About the book: 2008 / This book contains materials devoted to little-known, or rather, hidden pages of the history of the Soviet state. Without trying to answer all the questions posed, the authors turn to the testimony of eyewitnesses and participants in the events, to experts, to archival materials that help to recreate the picture of what happened in a more comprehensive version. The authors’ reflections allow us to better imagine the mechanism of formation of real politics hidden from the masses, the reasons for the rise and fall of the USSR, the collapse of which became the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century.