Chapter 401
Comrade Stalin's office was filled with smoke. A dozen people representing the highest echelons of power in the Soviet Union were present, listening to Comrade Stalin's long speech on his ideas for political reform.
Yuri sat in his seat, holding a cigarette between the index and middle fingers of his right hand, and staring at the tray on the table in front of him with half-closed eyes. The porcelain tray was pure black, dotted with some very bright small flower patterns, which had a unique beauty.
Meetings like this have been repeated over the past two days. Comrade Stalin hopes to form a consensus of thought in his inner circle before the formal opening of the congress. As for the effect, of course, everyone holds a supportive position, at least that's what they say. As for the real situation, it's hard to say now.
Looking at the watch, it was almost noon, and there was still half an hour until twelve o'clock. It was estimated that the meeting should be over - although Yuri didn't pay any attention to what was said in the meeting.
In Yuri's opinion, such a meeting had nothing to do with him. After all, he was not a member of the presidium.
Sure enough, after a few minutes, Comrade Stalin finished his speech. He walked back to his desk and sat down. He put the pipe in his hand on the ashtray and waved his hand with obvious fatigue.
Everyone stood up one after another, picked up the notebooks in front of them, and left in an orderly manner.
"Yuri Arkhipovich," Comrade Stalin, who was sitting behind his desk, suddenly spoke again, "starting tomorrow, you will temporarily move to the building of the Soviet People's Commissar to work, in the room opposite the Secretariat."
Yuri was stunned for a moment, but quickly responded: "I'll be ready, Comrade Stalin."
The so-called "Soviet People's Commissar" building is an office building in the Kremlin, built in 1924 after the end of the civil war. There are hundreds of rooms in the whole building, but not everyone can move in to work. In addition to some translators, security personnel, and secretaries, the rest have offices there, such as Zhdanov, Molotov, and Kaganovich. Yes, every member of the Presidium has a room of his own in that office building, although they may not often work .
In the past, Yuri would feel very honored to have a room of his own there, but now, he must first consider what Comrade Stalin’s purpose is. Is it his trust in himself, or is he sending a signal to the outside world?
At this moment, there was no time to think about anything. Yuri responded and then followed everyone out of Stalin's office.
The weather has been bad for the past few days. The sky is covered with thick dark clouds, and not a single ray of sunlight can penetrate, giving people a dull and depressing feeling.
Walking out of the office building, when Yuri walked to the steps in front of the building, he saw Suslov stopped at the bottom of the steps and was talking to Kosygin.
Every time Yuri saw Kosygin, he felt like laughing, because this guy's face always reminded Yuri of the comedy movie in his previous life - "The Wanderings of Sanmao". Yes, the face of the young comrade Kosygin was very similar to Sanmao's face.
Yuri obviously had no right to say that Kosygin was a young comrade, but in fact, this candidate cadre who had entered Comrade Stalin's vision was indeed one of the youngest among the top power figures in Moscow today. He was only 45 years old this year.
If you look through Kosygin's resume, you will find something amazing: his promotion process was actually faster than Yuri's. It took him only five years from graduating from university to becoming the People's Commissar of the Textile Industry of the Soviet Union. The so-called People's Commissar of the Textile Industry is actually similar to the Minister of Light Industry in China. Yes, it only took five years from a university graduate to the head of a national ministry. Who can say that such a promotion speed is not fast?
Of course, what concerned Yuri most about Comrade Kosygin was not only the speed of his promotion, but also the extent of his tough life.
In the past few days, under Yuri's order, the Central Supervisory Committee has been sorting out all the files of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee in the past two years. According to statistics, Kosygin's name was mentioned more than 4,320 times in all 143,000 files. This number includes both the investigation of him by the two departments and the number of times he appeared in the confessions of the people involved in the case.
Compared to Kosygin, Yuri is simply a good boy. His name only appeared four times, and they appeared in four investigations initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In a case like Kosygin, most people would have been shot countless times, but he is still safe and sound. There is only one possibility, that is, Comrade Stalin took good care of his "little Kosyka" and never allowed anyone to touch him.
Yes, little Kosyka, this is what Comrade Stalin called Kosygin, which others cannot envy.
Yuri walked down the stairs. When he passed by Suslov and Kosygin, he had no intention of stopping. However, the two men who were talking stopped. The former greeted enthusiastically, "Hey, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich."
Yuri stopped and looked over with a smile. He nodded to Kosygin first, then looked at Suslov.
"There is a ballet performance at the Bolshoi Theater tonight," Suslov said with a smile. "It is a new piece that the Bolshoi Ballet is rehearsing. It mainly reflects the content during the Stalingrad War. How about it? Are you interested in watching it?"
Yuri secretly complained in his heart, the ballet reflects nothing about war, what's the point of watching it?
In the past two years, with the frequent launch of various movements in the literary and academic circles, even ballet performances have been affected. In order to cater to this left-leaning trend, the three major ballet companies have also produced some incongruous performances that make people laugh and cry. Of course, in situations like this, the responsibility cannot be put on the company itself. After all, although art is higher than life, it is always lower than survival. Who doesn't have to think about how to survive first?
Although he secretly complained in his heart, Yuri still agreed verbally. He believed that Suslov invited him to see a performance in front of Kosygin, and his purpose was definitely not just for that performance.
After a brief conversation with the two young comrades, Yuri said goodbye and left after the driver drove the car over , returning to his Central Supervisory Committee office.
In recent days, the Supervisory Committee seems a little deserted. A large number of staff members are dealing with Abakumov's case and the cases reviewed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the past two years. In addition, a bloody conflict between Orthodox Christians and Muslims has just broken out in Kazakhstan. Three cities have been affected by the riots and dozens of people have died. The Supervisory Committee has organized six investigation teams to go to Kazakhstan to work with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Security Committee to handle these issues.
Speaking of religious conflicts, Yuri felt helpless. You know, in the past few years of ideological movements, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Security Committee have purged a lot of religious people, whether they are Orthodox or Muslim, everyone is honest, fearing that they will be purged directly if they stand out.
Now, with Abakumov's arrest, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is leading a similar rehabilitation operation, and the tension that has lasted for several years is disappearing, which should be a good thing. But the problem is that as the tension disappears, these religious issues suddenly jump out again, and the riots in three cities in Kazakhstan are an obvious manifestation of this.
Therefore, before the working group set off for Kazakhstan, Yuri gave instructions that the riots in the three cities must be dealt with severely, regardless of the sect or person involved, even if they are religious leaders. Those who should be sentenced should be sentenced, those who should be exiled should be exiled, and those who should be shot should be shot. Such acts of sabotage under the guise of religious beliefs must not be tolerated.
There are more things to worry about. In recent days, the National Security Council has submitted 12 memoranda in succession, all of which are about the large amount of anti-Soviet propaganda appearing in the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany.
According to intelligence gathered by the National Security Council, Western countries have not only carried out hostile radio propaganda in the Soviet-occupied areas in the past few years, but also bought and dispatched spies in areas including Berlin. These spies, under the guise of diplomats and exchange personnel, stole intelligence and supported anti-government figures in the Soviet-occupied areas. The National Security Council suggested that a large-scale operation be launched in the Soviet-occupied areas of Germany to thoroughly clean up this chaos.
Yuri could not make the decision on the National Security Committee's proposal alone, because such actions would inevitably trigger a series of diplomatic disputes. Therefore, before deciding whether to take large-scale action, it was necessary to communicate and negotiate with the diplomatic department, and at the same time, obtain the personal approval of Comrade Stalin.
In the current situation where things are loose on the outside but tight on the inside, Yuri does not want to create any more trouble. After all, any seemingly unimportant accident may lead to a huge storm.
For Yuri, he now hopes that everything can be concluded as soon as possible, whether it is Comrade Stalin's will being implemented or those guys who are secretly preparing to do something will win. In short, this damn situation cannot continue to be deadlocked.
