2nd Russian Revolution

Popular opinion regarding the outcome of the coup in the Soviet Union firmly places Boris Yeltsin in the role of hero--a man alone, standing against the old order in defense of the new. To the extent that he served as a focal point for the accumulated misery and anguish of thousands, I suppose he is a hero. The true heroes, however, are those people who came--day after day, night after night--in defiance of curfews and despite the fear instilled ruthlessly and repeatedly by the old, established order. The true heroes are those who have endured this hideous experiment in government--suffering through endless shortages of food, freezing winters, scarcity of basic needs Westerners accept as their due. The true heroes are those who have endured deprivation of freedom, rights, even their lives for speaking truths to despotic leaders.

The miracle is not that these people, these comrades--the masses--prevailed over the clumsy attempt to restore the status quo in the Soviet Union. The miracle is that, after decades, even centuries, of fear, deprivation and hardship, they can even find it within themselves to hope, dream and stand up at last.

M. VAN HORN, Long Beach