Russians still reject '91 coup plotters ( 2003-08-20 10:26) (Agencies)
Twelve years after Communist
hard-liners tried to topple Mikhail Gorbachev, most Russians said if they could
go back to that time, they would not support any major player in the drama that
accelerated the Soviet collapse, a poll said Tuesday.
About 13 percent of respondents in the poll by the ROMIR agency said they
would support then-Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who led the resistance to
the coup attempt and gained wide popularity for his role. Ten percent said they
would support the coup leaders, and 8 percent said they would back Gorbachev.
But most people — 54 percent — said they would support no one at all.
The events that began Aug. 19, 1991, weakened Gorbachev, causing the Soviet
Union to crumble and leaving Yeltsin to lead the new Russia. He enjoyed broad
support, but that faded during his two terms as president because of painful
economic reforms that left many disillusioned about democracy and capitalism.
ROMIR said its poll of 1,500 people was conducted on Aug. 7-11 and had a
margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.
President Vladimir Putin, who was installed by Yeltsin in late 1999 and
elected in 2000, ignored the coup attempt anniversary, visiting an air show
outside Moscow. He then flew to the city of Kursk, about 285 miles south of
Moscow, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a tank battle that helped turn the
tide against Nazi Germany in World War II.
Putin called the massive Kursk battle "a strong point in our history" and a
source of "pride and patriotism."
"From here, our army moved only forward to Berlin. From the turning point of
Kursk began the liberation of all Europe," he said.
Putin laid flowers at a monument commemorating the battle and placed a wreath
at a memorial to seamen killed when the nuclear submarine Kursk, named after the
city, sank in August 2000, killing all 118 aboard. He met with two of the
victims' relatives, the Kremlin said.
