I’m a communist…I supported the putschists, or rather, the USSR. I was a fervent supporter because I liked living in an empire. As the famous song goes, “My beloved land is vast…” In 1989, I was sent to Vilnius on a business trip. Before I left, the chief engineer of the factory, who had recently been there, called me into his office and warned me, “Don’t speak Russian to them. They won’t even sell you a box of matches if you ask for them in Russian.
