The historical-revolutionary novel by Barnaul prose writer Ivan Kudinov “Coup” is dedicated to the first years of the revolution and civil war in Siberia. The author tells how difficult it was for the formation of Soviet power in Altai, how political adventurers of all stripes used the idea of Altai autonomy, pitting the indigenous population against the Bolsheviks, how the White Guards incited national hatred, hiding behind the name of the honest, respected artist Gurkin, who became the head of the Karakorum-Altai district ... Many pages of history reflected in the novel are little known to the general reader.