MOSCOW (AP) — About 200 demonstrators have marked the 20th anniversary of the end of a failed Soviet coup with a march in central Moscow.
The marchers on Monday included some of Russia’s most prominent opposition figures, including former deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov and ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov.
The demonstrators carried 25-meter (75-foot) Russian flag and a banner reading "Aug. 19-22 1991 — we won’t give up our victory." The dates refer to the start and collapse of an attempt by Soviet hardliners to overthrow Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, whose reforms they feared were leading to the collapse of the USSR.
Although the coup failed amid wide public resistance, the events hastened the end of the Soviet Union, which was formally disbanded four months later.
