Father of France

What was his purpose in Chapter 54?
The two seemed shocked by Koman's honesty and didn't know what to say for a moment, but then something even more shocking happened. Koman, who was holding the dessert, suddenly said, "I want to visit Lubyanka and learn something."

That's right, the headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was also in Lubyanka, which remained unchanged from the Cheka period until the collapse of the Soviet Union. It's just that after several restructurings, its power became more and more standardized.

Koeman's actions were like insulting a bald man in front of a monk, or telling two Interior Ministry officers that he wanted to visit Lubyanka—it was an blatant provocation by imperialism.

“This guest’s request is quite novel,” one officer said, before another interrupted him, “It’s a rare request indeed.”

“I would have seen you much sooner if I had run into you earlier,” Koeman replied with a gentle smile.

While the Soviet security system was world-renowned, he was not a Soviet citizen. As long as he didn't do something as foolish as burning the Soviet flag in Lubyanka Square, normal communication wouldn't label him an enemy of the people.

"If the French side applies, it should be successful," Pavlov replied in a businesslike tone, having already concealed his earlier shock.

Pavlov had no idea why Koman was interested in his department; little did he know that Koman had just completed the psychological preparation of a reactionary who never concealed his purpose.

The goal is actually quite simple: to establish a similar department.

A super-department like the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs would be impossible in an electoral country like France, especially in France itself. Therefore, the current work of the Youth Division is all temporary, and under normal circumstances, the Youth Division will be abolished in the future.

But France has not only its mainland departments, but also overseas departments such as Algeria. The wave of colonial independence after the war will also begin. Should France ask the United States for advice?

It's not that Koeman is bragging, but France has more experience than the United States. The experience of the US intelligence agencies is suitable for stirring up conflicts abroad, but it may not be effective domestically in the United States.

The ethnic composition of the Soviet Union, with 50% Russians and 70% Slavs, is similar to that of France, including Algeria. The French population is about four times that of Algerians, making up about 80%, which is slightly higher than the Slavic population in the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union also successfully de-religiousized Central Asia, a region with a strong religious atmosphere. The religion in Central Asia is the same as that of the Algerians. The United States has never faced a similar problem.

Faced with Algeria's independence, France, as a land power with a tradition of centralized authority, would certainly not act like a small shopkeeper in Britain, simply doing the math and deciding it would be a losing proposition before granting it independence.

A large-scale crackdown was inevitable, and in such an environment, departments like the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs were needed to help the army clear obstacles.

In Koman's view, some of the Soviet experience was certainly applicable to Algeria, such as the experience of managing the Gulag labor camps, which the KGB no longer dealt with during Khrushchev's era.

Therefore, now is the most appropriate time to learn from mature experiences.

Of course, combining the best practices of the Soviet Union and Germany would be ideal. With two superpowers, the Soviet Union and Germany, serving Koeman—isn't that a great blessing?

The two NKVD officers, though preoccupied with their own thoughts, left with perfectly normal expressions. Not far away, George Pidul and Molotov chatted amiably, demonstrating the traditional Franco-Soviet friendship in practice.

While the Kremlin was brightly lit, tens of millions of troops were still fighting fiercely in Europe, risking their lives to defend their national interests. The honest reactionary, Koeman, would never act alone in a foreign land; upon returning to his hotel, he found the slightly tipsy George Pidul and told him about the conversation in the Kremlin.

"Why visit that kind of department?" George Pidul was also a pure imperialist and had heard of the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he roughly knew what kind of department it was.

This department had such a bad reputation that, before the outbreak of the World War, the Soviet Union had a very poor reputation, and various rumors about the Ministry of Internal Affairs also spread to France.

“I think this department is very suitable for use in French African colonies,” Coleman said with certainty. “More precisely, it is suitable for several overseas provinces.”

It was actually referring to Algeria, though not explicitly stated, but George Pidul understood.

George Pidou turned against de Gaulle after Algeria's independence, which shows how much he valued Algeria. This reason successfully persuaded the interim government's foreign minister.

“I don’t have much time in Moscow, but I can have the embassy assist you with your application.” Algeria’s importance was indeed a key factor that impressed George Pidou, and the bigwig in the interim government immediately became interested. “You are indeed well-suited to exchange ideas with your counterparts in other countries.”

The Youth Division was a military police unit, and it did indeed share similarities with the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs. George Pidul also acknowledged this, but as the provisional government's foreign minister, he could not stay in the capital of another country for an extended period of time; this was something Koeman had to handle himself.

“I am very interested in many things about this country,” Koman said, puffing out his chest. “If we can learn more, it can make up for the four-year gap to a large extent. Although a new war may not break out, we should still understand the combat capabilities of the Soviet army.”

Whether considering the current battlefield situation and the Soviet army's unstoppable offensive, or the possibility of considering the Soviet Union as a hypothetical enemy in the future, France should deepen its understanding of the Soviet Union.

As someone with memories of a past life, Koeman knows all too well how terrifying it is to be blindly confident and misjudge the strength of your opponent.

In the Kremlin, Stalin, with a pipe in his mouth, listened to Molotov's report: "France's objective is clear: to win Soviet support for France's postwar status as a major power through trade and economic relations with the Soviet Union."

“This is not surprising. Now that France lacks power, it will try to find a way through diplomacy.” Voroshilov added, “But we are worried that France will eventually become a follower of the Americans, even though they have shown no intention of submitting to the United States.”

“We can’t see what the future looks like, so we can only make decisions based on the current situation,” Molotov sighed. “Our goal is to prevent the formation of an alliance against the Soviet Union.”

Behind Beria's glasses, in the Lubyanka Ministry of the Interior building, his gaze was filled with astonishment. "A Frenchman wants to visit Lubyanka? What does he want to do? What's his purpose?"

What happened at the Kremlin banquet would normally not have been reported to him; the decision would have been made by his subordinates.

However, because of the reactionary Koman's request, which was too undisguised in his purpose and went straight to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was reported to Beria.

The General from the Ministry of Internal Affairs who reported this thought to himself, "How should I know? I've been working for quite a while now, and this is the first time I've heard of such a request."

(End of this chapter)