Eagle, I don't want to form an alliance anymore.

In late April, Gorbachev said in a conversation between himself and Slava:

"Velikoslav, I see your agricultural informatization is quite good; the data from those pilot regions is impressive. Now it's time to expand the pilot program—where are the most important grain-producing regions in the entire Soviet Union?"

"Ukraine."

"Yes, Ukraine. Your next key task is to promote information technology and industry-academia collaboration in Ukraine."

This is a trap.

Ukraine means taking action against Sherbitsky.

Who is Shcherbitsky? He was the Dnieperanger who sat on the throne in Kiev for thirteen years, the absolute ruler of the republic with a population of fifty million, and the last dinosaur of the Brezhnev era!

Promoting informatization in Ukraine is tantamount to waging war against Sherbitsky—because information transparency is the last thing Sherbitsky can accept. His power is based on complete control over Ukrainian economic data and the appointment and removal of officials. Letting Moscow's computers see Kyiv's real figures is like digging a hole in his foundation.

Moreover, it's not just Sherbitsky; if Slava goes to war with the Dnieper in Ukraine, Kunayev in Kazakhstan and other local princes will feel threatened and will unite to resist any attempt by Moscow to extend its influence to the regions.

At that time, Slava will not be facing a Sherbitsky, but a group of Sherbitskys from the local constituent states!

What did Gorbachev mean by assigning this task to him?

The concept of using someone else to do one's dirty work.

Gorbachev wanted Slava and the local warlords to wear each other down, and then he would clean up the mess. Regardless of whether Slava won or lost, he would weaken his political capital in the central government in this war of attrition.

"it is good."

Slava knew that refusing this task was politically impossible; a Central Secretariat secretary in charge of agriculture who refused to promote his own reform program in the most important grain-producing areas would have his career over.

"I'll arrange it."

Gorbachev nodded: "Ukraine is a tough nut to crack in reforms, Comrade Ivanov. The Party and the people need you. Keep up the good work! Fight for the ideals of your mentor and for the cause of communism!"

He patted Slava on the shoulder, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He thought that by driving this dwarf out of the central government, he would have won the struggle.

He was too happy too soon.

...

When Slava walked out of the General Secretary's office, Director Nian was waiting for him in the corridor.

She seemed to glean something from his expression and asked directly:

"You've been demoted to Ukraine?"

"how do you know?"

"Your face screams 'I was thrown into the wolves.' There's only one place in the entire Soviet Union where you can make that expression."

Slava stood in the corridor for a while, looking at the Lenin statue in the distance that was illuminated by lights.

The mentor's gaze remained steadfast as he looked into the distance.

"Gorbachev sent me to fight Sherbitsky."

"I know, the question is, how do you plan to fight?"

"No matter how I fight, Gorbachev is the winner."

Director Nian shrugged:

"Then let him win."

The important thing is not who wins face, but who wins substance! You've made Ukraine's informatization so successful—regardless of whether Shcherbitsky was defeated by you or by Gorbachev through you, the Soviet granaries are now connected to your network.

Once this network is established, it will be your greatest political asset, and no one can take it away.

She turned and walked towards the end of the corridor, then turned back after a couple of steps and added:

"Back when Andropov sent you to the Far East to grow soybeans, you felt like you were being exiled, but what happened?"

As a result, he learned ten times more in the Far East than in Moscow.

Being thrown into a wolf pack is the only way to learn how to deal with wolves.

Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of good fortune. If moderate reformers like Slava can prove to the party that the Soviet Union can become strong without radical political reforms, then many conservatives will voluntarily crown Slava.

The one in danger then is Gomez.

Chapter 49 Patience requires an open mind and the ability to endure! (9.)

"When that little man left Moscow, none of us imagined he would become the future General Secretary. — Yegor Kuzmich Ligachev"

The day Slava left was a cloudy day in mid-April.

The birch trees in the Kremlin gardens were just sprouting new buds. The sky was overcast, like a worn-out bed sheet draped over the city, and the hourly chimes echoed muffledly in the damp air from the direction of Red Square in the distance.

Officially, he was going to Ukraine to supervise the development of agricultural informatization and the promotion of industry-academia collaboration.

As for his position as Secretary of the Central Secretariat for Agriculture, it will be temporarily handled by his deputy.

This can be considered a dignified demotion. The person hasn't been dismissed, but their work has already been taken over by someone else, just like Chernenko was sidelined by Gorbachev.

The longer Slava is away, the greater the chance that the acting agent will become the official one. Everyone knows that Gorbachev is trying to get rid of him, but so what?

There weren't many people who came to see him off on the platform of Moscow train station, but they were all important figures.

Ryzhkov, wearing an overcoat, stood beside a pillar on the platform. Ligachev walked over with his chest puffed out and shook hands with Slava. Ogarkov sent his adjutant with a short letter—the gist of which was to "keep in touch."

Ryzhkov shook hands with a little extra force. He wasn't good with words, but their friendship was unspoken.

“Ivanov, take care of yourself when you go to Ukraine,” Ryzhkov said. “Ukrainian vodka is stronger than Moscow’s, so don’t drink too much.”

"I don't drink strong liquor, you know, it's bad for your health."

“Then drink two glasses of mild wine for me—I’ve heard that Ukrainian wine is good, and I’ll definitely go to Ukraine to check it out when I have the chance.”

Ligachev's farewell was more concise. He patted Slava on the shoulder and said, "Ivanov, do your job well, and then come back. We're all waiting for you."

It sounded like he was sending a soldier to the front lines, rather than a demoted official.

Perhaps in Ligachev's Siberian mindset, there is no essential difference between the two; those sent to tackle the tough challenges are not losers, but rather the chosen ones.

When the heavens will entrust the people with great responsibilities, they must first suffer their minds and wills, labor their muscles and bones, starve their bodies and skin, empty their bodies, and disturb their actions.

Slava stood on the platform looking at the people who had come to see him off, and suddenly a surge of heat welled up in his chest.

Three years ago, when Andropov pulled him out of Lubyanka's interrogation room, he was accompanied only by Director Nian.

Now, as Gorbachev has taken him away from Moscow, he is surrounded by many figures from the highest echelons of Soviet power, including representatives of the Premier, the Second Secretary, and the Chief of the General Staff...

He took a deep breath and smiled.

"Comrades, don't worry about me."

As he spoke, he stood on tiptoe and patted Ryzhkov on the shoulder.

Slava was only 1.65 meters tall, while Ryzhkov was more than 20 centimeters taller than him, so he had to stand on tiptoe to reach him.

This scene made everyone present burst into laughter:

A short man tiptoes to pat a strong Siberian man on the shoulder—this is the epitome of Slava himself—always striving to reach what is just out of reach.

"Patience is not admitting defeat!" he told everyone.

"Patience means having a positive outlook and being able to endure! I, Ivanov, will return!"

Director Nian stood at the back of the crowd and did not come forward to say goodbye.

She was wearing a dark suit today, her hair was pulled back, and she was still wearing sunglasses. She didn't need to show anything in front of others, because they had already said everything that needed to be said last night in the apartment, including those things that couldn't be said in public.

"Woo-woo—" The station whistle blew, and the platform attendant waved to Slava.

"Comrade Ivanov! It's time to get on the train!" "Alright! Comrades, I'll go first!"

Slava boarded the train with his luggage and saluted his comrades on the platform.

After the train started moving, Slava saw through the window that the crowd on the platform was slowly retreating. The young woman's silver hair stood out against the gray crowd; she raised her hand and gestured for him to go.

Everyone else waved goodbye, but she urged him to leave quickly!

This action is very youthful.

In his suitcase, besides a change of clothes and a few work documents, there was one more thing—a letter, in an unsigned envelope, which Director Nian had given to him before his departure.

"Romanov asked me to bring this to you."

The letter was short and not handwritten, but typed—perhaps because Romanov was an engineer from Leningrad. The letter did not address any specific political issues.

“Ivanov, if you need any help in Ukraine, you can contact me.”

Slava carefully folded the letter and put it into her inner pocket.

In the power game within the Kremlin, every card is worth keeping, even if he doesn't intend to use it for the time being.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After Slava left, the game in Moscow continued, only now it was played by someone who wasn't on the board but was still making moves.

While dismissing Slava, Gorbachev promoted Nyepi in an effort to appease the moderate reformists within the party.

Nadezhda Ivanovna Ivanova (Надежда Ивановна Иванова), this is the name of the young director in the KGB archives.

Just as Velikoslav means "great glory" in Russian, the director's name also carries great significance.

Nadezhda means "hope" in Russian.

In formal settings, she is usually referred to as "Nadezhda Ivanovna" or "Comrade Ivanova," while in private and intimate settings, she is called "Nadya" (Надя) as a nickname, just as Velikoslav's nickname is Slava.

PS: When I designed this name, "Na-dya" and "Nian-dao" echo each other in pronunciation. Na-dya and Nian-dao have similar syllable structures, both are two syllables, both start with the N sound, and both have the d consonant in the second syllable. It's a little trick of mine.

On April 20, Nian Dao was officially transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he assumed a vice-ministerial position and was also added as a member of the Central Committee.

Her new title is "Vice Minister of International Cooperation Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," a position that sounds grand but whose actual authority is vague, falling precisely in the gray area where she can participate in many things but is not officially responsible for many things.

Gorbachev's move was calculated.

In his view, the foundation of the young director was extremely shallow - she was not from the Party School, had no experience in local governance, and her connections within the Soviet system were entirely dependent on Slava and the deceased Andropov!

Placing her in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs could serve as a carrot to appease moderate reformers, and she could also be used to counterbalance Gromyko's absolute influence in the diplomatic system. At the same time, if she left the agricultural sector, she would no longer be able to directly cooperate with Slava's operations in Moscow.

In his view, Director Nian was a pawn that could be easily manipulated.

What he didn't know was that this chess piece had a way of being played that he had never seen before.

...

On the very day she took up her new post, the director did one thing—she called allies such as Ligachev, Ryzhkov, and Ogarkov one by one.

The phone call was brief: Although Slava went to Ukraine, the base of moderate reformists remained unchanged, the IT projects that needed to be continued would continue, the five-year plan budget that needed to be followed would continue to be followed, and the positions that needed to be expressed at the Politburo meeting would continue to be expressed.

“Don’t panic, everyone,” she told Ligachev on the phone, her calm tone revealing her composure. “Ivanov’s trip to Ukraine wasn’t an exile; he’s going to expand our territory. We just need to take good care of our home in Moscow.”

Ligachev paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said:

"Comrade Ivanova, you seem to be quite something."

"Save those words for when you want to praise me later; now is not the time."

Ryzhkov's assessment of the young director was even more direct. In a private conversation with Ligachev, he said:

“This woman has a knack for making you feel like everything is still under control after you’ve finished talking to her. I don’t know how she does it, but we need this kind of person who can handle pressure.”

Two weeks later, the unrest among the moderate reformists within the CPSU after Slava was sent away was quickly quelled under the coordination of the leader.

In late April, the Central Committee plenary session was held in the Kremlin.

This was the first truly policy-oriented plenary session since Gorbachev came to power, with all the Central Committee members of the Soviet Union gathered to hear the new General Secretary's policy program.

Gorbachev delivered a speech at the plenary session—the core concept of which was "accelerated development" (ускорение).

In his speech, he cited the conclusions of research reports submitted by economists and sociologists during the Andropov era, especially the key judgments in the famous "Novosibirsk Declaration":

There was a significant lag between the development of the relations of production and the development of the productive forces in Soviet society, and in economic management, administrative methods outweighed economic methods, and centralized methods outweighed decentralized methods!

Over the past decade or so, the Soviet Union’s economic growth rate has declined significantly, industrial development has become increasingly unbalanced, and shortages of consumer goods have caused workers to lose interest in the fruits of their labor.

Despite huge capital investment, the fixed assets in production are aging rapidly, and the introduction of new technologies is seriously lagging behind!

Every committee member sitting in the hall was well aware of these issues, but hearing the General Secretary publicly acknowledge them at the plenary session still sent a chill down many people's spines.

Gorbachev's proposed plan was to prioritize the development of mechanical engineering—in the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, the growth rate of the mechanical engineering sector would be increased by one and a half to two times, driving the modernization of the entire economy through equipment upgrades.

His goals were so ambitious that it was hard to know whether to feel excited or terrified:

By 2000, we will catch up with the United States in industrial production!