Struggle in Soviet Russia

In fact, for a long period of time in the past, specifically, in the process of the Soviet army's attack on the German mainland, the People's Commissariat of State Security and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs have already been working on related aspects.

In Bulgaria, for example, the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs is still in the hands of the Bulgarian Communist Party, despite the fact that the Bulgarian Communists are locked in a complicated struggle with the Social Democrats led by Krusto Pastukhov. Comrade Yugov is using this powerful department to liquidate the fascist remnants in the government and army.

Likewise, in Hungary, although the situation did not develop as Moscow had hoped, the Hungarian Communist Party did not have an absolute advantage in the Hungarian National Independence Front established last year, and in many respects it was suppressed by the Social Democratic Party. , but the Hungarian Ministry of Internal Affairs is also in the hands of the Hungarian Communist Party. Comrade Rajk Laszlo is also a trustworthy communist. The Hungarian Ministry of Internal Affairs is in his hands, which will also benefit the situation in Hungary in the long run. of stability.

If Moscow was hesitant about the post-war situation in Eastern Europe before the Soviet army conquered Berlin, now Comrade Stalin and his staff have made it clear that after the war, they must move towards Eastern and Southern Europe. It even spreads the influence of the alliance in Western Europe, and under the condition of maintaining the stability of the situation, as far as possible to build a new government with a stance leaning towards the alliance in each country.

From a practical point of view, the overall situation in Europe is also conducive to the spread of the alliance's influence. In fact, during the anti-fascist war in the past few years, the forces of left-wing political parties in various European countries have developed very rapidly, and to a certain extent, they have played a leading role in their respective countries.

Just like in France, the reason why the United Kingdom and the United States are reluctant to recognize the independence of France and want to use it as an escrow area is that the French Communist Party has an absolute political advantage in France at this time. In the Anti-Fascist Popular Front composed of nearly 70 parties including the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party and the Radical Party, the French Communist Party occupies an absolute dominant position, and in the whole of France, the French Communist Party has nearly 600,000 party members, which itself is the first big party.

There is also Finland. Even though Finland has just ended the war with the Soviet Union, the Communist Party of Finland has already gained a political advantage in its country. Julio Leino, who was born in the Communist Party, has become Finland's new Minister of the Interior, which can effectively guarantee The growth of left-wing forces in Finland.

but......

"Comrade Stalin," Viktor said after a brief thought, "I now have some new ideas compared to the original report."

"Let's hear it," Comrade Stalin said with a tolerant gesture, smiling.

"I think that in European countries where we can exert influence, we should establish an organizational structure with the core purpose of strengthening ties between parties and organizing exchanges on the basis of various left-wing political parties, including the Communist Party." Victor said, "And When necessary, the agency, on the basis of mutual coordination, has the right to require parties to cooperate with the agency's unified actions."

Hearing this, Comrade Stalin raised his brows. Obviously, he caught the essence of Victor's suggestion.

In his previous life, although Viktor didn't know much about the history of the Soviet Union, he also knew about the two opposing organizations, the Warsaw Pact and NATO, as well as an organization called the "Intelligence Bureau of the Communist Party and the Workers' Party", and his proposal. , which is about the formation of the "Communist and Workers' Party Intelligence Bureau".

"You should have some exchanges with Comrade Molotov on this idea," Comrade Stalin said after thinking for a while, "I hope you can come up with a concrete and feasible plan for this, and wait until the next meeting of the People's Commissariat of Defense. , you can take it out and discuss it carefully.”

"Okay, Comrade Stalin," said Victor, nodding.

He realized from Comrade Stalin's order that although Comrade Molotov has been criticized a lot recently, Comrade Stalin's trust in him still exists, which means that Comrade Molotov still has confidence in him. status will not be affected in the short term.

Comrade Stalin nodded, then he pushed a pack of cigarettes on the coffee table in front of Victor and said, "We must hurry up on this matter, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet has passed a resolution to revoke the current The People's Commissariat of National Defense has handed back wartime power to various functional departments, so I hope your report can be passed before the People's Commissariat of National Defense is withdrawn."

Victor already knew about the impending withdrawal of the People's Commissariat of Defense. In fact, this department, which aims to concentrate the forces of the whole alliance against fascist Germany, was specially set up during the war, and its authority is too large. To use an official word to describe it, it is: a special wartime agency with full powers, and it is The highest authority of the Union, its power is greater than that of the Central Committee.

Now, the war against Germany has ended. Although there will be a war against Japan later, it is clear that in the eyes of Comrade Stalin and his staff, the outcome of the war against Japan is already doomed. , there is no such part of the content, therefore, the abolition of the People's Commissariat of National Defense and the return of overly centralized powers to various agencies has become an arrangement that must be done at the moment.

"Besides," Comrade Stalin continued before Victor could speak, "you have to prepare for work in Karelia. The comrades in the committee have discussed this point and basically agreed."

After a pause, he watched Victor pick up a pack of cigarettes on the table, and then he smiled: "The work you have done in East Prussia is very comprehensive, it reflects your ability to preside over local work, and you have also won the committee. Recognition of the comrades. The situation in Karelia is basically the same as that in East Prussia, but compared to East Prussia, the work you need to do in Karelia will be more responsible and difficult.”

Having said this, he stopped again, waved to Victor who was holding a cigarette but never lit it, and said, "Light it up and smoke one."

After speaking, he stood up from the sofa and walked towards the desk. Then, he picked up a document from the desk and walked back again.

"Although your transfer order should not be issued until after our operation in the Far East is over, you should know as much about Karelia as possible before that," Stalin sat back on the sofa. The comrade handed the document in front of Victor and said, "The opinion of the committee is that in August, you will be arranged to take charge of an investigation mission in Karelia, and you should seize this opportunity."

Victor nodded, indicating that he understood the intention of the committee, and at the same time, opened the document in his hand.

The files were in a black folder, and when Victor opened the folder, a note slid out of it and landed on the sofa beside him.

Victor took the note and glanced at it, and found that there were four names listed on the note.

"In order to facilitate your work, after the committee's discussion, it was decided to mainly listen to your opinions on the issue of the candidate for Karelia's second secretary," Comrade Stalin said. "On this list are the candidates listed by the committee. People, you can selectively contact and choose a comrade who can cooperate with you."

This was really a pleasant surprise for Victor, and it can be seen that Comrade Stalin really gave him enough preferential treatment.

According to the convention of the Union, even if Victor goes to the Karelia-Finnish Soviet Republic to take up the post of first secretary, he cannot decide the candidate of the second secretary, even if the power of the second secretary is not particularly large, but if the The second secretary and the chairman of the Supreme Soviet have come together, and they can still pose a great threat to the existence of the first secretary.

And now, the Central Committee did not ask Comrade Kuxinin's opinion, but instead asked Victor's opinion first, and decided on the candidate for the second secretary according to his recommendation. This alone is enough to show that the committee, that is, Stalin Comrades have full confidence in him.

Of course, from another point of view, there is also a clear message in this decision, that is, the Central Committee is not satisfied with the political status quo of the Karelian-Finnish Soviet Republic. To be more specific, they have doubts about Kuxinin's too great influence in the republic. Therefore, they hope that after Victor takes office, it can limit Kuxinin's influence to a certain extent.

Therefore, what Comrade Stalin said before was to let Victor choose a second secretary who could cooperate with him, instead of suggesting that he cooperate well with Comrade Kuxinin.

Thinking further, according to Victor's knowledge, Kusinen, as a Finn, does have a big problem with his national thinking. Although his political position is on the side of Moscow, he always believes that the Finns and Karelians living in the Karelia region should be unified into a relatively independent nation when it comes to ethnic issues. This ethnic group should be based on Finnish traditions and use Finnish as the official language. To put it bluntly, it is to transform the Karelians into Finns. And his national stance is the most direct reason for Moscow's doubts about it.

Victor took this to heart and, at the same time, took a close look at the list.

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, the first name on the list is Viktor that feels somewhat familiar.