Chapter 348
In the conference hall, Yuri sat in the second row from the front, close to the center. In front of him were Comrades Stalin and Zhdanov. The gorgeously decorated stage had a large purple curtain as the background, with several portraits with gold frames hanging on it.
These portraits are divided into four rows. The top row is the portraits of Lenin and Stalin. Below are two unfamiliar people: the one on the right is a square-faced man with a big back beard, this person is Mikhail Vasilyevich Frunze. The one on the left is a handsome man with a mustache under his nose and a small moustache under his chin, this person is Nikolai Ilyich Podvoisky , one of the founders of the Soviet Red Army.
Frunze died early, and now only his former outstanding However, Nikolai Ilyich is still alive. As the founder of the Soviet regime, this guy withdrew from the core of power during Lenin's rule, and retired on the eve of the Great Purge, so he escaped the fate of many of his companions. Now he lives comfortably in a holiday villa on the Black Sea. From time to time, he calls Comrade Stalin to complain about the hardships of life, which makes Comrade Stalin smile, and often gets some compensation.
In fact, there should have been several more people in the second row, but those guys had already been overthrown and became counter-revolutionaries, so there were two portraits in the first row and two portraits in the second row. If the people in these portraits were all builders of the Soviet Red Army, then at least one person's portrait should be placed in it, and that person is Lev Davidovich Trotsky, who was called the "Red Napoleon".
There are many more portraits in the third and fourth rows. From right to left, they are: Voroshilov, Budyonny, Shaposhnikov, Timoshenko, Zhukov, Vasilevsky, Konev, Govorov, Rokossovsky, Malinovsky, Tolbukhin, Meretskov and Beria at the end.
These are the 13 marshals of the Soviet Union at present. Of course, some are missing in these portraits, such as Tukhachevsky, Blucher who once went to China to guide the War of Resistance against Japan, and Kulik who was eventually stripped of his marshal position because of his conflict with Zhukov.
Yuri sat in the audience with a calm expression, but his emotions were surging. He knew very well that when the medals were awarded later, one of his portraits would be hung at the end of the fourth row. As for Comrade Sokolovsky, he would only be in the next row.
Of course, these portraits are not placed here permanently. They are temporarily sent here to be hung. After the awarding ceremony, they will be sent back to the General Political Department, where there is a special room for displaying these portraits.
As the two male and female hosts in military uniforms walked onto the stage, the originally noisy venue quickly quieted down, and everyone was ready to watch the performance - today's award ceremony started, and there were three or four programs to watch. I really don't know what Comrade Zhdanov was thinking. Didn't he know that the people in the audience were not interested in the performance and just wanted to get what they were supposed to get as soon as possible?
The performers were from the Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe. The program included two dances and two choruses. It was relatively simple and the entire performance was over in less than twenty minutes.
Afterwards, the awarding ceremony officially began, and Comrade Antonov, Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army, read out the list of the first batch of awardees.
These were all middle and lower-level commanders, and all of them were awarded medals and honors, but none of them received a promotion in rank. After all, promotions for officers at the colonel level did not need to be carried out in such occasions.
Yuri did not feel sleepy this time. He was full of energy and watched the performance with great interest. He also watched the subsequent series of medal awarding ceremonies... This was not simply because he was emotionally excited, and of course, it was not because the performance was so wonderful, but because Comrade Stalin was sitting in front of him and looked back from time to time. His nerves were not strong enough to ignore Comrade Stalin's gaze.
Finally, after the generals' medal awarding ceremony, Comrade Zhdanov began to read out the decision to award Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The decision was very long. It not only stated the content of the decision, but also briefly summarized Yuri's achievements. At the same time, there was background music on the stage, the Soviet national anthem.
Just three or four minutes into Comrade Zhdanov's speech, Yuri was invited to the right side of the rostrum, waiting for the protocol to lead him to the stage. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, he could see two female soldiers holding a portrait on the side of the stage curtain. Yes, it was his portrait. The background was light brown, and he was wearing a marshal's uniform in the portrait, but it was a half-length portrait, and the marshal star on the collar was very eye-catching.
The two female soldiers acting as concierges were tall and beautiful, with golden hair tied up in a bun at the back of their heads. Their uniforms were dark blue, and their boat caps were also dark blue. Their white shirts and black ties were visible from their collars. They had golden belts tied around their slender waists. The hem of their skirts just covered their knees, revealing their calves in light grey stockings. Their round-toed black leather shoes made them look even taller. Their demeanor and temperament were beyond words. When they saw Yuri's gaze coming from the audience, they smiled at him.
Unfortunately, Yuri's attention was not on them at this moment. He was looking at the painting. To be more precise, he was looking at himself in the painting. Tsk, he was not very satisfied. The painting made the lines on his face too soft. He did not have that majestic feeling. Instead, he looked a bit like a pretty boy.
But thinking about it again, this is not the painter's fault, but that he is too young. Perhaps when the painting was made, the painter was ordered to highlight his youth, so...
With all sorts of random thoughts in his mind, time seemed to pass much faster. It felt like only one or two minutes had passed when the concierge had already started leading him to the stage.
Yuri had experienced this kind of scene many times. After all, his chest was covered with medals and honors. But even so, his mind was still a little blank when he went on stage.
The protocol officer led Yuri to the center of the stage, right next to Comrade Zhdanov. About four or five steps in front of him were the edge of the stage. Further down were the crowded conference seats. Under the lights, the epaulettes of the generals and colonels below the stage shone brightly, and even their eyes were shining.
Yuri listened to the national anthem that filled the meeting hall stop, thunderous applause rang out, and then the applause stopped. Comrade Zhdanov seemed to say something, but he didn't hear it clearly, and then there was thunderous applause from the audience again.
He saw Comrade Stalin stand up from his chair, with his right forearm naturally placed flat on his side, walk to the right steps with a smile on his face, walk quickly onto the stage, and then walk in front of him, clapping his hands.
It was not until Comrade Stalin extended his hand that Yuri suddenly reacted. He hurriedly stretched out both hands to shake hands with the other party, and then hugged and kissed him on the cheek. Comrade Stalin's voice rang in his ears: "Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov, congratulations, you deserve this honor. Every contribution you have made is seen by the Soviet people. You are a hero of the Soviet motherland."
"Thank you, Comrade Stalin," Yuri saluted and thanked him, and thunderous applause broke out from the stage again.
Stalin smiled, turned slightly, and took a rectangular red brocade box from the protocol officer who happened to be approaching. The box was very delicate, made entirely of velvet, and there was the Soviet national emblem on the top of the box.
Stalin opened the lid of the box, took out a marshal star that Yuri had always dreamed of, turned around and put it on his collar. At this time, deafening applause broke out again from the audience.
Yuri's face flushed. He saluted Comrade Stalin again, and then saluted towards the audience. During this process, his portrait was hung on the curtain behind the stage, which happened to be the last empty seat in the fourth row.
The flashlights in the audience flashed frequently. These reporters were not only domestic reporters from the Soviet Union, but also many from foreign media. In today's Soviet Union, the appearance of a marshal is a very important event, not to mention that this is a marshal who is only in his early thirties. If such a young marshal does not fall in politics or die early, then his influence in the Soviet military and political circles will continue for nearly half a century. Moreover, as time goes by , when the current Soviet marshals and political leaders have passed away one by one, then this extremely young marshal at this time is likely to become a super influential existence.
After getting his own Marshal Star and having his portrait hung where it should be, Yuri found it difficult to describe his feelings when he stepped down. He returned to his seat and watched the equally excited Sokolovsky walk onto the stage. A series of images flashed through his mind. From when he first came to this world, running around in the vast snowy plains, to studying at the military academy, to commanding his first battle. From the border to Kiev, from Moscow to Stalingrad, from a second lieutenant to a major, and from a major to a major general, in a few years, he had traveled almost all over the European part of the Soviet Union, and he had changed from a young officer who was just trying to survive to a Soviet marshal today.
In a few years, he completed what others would have worked hard for their entire lives. Was there any flaw? Yes, but at this moment, those flaws were not important. No one could achieve perfection, and no one should demand perfection. There might still be a long way to go, but at least today was a very glorious moment for him.
