The first genuine crisis in the Dagestani system of power occurred in August 991, after the putsch of the GKChP (the State Emergency Committee), when the activity of the Communist Party was banned. In Dagestan, this led to a breach of the principle of ethnic parity in the highest positions. Mukhu Aliev the Avar leader of the Communist Party was thereby prevented from power sharing, and the government lurched closer than ever to a loss of control. Instead of a traditional triumvirate of the highest leaders, there emerged an unstable diarchy, in which the two highest remaining positions were occupied by a Dargin and a Kumyk.