[Opinion] The Long-Lost Civilian Revolution

One summer 13 years ago, urgent news from Moscow concerning a coup d`état that took place in the former Soviet Union greatly shocked the world. On August 19, 1991, Soviet conservatives kept then-President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, who were on vacation, in custody and declared a state of emergency. Threatened by Gorbachev’s policy of Perestroika, or restructuring, which had undermined the Soviet Union`s authoritarian structures, the conservatives resorted to a drastic measure to restore their power and authority. The world cautiously witnessed the development in Moscow, wondering if the historic change in Russia towards reform and democracy would be reversed.

It was then when Boris Yeltsin, a radical reformist leader, emerged in Moscow’s political arena. Following his lead, people formed a “human chain” confronting the organizers of the coup. With his life in danger, he boldly climbed a tank. It was the climax of a drama that showed Yeltsin crying out for Russian democracy. The coup, which had been aborted in three days, lead to even more far-reaching reforms. Across the country, people voiced their aspirations for democracy. In December 1991, the “iron curtain” lifted helplessly. It was the moment when the first civilian revolution succeeded in Russian history.

However, people have gradually forgotten about this revolutionary event day-by-day until there have been no decent commemoration events on the occasion this year, which puts the young people who lost their lives to tanks to shame. The main figures who fought for democracy have been going their separate ways. Yeltsin`s former chief bodyguard, Alexander Korzhakov, disclosed Yeltsin’s hidden secrets in his recently published dirt-dishing memoirs. Above all, the incompetence and corruption of the Yeltsin administration that was born on the basis of people’s bravery and sacrifices reduced the value of the civilian revolution.

If the Yeltsin administration had become a “successful regime,” August 1991 in Russia would have represented and symbolized democracy and revolution. For Koreans who fought against dictatorship and gained democracy with the collaborative efforts of its citizens, the memory of June 1987 was so vivid that we cannot forget that time, which was as hot as the summer of 1991 in Russia. The so-called “386-generation” members who had once led the movement for democracy are now in several government positions. Do we have to stick to “past glory” or shall we take a new path to a successful regime? The memory of the Russian revolution in August seems to ask us what we will do to maintain the spirit of the Korean civilian revolution.

Kim Gi-hyeon, Correspondent in Moscow, kimkihy@donga.com