Chapter 307
After staying in Kiev for only one day, Yuri took a train to western Ukraine at noon the next day. His time was very tight, and there were many things to deal with in western Ukraine. After all, the situation there was not peaceful at the moment.
The Ukrainian nationalist guerrillas, remotely controlled by Stepan Bandera and his gang, are still active in Western Ukraine. Sometimes, even Yuri has to admire these cockroach-like guys. When Western Ukraine belonged to Poland, they opposed Poland; after the Germans occupied Western Ukraine, they opposed the Germans; now, they are fighting against the Soviets again. Perhaps what they are pursuing is the complete independence of Ukraine, but they will have to wait for a long time.
Yuri stayed in western Ukraine for nearly a week and returned to Moscow in mid-September, before the opening of the All-Soviet Games. When he left western Ukraine, tens of thousands of German prisoners of war had already been engaged in the hard but dangerous mining work. These prisoners did not know what kind of work they were doing, but just looking at the guards wearing heavy chemical protective suits, they probably realized that this job might not be so easy.
…
In mid-September, the temperature in Moscow is much lower than in Ukraine, and we can already feel the arrival of autumn.
However, this slight chill could not conceal the hustle and bustle of the entire city. After several years of war, the arrival of an all-Soviet sports meeting added a rare joy to the entire city.
After the victory of the October Revolution, the Soviet Union paid great attention to sports. The establishment of the "Labor and Health System" standard promoted sports to the whole people. The fundamental reason why Soviet sports were so good was this. A medal and a little honor brought the whole people into the craze of sports and fitness. Later, China also implemented this method in the 1950s and 1960s. As for North Korea, it has always retained this system.
In his previous life, Yuri also liked sports very much. However, he did not have any special skills in this area. He was the type of person who really liked it but could only watch others perform. In this life, this did not seem to have changed much.
After returning to Moscow, Yuri received an invitation from the General Political Department, saying that they were organizing a team whose players would be senior military generals like Yuri. The General Political Department intended to play a friendly match at the National Games.
Only those people in the General Political Department who have nothing to do can come up with such a weird idea. I don’t know where their imaginations are.
Yuri naturally rejected such an invitation without hesitation, mainly because... he lacked athletic ability. He could fight in a war, but as for playing ball... forget it.
The most important thing is that Yuri, who returned to Moscow, has begun to prepare for his wedding. In addition, he is also busy with his work, so he has no time to play ball.
In front of the intimidating building on Lubyanka Square, Magomed ran down the stairs in front of the building and headed straight for the parking lot.
Behind him, Yuri, dressed in military uniform, had just walked out of the brand new revolving door. When passing by the pillar, he turned his head to look at the pillar that had not yet been redecorated. The marks caused by the explosion were clearly visible on it.
Just two days ago, an unidentified guy attacked the building. It is said that the guy was wearing a Soviet uniform and tried to sneak into the building, but was spotted by the guards. Then, he rushed up the stairs in front of the building, and after being shot down by the guards, he threw a grenade at the door of the building.
According to the news released by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs, this person was a German spy lurking among the Soviet people. Because of his hiding background, he was not dug out until now. Before the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs took action, this guy took crazy actions and was eventually shot dead.
Yuri had no way of knowing whether the news was true or not because the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs had blocked the news. He only knew that Comrade Stalin was furious about this and severely criticized Comrade Beria for his dereliction of duty.
Such a vicious incident happened before the opening of the All-Soviet Games, which was obviously not a good sign. No wonder Comrade Stalin lost his temper. He was already very merciful by not removing Beria from his post.
Yuri came here today to receive confidentiality training. As a senior cadre close to the core leadership of the Soviet Union, his position is quite different from Anjelia's. He has access to a lot of information, such as some resolutions of the People's and issues being discussed by the People's Commissariat. Anjelia has no right to access this information. Once the two get married, if Yuri doesn't keep his mouth shut, he may reveal this information to his wife. In order to prevent trouble before it happens, this confidentiality training is very important.
According to the confidentiality regulations, if Yuri reveals intelligence information that needs to be kept confidential to Angelica, and it eventually leads to the leakage of the secret, he will need to bear the responsibility, and the main responsibility.
For Yuri, this kind of thing is not unacceptable. After all, everyone has to take this step. Even those who get to high positions after getting married have to receive such training before taking office.
When they came down the stairs, Magomed had already driven the car to the front of the stairs. Yuri got in the car and said, "Let's go to Lenin Street."
When the car started moving, he asked again: "By the way, Magomed, where is the gift I planned to bring this morning?"
“In the trunk,” Magomed said casually.
Yuri nodded and said nothing more.
Today, he was going to visit his old superior, a person whom he truly admired after being in the Soviet Union for so long, Comrade Rokossovsky. Last night, he returned to Moscow from Poland. Not only did he return, but his entire family returned.
Rokossovsky's residence was on Lenin Street, in a two-story building assigned to him. During the war, his wife Yulia had lived there with their three children. Now, the so-called "big family" that returned with him from Poland did not refer to his wife and children, but his sister, younger sister and aunt.
According to Yuri's guess, Rokossovsky 's post might be inseparable from Poland, otherwise the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs would not have "suggested" him to bring all his relatives to Moscow.
Yuri knew a lot about Rokossovsky's situation. The childhood of this marshal was really... like a nemesis. After his father died, he lived with his uncle. After the first uncle died, he was raised by his second uncle. However, not long after, the second uncle also died, so he had to live with his aunt again.
In the final analysis, the reason why Comrade Rokossovsky was able to be so versatile after experiencing such a turbulent childhood, and could sing, dance, play the harmonica, ride a horse, and sculpt, was probably related to his uncle named Alexander, because that uncle was relatively wealthy.
The car drove to Lenin Street and stopped in front of a building with a license plate number 149. When Yuri got out of the car, he saw two people standing at the door in front of the building, a man and a woman. The man was wearing a military uniform but no hat, and the woman was wearing a somewhat rustic gray skirt, had half-long curly hair, and had gained weight and was out of shape.
Seeing Yuri getting out of the car, the man's originally serious face showed a smile. He walked down the steps, stopped, and then turned around to help the woman down. Then he smiled at Yuri who came closer, "Ha, look who this is? Is it the groom who gave us the invitation?"
The man was Rokossovsky, and the woman next to him was his wife Yulia.
Ignoring Rokossovsky's teasing, Yuri walked over, hugged him, then hugged Yulia, and asked casually: "Where are the children?"
"We went to Helena's place," Yulia said with a smile, "Children always like to be lively."
Helena is Rokossovsky's sister. She got married early. Her husband is an official in Leningrad. He does not hold a high position, but the couple loves each other very much.
"What a pity! I brought some gifts for the children and wanted to see if they like them," Yuri smiled and looked back at Magomed who was walking over with gifts in both hands.
The gifts were just some simple toys and snacks, all American products, which Yuri specially collected.
At present, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States is not so tense, and it is not difficult for American goods to flow into the Soviet Union. What's more, East and West Germany have not yet been divided. Yuri has many acquaintances in the German group, and it is very easy to ask someone to get some things from there.
Rokossovsky was not polite to him and helped his wife to invite him in.
Although Rokossovsky was very philandering and had many lovers, and his scandal with actress Valentina Vasilyevna Serova was known to almost the entire Soviet Union, his relationship with Yulia was always very close. In Yuri's opinion, this was a skill and she was much better than him.
Rokossovsky had his own study on the second floor. He invited Yuri into the study, handed him a cigarette, and asked, "How is the marriage arranged? Is it settled?"
"I have no say now," Yuri shrugged. "Comrade Sherbakov takes care of everything."
"I hope it won't take too long," Rokossovsky said with a smile, "I can only stay for a week at most this time. I want to attend your wedding."
Yuri shook his head. He estimated that it was unlikely that the wedding would take place within a week, after all, the All-Soviet Games was about to open.
"How's the situation in Warsaw?" Yuri asked, putting the matter of marriage aside.
