The Soviet coup: a command, control, and communications analysis

Abstract

This thesis presents an analysis of the August 1991 Soviet coup from a command, control and communications (C3) perspective. Through the use of C3 modeling and functional decomposition, the C3 systems developed by the State Committee for the State of the Emergency (SCSE) and the reformist opposition to the coup are examined and the most significant strengths and weaknesses are identified. The comparative model developed for the study, the Coup Operations Process Model (COPM), is an extrapolation of C3 military operations process models. Toe COPM incorporates the C3 characteristics of crisis management and introduces the concept of a controllable interface separating the immediate and extended operational environments. Specific political, military and media events preceding this coup are examined to determine critical developmental factors which influenced the structure and operational dynamics of C3 systems employed at the start of the coup. Analysis of the development and execution of the coup substantiates the importance of C3 in the conduct of crisis operations and identifies the key C3 functions which directly affected the outcome of the coup.