The Transformation of the Soviet Military and the August Coup

Abstract

This article argues that the Soviet military during the reform period (between 1985-1991) expanded its participation in politics in terms of both the scope of issues involved and the means employed. In addition, the Soviet army during the same period also ended its years of relative insulation from society and underwent a process of civilianization, manifested in increased interactions with civilian society and unprecedented civilian intrustion in military affairs traditionally reserved exclusively for the military. These two developments provide crucial clues to the failed coup attempt in August 1991 in the former Soviet Union.