Ussr Martial Law

The Bush Administration has grown much more pessimistic in recent weeks about prospects for peaceful reform in the Soviet Union, a senior official acknowledged Wednesday. "This is the most acute that conditions have been there," the official said, citing social chaos and concerns about the law-and-order coalition forming around Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev. "I don't know if this is the one that breaks it," the official said. "Fear and panic are starting to set in there. . . .

Rarely in the long catalogue of human folly has a band of seemingly rational men been so willfully perverse. The plot to unseat Mikhail S. Gorbachev, led by the custodians of the most powerful institutions in the Soviet Union, was so wooden-headed, so inimical to the goals that they hoped to achieve as to defy imagination. These eight gray men set out to turn the clock back to a sterner, safer time.

Facing a joint appeal from top generals, prominent writers and the Russian Orthodox patriarch to "stop the chaos" in the Soviet Union, President Mikhail S. Gorbachev declared Wednesday that he is prepared to impose emergency rule in the country's most troubled areas.

Dread turned to jubilation Wednesday morning for Soviet emigres and visitors across Orange County when they learned that an attempted coup had failed in the Soviet Union. And many called it a historic turning point that spells better times ahead for the nation and its people. "We are really glad and really proud," said an elated Marina Ouzdin, a Russian graduate student at Cal State Fullerton who is living in Irvine.

Despite the massive political upheaval this week in the Soviet Union, the appearances of two Soviet orchestras scheduled to perform in Orange County do not seem to be in jeopardy, according to New York representatives of the groups and the Orange County Philharmonic Society, which is sponsoring their performances. The Moscow Virtuosi, scheduled for Oct.

Having seized power to save the Soviet Union from what they see as chaos and collapse, the country's new conservative leaders must now show how ruthless they will be in using that power. As Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin called for a nationwide strike in opposition to the putsch, and crowds of Muscovites surrounded the tanks deployed in the capital, the self-proclaimed State Committee on the Emergency Situation faced an immediate challenge on Monday.

Here is Vice President Gennady I. Yanayev's statement announcing to world leaders that he had taken over the Soviet presidency from Mikhail S. Gorbachev: At the instruction of the Soviet leadership, I hereby notify that a state of emergency is introduced in individual localities of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for a period of six months from Aug. 19, 1991, in keeping with the constitution and laws of the U.S.S.R.

Key events in Mikhail S. Gorbachev's six years and five months as the leader of the Soviet Union: 1985 March 11: Mikhail S. Gorbachev, 54, is elected secretary general of the Soviet Communist Party following the death of Konstantin U. Chernenko, 73. He undertakes a reform of party structures. July 2: Gorbachev replaces longtime Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko with Eduard A. Shevardnadze, head of the Georgian republic's Communist Party. Oct.

Here are excerpts from a question-and-answer session with journalists held by Acting Soviet President Gennady I. Yanayev and other members of the Emergency Committee on Monday: QUESTION: Where is Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev? What is he sick with? Specifically, concretely, what disease does he have? And against whom are the tanks that we see on the streets of Moscow today directed? What is the purpose of those tanks today on the streets? Thank you.

Here is the text of Acting Soviet President Gennady I. Yanayev's news conference Monday: Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, comrades, as I'm sure you know from the media reports, due to the inability to continue in office and under article 127.7 of the U.S.S.R. constitution, of the U.S.S.R. president, the vice president has taken office of the U.S.S.R. president. I'm addressing you, ladies and gentlemen, at a crucial moment for the Soviet Union and the entire international community.

Despite the massive political upheaval this week in the Soviet Union, the appearances of two Soviet orchestras scheduled to perform in Orange County do not seem to be in jeopardy, according to New York representatives of the groups and the Orange County Philharmonic Society, which is sponsoring their performances. The Moscow Virtuosi, scheduled for Oct.

Watching momentous events unfold in the Soviet Union over American television, Russian painter Nickolai Bogomolov felt helpless. The tension grew greater when he and his wife, Natasha, were unable to get calls through to relatives in Leningrad.

Visiting Soviet businessmen, engineers and a legal adviser assured their American counterparts Tuesday that it is still safe to start business ventures in the Soviet Union despite the sudden political upheaval. "Foreign trade relations will be kept . . .

Having seized power to save the Soviet Union from what they see as chaos and collapse, the country's new conservative leaders must now show how ruthless they will be in using that power. As Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin called for a nationwide strike in opposition to the putsch, and crowds of Muscovites surrounded the tanks deployed in the capital, the self-proclaimed State Committee on the Emergency Situation faced an immediate challenge on Monday.

Here is Vice President Gennady I. Yanayev's statement announcing to world leaders that he had taken over the Soviet presidency from Mikhail S. Gorbachev: At the instruction of the Soviet leadership, I hereby notify that a state of emergency is introduced in individual localities of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for a period of six months from Aug. 19, 1991, in keeping with the constitution and laws of the U.S.S.R.

Key events in Mikhail S. Gorbachev's six years and five months as the leader of the Soviet Union: 1985 March 11: Mikhail S. Gorbachev, 54, is elected secretary general of the Soviet Communist Party following the death of Konstantin U. Chernenko, 73. He undertakes a reform of party structures. July 2: Gorbachev replaces longtime Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko with Eduard A. Shevardnadze, head of the Georgian republic's Communist Party. Oct.

As an era ends with the fall of Mikhail S. Gorbachev as president of the Soviet Union, some enterprising Orange County companies are pressing on with deals. Mark Talieh, who sold $2 million worth of laptop computers to a Moscow trade group earlier this year, said he expects demand for consumer goods and Western technology to remain unchanged despite the turmoil in the Soviet government. "Business has been slow anyway, so I expect that trade will continue at the current pace," Talieh said.

Shortly after midnight Saturday, Jan. 20, Nakhichevan political leader Sakina Ali-Ava went on television to declare her autonomous region's secession from the Soviet Union. The stunning and provocative announcement was timed to coincide with a similar declaration by Azerbaijan. But Azerbaijan's broadcast never made the air. It was preempted by the Soviet army.

Here are excerpts from a question-and-answer session with journalists held by Acting Soviet President Gennady I. Yanayev and other members of the Emergency Committee on Monday: QUESTION: Where is Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev? What is he sick with? Specifically, concretely, what disease does he have? And against whom are the tanks that we see on the streets of Moscow today directed? What is the purpose of those tanks today on the streets? Thank you.

Here is the text of Acting Soviet President Gennady I. Yanayev's news conference Monday: Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends, comrades, as I'm sure you know from the media reports, due to the inability to continue in office and under article 127.7 of the U.S.S.R. constitution, of the U.S.S.R. president, the vice president has taken office of the U.S.S.R. president. I'm addressing you, ladies and gentlemen, at a crucial moment for the Soviet Union and the entire international community.