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By Dmytro Krykun, Inteview with Gen. Varennkiov
Public Radio, Kyiv, Ukraine, August 21, 2003
Kyiv.......A coup in Moscow on Aug. 19, 1991 left the huge Soviet Union
out of breath for a couple of days. Speaking on the Ukrainian television on
Aug. 20 [1991], Leonid Kravchuk called the coup unconstitutional, saying
Ukraine will not side with the plotters in Moscow.
However, in his exclusive interview with the Public Radio, Gen. Varennikov
is still convinced that the coup was the only means to save the Soviet
Union.
In a move to bring Ukrainians to heel, Gen. Valentyn Varennikov, one of the
coup avid supporters, flew in to Kyiv on Aug. 19, 1991. He met with VR
Speaker Kravchuk to demand that Ukraine joined the coup. But Kravchuk
refused to give in to the military. Varennikov was interviewed by our
correspondent Dmytro Krykun.
D.K.: Many Ukrainian politicians believe that the coup gave a boost to
Ukraine's independence. What do you think about it?
V.V.: It's a misconception. Of course, the Soviet Union was already
disintegrating. In 1990 Yeltsyn issued a decree on Russia's sovereignty
which Duma rubberstamped readily. It was an indication that the country
was falling apart.
This should have been stopped and the country should have been saved.
It explains the emergence of a group of plotters that finally took shape in
1991. The group made a bid to save the Soviet Union. It was a gallant
endeavor.
Moreover, the plotters realized that many of their opponents, Yeltsyn among
others, were out of touch with what was happening to the country in reality.
We engaged in lengthy negotiations instead of taking determined steps to
disperse all the drunken riffraff that came with Yeltsyn. And it would have
been a righteous thing to do. This done, we would be living now in a united
country which would not allow the United States to dictate its terms to the
world.
Unfortunately, we destroyed our country that fell apart due to such feudal
lords as Yeltsyn, Kravchuk and Shushkevych [Belarus parliament speaker in
1991]. The same developments snowballed in other Soviet republics. Such
politicians are traitors of their own peoples.
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