Struggle in Soviet Russia

The General Staff Building of the Soviet Red Army on Arbat Street, Moscow.

Victor's car drove slowly into the parking lot of the courtyard in the wind and snow. Valenka opened the car door for him and followed him towards the stairs of the building, holding a thick stack of documents.

Starting early this morning, a blizzard hit the entire Moscow region. In less than four hours, the snow on the ground had already covered the ankles, showing how much the snow fell.

At the entrance of the General Staff Building, twelve soldiers with live ammunition guarded both sides of the gate. Everyone who tried to enter the building was subject to strict searches, even those of Victor's level.

Enter through the front entrance of the General Staff Building, exit through the back door, across the entire staff compound, and enter a four-story independent building surrounded on three sides by the main building. This old building is half-enclosed by the main building. The front entrance is hanging. An inconspicuous brand with the words "44388 Military Ministry" written on it.

The so-called "44388 Military Ministry" is actually a code name. What it represents is the well-known Military Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff in the Red Army system of the Soviet Union. Before the rise of the intelligence agencies of the Committee and the National Security Council, it was the most efficient and accomplished intelligence spy agency in the Soviet Union.

Compared with the Military Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff, the intelligence work of the People’s Committee of the Interior is simply not worth it. This is also one of the main reasons why Comrade Stalin is dissatisfied with the NKVD.

The reason why Victor came to the General Staff Intelligence Bureau today is because there is a meeting here that requires him to attend.

This meeting was personally chaired by the current Soviet Chief of General Staff Shaboshnikov. At the same time, the deputy chief of the General Staff Vasilevsky, the General Staff Intelligence rushed back from the 10th Army of the Western Front. Director of the Bureau Golikov, Head of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau of the People’s Committee of the Interior, Merkulov, and Romansov, Director of the Intelligence Bureau of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and others. At the meeting, Poskrebshev, who represented Comrade Stalin, and Mehlis, who represented the General Political Department, and others attended the meeting.

In addition to these people, there were also a few mysterious people with black hoods who attended the meeting. They were led into the venue by soldiers with live ammunition before the meeting was officially held. The reason they were wearing hoods was because Their identities are too sensitive, even in such an occasion, they can't show their true identity.

These guys wearing hoods are the single-line liaisons of "Drapal Intelligence Network", "Rado" Intelligence Network, "Amtog Intelligence Network" and "Red Band Intelligence Network"-under the General Staff Intelligence Bureau Except for one Sorge Intelligence Network, the single-line contacts of the remaining four intelligence networks were all present.

The intelligence personnel of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau, especially the main persons in charge, have always come directly from the NKVD, and their principal intelligence personnel have also been screened by the NKVD. Therefore, for this particular reason, Victor knew something about the General Staff Intelligence Agency.

Generally speaking, in the past few years, although the intelligence collection activities of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau are very efficient, they have also been greatly affected in the process of the Great Purge, starting from Berzin and then Uri. Tsky, Nikonov, Genkin, and Proskurov, five consecutive directors, were executed one after another, and the entire intelligence agency system was also wiped out.

However, unlike the intelligence department of the NKVD, the main intelligence work of the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff is carried out overseas. Therefore, its overseas intelligence organizations were not seriously injured in the Great Purge. In addition, Golikov, who succeeded Proskurov as the head of the General Staff’s Intelligence Bureau, is also a very capable guy. Comrade Leah likes nepotism like that.

After taking over the work of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau, Comrade Golikov quickly restored the department's vitality. Before the outbreak of the war, the five overseas intelligence networks of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau had basically resumed normal operations.

In today's Soviet Union, the main external intelligence work is actually done by the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff, and the Foreign Intelligence Bureau of the People's Committee of the Interior, led by Comrade Merkulov, can only be regarded as a foil.

Because the number of people attending and attending the meeting is limited, the meeting place is the small meeting room on the first floor of the Intelligence Bureau. Participants sit on both sides of an oval conference table, and those attending the meeting sit on the periphery.

Shaboshnikov, who presided over the meeting, first introduced the main discussion content of the meeting. Today, Shaboshnikov is very sick, and he seems a little weak to speak, and his body has not been very good. Recently, it was reported that he had recommended his student Vasilevsky to Comrade Stalin, hoping that the latter would take over the position of his chief of staff and allow him to retire and recuperate.

Before coming to participate in today’s meeting, Victor didn’t know what the content of the meeting was. However, when he saw someone from the Intelligence Bureau of the Soviet Academy of Sciences among the people attending the meeting, he had some speculations in his heart. , And Shaboshnikov's subsequent speech also confirmed his speculation.

In Shaboshnikov's speech, it involved an intelligence sent by the London Intelligence Network of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau.

This information was carried back to Moscow by the military attache of the Soviet Embassy in the United Kingdom, Major Kremel, and included a research report of more than 140 pages. According to the statement in this report, the British are studying the related technology of how to weaponize "explosive uranium", and the physics laboratory of the University of Birmingham is responsible for the research of this technology. The 140-page research report is the theoretical research report made by this laboratory, which proves the feasibility of this technology.

After receiving this report, the Soviet Academy of Sciences has carried out relevant research and finally confirmed that if the British research is finally realized, even a 10-kg "explosive uranium" bomb will explode one percent. The power is equivalent to the power of a thousand tons of explosives.

The day before yesterday, the Academy of Sciences had already submitted a report to the People’s Committee of National Defense, affirming that the Ministry of Committees paid more attention to this intelligence. At the same time, it gave the Academy of Sciences sufficient financial and human support to help the Soviet Union develop its own "explosive uranium." "Weaponized technology.

Although Comrade Stalin is still hesitant about "whether such a powerful weapon really exists", he still asks the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff and the intelligence departments of the People's Committee of the Interior to spend more thoughts on this issue, or at least give enough. Support strength.

It was after Comrade Stalin's statement that today's meeting was held.

After Shaboshnikov, it was Golikov who stood up to make a report. The main content of his talk was a series of difficulties faced by the General Staff Intelligence Agency in the United Kingdom. Although the UK and the Soviet Union are now anti-fascist allies, the foundation of this alliance is weak. Both parties have done serious espionage and anti-intelligence work against each other.

Just like Major Kremel, as the military attache of the Soviet Embassy in the United Kingdom, the reason why he hurriedly returned to Moscow this time was because he was warned by the British intelligence agency. Evidence, if he never leaves, the British are likely to take action against him.

Since the intelligence personnel of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau also used a single-line contact method, after Major Kremel evacuated London, the intelligence bureau and the spy personnel inside the Physics Laboratory of the University of Birmingham had actually lost contact. For this reason, the Intelligence Agency urgently needs a new, reliable and experienced intelligence personnel to go to London to take over the work done by Kremel.

As mentioned before, most of the intelligence personnel of the General Staff and Intelligence Bureau come from the People’s Committee of the Interior. In other words, the General Staff and Intelligence Bureau does not have its own special agent training institution. They need to draw from the talent pool of the NKVD. Energy to supplement their shortage of intelligence personnel.

Therefore, when Golikov’s speech was over, the real purpose of this meeting finally became apparent: the General Staff came out on behalf of the Intelligence Bureau and put pressure on the NKVD to provide them with experience and outstanding ability. Intelligence personnel.

Don't think that the various departments of the Soviet Union are united. Even during the war, this kind of harmony will not occur. After all, there will be conflicts of interests where there are people. This rule has never changed.

Since taking office as the People’s Committee of the NKVD, Comrade Beria has been thinking about taking the General Staff and Intelligence Bureau out of the series of the General Staff and merging it into the NKVD, so as to enrich the NKVD’s work. Strength and power. But his idea failed to get the support of Comrade Stalin. On the contrary, with the outbreak of the war, the role of the General Staff became more and more prominent. Comrade Stalin and his group of staff have been strengthening the power of the General Staff. The development of the matter gradually drifted away from the expectations of Comrade Beria.

But for Victor personally, he actually doesn’t care about this kind of department’s previous struggle for power. After all, where his position is, the NKVD will not have his turn to call the shots. If he sits in Beria at this time. In the position of comrades, that is naturally a different situation.

Today, the General Staff, holding the banner of the NKVD and Comrade Stalin, convenes a meeting with the heads of the NKVD and the NKVD, asking them to cooperate in the work of the General Staff and Intelligence Bureau. Victor has nothing to say, do his own thing. That job will do.