Boris Yeltsin was President of the Russian Federation at the time of the crisis.

The Russian constitutional crisis of 1993 began on September 21, when Russian President Boris Yeltsin dissolved the country's legislature (Congress of People's Deputies and its Supreme Soviet), which opposed his moves to consolidate power and push forward with unpopular neoliberal reforms. Yeltsin's decree of September 21 contravened the then-functioning constitution; on October 15, after the end of the crisis, he ordered a referendum on a new constitution. Image File history File links Boris_Yeltsin_1993. ... Image File history File links Boris_Yeltsin_1993. ... Yeltsin redirects here. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... The President of Russia (ru: Президент России is the highest position within the Government of Russia. ... Yeltsin redirects here. ... The Congress of Soviets was the supreme governing body of the RSFSR and the USSR in two periods, from 1917 to 1936 and from 1989 to 1991. ... The Supreme Soviet (Russian: , Verhovniy Sovet, literally the Supreme Council) comprised the highest legislative body in the Soviet Union in the interim of the sessions of the Congress of Soviets, and the only one with the power to pass constitutional amendments. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ...

The Congress rejected the decree and voted to remove Yeltsin from presidency through impeachment. His estranged Vice President, Aleksandr Rutskoy, was sworn in in accordance with the existing constitution as Acting President. On September 28, public protests against Yeltsin's government began in earnest on the streets of Moscow where the first blood was shed. The army remained under Yeltsin's control, which determined the outcome of the crisis. The legislators found themselves barricaded inside the White House of Russia parliament building. For the next week, anti-Yeltsin protests grew, until a mass uprising erupted in the city on October 2. Russia was on the brink of civil war. At this point the security and military elites threw their support behind Yeltsin, besieged the parliament building, and through the use of tank artillery nearly destroyed the building and cleared it of the elected legislature. By October 5, armed resistance to Yeltsin had been crushed. The ten-day conflict had seen the most deadly street fighting in Moscow since the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917. According to government estimates, 187 had been killed and 437 wounded. Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ... Aleksandr Vladimirovich Rutskoy (ru: Александр Владимирович Руцкой)(born September 16, 1945, Kursk, Russia) was a Soviet military officer and a Russian politician. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Tanks bombard the Russian White House on October 4, 1993. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ...

Origins of the crisis

The intensifying executive-legislative power struggle

Pre-crisis parliament speaker and ethnically Chechen economist, Ruslan Khasbulatov now focuses largely on his academic career. He has lately reemerged in Russian politics as a leading critic of Russia's war in Chechnya. (2003)

Yeltsin's reform program took effect on January 2, 1992 (see Russian economic reform in the 1990s for background information). Soon afterward prices skyrocketed, government spending was slashed, and heavy new taxes went into effect. A deep credit crunch shut down many industries and brought about a protracted depression. Certain politicians began quickly to distance themselves from the program; and increasingly the ensuing political confrontation between Yeltsin on the one side, and the opposition to radical economic reform on the other, became centered in the two branches of government. Image File history File links Khasbulatov. ... Chechen can mean: Chechen people, an ethnic group Chechen language Related to Chechnya This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Alan Greenspan, former chairman, United States Federal Reserve. ... Ruslan Khasbulatov speaks to Radio Free Europe in 2003 Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (Руслан Имранович Хасбулатов) (born 1942) is a Russian economist and politician who played a central role in the events leading to the 1993 constitutional crisis in the Russian Federation. ... Combatants Russian Federation Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Strength At least 93,000 in 1999 10,000 to 20,000 in 1999 (mostly militias) Casualties Unknown, at least 4,600 killed by October 2002[1] Hundreds of civilians. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 2 is the second day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Although only half the size of the former Soviet economy, which was second in the world, the economy of Russia includes formidable assets, and Russia is increasingly becoming again an economic superpower. ... In economics and business, the price is the assigned numerical monetary value of a good, service or asset. ... A tax is a financial charge or other levy imposed on an individual or a legal entity by a state or a functional equivalent of a state (for example, tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements). ...

Throughout 1992, opposition to Yeltsin's reform policies grew stronger and more intractable among those concerned about the condition of Russian industry and among regional leaders who wanted more independence from Moscow. Russia's vice president, Aleksandr Rutskoy, denounced the Yeltsin program as "economic genocide."^[1] Leaders of oil-rich republics such as Tatarstan and Bashkortostan called for full independence from Russia. Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2007)    - Density 10,469,000   9684. ... Aleksandr Vladimirovich Rutskoy (ru: Александр Владимирович Руцкой)(born September 16, 1945, Kursk, Russia) was a Soviet military officer and a Russian politician. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Sarnia, Ontario Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... The Republic of Tatarstan (Russian: ; Tatar: ) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). ... The Republic of Bashkortostan, or Bashkiria (Russian: or ; Bashkir: ) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). ...

Also throughout 1992, Yeltsin wrestled with the Supreme Soviet (the standing legislature) and the Russian Congress of People's Deputies (the country's highest legislative body, from which the Supreme Soviet members were drawn) for control over government and government policy. In 1992 the speaker of the Russian Supreme Soviet, Ruslan Khasbulatov, came out in opposition to the reforms, despite claiming to support Yeltsin's overall goals. Ruslan Khasbulatov speaks to Radio Free Europe in 2003 Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (Руслан Имранович Хасбулатов) (born 1942) is a Russian economist and politician who played a central role in the events leading to the 1993 constitutional crisis in the Russian Federation. ...

The president was concerned about the terms of the constitutional amendments passed in late 1991, which meant that his special powers of decree were set to expire by the end of 1992 (Yeltsin expanded the powers of the presidency beyond normal constitutional limits in carrying out the reform program). Yeltsin, awaiting implementation of his privatization program, demanded that parliament reinstate his decree powers (only parliament had the authority to replace or amend the constitution). But in the Russian Congress of People's Deputies and in the Supreme Soviet, the deputies refused to adopt a new constitution that would enshrine the scope of presidential powers demanded by Yeltsin into law. Privatization (alternately denationalization or disinvestment) is the transfer of property or responsibility from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business). ...

The seventh session of the Congress of People's Deputies (CPD)

During its December 1992 session, the parliament clashed with Yeltsin on a number of issues, and the conflict came to a head on December 9 when the parliament refused to confirm Yegor Gaidar, the widely unpopular architect of Russia's "shock therapy" market liberalizations, as prime minister. The parliament refused to nominate Gaidar, demanding modifications of the economic program and directed the Central Bank, which was under the parliament's control, to continue issuing credits to enterprises to keep them from shutting down.^[2] December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Yegor Timurovich Gaidar () (born March 19, 1956) is a Russian economist and politician, and was the acting Prime Minister of Russia from June 15, 1992 to December 14, 1992. ... In economics, shock therapy refers to the sudden release of price and currency controls, withdrawal of state subsidies, and immediate trade liberalization within a country. ...

In an angry speech the next day on December 10, Yeltsin deemed the congress as a "fortress of conservative and reactionary forces." Parliament responded by voting to take control of the parliamentary army. December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, 21 days before the next year. ...

On December 12, Yeltsin and parliament speaker Khasbulatov agreed on a compromise that included the following provisions: (1) a national referendum on framing a new Russian constitution to be held in April 1993; (2) most of Yeltsin's emergency powers were extended until the referendum; (3) the parliament asserted its right to nominate and vote on its own choices for prime minister; and (4) the parliament asserted its right to reject the president's choices to head the Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior, and Security ministries. Yeltsin nominated Viktor Chernomyrdin to be prime minister on December 14, and the parliament confirmed him. December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (Russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин) (born April 9, 1938) is a Russian politician. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Yeltsin's December 1992 compromise with the seventh Congress of the People's Deputies temporarily backfired. Early 1993 saw increasing tension between Yeltsin and the parliament over the language of the referendum and power sharing. In a series of collisions over policy, the congress whittled away the president's extraordinary powers, which it had granted him in late 1991. The legislature, marshaled by Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov, began to sense that it could block and even defeat the president. The tactic that it adopted was gradually to erode presidential control over the government. In response, the president called a referendum on a constitution for April 11. Ruslan Khasbulatov speaks to Radio Free Europe in 2003 Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov (Руслан Имранович Хасбулатов) (born 1942) is a Russian economist and politician who played a central role in the events leading to the 1993 constitutional crisis in the Russian Federation. ... April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ...

The eighth session of the CPD

The eighth Congress of People's Deputies opened on March 10, 1993 with a strong attack on the president by Khasbulatov, who accused Yeltsin of acting unconstitutionally. In mid-March, an emergency session of the Congress of People's Deputies voted to amend the constitution, strip Yeltsin of many of his powers, and cancel the scheduled April referendum, again opening the door to legislation that would shift the balance of power away from the president. The president stalked out of the congress. Vladimir Shumeyko, first deputy prime minister, declared that the referendum would go ahead, but on April 25. March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... first deputy prime minister in Russia in 1993 during constitution crisis This article is a stub. ... April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ...

The parliament was gradually expanding its influence over the government. On March 16 the president signed a decree that conferred Cabinet rank on Viktor Gerashchenko, chairman of the central bank, and three other officials; this was in accordance with the decision of the eighth congress that these officials should be members of the government. The congress' ruling, however, had made it clear that as ministers they would continue to be subordinate to parliament. March 16 is the 75th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (76th in leap years). ... Viktor Vladimirovich Gerashchenko, byname Gerakl (the Russian version of Heracles), was the Chairman of the Soviet and then Russian Central Bank during much of the Perestroika and post-Perestroika periods. ...

The "special regime"

The president's response was dramatic. On March 20 Yeltsin addressed the nation directly to declare that he intended to introduce a "special regime," under which he would assume extraordinary executive power pending the results of a referendum on the timing of new legislative elections, on a new constitution, and on public confidence in the president and vice president. Yeltsin also strongly opposed the parliament, accusing the deputies of trying to restore the Soviet-era order. March 20 is the 79th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (80th in leap years). ...

Vice President Rutskoy, a key Yeltsin opponent, condemned Yeltsin's declaration as a grab for special powers. After the Constitutional Court ruled that Yeltsin had indeed acted unconstitutionally, Yeltsin backed down. Constitutional Court of Russian Federation (Russian: Конституционный Суд Российской Федерации) is a high court which is empowered to rule on whether or not certain laws or presidential decrees are in fact contrary to the Constitution of Russia. ...

The ninth session of the CPD

The ninth congress, which opened on March 26, began with an extraordinary session of the Congress of People's Deputies taking up discussions of emergency measures to defend the constitution, including impeachment of President Yeltsin. Yeltsin conceded that he had made mistakes and reached out to swing voters in parliament. Yeltsin narrowly survived an impeachment vote on March 28, votes for impeachment falling 72 short of the 689 votes needed for a 2/3 majority. March 26 is the 85th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (86th in leap years). ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ...

National referendum

The referendum would go ahead, but since the impeachment vote failed, the Congress of People's Deputies sought to set new terms for a popular referendum. The legislature's version of the referendum asked whether citizens had confidence in Yeltsin, approved of his reforms, and supported early presidential and legislative elections. The parliament voted that in order to win, the president would need to obtain 50% of the whole electorate, rather than 50% of those actually voting, to avoid an early presidential election.

This time, the Constitutional Court supported Yeltsin and ruled that the president required only a simple majority on two issues: confidence in him, and economic and social policy; he would need the support of half the electorate in order to call new parliamentary and presidential elections.

Yeltsin's gamble paid off in the referendum, on April 25. A majority of voters expressed confidence in the president and called for new legislative elections. Yeltsin termed the results a mandate for him to continue in power. Although this permitted the president to declare that the population supported him, not the parliament, he lacked a constitutional mechanism to implement his victory. As before, the president had to use the tactic of appealing to the people over the heads of the legislature elected by the same people. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ...

The constitutional convention

In an attempt to outmaneuver the parliament, Yeltsin decreed the creation of a large conference of political leaders from a wide range of government institutions, regions, public organizations, and political parties in June — a "special constitutional convention" to examine the draft constitution that he had presented in April. After much hesitation, the Constitutional Committee of the Congress of People's Deputies decided to participate and present its own draft constitution. Of course, the two main drafts contained contrary views of legislative-executive relations.

Some 200 representatives at the conference ultimately adopted a draft constitution on July 12 that envisaged a bicameral legislature and the dissolution of the congress. But because the convention's draft of the constitution would dissolve the congress, there was little likelihood that the congress would vote itself into oblivion. The Supreme Soviet immediately rejected the draft and declared that the Congress of People's Deputies was the supreme lawmaking body and hence would decide on the new constitution. July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ...

The parliament was active in July, while the president was on vacation, and passed a number of decrees that revised economic policy in order to "end the division of society." It also launched investigations of key advisers of the president, accusing them of corruption. The president returned in August and declared that he would deploy all means, including circumventing the constitution, to achieve new parliamentary elections.

Clashes of power in September

The president launched his offensive on September 1 when he attempted to suspend Vice President Rutskoy, a key adversary. Rutskoy, elected on the same ticket as Yeltsin in 1991, was the president's automatic successor. A presidential spokesman said that he had been suspended because of "accusations of corruption." On September 3, the Supreme Soviet rejected Yeltsin's suspension of Rutskoy and referred the question to the Constitutional Court. September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Two weeks later he declared that he would agree to call early presidential elections provided that the parliament also called elections. The parliament ignored him. On September 18, Yeltsin then named Yegor Gaidar, who had been forced out of office by parliamentary opposition in 1992, a deputy prime minister and a deputy premier for economic affairs. This appointment was unacceptable to the Supreme Soviet, which emphatically rejected it. September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ...

Yeltsin dissolves parliament

On September 21, 1993, Yeltsin responded to the impasse in legislative-executive relations by repeating his announcement of a constitutional referendum, but this time he followed the announcement by dissolving the parliament and announcing new legislative elections for December. He also scrapped the constitution, replacing it with one that gave him extraordinary executive powers. (According to the new plan, the lower house would have 450 deputies and be called the State Duma, the name of the Russian legislature before the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. The Federation Council, which would bring together representatives from the 89 subdivisions of the Russian Federation, would play the role of an upper house.) September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The October Revolution, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was the second phase of the Russian Revolution, the first having been instigated by the events around the February Revolution. ...

Yeltsin claimed that by dissolving the Russian parliament in September 1993 he was clearing the tracks for a rapid transition to a functioning market economy. With this pledge, he received strong backing from the leading capitalist powers of the West and the other Soviet successor states. Yeltsin's biggest political asset has always been his close relationship to the Western powers, particularly the United States, but this has left him open to charges in Russia of being an agent of foreign interests and of groveling before the West. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Succession of states. ...

Parliament invalidates Yeltsin's presidency

Rutskoy called Yeltsin's move a step toward a coup d'etat. The next day, the Constitutional Court held that Yeltsin had violated the constitution and could be impeached. During an all-night session, chaired by Khasbulatov, parliament declared the president's decree null and void. Rutskoy was proclaimed president and took the oath on the constitution. He dismissed Yeltsin and the key ministers Pavel Grachev (defense), Nikolay Golushko (security), and Viktor Yerin (interior). Russia now had two presidents and two ministers of defense, security, and interior. It was dual power in earnest. Although Gennady Zyuganov and other top leaders of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation did not participate in the events, individual members of communist organizations actively supported the parliament. A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... Russian Defence Minister Pavel Grachev speaking in the State Duma in 1994. ... Viktor Fyodorovich Yerin is a former Russian interior minister, ascending to the position in 1992. ... Dual power is a concept first articulated in an article by Lenin, The Dual Power, (dvoevlastie) which described a situation in the wake of the February Revolution in which two powers, the workers councils (or Soviets, particularly the Petrograd Soviet) and the official state apparatus of the Provisional Government coexisted... Zyuganov on a November 7 rally Gennady Andreyevich Zyuganov or Guennady Ziuganov (Russian: ) (born 26 June 1944) is a Russian politician, and head of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (since 1993), a member of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (since 1996). ... Communist Party supporters attend a May Day rally in Moscow The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Russian: Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации = КПРФ; translit. ...

On September 24, an undaunted Yeltsin announced presidential elections for June 1994. The same day, the Congress of People's Deputies voted to hold simultaneous parliamentary and presidential elections by March 1994.^[3] Yeltsin scoffed at the parliament backed-proposal for simultaneous elections, and responded the next day by cutting off electricity, phone service, and hot water in the parliament building. September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Mass protests in Moscow

Anti-Yeltsin demonstrators rally outside the parliament building, known as the "White House," before the army crackdown on October 4.

Yeltsin also sparked popular unrest with his dissolution of a parliament increasingly opposed to his neoliberal economic reforms. Between September 21-24, the general atmosphere changed in favor of the defenders of the parliament. Moscow saw what amounted to a spontaneous mass uprising of anti-Yeltsin demonstrators numbering in the tens of thousands marching in the streets resolutely seeking to aid forces defending the parliament building. However, the army leaders remained faithful to Yeltsin. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Yeltsin redirects here. ... The White House of Russia, also known as the Russian White House, is a government building in Moscow that housed the Russian parliament until the crisis of 3 October 1993 when an uprising lead to siege and artillery attacks on White House that caused a major fire. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The demonstrators were protesting against the new and terrible living conditions under Yeltsin. Since 1989 GDP had declined by half. Corruption was rampant, violent crime was skyrocketing, medical services were collapsing, food and fuel were increasingly scarce and life expectancy was falling for all but a tiny handful of the population; moreover, Yeltsin was increasingly getting the blame. ^[4] Outside Moscow, the Russian masses overall were confused and disorganized. Nonetheless, some of them also tried to voice their protest. Sporadic strikes took place across Russia. A violent crime or crime of violence is a crime in which the offender uses or threatens violent force upon the victim. ... Fuel is any material that is capable of releasing energy when its chemical or physical structure is changed or converted. ... In economics, scarcity is defined as a condition of limited resources, where society does not have sufficient resources to produce enough to fulfill subjective wants. ... World map of life expectancy, 2005 Life expectancy is a statistical measure defined as the expected (mean) survival of human beings based upon a number of criteria such as gender and geographic location. ...

On September 28, Moscow saw the first bloody clashes between the special police and anti-Yeltsin demonstrators. This repression of the mass demonstrations in Moscow had a comparable effect to that meted out by the French police to the students in the May 1968 rebellion that nearly culminated in the fall of Charles de Gaulle. It rallied them for a mass protest action, but one that the popular demonstrators would ultimately lose. September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A May 1968 poster: Be young and shut up, with stereotypical silhouette of General de Gaulle. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Also on September 28, the Interior Ministry moved to seal off the parliament building. Barricades and wire were put around the building. On October 1, the Interior Ministry estimated that 600 fighting men with a large cache of arms had joined Yeltsin's political opponents in the parliament building. On September 30, the first barricades were built. September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... September 30 is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The leaders of parliament were still not discounting the prospects of a compromise with Yeltsin. The Russian Orthodox Church acted as a host to desultory discussions between representatives of the parliament and the president. The negotiations with the Russian Orthodox Patriarch as mediator continued until October 2. On the afternoon of October 3, however, Moscow police failed to control a demonstration near the White House, and the political impasse developed into armed conflict. The Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (Russian: ), also known as the Orthodox Christian Church of Russia, is that body of Christians who are united under the Patriarch of Moscow, who in turn is in communion with the other patriarchs and primates of the Eastern Orthodox Church. ... Mediator may refer to: A neutral party who assists in negotiations and conflict resolution, the process being known as mediation By analogy, someone who channels contact between mortals and divinity; e. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The storming of the television premises

October 2 and October 3 were the culmination of violent clashes with the police. On October 2, supporters of parliament constructed barricades and blocked traffic on Moscow's main streets. On the afternoon of October 3, armed opponents of Yeltsin successfully stormed the police cordon around the White House territory (where the Russian parliament was barricaded). Paramilitaries from the Russian National Unity and Labour Russia movements, as well as a few units of the internal military (armed forces normally reporting to the Ministry of Interior), supported the parliament. October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... October 2 is the 275th day (276th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 90 days remaining. ... October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The ABC of a Russian Nationalist book by A. Barkashov Russian National Unity (Всероссийское общественное патриотическое движение Русское Национальное Единство or All-Russian civic patriotic movement Russkoye Natsionalnoye Edinstvo) is a nationalistic political party and paramilitary organization based in Russia and operating in states with Russian-speaking populations. ...

Aleksandr Rutskoy, barricaded inside the White House, hailed the protesting crowd. Rutskoy greeted the crowds from the White House balcony, and urged them to go on to seize the national television center at Ostankino. Khasbulatov also called for the storming of the Kremlin. With some people already dead on the streets, Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in Moscow.

On the evening of October 3, after taking the mayor's office, anti-Yeltsin demonstrators marched toward Ostankino, the television center. But the pro-parliament crowds were met at the television complex by Interior Ministry units. A pitched battle followed. Part of TV center was significantly damaged. Television stations went off the air and 62 people were killed. Before midnight, the Interior Ministry's units had turned back the parliament loyalists. October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

When broadcasting resumed late in the evening, Yegor Gaidar called on television for a meeting in support of President Yeltsin. Several hundred of Yeltsin's supporters spent the night in the square in front of the Moscow City Hall preparing for further clashes, only to learn in the morning of October 4 that the army was on their side. Yegor Timurovich Gaidar () (born March 19, 1956) is a Russian economist and politician, and was the acting Prime Minister of Russia from June 15, 1992 to December 14, 1992. ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

The storming of the Russian White House

Between October 2-4, the position of the army was the deciding factor. The military equivocated for several hours about how to respond to Yeltsin's call for action. By this time dozens of people had been killed and hundreds had been wounded.

Rutskoy, as a former general, appealed to some of his ex-colleagues. After all, many officers and especially rank-and-file soldiers had little sympathy for Yeltsin. But the supporters of the parliament did not send any emissaries to the barracks to recruit lower-ranking officer corps, making the fatal mistake of attempting to deliberate only among high-ranking military officials who already had close ties to parliamentary leaders. In the end, a prevailing bulk of the generals did not want to take their chances with a Rutskoy-Khasbulatov regime. Some generals had stated their intention to back the parliament, but at the last moment moved over to Yeltsin's side.

By sunrise, October 4, the Russian army encircled the parliament building, and a few hours later army tanks began to shell the White House. By noon, troops entered the White House and began to occupy it, floor by floor. Hostilities were stopped several times to allow some in the White House to leave, but Khasbulatov and Rutskoy stayed to the bitter end before surrendering. Many in the building, including Rutskoy and Khasbulatov, were taken away in the end in buses. By mid-afternoon, popular resistance in the streets was completely suppressed, barring an occasional sniper's fire. October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Crushing the "second October Revolution," which, as mentioned, saw the deadliest street fighting in Moscow since 1917, cost hundreds of lives. Police said, on October 8, that 187 had died in the conflict and 437 had been wounded. Unofficial sources named much higher numbers, up to 1500 dead, mostly inside the White House. In any event, nearly all victims were killed by troops loyal to Yeltsin. Russian Army and Interior Ministry lost 12 soldiers, at least 9 of which were accidentally killed by their own men. It had been a close call; Yeltsin owed his victory to the military, the former KGB, and the Ministry of Interior, not to support from the regions or a popular base of support. October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (282nd in leap years). ... The KGB emblem and motto: The sword and the shield KGB (transliteration of КГБ) is the Russian-language abbreviation for Committee for State Security, (Russian: ; Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti). ...

But he was backed by the military only grudgingly, and at the eleventh hour. The instruments of coercion gained the most, and they would expect Yeltsin to reward them in the future. A paradigmatic example of this was General Pavel Grachev, who had demonstrated his loyalty during this crisis. Grachev became a key political figure, despite many years of charges that he was linked to corruption within the Russian military.^[5] Russian Defence Minister Pavel Grachev speaking in the State Duma in 1994. ...

The crisis was a strong example of the problems of executive-legislative balance in Russia's presidential system, and, moreover, the likelihood of conflict of a zero-sum character and the absence of obvious mechanisms to resolve it.^[6] In the end, this was a battle of competing legitimacy of the executive and the legislature, won by the side that could muster the support of the ultimate instruments of coercion.^[7] Zero-sum describes a situation in which a participants gain (or loss) is exactly balanced by the losses (or gains) of the other participant(s). ...

Public opinion on crisis

The Russian public opinion research institute VCIOM (VTsIOM) conducted a poll in the aftermath of October 1993 events and found out that 51% of those polled thought that the use of military force by Yeltsin was justified and 30% thought it was not justified. The support for Yeltsin's actions declined in the later years. When VCIOM-A asked the same question in 2003, only 20% agreed with the use of the military, with 57% opposed. All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) Founding of VTsIOM Yuri Levada The founding and development of the agency was intertwined with the career of its founder, Yuri Levada-- the first professor to teach sociology at Moscow State University. ...

When asked about the main cause of the events of October 3-4, 46% in the 1993 VCIOM poll blamed Rutskoy and Khasbullatov. However, ten years following the crisis, the most popular culprit was the legacy of Mikhail Gorbachev with 31%, closely followed by Yeltsin's policies with 29%. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( , Michail Sergeevič Gorbačëv), IPA: , surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ...

In 1993, a majority of Russians considered the events of September 21 – October 4 as an attempt of Communist revanche or as a result of Rutskoy and Khasbulatov seeking personal power. Ten years thereafter, it became more common to see the cause of those events in the resolution of Yeltsin’s government to implement the privatization program, which gave large pieces of national property to a limited number of tycoons (later called “oligarchs”), and to which the old Parliament (Supreme Soviet) was the main obstacle. September 21 is the 264th day of the year (265th in leap years). ... October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Yeltsin's consolidation of power

Immediate aftermath

In the weeks following the storming of the Russian White House, Yeltsin issued a barrage of presidential decrees intended to consolidate his position. On October 5, Yeltsin banned political leftist and nationalist parties and newspapers that had supported the parliament. In an address to the nation on October 6, Yeltsin also called on those regional councils that had opposed him—by far the majority—to disband. Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Constitutional Court, was forced to resign. The chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions was also sacked, and the president took the opportunity to deprive trade unions of many of their administrative functions so as to whittle away their direct working ties to their rank-and-file membership. October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (279th in Leap years). ... October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years). ... Valery Dmitrievich Zorkin is the first and the current Chairman of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. ...

Yeltsin decreed, on October 12, that both houses of parliament would be elected in December. On October 15, he ordered that a popular referendum be held in December on a new constitution. Rutskoy and Khasbulatov were charged on October 15 with "organizing mass disorders" and imprisoned. They were later released in 1994 when Yeltsin's position was sufficiently secure. October 12 is the 285th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (286th in leap years). ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ... October 15 is the 288th day of the year (289th in leap years). ...

"Russia needs order," Yeltsin told the Russian people in a television broadcast in November in introducing his new draft of the constitution, which was to be put to a referendum on December 12. The new basic law would concentrate sweeping powers in the hands of the president. The bicameral legislature, to sit for only two years, was restricted in crucial areas. The president could choose the prime minister even if the parliament objected and could appoint the military leadership without parliamentary approval. He would head and appoint the members of a new, more powerful security council. If a vote of no confidence in the government was passed, the president would be enabled to keep it in office for three months and could dissolve the parliament if it repeated the vote. The president could veto any bill passed by a simple majority in the lower house, after which a two-thirds majority would be required for the legislation to be passed. The president could not be impeached for contravening the constitution. The central bank would become independent, but the president would need the approval of the State Duma to appoint the bank's governor, who would thereafter be independent of the parliament. At the time, most political observers regarded the draft constitution as shaped by and for Yeltsin and perhaps unlikely to survive him. December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ...

The end of the first constitutional period

On December 12, Yeltsin managed to push through his new constitution, creating a strong presidency and giving the president sweeping powers to issue decrees. (For details on the constitution passed in 1993 see the Constitution and government structure of Russia.) December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... The politics of Russia (the Russian Federation) take place in a framework of a federal presidential republic. ...

However, the parliament elected on the same day (with a turnout of about 53%) delivered a stunning rebuke to his neoliberal economic program. Candidates identified with Yeltsin's economic policies were overwhelmed by a huge protest vote, the bulk of which was divided between the Communists (who mostly drew their support from industrial workers, out-of-work bureaucrats, some professionals, and pensioners) and the ultra-nationalists (who drew their support from disaffected elements of the lower middle classes). Unexpectedly, the most surprising insurgent group proved to be the Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR). It gained 23% of the vote while the Gaidar led 'Russia's Choice' received 15.5% and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, 12.4%. LDPR leader, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, alarmed many observers abroad with his neo-fascist, chauvinist declarations. The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... Leader of the party The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (Либерально-Демократическая Партия России, Liberalno-Demokratičeskaja Partija Rossii) is a far right political party in Russia. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... Chauvinism is extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. ...

Nevertheless, the referendum marked the end of the constitutional period defined by the constitution adopted by the Russian SFSR in 1978, which was amended many times while Russia was a part of Mikhail Gorbachev's Soviet Union. (For further details on the democratization of the former Soviet Union, see History of the Soviet Union (1985–1991).) Although Russia would emerge as a dual presidential-parliamentary system in theory, substantial power would rest in the president's hands. Russia now has a prime minister who heads a cabinet and directs the administration, but the system is an example of presidentialism with the cover of a presidential prime minister, not an effective semipresidential constitutional model. (The premier, for example, is appointed, and in effect freely dismissed, by the president.) State motto: Russian: Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! Translation: Workers of the world, unite! Capital Moscow Official language Russian Established In the USSR:  - Since  - Until November 7, 1917 November 7, 1917 December 12, 1991 (dissolution) Area  - Total  - Water (%) Ranked 1st in the USSR 17,075,200 km² 13% Population  - Total   - Density Ranked 1st in the... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( , Michail Sergeevič Gorbačëv), IPA: , surname more accurately romanized as Gorbachyov; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ... This is a history of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of a cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ...

Notes and references

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Joseph Stiglitz (born February 9, 1943) is an American economist, author and winner of Nobel Prize for economics ( 2001). ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (72nd in leap years). ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Juan J. Linz is the Sterling Professor of Political Science at Yale University, best known for his theories on Totalitarian and Authoritarian systems of government. ...

See also

• History of post-Soviet Russia
• Politics of post-Soviet Russia