The first years of Russia's “democratic” development were marked by unprecedented upheavals. Why was a great country unable to quickly and effectively go through the transformation process, as most countries in Eastern Europe did? Who was interested in the chaos that engulfed the territory of the former Union? The brutal struggle of the nomenklatura clans, desperate attempts by any means to return the country to the communist fold, the opposition of regional elites to the center, ethnic conflicts... Written in the author’s characteristic style, rich in historical material, the book is a direct continuation of the famous “Gold of the Party” and is read with unflagging interest from the first to the last page.