# August coup (1991)

URL: https://history-russia.com/timeline/1991-august-coup
Categories: main-event

Hardliners of the State Committee on the State of Emergency detained Gorbachev in Crimea and sent tanks into Moscow on 19 August 1991. Yeltsin, standing on a tank outside the Russian parliament, led the resistance; the coup collapsed on 21 August. Three civilians were killed. The Communist Party was suspended and then banned in Russia. The coup's failure destroyed the Soviet centre's authority.

## Why it matters
The coup's failure destroyed the Soviet centre's authority.

Ruler at the time: [Boris Yeltsin](https://history-russia.com/rulers/boris-yeltsin)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — 1991 Soviet coup attempt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Soviet_coup_attempt)
- [Wikipedia — State Committee on the State of Emergency](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Committee_on_the_State_of_Emergency)
- [Wikipedia — Perestroika](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perestroika)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — August coup](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=August+coup)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Russian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Russian_history)