It would be good to know the context of your question. When you say "based on the passage," perhaps you could attach a screen shot of the passage you're looking at.
Nevertheless, even without such context, I would lean toward saying the answer is that "the Soviet government would do whatever it could to stay in power." I'm guessing you're talking about events as the Soviet Union was nearing its dissolution and Boris Yeltsin was leading Russia in a move to declare its own sovereignty separate from the USSR. The Soviet leadership did not give in to that movement willingly.
