Chapter 162: Honesty
After leaving Kaya sisters' home, Yuri drove back to his apartment. When he arrived downstairs, he saw a Dodge mid-size jeep parked on the roadside in front of the building. This American-made military jeep was aid received by the Soviet Union. Previously, the main equipment was given to the headquarters of various field fronts, and the Military Commission kept four more.
Yuri parked the car on the side of the road, got out, and walked straight to the side of the Dodge. He first lowered his head and walked around the jeep to take a look at the appearance of the car, then moved closer, put one foot on the wide rear wheel of the car, and pressed hard.
"Where have you been? Why didn't you come back until now?" Khrushchev's familiar voice came from behind.
"Oh, I just met two friends and went to visit their home ." Yuri turned around and replied with a smile.
Not far behind Yuri, Khrushchev was standing under the street light, looking at him with a sullen face, and in front of the door of the apartment building behind him stood Gorryosha with a nervous look on her face.
"I've been waiting for you here for two hours," Khrushchev said, raising his arm and pointing at his watch. "Two whole hours!"
"Are you back for the May Day celebration?" Yuri still kept smiling, ignoring Khrushchev's anger and changed the subject.
"Comrade Stalin plans to let me represent the Military Commission to attend the ceremony at the viewing platform of Lenin's Mausoleum," Khrushchev forgot his previous anger when he heard Yuri mention the May Day celebration. His big nose turned red and he smiled.
"My position was arranged next to Vyacheslav Mikhailovich," he emphasized again after saying this.
"That's something to be thankful for," Yuri said with a smile, "Well, I think this is also a recognition from Comrade Stalin for your work in Ukraine."
"Who said it wasn't?" Khrushchev nodded and smiled. "Come on, let's go to the Children's Palace. The rehearsal for the celebration is being arranged there."
"There's a rehearsal so late?" Yuri asked in surprise.
"After all, there are only two days left," Khrushchev said. "The rehearsal is very intense and we cannot afford to make the slightest mistake."
Obviously, Khrushchev attached great importance to the upcoming May Day celebrations, but he also had reasons to do so.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, also known as Molotov, was watching the ceremony. Since Khrushchev was arranged to be next to him, it means that Stalin has already made a decision on the leadership of the Ukrainian republic after the liberation of Ukraine. There is no doubt that Khrushchev, who has worked in Ukraine for a long time before the war, will serve as the general secretary of the Ukrainian republic. This position will solve the embarrassment of Khrushchev's long absence from political office during the war. At the same time, this also shows Stalin's trust in Khrushchev.
After dealing with Khrushchev for a long time, Yuri has already grasped this guy's temper. To put it bluntly, this guy has a bit of a stuffy personality. Don't be fooled by his serious and old-fashioned expression all day long. In fact, as long as you can catch his pleasure and scratch his itch, he doesn't mind expressing his true feelings and laughing out loud.
Getting along with Khrushchev, who had this kind of personality, was easy, but also difficult, because it was hard to flatter such a person. If you flatter ordinary people, even if you don't flatter them in the right place or don't flatter them to the fullest, they will at most smile and say nothing. But for Khrushchev, if you flatter him in the wrong place, he would not mind getting angry and scolding you.
Khrushchev suggested going to the Children's Palace, and they had to go no matter how late it was. Yuri did not delay. He winked at Gerlyosha, turned around and accompanied Khrushchev into the Dodge Jeep.
"Tell me the truth, were the two friends you went to visit male or female?" After getting in the car and waiting for it to start, Khrushchev frowned again and asked.
"Female, two girls," Yuri confessed honestly. "I met them in Kursk. They are actors from the Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe."
Khrushchev frowned, raised his stubby finger and pointed at Yuri, his intention was self-evident.
"I've been feeling depressed in Moscow for a while," Yuri said without further explanation, "The most important thing is that there has been no movement in the Kursk direction. As long as the direction of the German attack is uncertain, I will have to bear the pressure..."
"Is there no accurate information yet?" Khrushchev interrupted him and asked. He was not in Moscow, let alone the General Staff, so he had no way of knowing a lot of the latest information.
Yuri shook his head and gave a negative answer.
"We also need to pay attention to the impact," Khrushchev's thoughts were rather jumpy, and he felt like he was hitting the nail on the head. "In particular, we need to consider the way out... Well, give them more benefits, appease them, and avoid any mistakes. These are all very important."
"I'll pay attention." Yuri nodded.
"I heard that you are dating Vadim Vitalievich's daughter?" Khrushchev was obviously not too concerned about the fact that Yuri slept with two girls. He quickly turned his attention away and asked.
"Yes, her name is Anteliya, Anteliya Vadimmovna, and she works for the Moscow Youth League Committee," Yuri answered.
"I have some impression of Vadim. He is very stable, but also lacks ambition," Khrushchev said. "If you are interested in this marriage , you can contact Panteleimon Kondratievich. You should know this person, right?"
"Last year, during the Battle of Moscow, I met him twice, but I wasn't very familiar with him," Yuri said after thinking for a moment.
Panteleimon Kondratievich Ponomarenko, the current First Secretary of the Central Committee of Belarus, also serves as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Belarus. In addition, he is a member of the Military Committee of the Bryansk Front and the Minister of the Central Command of the Guerrilla Movement of the Supreme Command. Just from this guy's position, we can see how powerful he is in Belarus.
During the Battle of Moscow last year, Panteleimon served as a member of the Military Committee of the Central Front. Yuri had indeed met him twice, but they did not have much dealings.
"I am very familiar with Panteleimon," Khrushchev said boastfully, "When you and Vadim's daughter are confirmed, I will be your introducer."
Yuri could only secretly complain about Khrushchev's proposal. After all, it seemed that there was no introducer between him and Angelica.
But then again, just from Khrushchev's attitude, Yuri knew that he really regarded himself as one of his own. After all, although Khrushchev had a straightforward personality, he was by no means a good person.
The jeep moved forward quickly in the dark night, and the headlights on the front of the car illuminated the street without any lights.
The Children's Palace in Moscow is actually called the "Young Pioneers' Palace". The main building was originally a palace-style complex of a large capitalist during the Imperial Russian period. Its architectural appearance is magnificent. Although it was bombed by the German army during the Battle of Moscow, it was quickly renovated and reopened.
Since its founding, the Soviet Union has attached great importance to the education of children. At the entrance of the Children's Palace, on the left wall, there is written in Russian "Always be prepared", which is the slogan of the Young Pioneers.
In the days leading up to the May Day, the entire Children's Palace is brightly lit all night long. Student groups from many secondary and higher education institutions in Moscow are conducting intensive rehearsals here. During the May Day celebrations, they will march through Moscow's Red Square in the form of a large formation, singing and dancing.
Because it happened to be during the war, the May Day celebrations were also handed over to the Military Committee to host. To put it bluntly, this event was semi-militarized, and as a key member of the Military Committee, Khrushchev was naturally very concerned about the preparations for the event. During this period, he traveled back and forth between Kursk and Moscow, and although he was tired, he enjoyed it.
Yuri accompanied Khrushchev to get off the car in front of the Children's Palace, and the two walked into the conference hall of the Children's Palace.
Although it was late at night, the conference hall was still bustling with people. A quick look showed that there were probably thousands of people gathered here - every activity in the Soviet Union was like a movement, and the instructions of the superiors were implemented as orders. This might seem undemocratic, but it was extremely efficient.
Perhaps seeing Khrushchev's appearance, a middle-aged man led a group of people and quickly came over. Surprisingly, Yuri actually saw Angela among the group. She was wearing a neat new military uniform, and her tall figure was very conspicuous even standing in the crowd.
The middle-aged man leading the team was obviously from the Military Commission, and his rank was only a lieutenant colonel. Seeing him rushing to Khrushchev to show his courtesy, Yuri took the initiative to step back two steps and stepped aside.
Angelica did not go close to him either. This woman was very smart. When she saw Yuri and Khrushchev walking into the meeting room side by side, she knew that the relationship between the two was unusual. At this time, if she wanted Khrushchev to pay attention to her, the best choice was not to get close to him, but to highlight her relationship with Yuri as a lover.
"Why are you here? Are you here for another blind date?" Angelica approached Yuri coquettishly, took his hand and asked with a smile.
Yuri smiled and pointed at Khrushchev's back, saying, "Comrade Nikita caught him and came to inspect his work."
Sure enough, the two of them talked for a few words, and Khrushchev noticed the situation here. He turned around, looked at Yuri and asked with a smile: "Why, Baolenka, don't you want to introduce me?"
"This is Anjelia, my girlfriend," Yuri's mind flashed Suya's beautiful face, but he said directly, "Anjelia, this is Comrade Khrushchev."
