WHAT IF… Putin Were in Gorbachev’s Shoes in 1980s? Alternative History Explored

The book with many lessons to be learned from the USSR disintegration was presented today in Moscow by the advisor to the Rosgvardia head, politician and journalist Alexander Khinshtein. To examine well-known historical facts, Khinshtein recurred to an unusual method. Dmitry Kaystro will tell about the alternative history genre and the author's conclusions. The famous politician and political writer chose the alternative history genre for his book. Khinshtein reconstructed the historical circumstances the two leaders, Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin, would have had to act under, had they switched places in time and space. Alexander Khinshtein, author of the book: "Today, we can compare the two presidents' actions in similar situations, in similar conditions". As Khinshtein told us, when writing the book, he came to the conclusion that if it had been Putin who ruled the country in the 1980s, the USSR disintegration could have been avoided. And, vice versa, if it had been someone like Gorbachev who ruled the country in the 2000s, according to the author, the country would probably have ended up split into apanage principalities. "If the autonomy plan had been fulfilled, today's Russian borders would have shrunk to what they were like 300-400 years ago. The Caucasus, half the Volga region, Siberia, and the Far East wouldn't have been part of Russia". The book's based on stories told by witnesses or participants of the events. Secret documents about the tragic events in Georgia and Lithuania were published for the first time. Khinshtein says that the main reason for the country's disintegration was the lack of leadership and responsibility. Alexander Khinshtein: "If Gorbachev had possessed at least half the qualities Putin would show later, we could have preserved the USSR in its main borders and avoided most of the turmoil". The vast documentary material became Khinshtein's laboratory of the thought. "Having started at the lowest level, Putin has achieved maximum. It took him some time to build the power vertical, as he called it, but he took it seriously and made it work long-term". The book Khinshtein worked on for five years is aimed at the young people, most of all. Alexander Khinshtein: "The book is about our country's past, about its present and about what can happen again if we don't learn our lessons". Khinshtein noted that the challenges Russian authorities had to face in 1991 have a lot in common with the current ones, with personality remaining the key factor. And history, as we know, doesn't forgive those who don't learn their lessons. Dmitry Kaystro, Mikhail Averenkov, and Oleg Shavyrin, Vesti.