October Days

the 1993 showdown 

It had been a year since the December 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and since the “young reformers” headed by Yegor Gaidar and supported by President Yeltsin had first begun to introduce a market economy to Russia in early 1992. 

The country had literally been saved from starvation – by some miracle, empty stores had suddenly filled up with items all but forgotten. Yet prices had skyrocketed – sometimes by a factor of hundreds – leading millions to conclude they were now too poor to buy anything. 

Those who were energetic and enterprising threw themselves into business, an occupation that turned out to prove hazardous to life and limb. But those who managed to dodge the bullets stood a good chance of becoming millionaires. Meanwhile, those whose salaries could no longer buy enough to eat looked on with increasing irritation, asking themselves whether political freedom was really worth the price, given the sorts of people who were coming out on top in the new order. 

By early 1993, the situation in the country was growing tenser by the day and political debates in the Supreme Soviet were increasingly acrimonious. The Communists and their allies on the left – the majority of the Russian legislature – in addition to lambasting the president and accusing the reformers of every imaginable sin, were throwing wrenches into the gears, preventing the government from introducing the very reforms needed to get the country out of crisis. Ruslan Khasbulatov and Alexander Rutskoi, who not so long ago had seemed to be Yeltsin’s loyal followers, were suddenly his implacable foes. 

Things grew more frightening by the day. The Supreme Soviet moved ever farther to the left and became more and more combative. The president’s television appearances turned menacing. Reforms were being instituted, but the long-awaited turnaround still had not come. 

Against this backdrop, some rather odd things began happening. Economics professor Khasbulatov traveled to Ryazan and “suddenly” learned how expensive a carton of milk was, expressing his outrage in a press interview. The fact that a year and a half ago milk was nowhere to be found, at any price, seemed to have been forgotten.

The Congress of People’s Deputies tried to remove the president, but did not succeed. So they decided to turn to the people and hold a referendum. The president called on the electorate to show whose side they were on. Walls were plastered with appeals for a vote of “Yes, Yes, No, Yes” to the four questions that would be asked in the referendum.

The Referendum of April 25, 1993

1. Do you have confidence in Russian Federation President B. N. Yeltsin? (58.7% voted yes)

 2. Do you approve of the social and economic policy the President and government of the Russian Federation have been implementing since 1992? (53% voted yes)

3. Do you consider it necessary to hold early elections for the President of the Russian Federation? (49.5% voted yes)

4. Do you consider it necessary to hold early elections for the People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation? (67.2% voted yes)

A majority voted in support of the president, and one would have thought a sigh of relief was in order, but emotions continued to run high. On May 1, 1993 the nation was horrified by images of retirees marching under red flags, accompanied by mysterious young muscular types wielding fascist slogans. The demonstrators smashed store windows and burned cars. To everyone’s horror, a policeman was killed. What would happen next was anyone’s guess.

By fall, the standoff between the president and the Supreme Soviet appeared to have reached a head. Yeltsin’s every attempt to pass a new constitution was met by the legislature’s obstinate resistance. This was understandable, since the constitution would have destroyed the last vestiges of the communist regime. On September 21, the president decided to act, issuing Decree No. 1400 (box, below).

The Supreme Soviet and the extraordinary Congress of People’s Deputies that had convened in the White House (Bely Dom – home to Russia’s legislature at the time) were irate. The Congress refused to adjourn. Vice President Alexander Rutskoi proclaimed himself president, and Yeltsin was declared removed from office. 

Yeltsin waited in the Kremlin to see how events would unfold. The Congress remained continuously in session in the White House – that same White House that Yeltsin, Rutskoi, and Khasbulatov had heroically defended against a Communist coup d’état just two years earlier. 

For two weeks the odd standoff continued. For two weeks nobody had the slightest idea how things would turn out. For two weeks the specter of civil war loomed and appeared increasingly likely. For two weeks people were scared stiff. 

Yeltsin’s allies had long since walked out of congress. Over the course of the two weeks, most of the moderate deputies had also left the White House, deciding not to entangle themselves in a fight with such a dubious outcome. 

On the other hand, numerous paramilitary detachments made their way to the White House, where they engaged in extreme, nationalistic rhetoric. Why were fascists so vehement in their defense of the communists? At the time it seemed absolutely horrifying. But, after all, neither group had any need for democracy. Frenzied calls for a coup, for military action, for a takeover of power started to emanate from the White House.

On October 3, I went to the Oktyabrskaya metro station – I had to stop by the library to pick up some books for my children. It was Sunday and there were not many people in the metro, but police were everywhere. A crowd had gathered around the statue of Lenin. I tried to make my way past and dash into the library, but it was closed. I decided I had better hurry back to the metro. It was at this point that I noticed the wild, horrifying faces all around me. Thank God they had other things on their minds and took no notice of me. I snuck away past the police, who were obviously frightened, and hurried home. 

On the evening of October 3, an unruly crowd tried to take over the mayoral offices and the Ostankino broadcast center. 

For several hours, it looked as if the rioters had triumphed. The tinkle of broken glass could be heard at Ostankino. Rocks were flying, followed by bullets. Frightening, savage faces flashed before live-feed television cameras at Ostankino. The ultra-nationalist General Makashov was seen taking evident pleasure in commanding the rioters.  

It was Sunday evening, and it seemed as if the new week would bring the end of a free Russia. Late that evening, Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar called on Muscovites to come to the defense of democracy and march to Mossovet, Moscow’s City Hall. Hundreds responded to the call. Later, many would say that the people who gathered on Tverskaya Street across from City Hall had saved the day. But perhaps Gaidar’s appeal was a bit idealistic and naïve. What could unarmed and high-minded people do? Die for democracy? Stop an unruly crowd of thugs? Lie in the path of tanks should the army have decided against the president?

That night, tanks rolled into the city. I remember an awful sound as a column of tanks made its way down deserted Kutuzovsky Prospect toward the White House. We were glued to our windows, still not sure whether the tanks were going to defend the White House or to support the president. The only thing that could be heard in the silence was a strange humming and the grating of tank tracks against asphalt. 

By morning, it was clear that the tanks had supported Yeltsin. What happened next has been labeled by some “an assault on a democratically elected parliament” and by others “the salvation of democracy.” After several appeals for a peaceful surrender came to nought, troops began shooting at the upper floors of the White House, taking into account that the majority of the White House defenders were believed to be on the lower floors. Documentary footage of the events clearly shows that Rutskoi and Khasbulatov had taken leave of their senses and were issuing ridiculous and hysterical orders. The young fascists were of course preparing to put up a fight. 

That day, most parents in our school, which was near Kutuzovsky Prospect, kept their children home, but a brave few did show up. All of the teachers came to work, even though our metro line was not running. Some had to travel long distances on foot. When it became clear that there was a battle taking place a kilometer from our school, we started to call parents and ask them to pick up their children, but, in the meantime, we nevertheless continued to teach. I’ve probably never experienced anything so strange my entire life – teaching medieval Russian culture to about eight pupils under the boom of artillery fire…

By the afternoon, the rebels had given up. The leaders had been arrested and taken to prison. Most of the fascist detachments managed to escape. It was rumored they descended into the metro and slipped away via secret government tunnels. Two months later, a new constitution was adopted and Duma elections were held, in which the pro-Yeltsin party suffered a defeat and the demagogue Vladimir Zhirinovsky received a large number of votes. Some time later, the Duma, much to the president’s fury and rage, was again being run by his opponents in the events of October. 

Today, little thought is given to the events of October 1993. Behind the White House there are still photographs of those who died defending it, alongside calls to overthrow the bloodstained regime. Probably on October 3 and 4 this year strange people from the past will appear on our television screens, loudly denouncing the assault on parliament. And those who spent that frightful night by the Moscow City Council building will stay home and watch TV, reminiscing about how scary it was when an unruly mob took over the television center and the mayor’s office and when muscular boys in sinister-looking uniforms congregated at the White House. Today those boys are fifteen years older. It would be interesting to know what they are up to now. 

Alexander Rutskoi was a military man who served in Afghan-istan and ultimately reached the rank of Major General. In the presidential elections of 1991 he ran for vice president and delivered Yeltsin the votes of many Afghan veterans.

Ruslan Khasbulatov was an economist who studied the economies of Canada and the United States, as well as international market relations. He entered politics during perestroika. After a heated political struggle, in the fall of 1991 he was elected chairman of the Supreme Soviet, which was seen to be a great triumph for Yeltsin, since it was presumed that Khasbulatov would serve him well in this post.

DECREE No. 1400, September 21, 1993

ON GRADUAL CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM 

IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

A political situation has developed in the Russian Federation that threatens the security of the state and the populace…

Direct interference in the implementation of social and economic reforms, open and continuous obstruction by the Supreme Soviet of the policies of the popularly elected President of the Russian Federation, and attempts to directly usurp the functions of executive power of the Council of Ministers, make it plain that a majority of those in the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation and a portion of its leadership have openly undertaken to trample the will of the Russian people, as expressed in the referendum of April 25, 1993…

…I hereby resolve:

That the execution of legislative, administrative, and oversight functions by the Congress of People’s Deputies of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation be suspended. That presidential decrees and resolutions of the executive branch shall govern until the new bicameral parliament of the Russian Federation – the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation – begins its work and assumes the appropriate authority.

The constitution of the Russian Federation and the laws of the Russian Federation and the constituent units of the Russian Federation shall continue to be in force to the extent that they do not conflict with this Decree.

The rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation established by the constitution and law shall be guaranteed.