THE AUGUST 1991 MOSCOW COUP AND THE POSITION OF THE GEORGIAN COMMUNIST PARTY
Abstract
In the early 1990s, the Kremlin continued to try to stop the inevitable collapse of the Soviet Union. The so-called Some of the Soviet republics had already declared the restoration of state independence and were patiently waiting for the de-jure recognition process to begin. In such a situation, in August 1991, certain forces in Moscow staged a coup. The aim of the putschists was to remove from the ranks of the Soviet government those people who, in their view, were contributing to the disintegration of the USSR and trying to replace them with individuals who would halt the disintegration process by demonstrating and / or using force. The mentioned event was followed by mixed reactions, both outside the Republic of Georgia and in Georgian political circles. A relevant statement was made by the Georgian national government, including its president, about the position of the Georgian government. The statement was cautious, measured and called on the Georgian people to remain vigilant and not to resort to provocations. Different positions were observed by the representatives of the opposition forces. Among them, the position taken by the Communist Party of Georgia, which was a direct support of the coup in Moscow, is noteworthy. The newspaper "Life" of the Georgian Communist Party reported about the open expression of this position. The previous article is a kind of analysis of the political assessments and results of the time around this issue. Interestingly, the newspaper is dated August 21, which makes us think of the following: Members of the Georgian Communist Party were hoping for a victory in the current coup. But they still did not know that August 21, the date of the newspaper's publication, would coincide with the end of the coup. It must be said that the position taken by the Communists posed a great threat to the de facto independence of Georgia, and the response of the authorities was quite logical.
Key words: August 1991; Putch; Newspaper ,,Tsxovreba“; Communist Party; President.
