“Amen to that,” said Walli.

• • •

Dimka liked his boss. Gorbachev in his deepest soul believed in the truth. Since Lenin died, every Soviet leader had been a liar. They had all glossed over what was wrong and declined to acknowledge reality. The most striking characteristic of Soviet leadership for the last sixty-five years was the refusal to face facts. Gorbachev was different. As he struggled to navigate through the storm that was battering the Soviet Union, he held on to that one guiding principle, that the truth must be told. Dimka was full of admiration.

Both Dimka and Gorbachev were pleased when Erich Honecker was deposed as leader of East Germany. Honecker had lost control of the country and the party. But they were disappointed by his successor. To Dimka’s annoyance, Honecker’s loyal deputy, Egon Krenz, took over. It was like replacing Tweedledum with Tweedledee.

All the same, Dimka thought Gorbachev would have to give Krenz a helping hand. The Soviet Union could not permit the collapse of East Germany. Perhaps the USSR could live with democratic elections in Poland and market forces in Hungary, but Germany was different. It was divided, like Europe, into East and West, Communist and capitalist; and if West Germany were to triumph that would signal the ascendancy of capitalism, and the end of the dream of Marx and Lenin. Even Gorbachev could not allow that—could he?

Krenz made the usual pilgrimage to Moscow two weeks later. Dimka shook the hand of a fleshy-faced man with thick gray hair and a look of smug satisfaction. He might have been a heartthrob in his youth.

In the grand office with the yellow-paneled walls, Gorbachev greeted him with cool courtesy.

Krenz brought with him a report by his chief economic planner saying that East Germany was bankrupt. The report had been suppressed by Honecker, Krenz claimed. Dimka knew that the truth about East Germany’s economy had been hidden for decades. All the propaganda about economic growth had been lies. Productivity in factories and mines was as low as 50 percent of that in the West.

“We have kept going by borrowing,” Krenz told Gorbachev, sitting on a black leather chair in the grand Kremlin room. “Ten billion deutschmarks a year.”

Even Gorbachev was shocked. “Ten billion?”

“We have been taking out short-term loans to pay the interest on long-term loans.”

Dimka put in: “Which is illegal. If the banks find out . . .”

“The interest on our debt is now four and a half billion dollars a year, which is two-thirds of our entire foreign currency earnings. We must have your help to deal with this crisis.”

Gorbachev bristled. He hated it when East European leaders begged for money.

Krenz wheedled. “East Germany is in a sense the child of the Soviet Union.” He tried a masculine joke. “One should acknowledge the paternity of one’s children.”

Gorbachev did not even smile. “We are in no position to offer you assistance,” he said bluntly. “Not in the present condition of the USSR.”