Chapter 306
In general, the Soviet Union, which had just ended several years of war, was facing many problems, whether it was domestic construction, economic recovery, or adjustment of people's livelihood. These problems could not be solved overnight, but would take a lot of time to solve one by one.
Especially in formerly occupied areas like Ukraine, the Germans destroyed everything that could be destroyed. Those industrial and mining enterprises not only lacked the equipment needed for normal operations, but also lacked labor and skilled technical workers.
Yuri remembered that in his previous life, someone once attributed the rapid recovery of the Soviet Union's post-war economy to its plunder of Germany. At that time, he read such articles with great interest, but now he truly realized how ridiculous such a statement was and how brainless the person who made such a statement was.
In one war, nearly 2,000 towns in the Soviet Union were destroyed. Could they have been moved back from Germany? Tens of thousands of factories, mines, and enterprises were completely destroyed. Could they have been moved back from Germany? Tens of millions of people were lost, and the majority of them were young and strong laborers. Could they have been moved back from Germany? Not to mention the staggering amount of resources lost in the war.
These similar reports exaggerated the losses suffered by the Soviet Union in the war to highlight the incompetence of the Soviet leadership, and exaggerated the Soviet Union's post-war plunder of Germany, as if to attribute the Soviet Union's rapid post-war recovery entirely to the plunder of Germany. However, they did not consider that these two reports were completely self-contradictory and full of irrationality. After all, it is easy to know that the more losses in the war, the less likely it is to recover by plundering half of Germany after the war.
In their post-war propaganda, the Americans, on the one hand, accused the Soviet army of having poor military discipline and committing all kinds of atrocities such as robbery and rape on German territory. On the other hand, they talked about the fact that an American soldier in West Germany exchanged a pack of cigarettes for a German girl with great relish.
The Americans accused the Soviet Union of splitting Germany and plundering East Germany, but they forgot that West Germany, with its capital in Bonn, was the first to announce its establishment. They also selectively forgot that it was East Germany that was the first to recover its economy after World War II. When East Germany's agricultural production was restored, West Germany's currency was just issued, and the days of a pack of cigarettes costing 1,000 marks had just ended less than a year ago.
So, it is always hard , but at least in Yuri's eyes, in today's Soviet Union, the entire bureaucratic system is still positive. No matter what kind of intrigues and deceptions exist in the core of power in Moscow, even if Comrade Beria is included, everyone's political idea is to build this Soviet country into the most powerful country in the world.
Putting aside the national and ethnic positions, those people gathered in Moscow at this time are the real pathfinders in this world, the first group of people who are truly crossing the river by feeling the stones. If we really want to criticize them, we can only say that at some inadvertent moment, they touched a not very solid stone, making the road ahead a bit slippery.
Just like Comrade Khrushchev today, all his work is to restore Ukraine's vitality in the shortest possible time. It is obviously too far-fetched to say that he is planning to seize Comrade Stalin's position at this time. At best, he just wants to do better in front of Comrade Stalin.
Is it wrong for an official to want to show off his outstanding work performance in front of his superiors? If this is also considered wrong, then there are probably few bureaucrats in the world who really do the right thing.
In the not-so-spacious office, Khrushchev seemed very happy to get Yuri's clear answer. He walked back to his desk quickly, took out a hardcover notebook, turned to the back, and began to introduce the basic . It was probably about how much arable land there was in each area before the war, how many collective farms there were, how the water conservancy facilities were built, how much manpower was needed to restore the pre-war situation, how much machinery and equipment and corresponding resources Ukraine could provide, etc.
It can be seen that the old guy did a very detailed job in the relevant work. This at least proves that he really did work in this area, and it was a lot of very detailed work. This changed Yuri's opinion of him a little.
In order to show his importance to these proposals, Yuri did not forget to take notes. While taking notes, he did not show excessive respect for Khrushchev. Instead, he interrupted him from time to time and asked him to repeat what he had not recorded.
Khrushchev did not show any impatience. Instead, he looked carefully at his notes and pointed out any mistakes in wording.
This was the first time that Yuri sat down with Comrade Khrushchev to deal with work matters. Although he did not deliberately create a certain atmosphere, fundamentally, his performance left a deep impression on Khrushchev.
With the subsequent full-scale resumption of production in the northern Kiev and southern Chernihiv regions, Yuri became, in Khrushchev's impression, a person whose intelligence was not very outstanding but who had strong execution ability. Such cadres were undoubtedly the most reassuring.
By the time they finished their work, it was already completely dark. Khrushchev suggested treating them to dinner, but it was not a luxurious meal, just a working meal in the cafeteria, which was just a little more sumptuous.
Nowadays, all conditions are very simple. After all, even Khrushchev himself does not have an office building that suits his status. This building belongs to the People's Committee of Ukraine, but there is no canteen. The Supreme Soviet's office does have a canteen, but the office building of the Supreme Soviet is not here, but on the other side of Volodymyrka Mountain, occupying the former Sailors' Building.
When I came out of the office building, it was still raining outside.
At Khrushchev's invitation, Yuri rode in the same car with him, but Angelica squeezed into the passenger seat - this woman's ambition was always so undisguised, but Yuri didn't mind these details.
In the car, Khrushchev saw Anjelia sitting in the passenger seat, and said to Yuri with a smile: "Yuri, you and Anjelia should make some preparations for your marriage, right? Now that the war is over and you are over 30 years old, it's time to consider starting a family."
After hearing this, Angelia turned around from the passenger seat and looked at Yuri who was sitting behind her.
"We are already married," Yuri hesitated for a moment and smiled, "We registered here this afternoon."
"Oh?!" Khrushchev's originally somewhat depressed spirit suddenly perked up. He sat up straight and said with a smile, "This is the only good news I have heard recently. Ha, what are you preparing for..."
At this point, he suddenly stopped, frowned, and asked, "Have you informed Comrade Stalin about this matter?"
"Not yet. I just made this decision on a whim today," Yuri said with a smile. "I plan to report to Comrade Stalin later."
Khrushchev shook his head. He obviously disagreed with the idea, but he did not say anything directly. Instead, he frowned and thought for a while.
"Well," Khrushchev said after a moment's silence, "you contact Comrade Alexander Sergeyevich, tell him the good news, and ask him to be the witness for you and Anjelia's wedding. Later, I will call Comrade Stalin and report this matter."
Yuri blinked and immediately understood what Khrushchev meant.
Alexander Sergeyevich naturally refers to Sherbakov, the brother-in-law of Comrade Zhdanov. Although this guy has had health problems in recent two years, he has always been a person that Comrade Stalin has high hopes for.
At the beginning, Yuri and Anteliya met, which should be attributed to Sherbakov. In a sense, this fat guy was also the matchmaker between Yuri and Anteliya. Most importantly, this fat guy has worked in the Communist Youth League for half his life, and has long incorporated the unique character of the league cadres into his own character system. He is flamboyant in doing things, and he can make a 30% contribution out of 100%. He wants everyone in the world to know about his trivial deeds.
It can be predicted that once Yuri calls him and thanks him for matchmaking between him and Angelica, and that the two have decided to get married and asked him to be the witness, the first thing Sherbakov will do is to call Comrade Stalin and take half of the credit for their marriage.
The advantage of doing this is that it lays the groundwork in advance and reminds Comrade Stalin that the young and promising Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich has had a fiancée for two or three years, but it was delayed because of the war. Now that the war is over, it is time for him to get married.
If the same thing was said by Sherbakov, Comrade Stalin would think so, but if it was said by Yuri himself, Comrade Stalin might think of something else. Of course, if it was said by Comrade Beria, the topic might have gone off track.
People's hearts are so complicated. If the same thing is handled in different ways and methods, the results will be very different. Therefore, the guy who can control people's hearts is the real master in his career.
"Since we have already registered, we should hold the wedding as soon as possible," Khrushchev obviously did not take this matter too seriously. He smiled and continued, "Well, Anjelia also needs to find a suitable opportunity to transfer back to Moscow."
