Chapter 304
Around three o'clock in the afternoon, a thick cloud floated in from the southeast of Kiev. In less than half an hour, the whole city was shrouded in dark clouds. When Yuri and Angelica were registering their marriage at the marriage registration office in the city hall, there was a loud thunder and bean-sized raindrops fell.
At first, although the raindrops were large, they were not dense. However, after only four or five minutes, the rain suddenly became heavier. The raindrops hit the windows, making crackling sounds and the sound was extremely dense.
After coming out of the City Hall, the two took a car to the Ukrainian Republic Government Building. The current Republic Government Building is not the majestic building standing on the side of Independence Square in later generations, but an old three-story building at the end of Khrushchev Street. Before the outbreak of the war, this was the location of the Ukrainian Planning Committee. Today, because there is no office space, this building is occupied by Comrade Khrushchev - as for the Planning Committee, Comrade Khrushchev probably doesn't care where they move to.
The distance from the City Hall to the Republic Government Building was not very far, and it took less than ten minutes to drive there. However, when Yuri and the others arrived, the entire street had been submerged in rain. One could imagine how heavy and how fast the rain was.
"Since the beginning of summer this year, the whole of Ukraine has had heavy rainfall," said Angela, looking at the ankle-deep rain as she got out of the car and walked towards the entrance of the building holding an umbrella. "Large-scale flooding is inevitable. Everyone is worried about the autumn harvest, especially the difficulty in completing the grain delivery task set by Moscow."
Yuri nodded and looked at the rain in the distance. The falling rain formed light white rain lines. Under the wind, the splashing water formed layers of water mist on the road, which rose up and disappeared.
As a senior Soviet official, although Yuri was not in charge of food-related affairs, he knew more or less about some related matters.
Before the war, according to the grain collection plan formulated by Moscow, Ukraine had to pay Moscow a total of about 8 million tons of grain each year. This was a fixed amount and would not be adjusted according to the harvest situation each year. However, this year was an exception. Due to the impact of the war, Moscow lowered the total amount of grain Ukraine had to pay this year and next year in order to give Ukraine some time to recuperate.
But the problem now is that if Ukraine suffers a large-scale reduction in grain production due to floods this year, many problems will be difficult to deal with.
Furthermore, lowering the total amount of grain to be handed over does not mean that nothing has to be paid. The question of how much to pay depends on the performance of the main leaders of the republics. If they can exceed the target while lowering the total amount, the political achievements of the leaders of the republics, including Khrushchev, will look very good. On the contrary, if they cannot even complete the target after the total amount is lowered, these people will probably have a very difficult time.
After entering the building from the main entrance, Angelica registered and then took Yuri straight to the third floor. Comrade Khrushchev's office was in the room on the easternmost side of the third floor.
In today's Ukraine, Comrade Khrushchev is the emperor. No one can brag to him in this small piece of land. In the absence of the reorganization of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, he is the only one in the whole Ukraine who can talk directly to Comrade Stalin. The phone directly connected to Stalin's office is in Khrushchev's office.
It is also because of this that Comrade Khrushchev's work seemed very busy. Although it was raining heavily , there were still many people waiting outside the corridor outside his office. They were all here to report or ask for instructions on work.
However, Anjelia did not take Yuri directly to Khrushchev's office. Instead, she led him to the other side of the corridor and finally into a small office: "Wait for me for a moment."
Without being polite to Yuri, Angelica went over to pick up the phone on the desk, shook the handle and asked for the internal line.
Yuri didn't know who he was calling, he just heard her say she was here, and then asked if it was convenient for Comrade Khrushchev now. The other party probably asked her to wait for a while and call back later.
"Is this your office?" After she hung up the phone, Yuri looked around the room and asked curiously.
"Yeah," Angelica smiled, "Does it feel a bit shabby? But there's nothing we can do about it. All the work in Kiev has only been restored for a few months, and it's good enough that it can operate normally. Now, we don't even have our own office building, and the entire Komsomol has only three offices. It's good enough that I have an office of my own."
Yuri smiled and nodded. The conditions of this office were indeed better than his office, even Kryuchkov's office was better than this one. But then again, the leading cadres in the Soviet Union today have not yet developed the habit of pursuing enjoyment. Just like Angela, she was obviously not very picky about the office conditions.
"You sit here for a while, I'll get a pot of water." After letting Yuri sit down in front of her own chair, Angela walked quickly to the door. She opened the door and took a step out. She seemed to be stunned for a moment, and then said awkwardly, "Comrade Nikita Sergeyevich, you..."
"Haha, Yuri is in your office?" Khrushchev's low voice came from outside the door, and then his slightly fat figure appeared at the door.
Yuri did not expect that Khrushchev would give him such a favor and actually come directly to Anjelia's office. He hurriedly stood up from his chair and walked quickly to the door, smiling and saying, "Comrade Nikita Sergeyevich, I'm here."
"Ha!" Khrushchev laughed, walked over from where Anjelia had made way, gave Yuri a tight hug, and patted him on the back before letting him go. He looked him up and down and said, "Compared to the last time I went back to Moscow, you have indeed lost a lot of weight."
Yuri smiled and was about to speak, but the other party rushed in and said, "Let's go to my office to talk. I've been waiting for you to come."
Following him out of Anjelia's office, Yuri lagged behind half a step. Although he had a close relationship with Khrushchev, he always paid attention to the details when they were together. But what he didn't expect was that when he saw that he didn't catch up, Khrushchev actually stopped, obviously waiting for him to catch up.
Yuri had no choice but to chase after him, walking alongside him.
"I have received a notice from Moscow," Khrushchev raised his right hand and scratched his nose with his index finger, saying as he walked, "The specific work has been arranged now. All the materials you need will be in place within a week. You don't have to worry about this. I will definitely support your work."
Yuri nodded hurriedly. There were many people in the corridor, so it was not appropriate for him to talk about work matters. However, the presence of Khrushchev in Ukraine did make his work easier. At least he didn't have to worry about someone backstabbing him.
"It's just right that you're here this time. I have some suggestions and opinions on the work of the Disarmament Working Committee." Although Khrushchev was short and had short legs, he walked very fast and looked very busy. People waiting on both sides of the corridor frequently greeted him, but he ignored them all and just talked to Yuri.
Following behind the two, Anjelia's thoughts kept turning. She knew in the past that Yuri and Khrushchev had a close relationship, but she had no idea how close it was. It was not until today that she truly realized it.
As the First Secretary of Ukraine and a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party, Comrade Khrushchev was not a man of courtesy and respect, and he did not have the habit of leaving his office to personally greet people. However, Comrade Yuri was obviously an exception, and this exception was enough to explain many problems.
Khrushchev's office was much more spacious than Angela's, at least his office had a suite.
Walking into the office from the main entrance, there is a slightly more spacious room with two desks. A young man occupies one desk, and on the desk opposite him there is a typewriter, which should be prepared for the typist.
Khrushchev led Yuri into the office and asked first: "What would you like to drink?"
"Coffee would be the best," Yuri said with a smile.
"Fyodor, go get two cups of coffee," Khrushchev said to the young man who was sitting alone at his desk.
"Okay," the young man responded, then put down the pen in his hand, stood up from his seat, and walked quickly towards the door.
"This is Fyodor Mikhailovich Burlatsky," Khrushchev said with a frown after the young man left the office. "He is an intern who came here two months ago. He is not very sensible, but he writes very well."
Yuri smiled but didn't say anything. This young man had a low emotional intelligence. Even if he wrote a good article, he probably wouldn't be valued.
However, Yuri's judgment of people was obviously not very good. If he knew more about the Soviet Union in his previous life, he would definitely not be unfamiliar with this young man's name.
This young man named Burlatsky would become Comrade Khrushchev’s chief secretary in the future, and then fall after Khrushchev was overthrown. However, his story did not end with Khrushchev’s resignation. Decades later, he would become a senior adviser to Comrade Gorbachev, the Nobel Peace Prize winner.
