1985 Valduvian coup d'état

1985 Valduvian coup d'état
Part of the Burland conflict and Valduvian transition to democracy
Valduvian soldiers conduct arrests near the Directorate for the Workers' Voice on 15 February.
Date 15 February 1985 Location Tautaspils, Valduvia Result Coup successful Andrejs Miezis arrested Constitution suspended Saeima and Presidium dissolved General Mārcis Riekstiņš installed as head of transitional government End of the Burish genocide and the broader Burland conflict
Belligerents
Miezis Government	ECNU
Commanders and leaders
Andrejs Miezis Krišjānis Rubenis Guntars Krēsliņš Guntis Upmalis Arvīds Bērziņš Kaspars Ozoliņš Mārtiņš Priedītis	Mārcis Riekstiņš Edgars Zvirbulis Māris Kalniņš Uldis Vēvers Aivars Skrastiņš
Casualties and losses
1,339 arrested	None

The 1985 Valduvian coup d'état, also known as the February Putsch, was a bloodless military coup d'état that took place in the Federated Valduvian Council Republics on 15 February 1985. The coup was carried out by the Emergency Committee for National Unity (ECNU), a group of high-ranking officers within the Valduvian Workers' Army who opposed the hardline councilism of Premier Andrejs Miezis and sought to end to the regime's genocidal military campaign in Burland. The 1985 coup is widely viewed by historians as a turning point in Valduvian history, ending the Burland conflict and paving the way for the nation's transition to democracy after more than six decades under totalitarian rule.

On the morning of 15 February, elements of the Valduvian military loyal to the ECNU seized key military, government, and media facilities around Tautaspils. Support for Miezis within the military and police apparatus had collapsed by the time of the putsch, and the plotters were able to arrest Miezis and the members of the Presidium without resistance. Two hours after the coup began, the ECNU broadcast a statement on state television and radio networks declaring a state of emergency and announcing the dissolution of the Saeima and Presidium. The ECNU established a transitional government led by General Mārcis Riekstiņš, which was to act as a caretaker administration until democratic elections could be held under a new constitution. The overthrow was bloodless, with no violence reported during the transition of power. The ECNU's leaders had extensively planned their actions in secret over the course of several weeks, taking great care to ensure the support of the majority of the armed forces before carrying out the plot.

The coup was welcomed by the Valduvian people, who had grown disillusioned with the Miezis regime's repression, human rights abuses, and economic mismanagement. Riekstiņš's transitional government oversaw the ratification of the new constitution by national referendum in 1987, and remained in power until the first elections were held in 1988. Miezis committed suicide while in military custody three days after the coup, and several dozen members of his administration later testified before the Valduvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission between 1989 and 1993.