Chapter 330
The drizzle covered the whole of Moscow, which seemed to add a sad atmosphere to the city that had just experienced the hustle and bustle of the May Day celebrations.
It was early in the morning, and mourners from all over the Soviet Union had gathered on both sides of Moscow's Red Square. Looking down from the sky, one could see the flow of people on both sides of the street coming to attend the farewell ceremony, extending from Red Square to the gate of the I.M. Sechenov National Medical Academy. A rough estimate was that there were more than 100,000 people.
Just last night, Comrade Alexander Sergeyevich Sherbakov, a great proletarian statesman of the Soviet Union, an outstanding member and party activist of the Bolshevik Party, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, member of the Central Committee and Secretary of the Bolshevik Party, died of a heart attack after failed rescue efforts.
During his lifetime, Comrade Sherbakov worked hard and fulfilled his duties conscientiously for the construction of the Soviet motherland. Whether in peacetime or wartime, he was the most trusted cadre of the Soviet people and a cadre who made outstanding achievements. His death is a great loss to the Union of Soviet Socialist States and the Soviet people.
Well, the above are all the content that Moscow radio and television... No, to be precise, it should be the content that all Soviet radio and television stations have been playing in a loop all day today. In addition, there are also video materials about Comrade Sherbakov's life, including video materials of his work in Nizhny Novgorod, video materials of his work in Ukraine, and video materials .
Comrade Sherbakov's body will be transported from the I.M. Sechenov Medical Academy at 9 a.m., escorted by a funeral convoy to Moscow's Red Square, and buried under the walls of the Kremlin - this is an honor that only senior leaders who have died and are recognized by the Soviet Union can enjoy.
If possible, Yuri also hoped to enjoy this honor a hundred years after his death. However, he was worried that if the Soviet Union still could not escape the fate of disintegration, his bones would be dug out of the cemetery and thrown all over the streets.
Hey, thinking so far ahead seems a bit like worrying too much. When you die, you know that everything is empty. Who cares if your descendants turn into bears? Why think so much?
Yuri felt a little sad when Sherbakov died. After all, this fat man facilitated his marriage with Angela. Moreover, although this guy was a little ostentatious, a little ambitious, and a little talkative, he had always been very nice to him and was a rare friend.
Of course, compared to Yuri, the people who are more sad are Comrade Zhdanov and the group of Leningrad people represented by him. This fat man was an extremely outstanding cadre among the Leningrad group. Even Comrade Stalin shed tears when he heard the news of his death. If he were still alive, he would definitely have the hope of becoming the leader of the Leningrad faction after Zhdanov.
But once a person dies, he is dead. No matter how big the impact is, he could not come back to life. Even under the personal instructions of Comrade Stalin, the entire Soviet Union provided him with the best medical conditions, but he could not survive. This is fate!
Of course, when someone is sad, someone else will be happy. Yuri didn’t know about the others, but he felt that Comrade Khrushchev must be happier, because not long ago, the two had a quarrel because Khrushchev made adjustments to some officials in Moscow Oblast, which affected the interests of Comrade Sherbakov.
Whether in Moscow Oblast or Moscow City, there are many people who follow Sherbakov. Khrushchev once complained that his deputy would make two reports when something happened, one for him and one for Sherbakov, who had already left office. This made Comrade Khrushchev very annoyed, but he was also somewhat helpless.
Now that Sherbakov is dead, the only obstacle to Comrade Khrushchev's adjustment of Moscow's work has disappeared. It is estimated that those who closely followed Comrade Sherbakov will be sad for some time to come.
Therefore, for those who are pursuing a career in politics, the most tragic thing is that the leader is transferred without taking themselves with him; what is even more tragic is that the leader dies before they are promoted; and of course, the most tragic thing is that the leader commits a crime and takes themselves with him.
The rain was not heavy and was hazy, but if you were wet for a while, it would still soak the thin spring clothes and give you a slightly chilly feeling.
At the cemetery under the Kremlin wall, Yuri, wearing a brand new military uniform, stood quietly among the crowd. His uniform had long been soaked by the rain, and he could already feel a slight chill.
Whenever he felt cold and wanted to shiver, Yuri would turn his head to look at Comrade Voznesensky beside him. Ha, this comrade who was ten years older than him was worse off than him. At least he had an extra hat than him.
As a group of people close to the core of Soviet power, why did people like Yuri and Voznesensky need to get wet in the rain? The reason is simple: they were chosen to carry the coffin for Comrade Sherbakov.
Of course, although such a job of carrying coffins for others is not an opportunity that ordinary people can get, there are a total of ten people, and the list was drawn up by Comrade Stalin himself. These people come from all walks of life, but they all have one common identity: members of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks. They also have one common feature, that is, they have been recognized or commended by Comrade Stalin in their work in the past six months.
Among these ten people, Yuri knew some, but not some. Among those he knew, there was Voznesensky. Needless to say, he was always hanging around the core of power in Moscow, and his situation was similar to Yuri's.
Yuri and Voznesensky were also the first to walk, that is, when the coffin was carried, they were the first to walk. This can be seen as Comrade Stalin choosing Sherbakov's successor, and Yuri and Voznesensky were the first candidates.
Of course, if we think about it more deeply, it becomes suspicious of conspiracy theories: Comrade Stalin may have had some ideas about Comrade Zhdanov's Leningrad faction. He did not like to see Yuri flirting with these people, so he artificially created a competitive relationship between him and Voznesensky.
Conspiracy theories are not credible , but here we are talking about most of the time, not all the time.
In addition to Yuri and Voznesensky who were in the first place, Yuri knew the two people who were following closely behind him. Among them, the one behind him was a middle-aged man in his early forties, with a thin face, but very energetic.
This person is Averki Borisovich Aristov. Yuri knew this person because his experience was somewhat legendary. He was born in the Leninist Communist Youth League, and at the age of seventeen, he became the secretary of the local grassroots Youth League Committee. After working in the Communist Youth League for several years, just when he was about to be promoted, he suddenly turned around and went to school, and studied agronomy. After studying for a few years and graduating, he went to serve as a conscripted soldier for a year. After demobilization, he went to the local area to do propaganda work for two years. Then, when he received the promotion appointment, he applied to work and study at the school, and this time he studied industrial technology. In the following years, he studied and taught at the same time, and obtained the title of engineer, and at the same time, he also obtained the title of professor.
In short, this guy is a genius who can do everything. He is not afraid of giving speeches, he will not starve to death if he is asked to farm, he has no problem repairing machinery and equipment, and he can do his work very professionally and smoothly if he is asked to guide agricultural and industrial production. In the early days of the Great Patriotic War, he was one of the persons in charge of the relocation of heavy industrial enterprises from Belarus, Ukraine and other places to the Ural region.
Currently, this guy serves as the first secretary of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and concurrently as a member of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry. In addition, he is also a professor at the Leningrad Metallurgical Institute.
All in all, this guy is a practical scholar with outstanding abilities. It is no exaggeration to say that he has a bright future.
As for the fat guy walking behind Voznesensky, Yuri didn't know him and no one introduced him to him.
Behind this fat guy was a middle-aged man who looked gentle and refined, wearing a pair of glasses on his face and looked like a scholar.
Yuri knew this person and was very familiar with him. The reason for this was... this guy was Angelia's immediate superior.
Nikolai Alexandrovich Mikhailov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Leninist Communist Youth League. Yuri didn't want to judge this guy. In his opinion, this guy was just a scholar who was good at showmanship and empty talk.
Behind Mikhailov was a middle-aged man in a black suit, with a thin face, a pair of black-framed glasses, and meticulously groomed hair. His expression was always so cold and his eyes were sharp, as if he was always spying on something.
Yuri also knew this guy, and he even knew this guy in his previous life. This guy's name was Mikhail Andreevich Suslov, a low-key but good at networking. At the same time, he was also a person who took practical work to the extreme, and he was also a person with an extremely sensitive political sense.
Yuri couldn't understand why this guy appeared in the queue in front of him. You know, the work he was responsible for in Lithuania during this period was not very good. He was obviously not very good at dealing with those reactionary guerrillas.
