19081991

19081991 refers to 19 August 1991, a date marked by the attempted coup in the Soviet Union known as the August Coup. On that day, a group of high‑ranking officials formed the State Committee for the State of Emergency (GKChP) and announced a state of emergency, claiming to defend the country and its constitutional order while reversing parts of Mikhail Gorbachev’s reform program. The move reflected growing resistance among some leaders to perestroika and the loosening of central control.

The day’s events unfolded in Moscow and other Soviet cities as the GKChP sought to seize power and place Gorbachev under temporary detention. Gorbachev himself was not present in the capital; he was away from Moscow and subsequently placed under house arrest at his dacha in Foros, Crimea, as the coup unfolded. The plan relied on loyalist actions by security forces and the military, but key segments of the armed forces and security services did not fully comply, and public opposition quickly grew.

By 21 August the coup dissolved as mass demonstrations, political opposition, and a lack of decisive military support undermined the GKChP’s authority. The failure accelerated the political breakdown of the Soviet system and undermined the authority of hardline elements within the Communist Party. In the weeks that followed, republics moved toward greater independence, culminating in the dissolution of the Soviet Union later that year and the emergence of new national governments, including the Russian Federation under a different constitutional trajectory. The events of 19081991 are commonly viewed as a turning point in the end of the Soviet era.