President Boris Yeltsin warned his amnestied opponents on Tuesday that they will be quickly rearrested if they cause trouble, even as the Supreme Court dropped all charges against the leaders of the August 1991 coup.
Yeltsin told parliament speaker Ivan Rybkin that the leaders of last October's uprising and of the August 1991 coup had admitted guilt by accepting the amnesty, according to a Kremlin statement.
"At the smallest attempt to destabilize the situation in the country they will be immediately arrested," Itar-Tass quoted the statement as saying.
Former Vice President Alexander Rutskoi and six other leaders of the October uprising were released from Lefortovo prison last Saturday, following an amnesty passed by the State Duma. Several said they would return to politics, in some cases threatening to take their cause to the streets.
Responding to another category in last week's amnesty, the Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled its trial of the 12 Soviet officials who launched a bungled coup against President Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991.
Court spokesman Viktor Pavlinok said that the Supreme Court had decided to end the trial in order to abide by the amnesty, and that in agreeing to the deal, the accused coup plotters "did not recognize their guilt."
The 12, all top Soviet officials, were jailed shortly after the coup collapsed on Aug. 21, but later were released pending trial. They were accused of high treason and conspiracy to seize power, a charge punishable by the death penalty. The trial sparked great interest when it opened last April, but was frequently delayed and appeared to be going nowhere.
"Justice triumphed," said Gennady Yanayev, who was Gorbachev's vice president when he joined a committee of eight who seized control of the country.
"The decision of the Supreme Court is a right one. It will lead to peace and accord," Yanayev said as he walked away from the court. "Probably, in our actions in 1991 we were inexperienced, but we acted in all sincerity."
Valentin Pavlov, a former prime minister and one of the alleged coup plotters, praised the court for its "wise" decision.
"It does not set a precedent for the widening of confrontation in our society," Pavlov said. "But some people will try to use this decision in their political goals to heighten a political tension." He added that he was considering a return to politics.
A spokesman for Gorbachev said he would not appeal the court's decision to drop charges against the men who had tried to topple him from power.
Gorbachev would have preferred to see the court reach a verdict, but was not categorically opposed to the amnesty of his former captors, said the spokesman, Vladimir Polyakov.
In an effort to reassure his supporters in parliament, some of whom have predicted that the amnesty will lead to civil war, Yeltsin said in his statement Tuesday that there was no need to panic.
"I don't see a real risk to civil accord and am in full control of the social-political situation," the statement said.
The Russian press on Tuesday was unconvinced, however, reading Yeltsin's failure to stop the amnesty as a sign of weakness.
"The presidency is clearly getting feeble: Close aides look helpless on TV screens, the president demonstrates stupor," wrote the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"A full-scale political crisis has been initiated in Russia's political summits," wrote Segodnya.
Yeltsin's statement also said he had told Rybkin that the release of the White House leaders had been pushed through too quickly.
"The constitution, the law and the court regulations were breached," it said.
The president had ordered Russia's public prosecutor and his top security officials to find a way to prevent Saturday's release. When they failed to do so, Public Prosecutor Alexei Kazannik resigned, while Nikolai Golushko, the head of the Federal Counterintelligence Service, the former KGB, was fired.
In a sign that veterans of Yeltsin's opposition in the former Supreme Soviet may find a mixed welcome in the new State Duma, Rybkin, who is a member of the conservative Agrarian Party as well as being parliament speaker, said the White House leaders would lose the Duma's support if they caused trouble again.
"Those who would use this act of mercy to blow up social tension, to start political battles, should know that the Duma, together with the president, will find adequate tough measures to respond in accordance with the law," Reuters quoted him as saying. Khasbulatov, in an interview with the ultranationalist Sovetskaya Rossiya, insisted he was innocent of inciting war, the charge held against him. The armed forces, which he in October ordered to defend the White House, were responsible first to parliament, and only then to the president, he said.
Yeltsin told parliament speaker Ivan Rybkin that the leaders of last October's uprising and of the August 1991 coup had admitted guilt by accepting the amnesty, according to a Kremlin statement.
"At the smallest attempt to destabilize the situation in the country they will be immediately arrested," Itar-Tass quoted the statement as saying.
Former Vice President Alexander Rutskoi and six other leaders of the October uprising were released from Lefortovo prison last Saturday, following an amnesty passed by the State Duma. Several said they would return to politics, in some cases threatening to take their cause to the streets.
Responding to another category in last week's amnesty, the Supreme Court on Tuesday canceled its trial of the 12 Soviet officials who launched a bungled coup against President Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991.
Court spokesman Viktor Pavlinok said that the Supreme Court had decided to end the trial in order to abide by the amnesty, and that in agreeing to the deal, the accused coup plotters "did not recognize their guilt."
The 12, all top Soviet officials, were jailed shortly after the coup collapsed on Aug. 21, but later were released pending trial. They were accused of high treason and conspiracy to seize power, a charge punishable by the death penalty. The trial sparked great interest when it opened last April, but was frequently delayed and appeared to be going nowhere.
"Justice triumphed," said Gennady Yanayev, who was Gorbachev's vice president when he joined a committee of eight who seized control of the country.
"The decision of the Supreme Court is a right one. It will lead to peace and accord," Yanayev said as he walked away from the court. "Probably, in our actions in 1991 we were inexperienced, but we acted in all sincerity."
Valentin Pavlov, a former prime minister and one of the alleged coup plotters, praised the court for its "wise" decision.
"It does not set a precedent for the widening of confrontation in our society," Pavlov said. "But some people will try to use this decision in their political goals to heighten a political tension." He added that he was considering a return to politics.
A spokesman for Gorbachev said he would not appeal the court's decision to drop charges against the men who had tried to topple him from power.
Gorbachev would have preferred to see the court reach a verdict, but was not categorically opposed to the amnesty of his former captors, said the spokesman, Vladimir Polyakov.
In an effort to reassure his supporters in parliament, some of whom have predicted that the amnesty will lead to civil war, Yeltsin said in his statement Tuesday that there was no need to panic.
"I don't see a real risk to civil accord and am in full control of the social-political situation," the statement said.
The Russian press on Tuesday was unconvinced, however, reading Yeltsin's failure to stop the amnesty as a sign of weakness.
"The presidency is clearly getting feeble: Close aides look helpless on TV screens, the president demonstrates stupor," wrote the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.
"A full-scale political crisis has been initiated in Russia's political summits," wrote Segodnya.
Yeltsin's statement also said he had told Rybkin that the release of the White House leaders had been pushed through too quickly.
"The constitution, the law and the court regulations were breached," it said.
The president had ordered Russia's public prosecutor and his top security officials to find a way to prevent Saturday's release. When they failed to do so, Public Prosecutor Alexei Kazannik resigned, while Nikolai Golushko, the head of the Federal Counterintelligence Service, the former KGB, was fired.
In a sign that veterans of Yeltsin's opposition in the former Supreme Soviet may find a mixed welcome in the new State Duma, Rybkin, who is a member of the conservative Agrarian Party as well as being parliament speaker, said the White House leaders would lose the Duma's support if they caused trouble again.
"Those who would use this act of mercy to blow up social tension, to start political battles, should know that the Duma, together with the president, will find adequate tough measures to respond in accordance with the law," Reuters quoted him as saying. Khasbulatov, in an interview with the ultranationalist Sovetskaya Rossiya, insisted he was innocent of inciting war, the charge held against him. The armed forces, which he in October ordered to defend the White House, were responsible first to parliament, and only then to the president, he said.
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