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Gorbachev was arrested at his Black Sea dacha, but the coup leaders failed to take control. The GKChP consisted of a bunch of weak conservative leaders, some of them drunk at a TV press conference. Yet, unwilling to shed blood, soldiers refused orders to forcefully quell the resistance, leaving the door open for the wily and popular Boris Yeltsin to take control, and for the Soviet republics to declare their independence. Within three days the coup leaders had capitulated and were jailed.

The coup was a miserable failure on the part of the conservative rebels, leaving a long tail of consequences that were opposite to what had been intended, particularly the feeble demise of the Soviet Union and its Bolshevist ideology being consigned to the dustbin of history.

However, much of what was gained was lost in the decade of Yeltsins chaotic rule: particularly preventing democracy from taking root and making way for authoritarian Putinism. In the end the democratic victory and new freedom from totalitarian oppression were simply wasted, giving away to former KGB apparatchiks. Yeltsin won the coup but lost the plot.

As noted by Felix Light in the Moscow Times in August: The post-collapse 1990s are seen (by most Russians) as a traumatic period of economic destitution, political turmoil and cultural upheaval, a repeat of which must be avoided at all costs. In the end, it was clear that Russia was not ready for democracy, paving the way for Putins emergence as the saviour of the Rodina.

Seems irreplaceable

With a discredited Yeltsin gone in 2000, Putin, a former KGB apparatchik, and his siloviki (former KGB strongmen), took over as the ultimate winners. Much of the Soviet status quo ante was reintroduced, nullifying the democratic interlude. Totalitarianism, albeit sans the communist ideology, was progressively reintroduced in a reckless spurt of usurpation of power by the new Kremlin rulers. Ironically, after the trauma of the coup and a decade-long chaotic democratic interlude, modern Russia was simply claimed back through the GKChP putschists introducing a draconian security establishment, a veritable police state.

After 20 years firmly at the helm of Russian politics Putin seems irreplaceable. There is no plausible alternative as he keeps his options open to rule up to 2036 (his current presidential term ends in 2024). Russian Orthodox bishop Patriarch Kirill calls Putin a miracle of God for Russia, while the adoration expressed by Prof Alexander Dugin of Moscow State University is almost nauseating: There are no more opponents to the Putin course, and if there are any they are ill and need psychiatric treatment. Putin is everything, Putin is absolute everywhere, and Putin is irreplaceable. Most Russians seem to concur, as opinion polls have rated Putins popularity for most of his rule at 70%-80%.

However, as even Putin should know, all good things seldom go together. With poll-boosting bold foreign adventures such as invading the Crimea, Eastern Ukraine and Georgia no longer in the offing, the popularity of the United Russia party, his main support base in the Russian duma, is in decline ahead of the upcoming September elections. In the wake of the devastating effects of Covid-19, a declining oil price, runaway corruption and cronyism, economic stagnation, biting Western sanctions and disaffected young citizens taking to the streets and internet, his leadership will be severely tested.

Colour revolution

If Putin leaves in 2024 his legacy could arguably emulate that of his hero, Peter the Great. However, should he choose to carry on until 2036 (as the new constitution makes possible) he may be presiding, as former Soviet Union president Leonid Brezhnev did, over an era of stagnation. At 69 years old, his ambition to rule until 2036 seems a bridge too far.

Putins existential fear is that a colour revolution similar to those in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, might engulf Russia. Hence his obsession with security and his relentless suppression of opposition and democracy. Democrats such as Alexei Navalny, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Boris Nemtsov and many others have been ruthlessly eliminated. He has transformed Russia into a virtual police state, creating an environment in which sustained economic development and modernisation are hardly possible.

As Winston Churchill observed, Kremlin political intrigues are comparable to watching bulldogs fighting under a carpet. With this in mind, predictions are mere guesswork. However, what is no secret in Russian politics is that the Kremlin political elite are already fiercely competing (under the carpet) to replace Putin when the time comes. My guess is that he will step down before 2036, probably in 2024.

His successor is likely to continue with Putinism in one form or another.

Olivier, a former SA ambassador in Russia and Kazakhstan, is extraordinary professor at Pretoria University.

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Soviet putsch relieved Russia of communism, but it remains a matter of shame - Business Day

In the 1950s, the communists sought to suppress the Marian shrine of atin, as they did with other shrines in Slovakia. Today, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, patroness of the country, accompanies the nations families and those suffering in the pandemic.

This is what Fr. Martin Kramara, spokesman for the Bishops Conference of Slovakia, declared during a virtual meeting with journalists from Rome organized by ISCOM, in connection with the preparation of Pope Francis apostolic journey to Slovakia (September 12-15).

With Mary and Joseph on the way to Jesus: this is the motto for Pope Francis visit to Slovakia, which will be in the midst of a two-stage journey. The first will take place in Budapest, Hungary; there, the pope will preside at the Closing Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress. The second will take place in Slovakia, where he will visit Bratislava, Koice, Preov and atin.

The communists took men and women religious to concentration camps. The monasteries were closed. They also tried to wipe out the Marian shrine in atin. The communists were pressuring Slovaks not to visit the shrine. But, this was not enough; it has always been a place loved by the people, said Fr. Kramara.

He added that the shrine is a symbol of peaceful resistance rooted in the values of faith: It shows that we are not afraid.

These words echo those of St. John Paul II when he visited the shrine on July 1, 1995; he compared it to the upper room where the apostles prayed with Mary and received the Holy Spirit, being transformed from being fearful to being courageous witnesses.

On the last day of his Apostolic Visit (Wednesday, September 15) the Latin American Pope will preside over Mass at the National Shrine of atin, after which, at 1:30 p.m., he will bid farewell at the International Airport of Bratislava where he will board the plane that will depart for Rome at 1:45 p.m. local time.

The spokesman for the Slovak Bishops Conference said that this is a significant last stop, given the history of the shrine.

Here, in 1564, a woman named Angelica was abandoned by her husband, a Hungarian nobleman named Imarich Czobor, who hated her. Heartbroken, sad, and now abandoned, Angelica prayed with all her might and asked for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, while promising to erect a statue in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows if she received the miracle she sought.

Her husband had an unexpected reaction: he returned to look for her and asked for her forgiveness. She kept her promise, and subsequently the place became a place of pilgrimage, even visited by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Up until the appearance of COVID-19, Slovaks flocked to the shrine every September 15, the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, to pay homage to their national patroness who has been by our side in difficult times, said Fr. Kramara.

Angelica kept her promise. Many people say that their prayers have been heard, he added. Miraculous healings have been reported around the shrine, which were recognized in 1732 by the bishop of Esztergom. In 1927, Pius XI proclaimed Our Lady of Sorrows the patroness of Slovakia.

The Soviet government tried to suppress the popular devotion, turning the shrine into a military barracks. The attempt failed; the images of the Mass presided over by John Paul II in 1995 at the shrine, after the fall of the Soviet regime, with the presence of more than 200,000 faithful from all over Slovakia, were a confirmation of this long history of unwavering popular piety. The resilience of this devotion reflects the legacy of Sts. Cyril and Methodius (in the 9th century), also known as the apostles of the Slavs, missionaries of Christianity in those lands.

Pope John Paul II also had ties to the devotion of Marys Seven Sorrows, which he mentioned in particular in his first homily in Slovakia during his 1995 apostolic journey, six years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

This shrine, said the Polish pope, preserves the memory of all that makes up your lives: joys, but also sorrows and sufferings, which have not been lacking in your history, as in that of every person and nation of the earth. It is good that we have someone with whom to share our joys and sorrows. It is good that in your great Slovak family there is a Mother to whom you can confide and entrust your sorrows and hopes.

The pope, who was instrumental in the downfall of communism, said that Our Lady of Sorrows, the Mother of Seven Sorrows, is the Mother whose heart, at the foot of the Cross, was pierced by the seven swords of suffering, as tradition says.

This Marian shrine is where the Slovak people go on pilgrimage in search of consolation for their not at all easy existence, especially in the periods most marked by suffering, he noted. Here Mary, the Mother of Christ, wants to be a mother to you; she wants you to be especially sincere and simple with her. Here is her dwelling place and, thanks to the fact that there is a house of the Mother of God in your Slovak land, none of you is homeless. Everyone can come here and feel at home in the Mothers house.

Pope Francis has said that, as people think about the aftermath of the pandemic and all the problems that will arise: problems of poverty, work, hunger , we should pray to Our Lady of Sorrows. This veneration of the people of God has existed for centuries. Hymns have been written in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows: she was at the foot of the cross and they contemplate her there, suffering. Christian piety has collected Our Ladys sorrows and speaks of the seven sorrows.

The pope detailed the meaning of the seven sorrows:

Pope Francis prays to Our Lady of Sorrows every evening when he prays the Angelus, and comments that he prays the Seven Sorrows as a remembrance of the Mother of the Church, how the Mother of the Church gave birth to us all with so much pain.

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Pope in Slovakia will visit shrine that prevailed over communist rule - Aleteia EN

China wants the world to forget about its political takeover of Hong Kong, but well try to keep you as informed as we can. The latest news is the imposition of a Communist Party-friendly curriculum in the citys schools.

On Saturday the Education Bureau said it will no longer recognize the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union, which has 95,000 members and is more a guild than a union in the American sense. The Education Bureau says the union has been engaging in political propaganda under the guise of being a professional education organisation. But authorities real fear is that teachers will resist imposing Beijings patriotic education on Hong Kong students.

The new national security law directs Hong Kong to promote national security education in schools and universities. The Education Bureau is revamping the curriculum so students develop a sense of belonging to the country, an affection for the Chinese people, a sense of national identity, as well as an awareness of and a sense of responsibility for safeguarding national security. Public libraries have removed the books of pro-democracy figures.

Thus the purge of teachers. Authorities took particular issue with the unions longtime alliance with groups that organized peaceful pro-democracy protests and annual Tiananmen vigils. Authorities have warned teachers and students that political expression in classrooms or on campus may violate the national security law. The maximum penalty is life in prison.

In May the union reported that nearly one in five teachers surveyed said they planned to leave the profession. Most said the reason was increased political pressure.

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Communism in the Classroom - The Wall Street Journal

Supporters of the Cuban government demonstrate in Havana on July 11. (Associated Press)

To the editor: In her recent column urging a shift in Cuba policy, Jean Guerrero makes two tragic but typical mistakes.

First, she pits Cuban whites against Cuban persons of color, assuming that the prosperity of whites (it was the rich ones, after all, who fled the communist regime, wasn't it?) numbs them to the plight of their fellow Cubans.

As a white Marielito Cuban who lived in abject poverty for the first 13 years of his life under the Cuban regime's oppression, and having met many like me during my time in that country, I can assure Guerrero that in Cuba, people of all skin colors suffer the same plight.

Secondly, the assumption that economic relief will inspire Cubans to aspire to a more liberal system fails miserably when one considers China, another communist country. Anyone who thinks economic improvements or prosperity will necessarily bring about political change needs to understand the fact that regimes intent on retaining power have proved themselves unwilling to surrender any.

The U.S. economic embargo against Cuba may have failed miserably, but I was there when dollars from Miami and care packages with Lee jeans started rolling in. The communist regime and its oppression kept on ticking.

Eduardo Suastegui, Downey

..

To the editor: Cuba does have a communist government and is not a democracy, and that is also true for Vietnam and China, but companies still do business in the latter countries. Intel's largest chip plant is in Vietnam.

The U.S. was instrumental in the overthrow of democracies in Honduras, El Salvador, Brazil, Iran, Egypt and Peru, and it supported the dictators in those countries as well as in Cuba prior to the hasty departure in 1959 of Fulgencio Batista, with many millions of dollars of the Cuban government's money.

Cuba has a higher literacy rate and lower infant mortality rate than the United States. Heaven forbid that a country without white elites running it be allowed to prosper.

Story continues

Bruce Stenman, Prunedale, Calif.

..

To the editor: Brava and thank you to Guerrero. After weeks of shoddy and partisan reporting in U.S. media on the Cuba protests, here is a simple, clear analysis of the current situation between the two countries.

Crucially, Guerrero well explains the race and class dynamics that are rarely discussed in U.S. reporting on Cuba.

On the subject of embargoes, isn't it odd that no country has ever blockaded the United States for its actions in Vietnam, Central America, the Middle East and many other places?

John Newby, Studio City

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Letters to the Editor: I fled communism in Cuba. Everyone there is oppressed, no matter their ethnicity - Yahoo News

The curator of a major public art show in Florida has resigned after the local mayor claimed two of the artists spoke too favorably about communism and pushed to defund the show. Shortly thereafter, the event fell apart.

In a marathon city commission meeting last month, Vince Lago, mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, objected to the inclusion of artists Sandra Ramos and Cai Guo-Qiang in the citys Illuminate Coral Gables art show. The recently elected official referenced interviews that Ramos and Cai had given in the past in which he felt the artists expressed sympathetic views toward the communist regimes of their respective home countries, Cuba and China. (Ramos currently lives in Havana; Cai in New York.)

I will continue to support the arts, but not at the expense of democracy and liberty, Lago said at the meeting, a video of which is available online. It is very easy to make comments on the record supporting communism and saying that communism is a great idea, but they are here in the United States taking American money. At the end of the day, that doesnt bode well for me.

Following Lagos comments, the commission voted to fund part of the 2022 edition of the art show on the condition that the two artists be dropped from the roster.

Days later, the board of Illuminate Coral Gables announced that the 2022 show had been postponed due to extenuating circumstances beyond our control, and that its chief curator, Lance Fung, had stepped down, according to the Miami Herald.

In an email to Artnet News, Fung clarified that he resigned primarily over the censorship of my curatorial work, as did John Talley, the executive director of Fungs company Fung Collaboratives who was helping in Coral Gables. However, we also knew we needed to support all 20-plus artists we were working with by not validating false claims and speaking up for their first-amendment rights.

Lago did not respond to a request for comment.

Sandra Ramos, 90 Miles: De-construction (2011-2021).

The first edition of Illuminate Coral Gables took place in February and March of this year. Eight site-specific projects, including video projections, sculptures, and installations, went on view throughout the city.

Both Ramos and Cai participated in the inaugural show, alongside artists including Kiki Smith and David Gumbs. Ramos, a Havana-born artist now based in Miami, installed a 32-foot walkway made of a dozen lightboxes as part of the project this year. The work, she said, was meant to symbolize a bridge between Florida and Cuba.

For his part, Cai, a major international artist who was born in Quanzhou, China, and now works in New York, transformed 27 pedicabs into roving, interactive sculptures, decking out each with handmade silk Chinese lanterns. The pieces belong to the artists ongoing Fireflies series.

I think the artwork is spectacular; hes an incredible artist, Lago said of Cai. But art doesnt trump my own personal beliefs, especially when youre talking about public funds.

Lago was prepared to increase the events budget from $100,000 to $300,000 prior to the postponement. The art world brings an opportunity to this community for dialogue, the mayor said at the meeting. Where my dialogue ends is people who sympathize with oppression, tyranny.

Fung, meanwhile, disagreed. With 100 percent certainty, I believe that both artists are not communist sympathizers, the curator told Artnet News. In addition to being passionate, visionary, and talented artists, they have become good friends of mine. They are compassionate, intellectual, and humanitarian people. All of these attributes, and others, led me to the decision to request their support by being a part of Illuminate Coral Gables.'

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Plans for a Public Art Show in Florida Have Been Derailed After the Mayor Accused Two of the Artists of Being Communists - artnet News