Moscow Coup: Day 2 : In the Soviet Union

Two days after hard-liners ousted Mikhail S. Gorbachev, his whereabouts remains shrouded in mystery. Even President Bush has not been able to reach him by telephone despite repeated attempts. But reports of possible sightings of Gorbachev circulated furiously in Moscow.

Three members of the eight-man committee of coup leaders reportedly had resigned or were “ill”--Defense Minister Dmitri T. Yazov, Prime Minister Valentin S. Pavlov and KGB chief Vladimir A. Kryuchkov. The news sparked speculation that the plotters had a falling-out.

Soviet tanks killed at least two supporters of Russian Federation President Boris N. Yeltsin and crushed two others in a clash outside his barricaded Parliament building.

In Latvia, Soviet troops disarmed Prime Minister Ivars Godmanis’ guards and arrested his security chief, according to a Latvian spokesman in Moscow. And Estonia’s Parliament declared immediate full independence from the Soviet Union.

U.S. Reaction

President Bush said Western allies will deny aid to the Soviet Union’s deteriorating economy unless the legal government is restored. He also went out of his way to express support for Yeltsin.

Yeltsin told President Bush that his foreign minister, Andrei Kozyrev, expects to visit the United Nations soon, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

World Reaction

In Berlin, Germans marched a mile from Wittenberg Square to the historic Brandenburg Gate to show their support for Gorbachev, the man who freed East Germany and helped end the country’s division.

Pope John Paul II praised Gorbachev and expressed concern about the fate of the religious renaissance in the Soviet Union. The Pope had planned to visit the Soviet Union next year after accepting an invitation extended by Gorbachev in 1989.

At The Hague, European Community countries demanded the reinstatement of Gorbachev and suspended more than $1 billion in economic assistance to the Soviet Union until “constitutional order” is restored.