The pendulum of violence in Russia started swinging 30 years ago, in October 1993Thirty years since Black October of 1993: Tragedy of Russian parliamentarianismA major crisis broke out in Russia in the beginning of October 1993. To disperse the protesters, the government sent riot police and internal troops to the White House. Parliamentary militia fighters were armed with an impressive arsenal of special equipment supplemented with firearms from the White House security vault. According to various estimates, there were from 100 to 1000 pieces of small arms in the armoury room of the Supreme Council. "After demonstrators broke through the blockade around Mir Hotel and the Supreme Council, there was confusion among Yeltsin's supporters.