1993 Russian constitutional crisis

At a glance

Dates: 1992 – 1993-10-04.

Place: Moscow, Russia.

Type: coup d'état, constitutional crisis, and aspect of history.

Key figures / parties: Boris Yeltsin, Alexander Rutskoy, and Ruslan Khasbulatov.

What came before

Part of: post-Soviet conflicts.

Catalyst / how it started

Origins Intensifying executive–legislative power struggle The Soviet Union was dissolved on 26 December 1991 and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic gained its independence as the Russian Federation . In Russia, Yeltsin's economic reform program took effect on 2 January 1992. [ 1 ] Soon afterward, prices skyrocketed, government spending was slashed, and heavy new taxes went into effect. A deep credit crunch shut down many industries and led to a protracted depression. As a result,

What happened

In September and October 1993, a constitutional crisis arose in the Russian Federation from a conflict between the then Russian president Boris Yeltsin and the country's parliament. Yeltsin performed a self-coup, dissolving parliament and instituting a presidential rule by decree system. The crisis ended with Yeltsin using military force to attack Moscow's House of Soviets and arrest the lawmakers. In Russia, the events are known as the "October Coup" or "Black October".