Russia
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Gennady Yanayev
Perevoz, Russia
Archival Overview
Soviet political figure who served as the first and only Vice President of the Soviet Union and nominal head of the State Emergency Committee during the fateful August 1991 Coup.
Biographical Record
Gennady Ivanovich Yanayev rose through Komsomol youth organizations and the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions to enter the Politburo under Mikhail Gorbachev. In December 1990, Gorbachev chose him as Vice President of the USSR to placate communist hardliners.
On August 19, 1991, Yanayev and seven other hardline officials declared a state of emergency, placing Gorbachev under house arrest in Crimea. During an infamous televised press conference, Yanayev's visibly trembling hands betrayed the coup's weakness; the plot collapsed within three days, accelerating the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Key Life Milestones
Vice President of the USSR
Elected by the Congress of People's Deputies as the sole vice president in Soviet history.
The August 1991 Coup Attempt
Announced the seizure of power by the State Committee on the State of Emergency, an action that ultimately precipitated the collapse of the USSR.
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Final Resting Place
Perpetual MemorialMoscow, Russia