From: POLYAKOV@HDSVX7@PSI%HDSRTR@MRGATE@SNMRTR Date: Mon 26 Aug 91 23:24:52-PDT From: Laurence I. Press Subject: The net during the coup I am sending this to people who posted messages during the coup in order to get a better picture of how the net was used. As a start, I compiled the following selection of postings and email messages (mostly from Polina Antonova at Demos). I write a column in the Communications of the ACM, and plan to write about Demos and the coup. Can you add any important or moving email or noteworthy postings? Have you any anecdotes or observations that would enrichen the story? Send them to me and I will summarize and distribute. Thanks, Larry Press lpress@venera.isi.edu ----- (Times are Moscow unless GMT is indicated) Aug 19, 6:49, Northwest Information Agency (Leningrad) NIA posted miscelaneous reports from Leningrad and Moscow including the news that all fax machines and computers at the publishing houses of the democratic newspapers "Smena" and "Nevskoye Vremya" had been destroyed. 19, 12:30, Leonid Belopilsky, Interfax Belopilskyy posted eight short news bulletins covering Yeltsin's letter to the citizens, and other topics. The bulletins of the independent Interfax News Agency continued to be posted throughout the crisis. 19, 12:50, Baltfax Posted short releases on events in Estonia and Lithuania, including Vytautas Landsbergis' declaration that "The people of Lithuania will not collaborate with the puppet authorities should such be installed in their republic." 19, 13:20 gmt, Vadim Antonov, Demos Oh, do not say. I've seen the tanks with my own eyes. I hope we'll be able to communicate during the next few days. Communists cannot rape the Mother Russia once again! 19, 17:56 gmt, Judith Grass Grass posted a translation of Yeltsin's letter to the citizens of Russia. At 18:40 Eli Lauris posted a second translation. (Is this the message he read from the top of a tank in front of the parliament building)? (the original was posted by Ury Segal -- what time??) 19, 22:28 gmt, Vadim Antonov, Demos Please stop flooding the only narrow channel with bogus messages with silly questions. Note that it's neither a toy nor a means to reach your relatives or friends. We need the bandwidth to help organize the resistance. Please, do not (even unintentionally) help these fascists! 19, 22:54, Polina Antonova to Mike Naimark ... Thanks Heaven, these cretins don't consider us mass media! From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Tue, 20 Aug 91 00:17:31 +0300 (MSD) Hi! Don't worry, we're OK, though frightened and angry. Moscow is full of tanks and military machines, I hate them. They try to close all mass media, they shutted up CNN an hour ago, Soviet TV transmits opera and old movies. But, thanks Heaven, they don't consider RELCOM mass media or they simply forgot about it. Now we transmit information enough to put us in prison for the rest of our life :-). Hope all will turn out well at long last... Polina 20, 0:25 gmt, Ove Ruben Olsen, University of Bergen, Norway Transcription of Radio Moscow World Service broadcast outlining the junta's proclamation declaring as state of emergency, announcing restrictions, and promising, among other things, that food production and distribution would be improved. 20, 1:57, anonymous (sounds like Vadim at Demos) If these dogs win, for certain they'll throw us in prison - we distributed the proclamation from Yeltsin and the Moscow and Leningrad Soviets throughout the entire Soviet Union, together with the forbidden communiques from Interfax ... Greetings from the underground. From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Tue, 20 Aug 91 02:33:17 +0300 (MSD) Thanx, I'm afraid you can do nothing to help us, but may be you'd write me what do they say on your TV about the situation, as we can't watch CNN now. You can use e-mail, at least until they'll cut it off because we distribute prohibited information. I'd better go to bed now, it's 3 am in Moscow. Cheers, Polina 20, 3:04 gmt, Eugene Nesterenko Sent a long news release including positive news such as a summary of Yeltsin's decree and negative news such as the pride and joy of the Latvian Communist Party First Secretary after the coup. 20, 3:54, Dmitry V. Volodin, Demos Posted a copy of Yeltsin's decree with a plea to redistribute it as widely as possible. "It will be fine if this reaches world information agencies." (was this the first posting of Yeltsin's decree?) 20, 6:00 gmt, Kari Kankaala 100 tanks are 100 km from Tallinn; tanks passed through Vilna; one person was killed in Riga; the Finnish-Soviet border is open; car, train, truck and air traffic to the Soviet Union is normal; phone calls to Estonia are still possible. 20, 6:05 gmt, Kari Kankaala The phonecenters of Latvia and Lithuania have been occupied, and miners in Russia, the Ukraine, and Belorussia have started striking in accordance with the wishes of Yeltsin. 20, 9:23, gmt, Jorma Mantyla, u. of Tampere, Finland Gave the status of various Soviet radio stations. Independent radio from Moscow had stopped, Estonain radio was being heard normally, and Latvian radio was still on the air, although troops had reportedly occupied the bulding the previous night. People in the Soviet Union were still able to watch Finnish TV and hear Western radio stations with no jamming. From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Tue, 20 Aug 91 11:12:39 +0300 (MSD) Thanx for information and for words of support! Now we can watch CNN again (for unknown reason :-) Now I'll go to the White House and see all this myself. Please write me to my work address polina@hq.demos.su, because we're going to bring our home machine to the White House for communications. Excuse me, I'm in a hurry... Thanx again Polina 20, 11:29 edt, Enn Tyugu (to Peter Wolcott) Estonia has survived until this hour. The troops are near Tallinn and more are coming, but they have not yet got to the TV and radio centers. Latvian and Lithuanian mass media are already in in the hands of the troops. Many people are around our vulnerable buildings protecting them and building barricades. Mostly heavy trucks are being used as barricades. Thanks for your support. 20, 13:43 gmt, Oleg Moroz Moscow mayor Gavril Popov claimed that the events of yesterday are anti-constitutional and anti-democratic, and all the people who made (the coup) are outlaws. 20, 15:36 gmt, Vadim Antonov, Demos Posted short eyewitness reports from Moscow, Leningrad and the Baltics, and concluded with the request that "Everyone who has information about militarymovements is asked to call the headquarters of lensoviet 310-00-00, 319-98-57." 20, 18:19 gmt, Dimitri I. Rakitin The mass media is working out of the Parliament Building... The AM transmitter is operating at the frequencies 14175, 13640, and 7040 hHz. The frequencies are floating because of jamming. 20, 21:14 gmt, Karen Segar, Oberlin College Segar posted a transcription of many miscellaneous items from a Vremya (is this in Moscow?) broadcast. Included were the statement that Pavlov was having cardiac problems and the people of Moldavia had rallied to defend the radio and TV stations, and that a Council of National Security had been founded. 20, 23:00, anon email to Vadim Levin The following are quotes from two email messges to Levin: To all people of good will! We want you to know that the democaracy of the USSR is in great danger... Right now the center of Moscow is surrounded by tanks and soldiers...We need your moral support!... Down with the Communist tyranny! From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 01:06:17 +0300 (MSD) Very useful information, I'll translate it and send to local newsgroup, as we have no information sources at all. Thanx! Our machine is overloaded, please, write briefly. If you'll hear anything about the attack to our white house, please, inform me, our people couldn't get there. Polina From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 01:39:46 +0300 (MSD) Don't worry, the only danger for us is if they catch and arrest us, as we're sitting at home (Valera in Demos) and distributing all inf. we have. I can only hear these tanks, and, it seems, aircraft. But I have to know, what's happening near White house! inform me, if you can. Polina From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 02:42:50 +0300 (MSD) We listened to Echo, but now they jam all radio stations. Now we are the only source of information for many people. 21, 6:43, gmt, Jorma Mantyla, u. of Tampere, Finnland Mantyla continued his earlier report on Soviet radio stations. Estonian radio was the only Baltic radio station not under control of the Junta, but the radio and TV station in Tallin was partially occupied by troops, but they were still broadcasting from a different part of the building! From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 10:40:47 +0300 (MSD) People from the place and our inf. agencies report that 2 men were killed when the tanks were leaving Moscow. Though they can return at any moment. We try to post all this to t.p.s (in Russian, hope there is someone to translate it) but we have no time to read it. CNN works again, but I think they'll stop it if something starts. All radio is jammed. It seems, now junta feels not so confident, as 2 days ago. From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 15:07:01 +0300 (MSD) Really good news. Right now we're listening to the Radio Russia (without any jamming!), they told that the Eight left Moscow, noone knows, where... Hard to beleive... May be, they really run away? Radio asks for information about their location. From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 17:34:56 +0300 (MSD) As reported from Moscow Soviet the junta left Moscow in civil aircraft towards Kirgisia(?) or Crimea(?). Yeltsin ordered to stop them, a troop is sent. We're waiting... Polina From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Wed, 21 Aug 91 21:12:26 +0300 (MSD) Thank you, Larry! Now all information media are on, CNN transmites our "Time" TV program, and I can watch them both! I'v heard (may be it was CNN) that they withdraw armed forces from Baltics cities. I'm not near the parliament, I'm still at the computer, but the situation on the net became lighter now and I hope to sleep a little, it was my dream during last two days :-) You can't even imagine, how grateful we are for your help and support in this terrible time! The best thing is to know, that we aren't alone. Cheers, Polina 22, 11:33 gmt, George Tereshko, JV Dialog When the dark night fell upon Moscow, Relcom was one source of light for us. Thanks to these brave people we could get information and hope. I would also like to thank the people running Soviet BBSs (and personally Pete Kvitek at JV Dialog) who provided another net for information flow. From: polina@moria.demos.su (Polina Antonova) Date: Thu, 22 Aug 91 13:31:40 +0300 (MSD) Dear Larry, Now Vadim and I have to do our usual work (that's so nice! :-) and Valera and Mike Korotaev went to sleep, they were on duty the whole night. When they'll wake up, we'll collect some information, how the net works in the state of emergency and send it to you. Now there is celebration in Moscow. We just watched president Gorbachev on TV. Greetings from Natasha. Cheers, Polina. ------- -------