In the days when deputies could actually be elected, during the historical period between party directives and gray-market technologies, there were people among the people's representatives who, even decades later, could be considered worthy of shaking hands with. These individuals were known for their sincere convictions, loyalty to their homeland, selflessness, and, ultimately, their rightness. One such individual was Viktor ALKSNIS, a former People's Deputy of the former Soviet Union.

- Viktor Imantovich, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the entire country knew you as a member of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. However, you disappeared from television screens and newspaper and magazine pages. Nevertheless, there were reports in the media that you were involved in various social and political organizations, including the Russian People's Union. Why were you "removed" from the political scene, and what prompted your return?

- After the events of August 1991, my life became very difficult, as I demanded extraordinary measures to preserve the country. After August, there were disputes: a warrant for my arrest was issued in Latvia, and some of my colleagues at a meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in Moscow proposed my arrest. It was a challenging situation. After the signing of the Belavezha Accords and the last All-Army Officers' Meeting in early January 1992, I voluntarily left the army.

- What was the coercion about?

"Someone decided that the army didn't need me like this. And I was made redundant. Since October 1992, I have been in the reserve, even though I was 42 years old and a colonel at the time. I couldn't stay in Latvia because when I left, the head of our special department of the KGB warned me that the Latvian authorities had decided to arrest me. On October 2, 1992, with the help of a special department, I got out of Latvia with adventures. Since then, I've been a "persona non grata": I'm not allowed to enter, and I can't get a visa. My mother and sister are still there.

As for my political activities, I did not stop them, but it so happened that after August 1991, I was blacklisted as a person who was "not allowed" to enter the media. The last article about me was published in Krasnaya Zvezda. After the signing of the Bialowieza agreements, unfortunately, the Union parliamentary group, which I headed, ceased to exist: people were not ready for what happened, and simply, frankly, ran away. Then, in December 1991, I joined Sergei Nikolaevich Baburin, that is, the Russian National Union, took part in the first congress of the Russian National Union, and immediately became a member of the leadership. Since then, I have been a member of the Russian National Union. Although, according to the Internet, I have been everywhere.

Today, I look at the situation with optimism. The mass madness is finally coming to an end, and public sentiment is beginning to change, especially in terms of the army. For the past 10 years, the Armed Forces have been constantly humiliated, insulted, and portrayed as a sick monster. This has been perpetuated by the media. As a result, there has been a strong negative perception of the army in society. However, it is becoming clear to the media that the army is an essential tool for the state and should be treated with care. Even, perhaps, to indulge in turning a blind eye to certain minor shortcomings: after all, this is one of the pillars of the state. Currently, the media is only beginning to objectively cover the military feats and the work of our soldiers and officers. This gives me a sense that we have achieved something, and that my efforts over the years to stop vilifying the Armed Forces have not been in vain.

- How have you settled down in terms of everyday life?

- In 1993, our Riga Air Force Army, where I served, built a house in the village of Tuchkovo in the Ruza district. I was given an apartment, and I have been living there since June 1993. My wife works as a history teacher at the village secondary school. My daughter graduated from a political science university and works as a political scientist in Moscow. My son graduated from a military school this year, formerly known as the Moscow Higher School of Radioelectronics and Air Defense. It is now a branch of the Peter the Great Academy in Kubinka. He is an engineer in the Aerospace Forces and serves as a platoon commander in one of the Strategic Missile Forces units.

And, of course, I'll repeat, those years were not easy. Well, they fought with me because I'm the "Black Colonel" Alksnis, as they say. They even fought with my son and grandfather. And what about my grandfather? He was the Chief of the Red Army Air Force and was executed in 1937. Imagine the anniversary of the centenary of Commander Alksnis in 1997. The Great Encyclopedic Dictionary is published, a new edition, and my grandfather is removed from this edition. In other words, the artist Adam Alksnis is included, as are all of my grandfather's associates. However, Yakov Alksnis is not included. I am astonished by the people who do this. You can fight me, but why fight a man who died 60 years ago? Leave him alone. In 1937, he was removed from the Encyclopedic Dictionary as an enemy of the people. 60 years later, the same thing is happening again...

- Viktor Imantovich, how did your military career develop?

- I graduated from the school in 1973. I went to Voronezh, more specifically, to the Lipetsk Center. There was a separate research flight squadron, where I began my service as an aviation equipment engineer. Then, in 1977, I went to apply to the Zhukovsky Academy. I failed the entrance exam. In Voronezh, they believed that since I was a grandson, I would definitely pass. In other words, my position was already taken. They asked me where I would like to continue my service. I said, "Let's go home to Riga." In 1977, I arrived in Riga as an engineer in the 249th Separate Aviation Squadron. I was a radio engineer. I served there for two years, and I think I did a good job, because in late 1979, I was appointed as an engineer at the headquarters of the Baltic Military District Air Force. Later, I became a senior engineer in the aviation engineering group. In 1987, reforms began, and I was transferred to the position of senior engineer-inspector in the combat training department. In 1989, I was elected a member of the USSR. In 1990, I became a member of the Latvian SSR, and then everything started...

- As a deputy, and later, you fought for a unified state, defended the army, the Russians, and the Russian-speaking population, particularly in the Soviet and post-Soviet Baltic republics. What you fought against and predicted has indeed happened...

- You know, when I made my predictions, I honestly didn't believe that we would be so foolish as to allow them to come true. But it happened, and it was much more terrifying than I could have imagined. I could have accepted that the Baltic states would separate, but not Ukraine. I believed that the officer corps was the elite of society. We had a unique upbringing, and we were all nationalists. Despite this, I hoped that we could preserve the Union, even if it was a smaller version consisting of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and the Central Asian countries. Unfortunately, my hopes were not fulfilled.

"Then the so-called Democrats called you the black colonel...

- Now many people overestimate their previous views. At the Moscow metro station "Library named after Lenin" once I buy a press at a newsstand. The salesman, a man in his 40s and 50s, my age, stared at me. And then he says: "You're Colonel Alksnis, aren't you?" "Comrade Colonel, if you only knew how much I hated you back then. I was a senior researcher at a research institute, and now I sell newspapers. Now I know I was a fool." Unfortunately, the epiphany comes to people quite late.

- Since we're talking about your previous prophetic predictions, can you tell us when all this will end?

- We are a country where politicians are personified. We need a man-banner. The people need faith in the man who manages them. As long as there is no trust, all these elections are a cockroach race. However, it is clear that any person who comes to the presidency next year will start by changing the course. There will be inconsistencies and fluctuations, but all of this will be a preparation for future changes, for real reforms, and for real deeds.

- By the way, you also had thoughts about reforming the Armed Forces.

- As you know, any reform requires huge investments. And given that the government doesn't have any money... Until there is a leader in the government who cares about the country and the army, everything will collapse and be destroyed.

As for my vision of reform... Well, first of all, I have always been and remain an opponent of a professional army. I recently read Churchill's memoirs about World War II. The beginning of the memoirs is dedicated to the Treaty of Versailles and Germany's surrender in World War I. The Allies demanded that Germany establish a professional army to prevent the training of reservists... Look at what happened in Yugoslavia. As soon as the question of conducting a ground operation arose, Clinton immediately announced plans to call up 60,000 reservists. In other words, when it comes to serious matters, it turns out that a professional army is not up to the task. Yes, it is good for parades and a stable, peaceful environment. But look at what is happening in and around Russia. It is clear that we need a large ground force.

We need to have universal military service, not what we have now. In 1996, I worked as the Deputy Mayor of Zhukovsky and headed the city's draft board. I looked at who was going to the army. It was clear whose children were going. As soon as a parent was a researcher or a teacher, their son received a deferment for various reasons. And if the mother was a housewife and the father was a turner... These people were forming an army of lumpen proletarians, not a working-class army.

For the first time in the last 50 years since the Second World War, Russia is facing a serious threat, including an external one. Back in 1990, the Chairman of the KGB, Kryuchkov, showed me documents about plans for our country that our intelligence had received. It clearly stated that the territory up to the Urals should be part of Germany's sphere of influence, while Central Asia, parts of Siberia, and the Far East should belong to China, Japan, and the United States, respectively. The plan also suggested reducing the population of our country to around 30-50 million people. They don't need it anymore. The territory is needed as a source of resources and a dump for storing industrial and radioactive waste from all over the world. We can see that these plans are being implemented. Unfortunately, there is no proper resistance to this, and I believe that during the events in Yugoslavia, we missed a real opportunity to stop NATO's expansion to the East.

- Viktor Imantovich, you say with pain that your grandfather Yakov Alksnis has been undeservedly forgotten again. Have you managed to clarify the reasons for the tragic fate of the repressed head of the Red Army Air Force?

- I'm going back to the painful topic of the centenary of my grandfather's birth. Whatever the case, he was an influential figure in the Air Force, and his anniversaries were widely celebrated. He left a lasting legacy. Many fundamental aspects of modern aviation were established by him. For example, the concept of "park days" and pre-flight preparations. However, in 1997, his anniversary was not celebrated at all, solely due to his last name. My father, who died in 1992, said the following phrase shortly before his death:: "You know, in 1937, at the age of 10, I became the son of an enemy of the people, and in my old age, in 1992, I became the father of an enemy of the people."

It was very important for me to find out what happened to my grandfather in 1937. Today, when everything seems to have become public knowledge, I have more questions than before. When I became a member of the USSR Parliament, I sent a parliamentary request to Kryuchkov in the KGB, and two weeks later, I received a call at the Moscow Hotel: "Hello, we are from the KGB. Vladimir Alexandrovich Kryuchkov has received your letter and has written a response. We have all the materials, when can we bring them to you?""

-" How to bring it? I will come to you, because these are classified materials." I went to the Lubyanka and looked through the materials: first, concerning my grandfather, and secondly, the documents of the special court meeting, of which my grandfather was a member, on the Tukhachevsky case.

The point is that my grandfather and Tukhachevsky were friends. They were both in their 40s, and they were friends. It was a mystery to me how one could sentence the other to death. Does that mean that my grandfather was a villain? There was a conflict between them, but it was only once. Tukhachevsky was known for his love of women, and my grandmother was considered an attractive woman in Moscow society. And Tukhachevsky started courting her. Well, they figured it out like two men. But that can't be the reason. I was given a transcript of Tukhachevsky's trial, and it was the first copy. There were notes in blue pencil. I don't know if they were Stalin's or someone else's. I read it, and it raised a lot of questions in my mind. Now, I believe that in 1937, we went to one extreme by labeling everyone as enemies of the people, and then to the other extreme by acquitting them. I think the truth lies somewhere in between.

I am convinced that there was a conspiracy in the Red Army. I have read that the British intelligence service, MI6, has declassified new materials, including the fact that there was an agent of British intelligence among the members of the Politburo in the 1930s. However, the name of the agent has not been revealed. But this means that one of the 10 to 15 people was indeed an agent of British intelligence...

- What was the official version of the charges against Yakov Alksnis?

- Officially, he is an agent of the British, Japanese, and French intelligence services. In the file, there is a report from an NKVD agent dated 1933, stating that during a reception at the Latvian Embassy, the Latvian military attaché told an agent that they had people in the top leadership of the Red Army who were working for Latvia, and he named Eideman and his grandfather. This was the first indication. Then there are a couple more intelligence reports, which said that Alksnis was meeting with the German attaché, and so on. So, three reports, three intelligence reports, and a warrant for his arrest.

There was no personal confession, and the crime was not proven. At the end of the case, there was a protocol of a meeting of the troika dated July 28, 1937. It states that the accused fully admitted his guilt. By the way, the entire meeting lasted only 15 minutes. After that, there was an act confirming that the sentence had been carried out.

- You said that your mother and sister live in Latvia. I remember that at the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR, you said that at that time, the leaders of the People's Front of Latvia had a complete dossier on you, with addresses and information about all your relatives. Are they being persecuted now?

- No, my mother is doing fine. My sister has a different last name, and she's also doing well. However, in March of this year, the former First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Latvia, Rubiks, visited Moscow. He called me and said, "Victor, you know, I'm upset with you." What's the matter? It turned out that the Latvian press had published articles about an organization called "Perkonkrusts." This is a fascist illegal organization in Latvia, whose members blew up the monument to the liberators of the city of Riga. They held a court session and sentenced 40 people. 15 people were sentenced to death by hanging in a public place. As it turns out, I am at the top of the list of those sentenced, and Rubiks is at the bottom. He says, "You're not in Latvia, but you're at the top." This summer, I was met by a Russian FSB colonel, who told me that his colleagues in Latvia had contacted him and informed him that this organization, Perkonkrusts, was indeed active. It is banned in Latvia, and its leaders have been arrested. This illegal fascist organization has a history dating back to the 1930s, but it resumed its activities in the late 1980s. It turned out that, according to operational data, representatives of "Perkonkrusts" went to Russia and specified the places of residence of Nevzorov, the former commander of the Riga OMON Mlynnik and moe.

"Aren't you afraid?"

- As the saying goes, God won't let the pig eat you. I'm quite calm about it. In addition, a criminal case has been opened in Latvia regarding the threats. I often receive visits from Latvian guests, and I receive an overview of the Latvian press via email. However, I cannot travel there myself due to my involvement in the case of the Riga OMON. Rubiks, by the way, has already served his sentence in this case. My son has already visited Riga a couple of times while still a cadet. At the embassy, when the name is found out, immediately to the computer: "Alksnis is your father?" - "Yes". "Well, we won't give him a visa."

This is my life. It's bitter, of course. Home is home. I haven't been home for 8 years, but I still hope to return as a victor. Many people have given up on the Baltic region, but...

- So you believe that the Baltics will return?

- Yes, the fact is that the madness that has reigned here in Moscow for the past 10 years seems to be coming to an end. There is a powerful pro-Russian lobby in all the republics. Even in the current Latvian leadership, there are people who are pro-Russian, but they cannot express their pro-Russian sentiments because Moscow will turn them in. It is time to seriously consider economic relations with Latvia. After all, today Latvia receives more than 60 percent of the currency for the transit of Russian oil and gas. You can suggest: "Guys, stay independent, but let's ease the customs regime, the border regime. At the first stage of joining the CIS, remain independent, be members of the UN, but only-no NATO members." With a normal policy, all this can be done in 10 to 15 years. Even if Latvia is not part of Russia, there will still be a visa-free border regime, and our military bases will be there. Whatever people say, Peter the Great was not a fool when he fought for the Baltic Sea. There are strategic and geopolitical interests of the state. Today, we have lost them, and most importantly, here in Moscow. Those who came to power lacked the brains to do so. There will be a person who will say that Russia needs the Baltic Sea, Crimea, and the Black Sea Fleet. I do not rule out the possibility of using force, because force is, unfortunately, a universal mechanism. However, this requires a strong army and a powerful navy.

- What should our Armed Forces be guided by?

- This is the protection of Russia's national interests and the Russian people. I am convinced that the Russian people currently need more protection and support. When people are threatened with the threat of Russian fascism, it immediately feels like a fake and a provocation. There have been explosions. In any other country, this would have led to ethnic pogroms long ago; thousands of corpses would have been taken back to their ethnic homeland, to Chechnya, and so on. However, nothing is happening here. It's not because Russians are stupid, but because Russians have a unique ethnic tolerance. This is what allowed the Russian people to create a vast empire. Their tolerance allowed them to find common ground with any nation. Russians were often willing to make concessions and give up their best resources in the Baltic states and Central Asia in exchange for their own Russian villages. However, this approach brought these nations closer to Russia. It expanded their political and military influence.

During the war, the Russian people were relied upon for a reason. I believe that the same should be done in Russia today. We need a healthy Russian nationalism. Although I am a Latvian, I believe that the Russian people should unite under the banner of a healthy Russian nationalism and feel like a great nation, an elder brother. This is their destiny and their cross to bear. They will always be the elder brother to the Latvians, the Kazakhs, and the Georgians. He will help them, but on the other hand, the older brother has the right and duty to give the younger brother a little spanking on the butt if he gets too mischievous. And the Russophobic propaganda that has been carried out in the media over the past few years must stop.

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