The Era of Emerald

Berezovsky's impromptu speech in the hall was quite old-fashioned and superficial.It is nothing more than "how wise and powerful the great Comrade Yeltsin is, under his leadership, we can all live better in the future" and the like.

Zhuang Mingge chose to ignore Berezovsky's speech without much actual content. Using this time, he pulled aside Abu, who was relatively close to him, and asked him about the upcoming private party. Condition.

Through Abu's introduction, Zhuang Mingge knew that the people who attended the small party next were mainly the seven oligarchs who are currently in charge of Russia. Since this is a banquet held for the Russian presidential election, these oligarchs are the real people of this banquet. protagonist.

The people in the hall now, at best, want to unite all the forces that can be united. At worst, they let these outsiders with limited influence increase Yeltsin's popularity during the presidential election.

If Yeltsin really placed his hope of success in the election on "number" rather than "quality", then he would not be far from stepping down.

Yeltsin, who did not achieve any outstanding political achievements in his first term, wants to defeat his competitors at this time. The only backstage he can rely on is the oligarchs who control the lifeline of Russia's economy.

Because these oligarchs hold a lot of resources, they are enough to change the situation of the Russian presidential election to some extent.

So, what is the purpose of Berezovsky inviting himself to this kind of gathering?After hearing Abu's narration, Zhuang Mingge couldn't help but fell into deep thought.

……

After the impromptu speech was over and the banquet in the hall started again, Berezovsky left the resplendent hall under the escort of his bodyguards.Under the leadership of Abramovich, Zhuang Mingge and Karin walked into a small hall located in the innermost part of the club.

"There is such a luxurious place here." This was Zhuang Mingge's most intuitive feeling after entering this small hall.

If the hall outside gives people the feeling of being gorgeous and majestic, then the layout of this small hall can only be described as extremely luxurious. The medieval palace murals made of unknown materials emit a faint The light makes the whole small hall look natural and bright.The floor was covered with a thick layer of premium Iranian wool handmade carpets, which made the guests who had suffered from the cold winter in Moscow feel the warmth from the bottom of their hearts.

When Zhuang Mingge walked into this small hall, he saw a slightly obese middle-aged man giving a speech in the hall.

"Everyone, I think the purpose of this banquet is very clear to everyone here. What I want to say is that before this presidential election, none of us can back down! What we have to do now is to serve President Yeltsin, President Yeltsin, Fight for the national interest of Russia!"

As the two initiators of the banquet, Berezovsky and Gusinsky, the "good friends", seem to have a clear "division of labor" in advance, and the former made some agitation in the hall just now , and the task of impromptu speeches in the small banquet hall naturally fell on Gusinski's shoulders.

Zhuang Mingge entered here under the leadership of Abu, and Abu also quietly told him at this time that the current actual controller of the Moscow Air Force Club is this Gusinsky.

Zhuang Mingge's first impression of Gusinski was not very good. First of all, this guy seems to be an unreliable guy. Before Berezovsky faced so many guests in the hall, he was still able to be euphemistic in his words. Said, "The purpose of this banquet is to call on everyone to protect our own interests"; and this Mr. Gusinski, now, on this occasion where we still know each other, boldly claimed that the party's The purpose is actually "for the benefit of the country"!

What Zhuang Minge didn't know was that those bigwigs present who were familiar with Gusinski had long been accustomed to Gusinski's style. Ski's favorite act in public?Just like after he went into exile in Israel, he popped up from time to time to criticize the various policies and decrees of the Putin government.

Zhuang Minge looked around and found that apart from himself and Karin, everyone in the venue seemed to have one thing in common, that is, they were all Russians.

Are we the only outsiders in this room?Zhuang Mingge couldn't help laughing wryly, although whether in the East or the West, as long as a person is famous and rich, it is inevitable that he will have something to do with damn politics, but his attitude towards the big quagmire of politics is just for fear of avoiding it. .

The best example is that after Zhuang Mingge led Fiorentina back to the Serie A, representatives of countless Italian parties approached him, hoping that Zhuang Mingge could join their party, but Zhuang Mingge refused all of them, and also publicly published a statement in the newspaper. Then he declared that he would not run for any political office.If Berezovsky had sent someone to investigate his details before, he should know these things. What kind of help can a person who is not interested in politics bring Berezovsky?

The second point is that Gusinsky gave Zhuang Minge the feeling that his desire to be in the limelight is too strong. Even if Zhuang Mingge is not interested in politics, he still knows what it means to "shoot the top bird". , the first person to be attacked and eliminated must be someone like Gusinski!

Zhuang Mingge may not remember other details very clearly, but in Zhuang Mingge's memory, Putin once said in an interview that oligarchs like Berezovsky and Gusinsky wanted to be in power during his ruling period. If Russia survives, it must "obey the rules of this era."

The fate of the older generation of oligarchs in Russia is nothing more than the following: either they did not manage well and went bankrupt in the financial crisis of 98; Escaped from prison and was forced into exile overseas; only a handful of survivors such as Friedman, Potanin and others were cautious and able to continue to be active on the stage of the 21st century.Replacing these older generation of financial oligarchs are the new generation of oligarchs such as Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska who are closely related to the new generation of Russian government.

ps1: Chapter 23 of "Addition and Completion Plan"

ps2: Sure enough, I caught a cold, so uncomfortable to say...