into Moscow as well as several Baltic capitals. Broadcast stations and government buildings were seized. O n Tuesday afternoon the coup began to unravel. Several leaders quit or "became ill." The end of the overthrow was at hand. O n Wednesday morning Yeltsin prepared to visit Gorbachev. A 3-mile-long line of tanks began to leave for Moscow. The Soviet parliament nullified all coup decrees and demanded the return of Gorbachev. O n Thursday Gorbachev and his family returned home. The coup was over, and order was momentarily returned to the state. Although it failed, the coup emphasized the ailing state of communism. O n one side, Gorbachev and Yeltsin pushed for reforms that would ultimately bring about the ruination of communism. O n the other side, the leaders of the coup and other hard-line communists, who detested Gorbachev's direction, sought to take the union. As the mighty Russian empire lay in ruins, several problems arose. The most pressing of these, from a western standpoint, is w h o will control the Soviet Union's vast arsenal of nuclear warheads. Approximately 27,000 warheads are scattered throughout the By Douglas R. Dempsey region, many outside the direct control of Moscow. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall and stayed their for nearly Western leaders, as of yet, do not foresee problems. 75 years. N o w , hopefully, Humpty Dumpty has fallen, his mighty Even the warheads that could fall under the control of wall has been toppled, and communism is dead. It's hard toa newly-independent state are unlikely to be used. The same safeguards that prevented their use before the believe, but it's true. communist breakup are still in place. Mutual destrucAfter 74 years of terror, death, and aggression, the mighty communist war machine has fallen into disarray. N o longer tion, while not openly discussed anymore, is still a will Eastern Europe be dominated by the monolithic gov- factor ensuring stability. A second problem, one that is internal, is the skept ernment that once held so many in its powerful iron fist. What remains of the once awesome union of communist cism of many Russians towards the supposed "new nations has n o w disintegrated. The republics have declared order." In spite of the sweeping changes in the Soviet their independence. Gorbachev has resigned. Red is dead, Union, the attempted coup, the nuclear disarmament treaty and a host of other radical movements, little ha and the cold war is over. Communism toppled virtually overnight. Party offices changed for most Russians. As the rest of the world looks on with anticipation, were closed, the leadership disbanded. The most dramatic the Russian people are skeptical. example of this collapse was the August coup attempt that "Politicians always make promises about h o w life ousted Gorbachev for three days. will be better, but they never fulfill them," Nikolai The events of the coup will probably never be fully revealed. What w e know has been gathered from limited sources, but a Petrovich, a retired factory worker and military veteran sketch of the events gives a hint of how communism died. said. "I've been around a long time, and I've seen O n Sunday, August 18, rebel soldiers arrived at Gorbachev'sthings change in Moscow again and again, but nothing door. They demanded his cooperation, but he refused. Fi- ever changes for us." "For peasants and workers, it just gets worse," nally they overpowered him and took him away. Petrovich continued. "Why should it be any different O n Monday morning tanks began rumbling into Moscow. now?" A state of emergency was declared. Protesters of the coup Yes, the Berlin Wall has fallen. The Soviet Union ha began gathering outside the Russian parliament building, a fragmented. Communist leaders are resigning, and foreshadowing of the massive protests yet to come. O n Monday afternoon Boris Yeltsin entered the picture. Soviet leaders promise even more reforms. W h e n the Yeltsin climbed on top of a tank and declared that the coup smoke finally clears, will there be anything different? was illegal. H e called for massive strikes and civil disobedi- After 74 years, it is hard to imagine a world withou the evil empire. Hopefully, the events of the past ye ence in an effort to topple the coup. O n Monday evening an announcement was made claiming will signify a positive change. Humpty Dumpty, it Gorbachev was "ill," an ominous statement that had many seems, is finished.
The Upheaval of Communism
