Chapter 378
I remember there was a saying in my previous life that a nail hidden in a sack will always pop out.
Thinking about it now, what he said really made sense. As the catastrophic war faded away, batches of old men were gradually withdrawing from the power core of Moscow, while some people who seemed familiar in the previous life were emerging one by one and taking key positions.
For example, take Shelepin. Although Yuri was not very familiar with , he had heard of this person's name. It was for this reason that when he accidentally saw this name in a document, he directly transferred him to work with him.
Facts have proved that Comrade Alexander Nikolayevich is indeed a very good member of the Bolshevik Party. He is energetic, responsible in his work, and has a strong sense of justice. In the process of examining cadres, he has always strived to respect facts. He neither favors certain people nor indulges certain people. This makes Yuri very relieved.
Since taking over the work of the Central Control Commission, Yuri has been under great pressure. This is an era of increasingly intense power struggles, and the Central Control Commission is the best tool for power struggles. Everyone wants to use it, including Comrade Stalin.
If Yuri was a person who was happy to go with the flow and had no memory of his past life, then his role would not be difficult to play. He just had to follow Comrade Stalin's footsteps closely, fight wherever he pointed, and kill whoever he said to kill. That would be enough.
But the problem is that Yuri doesn't want to do that, nor does he dare to do that, because he knows very well that Comrade Stalin will not be around for a few more years. After his death, regardless of whether the trajectory of history has changed, a wave of purges is inevitable. The more blood on his hands now, the more severe the purges in the future will be.
In addition, Yuri could not convince his own heart to let things go on certain issues. In this respect, Shelepin helped him a lot. This relatively young guy had a strong sense of justice and was full of contempt for the so-called "anti-cosmopolitan" movement. At the same time, he did not quite agree with some of the practices of the State Security Committee.
It is precisely because of Shelepin's involvement in the relevant work that many seemingly true cases have been resolved and have not entered the formal investigation process. Of course, it is also because of this that some noise has emerged, saying that Shelepin is incompetent and even that he sympathizes with those conspirators.
However, Yuri is now a top figure in the core of power in Moscow. He is capable of blocking some of the open and secret arrows shot at his subordinates. With him blocking in front, it is not easy for others to touch Shelepin except Comrade Stalin.
Plotnikov Lane, No. 11, is the current headquarters . This place was later converted into the Foreign Policy Archives of the Russian Federation, but that was after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Although the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has great powers, the scale of its headquarters is not as large and bloated as people imagine. This is mainly because it is not responsible for matters such as arrest and investigation, but is mainly responsible for clerical work such as review .
Yuri's office is on the third floor of the headquarters building, in the easternmost room. The room is not very big and the furnishings are very simple. There is not even a decent sofa. He never receives guests in this office. Of course, no one would come here to visit him easily.
After leaving the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition Hall, Yuri first went to the Kremlin to report his inspection to Comrade Stalin, briefly describing the construction of the exhibition hall and the preparations for the All-Union Agricultural Expo next month . Then he returned to the headquarters of the Central Supervisory Committee to deal with the work that truly belonged to him.
There were thick documents on the large desk. Yuri sat behind the desk, frowning as he looked at the letters that Kryuchkov had just brought over half an hour ago.
The letter came from Leningrad, and was signed "A Responsible Bolshevik Party Member". Obviously, it was an anonymous letter of complaint, but the content of the complaint was chilling: in this letter, the whistleblower claimed that at the Leningrad City Party Representatives Election Conference that had just ended not long ago, the counting committee, at the instigation of Kapustin, the second secretary of the city party committee, blatantly falsified the votes, and openly declared that a series of discussion issues in the party election had been passed unanimously by the election conference without obtaining unanimous votes from party representatives.
Based on this fact, the letter of complaint claimed that a Zinoviev-style anti-party group had formed among a series of leaders of the Leningrad Provincial and Municipal Committees. This group was trying to curry favor with the Leningrad Party organization with ulterior motives and to create a rift between the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Leningrad Party organization. Kapustin, who had studied in the UK and may have been bribed by the British intelligence agency during this period, was a member of this anti-party group.
Although this was an anonymous letter, and according to the party's internal principles, all reports must be written with real names, and anonymous reports can be ignored, the sensitive Yuri still smelled something unusual. He keenly felt that there might be a storm behind this report, and if he turned a blind eye to it, he would be implicated in the future.
There is no doubt that this letter was sent to Leningrad. No matter who was behind all this, their target would not be Kapustin. In the core of power in Moscow, Kapustin was just a small figure.
Political struggles often go like this: first, seize a seemingly insignificant issue, pry open a seemingly insignificant person, and then move on to the surface, expanding the scope of the attack and ultimately dragging the target person in.
Yuri hated any form of political power struggle, and if he could, he even wanted to flush the letter of complaint directly into the trash can, but the problem was that he couldn't do that because his identity was very sensitive at this time. Don't forget that from a certain perspective, he was actually an official of the Leningrad faction, because he not only grew up in Leningrad, but also started from there.
After reading the letter of complaint several times, Yuri leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and rested for a while. It seemed that he had made a decision. Then he picked up the phone on the table and started talking.
"Comrade Alexander Nikolayevich?" The call was quickly connected, and Yuri said in a deep voice, "This is Yuri, come to my office now... Yes, immediately, I'll wait for you here."
The call was to Shelepin. Yuri had some work that needed to be assigned to him. Now, among his subordinates, Shelepin was the most capable one, while Kryuchkov was still a little young and could not handle things on his own.
Shelepin did not work at the headquarters of the Central Control Commission, but at the Central Committee, so it would take him some time to get here.
After hanging up the phone with Shelepin, Yuri called his secretary Kryuchkov and asked him to send a few copies of the report to several vice-chairmen of the Supervisory Committee. For reports like this, it is necessary to let several major leaders of the committee know the inside story, so that even if there are problems in the future, someone can share the responsibility.
After waiting for about twenty minutes, Shelepin finally arrived.
In the office, Yuri handed the letter of complaint to Shelepin and asked for his personal opinion.
"Is it an anonymous letter of complaint?" Xielepin sat on a chair opposite the desk and glanced through the letter of complaint. When he saw the signature at the end, his brows unconsciously frowned.
Personally, he hates anonymous reports the most, because even if the content of such reports is true, it is difficult to verify, because if it does not enter the formal investigation stage, it is difficult to find the insider. If it enters the formal investigation stage directly, if there is no evidence, the investigation team will be passive, and at the same time, it will also bring serious political impact to the person reported.
Some people like to make this kind of anonymous reporting. They make up some unfounded reports on people just when the people being reported are about to be promoted. Once the supervisory authority accepts the report, the people being reported will lose the chance of promotion even if they are finally proved not guilty.
"Yes, take a look at the content first," Yuri lit a cigarette and said while puffing.
Shelepin patiently read the contents of the complaint letter from beginning to end, took a deep breath, put the letter on the desk, and said, "Based on the information provided in this complaint letter, it is very likely that the Leningrad Municipal Committee falsified the election of party representatives, which is also a common violation of the rules in grassroots party organizations. However, the complaint about the so-called 'anti-party activity group' is very likely false and a conjecture."
Yuri did not express his opinion. He is the chairman of the Central Supervisory Committee, and his position means that he cannot make a competent judgment without reviewing the case.
Although he did not speak, Shelepin understood what he meant, so he continued, "My suggestion is to set up an investigation team first and go to Leningrad to conduct an investigation. This investigation team can temporarily not appoint a team leader, but only appoint a deputy team leader. As for the candidate for the team leader, it can be determined based on the initial progress of the investigation."
Yuri understood Shelepin's intention almost instantly. It was obvious that the other party knew everything in his heart. At least he knew that there might be a huge storm behind this letter of complaint. Although Shelepin seemed to be straightforward, in fact, anyone who could reach this point could not be a simple person. This suggestion was very perfect. First of all, it put Yuri in a position where he could advance or retreat.
