A Word to the People
A Word to the People was an open letter signed by twelve Soviet public figures and published on July 23, 1991 in Sovetskaya Rossiya, a newspaper known for its anti-perestroika stance. The signers were writers Yuri Bondarev, Valentin Rasputin and Alexander Prokhanov; singer Lyudmila Zykina; generals Valentin Varennikov and Boris Gromov; sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov; scientist Eduard Volodin; and politicians Gennady Zyuganov, Vasily Starodubtsev, Yuri Blokhin and Alexander Tizyakov.
The letter sharply criticized Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin and urged ordinary people not to let the Soviet Union collapse. It warned that the country was in danger and that silence and tolerance were helping its fall. It called for unity to stop the crisis in the state, the economy and people’s lives, and for transforming Soviet power into real, people's power rather than a home for the rich who would sell everything for their own gain.
The writers framed the Soviet Union as their homeland that had protected the nation, asking for help to save Russia. Alexander Prokhanov is said to have written the text. Three signers—Valentin Varennikov, Alexander Tizyakov and Vasily Starodubtsev—later joined the August coup plot against Gorbachev.
Some historians see the letter as a warning on the eve of the coup, noting that the signers shifted from class struggle rhetoric to a focus on saving the Motherland. In 2001, Sovetskaya Rossiya called the letter prophetic in a piece arguing to stop reforms deemed harmful. Gennady Zyuganov recalled that the letter caused a strong reaction from Yeltsin and his circle, with some even threatening prison for the authors. Alexander Yakovlev, a key figure of Perestroika, criticized the letter as demagogy and a vulgar, desperate mix of ideas, while poet Yuri Kublanovsky described it as a controversial blend of communism and patriotism from talented writers.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 16:37 (CET).