Gleb A. Papilin

Research Assistant

Mikhaylovskaya Artillery Academy

(Saint Petersburg, Russia)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2023-4-22-33

Abstract. The article provides a comparative historical and political analysis of the Kornilov affair (August 27 – 30, 1917) and 1991 August Coup (August 18 – 21, 1991). The author notes that both of these events were decisive in the outcome of the revolutionary struggle in 1917 and the collapse of the USSR in 1991. The author provides a brief historiographical analysis on the research topic, using the works of domestic and foreign authors, as well as personal sources used in scholarly discourse. The author sees in these two events the presence of general patterns that allow them to be characterized as specially planned and organized political manipulations. In addition, the influence of American humanitarian missions, especially the American Red Cross Mission, on the course and results of the revolutionary processes of 1917 in Russia is considered. The article also traces the further political activities of some members of this mission and their role in the USSR history. Based on the biographies of Soviet party workers and government leaders, the author establishes the relationship between the Russian Revolution and Perestroika in the USSR. The information provided by the author confirms the presence of significant foreign policy factors in the Russian revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the USSR. In addition, the author suggests that the controlled process of the USSR collapse and the dismantling of the socialist system had a latent character and began in the mid-1950s. According to the author, in the conditions of modern media war and increasing anti-russian prejudice, it is necessary to continue historical research to identify threats to national security and state sovereignty of Russia at all stages of its existence.
Keywords: State Committee on the State of Emergency (GKChP), August Coup, Perestroika, revolution, Kornilov affair, foreign policy factors.

Full text of the article (PDF)

For citation: Papilin, GA 2023, ‘August 1917 and August 1991: Hidden Mechanisms of Political Power Change in Russia’, Tula Scientific Bulletin. History. Linguistics, issue 4 (16), pp. 22–33, http://doi.org/10.22405/2712-8407-2023-4-22-33 (in Russ.)

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