About the book: 2003 / In the summer of 2003, the former first secretary of the Mogilev regional committee of the BSSR party, ex-Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Belarus Vasily Leonov presented to the public his own book "Working on mistakes." The book was published in a small edition of 2 thousand copies and will not go on sale. Vasily Sevostyanovich decided to present it only to friends and family. The memories of a man who actually raised all those who today make up the “Mogilev clan” that rules the country, and who was one of the first to suffer at the hands of “his disciples” are instructive and unexpected. In particular, Vasily Leonov debunks the myth that it was he who brought Alexander Lukashenko to power. Smart people tend to look back at what they have lived and done from time to time, analyzing their small and large achievements, trying to protect themselves from repeating voluntary or involuntary mistakes. Not in order to once again rejoice for oneself, beloved and wise, but in order to clearly and responsibly realize the personal inseparability from the history of the Motherland, which is done every day with the participation of everyone living on this earth. Neither fate nor the authorities deprived Vasily Sevastyanovich Leonov of their close attention. He had enviable career highs, sitting on the most prestigious presidiums, and nightly confessional councils with his sleepless peasant conscience, and persistent attempts to the point of exhaustion to “row against the tide,” and a terrible, merciless, unheard judgment, first of all, on himself in a close an overcrowded prison cell, when it is no wonder to go crazy from despair and powerlessness... He did not give up, did not break, did not become embittered. He remained a personality, complex, extraordinary, often inconvenient, but integral and direct... The memories and reflections of V. Leonov, which made up this book, are, in my opinion, a vivid document of our difficult times, a sincere, reliable testimony of a caring, restless and courageous contemporary. The experience of his specific life and public activities can become an instructive lesson for many, many officials huddling in high chairs and oppositionists hesitantly rushing into battle. Although there is enough bitter and offensive in it, there is still no hopelessness and doom in it... Your right to accept or not accept the conclusions and advice of Vasily Sevastyanovich. You can become his staunch supporters or his conscious opponents. But not listening to his opinion, to his “cold observations of the mind and sad notes of the heart,” would, it seems to me, at least, be short-sighted. Because in all his searches and revelations, he remains an intelligent and insightful person and tries to think not so much about himself, but about all of us and our common destiny. Gennady Buravkin