Chapter 383
"Do you really want to go back to Moscow at this time?"
In the bedroom of the villa, Angelica sat on the edge of the bed, folding a set of Yuri's clothes. In the suitcase next to her, Yuri's luggage had been almost packed, except for some clothes that had not yet been packed.
Yuri sat on an antique chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding an ashtray in one hand and a cigarette that was about to burn out in the other. He looked out the window with a dazed look at the sea that was faintly visible between the shadows of the trees.
After hearing the question raised by his wife, he did not say anything, but just brought the cigarette to his lips and took a deep puff.
"Even if you have to go back, try not to interfere in matters that you shouldn't interfere in," Angelica glanced at him and continued to speak to herself, "Now..."
She seemed to want to persuade Yuri, but she was obviously hesitant. Therefore, she stopped the topic abruptly after it was opened. After a moment of silence, she said, "It's not a war time now , and you are not on the rise. If possible, you should consider us more."
There is no doubt that she was reminding Yuri to think more about himself and his family before doing anything and not to be too impulsive.
Angelica didn't know what Bulganin said on the phone, but she should be able to guess why Yuri was so anxious to return to Moscow. Of course, if it were in the past, when she had just left the Moscow Komsomol, she might not have made such persuasion at all, but on the contrary, she would have felt excited and impulsive for such an opportunity.
Maybe this is what women are like. They always consider issues more based on emotion rather than rationality. Or, in other words, women who are married and have children start to think more about their family rather than their career ambitions.
"Some things need to be done when they should be done," Yuri said silently in his heart. He put out the cigarette in the ashtray, then stood up, walked to the bed, put the ashtray on the bedside cabinet, then walked around to Angelica's side, took her into his arms, and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do."
Angelia hugged him back, rested her forehead on his abdomen, and whispered, "When does the plane take off?"
"Six o'clock in the evening," Yuri said, stroking the hair at the back of her head and subconsciously checking his watch.
Today, Sochi does not have the so-called international airport of later generations. The nearest airport is nearly 30 kilometers away from the villa. It is a small military airport that provides services for senior leaders. When Yuri came from Moscow before, he took a special plane to the airport and then took a car to Sochi. This time when he returned to Moscow, he also contacted the airport first and booked a special plane. As he said, the plane took off at 6 o'clock in the evening and was expected to arrive in Moscow early tomorrow morning.
"Well, be careful on the road," Angelica didn't say anything more. She stood up, kissed Yuri on both cheeks, and said.
For Yuri, returning to Moscow at this time is indeed not a wise choice. Before this, he had already caused Comrade Stalin's dissatisfaction because he was not radical enough in handling the case. Therefore, his leaving Moscow for vacation was actually a statement that he did not support the position of the Central Supervisory Committee in investigating the so-called "Leningrad Anti-Party Group" case, but this "non-support" did not mean opposition. But now, he suddenly returned to Moscow in the middle of his vacation and intervened in the case again. His attitude was equivalent to changing from "non-support" to formal opposition. Therefore, it is difficult to predict what Comrade Stalin's attitude towards him will be.
The reason why Angelica seemed to be hesitant to speak was because she understood the problem, but she also knew that she could not dissuade Yuri, so she implicitly reminded him to think more about his wife and children, and his family.
Returning from Sochi to Moscow, Yuri took a specially equipped plane for him. This plane was modified from a Tu-4 bomber, and some sound insulation panels were installed inside. However, even so, both the bumps and the noise were very strong and uncomfortable. But even so, Yuri still took a nap on the plane and even had a dream.
In the dream, Yuri returned to his childhood. However, unlike the real situation, the childhood in the dream was spent in the Soviet Union. He had a father who was a commander of the Red Army, but he died in the war with the White Bandits... Although he only slept for less than an hour, this dream lasted throughout the long first half of his life.
The dream was very real. It didn’t feel like a dream but rather a deep memory. I don’t know if it came from my previous life.
Of course, Yuri was not thinking about these. He just felt a little emotional. After being reborn into this world for so many years, he seemed to have completely become a Soviet citizen. The memories of his past life were fading from the imprint of his brain bit by bit.
It is precisely because of this change that Yuri will analyze problems from the perspective of a real Soviet person. When he was first reborn in the Soviet Union, he thought about creating safer living conditions for himself every day. At that time, he didn't think about how to do it, but just wanted to stay away from war and cruel political struggles and live as safely as possible. Now, it can be said that with the baptism of war and the change of his mind, he is becoming a Soviet official with more and more sense of responsibility and justice.
The storm caused by the "Leningrad Anti-Party Activity Group" case, no, it should be said that it was a farce, and it could no longer continue to develop. The movement has now become a tool for villains to attack and murder so-called "enemies" and competitors. More and more anonymous letters, more and more outrageous accusations, more and more bloody and irresponsible interrogations, all of which have become unbearable, especially for those who have already taken up leadership positions before the Great Patriotic War. The current situation can easily make them have bad associations, and they may even wonder if this is a sign of the reappearance of "1937".
In Yuri's view, although the Soviet Union has now recovered from the shadow of the war, development is still the main theme that the entire country must adhere to, and any form of political turmoil is obviously not conducive to development.
Yuri had no intention of disobeying Comrade Stalin's authority, nor did he plan to stage a coup. Of course, he also knew that he did not have the strength to stage a coup. This time when he returned to Moscow, he planned to have a good and frank talk with Comrade Stalin.
Yes, it seems easy to say that it is just a talk, but what about the reality? Behind this talk, there are also huge risks. After all, he could not judge how Comrade Stalin would react to his so-called "talk". After all, this itself was a disobedience to him.
After several hours of bumpy ride and nearly an hour's drive, when Yuri arrived in Moscow, it was already four o'clock in the morning. Instead of returning to his residence, he went directly to the Kremlin and contacted Poskrebyshev using the phone in the guard duty room.
Comrade Stalin was a night owl and liked to stay up late. Unless there were important state affairs, he would usually work at night and go to bed at seven in the morning. This might be the most direct reason for his deteriorating health.
Sure enough, from Poskrebyshev, Yuri learned that Comrade Stalin had not rested yet and was listening to Professor Feinberg playing the piano. When Yuri said that he wanted to meet with Comrade Stalin, Poskrebyshev hesitated for a while and then told him to wait a moment and he would go and ask for instructions.
When Yuri hung up the phone, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew a habit of Comrade Stalin: when he was in a good mood, he liked to invite a pianist to the Kremlin to play for him. Samuel Evgenievitch Feinberg was a frequent visitor, and sometimes it was Kabalevsky or Prokofiev.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this that, even though the previous anti-cosmopolitan movement was so vigorous and even tore the entire Soviet literary and academic circles to pieces, in the music world, especially in the piano world, few well-known figures were affected.
Poskrebyshev called back soon and told Yuri that Comrade Stalin had asked him to come over. He also asked him if he had just returned from Sochi and had eaten dinner. If not, Poskrebyshev would arrange for someone to prepare one for him.
Yuri was not polite, as this kind of politeness was not in line with the Russian character. He said frankly that he had just got off the plane and had not had time to have dinner.
The Kremlin seemed a little deserted in the early morning. Yuri left the guard duty room and did not return to the car. Instead, he walked to Comrade Stalin's office. During the five-minute journey, he was still thinking about how to talk to Comrade Stalin about the current issues, from what angle to start, how to introduce the main topic, and so on.
The door of Comrade Stalin's office was ajar, and no piano sound came out from inside, probably because the previous performance had ended.
Poskrebyshev opened the door and then gave a wink to Yuri who was following behind him. This look contained a lot of meaning, which was difficult for ordinary people to understand, but Yuri felt the deep meaning of it.
Comrade Stalin's first secretary was obviously able to guess the purpose of his visit and was aware of the risks involved. Therefore, he had not said a word from the time they met until now. This was his way of protecting himself.
