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

The news coming from Almaty was getting worse and worse. The crackdown in the streets had already caused deaths and injuries. The truck evacuation operation was stopped by a man who suddenly appeared on the scene. That man was Ivanov, and with him was Chairman of the Council of Ministers Ryzhkov.

To make matters worse, KGB Chairman Chebrikov was on his way from Lubyanka to the Kremlin, while Slava and Ryzhkov had already boarded a plane back to Moscow.

The coup attempt has begun.

Gorbachev sat in the General Secretary's office, his forehead rubbed, with a report on the situation in Kazakhstan spread out in front of him, pondering his own predicament.

He is an extremely shrewd man of power, a skill that helped him rise to the position of General Secretary amidst the chaos following the deaths of Andropov and Chernenko.

Now, he must do everything he can to save himself, lest he be ousted at the plenary session in January, which is just two weeks away!

The moderate reformists have secured half of the votes in the Politburo:

Ligachev – Second Secretary, General Manager of Party Affairs, in charge of personnel matters;

Ryzhkov – Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Head of Government;

Gromyko – Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, veteran of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Chebrikov – Chairman of the KGB;

Solomentsev—Chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of China, a veteran of the Andropov era, now supports Ivanov;

And then there's Kunayev. Although he was in an awkward position because of the Almaty incident, if the moderate reformers protect him, he will surely be grateful and side with Ivanov!

The Politburo only has 11 members! The enemy has already gained more than half of them!

"Damn it... why can't you just die with Andropov?"

The man who stole the show on the streets of Almaty—Velikoslav Ivanovich Ivanov—was nominally only the director of the State Economic and Information Commission; he wasn't even a member of the Politburo!

How on earth did he manage to get so many people on his side? He's only been in party affairs for a few years! In terms of seniority and background, in what way am I inferior to him?!

Although Ivanov had been replaced by Zaykov in charge of the military industry, the military reformists within the Ministry of Defense remained firmly behind Ivanov.

And on his own side? Shevardnadze—a puppet foreign minister, but in reality, he had been largely sidelined in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by that silver-haired freak;

Aliyev—an Azerbaijani, the deputy prime minister, is considered one of his men;

Vorotnikov—Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation—to whom he had been instrumental in his rise to prominence;

Zaykov—he was just promoted to oversee the military industry, so he's a fairly reliable vote.

Yes, Yakovlev—his most important ally, but at this point he was only an alternate member and had no voting rights in the Politburo.

We need to find a way to increase our supporters in the Politburo.

After all, it was Gorbachev who insisted on sending Corbin to Kazakhstan, and it was his decision that directly ignited the riots. It was the decision-making circle around him that bypassed the usual procedures and caused this tragic repression!

If the moderate reformists use the Almaty issue as a pretext to launch an attack—and Slava is already on his way, proposing a vote of no confidence at the upcoming January 1987 plenary session in two weeks—Gorbachev might very well repeat Khrushchev's mistakes.

He was legally removed from the position of General Secretary by his own people using the procedures outlined in the Party Constitution!

That's how Khrushchev stepped down in 1964. The reason given by Brezhnev and his ilk was "subjectivism and voluntarism."

He picked up the phone.

"Convene an emergency meeting of the Politburo now."

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.

An emergency meeting of the Politburo was held in the early hours of December 19.

With the exception of Ryzhkov, who was still on the plane, almost all the Politburo members in Moscow were present. The atmosphere in the meeting room was tense from the start; the blood in Almaty was still fresh, and this meeting would decide who would be held responsible for that bloodshed.

The first to launch an attack was Second Secretary Ligachev.

This Siberian has always been known for his party principles and tough style, and tonight he directed all his toughness at Gorbachev and the absent Yakovlev.

Ligachev's voice echoed in the conference room: "What happened in Almaty was a disaster!"

This disaster could have been avoided by sending Corbin to Kazakhstan—a foreign cadre who couldn't speak Kazakh, had never worked there before, and whose appointment was made without consulting the local party organization at all!

This practice violates the fundamental principles of our Party's policy on ethnic minority cadres that have been in place for decades!

He paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the conference room.

"There's also the issue of openness—how many times have I warned? Openness is getting out of control!"

From the "Confession" to the complete denial of history in newspapers, and now to the street riots in Kazakhstan, we are opening floodgates that we cannot control!

What is Comrade Yakovlev's propaganda department doing? He is condoning, and even encouraging, an atmosphere of negating and doubting everything!

This atmosphere, when combined with national sentiment, becomes Almaty!

Today we're in Almaty, but where will we be tomorrow? The Baltic Sea? The Caucasus? Ukraine?

In the meeting room, the committee members who supported moderate reformers echoed their sentiments. Chebrikov added, from the KGB's perspective, concerns about the potential for loss of control due to openness; Solomyantsev criticized the personnel decisions from the perspective of party discipline; and Gromyko questioned the political choice of "making such a sensitive personnel adjustment without adequate preparation."

Gorbachev felt unprecedented pressure.

He knew that the real target of these attacks was him; the moderate reformers were using Almaty as leverage to weaken his authority, preparing for a larger objective.

January 1987 plenary session.

Gorbachev must make concessions. He cannot confront the entire moderate reformist faction head-on at this time. He is already in the minority in the Politburo, and if the conflict is escalated tonight, they may very well launch an attack on him on the spot.

He chose to be patient; after all, patience wasn't admitting defeat. He waited until he was fully prepared... waited until...

"I fully accept the criticisms from my comrades," Gorbachev said, his tone becoming very sincere. "The events in Almaty have indeed exposed serious problems in our work. I propose—"

He made his first concession: "Replace Comrade Corbin. Given that he is indeed unfamiliar with the situation in Kazakhstan, I suggest that Comrade Kunayev remain as First Secretary for the time being, until we find a more suitable candidate who can be accepted by the local community."

The atmosphere in the meeting room eased a little, but not enough.

Ligachev pressed on: "Then how should this incident be characterized? I strongly object to characterizing it as 'an expression of Kazakh nationalism'."

This is a personnel policy mistake by our Party! If we shift the blame to the Kazakh people, it would be tantamount to finding an excuse for a larger-scale purge in the future, and it would also be tantamount to declaring to all ethnic minorities that their discontent is nationalism.

This will push the entire non-Russian nation to the opposite side!

These remarks displeased Vorotnikov, the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation. Although the Soviet Union was an alliance, it was clear that Russia held a dominant position, and the Russification policies implemented in other ethnic border regions were all at his behest.

Gorbachev conceded again: "Okay, this incident will be characterized as a mistake by the Party in the appointment of cadres, and will not be elevated to the level of a national issue."

This was a major concession; Gorbachev publicly acknowledged that his decisions led to this disaster.

However, the discontent of moderate reformers did not subside because of these two concessions.

The atmosphere in the meeting room remained tense. Ligachev, Gromyko, Chebrikov, and Solomyantsev all wore expressions that Gorbachev could easily understand:

They smelled blood; they knew Gorbachev was weak at this moment; what they wanted was not just two policy concessions, but a substantial change in the power structure!

Gorbachev must give them a bigger piece of meat in exchange for peace that night.

He quickly weighed the options in his mind—what concessions could satisfy the moderate reformers without immediately jeopardizing his position as General Secretary?

Then he thought of Ivanov.

“Regarding Comrade Ivanov,” Gorbachev said slowly, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.

"Comrade Ivanov's sense of responsibility and ability to handle the Almaty incident are evident to all comrades. His achievements in grassroots work and his contributions to information technology development are also recognized by the entire Party. I propose—"

Comrade Velikoslav Ivanovich Ivanov was appointed as an alternate member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

Ligachev, Gromyko, and Chebrikov exchanged glances; they had gotten one of the things they wanted.

Slava's entry into the Politburo, even as an alternate member, means that the moderate reformists have gained another voice at the highest decision-making level, thus giving them more strength at the plenary session in January, just two weeks later.

As of now, moderate reformists still hope to oust Gorbachev through proper procedures. Although Slava had previously reached a secret agreement with Ligachev, Ryzhkov, and others, none of them opposed the eventual use of violence, but their stance was to strive for peace whenever possible.

Besides, Slava is still on the plane. We can ask him what he thinks later, since their plan to nominate Slava as General Secretary at the January plenary session is based on the premise that Slava must at least be an alternate member.

The proposal passed at lightning speed, and tonight's crisis is over.

Gorbachev leaned back in his chair, having gained a moment of peace through a desperate concession. He remained silent, watching the red star of the Kremlin glow dark red against the snowy backdrop of the winter night.

This was only a temporary calm; the real battle would take place at the plenary session in January 1987.

In that decisive battle, he was already at a disadvantage.

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.

Slava's plane landed in Moscow on the morning of the 19th.

He learned the results of the Politburo meeting the previous night from Ligachev, who had come to pick him up, as he walked out of the airport.

"...Corbin was removed, Kunayev remained in office. The incident was ultimately determined to be a personnel error, not a nationalist issue," Ligachev said in a low voice as he walked. "Also—you've been added as an alternate member of the Politburo."

Slava paused for a moment: "Alternate member?"

“Gorbachev himself proposed it at last night’s meeting.” Ligachev glanced at Slava. “Do you know what that means?”

Slava certainly knew that last night the moderate reformers must have seized on Almaty's weakness to pressure Gorbachev into making concessions, and that in order to quell the crisis that night, Gorbachev was forced to push Slava into the Politburo.

Slava also realized the deeper meaning of this matter.

“Yegor Kuzmich,” Slava stopped and looked at Ligachev, feigning ignorance, “what is our real purpose in pushing me into the Politburo?”

Ligachev did not shy away from the question: "At the plenary session in January 1987, we wanted you to lead the country."

Slava nodded; he and Ligachev both knew the answer.

Under the procedures outlined in the Party Constitution, if a majority of the Politburo loses confidence in the General Secretary, they can propose a re-election at a Central Committee plenary session—just as they did with Khrushchev in 1964.

They could "promote" Gorbachev to a nominal position, such as replacing Gromyko as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, forcing Gromyko to retire, or simply removing him from the position of General Secretary.

This is the most legitimate and least obstructive way to transfer power within the system.

Slava said slowly, "Gorbachev pushed me into the Politburo last night. He's bound to cause trouble during this time. He certainly won't just watch himself get kicked out."

Ligachev's tone was tinged with coldness: "We also need to prepare for the worst. From today until the plenary session in January, he will definitely try his best to turn the tide. He will stop at nothing—I suggest you go to the Ministry of Defense to ask about the situation."

Slava nodded.

Gorbachev is not Khrushchev. Khrushchev was ousted in a surprise attack by the Politburo while on vacation, completely unprepared. Gorbachev, however, clearly sees the threat and has more than a month to prepare his counterattack.

What would a General Secretary, shrewd enough to calculate power, do when cornered?

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.

Slava's judgment was quickly confirmed.

To reverse the situation at the January plenary session, Gorbachev needs to garner more support at the Central Committee level—because the final decision on whether the General Secretary stays or leaves depends not only on the 11 members of the Politburo, but also on the attitudes of the hundreds of members of the Central Committee.

Under the procedures outlined in the Party Constitution, if there is a split within the Politburo, the vote at the Central Committee plenary session becomes the decisive factor!

A significant portion of the Central Committee consists of party secretaries from various constituent republics and regions.

Gorbachev began to take stock of the local forces he could win over.

Although Serbitsky retired gracefully under Slava's leadership, the new secretary who succeeded him is deeply intertwined with Slava's information system, and Ukraine as a whole is leaning towards moderate reformers.

Kazakhstan's Kunayev was spared by the moderate reformists, and he must be grateful to Slavana. The whole of Central Asia was filled with resentment towards Gorbachev after the Almaty incident.

Uzbekistan? Don't be silly, Slava laughed.

Far East Slava's promotion of information technology and industry-academia collaboration there has won him the favor of Far East cadres and workers, and Far East will almost certainly side with Slava.

After careful consideration, Gorbachev realized that the only region he could be sure of supporting was the Caucasus. Azerbaijan's Prime Minister Aliyev was one of his men, and Georgia was also a half-supporter because of Shevardnadze, but the Caucasus alone was far from enough.

He needs new sources of support.

Gorbachev then turned his attention to Eastern Europe.

Although the member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and the Warsaw Pact—East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and other socialist countries—were not in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, their leaders wielded significant influence over the political direction of Moscow and could provide Gorbachev with international endorsement in terms of ideology and propaganda.

More importantly, Gorbachev held a card that he could use to coerce these Eastern European countries: economic and military support.

The economies of Eastern European countries were largely dependent on Soviet energy supplies and trade arrangements, and their security depended on the military protection of the Warsaw Pact. Gorbachev could send a message to the leaders of these countries:

“Support my reform path and you will continue to receive Soviet economic and military support; if you do not support me, then this support may have to be reconsidered.”

This is the threat, but it is effective. If the leaders of the entire socialist camp openly support his new thinking and reconstruction path, then the moderate reformers at home will face much greater political resistance in ousting him at the January plenary session.

After all, without the support of the leaders of the Warsaw Pact and other member states of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, it won't be easy for Slava to hold onto the position of General Secretary!

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.

Slava is now preparing for the worst. If the moderate reformists lose at the January plenary session, it's hard to say what Gorbachev might do in desperation.

In late December, Slava arrived at the Ministry of Defense.

The person he wanted to meet was Ogarkov, the Chief of the General Staff who, under Ogarkov's patronage, effectively controlled the military reforms within the Ministry of Defense. Following the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the reformist faction within the military, led by Ogarkov, had become incredibly powerful, and Defense Minister Sokolov, while nominally still in office, had effectively been sidelined.

But the Soviet military wasn't just the General Staff; the Ministry of Defense also had other members, so he had to ask Ogarkov about the military's final choice.