Chapter 374
In Moscow, the sky was covered with dark clouds and snow was falling. The square in front of the Belarusian Railway Station, which had been washed clean by the rain, was crowded with people. Looking down from the air, the crowd was so dense that it was roughly estimated that there were at least tens of thousands of people.
On the east side of the square facing away from the station, under the protection of a large number of armed guards, the chorus from the Red Flag Song and Dance Troupe stood in the rain on the grass that had just turned light green, singing affectionately to the melodious music.
"On the quiet sea, the waves are rippling, but they are powerless to stop the ocean... Goodbye, my dear harbor..."
The song sung by the choir was "Night at the Harbor", which was created during the siege of Leningrad. This song, co-composed by Solovyov and Churgen, was once highly praised by Comrade Zhdanov. However, several years later, it has become the song at Zhdanov's funeral.
Just the night before yesterday, Comrade Andrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov, a world proletarian revolutionary, statesman, Soviet party and state activist, and military strategist, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 53.
In official terms, the death of Comrade Zhdanov was a great loss to the Soviet Party and state, a great loss in the field of Soviet ideological work, a great loss to the "Communist and Workers' Information Bureau", and a great loss in the field of world proletarian struggle.
Faced with this sudden incident, Comrade Stalin was deeply saddened and personally issued an order to bring Comrade Zhdanov's body back to Moscow and bury it under the Kremlin walls. At the same time, he also required all members of the Presidium of the Central Committee to go to the Belarusian Railway Station to welcome Comrade Zhdanov's body. No one was allowed to take a vehicle during the process of escorting the body back to Red Square.
At the same time, according to Comrade Stalin's request, Comrade Zhdanov's body will be kept at the place where he worked during his lifetime for seven days after returning to Moscow. During this period, ordinary people will be allowed to visit him to pay their respects. After seven days, he will be buried under the wall of the Kremlin.
To be honest, Comrade Stalin attached great importance to Zhdanov's funeral. It is no exaggeration to describe the handling of the funeral as utmost honor. The mere requirement that all members of the Presidium of the Central Committee go to the station to greet him is enough to explain the problem. You know, the road from the Belarusian Railway Station is not very short.
Of course, if Yuri had not seen the long-missing Malenkov on the platform of the Belarusian Railway Station, he would have taken this importance seriously. As for now, he just wanted to laugh.
Perhaps in the eyes of a leader like Comrade Stalin, no one in this world is indispensable, and no one is worth his concern.
After disappearing from Moscow's power circle for nearly two years, Malenkov now looks a little thinner, but compared to others, he is still relatively fat. Unlike in the past, Malenkov today did not wear a suit, but a military coat, and a military cap without a badge on his head. Both the military coat and the military cap were old and wrinkled, which made him look a little embarrassed, and the high spirits he once had seemed to have left him far away.
Not only Malenkov, but also Molotov, who had not been seen for a long time, appeared on the platform of the train station. He was still tall and strong, but his eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and everyone could see the gloomy look on his face.
Molotov had been having a very bad time in the past two years. On the one hand, Comrade Stalin no longer liked him, and on the other hand, his wife always caused trouble for him. That Jewish woman was simply crazy. Not only was she radical on the issue of establishing a Jewish autonomous state , she was always flirting with the Israelis, and she did not stop even after being warned by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In the past two years, there was a debate in the Soviet Union about the establishment of a Jewish autonomous region in Crimea. However, after Lozovsky and others were shot last year, this debate disappeared instantly. However, Comrade Molotov's wife was not content. When she met with the Israeli delegation visiting the Soviet Union, she openly declared that she was a Jew first and a Soviet citizen second.
It was these words that completely infuriated Comrade Stalin, and she was soon exiled to Siberia. Although Comrade Molotov was not dismissed, he had been marginalized in the core circle in Moscow.
But today, with the death of Comrade Zhdanov, both Molotov and Malenkov appeared here, which is really an interesting thing.
The platform of the train station was a little slippery. Yuri was wearing a black woolen coat and tried his best to hide himself in the crowd without attracting any attention. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere in Moscow. In some inconspicuous corner, there seemed to be an indescribable danger lurking.
After returning to Moscow yesterday, Comrade Stalin summoned him overnight and asked for his opinion on the issue of the Communist and Workers' Party Information Bureau.
The Information Bureau of Communist and Workers' Parties was originally proposed by Tito and established under the leadership of Zhdanov. Its daily work was basically presided over by Zhdanov. Its main function was to communicate the activities and intelligence exchanges of the nine national parties in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union.
In the past two years, this organization has operated basically well and has indeed played an important role. However, after the beginning of this year, as Tito strengthened his leadership over Yugoslavia and Moscow's attempts to insert intelligence personnel into various Yugoslav institutions, conflicts arose with Tito. As a result, very complex contradictions emerged within this organization.
In addition, in Asia, with the end of the Chinese civil war and the stabilization of the situation in North Korea, Moscow is also trying to include Mongolia, China, and North Korea in the organization of the Intelligence Bureau. However, in China, which has just embarked on the road to independence, its leaders are as strong as Tito, so the Communist and Workers' Party Intelligence Bureau encountered difficulties in expanding to Asia. Prior to this, Zhdanov was preparing for a trip to China, but he died before the trip.
Now that Zhdanov has passed away, the position of Chairman of the Intelligence Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties has become vacant. Comrade Stalin hopes to appoint someone who enjoys sufficient reputation in Eastern European countries and has a strong character to take over this position. On the one hand, he can lead the Intelligence Bureau through the current difficult period, and on the other hand, he can strengthen Moscow's influence on Eastern European countries.
To be honest, it is not easy to find such a person in the Soviet Union today. Relatively speaking, the most suitable candidate is naturally Molotov. As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union , he has enough influence in Eastern European countries. But now Comrade Stalin does not trust Molotov. He believes that this once very reliable comrade has been brainwashed by the Jews and has stood on the side of the Zionists who are manipulated by the Americans and full of conspiracy.
Apart from Molotov, the only other person who could do this job was undoubtedly Bulganin. However, in the eyes of Comrade Stalin, Comrade Bulganin was a fool. Apart from dozing off and clapping, he had no outstanding performance in other aspects.
Continuing down the list, there are Zhukov and Rokossovsky from the military, but the former was hated by Comrade Stalin, while the latter lacked experience in party work, and most importantly, Rokossovsky was not a Russian.
Therefore, after considering it, Comrade Stalin thought of Yuri, the young marshal who had commanded millions of troops to sweep across several Eastern European countries. In the past two years, with the Soviet Union's aid to Eastern European countries, he had close ties with several Eastern European countries. In addition, in the past two years, Yuri had also been involved in some party affairs. Judging from his past words and deeds, he was also a tough guy. Therefore, overall, he should be considered a good candidate.
However, after the initial conversation, Comrade Stalin was somewhat surprised that Yuri rejected the appointment without hesitation, on the grounds that he believed he did not have the ability to preside over such work.
In fact, although Comrade Stalin asked Yuri for his opinion, he did not really want to arrange for Yuri to take over this position. Therefore, after Yuri expressed his refusal, Comrade Stalin proposed another candidate - Kuznetsov.
So, this morning, when Comrade 's body was still on the way, Comrade Stalin issued a new appointment, appointing Kuznetsov as Chairman of the Intelligence Bureau of the Communist and Workers' Parties. At the same time, he adjusted his supervisory work in the Central Secretariat from the original supervision of the security department to the main responsibility for ideological work. As for the supervision of the security department, it was transferred to Comrade Beria.
Hiding in the noisy crowd, Yuri could see the behaviors and expressions of many people in front of him, and of course he could smell a hint of restlessness.
Zhdanov's death was too sudden, which was absolutely devastating news to those who had gathered around him. The saddest thing in life is undoubtedly the death of a younger person, and for those who are pursuing a career, it is when the leader they follow dies in the prime of their lives.
Malenkov returned to Moscow and directly replaced Zhdanov as the second secretary of the Central Secretariat. Beria made a comeback and once again placed the security department under his own protection. It can be imagined that in the coming period of time, whether it is Voznesensky or Kuznetsov, anyone who has some connection with the Leningrad faction will have a hard time.
