Description
Bishara tries to illustrate how historic events may repeat themselves,
comparing the attempted coup d’état in the Soviet Union, which took place
on 18 August 1991, with a similar rebellion led by Bonaparte in the first half
of the 19th Century when the French bourgeoisie controlled the political
authority. The failed coup d’état in the Soviet Union was one of the rare
historical events where a superpower faced a rebellion and where the whole
political system fell apart. The paper covers the 1991 events in the Soviet
Union, the rise of Boris Yeltsin to power, and the election on 12 June after
the storm in Moscow. Also included is an outlook on the shaky future of the
Perestroika. It is argued that the overthrow had not only failed because it
lacked the backing of a personality like Trotzki, but also because it had been
too hasty in referring to itself as a coup d’état.
