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In August 1991, a group of hard-line Communist Party officials tried to remove Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev from power. The move sent shock waves around the world, which feared a rollback of Gorbachev’s reforms and his efforts to end the Cold War. The putsch collapsed in three days as throngs took to the streets of Moscow in defiance. The events dramatically weakened Gorbachev’s rule and precipitated the collapse of the 74-year-old Soviet Union about four months later.