During the last attempted coup in Russia ballet dancers alerted citizens of the turmoil. As the Wagner mercenary boss turns on the Russian military Tchaikovsky's swans may dance again.

Vladimir Putin (left), Yevgeny Prigozhin (right), and ballet dancers performing Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake"

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• During the 1991 August Coup in Russia, the ballet Swan Lake played on a loop on state TV.
• The unusual broadcast alerted Soviet citizens that something was catastrophically wrong in Moscow.
• On Friday a new attack on the Russian military began, led by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In August of 1991, Soviet citizens knew something was seriously wrong in Moscow when they turned on their televisions. 

Playing on endless repeat was a Russian ballet company performing Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake."

The famous ballet became known as an omen of governmental instability after Soviet officials aired the unusual broadcast while selecting a new leader after the death of Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in 1982, NPR reported, presenting a serene calmness to the masses while chaos ensued within the government.

As the August Coup began, with tanks and soldiers rolling into the Russian capital, the swans and their discordant projection of peace returned.

—Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 23, 2023

 

During the attempted coup, extreme members of the Soviet Union's Communist Party, including then-Vice President Gennady Yanayev, attempted to seize control from the then-Soviet President and General Secretary of the party, Mikhail Gorbachev.

Gorbachev was arrested as hardliners attempted to roll back reforms he implemented and prevent the USSR's New Union Treaty from being signed. But instead of Yanayev taking control, one of Gorbachev's political rivals, Boris Yeltsin, urged the Soviets to resist the attempted coup and fight back.

And they did. Three protesters died in a tense, three-day standoff against the army, but Yanayev and the others behind the attempted coup eventually relented.

Gorbachev was freed. The swans stopped dancing.

A few months later, under Gorbachev's leadership, the USSR dissolved — an event Putin called "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century."

Now, as nostalgia for the Soviet era grows in Russia and Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin stages a mutiny against Russia's defense ministry, the stage is set for the delicate dancers to retake their places.

On Friday, Prigozhin appeared to openly declare taking up arms against the Russian military. The infighting between the mercenary leader and the Russian military comes after months of Prigozhin feuding with Putin over the treatment of his for-hire army.

"PMC Wagner Commanders' Council made a decision: the evil brought by the military leadership of the country must be stopped," Insider previously reported Prigozhin said, according to a translation of his statement. "They neglect the lives of soldiers. They forgot the word 'justice,' and we will bring it back."

He accused Russia's defense ministry of carrying out a missile attack on Wagner Group positions, claiming a "huge amount" of his mercenaries were killed. Insider has not been able to confirm Prigozhin's claims. 

While there have been reports that internet access has been throttled in Russia amid the conflict, and GeoConfirmed reported Russian state television aired a special "emergency" broadcast about the Prigozhin armed rebellion, there have not yet been any indications of "Swan Lake" being broadcast.

Representatives for the Government of the Russian Federation did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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