The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union

Martin Mccauley

• Editorial: Routledge
• Año: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317867821
• Edición: 3
• Categoría: Histoire
• Categoría: Histoire du monde

'An expert in probing mafia-type relationships in present-day Russia, Martin McCauley here offers a vigorously written scrutiny of Soviet politics and society since the days of Lenin and Stalin.'

John Keep, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto.

The birth of the Soviet Union surprised many; its demise amazed the whole world. How did imperial Russia give way to the Soviet Union in 1917, and why did the USSR collapse so quickly in 1991?

Marxism promised paradise on earth, but the Communist Party never had true power, instead allowing Lenin and Stalin to become dictators who ruled in its name. The failure of the planned economy to live up to expectations led to a boom in the unplanned economy, in particular the black market. In turn, this led to the growth of organised crime and corruption within the government.

The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union examines the strengths, weaknesses, and contradictions of the first Marxist state, and reassesses the role of power, authority and legitimacy in Soviet politics. Including first-person accounts, anecdotes, illustrations and diagrams to illustrate key concepts, McCauley provides a seminal history of twentieth-century Russia.

Chapter 1

Ave Atque Vale

Jesus Christ joins an Aeroflot flight from Irkutsk to Vladivostok in Siberia. He approaches a passenger. ‘I can grant you any wish you like.’ ‘Oh, I should like all communists to disappear from the face of the earth.’ ‘Yes, that can be arranged.’ He moves on to another passenger. ‘And do you have a special wish?’ ‘Yes, I want all fascists to be done away with.’ ‘All right, I can arrange that.’ He then comes to another passenger, a Jew. ‘Is it really true that you are going to do what those two gentlemen requested?’ ‘Of course. After all, I am the son of God.’ ‘Well, in that case, I should just like a cup of coffee.’

The moral of this story is that divine intervention is needed to get a cup of coffee on an Aeroflot flight. The planned economy is so inefficient it cannot even deliver such a simple request.

This book begins with the event which sealed the fate of the Soviet Union (also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR), the attempted coup of August 1991. The reason for this is to highlight the dramatic conflict which posed those who wanted to move towards a more democratic country against those who wished to retain an authoritarian regime. The inability of the USSR to manage political and social change sealed its fate. The gulf between the ruling class, called the nomenklatura, and the population was too wide. The ruling Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was hopelessly split by August 1991. Many of Mikhail Gorbachev’s supporters advised him to leave the Party and set up a Social Democratic Party which would manage the transition to a more democratic society. He declined to do so and thereby sacrificed much support from radicals and democrats. He was a see-saw leader – always trying to find the golden mean between extremes. The timing of the attempted coup coincided with the proposed signing of a treaty establishing a Union of Sovereign States to succeed the Soviet Union. It was to be a real federation rather than the sham federation which had been the USSR. Economic power was to flow to the republics with only defence, security and foreign affairs being left to the President in Moscow. How strong he would be would depend on how much tax flowed from the republics to Moscow. Vladimir Kryuchkov, head of the Committee of State Security (KGB), was the mastermind behind the attempted coup. The account which follows sees events mainly through his eyes. His memoirs map out the path (Kryuchkov 1996). Differing versions of the coup are provided by Mikhail Gorbachev (1996) and Vladimir Medvedev (1994), Gorbachev’s chief of personal security at Foros. Another major source is R. G. Pikhoya (1998) who, although not present at Foros, interviewed many who were. He spent many years reconstructing the events of the attempted coup.

Until the attempted coup it appeared that President Boris Yeltsin of Russia – the largest republic of the Soviet Union – was in favour of a Union of Sovereign States. The dramatic events of 18 August changed all that. He seized the opportunity to press the claims of Russia ahead of all the other republics. He could now consider another option. Break away from the Soviet Union and restore Russian independence. In other words, Russia would be the successor state to the Soviet Union. Russia or the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) had been subsumed in the Soviet Union and only acquired its own Communist Party, Academy of Sciences, etc. in 1990. The CPSU had administered Russia. Russia did have its own government but this was secondary to the government of the Soviet Union. Moscow was the capital of the Russian Federation and the Soviet Union. The Kremlin was the seat of power of both Russia and the USSR. This chapter can be read in conjunction with Chapter 21 on the Gorbachev era. Beginning at the end of the story in August 1991 encourages the reader to look backwards not only at the events leading up to the attempted coup but also the long term reasons and factors (or historical antecedents) that contributed to the demise of the USSR.

17 August 1991

General Vladimir Kryuchkov, chair of the KGB, leaves his office at the Lubyanka, not far from the Kremlin, steps into his sleek, official car and orders his driver to take him to the ABC complex, on the outskirts of Moscow. The complex is the KGB’s idea of paradise. It is a sanatorium with all mod cons: a swimming pool, a cinema, saunas, a gymnasium and masseuses. It is where senior KGB officers relax after a demanding shift protecting the Soviet Union against its enemies, both inside and outside the country. It is surrounded by guards and high walls to ensure that no prying Russian catches a glimpse of the luxurious lifestyle within. Part of the secret of the power of the CPSU is to enshroud its decision-making process in mystery. Its leaders, of which Kryuchkov is one, arrive at decisions in ways unfathomable to the average citizen. The leaders claim special knowledge of the laws of history, revealed to them by Karl Marx and his chief Russian disciple, Vladimir Lenin. The gap between the leaders and the led is as wide as the Volga.

But all is not well. The disciples cannot agree among themselves on how to maintain their power. Some of them know enough theology to remember the parable about the house divided. A house divided against itself will not stand. The problem is the leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. He is manifesting symptoms of madness. What does one do when the leader is deranged and capable of bringing the whole house down around his ears?

Kryuchkov has a picnic table brought out in the balmy evening weather and covered in Russian delicacies with generous libations of vodka and spirits. He has selected his guests with care. Together they are to attempt something momentous: the removal of the leader. Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov is there looking anxious. Further along sits Oleg Shenin, a member of the Politburo (see Glossary); Oleg Baklanov, deputy head of the Security Council and the most important representative of the military–industrial complex in the Soviet leadership; Valery Boldin, Gorbachev’s Chief of Staff; and General Dmitry Yazov, Minister of Defence. The deputy head of the KGB and two deputy defence ministers are also there. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Boris Pugo, has not been invited.

Pavlov cannot contain himself and complains that the situation is catastrophic. The country is in total chaos and facing famine. The harvest is not being brought in and there is a shortage of fuel. Nobody will obey an order. The only hope for the country is a state of emergency. The others murmur their agreement.

Kryuchkov informs them that he briefs Gorbachev on a regular basis. However, the General Secretary (Gensek) does not grasp what he is being told. He interrupts Kryuchkov, changes the subject and is generally distracted. The ascetic KGB chief had implored Gorbachev on numerous occasions to declare a state of emergency and restore order before it is too late.

The seeds of a coup against the leader had been germinating in Kryuchkov’s mind ever since November 1990. Only a coup supported by the KGB could succeed in the Soviet Union. He is the obvious comrade to mastermind such an operation. Does he not spend his time in the world of espionage? Conspiracy is second nature to him.

Time is of the essence. On 20 August Gorbachev is planning the grand ceremony of the signing of the Union Treaty which will end the Soviet Union and usher in the Union of Sovereign States. This will be a real federation, not the sham federation which the Soviet Union has been. Even worse, the new federation might turn out to be a confederation, a loose association of states with a weak centre. Another problem is that Soviet republics such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania want to leave the Soviet Union and become independent. They do not want to be part of any successor state. Clearly, drastic action is needed to keep the country welded together.

Fortunately for the plotters Gorbachev and his family had decamped on 4 August to Foros, the palatial three storey summer residence which 4,000 military construction workers, over the years 1986–88, had built for Gorbachev in Crimea, on the shores of the Black Sea. Advisers were staying nearby and could be consulted on a regular basis. Gorbachev and his close associates had always considered a coup a possibility. Hence the leader’s decision to abandon Moscow to the plotters must rank as one of the most astonishing misjudgements of recent times. One does not have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out that the more advisable course of action would have been to sign the Union Treaty and then disappear to the luxuries of the south.

The last coup in the Soviet Union had been the bloodless removal of Nikita Khrushchev as Prime Minister and Party leader, in October 1964. The leader had alienated almost every elite in the country. His son apprised him that a plot was being hatched but the leader, in his supreme insouciance, just ignored the information. History was to repeat itself with Gorbachev.

This time around things are not so simple. In 1964, when the KGB gave an order it was obeyed. Nowadays most people have lost their fear of the security services. Kryuchkov has to scare the population. There is going to be an armed uprising against the leadership. They are going to seize strategic points in Moscow: the Kremlin, the railway stations, the Ostankino TV complex, two hotels, and so on. The motherland is in grave danger. There is no time to lose. His co-conspirators think to themselves: ‘Who are they?’ Since the Minister of Defence is one of the conspirators, who will lead the revolt? Marshal Sergei Akhromeev, Chief of the General Staff, and one of the top brains in the military? But he is on holiday in the south. In other words, the KGB has unearthed a conspiracy in the military right under the nose of the Minister of Defence? Nobody considers General Yazov very bright but could he be so dim as not to notice a plot to take over the country?

18 August 1991

A beautiful, sunny Sunday. At 8 a.m. Yazov calls a meeting in the Ministry of Defence. General Kalinin, commander of the Moscow military region, is ordered to get the 2nd guards motor rifle division and the 4th guards tank division ready to enter Moscow. General Pavel Grachev is to do the same with the 106th Tula airborne division. At 11 a.m. Kryuchkov orders Vice-Admiral Zhardetsky, head of the KGB third main directorate, and General Vorotnikov, head of the department for the defence of constitutional order, to prepare and send KGB groups to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Kryuchkov’s deputy, Lebedev, is instructed to shadow and, if necessary, arrest a number of persons. There are 70 names on the list, ranging from the leaders of the Russian government to those in retirement, such as Eduard Shevardnadze. Yeltsin’s dacha, at Arkhangelskoe, 30 km from Moscow, is to be put under surveillance.

The plotters need to reassure Gorbachev that everything is normal. Kryuchkov phones the leader four times and Gorbachev also talks to Gennady Yanaev, his Vice-President, Oleg Shenin, Valentin Pavlov and the deputy Prime Minister, Vladimir Shcherbakov.

At about 4 p.m. Georgy Shakhnazarov phones and asks about details of the trip back to Moscow the following day. He also asks about Gorbachev’s health and the leader says everything is fine except his bad back. Gorbachev has finished his speech for the signing of the treaty and wants to spend the rest of the day with his wife Raisa, daughter Irina, son-in-law Anatoly and granddaughter, Oksana.

At 4.50 p.m. Foros security informs the leader that there are visitors to see him. This is odd as Gorbachev has not invited anyone. He picks up one of the many phones on his desk to find out more. It is dead as well all the others. The leader’s worst suspicions are coming true. Gorbachev paces the room and tries to think of what to do.

How do the plotters gain access? General Yury Plekhanov, head of the KGB’s ninth directorate, responsible for the security of the leadership, is with them. He simply orders the Foros security staff (all KGB operatives) to let them in. He is accompanied by KGB General Generalov, Oleg Shenin, Oleg Baklanov, General Valentin Varennikov, commander-in-chief of ground forces, and Valery Boldin. Gorbachev quickly realises that the Party, military and KGB have betrayed him.

Gorbachev keeps them waiting for some time. Then he allows them to enter his study. Boldin informs the General Secretary they have come to discuss a series of issues about the state of the country.

‘Whom do you represent? Whom are you speaking for?’, he asks.

Baklanov, Varennikov and Boldin begin talking about the need to adopt plans drawn up on his orders to cope with the critical situation. They inform the Gensek that it is necessary to introduce a state of emergency; the Supreme Soviet and government are opposed to the signing of the Union Treaty as it has not been agreed with them. Gorbachev thinks for a while and then asks if the state of emergency will also apply to the Russian government. The reply is positive. The Gensek then comments that it would be better to achieve these goals by ‘democratic methods’. He shakes hands with each as they leave. ‘Damn you all, go ahead!’ (Medvedev 1994).

Gorbachev’s chief of personal security, Vladimir Medvedev, then reports that all communications have been cut. He fears a Khrushchev-like coup. Medvedev states that Boldin has brought documents for Gorbachev to sign. The latter declines to sign them. When Boldin leaves Gorbachev, he appears disappointed but calm, as if he had expected this outcome all along (Medvedev 1994).

Gorbachev’s account is different. To the question, whom do you represent, the reply is:

‘The committee; the committee established in connection with the state of emergency’.

‘Who appointed this committee? I did not and neither did the Supreme Soviet.’

They explain to him in a condescending manner that Gennady Yanaev has assumed the presidency and that a state of emergency has been declared. Gorbachev wants to know the members of the State Commit...