: the creation of an economic union and the formation of new political relations.
In September, the Interrepublican Economic Committee (IEC) was created, headed by I. S. Silaev. The greatest success of the IEC was the preparation of an economic agreement, which was signed by nine republics: the RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. This agreement was a real step designed to stop the collapse of a single economic organism.
Controversy regarding political union were significantly more serious. The Baltic states, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia refused to even discuss this problem. The first preliminary negotiations took place only in the second half of November, with the participation of the presidents of seven republics. As a result of negotiations, the presidents came to the conclusion that it was necessary to create a new state on a confederal basis.
After the declaration of independence, relations between the republics on border issues worsened. A number of peoples of the North Caucasus, part of the RSFSR, declared independence and sovereignty and made political and territorial claims both to the RSFSR and to their neighbors. This was most clearly manifested in the emergence of the Chechen Republic. Events in Chechnya and a number of other regions of the North Caucasus, the ongoing war in South Ossetia - all this brought the Caucasus by the end of 1991 to the brink of a comprehensive civil war.
The economic situation in Russia and other states of the former USSR in the fall and winter of 1991 was rapidly deteriorating. Inflation rates increased sharply, reaching 25-30% per month in October - November, and industrial and agricultural production declined. All this, coupled with an increase in the issuance of new money, led to the fact that by the end of 1991 there were practically no industrial goods or food products left on store shelves. Problems arose in supplying the population with the basic necessities: bread, milk, potatoes.
October 3 - 15 years ago (October 3-4, 1993) there was an attempted coup in Moscow. This event is also known as the “Constitutional crisis of 1993”, “Coup d’etat of 1993”, “Execution of the White House”, “Execution of the House of Soviets”, “October uprising of 1993”, “Decree 1400”.
The crisis was a consequence of the confrontation between two political forces: on the one hand - the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin, the executive power controlled by him and his supporters, and on the other hand - Vice-President Alexander Rutsky, the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation headed by Ruslan Khasbulatov, the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation, and their supporters. The confrontation ended with the forceful dispersal of parliament and the victory of President Yeltsin.
After the seizure of the Moscow City Hall building by supporters of the Supreme Council and clashes near the Ostankino television center, President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in Moscow. An assault on the White House was organized. The result of the confrontation was armed clashes on the streets of Moscow.
On the night of October 3–4, a plan was prepared to storm the White House, in which about 1,700 people, 10 tanks and 20 armored personnel carriers took part; the action was extremely unpopular, the contingent had to be recruited from five divisions, about half of the entire contingent were officers or junior command personnel, and the tank crews were recruited almost entirely from officers.
At 9:20 am on October 4, tanks located on the other side of the river began shelling the upper floors of the Supreme Council building. In total, six T-80 tanks took part in the shelling, firing 12 shells.
At 15:00 the teams special purpose"Alpha" and "Vympel" were ordered to storm the White House. The commanders of both special groups, before executing the order, tried to negotiate with the leaders of the Supreme Council on a peaceful surrender.
“Alpha”, having promised security to the defenders of the House of Soviets, managed to persuade them to surrender by 17:00. The Vympel special unit, whose leadership refused to carry out the assault order, was subsequently transferred from the FSB to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which led to the massive resignation of its fighters.
After 5 p.m., by agreement with Yeltsin’s supporters, a mass withdrawal of defenders from the Supreme Council began. According to the assurances of those who stormed, there should have been no shelling. However, those leaving the building had not walked even 100 meters when fire was opened over their heads.
A few minutes later, the attackers began shooting those leaving the building almost point-blank. According to eyewitnesses, it was at this moment that the greatest number of deaths occurred. The relatives of the missing people who came the next day could see up to three rows of troupes lined up along the wall in one of the nearby stadiums. Many of them had bullet holes in the center of their foreheads, like a control shot.
Before leaving the building of the Supreme Council, Rutskoi demonstrated in front of television cameras a Kalashnikov assault rifle, from which not a single shot was fired. He also demonstrated a small cardboard box containing cassettes with recordings of negotiations, including between Yeltsin and Luzhkov. A recording was shown in which a voice similar to Luzhkov’s was clearly heard, calling on the riot police and the Alpha special forces to “shoot mercilessly.”
The video sequence of the film “Secret Russia” also contains footage of one of the halls of the Supreme Council, where more than 30 shots from sniper rifles are visible at the level of the victims’ hearts. According to Rutsky, this is shooting to kill at those people who were in the Supreme Council at that moment. Rutskoy also pointed to the fact that in the corridors of the Supreme Council there were more than 400 corpses of the defenders of the Supreme Council at the end of the assault.
According to official data, the number of people killed during the riots was 150, the number of injured was 389. According to deputy Sazha Umalatova, 2,783 people were killed. As a result of an investigation by the State Duma Commission of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for additional study and analysis of the events of 1993, B. Yeltsin’s actions were condemned and found to be contrary to the Constitution of the RSFSR, which was in force at that time. Based on the materials of the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, it was not established that any of the victims were killed with weapons at the disposal of supporters of the Armed Forces.
Parade of sovereignties (1988-1991) - a conflict between republican and union legislation associated with the declaration of the priority of republican laws over union laws, which resulted in the collapse of the USSR. During the “parade of sovereignties” during 1990-1991, all the union (the sixth was the RSFSR) and many of the autonomous republics adopted Declarations of Sovereignty, in which they challenged the priority of all-union laws over republican ones, which began the “war of laws”. They also took actions to control local economies, including refusals to pay taxes to the union and federal Russian budgets. These conflicts cut off many economic ties, which further worsened the economic situation in the USSR.
The first territory of the USSR to declare independence in January 1990 in response to the Baku events was the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Before the August putsch, the State Emergency Committee announced independence of four union republics (Lithuania, Latvia, Armenia and Georgia), refusal to join the proposed new union (USG) and transition to independence - two more: Estonia and Moldova. At the same time, the autonomous republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well as the newly formed republics of Transnistria and Gagauzia in Moldova announced non-recognition of their independence and their desire to remain part of the Union.
With the exception of Kazakhstan, none of the Central Asian union republics had organized movements or parties that aimed to achieve independence. Among the Muslim republics, with the exception of the Azerbaijani Popular Front, the independence movement existed only in one of the autonomous republics of the Volga region - the Ittifak party of Fauzia Bayramova in Tatarstan, which since 1989 has advocated the independence of Tatarstan.
On August 19, 1991, the signing of a new union treaty on the creation of the Union of Sovereign States (USS) as a soft federation was thwarted by the August putsch of the State Emergency Committee during an attempt to remove M. S. Gorbachev from the post of President of the USSR, immediately after which, during the massive collapse of the USSR, almost all the remaining union republics, as well as several autonomous ones (in Russia, Georgia, Moldova). On September 6, the USSR authorities recognized the independence of the three Baltic republics.
Although on November 14, seven of the twelve union republics (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) decided to conclude an agreement on the creation of the GCC as a confederation, after the referendum on the independence of Ukraine held on December 1 by the heads of the three founding republics of the USSR ( RSFSR, Ukraine, Belarus) on December 8, the Belovezhskaya agreements on its dissolution are signed, on December 21, this is approved by all eleven republics, and instead of the USG, the Commonwealth of Independent States is created as an international (interstate) organization. Moreover, by the time of the dissolution of the USSR on December 8, of all the union republics, only three had not declared independence (RSFSR, Belarus and Kazakhstan; the latter did so a week later, on December 16).
Some of the autonomous republics that declared independence later became the so-called. unrecognized (Nagorno-Karabakh and Transnistria) or partially recognized (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) states (while Gagauzia, Tatarstan and Chechnya did not retain such status).
Dispersal of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation
(also known as " White House shooting», « Shooting of the House of Soviets», « October uprising of 1993», « Decree 1400», « October putsch», "Yeltsin's coup of 1993") - internal political conflict in the Russian Federation September 21 - October 4, 1993. Occurred as a result of the constitutional crisis that developed since 1992.
The result of the confrontation was the violent termination of the Soviet model of power in Russia that had existed since 1917, accompanied by armed clashes on the streets of Moscow and subsequent uncoordinated actions of troops, during which at least 157 people were killed and 384 were injured (of which 124 people were injured on October 3 and 4 , 348 wounded).
The crisis was the result of a confrontation between two political forces: on the one hand, the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin (see All-Russian referendum on April 25, 1993), the government headed by Viktor Chernomyrdin, some people's deputies and members of the Supreme Council - supporters of the president, and on the other hand - opponents of the socio-economic policy of the president and government: Vice-President Alexander Rutsky, the bulk of people's deputies and members of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation led by Ruslan Khasbulatov, the majority of which was the Russian Unity bloc, which included representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Fatherland faction "(radical communists, retired military men and deputies of socialist orientation), "Agrarian Union", deputy group "Russia", led by the initiator of the unification of communist and nationalist parties Sergei Baburin.
The events began on September 21 with the issuance by President B.N. Yeltsin of Decree No. 1400 on the dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council, which violated the Constitution in force at that time. Immediately after the issuance of this decree, Yeltsin was de jure automatically removed from the post of president in accordance with Article 121.6 of the current constitution. The Presidium of the Supreme Council, which monitors compliance with the constitution, met on the same day and stated this legal fact. The Congress of People's Deputies confirmed this decision and assessed the president’s actions as a coup d’état. However, Boris Yeltsin de facto continued to exercise the powers of the President of Russia.
A significant role in the tragic outcome was played by the personal ambitions of the Chairman of the Supreme Council Ruslan Khasbulatov, expressed in his reluctance to enter into compromise agreements with the administration of Boris Yeltsin during the conflict, as well as by Boris Yeltsin himself, who, after signing Decree No. 1400, refused to talk directly with Khasbulatov, even by phone.
According to the conclusion of the State Duma commission, a significant role in the aggravation of the situation was played by the actions of Moscow police officers in dispersing rallies and demonstrations in support of the Supreme Council and detaining their active participants in the period from September 27 to October 2, 1993, which in some cases took the form of mass beatings of demonstrators using special means.
Since October 1, with the mediation of Patriarch Alexy II under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, negotiations between the warring parties were held, at which it was proposed to develop a “zero option” - simultaneous re-election of the president and people’s deputies. The continuation of these negotiations, scheduled for 16:00 on October 3, did not take place due to the riots that began in Moscow, an armed attack by a group of defenders of the Supreme Council, led by Albert Makashov, who was conscripted and... O. President Alexander Rutsky to the city hall building and the departure of a group of armed supporters of the Supreme Council in stolen army trucks to the Ostankino television center.
Opinions about the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, headed by V.D. Zorkin, differ: according to the judges themselves and supporters of the Congress, it remained neutral; in the opinion of Yeltsin’s side, he participated on the side of the Congress.
The investigation of the events was not completed, the investigative team was dissolved after in February 1994 the State Duma decided to grant an amnesty for persons who participated in the events of September 21 - October 4, 1993, related to the publication of Decree No. 1400, and who opposed its implementation, regardless of the qualification of actions under the articles of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. As a result, society still does not have clear answers to a number of key questions about what happened tragic events- in particular, about the role political leaders, speaking on both sides, about the identity of the snipers who shot at civilians and police officers, the actions of provocateurs, about who is to blame for the tragic outcome.
There are only versions of participants and eyewitnesses of the events, the investigator of the disbanded investigative group, publicists and the commission of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, headed by the communist Tatyana Astrakhankina, who came to Moscow from Rzhev at the end of September 1993 to defend the House of Soviets, which party comrades, in particular Alexey Podberezkin, called "orthodox".
In accordance with new Constitution, adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993 and in force with some amendments to this day, the President of the Russian Federation received significantly broader powers than under the then-current Constitution of 1978 (as amended 1989-1992). The post of Vice President of the Russian Federation was abolished.
Bottom line
Victory of President Yeltsin, abolition of the post of vice-president, dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, termination of the activities of the Councils of People's Deputies. The establishment of a presidential republic as a form of government in Russia to replace the previously existing Soviet republic.
President of Russia
Council of Ministers of Russia
Administration of the President of Russia
Supporters of the President of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin:
Democratic Russia
Living ring
August-91
Social-patriotic association of volunteers - defenders of the White House in August 1991 in support of democratic reforms “Detachment “Russia””
Democratic Union
Afghanistan Veterans Union
Taman division
Kantemirovskaya division
119th Guards Parachute Regiment
Separate motorized rifle division special purpose them. Dzerzhinsky
1st Special Forces Detachment internal troops"Knight".
Congress of People's Deputies of Russia
Supreme Council of Russia
Vice President of Russia
Supporters of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation and the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation, including:
- National Salvation Front (NSF)
- « Russian national unity» ( RNE, named after the leader also " Barkashovites», « Guard Barkashov»)
- "Labor Russia" and others.
Commanders from Boris Yeltsin's side -
Boris Yeltsin
Victor Chernomyrdin
Yegor Gaidar
Pavel Grachev
Victor Erin
Valery Evnevich
Alexander Korzhakov
Anatoly Kulikov
Boris Polyakov
Sergey Lysyuk
Nikolay Golushko
White House Commanders (for Soviet power):
Alexander Rutskoy,
Ruslan Khasbulatov
Alexander Barkashov
Vladislav Achalov
Stanislav Terekhov
Albert Makashov
Victor Anpilov
Victor Barannikov
Andrey Dunaev
Citizens who died as a result of the storming of the House of Soviets and mass executions in the area of the House of Soviets on October 4-5, 1993
1. Abakhov Valentin Alekseevich
2. Abrashin Alexey Anatolyevich
3. Adamlyuk Oleg Yuzefovich
4. Alienkov Sergey Mikhailovich
5. Artamonov Dmitry Nikolaevich
6. Boyarsky Evgeniy Stanislavovich
7. Britov Vladimir Petrovich
8. Bronius Jurgelenis Junot
9. Bykov Vladimir Ivanovich
10. Valevich Viktor Ivanovich
11. Verevkin Roman Vladimirovich
12. Vinogradov Evgeniy Alexandrovich
13. Vorobiev Alexander Veniaminovich
14. Vylkov Vladimir Yurievich
15. Gulin Andrey Konstantinovich
16. Devonissky Alexey Viktorovich
17. Demidov Yuri Ivanovich
18. Deniskin Andrey Alekseevich
19. Denisov Roman Vladimirovich
20. Duz Sergey Vasilievich
21. Evdokimenko Valentin Ivanovich
22. Egovtsev Yuri Leonidovich
23. Ermakov Vladimir Alexandrovich
24. Zhilka Vladimir Vladimirovich
25. Ivanov Oleg Vladimirovich
26. Kalinin Konstantin Vladimirovich
27. Katkov Viktor Ivanovich
28. Klimov Yuri Petrovich
29. Klyuchnikov Leonid Aleksandrovich
30. Kovalev Viktor Alekseevich
31. Kozlov Dmitry Valerievich
32. Kudryashev Anatoly Mikhailovich
33. Kurgin Mikhail Alekseevich
34. Kurennoy Anatoly Nikolaevich
35. Kurysheva Marina Vladimirovna
36. Leibin Yuri Viktorovich
37. Livshits Igor Elizarovich
38. Manevich Anatoly Naumovich
39. Marchenko Dmitry Valerievich
40. Matyukhin Kirill Viktorovich
41. Morozov Anatoly Vasilievich
42. Mosharov Pavel Anatolyevich
43. Nelyubov Sergey Vladimirovich
44. Obukh Dmitry Valerievich
45. Pavlov Vladimir Anatolyevich
46. Panteleev Igor Vladimirovich
47. Papin Igor Vyacheslavovich
48. Parnyugin Sergey Ivanovich
49. Peskov Yuri Evgenievich
50. Pestryakov Dmitry Vadimovich
51. Pimenov Yuri Alexandrovich
52. Polstyanova Zinaida Aleksandrovna
53. Rudnev Anatoly Semenovich
54. Saigidova Patimat Gatinamagomedovna
55. Salib Assaf
56. Svyatozarov Valentin Stepanovich
57. Seleznev Gennady Anatolyevich
58. Sidelnikov Alexander Vasilievich
59. Smirnov Alexander Veniaminovich
60. Spiridonov Boris Viktorovich
61. Spitsin Andrey Yurievich
62. Sursky Anatoly Mikhailovich
63. Timofeev Alexander Lvovich
64. Fadeev Dmitry Ivanovich
65. Fimin Vasily Nikolaevich
66. Hanush Fadi
67. Khloponin Sergey Vladimirovich
68. Khusainov Malik Khaidarovich
69. Chelyshev Mikhail Mikhailovich
70. Chelyakov Nikolay Nikolaevich
71. Chernyshev Alexander Vladimirovich
72. Choporov Vasily Dmitrievich
73. Shalimov Yuri Viktorovich
74. Shevyrev Stanislav Vladimirovich
75. Yudin Gennady Valerievich
Citizens who died in other areas of Moscow and the Moscow region in connection with the implementation of coup d'etat September 21 - October 5, 1993
1. Alferov Pavel Vladimirovich
2. Bondarenko Vyacheslav Anatolyevich
3. Vorobyova Elena Nikolaevna
4. Drobyshev Vladimir Andronovich
5. Dukhanin Oleg Alexandrovich
6. Kozlov Alexander Vladimirovich
7. Malysheva Vera Nikolaevna
9. Novokas Sergey Nikolaevich
10. Ostapenko Igor Viktorovich
11. Solokha Alexander Fedorovich
12. Tarasov Vasily Anatolyevich
Military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who died while performing tasks to support the coup
1. Alekseev Vladimir Semenovich
2. Baldin Nikolai Ivanovich
3. Boyko Alexander Ivanovich
4. Gritsyuk Sergey Anatolievich
5. Drozdov Mikhail Mikhailovich
6. Korovushkin Roman Sergeevich
7. Anatoly Anatolyevich Korochensky
8. Korshunov Sergey Ivanovich
9. Krasnikov Konstantin Kirillovich
10. Lobov Yuri Vladimirovich
11. Mavrin Alexander Ivanovich
12. Milchakov Alexander Nikolaevich
13. Mikhailov Alexander Valerievich
14. Pankov Alexander Egorovich
15. Panov Vladislav Viktorovich
16. Petrov Oleg Mikhailovich
17. Reshtuk Vladimir Grigorievich
18. Romanov Alexey Alexandrovich
19. Ruban Alexander Vladimirovich
20. Savchenko Alexander Romanovich
21. Sviridenko Valentin Vladimirovich
22. Sergeev Gennady Nikolaevich
23. Sitnikov Nikolay Yurievich
24. Smirnov Sergey Olegovich
25. Fareluk Anton Mikhailovich
26. Khikhin Sergey Anatolyevich
27. Shevarutin Alexander Nikolaevich
28. Shishaev Ivan Dmitrievich
Based on all open sources of information, we tried to find out, with an accuracy of a few minutes, what happened in the center of Moscow 20 years ago.
16:00 Moscow time. A man in camouflage uniform told reporters. That he is a fighter of the Alpha special forces and will enter the White House to begin negotiations on the surrender of its defenders.
15:50 Moscow time. It looks like the confrontation has come to an end. Leaflets entitled “The Testament of the White House Defenders” are scattered around the White House. The message says: “Now, when you read this letter, we are no longer alive. Our bullet-riddled bodies are burning within the walls of the White House.”
“We truly loved Russia and wanted order to be restored in the country. So that all people have equal rights and the duties to violate the law were prohibited for everyone, regardless of position. We had no plans to escape abroad."
“Forgive us. We also forgive everyone, even the boy soldiers who were sent to shoot us. It's not their fault. But we will never forgive this devilish gang that sat on Russia’s neck. We believe that in the end our Motherland will be freed from this burden.”
15:30 Moscow time. Troops loyal to President Yeltsin resumed shelling the White House.
15:00 Moscow time. The Alpha and Vympel special forces received orders to storm the White House. However, the command says that it will continue to negotiate for some time, trying to convince the defenders of the building to surrender.
14:57 Moscow time. White House defenders say they have no idea what kind of snipers were on the roof.
According to former first Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR Andrei Dunaev, before his eyes, a police officer was shot by a sniper. “We ran to the roof, where a shot was heard, but there was no one there anymore. Judging by how everything happened, neither the KGB nor the Ministry of Internal Affairs were to blame for this. This was done by someone else, maybe even a foreign intelligence agent,” Dunaev suggested.
14:55 Moscow time. One of the Alpha Group officers is killed by a sniper.
“One of our soldiers, young lieutenant Gennady Sergeev, died. His group drove up to the White House in an infantry fighting vehicle. A wounded soldier lay on the asphalt; he had to be evacuated. However, at that very moment the sniper shot Sergeev in the back. But the shot did not come from the White House - that's for sure. This shameful murder had only one goal - to provoke Alpha, so that the fighters would burst into the building and kill everyone there,” said the commander of the Alpha group, Gennady Zaitsev.
14:50 Moscow time Unknown snipers are firing indiscriminately into the crowd around the White House. Yeltsin's supporters, police officers, and ordinary people. Two journalists and a woman were killed, two soldiers were wounded.
14:00 A short lull at the White House. Several defenders of the building came out to surrender.
13:00: According to former MP Vyacheslav Kotelnikov, there have already been many victims on different floors of the White House in Moscow.
“When I walked from one floor of the building to another, I was immediately struck by how much blood, dead and mutilated bodies there was everywhere. Some of them were beheaded, others had their limbs torn off. These people died when tanks started shooting at the White House. However, pretty soon this picture stopped shocking me, because I had to do my job.”
12:00: Foundation " Public opinion» organized a telephone survey of Muscovites. As it turned out, 72% of respondents supported President Yeltsin, 9% were on the side of parliament. 19% of respondents refused to answer the questions.
11:40: Due to the uncoordinated actions of the police security cordons, several teenagers managed to break into the parking lot in front of the White House. Aggressive youth tried to take possession of weapons abandoned by the wounded. This was announced by the commander of the Taman division. Several cars were also stolen.
11:30: 192 victims required medical assistance. 158 of them were hospitalized, 19 subsequently died in hospitals.
11:25: Heavy gunfire resumed in front of the building. The ceasefire agreement was violated. At the same time, people remained in the White House.
11:06: Crowds of people gathered on Smolenskaya Embankment and Novy Arbat who wanted to watch the assault on the Supreme Council. The police failed to disperse the onlookers. According to photographer Dmitry Borko, there were many teenagers and women with children in the crowd. They stood very close to the building and seemed not at all concerned about their safety. 11:00: A ceasefire is declared to allow women and children to leave the White House.
10:00: Defenders of the White House said there were many dead in the building as a result of tank fire.
“When the tanks started shooting, I was on the 6th floor,” said one of the eyewitnesses of the events. - There were a lot of civilians there. All unarmed. I thought that after the shelling the soldiers would rush into the building and tried to find some kind of weapon. I opened the door of the room where a shell had recently exploded, but I couldn’t get in: everything was covered in blood and strewn with fragments of bodies.”
09:45: Supporters of President Yeltsin, using megaphones, convince the White House defenders to stop resisting. “Drop your weapon. Give up. Otherwise you will be destroyed." These calls are heard again and again.
09:20: Tanks fire at the upper floors of the White House from the Kalinin Bridge (now Novoarbatsky Bridge). Six T-80 tanks fired 12 salvos at the building.
“The first salvo destroyed the conference room, the second destroyed Khasbulatov’s office, the third destroyed my office,” said former Vice President and one of the leaders of the White House defenders, Alexander Rutskoy. “I was in the room when a shell flew through the window. It exploded in the right corner of the room. Luckily, my desk was in the left corner. I ran out in complete shock. I don’t know how I even stayed alive.”
9:15: The Supreme Soviet is completely cordoned off by troops loyal to President Yeltsin. They also occupied several neighboring buildings. The building is constantly being shelled with machine guns.
09:05: A televised address by President Boris Yeltsin was broadcast, in which he called the events taking place in Moscow a “planned coup” organized by communist revanchists, fascist leaders, part former deputies, representatives of the Soviets."
“Those who are waving red flags have once again stained Russia with blood. They hoped for surprise, that their impudence and unprecedented cruelty would sow fear and confusion,” Yeltsin said.
The President assured Russians that “the armed fascist-communist rebellion in Moscow will be suppressed at the earliest possible moment.” as soon as possible. For this purpose Russian state there are the necessary forces."
09:00: Defenders of the White House responded with fire to shots fired by the president's supporters. As a result of the shelling, a fire started on the 12th and 13th floors of the building.
08:00: Infantry fighting vehicles opened targeted fire on the White House.
07:50: A shootout began in the park adjacent to the White House.
07:45: The wounded defenders of the White House and the bodies of the dead were moved to one of the building's lobbies.
“I saw about 50 wounded. They lay in rows on the floor in the lobby. Most likely, the bodies of the dead were also there. The faces of those lying in the front rows were covered,” recalled Nikolai Grigoriev, a surgeon and former Minister of Health of Chuvashia, who actually led the makeshift medical unit of the besieged Supreme Council.
07:35: White House security personnel are called to leave the building.
07:25: Five infantry fighting vehicles destroyed the barricades erected by the defenders of the White House and took up positions on Free Russia Square - directly in front of the building.
07:00: Shooting continues outside the White House. Police captain Alexander Ruban, who was filming everything that was happening from the balcony of the Ukraina Hotel, was mortally wounded.
06:50: The first shots are heard near the White House in the center of Moscow.
“We were alerted at 06:45. Still sleepy, we ran out of the building and immediately came under fire. We lay down on the ground. Bullets and shells whistled just ten meters from us,” said one of the White House defenders, Galina N.
