Chapter 158 Self-recommendation
Some people say that Stalin was a dictator in the Soviet Union. In fact, whether dictatorship is good or not should be viewed from many aspects. At least in Yuri's opinion, if the dictator can keep a clear head and calm thinking during the war, it may not be a bad thing for the entire country.
Stalin liked to talk about the Supreme Command. Whenever he made any decision, he liked to use the name of the Supreme Command. In fact, everyone knew that he had the final say in the Supreme Command. No matter what the matter was, as long as Stalin was convinced, it was equivalent to being approved by the Supreme Command.
Yuri rushed back to Moscow from Kursk and used his analysis to strengthen Stalin's determination to fight a decisive battle with the German army in Kursk. Zhdanov, who had been jumping up and down, calmed down, and the so-called differences of opinion were unified again.
…
In the drizzle of Moscow, the air seems to carry a faint fishy smell, which is due to the rich oxygen. Standing under the dripping rain eaves, take a deep breath, let the cool and fresh air fill your lungs, and then slowly exhale. For a moment, the whole person will feel that the world has become fresh.
Since being transferred to Moscow, Yuri found that he seemed to like the rainy weather in Moscow. The thick dark clouds not only did not affect his mood, but instead made him feel a kind of comfort from the bottom of his heart.
The Theater Square was crowded with people in the rain. Umbrellas of various colors and patterns were mixed in the crowd, rushing towards the Bolshoi Theater, like a bunch of blooming bouquets converging in a stream.
Yuri stood in the square nearly 50 meters opposite the Grand Theater. Arseni was beside him, holding an umbrella for him , carefully preventing rain from falling on his brand new and straight military uniform. Yuri raised his head slightly and looked at the chariot of Apollo, the sun god, pulled by four horses, above the top of the Grand Theater.
Yuri had been standing here for nearly 20 minutes without moving a step. No one knew what he was thinking. Arseni wanted to ask, but didn't dare, so he could only stand with him quietly.
The Bolshoi Theater was destined to be noisy tonight. The event organized by the Moscow Municipal Party Committee to celebrate the first anniversary of the victory of the Battle of Moscow was finally officially unveiled tonight after being postponed twice. The Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department and the Municipal Communist Youth League Committee, which organized the event, were confused about the first two postponements of the event. They only knew that the decision to postpone was made by Comrade Sherbakov, the secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. However, a small group of people knew very well that the reason for the postponement was that the protagonist was unable to attend.
Well, it was not a big deal for a young general to fail to get married, but the problem was that Comrade Stalin used this incident to criticize Comrade Sherbakov in a light or not severe way. Regardless of the real reason behind this criticism, Comrade Sherbakov had to get this matter done, or at least pretend to care about it. This is called a political statement.
Furthermore, Malenkov had tried this before, but it didn't work out. Sherbakov was currently seeking advancement. Of the seven people in Stalin's trusted circle: Molotov was out of his reach; Kaganovich and Voroshilov were old; Beria was too intimidating; and Zhdanov was his brother-in-law and his supporter. So, the only people he could surpass seemed to be Khrushchev and Malenkov, and of the last two, Malenkov, who was relatively young, was undoubtedly easier to deal with.
Therefore, Sherbakov actively took charge of this matter, and also intended to compete with Malenkov - look, what Gorgio Maximilianovich couldn't do, I can do, that's basically what he meant.
To be honest, Yuri really didn't want to attend tonight's event. It wasn't that he was being aloof, but he really had no interest. However, there was nothing he could do. The Moscow Municipal Party Committee had sent him three invitation letters, and it would obviously not be a good idea to refuse repeatedly.
The crowd surging in front of the Grand Theater finally gradually disappeared. Yuri fumbled for a cigarette, lit it, took a puff, and walked forward.
The person responsible for receiving Yuri tonight was not Sherbakov. The comrade who was the secretary of the provincial party committee and the municipal party committee was not that low-profile. The person who was really responsible for this matter was a female comrade, the deputy secretary of the Moscow Youth League Municipal Committee in charge of the activities of the Youth League branch, Angela Vadimmovna Klenmova.
In fact, this Angeliya is somewhat similar to Yuri. At the beginning of the war, she signed up for the army at Moscow State University where she was studying. Later, she participated in the battles of Velikiye Luki and Smolensk as a second lieutenant, and was later transferred to the rear due to injuries. During the Battle of Moscow, she was transferred to the Moscow Komsomol City Committee because she knew German. She was responsible for organizing the anti-German propaganda activities of various Komsomol propaganda teams. Later, she stayed in this department.
When Yuri walked to the stairs of the Grand Theater under Arseny's protection, Angelica, who was standing on the stairs, saw him. To be honest, Angelica was really surprised when she saw Yuri for the first time.
Before, she had heard that this general, who was good at fighting and had hardly lost any battles since the outbreak of the war, was very young, but she had no intuitive impression of how young he really was. Now, after seeing the real person, she suddenly realized that he was really too young.
This is the general who commanded a brigade of new soldiers to defend Berezno tenaciously during the Battle of Kiev, blocking the full-scale attack of the German 47th Motorized Army? This is the general who launched a surprise attack in Shors and slowed down the entire German front line? This is the general who stopped the German army's rapid advance with a remnant of his troops in Novosili? This is the general who held out for months in Stalingrad and finally turned the tide of the war? This is really incredible.
For a moment, Angelica was so distracted that she forgot to go down the stairs.
Fortunately, it was raining that day, and the cold raindrops hitting her face quickly woke Angelica up from her trance.
"Hello, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," Angela, who had regained consciousness, hurriedly stepped down the stairs, stretched out her hand first, showed her most perfect smile, and said, "I am Angela from the Komsomol Municipal Committee, Angela Vadimmovna Kleumova, you can call me Angela."
"Oh, hello," Yuri stretched out his hand and shook hands with the woman in front of him. At the same time, he slightly raised his head and took a quick look at the other person.
She was a very young woman, tall and thin, with ear-length blonde hair covering half of her right cheek. Perhaps because of the light , her delicate face looked a little cold, with a hint of intellectuality. She was wearing a brown windbreaker, which was decent and upright. One could tell at a glance that she lived in good conditions, because this kind of obviously Western-style windbreaker was hard to buy in the Soviet Union.
"Our Municipal Youth League Committee is also responsible for some work for tonight's event, and my task is to receive you," Angelica held Yuri's hand all the time, and her tone of voice was not very formal, but it gave people a sense of closeness.
"Thank you," Yuri nodded and smiled.
"Let's go in," Angelia let go of her hand, took a step down the stairs, and walked to a position side by side with Yuri, and said, "On the second floor, we have prepared a special box for you."
The guest should follow the host's wishes. Yuri came here tonight with the intention of watching the show, so he didn't really care who accompanied him.
"I heard that you just came back from the front a while ago?" Angelia asked casually as she led Yuri into the theater. "Is the fighting on the front intense?"
"There haven't been any major battles during this period," Yuri said, picking out some unimportant information. "After all, summer is coming soon. We need to ease the war and replenish troops and supplies for the frontline troops."
"I heard that the Germans are besieging Leningrad again," Angela continued, "Is the situation over there very tense?"
"We must believe in the fighting spirit of the people of Leningrad," Yuri replied formally, "It will certainly not be easy for the Germans to make a breakthrough there."
"So, when do you think this war will end?" Angelica continued to ask as she led Yuri up the stairs leading to the second floor.
"Is this considered a journalist's interview?" Yuri didn't know how to answer this question. He just laughed and made a joke.
"Of course not," Angelica smiled, "I just feel that Yuri Arkhipovich's mind has not yet turned to tonight's activities, so I deliberately asked more questions so that our relationship can get along better faster."
"Oh?" Yuri laughed in silence, but he felt that these people who were in charge of group affairs were really not simple.
"Before I came here tonight, the leader of the organization assigned me a task," Angelia said with a smile, "asking me to help you find a marriage partner. Considering the difficulty of this issue, I want to get into the state as soon as possible."
"I'm afraid there's no way to force this kind of thing?" Yuri spread his hands and said helplessly.
"Of course, but we still need a good start, so I would like to ask the first formal question," Angela raised a green finger and smiled, "Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich, have you read the information we prepared for you?"
"I've flipped through some of it," Yuri touched his nose and said. Damn it, he had no idea where he had thrown that file bag away.
"Well, please allow me to add another piece of personal information," Anteliya said with a smile, "Anteliya Vadimmovna Kleimova, a graduate of the German Department of Moscow State University, a Belarusian, born in Minsk. Her father's name is Vadim Vitalievich Kleimov, the secretary of the Mogilev Provincial Party Committee..."
