Chapter 16 Summary

In the spring of 1988, the first signs of political unrest reached Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East. The small, isolated fishing community was a penal colony before the Bolshevik Revolution. A few hundred locals stage a small demonstration to protest the local Party chief, and they are promptly ignored by the Party. Soon after, however, an even larger demonstration is held. With no support from the Central Committee, the Party chief flees to Moscow. In a classic demonstration of their lack of understanding of their constituents, the Party replaces the former chief with a new on, Viktor Bondarchuk - who is no different from the previous chief. When the elections for the Congress of the Peoples' Deputies are held, Bondarchuk is easily beaten by a local journalist named Vityaly Guly.

Chapter 16 Analysis

As the Soviet government continues to operate business as usual...