Scheduled for 7:00
In the fall of 1993, the confrontation between the two branches of power - the president and the government, on the one hand, and the people's deputies and the Supreme Council, on the other - reached a dead end. The Constitution, which the opposition so zealously defended, tied Boris Yeltsin’s hands and feet. There was only one way out: to change the law, if necessary - by force.
The conflict entered a phase of extreme aggravation on September 21, after the famous decree No. 1400, in which Yeltsin temporarily terminated the powers of the Congress and the Supreme Council. Communications, water and electricity were cut off in the parliament building. However, the legislators blocked there were not going to give up. Volunteers came to their aid and defended the White House.
On the night of October 4, the president decides to storm the Supreme Council using armored vehicles, and government troops converge on the building. The operation is scheduled for 7 am. As soon as the eighth hour countdown began, the first victim appeared - a police captain, who was filming what was happening from the balcony of the Ukraina Hotel, was killed by a bullet.
White House victims
Already at 10 a.m., information about the death began to arrive. large quantity defenders of the residence of the Supreme Council as a result of tank shelling. By 11:30 a.m., 158 people were in need of assistance. medical care, 19 of them later died in hospital. At 13:00, People's Deputy Vyacheslav Kotelnikov reported large casualties among those who were in the White House. At approximately 2:50 p.m., unknown snipers begin shooting at people crowded outside the parliament.
Closer to 16:00, the resistance of the defenders was suppressed. A government commission assembled in hot pursuit quickly tallies the victims of the tragedy - 124 killed, 348 wounded. Moreover, the list does not include those killed in the White House itself.
The head of the investigation team of the Prosecutor General's Office, Leonid Proshkin, who was involved in the seizure of the Moscow mayor's office and the television center, notes that all the victims are the result of attacks by government forces, since it was proven that “not a single person was killed by the weapons of the White House defenders.” According to the Prosecutor General's Office, cited by deputy Viktor Ilyukhin, a total of 148 people died during the storming of parliament, with 101 people killed near the building.
And then, in various comments on these events, the numbers only grew. On October 4, CNN, relying on its sources, said that about 500 people had died. The newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, citing soldiers of the internal troops, wrote that they collected the remains of almost 800 defenders, “charred and torn by tank shells.” Among them were those who drowned in the flooded basements of the White House. Former MP Supreme Council from Chelyabinsk region Anatoly Baronenko announced 900 dead.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta published an article by an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who did not want to introduce himself, who said: “In total, about 1,500 corpses were discovered in the White House, among them women and children. All of them were secretly taken from there through an underground tunnel leading from the White House to the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station, and then outside the city, where they were burned.”
There is unconfirmed information that a note was seen on the desk of Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, which indicated that 1,575 corpses were taken out of the White House in just three days. But what surprised everyone the most was Literary Russia, which announced 5,000 dead.
Difficulties in counting
Representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Tatyana Astrakhankina, who headed the commission to investigate the events of October 1993, found that soon after the shooting of the parliament, all materials on this case were classified, “some medical histories of the wounded and dead” were rewritten, and “dates of admission to morgues and hospitals” were changed. . This, of course, creates an almost insurmountable obstacle to accurately counting the number of victims of the storming of the White House.
The number of deaths, at least in the White House itself, can only be determined indirectly. If you believe the assessment of Obshchaya Gazeta, about 2,000 besieged people left the White House without filtering. Considering that initially there were about 2.5 thousand people there, we can conclude that the number of victims definitely did not exceed 500.
We must not forget that the first victims of the confrontation between supporters of the president and parliament appeared long before the White House attack. So, on September 23, two people died on the Leningradskoye Highway, and since September 27, according to some estimates, casualties have become almost daily.
According to Rutsky and Khasbulatov, by mid-day on October 3, the death toll reached 20 people. In the second half of the same day, as a result of a clash between oppositionists and Ministry of Internal Affairs forces on the Crimean Bridge, 26 civilians and 2 policemen were killed.
Even if we look up the lists of all the dead, those who died in hospitals and those missing in action during those days, it will be extremely difficult to determine which of them became victims of political clashes.
Ostankino massacre
On the eve of the storming of the White House on the evening of October 3, responding to Rutskoi’s call, General Albert Makashov, at the head of an armed detachment of 20 people and several hundred volunteers, tried to seize the television center building. However, by the time the operation began, Ostankino was already guarded by 24 armored personnel carriers and about 900 military personnel loyal to the president.
After trucks belonging to supporters of the Supreme Council rammed the ASK-3 building, an explosion occurred (its source was never determined), causing the first casualties. This was the signal for heavy fire, which began to be fired by internal troops and police officers from the television complex building.
They fired bursts and single shots, including from sniper rifles, just into the crowd, without making out whether they were journalists, onlookers or trying to pull out the wounded. Later, the indiscriminate shooting was explained by the large crowding of people and the approaching twilight.
But the worst thing began later. Most people tried to hide in the Oak Grove located next to AEK-3. One of the oppositionists recalled how the crowd was squeezed into a grove on both sides, and then they began to shoot from an armored personnel carrier and four machine gun nests from the roof of the television center.
According to official figures, the fighting for Ostankino claimed the lives of 46 people, including two inside the building. However, witnesses claim that there were many more victims.
Can't count the numbers
Writer Alexander Ostrovsky in his book “The Shooting of the White House.” Black October 1993" tried to sum up the victims of those tragic events, based on verified data: "Before October 2 - 4 people, on the afternoon of October 3 at the White House - 3, in Ostankino - 46, during the storming of the White House - at least 165, 3 and on October 4 in other places of the city - 30, on the night from October 4 to October 5 - 95, plus those who died after October 5, in total - about 350 people.”
However, many admit that official statistics are several times underestimated. To what extent, one can only guess, based on eyewitness accounts of those events.
Moscow State University teacher Sergei Surnin, who observed the events not far from the White House, recalled how after the shooting began, he and about 40 other people fell to the ground: “Armored personnel carriers passed by us and from a distance of 12-15 meters they shot the people lying down - one third of those lying nearby were killed or injured. Moreover, in the immediate vicinity of me there are three killed, two wounded: next to me, to my right, a dead man, another dead man behind me, at least one killed in front.”
The artist Anatoly Nabatov saw from the window of the White House how in the evening after the end of the assault a group of about 200 people was brought to the Krasnaya Presnya stadium. They were stripped, and then near the wall adjacent to Druzhinnikovskaya Street, they began to shoot them in batches until late at night on October 5th. Eyewitnesses said that they had previously been beaten. According to deputy Baronenko, at least 300 people were shot at the stadium and near it.
Famous public figure, who led the movement in 1993 People's action", Georgy Gusev testified that in the courtyards and entrances of the detainees they were beaten by riot police, and then killed by unknown persons "in a strange form."
One of the drivers who transported corpses from the parliament building and the stadium admitted that he had to make two trips in his truck to the Moscow region. IN forest area the corpses were thrown into pits, covered with earth, and the burial site was leveled with a bulldozer.
Human rights activist Evgeniy Yurchenko, one of the founders of the Memorial society, which dealt with the issue of secret destruction of corpses in Moscow crematoria, managed to learn from the workers of the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery about the burning of 300-400 corpses. Yurchenko also drew attention to the fact that if in “regular months,” according to statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, up to 200 unclaimed corpses were burned in crematoria, then in October 1993 this figure increased several times - to 1,500.
According to Yurchenko, the list of those killed during the events of September-October 1993, where either the fact of disappearance was proven or witnesses to death were found, is 829 people. But obviously this list is incomplete.
The confrontation between the two branches of Russian government, which has lasted since the collapse of the USSR - the executive in the person of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the legislative in the form of parliament (the Supreme Council (SC) of the RSFSR), headed by Ruslan Khasbulatov, around the pace of reforms and methods of building a new state, October 3-4, 1993 year and ended with a tank shelling of the seat of parliament - the House of Soviets (White House).
According to the conclusion of the State Duma Commission for additional study and analysis of the events that took place in the city of Moscow on September 21 - October 5, 1993, the initial cause and grave consequences of them were the preparation and publication by Boris Yeltsin of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 21 No. 1400 "On the phased constitutional reform in Russian Federation", voiced in his television address to the citizens of Russia on September 21, 1993 at 20.00. The Decree, in particular, ordered to interrupt the implementation of legislative, administrative and control functions by the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation, not to convene the Congress of People's Deputies, and also to stop powers of people's deputies of the Russian Federation.
30 minutes after Yeltsin’s television message, Chairman of the Supreme Council (SC) Ruslan Khasbulatov spoke on television. He qualified Yeltsin's actions as a coup d'etat.
On the same day at 22.00, at an emergency meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Court, a resolution was adopted “On the immediate termination of the powers of the President of the Russian Federation B.N. Yeltsin.”
At the same hours, an emergency meeting of the Constitutional Court (CC) began, chaired by Valery Zorkin. The court concluded that this decree violates the Constitution and is the basis for the removal of President Yeltsin from office. After the conclusion of the Constitutional Court was delivered to the Supreme Council, it, continuing its meeting, adopted a resolution entrusting the execution of presidential powers to Vice President Alexander Rutsky. The country entered into an acute political crisis.
On September 23 at 22.00, the extraordinary (extraordinary) X Congress of People's Deputies opened in the building of the Supreme Council. By order of the government, telephone communications and electricity were cut off in the building. The congress participants voted to terminate Yeltsin's powers and assigned Vice President Alexander Rutsky to act as president. The congress appointed the main "power ministers" - Viktor Barannikov, Vladislav Achalov and Andrei Dunaev.
To protect the Armed Forces building, additional security units were formed from among volunteers, the members of which, with a special permit, were issued firearms that belonged to the Armed Forces Security Department.
On September 27, the building of the Supreme Council was surrounded by a continuous ring of police officers and internal troops, and a fence of barbed wire. Letting people through Vehicle(including ambulances), food and medicine supplies inside the cordon zone were virtually stopped.
On September 29, President Yeltsin and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin demanded that Khasbulatov and Rutskoi withdraw people from the White House and surrender their weapons by October 4.
On October 1, at the St. Daniel Monastery, through the mediation of Patriarch Alexy II, negotiations began between representatives of the governments of Russia and Moscow and the Supreme Council. Electricity was turned on in the building of the Supreme Council, and water began to flow.
At night, a protocol was signed at the mayor’s office on the gradual “removal of the tension of the confrontation,” which was the result of negotiations.
On October 2 at 13.00 a rally of supporters of the Armed Forces began on Smolenskaya Square in Moscow. There were clashes between demonstrators and police and riot police. During the riots, it was closed for several hours. Garden Ring road at the Foreign Ministry building.
On October 3, the conflict acquired an avalanche-like character. The opposition rally, which began at 14.00 on Oktyabrskaya Square, attracted tens of thousands of people. Having broken through the riot police barriers, the rally participants moved towards the White House and unblocked it.
At about 16.00, Alexander Rutskoy from the balcony called for storming the city hall and Ostankino.
By 5 p.m., demonstrators stormed several floors of City Hall. When breaking through the cordon in the area of the Moscow City Hall, police officers used lethal firearms against the demonstrators.
At about 19.00 the assault on the Ostankino television center began. At 19.40 all TV channels interrupted their broadcasts. After a short break, the second channel went on air, working from a backup studio. The demonstrators' attempt to take over the television center was unsuccessful.
At 22.00, Boris Yeltsin’s decree on introducing a state of emergency in Moscow and releasing Rutskoi from his duties as Vice President of the Russian Federation was broadcast on television. The deployment of troops to Moscow began.
On October 4, at 7:30 a.m., the operation to clear the White House began. Large-caliber weapons are being fired. At about 10.00 the tanks began shelling the Armed Forces building, causing a fire there.
At about 13.00, the defenders of the Armed Forces began to leave, and the wounded began to be carried out of the parliament building.
At about 6 p.m., White House defenders announced the cessation of resistance. Alexander Rutskoy, Ruslan Khasbulatov and other leaders of the armed resistance of supporters of the Supreme Council were arrested.
At 19.30, the Alpha group took 1,700 journalists, members of the Armed Forces, city residents and deputies under guard and evacuated from the building.
According to the conclusions of the State Duma Commission, according to a rough estimate, in the events of September 21 - October 5, 1993, about 200 people were killed or died from their injuries and at least 1,000 people were injured or other bodily harm of varying degrees of severity.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
October 1993, the Russian parliament was dispersed by tanks and special forces. Then a civil war almost broke out in Moscow, caused by a political war - between President Yeltsin and the Supreme Council. Its tragic point was the shooting of the Parliament building (the White House). Who ordered and who shot " The White house"? What is the role of the West in those events? And what did they ultimately turn out to be for the country?
FROM THE HISTORY
Politicians fought and died ordinary people. 150 people
Political infighting between President Yeltsin and the Supreme Council led by Khasbulatov lasted throughout 1993. At this time, the Kremlin was working on a new Constitution, since the old one, according to the president, was slowing down reforms. The new Constitution gave enormous rights to the president and nullified the rights of parliament.
Tired of butting heads with deputies, on September 21, 1993, Yeltsin signed Decree No. 1400 to terminate the activities of the Supreme Council. The deputies refused to comply, declaring that Yeltsin had carried out a “coup d’etat” and that his powers were being terminated and transferred to Vice President Rutskoi.
Riot police blocked the White House, where parliament was meeting. Communications, electricity and water were cut off there. Supporters of the Supreme Council built barricades, and on September 3 they began clashing with riot police, killing 7 demonstrators and injuring dozens.
Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in Moscow. And Rutskoi called for seizing the Ostankino television center in order to gain access to the airwaves. Dozens of people died during the capture of Ostankino. On the night of October 4, Yeltsin gave the order to storm the White House. In the morning the building was shelled. In total, 150 people were killed and four hundred were injured on October 3-4. Khasbulatov and Rutskoy were arrested and sent to Lefortovo.
FIRST-HAND
Ruslan KHASBULATOV, Chairman of the Supreme Council in 1993:
“Kohl persuaded Clinton to help Yeltsin destroy parliament”
Ruslan Imranovich, after 15 years, how do you see the history of October 1993?
The greatest tragedy that turned the vector of Russia's development. As soon as we received freedom, the parliament was shot by tanks. In October 1993, democracy was shot in Russia. Since then, this concept has been discredited in Russia; people are allergic to it. The shooting of the Supreme Council led to autocratic thinking in the country.
So, if there had not been bloody October 93, Russia could have been different?
Parliament would not have allowed many destructive reforms, the formation in the 90s of a satellite “substate” completely subordinate to the West. Why now blame the USA and Europe, who are swearing, that Russia kicked up? After all, during the Yeltsin decade, they got used to the fact that Russia is a humiliated supplicant, unquestioningly carrying out any hint. And here Putin and Medvedev are unfolding in a new way. I personally saw the transcript of the conversation between Helmut Kohl (then Chancellor of Germany - Ed.) and Clinton. Kohl convinced the US President that the Russian parliament was interfering with Yeltsin, that there was complete mutual understanding with Yeltsin - “he unquestioningly fulfills all our requests.” But his parliament is “nationalist”. (Note, not even communist.) We, they say, must help Yeltsin get rid of the nationalists. Clinton agreed. The West pushed Yeltsin to massacre and helped him carry it out.
ARROW INDICATIONS
Tank officer:
“Our company was promised a bag of money”
Komsomolskaya Pravda found the former tanker who shot at parliament
The former platoon commander of the Kantemirovskaya Tank Division in 1993 agreed to answer my questions on the condition that his name would be changed. He asked to call himself Andrey Orenburgsky.
Andrey, why did you leave the army?
After 1993, everyone who carried out a task at the White House felt uncomfortable living in a military camp. The officers, who obviously kept party cards, called us “traitors” and “murderers.” Then leaflets appeared on the fences - with a death sentence and a list of our names. At night they threw stones at the windows... I had to ask to go to other districts. But there was also bad rumors there. Moreover, in everyone’s personal file, gratitude from Yeltsin was recorded. And everyone has the same date - October... And it’s clear to a fool...
How did your journey begin?
In October, our company arrived from the state farm to help harvest the crops. The sergeant major led the soldiers to the bathhouse, and the officers to their homes. I got into the shower, soaped myself up, and then my wife shouted through the door: “Alarm!” I am, of course, a mother-to-be, but a propeller for the regiment. And there is serious fuss there. Our company commander Grishin said that there is a mess in Moscow, people are rowdy, we will restore order. I also remember asking: what does the army have to do with it if there is a police force? Grishin said: “There aren’t enough of them anymore...”
How did you go?
We crawled onto the Minsk highway and along the side of the road, sparing the asphalt. A Volga started to slow us down. In his headphones, the commander swears wildly at the mechanic: “Don’t stop! Push her to hell! Or throw it in a ditch!”
The Volga still stopped us. Grishin was yelling something in the very ear of the guy from the Volzhanka. Then - into the tank, and then we went further. And Grishin shouts to me: “This guy said: “Son, you’ll get a bag of money, just save Yeltsin from his enemies!”
The imaginary bag of money was inspiring. Early in the morning we walked along Kutuz to the Ukraine Hotel. Two of our tanks were already stationed at the White House. Then two more came.
What kind of ammunition did you have?
Different. There were training blanks, and cumulative ones... That’s when I realized that the matter smelled of kerosene. But there were also cartridges for machine guns... Colonel General Kondratyev approached. Said: “If someone is afraid, they can leave.” Nobody left. I was hoping that maybe I wouldn't have to shoot...
Did you understand what was happening?
Grishin told me that our task is to “demonstrate strength.” At first there was no talk about firing seriously.
What else do you remember on the bridge?
People were breaking through to us, but the riot police did not let them in. They waved their parliamentary ceremonies. They shouted: “Guys, dear ones, don’t shoot!”... Then the tank was ordered to go to the middle of the bridge. The guns were turned towards the White House. They stood there like that. And suddenly Grishin’s voice came through the headphones: “Prepare to open fire!”... Then the order was to hit the central entrance. Right in the middle.
What kind of projectile?
The first shot is a blank. Out of excitement, I took my aim low. The blank ricocheted and went to the side... The second one went there too. My hands were shaking. Grishin set fire to me and ordered me to get out from behind the gun sight. He sat down in my place. And - on the fifth floor. It hit the window exactly.
It was disgusting at heart! The people are there. And the building is beautiful... After all, Russians were shooting at Russians... When it was all over, I wanted to get drunk on vodka and fall asleep...
We were transferred to Khodynka. They fed me well and even gave me vodka - an unprecedented thing! And then there was an order to submit nominations for rewarding those who distinguished themselves.
Have you been introduced too?
Yes. To the medal. "For exemplary execution Russian parliament"(laughs). But seriously, they gave me 200 “premium” rubles. But they promised “a bag of money”...
Victor BARANETS
THE PAST AND THOUGHTS
Gennady BURBULIS, Secretary of State of the Russian Federation in the early 90s, Yeltsin’s ally: “The Kremlin was in a coma”
I remember how on the evening of October 3 Filatov (the head of Yeltsin’s administration - author) called me: “We need to do something.” I got into the car and drove through the frighteningly empty Moscow. It was eerie silence. I stopped by the 14th building of the Kremlin. Extinct building. No one walks the corridors. Everyone is devastated. It is impossible to imagine that such a state is possible in the heart of a huge country, in the brain of its power. I think the state the Kremlin was in was coma, paralysis. But the White House was in the same state. This state could not be allowed to last even an hour, let alone a day.
Did Yeltsin personally give the order to use force?
Who else could give it? When Yeltsin made the decision, agreements began between the security forces on further actions.
Was there anyone who came out strongly against the shooting?
Such decisions are never made with glee. But there are situations when avoiding choice is an even greater shame. The country was on the verge of civil war. In the midst of such events there are always adventurers thirsting for turmoil and blood. I believe that both sides are equally responsible - Yeltsin’s supporters and Khasbulatov’s supporters. Both sides persisted, but the people suffered.
What did this tragedy teach Russia?
The shooting of parliament is historically always a tragedy. But October 1993 led to the adoption of a new Constitution. She proclaimed that man, his rights and freedoms are the highest value, and became the pillar of the country for the coming decades. This is such amazing historical logic. October 1993 is the price to pay for the prospects we have today.
WHAT WAS IT
Alexander TsIPKO, political scientist:
“In 1993, Russia turned away from the path of a parliamentary republic”
There is a terrible historical pattern in the shooting of the White House. These deputies supported the Belovezhskaya Accords, destroying the USSR. And two years later, history itself discarded them.
Before the execution of the Supreme Council, Russia had the opportunity to maintain a parliamentary-presidential republic. But a different option was chosen - a presidential, even super-presidential republic. In essence, the restoration of omnipotence, almost autocracy. Opportunities for a peaceful, smooth transition from communism to capitalism were missed. Russia became the only country in Eastern Europe that achieved a political goal through blood. We missed the path that the rest of the socialist camp took. The parliamentary path opened up more space for democracy.
The struggle between parliament and Yeltsin is not a conflict within the people, but a showdown between the ruling layers. Yeltsin and Gaidar wanted immediate total reforms, including the privatization of the oil industry. Parliament was in favor of gradual reforms.
Since Yeltsin shot the parliament in 1993, a gulf has opened between the people and the authorities. Since then, the attitude of the people towards power has developed as if it had nothing to do with them.
The events of October 1993 remind us that the system that has developed in Russia since then is unstable. The debate about the parliamentary beginning has not been fully resolved. And the fact that the prime minister in Russia today has become a figure relying on the majority in the Duma is not accidental. Sooner or later, Russia will still have to seek a democratic balance between parliament and the executive branch.
ONLY HERE
Former Alpha commander Gennady ZAYTSEV: “The President said: we need to free the White House from the gang entrenched there”
A special forces officer talks for the first time about why he refused to carry out an order on October 4, 1993
Gennady Nikolaevich, how did the Alpha and Vympel groups (then part of the Main Security Directorate - the current Federal Security Service of Russia) manage to do without storming the White House and without casualties in 1993?
The president's order was, naturally, not the same as what we did...
Was it a written order?
No. Yeltsin simply said: this is the situation, we need to free the White House from the gang settled there. The order was such that it was necessary to act not by persuasion, but by force of arms.
But it was not terrorists who were sitting there, but our citizens... We decided to send envoys there.
Is that why there was no blood?
How was it not? Our Alpha soldier, junior lieutenant Gennady Sergeev, died... They drove up in an armored personnel carrier to the White House. A wounded paratrooper was lying on the asphalt. And they decided to take him out. They dismounted from the armored vehicle, and at that time a sniper hit Sergeev in the back. But this was not a shot from the White House, I unequivocally declare.
This meanness, it had one purpose - to embitter “Alpha” so that she would rush there and start shredding everything. But I understood that if we abandoned the operation altogether, the unit would be over. It will be overclocked...
Khasbulatov and Rutsky doubted for a long time - to give up or not to give up?
No, not long. We set the time - 20 minutes. And two conditions: either we build a corridor towards the Moscow River, call buses and take everyone to the nearest metro. Or in 20 minutes the assault. They said that they agreed to the first option... One of the deputies directly said: why is there any debate?
What if they hadn't given up?
Not really. Well, how could they not give up? Where are they going? Then they would have been detained by force.
With the use of weapons?
I think no. We had an order not only in relation to them, but in general. But especially in relation to these, of course.
Rutsky and Khasbulatov?
Naturally.
Was there an order to shoot?
Well, understand the reality of the situation. Once there is an order to free the “White House” from the gang entrenched there... So you won’t release it through persuasion. This means we have to fight... But we said: everyone who has a weapon, when leaving the White House, leave it in the lobby. A mountain of weapons formed there... But still, “Alpha” and “Vympel” fell out of favor.
Why?
For one simple reason, that the order had to be carried out using other methods.
That is, by force?
Yes. Therefore, in December 1993, a presidential decree was signed on the transfer of Vympel to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
What about Alpha?
I think that Barsukov (at that time the director of the Main Directorate) could have reported to Yeltsin somewhere: they say, this unit no longer exists, and that’s all, Boris Nikolaevich. And they forgot about Alpha. And in 1995 she was transferred to Lubyanka...
Alexander GAMOV.
REVELATION
Andrey DUNAEV, until the summer of 1993, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, supporter of the Supreme Council:
“The snipers were sent from the US Embassy”
If we wanted, we could have stayed in the White House for a month or two. There were stocks of weapons and food. But then civil war would break out. If instead of Khasbulatov there had been a Russian, perhaps everything would have turned out differently. The Rostov riot police, who arrived in Moscow, told me: “Two m...kas are fighting for power. One is Russian, and the other is Chechen. This way we’d better support the Russians.”
They supported not the law, but the Russian Boris.
A few years later I met at a birthday party with former minister defense by Pavel Grachev. He said: “Do you remember when I walked in front of the tanks without a helmet? This is so you can kill me." That is, he deliberately set himself up. But we didn’t shoot... Before my eyes, an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs died, he was cut down by a sniper from the Mir Hotel. They rushed there, but the shooter managed to get away; only by special signs and style of execution did they understand that this was not the handwriting of our MVD men, not the KGB men, but someone else’s. Apparently, foreign intelligence services. And the instigators were sent from the American embassy. The USA wanted to inflate civil war and ruin Russia.
Olga KHODAEVA (“Express newspaper”).
Read also other materials about the shooting of parliament in Express Gazeta.
ONLY NUMBERS
People against reprisals
Since 1993, the Yuri Levada Center has conducted regular surveys of the population about those events. If in 1993 51% of respondents considered the use of force justified, and in Moscow - 78%, then 12 years later only 17% of Russians approved the use of force, and 60% were against it.
In the first years of the existence of the Russian Federation, the confrontation President Boris Yeltsin and the Supreme Council led to an armed clash, the shooting of the White House and bloodshed. As a result, the system of government bodies that had existed since the times of the USSR was completely eliminated, and a new Constitution was adopted. AiF.ru recalls the tragic events of October 3-4, 1993.
Before the breakup Soviet Union The Supreme Council of the RSFSR, according to the 1978 Constitution, was empowered to resolve all issues within the jurisdiction of the RSFSR. After the USSR ceased to exist, the Supreme Council was a body of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation (the highest authority) and still had enormous power and authority, despite amendments to the Constitution on the separation of powers.
It turned out that main law country, adopted under Brezhnev, limited the rights of the elected Russian President Boris Yeltsin, and he sought the speedy adoption of a new Constitution.
In 1992-1993, a constitutional crisis erupted in the country. President Boris Yeltsin and his supporters, as well as the Council of Ministers, entered into a confrontation with the Supreme Council, chaired by Ruslana Khasbulatova, most of the people's deputies of the Congress and Vice President Alexander Rutsky.
The conflict was connected with the fact that its parties had completely different ideas about the further political and socio-economic development of the country. They had especially serious disagreements over economic reforms, and no one was going to compromise.
Exacerbation of the crisis
The crisis entered its active phase on September 21, 1993, when Boris Yeltsin announced in a televised address that he had issued a decree on a phased constitutional reform, according to which the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council were to cease their activities. He was supported by the Council of Ministers headed by Viktor Chernomyrdin And Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.
However, according to the current Constitution of 1978, the president did not have the authority to dissolve the Supreme Council and the Congress. His actions were regarded as unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court decided to terminate the powers of President Yeltsin. Ruslan Khasbulatov even called his actions a coup.
In the following weeks, the conflict only escalated. Members of the Supreme Council and people's deputies were actually blocked in the White House, where communications and electricity were cut off and there was no water. The building was cordoned off by police and military personnel. In turn, opposition volunteers were given weapons to guard the White House.
Storming of Ostankino and shooting of the White House
The situation of dual power could not continue for too long and ultimately led to mass unrest, an armed clash and the execution of the House of Soviets.
On October 3, supporters of the Supreme Council gathered for a rally on Oktyabrskaya Square, then moved to the White House and unblocked it. Vice President Alexander Rutskoy called on them to storm the city hall on Novy Arbat and Ostankino. Armed demonstrators seized the city hall building, but when they tried to get into the television center, tragedy broke out.
A special forces detachment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs “Vityaz” arrived in Ostankino to defend the television center. An explosion occurred in the ranks of the fighters, from which Private Nikolai Sitnikov died.
After this, the Knights began shooting at the crowd of supporters of the Supreme Council gathered near the television center. The broadcast of all TV channels from Ostankino was interrupted, leaving only one channel on the air, broadcasting from another studio. The attempt to storm the television center was unsuccessful and led to the death of a number of demonstrators, military personnel, journalists and random people.
The next day, October 4, troops loyal to President Yeltsin began storming the House of Soviets. The White House was shelled by tanks. There was a fire in the building, due to which its façade was half blackened. Footage of the shelling then spread all over the world.
Onlookers gathered to watch the shooting of the White House, but they put themselves in danger because they came into the sight of snipers positioned on neighboring houses.
During the day, the defenders of the Supreme Council began to leave the building en masse, and by the evening they stopped resisting. Leaders of the opposition, including Khasbulatov and Rutskoy, were arrested. In 1994, the participants in these events were granted amnesty.
The tragic events of late September - early October 1993 claimed the lives of more than 150 people and injured about 400 people. Among the dead were journalists covering what was happening, and many ordinary citizens. October 7, 1993 was declared a day of mourning.
After October
The events of October 1993 led to the fact that the Supreme Council and the Congress of People's Deputies ceased to exist. The system of government bodies left over from the times of the USSR was completely eliminated.
Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
Before the elections to the Federal Assembly and the adoption of the new Constitution, all power was in the hands of President Boris Yeltsin.
On December 12, 1993, a popular vote was held on the new Constitution and elections to the State Duma and the Federation Council.
Dispersal of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation
(also known as " White House shooting», « Shooting of the House of Soviets», « October uprising of 1993», « Decree 1400», « October putsch», "Yeltsin's coup of 1993") - internal political conflict in the Russian Federation September 21 - October 4, 1993. Occurred as a result of the constitutional crisis that developed since 1992.
The result of the confrontation was the violent termination of the Soviet model of power in Russia that had existed since 1917, accompanied by armed clashes on the streets of Moscow and subsequent uncoordinated actions of troops, during which at least 157 people were killed and 384 were injured (of which 124 people were injured on October 3 and 4 , 348 wounded).
The crisis was the result of a confrontation between two political forces: on the one hand, the President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin (see All-Russian referendum on April 25, 1993), the government headed by Viktor Chernomyrdin, some people's deputies and members of the Supreme Council - supporters of the president, and on the other hand - opponents of the socio-economic policy of the president and government: Vice-President Alexander Rutsky, the bulk of people's deputies and members of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation led by Ruslan Khasbulatov, the majority of which was the Russian Unity bloc, which included representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Fatherland faction "(radical communists, retired military officers and deputies of socialist orientation), "Agrarian Union", the deputy group "Russia", led by the initiator of the unification of communist and nationalist parties, Sergei Baburin.
The events began on September 21 with the issuance by President B.N. Yeltsin of Decree No. 1400 on the dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council, which violated the Constitution in force at that time. Immediately after the issuance of this decree, Yeltsin was de jure automatically removed from the post of president in accordance with Article 121.6 of the current constitution. The Presidium of the Supreme Council, which monitors compliance with the constitution, met on the same day and stated this legal fact. The Congress of People's Deputies confirmed this decision and assessed the president's actions as a coup d'etat. However, Boris Yeltsin de facto continued to exercise the powers of the President of Russia.
A significant role in the tragic outcome was played by the personal ambitions of the Chairman of the Supreme Council Ruslan Khasbulatov, expressed in his reluctance to enter into compromise agreements with the administration of Boris Yeltsin during the conflict, as well as by Boris Yeltsin himself, who, after signing Decree No. 1400, refused to talk directly with Khasbulatov, even by phone.
According to the conclusion of the State Duma commission, a significant role in the aggravation of the situation was played by the actions of Moscow police officers in dispersing rallies and demonstrations in support of the Supreme Council and detaining their active participants in the period from September 27 to October 2, 1993, which in some cases took the form of mass beatings of demonstrators using special means.
Since October 1, with the mediation of Patriarch Alexy II under the auspices of the Russian Orthodox Church, negotiations between the warring parties were held, at which it was proposed to develop a “zero option” - simultaneous re-election of the president and people’s deputies. The continuation of these negotiations, scheduled for 16:00 on October 3, did not take place due to the riots that began in Moscow, an armed attack by a group of defenders of the Supreme Council, led by Albert Makashov, who was conscripted and... O. President Alexander Rutsky to the city hall building and the departure of a group of armed supporters of the Supreme Council in stolen army trucks to the Ostankino television center.
Opinions about the position of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, headed by V.D. Zorkin, differ: according to the judges themselves and supporters of the Congress, it remained neutral; in the opinion of Yeltsin’s side, he participated on the side of the Congress.
The investigation of the events was not completed, the investigative team was dissolved after in February 1994 the State Duma decided to grant an amnesty for persons who participated in the events of September 21 - October 4, 1993, related to the publication of Decree No. 1400, and who opposed its implementation, regardless of the qualification of actions under the articles of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. As a result, society still does not have clear answers to a number of key questions about the tragic events that took place - in particular, about the role of political leaders who spoke on both sides, about the ownership of the snipers who shot at civilians and police officers, actions of provocateurs, about who is to blame for the tragic outcome.
There are only versions of participants and eyewitnesses of the events, the investigator of the disbanded investigative group, publicists and the commission of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, headed by the communist Tatyana Astrakhankina, who came to Moscow from Rzhev at the end of September 1993 to defend the House of Soviets, which party comrades, in particular Alexey Podberezkin, called "orthodox".
In accordance with the new Constitution, adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993 and in force with some amendments to this day, the President of the Russian Federation received significantly broader powers than under the then-current Constitution of 1978 (as amended 1989-1992). The post of Vice President of the Russian Federation was abolished.
Bottom line
Victory of President Yeltsin, abolition of the post of vice-president, dissolution of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation, termination of the activities of the Councils of People's Deputies. The establishment of a presidential republic as a form of government in Russia to replace the previously existing Soviet republic.
President of Russia
Council of Ministers of Russia
Administration of the President of Russia
Supporters of the President of the Russian Federation B. N. Yeltsin:
Democratic Russia
Living ring
August-91
Social-patriotic association of volunteers - defenders of the White House in August 1991 in support of democratic reforms “Detachment “Russia””
Democratic Union
Afghanistan Veterans Union
Taman Division
Kantemirovskaya division
119th Guards Parachute Regiment
Separate special purpose motorized rifle division named after. Dzerzhinsky
1st squad special purpose internal troops "Vityaz".
Congress of People's Deputies of Russia
Supreme Council of Russia
Vice President of Russia
Supporters of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation and the Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation, including:
- National Salvation Front (NSF)
- « Russian national unity» ( RNE, named after the leader also " Barkashovites», « Guard Barkashov»)
- "Labor Russia" and others.
Commanders from Boris Yeltsin's side -
Boris Yeltsin
Victor Chernomyrdin
Yegor Gaidar
Pavel Grachev
Victor Erin
Valery Evnevich
Alexander Korzhakov
Anatoly Kulikov
Boris Polyakov
Sergey Lysyuk
Nikolay Golushko
White House Commanders (for Soviet power):
Alexander Rutskoy,
Ruslan Khasbulatov
Alexander Barkashov
Vladislav Achalov
Stanislav Terekhov
Albert Makashov
Victor Anpilov
Victor Barannikov
Andrey Dunaev
Citizens who died as a result of the storming of the House of Soviets and mass executions in the area of the House of Soviets on October 4-5, 1993
1. Abakhov Valentin Alekseevich
2. Abrashin Alexey Anatolyevich
3. Adamlyuk Oleg Yuzefovich
4. Alienkov Sergey Mikhailovich
5. Artamonov Dmitry Nikolaevich
6. Boyarsky Evgeniy Stanislavovich
7. Britov Vladimir Petrovich
8. Bronius Jurgelenis Junot
9. Bykov Vladimir Ivanovich
10. Valevich Viktor Ivanovich
11. Verevkin Roman Vladimirovich
12. Vinogradov Evgeniy Alexandrovich
13. Vorobiev Alexander Veniaminovich
14. Vylkov Vladimir Yurievich
15. Gulin Andrey Konstantinovich
16. Devonissky Alexey Viktorovich
17. Demidov Yuri Ivanovich
18. Deniskin Andrey Alekseevich
19. Denisov Roman Vladimirovich
20. Duz Sergey Vasilievich
21. Evdokimenko Valentin Ivanovich
22. Egovtsev Yuri Leonidovich
23. Ermakov Vladimir Alexandrovich
24. Zhilka Vladimir Vladimirovich
25. Ivanov Oleg Vladimirovich
26. Kalinin Konstantin Vladimirovich
27. Katkov Viktor Ivanovich
28. Klimov Yuri Petrovich
29. Klyuchnikov Leonid Aleksandrovich
30. Kovalev Viktor Alekseevich
31. Kozlov Dmitry Valerievich
32. Kudryashev Anatoly Mikhailovich
33. Kurgin Mikhail Alekseevich
34. Kurennoy Anatoly Nikolaevich
35. Kurysheva Marina Vladimirovna
36. Leibin Yuri Viktorovich
37. Livshits Igor Elizarovich
38. Manevich Anatoly Naumovich
39. Marchenko Dmitry Valerievich
40. Matyukhin Kirill Viktorovich
41. Morozov Anatoly Vasilievich
42. Mosharov Pavel Anatolyevich
43. Nelyubov Sergey Vladimirovich
44. Obukh Dmitry Valerievich
45. Pavlov Vladimir Anatolyevich
46. Panteleev Igor Vladimirovich
47. Papin Igor Vyacheslavovich
48. Parnyugin Sergey Ivanovich
49. Peskov Yuri Evgenievich
50. Pestryakov Dmitry Vadimovich
51. Pimenov Yuri Alexandrovich
52. Polstyanova Zinaida Aleksandrovna
53. Rudnev Anatoly Semenovich
54. Saigidova Patimat Gatinamagomedovna
55. Salib Assaf
56. Svyatozarov Valentin Stepanovich
57. Seleznev Gennady Anatolyevich
58. Sidelnikov Alexander Vasilievich
59. Smirnov Alexander Veniaminovich
60. Spiridonov Boris Viktorovich
61. Spitsin Andrey Yurievich
62. Sursky Anatoly Mikhailovich
63. Timofeev Alexander Lvovich
64. Fadeev Dmitry Ivanovich
65. Fimin Vasily Nikolaevich
66. Hanush Fadi
67. Khloponin Sergey Vladimirovich
68. Khusainov Malik Khaidarovich
69. Chelyshev Mikhail Mikhailovich
70. Chelyakov Nikolay Nikolaevich
71. Chernyshev Alexander Vladimirovich
72. Choporov Vasily Dmitrievich
73. Shalimov Yuri Viktorovich
74. Shevyrev Stanislav Vladimirovich
75. Yudin Gennady Valerievich
Citizens who died in other areas of Moscow and the Moscow region in connection with the coup d'etat of September 21 - October 5, 1993
1. Alferov Pavel Vladimirovich
2. Bondarenko Vyacheslav Anatolyevich
3. Vorobyova Elena Nikolaevna
4. Drobyshev Vladimir Andronovich
5. Dukhanin Oleg Alexandrovich
6. Kozlov Alexander Vladimirovich
7. Malysheva Vera Nikolaevna
9. Novokas Sergey Nikolaevich
10. Ostapenko Igor Viktorovich
11. Solokha Alexander Fedorovich
12. Tarasov Vasily Anatolyevich
Military personnel and employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who died while performing tasks to support the coup
1. Alekseev Vladimir Semenovich
2. Baldin Nikolai Ivanovich
3. Boyko Alexander Ivanovich
4. Gritsyuk Sergey Anatolievich
5. Drozdov Mikhail Mikhailovich
6. Korovushkin Roman Sergeevich
7. Anatoly Anatolyevich Korochensky
8. Korshunov Sergey Ivanovich
9. Krasnikov Konstantin Kirillovich
10. Lobov Yuri Vladimirovich
11. Mavrin Alexander Ivanovich
12. Milchakov Alexander Nikolaevich
13. Mikhailov Alexander Valerievich
14. Pankov Alexander Egorovich
15. Panov Vladislav Viktorovich
16. Petrov Oleg Mikhailovich
17. Reshtuk Vladimir Grigorievich
18. Romanov Alexey Alexandrovich
19. Ruban Alexander Vladimirovich
20. Savchenko Alexander Romanovich
21. Sviridenko Valentin Vladimirovich
22. Sergeev Gennady Nikolaevich
23. Sitnikov Nikolay Yurievich
24. Smirnov Sergey Olegovich
25. Fareluk Anton Mikhailovich
26. Khikhin Sergey Anatolyevich
27. Shevarutin Alexander Nikolaevich
28. Shishaev Ivan Dmitrievich
