The magic of the book is in the up-close and behind-the-scenes view of the political theatre. Many of us remember, for example, that the likes of Gorbachev replaced the Supreme Soviet with a kind of parliament that reduced the power of the Communist Party, but it is certainly entertaining to read how he did it. Roxburgh recounts that the loudest speakers at the 1988 party conference were opponents of any reforms.
Just when the 5,000 apparatchiks thought the long meeting was over and they could finally head to the special Moscow shops designed just for them, Gorbachev whipped out a small piece of paper and read that elections for a new parliament would be held in the spring. Immediately thereafter, without giving the comrades a second to think about it, he put the proposal to a vote. And all those present, accustomed to raising their hands on command, raised them without realising what this would mean for their warm seats.
P.S.
Vladimír Putin is incapable of feeling, of empathy. A classic sociopath who is able to subordinate everything to power. Sociopaths have it easy in an undeveloped society. Unfortunately, there are plenty of them in the West too. Putin creates destruction by the force of his personality and personal power, those in the West by combined forces. The question is, how much is a sociopath born and how much is he created and created by his environment? If they begin to rule the world and "common sense" does not step in, nature will. It will always make it clear who is the real master on earth. JŠ
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