Three-day Soviet coup collapse cleared way for Lithuania’s recognition

A three-day coup attempt in the Soviet Union in August 1991 ended with the collapse of the Soviet state and helped bring international recognition to Lithuania, LRT reported.

On Monday, August 19, 1991, Soviet media published Vice President Gennady Yanayev’s announcement that Mikhail Gorbachev had stepped down because of poor health. Power was transferred to the Soviet State Committee on the State of Emergency, led by Yanayev. The KGB chief, Vladimir Kryuchkov, was later identified as the organiser of the plot.

The coup began with alarming reports, including claims that troops had seized the Kaunas radio and television editorial office. In Lithuania, foreign troops patrolled the streets and took control of several facilities, including the Sitkūnai radio station and television offices in Kaunas, Panevėžys and Šiauliai.

People gathered near the Supreme Council, Lithuania’s parliament, as they had during the events of January 13. Barricades were built around the parliament, medical facilities were set up inside, and preparations were made for possible military aggression.

The Supreme Council warned that any attempt to overthrow Lithuania’s legitimately elected parliament and government would be met with a general political strike. People were also urged to gather in central squares, and in Vilnius near the parliament and government buildings.

The situation recalled earlier Soviet military actions in Lithuania, including the January 13 events and the Medininkai killings. Military units, the KGB and OMON had repeatedly used force and intimidation in the country after it restored its independence. The Medininkai killings in late July 1991 had taken place shortly before the coup, while attacks on customs posts had become a regular means of exerting pressure.

The state of emergency continued until August 21. During a shootout, volunteer Artūras Sakalauskas, who was defending the approaches to the parliament, was killed.

The coup plotters lacked broad public support and the takeover collapsed on August 21. By the end of that week, Lenin monuments were being removed in Vilnius and Klaipėda, while Lithuania and other countries were receiving international recognition of their independence.

The article was prepared using contemporary information from the LRT archives and the newspapers Lietuvos rytas, Respublika, Vakarinės naujienos, Klaipėda, Kauno laikas and Tiesa. It also uses LRT archive reports and photographs by Paulius Lileikis.