Soldiers attempted to seize control of Guinea on Tuesday hours after the death of Lansana Conté, the long-serving dictator, starting a power struggle that could determine whether the country embraces reform or slides deeper into ruin.

Conté will be remembered by many Guineans for leading a nation blessed with fabulous mineral reserves down a path of autocracy and poverty during his 24-year-rule, marked most recently by uprisings and army mutinies.