Three Days that Shook the World

Abstract

At the time of the attempted coup, in August 1991, the Soviet Union, or what was left of it, was already at an advanced state of decay. But the disintegration of the Union did not occur as a result of the coup. It was a process which began in 1985 after the introduction of perestroika and glasnost. It was a process of fragmentation of government authority which brought about a situation characterised by a complete collapse of central power which previously was instrumental in maintaining the integral unity of what was then the USSR. In fact, by 19 August 1991, there was a power vacuum which the coup leaders expected to fill.