Chapter 390
After being reborn into this world for so many years, Yuri has developed relatively smoothly both in the military and in politics. This is certainly because Comrade Stalin values him, but also because he rarely makes enemies and seldom confronts others.
In the eyes of many people, he is a good-natured man who doesn't like to argue, even though this kind of personality does not match his military identity and age, which seems more or less unreasonable.
But this time, Yuri didn't intend to continue maintaining his good guy image. He also planned to show his fangs and bite to death one or two guys who didn't take him seriously, such as Comrade Abakumov... Oh, it seemed a bit inappropriate to call this guy a comrade anymore.
Of course, Yuri's intention in deciding to get rid of Abakumov this time was not just to show his fangs, he was also based on Zhang Ming's own position, that is, he was not the same kind of people as those guys in the State Security Committee and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He not only had no interest in those false cases, but also extremely hated them.
Yes, the expanded "anti-cosmopolitanism" movement is a farce and it must be ended. To be precise, it is time to settle accounts with those who have raised the butcher knife in the movement. Yuri is happy to call this restoring order.
These materials in his hands were his weapons for the liquidation. He wanted to redress those who were exiled, expelled from the party, or even executed during the movement. If this plan succeeded, he would gain huge prestige. It can be imagined that in this matter, a large number of the nearly seven million Bolshevik Party members in the Soviet Union would stand on his side, or at least lean towards him in terms of their stance.
An interesting question is, what prompted Yuri to undergo such a big change in his personal style? The answer may be that Yuri himself did not realize it at this time, that is, the most direct factor in his transition from silence to explosion was actually the shaking of Comrade Stalin's leadership.
For so many years since his rebirth, Yuri has always been cautious and timid, whether in the army or in the core power circle in Moscow. The most fundamental reason is not that he has a gentle character or that he has no desires, but that the authority of Comrade Stalin above him is too great, forcing him to be so cautious.
Today, with Comrade Stalin's clear proposal to expand the size of the Presidium and adopt the principle of collective leadership in the core power layer of Moscow, and especially his increasingly obvious stance on younger cadres, his position in the Kremlin has been shaken unprecedentedly.
A clear reality is that in the huge Soviet Union, it is impossible to lead the entire country by relying on one person alone. Even the most authoritarian leader cannot suppress everyone by relying on his own strength. That is simply unrealistic.
Over the past few decades, or more precisely, since the establishment of the new constitution at the Eighth Soviet Congress in 1936, Comrade Stalin has gathered around him a group of people with whose support he liquidated his political opponents, led by Pyatakov and Radek, and eliminated his political opponents, led by Bukharin and Rykov, and finally established his supreme authority within the Party. In the process, those who gathered around him also successively gained a great deal of power.
In other words, Comrade Stalin's authority in the Soviet Union did not belong to him alone, but to the group he led. It was this group that controlled the country and intimidated everyone.
Taking into account the complexity of human nature, in this group, Comrade Stalin can rely on the power of the majority to strike at the minority who pose a threat to him. For example, the confrontation between Yuri and Zhukov eventually led to Zhukov's defeat.
But Comrade Stalin forgot one thing: he could never confront the sum of the groups around him at the same time. If he chose this path, it was very likely that his administrative orders would not be able to be transmitted outside the Kremlin.
Today, Comrade Stalin is old after all. Before the 19th National Congress he was preparing was held, before party delegates from all over the country gathered in Moscow, and before a large-scale intra-party supervision environment was formed, he revealed his intentions - he planned to weaken the power of this group, and even prepared to send them all to retirement. He even prepared to send Beria, the spy chief, to the execution ground.
So, what will be the final result? There is no doubt that when he proposed this idea, he has become a lone man. Everyone in this small group is his enemy, because he wants to take away the power that they have held for nearly 20 years. If everyone in this small group exists in isolation and cannot reach , then the problem may not arise, but if...
Although Yuri is not a very sensitive person and his sense of smell is not very sharp, he can also sense the weirdness of the recent situation in Moscow. He believes that there have been waves underwater and someone can no longer hold back and is ready to cause trouble.
Perhaps, there will be something surprising in the meeting with Molotov this afternoon. Why? Because this guy is already in danger of death. If he doesn't want to sit and wait for death, he will definitely do something.
Yes, Yuri did not think about doing anything for Comrade Stalin. He had no noble excuses or reasons. It was simply because he did not want Comrade Stalin's authority to continue. He had long been tired of the cautious life in the past.
In addition, after thinking about it for a few days, Yuri also came to a conclusion in his heart, that is... He also doesn't like the damn collective leadership system, and he also doesn't like the resolution to expand the size of the presidium. After so many years of hard work, he is only one step away from a five- or nine-member presidium seat. It can be imagined that if the 19th National Congress is officially held and there is no resolution to expand the size of the presidium, Molotov, Kaganovich and even Beria may be cleared out, and then one of the vacant positions must belong to him. At this time, why should his power be weakened? Why can those guys who were originally in some unknown corner suddenly jump out and sit on an equal footing with him?
This is not fair!
Yuri did not have the courage, or he did not have the ability to change Comrade Stalin's decision, or he could not decide whether Comrade Stalin would stay or go, but he believed that there would always be someone to do what he wanted to do but did not have the ability to do. He did not need to take the risk of being the first to do it. He only needed to make his position clear and then follow up at the right time.
Yuri picked out the documents he might need one by one from a pile of documents, with no expression on his face until the phone on the desk suddenly rang.
Because he was distracted, he was startled by the sudden ringing of the phone. After calming down, he identified it and couldn't help frowning.
There are three telephones on the desk. One is black, which is an office phone, mainly used to make internal calls. One is light blue, which is a dedicated line assigned to him. In the registration tables of telephone and telegraph offices, this line has the first priority. During the transfer process, as long as there is no conflict with lines of the same level, it is the highest priority line for transfer. The last one is red, which is a dedicated line of the Kremlin. It cannot be used for other purposes except to make calls to the Kremlin or the Kuntsevo Villa.
And now, it was that red phone that was ringing.
Putting down the documents in his hand, Yuri reached out to take the receiver. Just as he put it to his ear, Poskrebyshev's voice came from the other side: "Comrade Chairman Yuri Arkhipovich, Comrade Stalin asked me to inform you to cancel the itinerary after 4 pm."
"Well, Comrade Poskrebyshev," Yuri said, "Does Comrade Stalin have any new assignments?"
"Comrade Stalin is in a good mood today," Poskrebyshev said, probably calling from his own office, so his tone was relatively relaxed. "He arranged a dinner in Kuntsevo and invited several leading comrades to the dinner."
"Okay, I will be there on time." Yuri sighed and said.
During the phone call, Poskrebyshev did not say who Comrade Stalin had invited specifically, and Yuri could not ask about such matters. However, such invitations had not appeared for several months.
In the past, Comrade Stalin liked to hold parties at the Kuntsevo Villa. Sometimes, such banquets would even last from the afternoon until the early morning of the next day, and those who were qualified to accept the invitation were undoubtedly the people he trusted the most.
In recent years, Yuri has been invited more and more frequently, but in his eyes, the number of people who are equally qualified to receive invitations is decreasing. For example, Kaganovich and Voroshilov have not appeared at the banquet for two years. Another example is Molotov, who has not appeared for a long time.
In the past, although he didn't show it, Yuri, as a member who received the invitation, was still a little excited in his heart. However, now he is no longer excited, but has become suspicious.
Putting down the phone, Yuri took out a pack of cigarettes from the drawer and lit one for himself. Then he stood up from the chair, walked slowly to the window, and looked out through the spotlessly clean glass.
Downstairs outside the window, Shelepin was getting into a jeep with two people, and no one knew what they were going to do.
Yuri frowned, thinking about what would happen tonight. He was wondering who else would be invited tonight.
