The August Coup
Journal: International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research
Year: 2024

“The coup… was a shock to the rest of the world”1 said Mr. Burns. “We began to realize it was possible that the Soviet Union might break up -- might cease to exist. It was unimaginable before that."2 These were Nicholas Burn’s remarks, the director for Soviet affairs during President H.W Bush’s administration, and the fall of the Soviet Union. The August Coup was an attempted coup by 8 hardline conservatives3 to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev’s rule of the Soviet Union in August 1991. They were opp