this day in the yesteryear: Boris Yeltsin Orders Tanks to Storm Russian Parliament (1993)

Boris Yeltsin Orders Tanks to Storm Russian Parliament (1993)

As president of an independent Russia, Boris Yeltsin sought to end state control of the economy but clashed with parliament, which was controlled by former Communists. When Yeltsin suspended the parliament, it retaliated by naming Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi as acting president, and anti-Yeltsin forces barricaded themselves inside the parliament building. The military interceded on Yeltsin’s side and, after a bloody battle, troops recaptured the parliament building. What was the death toll? More… Discuss

THE FIRST RED SCARE

After World War I, the US was gripped by fears of communist and anarchist infiltration. Pressured by Congress, the Justice Department launched massive raids—led by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer—targeting communists, anarchists, and foreigners. More than 10,000 people were arrested and hundreds were deported, some for membership in Communist or left-wing groups, others on no greater pretext than that they looked or sounded foreign. What non-event effectively ended the Scare in 1920? More… Discuss

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