Servant of the People in Kyiv

Originally, this overseas visit should have been led by the first secretary of the state or the governor, but these two leaders went to the Higher Party School in Kiev to study in depth Gorbachev's theories on promoting Soviet institutional and economic reforms, so Aksionov was responsible for leading the overseas visit.

Since Sherbitsky moved into the Friendship Sanatorium in Yalta, leaders of both the Crimean Oblast Party Committee and the Soviet Committee would come to visit and express their condolences to the old secretary during every holiday.

Since Sherbitsky is still a vice-state-level leader, the condolences of the provincial party committee and government must be reported in advance to the leader of the Ministry of Internal Affairs responsible for Sherbitsky, and even the approval of Novikov, the First Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, can be carried out.

In addition to security, the state leaders had to inform Haniyev in advance of every visit, and he would coordinate and arrange with Sherbitsky, the KGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.

Therefore, Haniyev is very familiar with the leaders of the Party Committee and government of Crimea, having dealt with them more than once.

These leaders were also well aware that Haniyev's status and position were extraordinary, so they never acted like a leader in front of him and there was no need to be polite when speaking to him.

When Haniyev arrived at the airport, Deputy Director Aksionov had already been waiting in the waiting room with other municipal party secretaries for more than ten minutes, and there was less than half an hour left before boarding.

No matter how thick-skinned Haniyev was, he felt embarrassed and immediately stepped forward to apologize.

"Sorry, I haven't been feeling well these past two days. I just got an injection and just came here. I'm sorry for taking up everyone's time..."

Haniyev stepped forward to apologize with an embarrassed look on his face. Haniyev, who had not had a good rest for two days, looked haggard and indeed looked like he was sick.

Instead of being angry, Aksionov turned around and showed concern for Haniyev's health.

The other municipal party secretaries also came forward politely to show their concern.

For a moment, Haniyev was surrounded by people, like the moon surrounded by stars.

Time passed quickly during the chat, and amidst the pleasant greetings, the clock hands at the airport pointed to 12 o'clock. The airport leader appeared with his staff and began to invite the leaders to board the plane.

About 20 minutes later, a special plane carrying Crimean leaders at the municipal and city levels and above took off and flew slowly towards the western sky.

In accordance with the unified deployment of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, each state will, based on actual conditions, travel to East Germany, the three Baltic countries, Moldova and other countries for a one-month visit and investigation.

Pulling open the sun visor, Niev and I looked at the white clouds and blue sky outside the window, feeling lost. This was his first time on a plane in his life, and also his first time traveling abroad.

In fact, the so-called overseas research is just a term. Haniyev and others went to some Soviet republics and satellite countries under actual control. They are just closest to the free and open European market, and their industrial division of labor in the socialist family is different. This will allow Ukrainian municipal party secretaries and state leaders to see the rich and colorful industrial layout, see the advantages and disadvantages, so that they can have a clear understanding of General Secretary Gorbachev's reforms.

Industrial division of labor was the Soviet Union's forte, but this does not apply to a market economy.

Therefore, Soviet officials, who had been rigidified by planned quotas for more than half a century, could not understand what Gorbachev called "reform."

For all the general secretaries before Gorbachev, learning from the West was a completely taboo topic and an unforgivable sin, but now Gorbachev encouraged and promoted the emergence of such a free market, which required a re-arrangement of industries under the Soviet system.

The Crimean Oblast's organization of a visit and research was a product that came into being in response to the General Secretary's call, but in essence it was also Sherbitsky's idea. Although the delegation's visit order was issued by the Ukrainian Central Committee, the person behind it came from the Friendship Sanatorium.

Because the visit was to the Soviet republics and East Germany, it was not considered a true trip abroad, so there was no need to report through Moscow.

According to Sherbitsky, Crimea, as Ukraine's best coastal region, must seize the opportunity of reform, broaden its horizons and achieve results.

Haniyev understood that Sherbitsky was not willing to push this matter forward, but in order to gain a platform for himself, he still pushed it forward, which made him really grateful to Sherbitsky.

After the plane entered the stratosphere, the secretaries of the provincial party committee handed the plan for this investigation to Haniyev.

According to the plan, the investigation will last for one month. The first two weeks will be spent in the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, focusing on observing the well-known companies and industries in the three countries and understanding the port development of the three countries. After that, there will be a week in East Germany, and the last week will focus on observing agriculture in Moldova.

It is said that Crimea's investigation is not an isolated case in the entire Soviet system. Currently, many member states and regions have also organized observation groups to observe the industries of various countries. Haniyev believes that once this trend is fully formed, his own Yalta will also attract a large number of Soviet officials to conduct research and observation because of its well-known tourism and service industries.

The three Baltic countries are all small in size, but because of their unique geographical location and the advantage of having access to the sea, they have always played the role of industrial stars in the Soviet Union's industrial layout. Latvia focuses on light industry and deep processing of food, while Lithuania is the main base for shipbuilding, metal processing and machinery production. In addition to mechanical processing and production, Estonia has also developed the textile and papermaking industries. According to information obtained by Haniyev when he worked in the Forestry Committee, many timbers from Ukraine and Belarus were sent to Estonia to be made into paper for export.

These three tiny countries have their own characteristics, and they are good choices for watching their industrial development. As for East Germany, Haniyev doesn't know much about it, but he knows that the smelting, machinery manufacturing and other industries here are very powerful, so he has some expectations in his heart.

The last country we watched was Moldova, a relatively weak and poor one among the Soviet republics. It is adjacent to Ukraine. For decades, its presence in the Soviet family has been low, and it has always played the role of Ukraine's little brother.

In the Soviet division of labor system, Moldova was just a simple agricultural country, responsible for the output of agricultural products, among which the most high-quality and competitive products were grapes and processed products - wine.

Moldova has become a developed agricultural region in the Soviet Union thanks to its high-quality grapes and wines. Therefore, it has always been an advanced representative for agricultural observation and emulation within the Soviet Union. This time, as an advanced representative in agriculture, it has become the last stop of the Crimea observation group.

Chapter 105 Observation Group

Research and observation, as well as studying at the Party School, are both means of maintaining the improvement of Party members and cadres. Any party or government that wants to govern the people well and achieve some results needs to constantly learn and progress and keep pace with the times.

The Soviet Union also adhered to this principle for many years, but socialism was a new thing after all, and there was no precedent to follow. Over the years of development, there were correct paths and wrong paths, but there were more tortuous paths with unclear directions. Therefore, the rigid, solidified and lacking vitality of the Soviet government was about to come to an end.

However, the current General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev, was very confident that the reforms he was promoting would give the Soviet Union a second spring. Even if the Soviet Union's national strength would be greatly reduced after the reforms, it would be worth it if it could bring about economic take-off and embark on a path of rapid development together with the Western world.

In response to the General Secretary's reform requirements, the Crimean Oblast organized a senior cadre inspection and research tour of advanced industries in East Germany and several republics adjacent to the West.

The Crimean observation group this time is of a high standard. Among the 42 people in the group, 39 are first secretaries of municipal party committees or mayors and second secretaries. There is also a provincial leader leading the group, accompanied by two secretaries of the provincial party committee. This shows the Crimean state's determination to reform.

The companies on the inspection list are all the best industrial representatives of East Germany and its member states. Some are already carrying out reforms, while others are preparing to reform. The leaders of Crimea will surely be inspired by reading this, which will help them return to their respective territories to summarize experiences and implement reforms.

Since this reform was ordered by the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Party, and the members of the observation group were all city leaders, the itinerary was very tight, daily life was very regular, and the management was very strict.

Except for Haniyev, most members of the observation group are over 50 years old, and a few are even around 60 years old. These old cadres have long been accustomed to a life where someone serves them in everything. Suddenly going abroad, without secretaries or drivers, they have to do many things by themselves. They were not used to it in the first few days, and even made some jokes.

However, Haniyev was a kind-hearted person. Seeing that his partners were not good at coordination and communication, he took the initiative to cooperate with the two provincial party committee secretaries and took on the coordination work of the observation group. As a result, he also became the first secretary of the temporary party branch of the observation group and the first leader of the party group.

Two weeks later, the observation and research in the three Baltic countries ended. Aksionov gave a half-hour speech at the summary meeting. Then several representatives including Haniyev, Sidrov, Putin, and Vedslov also talked about their thoughts and understanding. Then the observation group flew to the German Democratic Republic.

The so-called Democratic Germany is East Germany under the control of the Soviet Union. However, this country has had a hard time in recent years, and its economic development has suffered consecutive setbacks. At the beginning of this year, Erich Honecker, the first secretary of the Socialist Party of the Democratic Germany, borrowed hundreds of millions of credit loans from West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) in order to prevent the collapse of the East German economy.

East Germany's industrial base was far inferior to West Germany's, and the socialist economic system under the leadership of the Soviet Union could not allow East Germany to develop rapidly. After decades of fighting between the Eastern and Western camps with East and West Germany as the battlefield, the results have become very obvious in recent years.

The Federal Republic of Germany became increasingly prosperous, while the development of the German Democratic Republic was frustrated and its economic development had entered a trough.

However, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. There are still some good companies in the German Democratic Republic, such as Contax Camera and IFA Automobile.

The Crimean delegation visited seven large enterprises in East Germany, including these two large factories.

For some unknown reason, the observation group arrived at the Leipzig state capital on the last day and was then received by Willy Stoph, head of the government of the German Democratic Republic.

Willy Stoph was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic, also known as the Prime Minister. In Hanyev's eyes, he was an old man about the same age as Shcherbitsky, but seemed to be less energetic than Shcherbitsky.

After completing a set of procedures and listening to some official language, the trip to East Germany came to an end.

Haniyev could clearly feel that the reception standards for the delegation in East Germany were higher than those in the three Baltic countries, but the degree of supervision and attention they received also increased. This might be due to East Germany's sensitive status, or perhaps there were undercurrents in East Germany.

Whatever the reason, Haniyev could do nothing and didn't know what was going on. He was just a small mayor under the Soviet system and all he could do was observe and investigate.

After a night's rest in Leipzig, the plane carrying the Crimean observation group arrived in Kishinev, the capital of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, at 11:6 am on June 25.

The Moldavia Soviet Socialist Republic is the future Moldova, a small country that has no presence within the Soviet Union and will still have no presence in Europe after the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

The Moldavia Soviet Socialist Republic has a land area of ​​only 3.38 square kilometers and a population of only 290 million. It is a small country among the Soviet republics. Even after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it will be considered a small country in Europe, where there are many small countries.

Haniyev feels that, comparing the economy, population and area, perhaps only Albania can compete with Moldavia, but Moldova's influence is far less than that of Albania. After all, the Moldovan people are too honest.

As a traditional agricultural country with a weak industrial base, Moldavia is also a landlocked country, and has been hit by one negative buff after another. However, despite its size, and with the care of the Soviet family, Moldavia actually lived a pretty good life.

Because it is an agricultural country, the upper limit is not high, so it is easy to be satisfied.

After the Crimean observation group arrived in Kishinev, Haniyev was shocked by this unsophisticated capital, which did not show any signs of prosperity and its level of urbanization seemed to be comparable to that of Yalta.

After a one-day stay, the delegation, led by relevant leaders of the local government's Agricultural Committee, arrived at several farms near the capital for investigation. After seeing the farmers in each farm accustomed to industrialized operations, and seeing crops such as grapes, corn, beets, and sunflowers being planned on the land by personnel from each commune, and the fields being close to warehouses and management centers, many municipal party secretaries were amazed at the meticulous development of Moldova's agriculture.

Haniyev, who had no experience working in agriculture, did not understand, but after listening to the explanation of the leader of the Agricultural Committee, he realized that more than 80% of Moldavia's land is plain black soil. There are less than 3 million people in an area of ​​more than 30,000 square kilometers. The current situation of scarce resources and small population and large land area has allowed this small country to embark on the road of agricultural modernization with the help of the Soviet system. No wonder Moldavia can live a good life relying on agriculture alone.

Resource allocation was a basic operation under the Soviet system. Moldavia, which had no resources, enjoyed cheap oil resources for many years. Moldavia, which had no industry, used agricultural vehicles and equipment from the Soviet Union and East Germany. It only needed to play the role of an agricultural product exporter. For Moldavia, this was a complete win without effort and it was a case of being sponsored.

Of course, although they are all sponsored, due to different strategic needs, Moldavia is only slightly stronger than Mongolia, but still not as strong as North Korea and Cuba.

Chapter 106 Belarusian Dad

On the third day of arriving in the Republic of Moldova, the Crimean delegation went to the Moldavia-Ukraine Joint Commune, 50 miles south of the capital Kishinev, for an investigation and research.

This commune is a pilot project jointly funded by the Ukrainian Agricultural Committee and the Moldavian Agricultural Committee, specializing in the cultivation of high-quality sunflower seeds.

Every summer and autumn, this place would receive observation and research teams from various Soviet republics. Receiving research teams has become the commune’s top priority.

Therefore, the Republic of Moldova allocated funds specifically to build this place. All the houses in the commune are clean, the cement roads are wide, and there is a hotel on the commune street that can accommodate thousands of people.

After visiting the 100,000-acre sunflower experimental field, the Crimean delegation, led by the leaders of the Agricultural Committee, came to the restaurant of the reception hotel for dinner.

The restaurant's decoration style is very simple, but it offers a rich variety of food, as well as special red wine and grape juice. The taste of all kinds of food is also very good. The members of the Crimea observation group were all very satisfied with the meal.

While eating, Haniyev suddenly heard pure Russian, which was far more standard than the one spoken by the Moldavians.

He turned his head and saw more than 20 men eating not far away. They were talking while eating, and their voices could always be heard. There was Russian mixed with some Ukrainian.

Haniyev frowned slightly after hearing a few words and whispered, "It doesn't seem to be Ukrainian, it's Belarusian."

Magsim, the First Deputy Director of the Agricultural Committee, who was accompanying them, sat between Haniyev and Aksionov. He also heard the voices nearby and smiled, "Yes, Secretary Haniyev, they are an observation group just like you, but they are from Belarus."

There are some Belarusians in Kiev, and Haniyev also had Belarusian colleagues when he worked in Chernobyl. Ukrainian and Belarusian are very similar, so he has an inexplicable sense of closeness to Belarusians.

Haniyev looked at the Belarusian observation group not far away, his eyes fixed on the face of a young man with sparse brown hair and a thick mustache.

Although this man was very young, looking only in his thirties, his tall and strong figure, resolute expression, and familiar face made Haniyev immediately recognize that this man was the future Belarusian President Lukashenko.

“Is he Lukashenko?”

Magsim looked over upon hearing this, and instantly remembered the young man. He smiled and said, "Secretary Haniyev, do you know him? His name is Alexander Grigorievich Lukashenko, and he's the Party Secretary and Chairman of the Lenin Collective Farm in Belarus. This is a large collective farm, no less than our united commune, and its administrative level is not low either. I spoke with them when the Belarusian observation group came a few days ago. This Lukashenko is very proficient in agricultural work and is an expert."

Haniyev was a little surprised at first. He didn't expect that he would meet the future helmsman of Belarus by coincidence during his observation and research. He didn't have many memories of Lukashenko in his mind. He only knew that he was the longest-serving president of Belarus after the collapse of the Soviet Union. His experience and governing style were very similar to those of Russia's Putin the Great, and he was affectionately called "Dad" by the Belarusians.

Haniyev did not expect that Lukashenko was a few years older than him, and now Lukashenko is already the head of a collective farm in Belarus.

Generally speaking, collective farms in the Soviet system should be roughly equivalent to township-level units. However, since Belarus was able to organize Lukashenko to visit Moldavia for observation and research, his level cannot be just a small township head or secretary.

Haniyev knew that the Lenin collective farm managed by Lukashenko was probably a high-standard collective farm in Belarus, and its level was probably at the county or department level. Therefore, Lukashenko should be a county-level cadre in Belarus, which was the same level as when he was the mayor of Pripyat.

Being able to serve as the Party Secretary and Chairman of the Collective Farm in his thirties, Lukashenko is also a very capable person. Haniyev saw that Lukashenko did not participate in the conversation of his colleagues, but just ate silently and quickly, with a military style. His good impression of him immediately increased. Thinking that it was a good thing to invest in a president in advance, he stood up and walked over.

Lukashenko was drinking the last half bowl of borscht when he suddenly saw a figure approaching from the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw a handsome young man looking at him with a smile.

Lukashenko looked at his colleagues, who were also confused. Then he saw many people from the Ukrainian observation group not far away looking over here. He suddenly understood that this young man must be from the Ukrainian observation group.

So Lukashenko put down his cutlery, stood up and asked, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

Haniyev extended his hand and said, "I'm Viktor Vladimirevich Haniyev, the First Secretary of the City of Yalta, Ukraine. I've worked in the local government for many years. I've heard that you've made great achievements in agriculture and are a famous agricultural expert in Belarus. I'd like to make friends with you."

Belarus is adjacent to Ukraine, and Kiev is only more than 70 kilometers away from Belarus, so Belarus is well-informed about many news about Ukraine.

Lukashenko was also well aware of the Chernobyl nuclear leak incident that caused a stir in Ukraine and the entire Soviet Union last year. He naturally also knew the mayor of Pripyat, Haniyev, who stole the limelight in that incident.

Lukashenko first extended his hand to shake hands with Haniyev, and then whispered, "Nice to meet you, Secretary Haniyev. Were you the mayor of Pripyat last year?"

Haniyev nodded and said, "Yes, have you heard of me?"

Seeing Haniyev's admission, Lukashenko said with awe: "You are a brave and responsible Soviet soldier. I admire you very much. I didn't expect you to be so young!"

“You are also very young, Secretary Lukashenko.”

Haniyev smiled faintly and asked, "Would you like to be my friend?"

Lukashenko's eyes lit up and he said, "I couldn't be happier. I'm honored that you've heard of me."

Haniyev has never worked in agriculture and certainly hasn't heard of Lukashenko, but he is clearly not in a position to tell the truth.

"When I was in charge of Pripyat, I heard you were doing great work on the collective farm. My colleague Kartov is from Belarus, and he introduced me to outstanding young cadres in Belarus. He spoke highly of you, saying you were upright and courageous. So, I heard Director Magsim say you were on the Belarusian observation group, so I took the liberty to come and disturb you."

Haniyev spoke with certainty, as if it were true.

Lukashenko could hardly conceal his excitement. He silently thanked his fellow tribesman, Kartov, and once again tightened his grip on Haniyev's hand. He said in a deep voice, "Nice to meet you, Secretary Haniyev!"

Author's words: This book can only be read as a journal. The new book "Lord of Jerusalem" is being serialized. Please go and collect it for reading. Thank you!

Chapter 107 Best Friend

Haniyev, who is well-versed in later history, is very familiar with Lukashenko. There is some gap between their current identities and status, so with Haniyev's deliberate efforts to make friends with him, Lukashenko had a very pleasant conversation with him. By the afternoon, Lukashenko found that Haniyev, a leader who was a few years younger than himself, had clear ideas and outstanding abilities, and was not an ordinary person.

So he immediately asked Haniyev to have a drink with him. Although the Soviet Union was still enforcing prohibition at that time, this never troubled the Slavic people who loved drinking.

That night, Haniyev and Lukashenko drank Ukrainian vodka in the dormitory.

After a hangover, Haniyev and Lukashenko became close friends who could talk about anything.

From Lukashenko's perspective, Haniyev is young and promising, and he has the support of a vice-state-level leader like Sherbitsky. Even though this leader has stepped down, his power is still considerable. Haniyev's future is bound to be in the core of Ukraine, and his future can be said to be limitless.

However, Lukashenko himself does not have a marshal father, nor did he marry a marshal's daughter. He can only rely on himself. Therefore, he has just become the secretary of the commune at the age of 33, while Haniyev, who is six years younger than him, is already the top leader of Yalta, two levels higher than him.

Lukashenko was very grateful for Haniyev's kindness and friendship. He felt that he had met a soulmate and a noble person.

In the following days, the Ukrainian and Belarusian delegations visited some grape planting bases and oil crop plantations respectively under the arrangement of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Moldova.

At Haniyev's request, the Crimean observation group and the Belarusian observation group basically had the same itinerary. Haniyev also had meals and exchanges with Lukashenko every day. By the time the investigation ended a few days later, the two had formed a deep friendship.

The Belarusian research and observation group ended its trip two days earlier than the Crimea group, so before Lukashenko returned home, Haniyev took a day off and went to the Capital Airport to see Lukashenko off.

After the two embraced affectionately, Lukashenko held Haniyev's hand tightly and said, "Dear Secretary Haniyev, please make time to visit my farm and give me guidance. You know I will miss you very much when I return."

Haniyev laughed and nodded, "Don't worry, Alexander, we will meet again soon."

"Really? Well, I hope it's sooner rather than later. I'll make sure to get you drunk next time!"