During the 1991 coup attempt against Mikhail Gorbachev, which leader emerged as a defender of reform by rallying mass support?

• A. Boris Yeltsin
• B. Mikhail Gorbachev
• C. Viktor Chernomyrdin
• D. Alexander Rutskoy

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how reform momentum was carried by a leader who could mobilize broad public support against an attempted rollback. Boris Yeltsin, as president of the Russian republic, became the defender of reform by rallying the people and challenging the coup leaders. He rejected the coup, spoke directly to large crowds, and stood atop a tank outside the Russian parliament to demand civilian resistance. This vivid act and his call for continued democratic reforms galvanized mass backing, making it hard for the coup leaders to claim legitimacy and helping to preserve the reform trajectory.

Gorbachev was largely away from the streets during the crisis and did not galvanize the public in the same way. The other figures were involved in the government or allied with reform, but they did not embody the street-led pushback and symbolic leadership that sparked widespread public support in defense of reform.