Elusive August-91

The unfortunate August of ninety-one stands as an orphan, almost forgotten, almost unnecessary. Equally abandoned by those who spent nights and days on the barricades, and by those who were in the offices, and by those who were worried, but stayed at home. Four hundred, five hundred, six hundred of its faithful guardians gather for the anniversary to honor the memory of the fallen, remember the freedom of the past and talk about the need for present freedom.

For some, August turned into Yeltsin. At first adored, then controversial, then unacceptable, up to the desire for impeachment, then still apologizing, but leaving a successor, Putin. For others, August became 1993, and they cannot forgive the fact that in 1991 they did not shoot at the White House, but in 1993 they did. August turned into economic reforms, with a high price not accepted by everyone. He also became bureaucrats, multiplying and replacing partycrats. And an ugly vertical. On him, as an unresponsive village fool, they pinned everything that had been bad over all these years. For some reason, without giving him even the good things that happened.

It's not fair, it's not fair.

I remember well the day when I heard the State Emergency Committee’s appeal on the radio. I was on a student internship in the Moscow region, a friend and I went to a grocery store, and then this happened on the radio. We looked at each other and ran into the dorm. Teachers ran from room to room along it, strictly forbidding anyone from going to Moscow and demanding that they go to work (one of the putschists came from the agricultural academy where I studied). Naturally, we left for Moscow. In the Tverskaya area, we saw soldiers and a cordon for the first time. People approached the soldiers, who were a little scared and embarrassed, and gave them flowers and something to eat. Then they heard about the White House, saw an airship above it, got there, the next day in the morning they signed up for the barricades and were there until victory.

The putschists, contrary to the legends of their current defenders, could not offer the country anything. Their promises in previous years caused the people to become poorer. And people simply did not want these few people to decide something for them. By that time, the street was the voice of citizens, a kind of permanent referendum. The rallies attracted thousands, tens of thousands of participants. An interest in thinking about which way to go was awakened in all of us. Newspapers were bought, TV was watched, the radio was listened to—opinions were seething. And suddenly some bunch of people will decide something for us?

In the August days of ninety-one, the country threw off everything that prevented it from living and developing further, all this partocracy, all this indecision, all these gerontophiles who were sitting on our backs - everyone, from the soldier and the peasant to the worker and the intellectual. Muscovites made a choice.

And then, for some strange reason, the people began to give up power (which, by the way, was later spelled out in the Russian Constitution). We left politics, left the streets. We allowed everyone to call themselves a democrat and not listen to us. Those who fought against privileges themselves were already pushing citizens to the side of the roads and rushing past with a lordly blink. And they understood us less and less.

And August became increasingly orphaned. We called ourselves naive, we thought that the politicians had deceived us, that this was not what we stood for. We thought that three days would be enough for freedom and democracy. For some reason it never occurred to us that freedom lasts only as long as we are willing to go out into the streets for it. We found our own things to do. Let politicians and human rights activists deal with freedom, let journalists write about it, this is their job - for some reason we decided.

As a result, the State Emergency Committee appeared around like a zombie. Political prisoners have become a reality. Political assassinations have become a reality. Censorship is no longer the worst thing happening in the country.

August 1991 – our youth, our first love for freedom. Actions, doubt, calculation have seduced us. They made us not believe that people know how to make decisions. They made us doubt that we know how to choose. Like old grumps, we list hundreds of reasons why you should not enter politics, that it is naive and unrealistic. And freedom stands alone, without us, and goes only to those who believe and do not give up.

It is difficult to be both prudent and idealistic at the same time. But a sober calculation shows that without a return to ideals, Putinism cannot be defeated. This unfortunate State Emergency Committee will be revived every time the people allow the authorities to lie, take away rights, grow fat, and become impudent. The value of a living ring is again high. And until the first brave souls become a barrier to corruption, censorship, and political violence, until citizens again go to rallies and peaceful protests, nothing will change.

“If we go out again, will politicians use us?” - this is an honest question. And you can give an honest answer to it. Yes, perhaps they will use it if we leave the streets, if we appear on them only for three days.

You shouldn’t leave August of ninety-one an orphan. There is no need to leave politics, people. After all, this is democracy. This is freedom when the government carries out the decisions of those who chose it. And if she forgets, the people slap her on the nose with impeachment and resignation. And yes, democracy does not only mean the right to choose. This is also an opportunity to remove anyone who has stopped listening to their constituents.

On Saturday, August 22, at 11.00 in Moscow, participants in a rally in defense of freedom will gather near the Krasnopresnenskaya metro station. The action was organized by members of the Living Ring and the Solidarity movement. Come. This is the day of victory of the people. And this should not be forgotten.

Photos by RIA Novosti