Chapter 361
Tver Oblast, geographically speaking, should be a small town called Zavidovo near Moscow.
The jeep that Yuri was riding in slowly drove into this small town that was almost not marked on the map under the afterglow of the setting sun.
There are no street lights on either side of the road. As far as the eye can see, there are large tracts of birch forests. The jungle is covered with . When the evening breeze blows, you can see the withered yellow leaves jumping and dancing in the forest.
Leaning back on the seat of the jeep, Yuri closed his eyes and dozed off, his slightly curled fingers moving rhythmically on his thighs. This was how he showed when he was thinking about something.
At a meeting this morning, after watching two video documents, a heavy pressure suddenly fell on the shoulders of everyone present. To put it in a cliché, the enemy is very strong and the situation is very bad.
Of course, those who participated in the nuclear weapons research project were under greater pressure. As Comrade Stalin witnessed the tremendous power of this latest weapon with his own eyes, a series of administrative orders would inevitably be issued soon. They would face shorter deadlines and, of course, would receive greater support.
Yuri now has no way of knowing the specific progress of nuclear weapons research and development. It's not that he can't understand it, but he has no interest in asking more questions. Curiosity can often kill people. His principle is to try not to interfere in matters that are not his responsibility, so as to avoid unnecessary trouble in the future.
A checkpoint appeared in front of the not-so-wide road. A barrier pole lay across the middle of the road. There was a yellow sentry box on the right side of the pole, and a jeep was parked on the left side, guarded by four armed soldiers.
A car was seen approaching from afar, and a light from the top of the sentry box shone in front of the car for a few seconds and soon went out. Then, several soldiers got busy, quickly raising the isolation pole across the road, then stood up and saluted in the direction of the jeep.
Zavidovo, less than 150 kilometers from Moscow, is not an ordinary town, but a large-scale hunting ground. It is not under the jurisdiction of Tver Oblast or Moscow Oblast, but directly under the General Staff of the Soviet Red Army. In addition to the name Zavidovo, it also has another name: the Soviet Red Army Officers Hunting Association Club. To put it bluntly, it is a hunting ground.
Zavidovo has been a hunting ground since the Russian Empire. After the October Revolution, it was taken over by the Soviets. Comrade Lenin also came here to inspect. Soon after, it became a popular hunting ground. In 1931, it was officially under military control. Senior military generals liked to come here to hunt for fun.
Of course, the so-called military control here only means that it belongs to the military assets, not that non-military people cannot come here. For example, some government officials and celebrities also like to come here for vacation and leisure. After Comrade Stalin died, this place was changed into an official villa area. After Comrade Brezhnev came to power, ordinary people could not enter this place at all.
There are various sayings in later generations that Comrade Stalin had dozens of villas in Zavidovo. In fact, that is nonsense, because before Comrade Stalin's death, there were only a few villas here. The truth is that among all the leaders of the Soviet Union, only two had never been to Zavidovo, one of them was Stalin, and the other was Andropov.
Yuri came to Zavidovo today for two main purposes, one for personal purpose and the other for work purpose.
Let's first talk about the simpler purpose of the work. You should know that Zavidovo is not only the location of the Officers' Hunting Club, but also has a shooting range affiliated to the Equipment Department. Its function is to test various firearms, mainly newly developed firearms that have not yet been determined whether to be equipped.
Yuri just received the document this afternoon, which mentioned the new gun test that ended here two days ago. Among the 12 new firearms involved in the test, there was an assault rifle with a very outstanding design, which almost perfectly passed all the test links including waterproofing, sand resistance, and continuous shooting.
Although Yuri served as the Minister of the General Armament Department, he was actually just a figurehead. The person who actually presided over the work was Novigradov, that is, General Andrei Vasilyevich Khrulev.
In fact, Khrulev is a rather tragic figure. He was born in 1982. He was a member of the Red Guards during the October Revolution. He joined the party as early as 1918. Before the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he was already a lieutenant general, while Yuri was still a lieutenant at that time. As a result, after the Great Patriotic War, Yuri was promoted from a lieutenant to a general, and Khrulev was also a general. Yuri was awarded the rank of marshal, but he was still a general, and not an army general, but a quartermaster general. In turn, he had to serve as Yuri's deputy.
Fortunately, Yuri never asked about the affairs of the General Armament Department, and Khrulev actually held all the power. However, even so, this general in his 50s was still very cautious. For major decisions, he would send a detailed report to Yuri for his signature. Perhaps it was precisely because of his cautious character that he had such a hard time on the road to promotion.
In the afternoon, Yuri saw the report that was forwarded to him and saw the name Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov in it. He suddenly decided to come and see it in person.
In his previous life, Yuri did not know much about the Soviet Union, but he knew about the famous AK47. Otherwise, he would have been too ignorant. In the 1990s, there was a saying: What are the three major specialties of Russia? The answer is vodka, gangs and AK47. Of course, this saying is just a joke, but it also reflects the status of AK47 in the minds of Russians, or people all over the world.
After being reborn in this world for so many years, to be honest, it is difficult for Yuri to be in awe of some well-known figures in history. After all... after all, he even defeated General MacArthur. However, he still admires weapons like AK47, and his personal purpose for coming here today is to get the AK47 that is the "No. 1 test gun". This thing is very commemorative.
After passing the checkpoint, the jeep quickly entered the small town - it was called a town, but in fact it was just a small town. There were dozens of wooden houses with Russian ethnic characteristics scattered around the outskirts of the woods. The most eye-catching one was a church, but the church had obviously been rebuilt, all the windows were sealed, and there were armed guards on duty at the entrance.
The open space in front of the church was very spacious, probably a parking lot. There were six or seven cars parked there at this moment. From a distance, there were a few people in military uniforms standing there.
The jeep drove straight towards the church, and several men in military uniforms also came towards them at the same time. Due to the dim light, Yuri could not see what these people looked like, but he guessed that they were here to greet him.
Sure enough, when the jeep just stopped at the parking lot, several people rushed over quickly. One of them, wearing a lieutenant colonel's uniform, ran straight to the door and opened it for Yuri. Then, he saluted and said, "Comrade Marshal Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov , Quartermaster General Goldberg reports to you!"
Yuri got out of the car and saluted the other party in return. He had greeted Khrulev before coming here. The lieutenant colonel in front of him, who looked to be in his thirties, should be the one arranged by the other party to receive him.
A lieutenant colonel was responsible for receiving a marshal, which was obviously not in line with the specifications. However, Zavidovo was a small place nowadays, and the person in charge of the hunting club had the rank of lieutenant colonel, probably Goldberg .
Nodding to the lieutenant colonel, Yuri was about to say something, but when he turned his head, his eyes swept across the door of a wooden house not far away, and he was suddenly stunned.
"Comrade Marshal Yuri Arkhipovich Kulyokov," Goldberg always addressed him by his full name and rank to show his respect for Yuri. "After receiving the notice, I have made arrangements. You..."
He was talking so much here that he didn't notice that Yuri was distracted.
Right in the direction Yuri was looking at, at the door of the wooden house, a woman in military uniform was standing blankly at the wooden steps in front of the door. She was pushing a bicycle, with a camera in a box slung over her shoulder, and was looking in the direction Yuri was looking.
A cool night breeze blew past the woman from behind, lifting her long golden hair and leaving strands of it hanging on her oval face. The light from the wooden house shone in from the other side, making her pretty face look slightly pale.
Lieutenant Colonel Goldberg talked for a long time. When he looked up, he found that the marshal in front of him didn't pay any attention to what he said. He followed his gaze and saw the woman outside the wooden house. The lieutenant colonel said in a daze: "Oh, that's Comrade Filia Vladimirovna from the Communist Youth League. She came here to sketch. I..."
Yuri came back to his senses, turned his head to look at the lieutenant colonel, and said: "That's my friend, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel Goldberg."
After saying this, he no longer paid attention to the lieutenant colonel and walked directly towards the wooden house.
Lieutenant Colonel Goldberg was somewhat at a loss. He hesitated, not knowing whether he should follow or just leave. Many people knew about the Marshal's romanticism. It was not a secret at all. There were rumors in the military system that the reason why he retired from the army after the war despite his great military achievements was because of his romantic personality, which did not please Comrade Stalin. Could it be that this incredibly beautiful Comrade Feliya Vladimirovna was his mistress?
