Questions about the failed 1991 Soviet coup that you’re too embarrassed to ask: What the heck is a ‘putsch’? Which sides were Yeltsin and Gorbachev on? What was the military doing during all this?

The August Putsch, as it's known in Russia, began 30 years ago. On August 19, 1991, a group of senior state officials launched an attempt to seize control of the USSR, deploying troops to Moscow, which led to a confrontation at Russia's White House. The coup's failure doomed the Soviet Union, which collapsed before the end of the year. By 2016, almost half of Russians didn't even remember the events of August 1991. In light of the public's fading knowledge, Meduza answers a few important questions that many people are now too embarrassed to ask. Original Article: https://meduza.io/en/feature/2021/08/20/questions-about-the-failed-1991-soviet-coup-that-you-re-too-embarrassed-to-ask