TABLE OF CONTENTS
DAY ONE
Monday, August 19, 1991
Kuranty
first issue (evening)..................................................... 1
Megapolis Express
first issue (evening) .....................................................3
Moskovskie novosti
first issue (morning) …...............................................5
second issue (evening) ..............................................7
Moskovskii komsomolets
first issue (evening) ............................ .......................9
Rossiia
first issue (morning)................................................. 11
second issue (evening) ........................................... 12
third issue (evening) ................................................ 13
fourth issue (evening).............................................. 14
fifth issue (evening)................................................... 15
sixth issue (evening) ................................................ 16
Rossiiskie vesti
first issue (morning)................................................. 17
second issue (evening) ............................................18
DAY TWO
Tuesday, August 20,1991
Ekspress-khronika
only issue ..............................................................21
Kuranty
second issue (morning)………...……………....17
third issue (evening)…………………………....29
Megapotts Express
second issue (morning)………………………...31
third issue (evening)……………………………33
fourth issue (evening)…………………………..35
Moskovskie novosti
third issue (morning) ...........................................37
fourth issue (evening)………………………….39
fifth issue (morning)……………………………41
Moskovskii komsomolets
second issue (evening)………………………...43
Obshchaia gazeta
only issue………………………………………45
Rossiia
7th-13th issues (morning)………………………53
14th-24th issues (evening)……………………...60
Rossiiskaia gazeta
first issue (morning)…………………………….71
second issue (evening)…………………………73
Rossiiskie vesti
third issue (morning)……………………………75
fourth issue (evening)………………………….77
DAY THREE
Wednesday, August 21, 1991
Kuranty
fourth issue (morning).............................................. 81
fifth issue (evening) .................................................. 83
Megapolis Express
fifth issue (morning) ............................... . ................ 85
sixth issue (evening) ... .............................................. 87
seventh issue (evening) ............................................ 89
Moskovskie novosti
sixth issue ................................................................. 91
Moskovskii komsomolets
third issue (evening) ................................................. 99
Nezavisimaia gazeta
only issue... .............................................................103
Rossiia
25th-28th issues (morning) ......................................107
29th-38th issues (evening) .......................................111
Rossiiskaia gazeta
third issue (morning) ................... ..... .....................123
fourth issue (evening) ..............................................125
Rossiiskie vesti
fifth issue (morning) ................................................129
sixth issue (evening) ................................................131
FOREWORD
The importance of a free press rarely demonstrates itself as vividly as it did during those early dark hours of Monday, August 19, 1991 in Moscow. Indeed, this point was hardly lost upon the leaders of the coup, who decreed from the very outset a "temporary limit" on the publication of all central and Moscow newspapers, save for a handful of those obviously sympathetic to the putschists. Now officially banned, and with their printing plants in the hands of the coup leaders, the papers in questions were ordered by Vice President Gennadi I. Yanaev to "reregister" before being permitted to publish again.
The response on the part of the papers was immediate. Office copy machines, laser printers and fax machines sprung to life to generate the first appeals to resistance and counter-decrees by the legally elected leaders of the Russian Republic, who by this time were gathered in the so-called "White House," or parliament building, which rapidly became the focal point of opposition to the coup. Many papers bore the words "Please read and pass to someone else," or "Duplicating encouraged."
With the airwaves generally silenced — except in support of the coup leaders — the printed word played an even more important role. Crowds clamored around people dispersing the often crude, but effective, handbills and single-sheet papers. They were plastered on the sides of tanks and other armored vehicles as a sign of defiance. The papers told of events in Moscow, in other parts of the country, and of reactions in the outside world. Most importantly, they showed that their legitimate leaders were alive and well and able to orchestrate a coherent resistance.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The papers assembled in this collection were published underground in Moscow during the recent aborted coup attempt by conservative hardliners during the period August 19-21, 1991. To our knowledge they represent a complete collection of what was published in Moscow during what has been called the "three days that shook the world."
This exceptionally rare collection consists of facsimile reprints of actual editions of these papers, all but a few of which were published originally on office copy machines using whatever paper was at hand. The editions we present to you are identical to the originals in every way, save that some papers have been scaled down or up in size to fit into this volume. There have been no deletions or additions of any kind.
In several cases readers will notice that text is not very legible. This, however, is exactly as it appeared on the streets of Moscow, and we have opted to present this collection to you as realistically as possible.
This collection has been arranged in chronological order in three sections, which correspond to each day of the attempted coup. Within each section the periodicals are arranged in alphabetical order (by transliteration).
A word about each of the represented papers:
Ekspress-khronika. A weekly paper, published since 1 August 1987. Chief Editor is Aleksandr Podrabinek.
Kuranty. Published five times per week (Tuesday-Saturday) under the auspices of the Moscow City Soviet. This paper was founded in August 1990 with the cooperation of Moscow's mayor and deputy mayor, Gavriil Popov and Sergei Stankevich, respectively. Quoted frequently by Moscow correspondents of the world's major newspapers, this paper has become a staple in the quest to understand local politics and issues in the country's most important city. Chief Editor is Anatolii Pankov.
Megapolis Express. Published weekly, this paper is one of the most popular of the mainstream independent publications founded in 1990 after the passage of critical Soviet press legislation in 1989 and 1990. Edited by Vladimir Volin.
Moskovskie novosti. The oldest and most established of the liberal Moscow press, published weekly. Weekly circulation approaches two million in six languages of publication. Chief Editor is Len Karpinskii.
Moskovsii komsomolets. Published five times per week, this breakaway communist-party newspaper caters to Moscow's younger generation. Edited by Pavel Gusev.
Nezavisimaia gazeta. Published thrice weekly, it has now become one of the most quoted and read newspapers throughout the USSR, and is fast becoming the favorite in the Western diplomatic and academic community. Edited by Vitaly Tretiakov, who founded the newspaper in autumn 1990.
Obshchaia gazeta. This unique paper was published only once, on the second day of the coup, and was compiled by the joint efforts of 11 of the major independent presses. All but four (Argumenty i fakty, Kommersant, Komsomolskaia pravda and Stolitsa) published their own editions and are featured elsewhere in the collection.
Rossiia. The newspaper of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RFSFR, published weekly since late 1990. It serves as one of the most important vehicles for the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin. Located literally in the eye of the storm during the coup — on the fifth floor of the "White House" — this paper distinguished itself by publishing more releases during the coup than any other press organ. Chief Editor is A.A. Drozdov.
Rossiiskaia gazeta. Daily newspaper of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation. It serves as the official publisher of all laws and legislative acts passed by the Russian parliament. Established in 1990 and edited by V.A. Logunov.
Rossiiskie vesti. Weekly paper of the Russian Republic's Council of Ministers, established in early 1991. It provides detailed coverage of developments in RFSFR administration, law, economy, sovereignty issues and politics.
The editors of this collection and publishers of the newspapers hope that you will find great and repeated pleasure in reading these unique historical testaments to one of the most exciting events of the twentieth century. We welcome any critical commentary from readers. Any omissions are solely the fault of the editors.
A portion of the income from this volume has been donated to the new organization "Zhivoe kol'tso" (Life Ring), which is made up of the citizen-volunteers who participated in the barricade defense of the "White House," under the auspices of the newly-formed Russian National Guard.