The End of History Part 48: The Guns of August 1991

The End of History Part 52: The Wild Nineties

In the early 1990s, the collapse of the Soviet system brought to Russia a level of economic and societal devastation that is unmatched elsewhere in the modern period. Gangsters and oligarchs made fortunes while regular people suffered. Yet, through the chaos shone glimmers of a cultural renaissance that defined a new generation of Russians.

The End of History Part 51: Full Circle

The December 1991 Independence Referendum in Ukraine sent shockwaves across the USSR, forcing decisive action upon the leaders of the other republics. Events finally came to a head at a small hunting lodge in Belarus near the border with Poland.

The End of History Part 50: Coming Apart at the Seams

In the immediate aftermath of the August 1991 coup attempt, Boris Yeltsin used his newfound political ascendancy to subdue and humiliate Mikhail Gorbachev, thereby bringing the central Soviet government under his effective control. This power grab would have far-reaching consequences in the non-Russian republics.

The End of History Part 49: The Barricades

Resistance to the August 1991 coup attempt in the USSR took many forms, which were both cunning and creative. The event itself, however, set the stage for more difficult times to come.

The End of History Part 48: The Guns of August 1991

In August 1991, the brewing political crisis in the USSR brought on by the constitutional reforms of Perestroika came to a head, as members of the security, military, and Communist Party establishment launched an attempt to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev and roll back the reforms.