About the book: 1999 / Frankly, I have long been accustomed to this that “Chubais is to blame for everything.” A kind of national scarecrow, a soulless idol. In a word - "Chubais on your heads!" I’m not going to make excuses: I’m not a girl and I’m not a candidate for parliament to please everyone. But still, on one, most fundamental issue, as it seems to me, I would very much like to be understood by my compatriots. Did I and my colleagues in privatization make mistakes? Of course, there were, but let someone who, while actively participating in Russian reforms, not implement them, throw a stone at us. However, in the main thing, I am convinced of this, we were right. They tell me: “You imposed on Russia a privatization that was alien to it, you imposed on it anti-people market reforms.” So, I want to answer: no! It was to us - to me and my generation - that life itself “imposed” the need for change. These changes were brewing gradually, gradually, when we, those who are approaching forty today, were, as they say, walking under the table. And these changes fell upon us with all their weight, as soon as we just stood on our feet. Due to a number of subjective reasons, those who were later called “Gaidar and his team” found themselves at the epicenter of events. The latter is not important: the names could have been different. But reforms - they burst into the inevitable fate of my peers. Time dictated them. Everyone decided for themselves: to accept them or evade, but there was no will that could prevent the course of history…