Chapter 388
The car with a marshal's flag on the front slowly drove into the parking lot behind the main building of the Central Supervisory Committee. Before the car parked in the parking space, Kryuchkov, who had been waiting at the entrance of the parking lot, rushed over quickly and opened the door for Yuri.
"Comrade Chairman," Yuri got out of the car, and before he could even stand, he began to speak rapidly, "At 10:06, the Kremlin issued a notice asking you to come to the Ekaterina Hall at 6:00 pm to attend the Central Secretariat's office meeting to discuss the appointment and removal of leading cadres in the three Baltic republics; at 10:45, Comrade Vladimir Yefimovich called and said that he was going to report to you on the latest progress of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League in the 'anti-cosmopolitan' movement..."
Yuri frowned and walked towards the entrance of the main building while listening to Kryuchkov's report. When he heard the name Vladimir Yefimovich, he slowed down and said, "Notify Comrade Vladimir Yefimovich and ask him to hand over the relevant work report to Comrade Alexander Nikolayevich."
Vladimir Yefimovich refers to Semichastny, and Alexander Nikolayevich refers to Shelepin. The relationship between the two is extraordinary. Their friendship was established when Shelepin served as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League. Now, Shelepin has made a lot of efforts for Semichastny to take the position of first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League.
What Yuri didn't know was that in his previous life, the relationship between the "two Sheeps" was extraordinary. "Little Sheep" was not only the best friend of "Big Sheep", but also his right-hand man. Shelepin was able to wrestle with Brezhnev thanks to Semichasny 's support. Therefore, from this perspective, Yuri's people were also forming small groups, but Yuri was more Buddhist about this issue. At least on the surface, he did not oppose or resist this situation.
"Okay, I'll go and notify you right away," Kryuchkov responded, and continued, "By the way, Comrade Vyacheslav Mikhailovich called half an hour ago and said..."
At this point, he paused, with a strange expression on his face, and continued, "He said that he was going to come here at two o'clock in the afternoon to explain his unsteady stance and wavering thoughts on the issue of 'anti-cosmopolitanism.'"
Yuri's steps stopped suddenly, his already frowned brows almost twisted into a ball. After about ten seconds, he took a step forward and continued walking forward.
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich, that is, Molotov. Ever since the Soviet Union launched the vigorous "anti-cosmopolitanism" movement, especially after his wife was exiled, those people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee have been trying their best to make trouble for him. But Molotov is not someone like Voznesensky who lacks a foundation in the party. At the same time, although Comrade Stalin does not trust him very much, this distrust is not strong enough to get rid of him. Therefore, he has not suffered a big blow so far. Although he has less real power in his hands, his status in the party has not been reduced. Therefore, let alone those "henchmen" in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Security Committee, even if Beria wants to touch him, he must think about whether there will be any sequelae.
Yuri knew very well why Molotov came to the Central Control Committee to "explain the problem". This old man definitely did not want to "confess his guilt". He did not even necessarily think that he was guilty. The purpose of doing this must be for his wife. To put it more bluntly, he wanted to use the means of retreating to advance and get his wife back from the bitter and cold Siberia.
Regardless of Molotov's character and political stance, at least his family values are admirable. In fact, with his political sense and position in the party, if he didn't want to be caught, it would be easy to do so. He only needed to do one thing - divorce his restless, always jumping around, and big-mouthed Jewish wife. But he refused to do so. Whether his subordinates reported him for this matter or Comrade Stalin hinted at him, he refused to give in. Even after his wife was exiled, he repeatedly went to Comrade Stalin to plead for mercy.
Judging from this incident alone, he obviously lacks political wisdom, but Yuri can't use this incident to belittle him. This... is difficult to describe in a nutshell.
"What's the plan for two o'clock in the afternoon?" Yuri stopped and asked when he reached the entrance of the main building.
"The original work schedule was to hold a case review meeting at 2:15 p.m.," Kryuchkov said. As Yuri's first secretary, all the schedules were in his mind and he didn't need to check them.
"Notify them that the afternoon work will be postponed for an hour," Yuri thought for a moment and said, "and all other arrangements will be postponed in sequence."
"All right," said Kryuchkov.
"Also, ask Comrade Alexander Nikolayevich to come to my office," Yuri said as he stepped into the elevator, "and give us two lunches."
It was already late, and Yuri still had things to arrange, so it was normal for him to stay in the committee for dinner. In fact, with Angelica leaving Moscow, Yuri had lunch in the committee most of the time, and sometimes even spent the night here.
In the spacious and bright office, Yuri sat behind his large desk, holding the tea that Kryuchkov had just brought him. The chair under his buttocks was facing the window. One of his arms was resting on the table, and his eyes were looking out the window. Although he held the tea in his hand steadily, he did not drink a sip.
He was thinking about Molotov and couldn't make up his mind.
In terms of personal feelings, Yuri and Molotov did not have much in common, at least they did not have any feelings for each other. In fact, not only Molotov, but also the entire Moscow core circle, he only had a good relationship with Khrushchev, and the others were just average. In the power core of a country, it is impossible for members to have a "hard" relationship with each other, because everyone has too many things to consider, so no one will be imprisoned by personal feelings.
However, it would be unfair to say that Yuri was willing to see Molotov suffer injustice and end up in a miserable situation simply because he did not have a deep relationship with him. Even if we do not consider anything else, there is a saying that goes "the death of the rabbit makes the fox mourn". Who can say that Molotov's today will not be Yuri's tomorrow?
The knock on the door interrupted Yuri's thoughts. He put down his crossed legs, stood up, turned the chair under his buttocks to face the desk, and took out a document with a "top secret" stamp from the first drawer on the right, put it on the desk in front of him, and then raised his voice and said, "Come in."
The door was opened from the outside, Kryuchkov came in, stood at the door, and said: "Comrade Chairman, Comrade Alexander Nikolayevich is here."
"Please ask him to come in," Yuri said, nodding.
"Lunch is ready. Should we send it over now?" Kryuchkov continued to ask.
"Send it over," Yuri nodded, and then added, "And get me a bottle of vodka."
"Okay, Comrade Chairman," Kryuchkov responded, then turned and walked out.
A moment later, Shelepin appeared outside the office door. He knocked on the open door symbolically, then walked in, took off his wide-brimmed hat, held it in his hand, and said, "Comrade Chairman."
"Come, sit down," Yuri stood up and pointed to the sofa opposite the desk, and said, "How is the review of Botugarov's case going?"
"It's over," Shelepin walked to the sofa and sat down, saying gloomily, "I don't think the so-called solid evidence provided by the State Security Committee has any practical significance. Vitaly Stepanov does have an uncle in England, but he is a distant uncle who has not been in contact with him for forty years. If this can also be used as evidence to accuse him of being a traitor, then all prisons will be overcrowded."
Vitaly Stepanov-Botugalov, a professor of physics at Moscow State University, was previously identified as a "British spy" by the State Security Committee. The evidence is said to be conclusive and he has pleaded guilty.
Yuri didn't ask much about this case. After all, the Central Supervisory Committee had handled too many cases during this period, and it was impossible for him to inquire about them one by one.
"Stop complaining," Yuri picked up the document on the table, walked out from behind the desk, sat down on the sofa next to Shelepin, and said, " Now, don't worry about Botugalov's case. You have a new job to do."
Shelepin looked at the document in his hand. He knew without asking that his new job must be related to that document.
Yuri didn't beat around the bush and handed the file to him directly.
Shelepin opened the seal of the document and took out a piece of material with blue stripes. This kind of letterhead was used exclusively by the Central Supervisory Committee and was specifically used to mark important cases and case details.
"Sergei Nikolayevich Taraplin?!" After reading only the beginning of the document, Shelepin looked at Yuri in surprise.
This Tarabulin was a soldier of low rank, only the rank of captain. The reason why Shelepin was so surprised was that this man had an unusual identity. He was the adjutant of Viktor Semyonovich Abakumov.
Yuri didn't look at Shelepin. He looked at the wall opposite with a calm expression. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for himself.
