Inside the White House, an order goes out not to turn lights on: snipers have been spotted on the roof of the Hotel Ukraina across the river from the building.
7:35 P.M. Yeltsin has appointed Colonel General Konstantin Kobets Defense Minister of the Russian Republic.
8:00 P.M. Yeltsin declares: “I don’t believe that Anatolii Lukianov did not know about the impending coup.”
A meeting of the Emergency Committee is convened, chaired by Yanaev and attended by a several top government officials not members of the Committee. Yanaev reads his statement denouncing the rumors that the Emergency Committee is planning to attack the White House and suggests that it be made public. His suggestion is met with silence.
Later, after the Emergency Committee went into a closed session, a decision was made to arrest Yeltsin “for a certain period of time.”
The Commander of the Moscow Military District, Colonel General Nikolai Kalinin, announces a curfew in the city of Moscow from 11:00 P.M. to 5:00 a.m. He also indicates that a withdrawal of heavy military equipment from the capital will begin at around 11:00 P.M.
Among the defenders of the White House are personnel of the RSFSR Ministry of Internal Affairs armed with Kalashnikov rifles. Employees of the private security firm “Aleks,” wearing black stockings on their heads to conceal their identity, are guarding the White House.
Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev announces at a press conference in Paris that the possibility of setting up a Russian government in exile has not been ruled out if the situation further deteriorates in the Soviet Union.
There are mass rallies taking place in the cities of Saratov and Samara in support of Yeltsin.
8:10 P.M. The Supreme Soviet of Lithuania condemns the actions of the Emergency Committee as illegal.
8:37 P.M. The President of Tatarstan, Mintimir Shaimiev, supports the Emergency Committee. A public rally protesting the introduction of the state of emergency, held in Kazan on August 20, was dispersed by Special Forces troops.
9:20 P.M. The news program “Vremia” announces new decisions by the Emergency Committee, including the curfew in Moscow.
9:33 P.M. Leningrad Mayor Sobchak and Deputy Mayor Viacheslav Shcherbakov appear on Leningrad Television. The latter appeals to servicemen in the Leningrad region to make a choice in favor of the people and fulfill the decrees of the Russian President. The emergency sessions of the Leningrad City and Regional Soviets continue.
9:38 P.M. Yeltsin offers legal protection to those in the ranks of state organs who immediately fulfill the decrees and orders of the President, Council of Ministers, and other agencies of the Russian Republic.
9:43 P.M. The Russian leadership has issued an Appeal of the RSFSR Government to the Organs of Law and Order and the People’s Militia.
9:47 P.M. Rumors [subsequently proved false] circulate that USSR Defense Minister Yazov has resigned and repudiated the army’s involvement in the coup. Chief of the General Staff Mikhail Moiseev is said to have replaced him. The Defense Ministry’s press service denies this report.
9:59 P.M. In Leningrad, artillery officers make several demands for Gorbachev’s release and in support of Yeltsin’s call to bring the conspirators to justice.
10:00 P.M. Tanks with numbers painted over are seen moving away from Manezh Square in the direction of the White House.
All police stations in Moscow have been shut down. The military has taken over.
10:37 P.M. Russian Defense Minister Kobets issues Order No. 1 commanding all military forces on Russian territory to disregard all orders of the Emergency Committee, to prevent the use of force against the civilian population or elected government, and to return to their normal stations.
10:43 P.M. In anticipation of the expected storming of the White House, Russian Defense Minister Kobets issues Order No. 2 rescinding the curfew order. He calls on all involved in defending the White House to remain at their posts on alert.
The Moscow metro announces that trains will stop running at 11:00 P.M.
10:50 P.M. Yeltsin has issued an Appeal to the Troops of the Taman and Dzerzhinskii Motorized Infantry Divisions and the Kantemir Tank Division. He urges them to come over to the side of the elected government of Russia in defense of democracy: “My dear sons! I hope that you will make the right choice. I hope that you will take the side of legitimate authority, the President of the RSFSR.”
11:00 P.M. Russian Defense Minister Kobets addresses the People’s Deputies of the Russian Republic in front of the White House. Members of the Russian government are issued weapons. He announces that the building will be protected by nearly 2,000 organized defenders, including 300 armed professionals. The professionals include militia of the Russian Republic. Kobets also expects reinforcements from Minsk. In addition, there are thousands of people surrounding the building who are prepared to block the path of military vehicles. There are sixteen barricades around the White House. Lights inside the White House are extinguished. Gas masks are issued to everyone inside the building. The head of security for the Russian parliament receives a report that the assault on the building has been set for 2:00 A.M.
Throughout the evening, groups of deputies of the RSFSR Parliament leave the White House to meet with commanders of military detachments in Moscow and its vicinity.
11:02 P.M. The President of the Georgian Republic, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, appeals to the governments of Western nations to recognize the independence of the USSR constituent republics in light of the coup d’état in Moscow. At the same time, he qualifies the event as “either a backroom deal or a public spectacle staged so that certain politicians could collect political dividends that they have been counting on.”
11:08 P.M. The Supreme Soviets of Estonia and Latvia have declared the actions of the Emergency Committee unconstitutional.
11:11 P.M. Moscow Mayor Popov issues local instructions “On the Activity of Public Organizations and the Suspension of the Activity of the Moscow Organizations of Veterans of War and Labor” (which had declared their support for the Emergency Committee).
August 21, 1991
12:00 midnight. The White House volunteers form groups of 100; bulldozers and tractors are repositioned to face in the direction of the anticipated attack.
Gennadii Burbulis asks the volunteers not to sacrifice themselves but to allow the attacking vehicles to go through: “We must win a moral victory.”
If they are to arrive at the White House for the attack, the paratroopers under the command of General Pavel Grachev must begin to move at midnight, but Grachev has refused to give the order.
12:06 A.M. Bursts of automatic gunfire are heard from the direction of the U.S. Embassy.
Shots ring out in the vicinity of the White House.
12:10 A.M. More shots are heard from near the White House.
12:20 A.M. People’s Deputies meet briefly in the White House to discuss which routes to take to meet militaiy formations massing in the area around the building. The Krymskii Val by the river and Kalinin Prospect, a broad avenue that leads straight to the White House, are especially dangerous places to be at this time.
12:31 A.M. In the area of the barricades erected near Smolensk Square, single shots ring out. A detachment of five armored vehicles attempts to pass through a tunnel running along Tchaikovsky Street between the U.S. Embassy and Smolensk Square. The head vehicle is trying to ram a trolleybus but it fails to make an opening in the barricade.
A 23-year-old Afghan veteran, Dmitrii Komar, jumps onto APC No. 536 and tries to “blind” the vehicle with a tarpaulin. He is thrown off, gets up, and jumps into the open hatch of the APC. The APC lurches, and Komar is thrown out of and dragged alongside the APC. Vladimir Usov, who is running to help Komar, is shot dead. Another defender, Igor Krichevskii, throws a stone at the APC. As he begins to move in the direction of the vehicle, he is shot in the head. All three men are dead.