Communist party officials like to scold the capitalists' obscene wealth. They were not averse to status symbols and pomp. They were happy to be chauffeured through the country in limousines from the west and staffed their offices with thick carpets, heavy curtains and soundproof doors.
The hero of this riddle, Ivanov, was a clerk in the office of a party secretary. But his boss was rarely found in his pompous office with thick, padded doors. Ivanov urgently needed to discuss a matter with the party secretary and was on his way to his office. He met the secretary on the ground floor. "He's in his office," she said. "Just go inside."
Ivanov took the stairs instead of the elevator to the executive office, opened the door, and heard the big clock in it bang once. But the boss wasn't there. Ivanov left the door open and sat on the bench in front of it. After half an hour he heard the clock chime again. There was no sign of the boss.
Ivanov continued to wait, the clock struck again after half an hour, and only once. And half an hour later the clock struck again exactly once.
At that moment, the secretary of the party official came back and explained that Ivanov could only have missed the boss by a few minutes. Because he was still on the phone in his room when she herself started the break. Probably her boss took the elevator and not the stairs.
When did the party secretary leave his office?