communist hardliners has been deposed of power and his one-time rival, boris yeltsin may be the only home for a democratic future. soviet hardliners held gorbachev captive for two days, but the coup attempt backfired and people took to the streets of moscow. this iconic image of soon-to-be boris yeltsin was taken of him talking to crowds in moscow atop a tank. this signaled the end of the soviet union, which dissolved later this year. our next guest was the russian foreign minister in this time and continued in on this role under boris yeltsin. joining me now is andre kosnarev. thank you for joining me. i want to start with the idea of what your read is on right now of why this fight spilled over into the public and took such a dramatic turn over the weekend. there is very little
alert. military checkpoints on the outskirts of the city. residents bracing for wagner fighters to enter. and for the confrontation that never came. it was really uneasy yesterday, says andre. but look, now, people are walking in the streets and it s all good. let s hope it will stay peaceful, he adds. but even here, there s sympathy for prigozhin s unprecedented challenge, his tirades against the conduct of the war in ukraine appears to have struck a popular chord. i think it was an expression of an opinion, says oleg, another resident of moscow, an opinion of a powerful person, who wants some justice and clarity, and believes prigozhin should be listened to. it s widely shared here. but that s not what the kremlin wants to hear. vladimir putin hasn t appeared in public since making his angry pledge on saturday.
inside the kremlin fight, and they demanded that he kind of surrendered. he did not and he tried his best to use his military force, but, again, like anyone else there, he s very opportunistic and he does not want to risk his life. that s important. that s also his red line. no like, you know, loyalty to his troops or loyalty to russia or to whatever. his only loyalty is his personal survival. andre, we really appreciate the perspective and the experience, sir. thanks so much. thank you. fascinating to hear from him given his history there. we ll continue to follow the latest developments in russia. of coursing with also news here in the united states. nearly 40 million people are