In the second half of the twentieth century, the last three dictatorships of Western Europe ended - the regimes of Franco in Spain, Salazar in Portugal and the "black colonels" in Greece. Their citizens ultimately chose the democratic system over the authoritarian. In his book, political researcher and journalist Alexander Baunov talks about how they tried to extend their existence and the dictatorships of these three countries ended, about the differences and similarities of this transition as a result of peaceful transformation in Spain, revolutionary events in Portugal and military adventure in Greece and about the people thanks or contrary to which this transition took place. Opponents of autocracies often give their answer to the question of why authoritarian regimes manage to last a long time: because they stay on fear and strength. Supporters of authoritarianism as a form of government respond in their own way: long-term regimes of personal power are held by the power of popular love. Time not only clarifies, but also obscures the course of events. The event should be distinguished from the myth of it. This book can be read as a documentary novel about how the two longest dictatorships of Europe, each of which lasted 40 years, could not resist. To complement the picture, I write about their late and less durable imitator - the Orthodox dictatorship of the "black colonels" in Greece.