Struggle in Soviet Russia

Again, the meeting of the heads of the three countries is not a simple matter. The location of the meeting is not something that one of the countries can make on its own. Instead, the three countries need to negotiate.

During the last Tehran meeting, the United Kingdom and the United States originally set the venue for the meeting in Cairo, but it was rejected by Comrade Stalin, and it was changed to Tehran, which is very close to the Soviet Union. This time, the British and American idea was to fix the meeting place in Philadelphia or New York, while Comrade Stalin insisted on keeping the meeting place in Yalta, which had just been liberated.

According to normal circumstances, it is estimated that Comrade Stalin’s request is difficult to be recognized by the United Kingdom and the United States, but as Gromyko said, because of the domestic election situation in the United States, especially when Roosevelt was criticized by his opponent Dewey as " In the case of the "old man", it is estimated that Mr. Roosevelt, who is eager to prove his energy, is likely to accept the Soviet Union's proposal to set the meeting place in Crimea.

Hearing Gromyko’s answer, Victor nodded, and when he was about to say something more, he heard the other person preemptively ask: "Victor...oh, there’s no problem if I call you that way?"

"Of course," Victor said with a smile.

"As the person in charge of the intelligence department, I would like to hear your views on certain issues," Gromyko said after Victor's approval, "For example, the issue of the United States, to be more specific, is when it comes to war. After it is over, where will our relationship with the Americans go? Can this alliance continue?"

Victor pinched the cigarette between his fingers, flicked it lightly, and flicked off the soot accumulated on the cigarette butt. After thinking for a while, he said: "I am not good to give a conclusion about the relationship between the alliance and the United States after the war. , I can only say that it is obviously not realistic if the alliance relationship that is pinned on today can be maintained after the war."

Speaking of this, he took a mouthful of cigarettes, squinted his eyes and smiled, and said: "In order to eradicate an unruly wolf, the bear and the leopard will become friends for the time being, but who can expect these two to have territorial consciousness? Beast, can we continue to live in harmony after driving out the wolf?"

"Yeah, it's such a simple truth, but some people always don't understand it," Gromyko smiled playfully, sighed, and said.

"Maybe it's not that I don't understand, but I don't want to understand that for the time being," Victor smiled.

As far as the current situation in the Soviet Union is concerned, there are not many people who believe that the Soviet Union and the United States can maintain good relations after the end of the war against Germany. To a certain extent, this view has even become the mainstream. Even Comrade Stalin had expectations for this.

However, as a traverser, Victor can see very clearly. Of course, this distinction is not only from the memory of the previous life, but also has his own considerations.

In Victor's view, the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States after the war was destined. As long as the allied power in this war wins, this confrontation will be inevitable. To make an assumption, if the Soviet Union failed in this war, and the alliance that finally defeated Germany had no country like the Soviet Union, only Britain and the United States, then after the war ended, there would also be confrontation between Britain and the United States.

To put it bluntly, the so-called US-Soviet confrontation has nothing to do with ideology, nor does it have anything to do with whether you believe in capitalism or socialism. The only thing that matters is the contradiction between the country's core interests. And this core interest is hegemony, which is the question of who will be the boss in this world and who has the final say.

During the war, the contradiction between the Allied Powers and the Allied Powers was the main contradiction. All other issues have not yet been considered. Moreover, I believe that the United States at this time should have never thought of becoming the only superpower in the world. They just I saw hope.

But what is certain is that once the war is over, the former world leader, the British, will be exhausted, France and Germany will all decline, and Japan will be in ruins. The Americans in this new world will look around and will finally be sure. One thing is that in this world, apart from the Soviet Union, no country can compare with the United States.

What’s even more unfortunate is that the only red country that can pose a threat to the United States is actively promoting their expansion of influence in Europe, Asia, and even the world. They seem to want to extend their system to all parts of the world. The whole world has become their sphere of influence.

During this period, there was also a shit-cutter who was unwilling to withdraw from the dominance of the world, constantly playing up the red threat, and propagating the theory of ideological confrontation everywhere, even though everyone knows that the shit-cutter is an abacus. , Is "the crane and the clam fight, the fisherman gains", but the idea of ​​confrontation can't be kicked out of his mind.

Therefore, as Victor considered, the post-war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union was inevitable. Even without Trumanism, there would be some other doctrine; without Kenan’s 8,000-character report. , There will inevitably be another report of the same nature; without Marshall, there will inevitably be a donkey resting. In short, what should come will always come. This is not determined by history, but by human nature.

Victor also knew that in today’s People’s Committee for Foreign Affairs, there have always been two opposing factions regarding the future relations between the Soviet Union and Western countries. One faction believed that with the end of the war, the relations between the Soviet Union and Western countries could continue to improve. , The other faction is pessimistic, believing that Western countries’ attempts to subvert the Soviet Union will never change. With the end of the war, the hostile relationship between the Soviet Union and Western countries will re-emerge. The war of Russia is just one of the wars that the alliance needs to face. Once the Germans surrender, perhaps the Soviet Union will be attacked by Western countries immediately.

Yes, there are people who think that after the Germans surrender, there will be war between the Soviet Union and Western countries, and there are many others. For this reason, these people advocated that the Soviet army should speed up to the west. Advance the pace, strive to be ahead of the Allied forces, advance the front to the Elbe, and build fortifications on the Elbe. At the same time, the recruitment of troops in the liberated areas should not only be weakened, but should be further strengthened to prepare for the development of subsequent wars.

All in all, at present, optimistic people are too optimistic about the post-war relationship between the Soviet Union and Western countries, and pessimistic people are too pessimistic. In fact, there are not many people who really hold the right ideas.

The mainstream views, including Comrade Stalin, are biased towards optimism. They generally believe that although the relationship between the post-war alliance and Western countries may not be so good, at least they will not be hostile. In other words, allies You can still fight for a little bit of friendship in the future.

Why did Comrade Stalin think that the external intelligence work of the People's Committee of National Security, in terms of importance, could give way to internal intelligence and counterintelligence work? The fundamental reason is that he has certain expectations for the future relationship between the Soviet Union and Western countries.

Victor could even further consider, why did Comrade Stalin endorse Voznesensky's economic policies to a certain extent? There may also be reasons for this. The leader is somewhat optimistic that after the end of the war against Germany, the external environment faced by the Soviet Union may not be as complicated and difficult as before the war broke out. .

A cigarette quickly ran out, but whether Victor or Gromyko, the two did not want to leave directly, but got together and chatted for a while.

For Victor, this was his first contact with Gromico, and it was the first time he had talked with each other. In his opinion, this seemingly energetic diplomat was very elegant in his speech and demeanor, and he treated others well. Very nice, a very nice young man.

For Gromyko, this was also his first contact with Victor. In his opinion, the number one intelligence man in the alliance, who is highly regarded by Comrade Stalin, is obviously not as cold and ruthless as the legend. To a certain extent, this person is even a little too modest. When communicating with him, he doesn't feel any pressure, just like chatting with a neighbor who has been with him for many years.

The communication between the two men came to an end until Comrade Stalin appeared at the entrance of the Kremlin. The two had a good impression of each other. When they broke up, they thought about having more contact with each other in the future, maybe in the future. Be a friend.

At this time Victor didn’t know that the first encounter between him and Comrade Gromyko under Lenin’s tomb was the beginning of their frequent contacts. Of course, what Victor didn’t know was that as he separated from external intelligence. On the working stage, he has turned to domestic work such as internal intelligence, counterintelligence, and ideological defense. His social circle has also begun to change. More and more people will appear in his field of vision and communication. These are all determined by the different nature of the work.

When Comrade Stalin and representatives of envoys from various countries appeared at the viewing platform of Lenin’s tomb, it was almost ten o’clock in the morning. About ten minutes later, against the scorching sun above their heads, the German prisoners of war lined up in squares. Appeared on the red square.

At this time, Victor, who was responsible for security work, had returned to the entrance of the Kremlin, looking at the German prisoners of war who walked on the square from a distance. To be honest, Victor really returned to the time and space confusion of the classic moments in history.