Struggle in Soviet Russia

Victor stopped at the door. He turned around and glanced at Comrade Stalin. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and closed the door before he walked back to the sofa in the middle of the office.

"Sit down," Comrade Stalin opened a drawer behind the desk and took out something from it. Then he got up and walked over, sat down on the sofa opposite Victor, waved his hand at him, and said.

When he waved his hand, Victor saw that he was holding a pack of cigarettes or a pack of guards.

Taking off his military cap again, Victor bent over and sat on the sofa.

"I heard that the presidium list of the People's Committee for National Security has been confirmed?" Comrade Stalin asked, half leaning on the sofa, throwing his cigarette in front of Victor.

"A few people have been identified," Victor took the cigarette in his hand, but did not unpack it.

Comrade Stalin smoked very fiercely himself, but he did not like others to smoke in front of him. The only one who was able to enjoy the privileges before was the veteran Shaboshnikov. As for others, even Comrade Zhidanov could not be in his Smoking in the office.

Counting this time, it is the second time Victor has received a cigarette from Comrade Stalin. The first time he didn't smoke, the second time he still didn't plan to smoke.

Comrade Stalin took a match, lit his pipe, then threw the match in front of Victor, and said: "Smoke, I know you are addicted to cigarettes."

Victor couldn't hold back anymore, he hesitated, and finally opened the pack of cigarettes and lit one with a match.

Seeing that the ashtray on the table was a little far away, he drew up again, took the ashtray and put it down on Comrade Stalin's side.

"Tell me, what kind of people are they?" Comrade Stalin didn't watch his movements, but said with his eyes down.

Victor didn't dare to hesitate. He named the four people he had selected and briefly explained their respective resumes.

Listening to him narrate the situation of the four people, Comrade Stalin's original stern face showed a smile. He took the pipe in his hand, pointed towards Victor, and said, "You little comrade, you are very cunning. ."

Victor looked away. He knew that his little trick would not hide from Comrade Stalin's eyes. However, he did not think that his balancing strategy would be criticized by the other party.

"However, the collective leadership system is very important," Comrade Stalin continued. "I remember that Comrade Ulyanov said at the Tenth Congress that all important issues within the party must be discussed and discussed in advance. Internal criticism allows all party members to actively participate in discussions, personally participate in solving all problems faced by the party, and eradicate the phenomenon of turning collective management agencies into talk halls."

Victor heard what he said so formal, and hurriedly took out a small notebook from his pocket.

"Don't learn from Malinkov," Comrade Stalin stopped him, and said with a smile, "Our Georgi Maximilianovich likes to keep records. He always keeps his eyes on it, but he doesn't know it. Ignore the following, don’t follow him."

Victor hurriedly put away the little book again, but wondered whether these words were a criticism of Malinkov.

"It is a pleasant surprise to me that you can take the initiative to effectively promote the principle of collective leadership in the People's Committee of National Security," Comrade Stalin continued, "This shows that among our young cadres, there are still some comrades who can uphold the principles of party spirit. Yes. However, while implementing the principles of collective leadership, we must not ignore the issue of leadership responsibility. If you use the guise of collective leadership to blindly balance, scorn principles and efficiency, then your presidium will become talkative. The museum, when the time comes, the related work will not go ahead and will even affect the overall situation. I will not show mercy to you."

"Please rest assured, Comrade Stalin," Victor hurriedly promised, "Although it can be predicted that the situation of the presidium will be very complicated in the future, I am still confident that I will be able to do a good job."

Comrade Stalin nodded and said, "Don't have too many worries about doing things. People, sometimes if you think too much, it's easy to make mistakes. Looking forward and backward is impossible."

"Yes, I know it well," Victor said, nodding repeatedly.

"Do it boldly, do it with your hands," Comrade Stalin said, "I have enough trust in you, the comrades of the Politburo, including me, and at the same time..."

He was talking about this when the phone on the desk rang suddenly.

Comrade Stalin frowned, turned his head and glanced toward the desk, then he stood up, walked straight over and picked up the red telephone receiver.

Viktor naturally didn't know who was calling the call, but he felt that when Comrade Stalin was answering the call, he glanced at himself, and this look made Victor feel creepy.

The call did not last long. Comrade Stalin quickly hung up the phone. Then, he stood at the desk and took two puffs with his pipe in his mouth. After nearly half a minute of silence, he asked: " Are the only four candidates you mentioned?"

"Yes," Victor was a little dazed, and intuitively told him that Comrade Stalin's attitude seemed to have changed.

Who is calling that call? why……

The idea of ​​why hadn't been turned away, Victor suddenly realized a problem. This time, his mouth turned even faster than his mind, and he almost immediately said, "Ah, there is another Alexander Feodorovich? Comrade Zha Xia Ke."

Comrade Stalin did not speak, but looked at him indifferently.

"Comrade Voroshilov called me before, implying that I should focus on this comrade," Victor sold Voroshilov without hesitation, "I have seen this comrade's The resume, I think he is not suitable for the work of the People’s Committee of National Security."

Speaking of this, he stopped, with a wry smile on his face, and said: "Before receiving your call, I was still considering how to report this to Comrade Voroshilov."

"Oh?" The expression on Comrade Stalin's face softened a bit. He thought about it, and reached out again to take the red telephone, shook the handle, and said after a moment, "Take Comrade Voroshilov's office. "

Victor sat on the sofa, only feeling cold on his hands and feet, and the cold sweat on his back kept blowing out.

He heard Comrade Stalin calling Voroshilov on the phone, and then said: "Do you know the situation of Comrade Alexander Feodorovich Zastyko?"

It was obviously Voroshilov on the other side of the phone, and Victor couldn’t hear what he said, but Comrade Stalin quickly said: “I’m going to let him take over Malasev’s job and go to the guerrilla headquarters. What do you think, Kliment?"

Malasev is Voroshilov’s deputy and is currently in charge of the guerrilla work. He should be regarded as Voroshilov’s confidant. For the declining power of Voroshilov, now It's really not easy to have two cronies by your side.

Victor estimated that the words of Comrade Stalin should knock on Voroshilov's door. Although he does not know what deal he made with Khrushchev, it is certain that although he recommended Zha Xia Xia Ke, but this person is definitely not his person.

Now, with a word from Comrade Stalin, he wanted to press this man by his side, and also transferred one of his close associates away. God knows what Comrade Voroshilov's mood is now.

On the phone, Voroshilov must have rejected this proposal, and the excuse used should be that Zastyshko had no work experience in guerrillas. Therefore, Victor heard Comrade Stalin smiling and saying: "I think your concerns. There are too many, Kliment. After all, Comrade Zastyshko is even competent for the post of the National Security People’s Committee, so how can he not handle the work of the guerrillas?"

After speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for the other person to speak.

Victor wondered, if nothing else, Comrade Voroshilov should be packing up and preparing to head to the Kremlin.

But he also knew that with this incident, he completely offended Voroshilov. Perhaps, this is what Comrade Stalin hopes to see?

"Victor," hung up the phone, Comrade Stalin stood at the edge of his desk and said, looking at Victor, "Like I said, don't have too many worries, don't think about everything, you are in the selection of the presidium. If you make the right decision, you should stick to it. You don’t need to pay attention to the request made by Kliment.”

"Yes, Comrade Stalin, I remember," what else could Victor say? Facts have proved that a good old person, or a person with all facets, has no room for survival at his level today.

"Well, you go first," Comrade Stalin seemed to be a little tired, he returned to the desk and sat down, waving his hand.

When he came out of Comrade Stalin's office, Victor's expression on his face was calm all the way downstairs, and his face didn't turn pale in an instant until he got in the car.

The four-person list determined by the presidium was compiled by Victor in the last two days, but the information of Zastyshko was only found out today. When he received a call from Comrade Stalin before, he had just changed Zastyshko’s name. It was added to the list, and Comrade Stalin knew about it after he answered a phone call.

Then the question is, who made the call before, who came into his office, and got the list that he just compiled more than an hour ago. Isn't this a **** hell?