He was the planner and director of more than one coup in other countries. In particular, he was the direct organiser of the coup in Poland in 1981. All the same, there were arrests. The last of these was held for only two hours. That's not all.
Questions crop up at every step.
No-one dreamt up a diagnosis for Gorbachev's illness. To all appearances, no. People like Pavlov, Pugo and Kryuchkov couldn't be so naive. The official version has it that the Democrats were victorious thanks to the heroism of Muscovites and their leaders. It wasn't so simple.