Rising Tide of Soviet Protest : Hundreds of thousands of Soviets took to the streets in protest of the ouster of Mikhail S. Gorbachev. Among the most visible activity:

Estonia. A column of more than 100 light armored vehicles and trucks was reported to be on the move toward the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

Latvia. Soviet soldiers seized control of Latvian broadcast studios and the central telephone exchange. One report said two people were wounded.

Lithuania. President Vytautas Landsbergis called for acts of non-violent civil disobedience.

Moldavia. Some 400,000 protesters filled the center of Kishiniev, the capital of Moldavia, where organizers, including Moldavia’s independence-minded leaders, called for the resignation of the coup leaders, the reinstatement of Gorbachev, and for Moldavians serving in the Red Army to “follow the people, not the fascists.”

Ukraine. President Leonid Kravchuk called for a special session of the regional parliament as the local independence movement Rukh called for Ukrainians to strike.

Moscow. Russian President Boris Yeltsin renewed his call for a general strike before a cheering crowd of more than 150,000 people at the Russian Parliament building. Tanks and paratroopers patrolled near the Kremlin to prevent protests.

Leningrad. Crowds estimated at more than 200,000 jammed Palace Square and cheered for Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, considered a liberal reformer in the mold of Yeltsin.

Siberia. Coal miners in Siberia and the Soviet far north walked off the job, creating an immediate economic threat to the new government.