This book is not only about the Kuril Islands. In it, I wanted to reflect on things more general and important - about the nature of nationalism, about the tragic distortion of the past and the misconception of the present, about the poverty of our life and about ourselves. In this case, the Kuril Islands are nothing more than a reason... The book made its way for quite some time. Therefore, I apologize in advance for the fact that the events set out in it are limited to the period of August 1991. Something from here has forever remained the property of history. I am sincerely grateful to all my friends, thanks to whose help this publication turned out to be possible.