August Coup

The August Coup refers to an attempted coup d'état in the Soviet Union in August 1991. A group of hardline Communist Party officials opposed to reforms led by President Mikhail Gorbachev tried to seize control. They placed Gorbachev under house arrest and declared a state of emergency, aiming to restore strict communist rule. However, widespread public protests, led by figures like Boris Yeltsin, quickly gained momentum. Within days, the coup collapsed, reinforcing the desire for independence among Soviet republics and accelerating the dissolution of the Soviet Union later that year. This event marked a critical moment in the end of communism in Eastern Europe.