In a dramatic contrast to the events of Monday , August 19 , in Moscow , the hard - liner who took power were forced to capitulate yesterday by protesters and a determined Russian Parliament led by Boris ##ov , the president of Russia . He seemed to tower over the hard - liner during the standoff and now emerges easily as the most powerful man in the nation . Mikhail Gorbachev returned to Moscow last night from the Crimea where he was under house arrest during the coup . His future role in bringing about stability is uncertain given public opinion that Gorbachev himself created the conditions for the coup .
In a dramatic climax to the coup of Monday, August 19, in Moscow, the hard-liners who took power were forced to capitulate yesterday by protesters and a determined Russian Parliament led by Boris Yeltsin, the president of Russia. He seemed to tower over the hard-liners during the standoff and now emerges easily as the most powerful man in the nation. Mikhail Gorbachev returned to Moscow last night from the Crimea where he was under house arrest during the coup. His future role in bringing about stability is uncertain given public opinion that Gorbachev himself created the possibilities for the coup.