The history of Russia could have taken a thousand paths other than the one we know. A collection of stories by leading science fiction writers, “The Turning of the Rivers of History,” offers a look at alternative versions of the history of our country, those that for some reason did not materialize. There is Russia there, which has never known the Horde yoke. Russia, which discovered America, Russia, in which the Decembrists were victorious, Russia, in which the Soviet Union still prevailed in the struggle for world peace, Russia, in which the USSR did not arise at all, and the Empire continued its happy existence. And, by the way , to create all this variety of alternative realities, not a single “misfit” was needed!