In Photos: The Historic Moscow Protests of 1991
Thirty-two years ago today, hundreds of thousands of Muscovites packed Manezhnaya Ploshchad next to the Kremlin to demand the resignation of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
The protests, which started in February 1991 and would continue into the spring, were the biggest in Russia's modern history.
By the end of the year, Gorbachev would resign, the Soviet Union would cease to exist, and Boris Yeltsin would become the first president of modern-day Russia.
An opposition rally of this magnitude would be unheard of just three decades later, as the Kremlin gradually clamped down on public protests throughout the 2010s until they were effectively outlawed altogether.
Here is a look back at the historic protests of winter and spring 1991:
The protests, which started in February 1991 and would continue into the spring, were the biggest in Russia's modern history.
By the end of the year, Gorbachev would resign, the Soviet Union would cease to exist, and Boris Yeltsin would become the first president of modern-day Russia.
An opposition rally of this magnitude would be unheard of just three decades later, as the Kremlin gradually clamped down on public protests throughout the 2010s until they were effectively outlawed altogether.
Here is a look back at the historic protests of winter and spring 1991:
Demonstrators supporting Boris Yeltsin and demanding the resignation of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev cover Manezhnaya Ploshchad outside the Kremlin on March 10, 1991.
Dmitry Sokolov / TASS
A rally on Manezhnaya Ploshchad against the upcoming referendum on the future of the Soviet Union, March 10, 1991.
Sergei Mamontov / TASS
A rally on Manezhnaya Ploshchad against the upcoming referendum on the future of the Soviet Union, March 10, 1991.
Sergei Mamontov / TASS
Supporters of Boris Yeltsin on Manezhnaya Ploshchad, March 10, 1991.
Sergei Mamontov / TASS
A Democratic Russia movement rally against Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Communist Party, and the U.S.S.R. Supreme Council's policies that was held on Feb. 24, 1991.
Valery Khristoforov / TASS
Muscovites attend a concert on Manezhnaya Ploshchad in support of Boris Yeltsin, Feb. 22, 1991.
Andrei Solovyov / TASS
Muscovites rally in support of Boris Yeltsin on Manezhnaya Ploshchad on Feb. 22, 1991.
Andrei Solovyov / TASS
Muscovites rally in support of Boris Yeltsin's candidacy in the first presidential election in the Russian Federation, on April 29, 1991.
Andrei Solovyov / TASS
Yeltsin supporters march down Moscow's Tverskaya Ulitsa to Manezhnaya Ploshchad on April 29, 1991.
Andrei Solovyov / TASS
A rally for the supporters of the upcoming referendum on the future of the Soviet Union on March 10, 1991.
Roman Denisov / TASS
