Yeltsin was in a far better position than Gorbachev to fight the plot, and he did so with every tool at his disposal. He did not acknowledge the coup’s legal authority and proceeded to govern accordingly. He issued warrants for the arrests of the plotters, declared himself commander-in-chief of Soviet troops on Russian soil, called an emergency session of Russian parliament, and suspended Russia’s Communist Party.[dcxviii] As for the plotters, they sat down to plan for a storming of the White House. Operation Thunder was set to begin at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, August 21st. It seemed inevitable
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