Struggle in Soviet Russia

The huge office was extremely quiet, only the sound of technicians connecting the lines, while Comrade Stalin and Comrade Malenkov were sitting on the sofa in the center, waiting quietly.

The technicians responsible for connecting the lines were sweating on their foreheads. It wasn't because of how physically exhausting the work was or how sophisticated the skills were, but because of nervousness. Waiting on the side, within a limited time, this line must be connected.

Don't think how amazing such a telephone line is. One thing that must be understood is that it is this phone. Its line is exclusive, extending from northeastern Kazakhstan to the Kremlin in Moscow. Safety, no wireless devices are used on the entire communication connection road, and all lines are connected one meter by one meter. In the mountains and desert swamps along the way, the construction troops responsible for connecting this line are not. Know the price paid.

The entire communication process lasted for two and a half months, and the ultimate goal was to allow Comrade Stalin to directly contact the person on the other end of the phone at this moment. , otherwise, I don't know how many people would have lost their jobs because of this.

Time passed minute by minute in the busyness. Just before ten o'clock in the morning, a technician in charge of the main work touched the sweat on his forehead, picked up the telephone receiver with his gloved hand, and sent it to the phone. In my ear, I tentatively said: "Hello, hello, this is Moscow..."

At the same time as he said these words, Comrade Malenkov, who was sitting on the sofa, stood up abruptly, while Comrade Stalin, who was opposite him, was much calmer, but he still turned his attention to the first time.

The voice in the receiver was very loud. First there was a hissing electric current, and then a man's voice said: "Hello, this is Semipalatinsk 21 area."

The technician holding the microphone let out a sigh of relief, as if a burden weighing several hundred pounds had been removed from his shoulders. Then, he said into the receiver: "Please wait a moment, Comrade Chief will talk to you."

After telling the other party such a sentence, he put down the receiver, turned his head to Comrade Stalin and Comrade Malenkov and said, "Comrade Chief, the call has been connected."

Malenkov asked Comrade Stalin for instructions with his eyes. After getting a reply, he walked quickly to the desk, took the microphone from the technician's hand, and said, "I am Georgi Maximilianovich. Malenkov, please report your name and identity."

"Hello, Comrade Chief," the other party's reply came quickly from the telephone receiver, "I am Sergeant Boris Borisovich Hankonov, a communications trooper of the 209th Artillery Battalion in Semipalatinsk. "

"Very well, Comrade Sergeant Boris Borisovich Hankonov, please confirm your detailed location again," said Comrade Malenkov, switching the receiver to the other hand.

"Comrade Chief, this is area 0 of Semipalatinsk 21. I am talking to you at the Bolligan command center," the sergeant replied through the receiver.

Comrade Malenkov put down the receiver, covered the receiver with his left hand, and said to Comrade Stalin, "We have connected to the command center of Bolligan."

The nuclear test was arranged in the Semipalatinsk No. 21 area. You must know that on the current Union map, there is no such place as Semipalatinsk, but only one Semipalatinsk. The Semipalatinsk No. 21 area is the junction of a large grassland and desert in the southwest of Seminyi. There are no people and nothing there.

The Semipalatinsk No. 21 area is a secret city built in this wasteland. To be precise, it is a large-scale test site specially used to test nuclear bombs, and No. 0 area refers to the "Boligan", that is the command center of the test site, and also the main data observation point. This command center is almost built underground, and the above-ground department is completely made of a whole block of granite, which is not only explosion-proof but also radiation-proof.

For this test explosion, the entire alliance has invested an unimaginable amount of resources, not to mention anything else, just a telephone line that directly connects Moscow and Boligan. During the entire communication process, from Moscow to Seminy According to the distance of thousands of kilometers, there are more than 58,000 soldiers, border guards and workers and peasant policemen who are guarding the line. They must ensure that the line is continuous and unobstructed within 72 hours.

Facing Comrade Malenkov's report, Comrade Stalin nodded and stood up from the sofa.

Seeing him coming this way, Comrade Malenkov picked up the phone again and said into the receiver, "Please answer Comrade Beria, Comrade Stalin is here."

After saying these words, he put down the receiver, and when Comrade Stalin approached, he handed it over.

At this time in Semipalatinsk No. 21, not only Comrade Berusin was present, but Comrade Beria was also present. The former was in charge of the development of nuclear weapons, while the latter was under the leadership of the Deputy People's Commissar of the People's Committee. identity, involved in presiding over this work.

It must be emphasized that with the end of the war, the People's Commissariat of National Defense, which was a wartime agency, was finally dissolved, and the former People's Commissars of National Defense and Deputy People's Commissars of National Defense also returned to their respective responsible positions. , some problems have come to the fore, such as Comrade Beria, after his status as the Deputy People's Commissar of National Defense was revoked, he only had the status of a Deputy People's Commissar of the People's Committee, although he was nominally responsible for the Deputy People's Commissar The People's Commissariat for National Security is not responsible to the People's Committee to a large extent, but is directly responsible to the Central Committee. Therefore, Comrade Beria's authority is undoubtedly much weaker.

The most crucial point is that there has been news recently that Comrade Zhdanov has re-introduced a motion, suggesting that Comrade Kuznetsov should be placed in the Secretariat of the Central Committee and that he should be the Secretary of the Central Committee in charge of national security work. The post of Deputy Secretary of the Division will strengthen the supervision of the People's Commissariat of State Security and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs.

At the just-concluded Central Committee work meeting, someone had already put forward relevant suggestions, but there was no clear recommendation for who should be the deputy secretary.

To be honest, during the several years of war, Victor really took advantage of the loophole. Affected by the war, many people could not consider the issue of restricting the power of the national security department. Therefore, Victor was able to put the stall of the People's Commissariat of National Security on the table. The shop is so big, and at the same time, there is no institution or individual on it that can strictly supervise him. And with the end of the war, he was transferred from the post of chairman of the National Security People's Commissariat, so no one else could see him.

But not staring at him does not mean that it will not stare at the super department of the People's Commissariat of National Security, so everyone took a closer look and suddenly found a problem, good guy, this branch has spread to the whole alliance. This huge organization does not even have a higher-level department to supervise its work, and the deputy secretary of the Central Secretariat, who should have been in charge of its work, is still missing an editor. personally responsible for supervising the work of the department.

Well, Comrade Stalin is the leader of the alliance. He is currently responsible for too much work. How much energy can he really put into the two departments of the People's Commissariat of State Security and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs? To be honest, it is estimated that the answer will not be too optimistic. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, the People's Commissariat of National Security and the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, which are the national security organs, have now themselves threatened the national security of the alliance.

In the past, Victor stayed in the position of Chairman of the People's Commissariat for National Security, and Comrade Stalin still had full confidence in him. Therefore, Comrade Stalin would not necessarily be tempted by such a proposal. But now, Victor has been transferred, and although he recommended the trusted chairman, Comrade Stalin's trust in him is obviously not very sufficient.

Therefore, whether it is Comrade Malenkov or Comrade Beria, it is very clear that this deputy secretary in charge of national security work must be taken by someone. .

Comrade Malenkov doesn't like to be a secretary. He prefers to do some pragmatic work rather than party affairs. Therefore, he likes to stay in the People's Committee. Of course, if the People's Committee is responsible for pragmatic work, he can also If he can continue to be in charge of cadre work, he will naturally be happier. But compared to him, Comrade Beria has more consideration. He was transferred to the People's Committee, which was not what he wanted to go. If possible, he would prefer to serve as the deputy secretary of the Central Secretariat. , in charge of national security work, which is his old line of work, and the work he is most interested in.

This time I went to Kazakhstan to preside over the nuclear test explosion. Comrade Beria also hopes to show in front of Comrade Stalin that he has more experience than others in the specific work related to national security, at least Bhiku Znetsov, who started out as a secretary, is more experienced.

But what Comrade Beria didn't understand was that his performance did not get bonus points for Comrade Stalin, on the contrary, Comrade Stalin was not satisfied with the work he did.