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Summary:President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from the Soviet Communist Party leadership on August 24, effectively destroying it as a political force. In decrees read out on the main television news programme, Gorbachev ordered the seizure by the state of Communist Party property, banned it from all state organisations and suggested it dissolve itself. Gorbachev said both the party, which ruled unchallenged for seven decades, and the government were tainted by involvement in the recent coup. Former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze warned it was not impossible that what he called another coup situation could develop within the next six months. He said the people were hungry, the harvest was bad, production was falling and inflation growing.
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Location:USSR CCCP RUSSIA MOSCOW MOSKVA COMMUNIST PARTY BUILDING
Reuters ID:LDL0011TREZ4Z
Aspect Ratio:4:3
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Copyright Holder:Reuters Archive
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