Chapter 27 Summary

A year and a half after the Siberian miners went on strike, they strike again in the winter of 1991. This time the stakes are greater. They are asking for a little more than soap; this time they want Gorbachev's resignation. The striking miners terrify the Kremlin. Not only do they symbolize the very roots of Bolshevism, but they also actually have the power to do something. The miners can actually cut power to the Kremlin and wreck havoc on industry. There are rumors that Gorbachev is planning to send in the military to end the strike.

This would not be the first time this tactic is used in Soviet history. In June 1962, workers at the Electric Locomotive Works in Novocherkassk, strike over food price hikes and wage reductions. The military is put on alert and when the striking workers march toward Party headquarters...