Politics

In Pictures: The Collapse of the Soviet Union

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Susan Meiselas Lithuanians linger around a TV tower that has been taken over by Soviet troops in a bloody pre-dawn attack that took place on January 13. Since then, the Lithuanians have fenced in the parliament b (...)
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Barricades near the Parliament building. Vilnius, Lithuania. 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Soviet Intervention in front of the Lithuanian parliament. Vilnius, Lithuania. January 14, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
A. Abbas LITHUANIA. January 14th 1991. Lithuanians mourn the victims of the Soviet crackdown. © A. Abbas | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Resistance near the parliament. Vilnius, Lithuania. January 14, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Abbas The body of a young Lithuanian man killed by Soviet troops is mourned by his family in the Cathedral. Vilnius, Lithuania. 1991. © Abbas | Magnum Photos
Chris Steele-Perkins Volunteer guards in the parliament building. Vilnius, Lithuania. 1991. © Chris Steele-Perkins | Magnum Photos
Chris Steele-Perkins Going to vote in the independence referendum. 78% of voters supported the declaration of independence. Riga, Latvia. 1991. © Chris Steele-Perkins | Magnum Photos
PG 21 août. Barricade près de la Maison blanche.

August 21st. Barricade near the White house. © PG | Magnum Photos
Chris Steele-Perkins Defaced Lenin and Stalin in Parliament Square. Vilnius, Lithuania. 1991. © Chris Steele-Perkins | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Demonstration against Gorbachev but in support of Boris Yeltsin. Moscow, Russia, USSR. March 28, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov In front of the White House at 6am during the Putsch (August, 19-24). Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 20, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov USSR. Russia. Moscow. Putsch. August 20, 1991. Bivouacs near the Parliament. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Koutouzovsky Prospekt. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 20, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
PG 24.8.91. Funérailles des victimes. Portrait du Tsar Nicolas II porté par hommes en uniforme cosaque. © PG | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Near the Red Square on the afternoon of August 19th, 1991. Moscow, Russia, USSR. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Funeral cortege for the victims of the Putsch. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 24, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Near the Red Square on the afternoon of August 19th, 1991. Moscow, Russia, USSR. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov A tank driver reading an anti-putsch tract. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 20, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov The dismantlement of a statue of Dzerhinsky (founder of the K.G.B.) in front of the K.G.B. building. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 22, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
PG 24th of August. Moscow mourns Putsch victims.

An estimated 100 000 persons marched through the streets to pay their respects to the 3 men killed.

A veteran holding up protest paper. © PG | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov In the city center, the crowd gathers after the announcement of the failure of the Putsch. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 22, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov A speech by B. Yeltsin outside the Beli Dom (the White House). Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 24, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov Mikhail Gorbachev, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 29, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos
Gueorgui Pinkhassov The dismantlement of a statue of Dzerhinsky (founder of the K.G.B.) in front of the K.G.B. building during the Putsch. Moscow, Russia, USSR. August 22, 1991. © Gueorgui Pinkhassov | Magnum Photos