Chapter 385
Walking side by side with Suslov on the street in the early morning, Yuri felt a little weird.
In his previous life, he knew... to be more precise, he didn't know many former Soviet figures, and Suslov was one of them. There were many netizens who admired him on the Internet at that time. Not to mention his title of "Gray Cardinal", the fact that he could stand proudly in the treacherous Soviet political arena for decades was enough to make people feel admiration.
After their rebirth, in recent years, as rising stars in Soviet politics, Yuri and Suslov were, to some extent, in a competitive relationship. Although one was pragmatic and the other idealistic, they were both secretaries of the Central Secretariat after all, and the secretaries of this Secretariat were also ranked.
To be honest, in the past few years, Yuri and Suslov did not have much contact with each other, and their interactions were relatively limited. As for personal relationship, that was even less of a question. Yuri never thought that the other party would choose this time to "walk" with him.
"Walk for a walk" most of the time means "talk for a while", and Yuri was very curious about what the other party wanted to talk to him about.
The sidewalk paved with square stones was not very flat. When the road was first built, the gaps between the square stones were relatively large, so it looked a bit bumpy. Yuri suddenly thought of Sherbakov. The late Moscow Municipal Party Committee Secretary once proposed to renovate and expand several main streets in Moscow after the war. He even proposed an ambitious plan to build six roads that would run through the entire Union in four directions: east, west, south, and north, starting from the Resurrection Gate. Yuri agreed with this plan very much at the beginning, because it reminded him of the national highways in his previous life, and infrastructure like highways played a huge role in promoting the economic development of the entire country.
But unfortunately, Comrade Sherbakov died before his plan could be implemented, so until today, this plan has only remained on paper.
Deep down, Yuri still hopes to return to the original Disarmament Working Committee. He believes that such a job is most suitable for him, but the reality is that he can no longer go back.
Why does everyone want to be the supreme leader of this country? In Yuri's opinion, in addition to the desire for power, there should be another reason, that is, everyone wants to be able to govern the country according to their own intentions. This is like a good painter who always wants to express his passion on the canvas, even if the final product is not so good.
"Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich?!" Suslov's voice sounded beside him, and his voice seemed a little high.
Yuri came out of his thoughts, turned his head and looked at the other person. Seeing that his stern face was frowned, he realized that he had missed what the other person said because he was distracted, which was very rude.
"Ah, sorry," Yuri said apologetically, rubbing his temples with his hands, "I thought of something else."
"It's okay, I understand," Suslov nodded, his frown relaxed, and said, "I was also surprised when Comrade Stalin talked to me before. Everything..."
He clenched his empty left hand into a fist and said, "Everything was unexpected. I was not prepared at all."
Yuri was stunned for a moment, then his mind worked quickly and he figured out what the other party was saying.
There is no doubt that the other party must have known something about what Comrade Stalin had talked to him about before. This does not mean that Comrade Stalin trusted Suslov more than Yuri, it was just related to Suslov's work.
After all, Suslov was in charge of propaganda and agitation, and he was also the editor-in-chief of Pravda. Most of the issues that Comrade Stalin planned to discuss at the upcoming 19th National Congress needed to be made known to Suslov, and then disseminated nationwide through newspapers, radio and other media.
It is imperative that all party delegates attending the 19th National Congress understand these issues and, most importantly, understand the central government’s position on them. This way, party delegates can discuss these issues before the formal meeting, and once the meeting is formally held, everyone must understand what their position should be.
"Yeah, it's really unexpected," Yuri nodded and said vaguely. He couldn't figure out the other party's intentions, so it was not easy for him to take over the other party's words.
"It's not just a surprise, Comrade Yuri Arkhipovich," Suslov used this address for the second time, which was more formal. "I am worried... I am a little worried about the decisions made by Comrade Stalin."
Yuri was stunned. He turned his head and looked at the thin guy again. To be honest, it was the first time he heard someone question Comrade Stalin's decision in front of him.
"The decision to expand the Central Committee's Presidium is likely to intensify the contradictions within the Central Leadership," Suslov looked forward, as if deliberately avoiding Yuri's gaze, "and thus trigger a series of acute problems."
Yuri is no longer a political novice. He is very clear about the consequences of Comrade Stalin's resolution to expand the number of members of the Central Presidium and implement collective leadership in the core power level of the Soviet Union.
It can be said responsibly that expanding the Central Presidium from the original six or seven people to twenty-five people will first infringe upon the interests of the existing members of the Presidium, including Malenkov, Beria, Khrushchev, Andreyev, Bulganin, etc. The authority of these people will be weakened in the process.
Take Beria for example. Once the Central Presidium is expanded to 25 people, will his authority be weakened? The answer is definitely yes. It can be predicted that by that time, it will be a luxury for him to control the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee. The most terrible thing is that as the head of the Soviet Union's "secret police" who deserves the name, he is definitely the one who offends the most people in the Soviet power core. Once the Central Presidium is expanded to 25 people, it is estimated that 20 of them are secretly preparing to kill him. Considering the principle of collective leadership, Beria's chance of being killed is very high, so it is very likely that he will oppose this proposal.
What about others? For example, Andreyev, Malenkov, Voroshilov and others, would their positions on this issue be different from Beria's? Of course not. Even if we don't consider other things, just consider the issue of age. Among the 25 members of the Presidium, nearly 20 are "young people" in their 50s at most, and there are even 7 or 8 in their 40s. These people have just entered the Central Presidium and have mastered the core power of the country. Who will they plan to exclude first? Without a doubt, it must be those "old guys".
This is not only because the old guys are old, but also because they have been at the pinnacle of power for too long and have too much seniority. If the “old guys” don’t get out, how can the young people get ahead?
Therefore, Yuri knew very well that Comrade Stalin's proposal to expand the Central Presidium was actually very dangerous.
Yes, Comrade Stalin had a high prestige in the Soviet Union. No one dared to oppose him. His prestige had even become a personal cult, and he was about to become a god. However, one thing must be remembered here, that is, his prestige was not won by himself. No one can always stand at the forefront of the political struggle by relying on the power of a single person. Comrade Stalin really relied on his small circle.
In this small circle, no single person can pose a threat to him, but once this small circle unites against him, his prestige will no longer exist.
Of course, Yuri could understand Comrade Stalin's thoughts. He proposed to expand the Central Presidium because he probably felt threatened. Therefore, he hoped to use "young" cadres to check and balance the "old guys." But the problem was that he seemed to overestimate himself and the so-called "young" cadres. A core contradiction was that at certain critical moments, those "young" cadres might not necessarily stand on his side.
For example...Yuri himself.
That's right, once the situation changes, Yuri believes that he will not stand on the side of Comrade Stalin, if for no other reason, because this leader in his position has brought Yuri too much psychological pressure. He also has reason to believe that there must be many people who hold the same idea, such as Kosygin, and for example... Suslov, who is walking beside him and seems to be worried.
What is particularly important is that over the past period of time, the "anti-cosmopolitanism" movement that has spread throughout the Soviet Union and the campaign to purge so-called "anti-party groups" and traitors have exhausted too many people physically and mentally. Although no voices of opposition can be heard, the less voices of opposition can be heard, the more dangerous the time may be.
Although countless thoughts flashed through his mind, Yuri's face remained calm. He raised his right arm, rubbed the buttons on the front of his clothes with his hand, and said in a deep voice: "Have you heard any definite news?"
"Of course not," Suslov said, "I just have such concerns."
"So what do you think we should do?" Yuri asked.
"Comrade Yuri Arispovich, I think you should return to work as soon as possible," Suslov said, "Strengthen the supervision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee by the Central Control Commission. In addition, you should also strengthen the supervision of the election of grassroots party representatives in the states and republics."
Yuri pursed his lips and fell silent.
