WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Until his retirement, Armstrong was a Canadian diplomat who was a specialist on the Soviet Union and Russia. He previously served as political counsellor in the Canadian Embassy in Moscow.
“When offered the argument before the coup that the Soviet Armed Forces had more power than ever, I argued no, they were just as divided on perestroika, glasnost and Gorbachev as any other part of the Soviet Union and could not be considered as monolithic at all,” Armstrong said.
Instead of rescuing the Soviet Union as its leaders had intended, the coup instead destroyed the real possibility that the system could be constructively reformed, Armstrong pointed out.
“The ironic truth is that the attempted coup, which was supposed to preserve the USSR, was in fact the USSR's death blow because it killed off the reconstruction of the union through the New Union Treaty which was supported by the majority of the population.”
The new treaty was due to go into effect only a day or two before the coup was attempted, Armstrong added.
After the initial reports of the coup, Armstrong, who was stationed in Ottawa at the time but was a recognized expert on the Soviet Union in the Canadian diplomatic service, said it rapidly became clear that the public in Moscow was not accepting or supporting the coup attempt.
Armstrong recalled that two crucial factors for a successful coup were already clearly missing in the reports from Moscow.
“Nobody from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was in the Extraordinary Committee at the head of the coup, and where were the planes flying low and loud? In short, not everyone is on board.”
Armstrong recalled that the same day he told a reporter from Toronto’s The Globe and Mail that the coup had already proven unsuccessful and would soon collapse.
“By Wednesday, the third day of the coup, it was clear that it had already failed and that it was wrapping up.”
