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

Where is Ivanov?

No one answered.

Gorbachev stood at the door, waiting for an answer that would never come.

Where is the person who truly defeated him now? Gorbachev couldn't understand, and he would never have the chance to understand.

“Come on, Mikhail Sergeyevich.” The guard behind him pushed him out of the room.

The door closed behind him.

Chapter 67 The New Order (End of Volume One)

April 29th, 4 PM.

Ligachev submitted the statement signed by Gorbachev to the Central Committee plenary session, and the session began to deliberate on it.

The hundreds of Central Committee members at the meeting remained largely calm. Many of them had only learned what had happened that morning. Faced with the established facts of the military's public stance, the control of communications, and the formation of a new power structure, the vast majority chose to go with the flow.

Gorbachev's personally signed statement of resignation gave all those who were still hesitant a way out:

Since the General Secretary himself has "requested retirement," approving this request is a perfectly normal and procedural matter.

At 4:30 p.m., the plenary session approved Gorbachev's request for retirement.

At this very plenary session, Foreign Minister Shevardnadze also requested retirement. This Georgian was one of Gorbachev's most important allies, and after Gorbachev's downfall and the reversal of the entire power structure, Shevardnadze was well aware of his predicament—

He had neither the means to resist nor the possibility of turning the tables.

Besides, being the foreign minister wasn't exactly comfortable for me. I don't speak a single foreign language, I have no diplomatic experience whatsoever, and I rely entirely on Ivanova's wheelchair for travel and visits. There's no point in me clinging to the position of foreign minister.

It would be better to do a favor and make room for someone truly capable. I don't aspire to an official position; I just want to retire peacefully and enjoy the benefits of a cadre.

Better than Comrade Gorbachev, whose fate remains unknown and has yet to appear in the public eye?

His fate is unknown, but he is most likely dead.

The plenary session quickly approved Shevardnadze's retirement. Then, naturally, Gromyko, a veteran of over thirty years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proposed that the young leader become the new Minister of Foreign Affairs.

"...I propose that Nadezhda Ivanovna Ivanova be appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs."

People turned their attention to the silver-haired woman who always wore sunglasses—the woman who had effectively dominated Soviet diplomacy over the past year.

The congress quickly approved the nomination. Furthermore, she was promoted to alternate member of the Politburo, officially transforming from a behind-the-scenes advisor into the Minister of Foreign Affairs, thus completing her career transition.

The plenary session also made several important decisions.

The first measure was to reinstate Velikoslav Ivanovich Ivanov to his status as an alternate member of the Politburo and to remove him from all previously suspended posts, and to withdraw the Ministry of Internal Affairs' investigation into Slava's files.

The political persecution orchestrated by Gorbachev and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which resulted in Slava's exile to the Ural Mountains, has finally been officially overthrown!

Slava's "innocence" has now been confirmed by the Central Committee plenary session in the form of a formal resolution—although every moderate reformist core member present knew perfectly well that the so-called archives issue was never something that could be simply summarized as whether or not one was innocent.

This is a catch-all charge! And it's the kind of catch-all charge with the worst excuse!

Regardless of the truth, even if Slava was actually a spy sent by the underground reptilians, history will only be written this way:

Ivanov was a good comrade who was loyal to the Party and the people and to the cause of communism. The accusations he was subjected to were a despicable and malicious frame-up by Gorbachev's side!

Following this was an attempt to appease the military, with the Central Committee rescinding a large number of punishments imposed on the military in connection with the Rust incident. Those generals who had been purged, punished, or dismissed by Gorbachev under the guise of the Rust incident—especially the military reformists within Ogarkov's inner circle—had their punishments wiped clean and were reinstated.

The moderate reformers were well aware that the support of the military was a decisive factor in their ability to successfully complete this power transition.

It was the military reformists led by Ogarkov who stood by their side at the most critical moment, and it was the tanks of the Taman and Kantemir divisions that drove into Moscow on a rainy night!

If the military cannot be properly appeased and those purged by Gorbachev cannot be given an explanation, then this newly formed power structure will lose its most important pillar.

But at the same time, everyone knew one thing:

This time, the military's involvement in politics for the sake of the nation's future has opened Pandora's box. How to return the military to its barracks afterward and how to prevent military interference in politics from becoming a dangerous practice will be the most intractable problems the new regime must face.

After all, if the military can help moderate reformers overthrow Gorbachev today, what about tomorrow? The problems of the Soviet military-industrial complex still exist; the military's power is immense, and the military's loyalty to the party and the state remains a problem. These issues need to be addressed!

To whom should the army pledge allegiance? Should it shout "Long live the Soviet Union," or "Long live the Communist Party of the whole Union," or "Long live Ivanov"?

These issues remain unresolved, and the civilian government and the military will inevitably clash over them again, perhaps even resulting in bloodshed.

But Slava has the determination to shed blood and the will to defend his reform goals!

He's not afraid of fighting at all; he gets excited at the mere mention of war! What's a little bloodshed? It's just that the political struggle between the civilian government and the military has intensified, resulting in the dismissal of a few ministers and generals!

The August 819th incident was a real battle; both sides had tens of thousands of troops, guns, and cannons, and I heard that tanks even bombarded the White House.

There are never permanent allies in the Kremlin.

But that's for later; right now, the priority is to reassure the army and stabilize this most important ally.

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 the plenary session, Ligachev, in his capacity as acting General Secretary, announced the next steps:

The Politburo will be reorganized in a month to fill the vacant positions.

The Politburo originally had 11 members:

Gorbachev—the General Secretary, who has retired due to illness, is currently in a state of uncertainty, possibly being sent for injections and treatment, and I've heard there's even a special timed wake-up service for him.

Aliyev – an Azerbaijani native and deputy prime minister, who has remained neutral since Gorbachev's departure;

Vorotnikov, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Federation, is reportedly about to be replaced.

Gromyko—Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, but recently his health has been poor;

Zaykov – Secretary of the Secretariat, in charge of the defense industry, has now declared his allegiance to the reformists;

Ligachev – Second Secretary;

Ryzhkov – Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister);

Solomentsev – Chairman of the Central Control Commission of the Communist Party of China;

Chebrikov – Chairman of the KGB;

Shevardnadze – the former foreign minister, has now resigned, and the position is currently vacant;

Shcherbitsky, the former First Secretary of Ukraine, was ousted by Gorbachev last year, and the position is currently vacant.

As for the alternates, the previous seven alternate members were: Demitchev, Dolgikh in charge of heavy industry, Defense Minister Sokolov, Chairman of the State Planning Committee Talyzin, and Leningrad First Secretary Solovyov.

As for Yeltsin and Yakovlev, who were also alternate members of the Moscow City Committee, their fates are currently unknown.

Nian Dao and Slava replaced these two as alternate members.

According to the plan, Politburo alternate member and Leningrad First Secretary Solovyov will replace Shevardnadze in the vacant position.

As for the position of First Secretary of Leningrad, Romanov will be reinstated!

Yes, after being ousted by Gorbachev, Comrade Romanov was able to think things through and persevere. He had previously pledged his loyalty when the Ukrainian nuclear issue was being handled by the leader, and now the reward for his loyalty is winning the revival round!

This former Leningrad Party Secretary, who also "retired for health reasons" in his quiet apartment on the western outskirts of Moscow, will return to Leningrad, where he once governed for many years, to once again take charge of the Soviet Union's second-largest city.

Romanov was young and strong, and after a year of rest, he "regained his health" and was ready to take on important responsibilities.

In the Politburo reorganization a month later, a new General Secretary will be elected by the Supreme Politburo.

Ligachev is currently acting General Secretary. Everyone understands that this acting position is a transitional one—the real leader of the country, chosen by this moderate reformist faction, will officially take the stage in a reorganization a month from now.

Everyone present knew who that person was.

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 the internal procedures for the transfer of power are completed, the next step is to issue an external notification.

Ligachev first informed the leaders of the Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states about the matter—as is customary, an internal party notification was given first, followed by an official formal notification.

Honecker of East Germany, Jaruzelski of Poland, Kádár of Hungary, Zhivkov of Bulgaria, Husak of Czechoslovakia, Ceaușescu of Romania... these leaders of the Eastern Bloc received notifications from Moscow through their respective channels:

Gorbachev retired due to health reasons, and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is undergoing leadership adjustments. The Soviet Union's policy toward its fraternal countries remains stable and consistent.

This announcement was particularly important because, before his downfall, Gorbachev was desperately trying to win over these Eastern European leaders to endorse his power struggle.

Honecker was deeply suspicious because Gorbachev had been talking to him until his last moments before his downfall, and he worried that the reformists in Moscow distrusted him and would use this as a pretext to take action against him. Several other Eastern European leaders shared similar doubts about this nascent political group.

But Ligachev was prepared for this.

Ligachev himself had always had a good relationship with the conservative leaders in Eastern Europe, and the core message conveyed in the report—that Soviet economic and military support for Eastern Europe would not change—was reassuring to these countries.

The economies of Eastern European countries were largely dependent on Soviet energy and trade, and their security depended on the protection of the Warsaw Pact. Faced with the promise that the new regime would continue to support them, the vast majority of Eastern European leaders would have no incentive to question the power transition in Moscow.

After all, for them, who became the General Secretary of the Soviet Union was not the most important thing—the most important thing was whether the Soviet Union would continue to provide them with oil, natural gas, and military protection!

Following the internal party notification, there was an official external announcement—to Western Europe, the United States, and China.

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.

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, midnight

As the Central Committee plenary session in Moscow had just concluded and a series of briefings were being issued, it was midnight in Washington.

The Soviet Embassy in Washington suddenly sent a notification to the United States.

The report is divided into two parts:

The first part concerns the nuclear weapons command chain—the Soviet Union assured the United States through diplomatic channels that the Soviet nuclear weapons command system was stable, under complete control, and free from any anomalies or dangers.

When a superpower undergoes a change of regime, the Western world's biggest fear is the loss of control over nuclear weapons. In the chaos of the power transition, if the Soviet Union's nuclear command chain were to experience even a momentary vacuum or uncertainty, the United States would immediately go on high alert, and the entire world would be pushed to the brink of nuclear war.

The second part is the official announcement by TASS regarding Gorbachev and others "requesting retirement due to health reasons".

Thus, this power transition, completed overnight in Moscow, was officially presented to the world.

...

Ronald Reagan is currently fast asleep in his bedroom at the White House.

First Lady Nancy was beside him, and the two were fast asleep in the middle of the night. The 76-year-old US president, as usual, went to bed early after finishing his day's work.

"Ding Ding Ding-"

Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table rang urgently.

Reagan was jolted awake from his sleep. He groggily picked up the phone—on the other end was his Secretary of State, George Shultz.

"Mr. President, I am very sorry to bother you at this time. But something terrible has happened—the Soviet Union has collapsed!"

"?"

Reagan rubbed his eyes, still not completely awake. He was always a man with a sense of humor, even when woken up in the middle of the night.

"What happened?" he asked, half-jokingly. "Could it be that the Soviets suddenly announced they don't want to form an alliance anymore?"

Actually, the Soviet Union didn't want the Americans to form an alliance.

There was a second of silence on the other end of the phone. Then Schultz answered, his voice heavy with seriousness:

"Mr. President, this is worse than that. Gorbachev was ousted in a coup, and Ivanov will become the new General Secretary."

"Huh?" Reagan's sleepiness vanished in that instant.

He sat up abruptly, waking his wife Nancy. She looked at her husband's serious expression and waited quietly.

“Ivanov? Are you sure?!” Reagan knew that name all too well.

“My God… please bless America…” Reagan murmured.

This is the worst possible outcome.

In recent years, his name has appeared more and more frequently in briefings sent to him by the CIA and the State Department.

The man who promoted informatization and economic reforms in Ukraine and the Far East, driving a series of initiatives that revitalized the Soviet economy; the man who, around the time of the Reykjavik Summit, made the Soviet delegation's stance exceptionally unified and hardline; the man whom American analysts described as "more pragmatic, more difficult to deal with, and more threatening to the United States than Gorbachev."

Although Gorbachev was the leader of the Soviet Union, Reagan and his team gradually figured out his methods over the past few years.

This is someone who wants reform, wants to ease tensions, and even, to some extent, wants to integrate into the Western system.

Gorbachev's openness and new thinking were seen by the United States as signs of the Soviet system loosening and weakening.

Strategically speaking, a Soviet leader who advocated openness and democratization and exposed his country's historical wounds one by one was advantageous to the United States!

But Ivanov was different.

This man doesn't engage in empty talk. He's involved in real economic reforms, technological revolutions, and information technology development. He's getting the old Soviet machine running efficiently again.

A Soviet Union that has regained its economic strength, caught up technologically, and avoided the political chaos of Gorbachev's self-doubting regime—

That was America's real nightmare.

Reagan knew the state of the United States: severe economic inflation. His pressure tactics wouldn't last long. He had bet that the Soviet Union would collapse before the US, and now...