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Page 314
Chapter Thirty-Seven
The Kremlin/December 2
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The plane has taken off and a section of the public still believes it will land in Paris or Stockholm. But, in fact, the course has been set for Brazil or even Nigeria, since this airline and this make of plane does not fly to the West at all.
BORIS KAGARLITSKY, DISINTEGRATION OF THE MONOLITH, 1992
It was late night when the staff car carrying Air Force General Kalinin and Provost Colonel Zenobiev drove across the floodlit expanse of Red Square and into the Spassky Tower Gate of the Kremlin. Snow was falling lightly, giving the illuminated roofs and towers of the Kremlin a fairy-tale look, brightly colored against the dark winter sky.
When shall I ever see all this again, Kalinin wondered. The smooth plain of white snow, the red brick of the Kremlin wall, the squat black marble of the mausoleum. It was only six days ago that he had stood there with his peers, exulting in his new rank, to watch the National Day parade.

 
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