Struggle in Soviet Russia

As a city, Leningrad’s position in the alliance is very special. It is the cradle of revolution, the cradle of Soviets, and the highest place where Soviet power was established. It can be said that the Soviet Socialist Alliance was born from here and eventually radiated to the whole country. Within the consortium.

In the special city of Leningrad, Comrade Zhdanov occupies a very special position. To some extent, he is the native emperor of Leningrad, and at the same time, he is also recognized as the second number of the League. Character, of course, he is also a representative of the Leningrad School.

A concept needs to be clarified here. The so-called "Leningrad faction" is not a political faction with historical continuity. In fact, this faction has a specific representative and a specific character in a specific historical period. Identity.

Take Comrade Zhdanov as an example. He was not the so-called "Leningrad faction" at first. On the contrary, he was transferred to Leningrad after Comrade Kirov was assassinated. Later, he gathered together Those "Leningrad factions" around Comrade Kirov carried out a series of cruel blows.

From 1934 until the Great Siege of Leningrad in the Soviet-German War, Comrade Zhdanov used nearly ten years to gather a group of his own people in Leningrad. These people occupied the Leningrad party and government. All important positions in the military system have become a brand-new and well-deserved generation of "Leningradists."

According to the historical evolution of Victor’s previous life, after Comrade Zhdanov’s sudden death, Malinkov and Beria will purge this generation of Leningrad factions with Comrade Zhdanov at the core, including Kuznetsov. A series of Leningrad sect officials, including Voznesensky, Rodionov, and Popkov, were all sent to the execution ground.

In this cleansing operation against the "Zhdanov series of Ningrads", a man named Frol Romanovich Kozlov performed brilliantly, especially in the detection of the so-called "doctor case." In the process, he won the trust of Moscow, and thus became the first secretary of the new Leningrad State Party Committee.

In the following ten years, this man closely followed Khrushchev’s steps on the one hand, and on the other hand established close ties with vested interest groups in the military, and gradually formed a center in Leningrad with him at the core. A new generation of "Leningradists". In the end, he became the second-in-command in the Soviet party in the last days of Khrushchev. If it weren’t for this person’s stroke and died early, then after Khrushchev, the top-in-command in the Soviet party was In any case, Brezhnev would not be able to do it.

After Kozlov, those in power in Moscow began to be more wary of Leningrad. From the 1970s to the eve of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Moscow power core suppressed Leningrad politically and economically. , It never stopped.

The most notable example is Leningrad’s flood control dam across the Gulf of Finland. This flood control dam, later known as the "St. Petersburg Dam", has always been regarded as the political prestige of the Leningrad Party Committee and its inability to obtain resources from Moscow. Objective evidence.

This project began when Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov became the first secretary of the Leningrad Oblast in the early 1970s, and it was not officially started until 1979. The project The first time that Moscow received funding was in 1983, the second year that Andropov became the leader of the Soviet Union. As for the completion of the project, it was in 2011 after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. At that time, Putin the Great was already ruling Russia.

It can be said that Grigory Vasilyevich Romanov is the last core figure of the Leningrad faction. After this person failed in the struggle with Gorbachev for the leader of the Soviet Union, the so-called The "Leningrad faction" of the People's Republic of China has actually died out, and it is replaced by the so-called "St. Petersburg Gang" in later generations.

In fact, it can be seen from the history of the "Leningrad School" that the course of this political faction was not caused by historical factors. It was condensed by a specific historical figure in a specific historical period. . At the same time, it has a very close relationship with the particularity of the city of Leningrad and its own advantages. For example, because of its special historical symbolic status, Leningrad has greater political power, and its officials are generally selected from the local area. , The cadre groups born in this way have a better understanding of local realities and are easier to group together.

From another perspective, this group is also more likely to be targeted by other political factions in the alliance.

Of course, Viktor also has no good feelings for the so-called "Leningrad faction", nothing else, because as the head of this faction, Comrade Zhdanov does not look down upon him, the chairman of the People’s Committee for National Security.

In addition, the particularity of Leningrad has also had a certain impact on Victor’s authority in the People’s Committee for National Security. The main reason is that the chairman of the People’s Committee for National Security of Leningrad also serves as the National Security People’s Committee. The position of the vice chairman of the presidium of the committee department, and at the same time, the appointment and dismissal are not decided by the chairman of the presidium, Victor. Of course, this is also an expression of Zhidanov's hand in the People's Committee of National Security.

During the meeting in Leningrad this time, Viktor did not receive any respect from Comrade Zhdanov. At the same time, he also got a message from the other party that Comrade Zhdanov had already presented to Comrade Stalin. A letter of recommendation recommended Kuznetsov, who performed well during the siege of Leningrad, and recommended him to serve as Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Organizational Member of the Central Committee in preparation for his entry into the Politburo.

Comrade Zhdanov recommended Kuznetsov for very good reasons, because during the siege of Leningrad, Comrade Zhdanov himself was often unable to preside over the work normally due to his illness. The actual work of Leningrad, In fact, Kuznetsov is responsible for dispatching and commanding. Therefore, his ability has been fully demonstrated in the past two years.

As the secretary of the Central Committee, Comrade Zhdanov certainly has the right to recommend leading cadres to the Central Committee. This is nothing to criticize, but the problem is that his performance is too arrogant. In the presence of many military and political cadres in Leningrad, he declared openly that he would recommend Voznesensky, who presided over the wartime economic work in Leningrad, to the position of chairman of the State Planning Commission; he wanted Kosygin. Go to serve as the deputy people’s committee of the People’s Committee; while Kuznetsov wants to become a secretary of the Central Secretariat and a member of the organization.

Considering that Voznesensky is now an alternate member of the Politburo, if Kosygin and Kuznetsov go up again, then at least three of the Politburo members are standing in Zhdano. Husband's side.

In addition, as an alternate member of the Politburo, if Voznesensky is to take the post of chairman of the State Planning Commission, then in a few years, he will inevitably occupy a sufficient weight in the country’s economic work, which is a direct threat. , Will be the status of Comrade Malinkov.

On the other hand, if Kuznetsov becomes a secretary of the Central Secretariat and an organization committee member, who will he threaten? Considering that the first secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee is Comrade Stalin himself, and the second secretary is Zhdanov. Since Comrade Stalin seldom directly manages the work of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, Kuznetsov is in charge of the Secretariat of the Central Committee. The work in charge will be determined by Zhdanov himself. Therefore, if nothing goes wrong, Kuznetsov’s work as the secretary of the Central Secretariat must succeed Beria and supervise the daily work of the National Security People’s Committee and the People’s Committee of the Interior.

In fact, the great siege of Leningrad, which lasted for more than two years, certainly won great prestige for Comrade Zhdanov and the Leningrad faction led by him, but at the same time, it also restricted Their expansion in the Moscow core of power.

It was in the past two years or so that the small group formed by Malinkov and Beria expanded rapidly in the power core of Moscow. Comrade Malinkov took advantage of the opportunity to be responsible for the work of the cadres of the Central Secretariat to help A large number of "owners" were promoted to leadership positions.

This reality obviously made Zhdanov, who regarded himself as the successor of Comrade Stalin, felt enough threats. Therefore, just after the siege of Leningrad was lifted, the in-laws of Comrade Stalin couldn’t wait to give Malinko The small group of husband and Beria launched a counterattack.

Yes, Voznesensky is used to replace Malinkov, while Kuznetsov is used to replace Beria. As for Viktor, it is estimated that Comrade Zhdanov has not been in the eyes of Comrade Zhdanov. He, the chairman of the People’s Committee of National Security, is still unable to participate in such a high-level struggle.

However, for Victor, the sad thing is precisely this. He cannot participate in such a high-level political struggle. But once the small group of Malinkov and Beria is overthrown by Zhdanov, he I'm afraid I can't guarantee my own status anymore. At that time, it may not be necessary for Comrade Zhdanov himself to take action, just Kuznetsov's fingertips, he, the chairman of the People's Committee of National Security, will have to be swept out of the house.

More sadly, Viktor, who felt the danger, had not had a chance to change his camp. The Leningrad faction led by Comrade Zhdanov was relatively closed, even if he was separated from the small group of Malinkov and Beria. , And there is no chance to join the Leningrad faction camp.

Therefore, from the beginning of the political struggle that is destined to come, Victor's camp has been determined.