Athena Media - Podcast Directory

Death of an Empire is a 5 part radio series exploring twenty years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union led by Seamus Martin, former Moscow correspondent of The Irish Times, and exploring what made the Soviet Union, what lead to its collapse and what its like inside modern Russia today. Produced by Helen Shaw. Episode 3 the August Coup 1991 : the failed coup, the fall of Gorbachev and the rise of Yeltsin Episode three explores the August 1991 Coup attempt and the final months of the Soviet Union. Seamus Martin had just arrived as correspondent for the Irish Times six weeks earlier. We hear from well known economic and finance commentator in Ireland, Constantin Gurdgiev on his assessment of Boris Yeltsin who rallies crowds in defence of the White House and becomes the hero of the event. While Seamus is in Moscow during the twentieth anniversary of the coup he meets Oleg Baklanov one of the conspirators behind the August 1991 coup which was intended to save the Soviet Union from Gorbachevs restructuring b