The Architect amidst the Ruins (Russian: Архитектор у развалин, other versions: Архитектор развалин - 'The Architect of the Ruins', Архитектору развалины - 'To the Architect of the Ruins') was an open letter by Gennady Zyuganov, then a relatively little known party functionary, to Alexander Yakovlev, the ideologist of Perestroika, also known as the Architect of Perestroika. The letter was published in the hardline newspaper Sovetskaya Rossiya on 7 May 1991. The letter argued that Perestroika caused disintegration of the state, democratization resulted in a 'war of legislation', glasnost turned out to be a weapon in the psychological war against the Soviet people, 'as in distant past', a new alliance of obscurantists, lumpenized intelligentsia and criminals was coming into being.
The letter was perceived as the start of the campaign to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev.[1] It was later reported (Oleg Shenin) that the text itself had been written by a KGB team, and Zyuganov's signature just suited the goals.[2]