But it is now clear that the KGB and the military who launched the coup were not defending the idea of communism. Instead, they were protecting their idea of Russia’s imperial mission, a notion that had given the Kremlin commissars greater control of the vast Russian empire, and of Russia’s neighbors, than any of the Tsars had ever enjoyed.
Sin embargo, ahora resulta evidente que la KGB y el ejército -que iniciaron el golpe- no estaban defendiendo la idea del comunismo, sino protegiendo su idea de la misión imperial de Rusia, noción que había dado a los comisarios del Kremlin un control del vasto imperio ruso y de los vecinos de Rusia mayor que el disfrutado por cualquiera de los zares.