African Entrepreneurship Records 2

Chapter 1726 Arriving at the Destination

Afterwards, Soviet officials visited other East African cities, such as Dodoma. The overall development level of these cities was not much different in East Africa, and they were only slightly different from Mogadishu, Arusha, and Bosaso in terms of city size.

However, the Soviets were clearly not yet fully recovered from the shock.

Minister Livinov pushed up his glasses and said, "I used to think I overestimated East Africa, but now it seems I was a bit conservative. Our country still has a lot to learn if it wants to reach the current level of development in East Africa."

One Soviet comrade remarked with emotion, "The cities and villages in East Africa are built to a very high standard; this is practically the blueprint for our country's future development."

Spiridonov said, "Throughout this journey, East Africa has given me a special feeling about nation-building, which is completely different from our country. Their cities are not rigidly copied from European and American models, but are carefully planned according to local topography and climate characteristics, adapting to local conditions to create urban development space."

"They put a lot of thought into urban greening and road design, treating each city as if it were a 'garden,' taking into account efficiency, aesthetics, and recreational functions."

"In comparison, our urban planning, as well as that of Europe and America, should place greater emphasis on the combination of efficiency and practicality. Our cities, in particular, prioritize practicality, and their design and construction are much rougher than those in East Africa."

The Soviet Union, or rather the Slavs, valued "if it works, it's good enough." The Soviet Union went a step further than the Tsarist era. While the Tsarist nobility had some artistic talent, the Soviet Union considered these things to be "flashy and frivolous."

Of course, the urbanization rate in Tsarist Russia was not high, and the number of cities with relatively developed industries was even smaller, so it is not representative.

No matter how beautifully the Tsar and Russian nobles built St. Petersburg, it could only benefit a few. In the vast countryside and remote areas of Tsarist Russia, the situation was completely different from that in the city.

Minister Livinov said, "Compared to East Africa, our Soviet Union was a late-developing country. In order to achieve rapid industrialization, sacrificing some aesthetics and comfort was in line with the current national conditions."

"The right way is to wait until industrialization is fully completed before pursuing comprehensive development in other areas."

Spiridonov agreed, saying, "Indeed, due to the special circumstances of the Soviet Union, we cannot completely compare ourselves with East Africa."

“Other countries are better references, such as the United States and Germany, which are also among the world’s leading industrial powers.”

“Urban construction in the United States is bolder and more unrestrained than in East Africa. Americans especially like to build skyscrapers, but we haven’t seen this in East Africa yet. Although there are relatively tall buildings in East African cities, they are more like pendants for the city.”

"This reminds me of a story from the Far Eastern Empire, which is called 'the finishing touch on a painting.' The high-rise buildings in East Africa serve this purpose in cities."

"The United States is more about high competition and quantity, especially in cities like New York and Chicago."

"From the perspective of urban development, the United States really does seem more like a 'nouveau riche,' but as the most typical capitalist country, this is in line with the actual situation in the United States."

In the eyes of the Soviets, capitalist countries were also divided into different classes, and the United States was the most typical example in their view.

As for East Africa, the Soviet Union found it difficult to assess. They generally preferred to call East Africa a "deformed monster" because the design of East Africa's national systems could be found in the shadows of almost any political system.

This also includes slavery, after all, that's how East Africa initially prospered.

However, today's Soviet negotiating team members have clearly set aside their ideological prejudices against East Africa. They have witnessed firsthand the basic national conditions of East Africa, and even they have to admit that East Africa is quite good in terms of national governance and development.

Next, Spiridonov began to comment on German cities.

"German cities are more traditional than those in the United States and East Africa. Although they are highly artistic, they are noticeably less innovative than those in East Africa and the United States."

"At the same time, due to historical issues, the expansion of German cities is naturally constrained to a certain extent. This situation has both advantages and disadvantages."

"The advantage is that it has a richer historical heritage, but the disadvantage is that it is not conducive to modern urban redevelopment..."

As a diplomat, Spiridonov was very knowledgeable, so he spoke eloquently, and the other Soviet officials in the carriage nodded frequently and expressed their own opinions.

Finally, when it came to rural development in East Africa, their opinions were more aligned.

"Looking at the whole world, I can't think of any country that can rival East Africa in terms of rural areas."

Spiridonov concluded directly.

"Besides the support of industry for agriculture, I believe that East Africa's rural development ranks first in the world, thanks to East Africa's natural endowments and the promotion of national policies."

"In terms of natural endowments, East Africa may not be as good as North America and Europe, but it is definitely much better than our Soviet Union. The comfortable climate and sufficient heat allow East Africa to support and house a larger population."

"Moreover, their land area is second only to ours, and I have no doubt that it would not be an exaggeration to say that their usable land area ranks first in the world."

"The vast land area and abundant heat mean that East Africa's food production, even if limited by soil fertility, can be comparable to that of Europe, America, and the Far Eastern empires."

"In addition, being located in the tropics, East Africa is able to grow many cash crops, which are a clear strength of East African agriculture."

Agricultural development in East Africa actually has significant shortcomings, especially in terms of water scarcity. However, this shortcoming has been greatly mitigated through the construction of water conservancy and water diversion projects in East Africa.

Apart from that, everything else was considered a minor issue by the Soviets.

Spiridonov concluded that East Africa's agricultural development conditions were far superior to those of the Soviet Union, even though the Soviet Union possessed the world's most fertile and largest area of ​​black soil.

He continued, "In addition, East Africa is also well-endowed with natural resources in animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries."

“We saw the pastures of East Africa between Juba and Arusha. East Africa, a country dominated by grassland vegetation, has a certain advantage in developing animal husbandry.”

That being said, East Africa's advantages in animal husbandry are definitely not comparable to those of countries like the Soviet Union. After all, the Soviet Union also had a vast grassland area, and the grasslands from Eastern Europe to Central Asia were natural pastures in ancient times.

Moreover, due to its higher latitude, livestock diseases are much less prevalent in Africa compared to East Africa.

"Large but not strong" is an accurate description of the natural endowment of East African animal husbandry.

Of course, with the development of industry and technology in East Africa, its livestock technology is definitely among the top in the world today. "Then there is East African fisheries. East Africa itself spans two oceans, and its territory is generally long and narrow from north to south, so it has abundant marine resources."

"And if you are familiar with the geography of East Africa, you will know that East Africa also has a number of world-class large lakes."

"Forestry is a weak point in East Africa, but they have the Congo rainforest as a natural timber resource, and their overseas colonies can fully meet their timber needs."

Spiridonov is referring to the Congo rainforest in a "broad" sense, encompassing the contiguous rainforest ecosystem surrounding the Congo Basin, an area that alone covers more than four million square kilometers.

It is worth noting that the Congo rainforest in East Africa is larger than in the previous life. After all, East Africa has the awareness and ability to maintain the ecology of the Congo rainforest, and has increased its protection efforts in recent years. Therefore, the area of ​​the Congo rainforest has not shrunk as drastically as in the previous life.

In addition, forest cover in other parts of East Africa today is higher than in previous centuries, a key reason being that East Africa has expanded its timber import channels since the 20th century.

For example, South America is now an important region for East Africa to import timber, especially countries and regions covered by the Amazon rainforest such as Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia.

Spiridonov concluded, "East Africa's unique climate and vast territory allow for diversified agricultural development. Coupled with its strong industrial base and technological support, this makes East Africa one of the world's most agriculturally developed countries."

"Then, in terms of national policy, East Africa has also played a significant role in rural development."

"As we traveled along the way, we found that electricity and roads in East Africa were almost entirely laid out in rural areas. Without the support of national power, it would be very difficult to achieve this."

"This is extremely alarming. Even in Germany, the electricity penetration rate is definitely not as high as that in East Africa."

Germany's electricity penetration rate is around 70%, and in fact, it was even higher in the same period of the previous life. So why has it decreased in this timeline?

This is because Germany's annexation of Austria-Hungary lowered Germany's overall electricity penetration rate.

This means that there are still many rural and remote areas in Germany, especially in the south, the former Hungarian region, and some mountainous areas, where electricity coverage has not kept pace.

The Soviets were the most knowledgeable about Germany, after all, Germany was an enemy country and was relatively close to the Soviet Union.

Spiridonov continued, "I even suspect that the electricity coverage rate in East Africa is close to 100%, and the national grid covers almost every part of East Africa except for extremely remote areas."

“The widespread availability of electricity and the construction of rural roads alone demonstrate the importance East Africa places on people’s livelihoods. It’s no wonder that the movement in East Africa has been relatively subdued in recent years; these are not just superficial observations.”

If the Soviet negotiating team hadn't come to East Africa and seen firsthand the level of social development there, they would have certainly suspected that East Africa's external propaganda was misleading.

However, having observed over two thousand kilometers of East Africa from north to south along the railway, they had to admit that there was indeed a huge gap between the Soviet Union and East Africa.

Spiridonov's words caused the Soviet officials in the carriage to fall silent for a moment.

However, their journey thereafter revealed to them that what they had seen before was merely the tip of the iceberg of East Africa's superpower status.

As the train continued its journey, they finally encountered Mbeya, the first major city in East Africa.

In East Africa, only cities with a population of over one million are considered to be classified as large cities. Cities like Bosaso, Mogadishu, Arusha, and Dodoma did not meet this standard.

Without a doubt, the level of development in Mbeya once again refreshed the Soviet people's understanding.

This metropolis, with a population of one million, is also an important science and technology center and industrial hub in East Africa. Its size and prosperity easily surpass all the East African cities they had seen before.

Even these high-ranking Soviet officials had to admit that, in the entire Soviet Union, only Moscow and Leningrad could barely compare to the city before them, and even then, they were slightly inferior.

However, Moscow was the political and economic center of the Soviet Union, and Leningrad was the former capital of Tsarist Russia, while Mbeya clearly never reached such a political status and level.

If Mbeya is like this, what about other cities in East Africa?

Rhine, the capital of East Africa; Mombasa, the largest city; Dar es Salaam, the core of the largest urban cluster; Cabinda and Luanda, pearls of the west coast; New Frankfurt, the heart of inland transportation; Tete, a heavy industrial base; Beira, a major chemical city...

As the world's leading industrial power, many cities in East Africa are gaining increasing international recognition.

These cities are no less well-known than Mbeya, and there are also some less famous but equally impressive towns, such as Lubumbashi and Kinshasa...

Thinking about this made the Soviets feel even more complicated, and this complicated feeling lasted until they finally arrived in Rhine, the capital of East Africa.

Although they were mentally prepared, Rhine City once again gave them a shock, and as their destination, they would be staying in this East African capital for some time.

During this period, the more they learned about East Africa, the more they realized the value of East Africa as the world's leading industrial power.

At the Rhine Central Railway Station, East African government officials personally received these guests from the Soviet Union.

"Your Excellency Livinov, you are welcome to take your time to explore the sights of our Rhine City. Now that you have traveled a long way, I will take you to the hotel that has been prepared for you."

Looking at the magnificent central railway station square and the high-profile motorcade, Livinov and his entourage were deeply impressed, which gave them a further understanding of the extravagance of capitalist countries.

Livinov composed himself and said politely to the East African officials, "Then I'll trouble you. Please also convey to your government that the Soviet Union is making friends with East Africa with absolute sincerity."

The East African official smiled and said, "These matters will be discussed with you personally tomorrow after you have rested. His Highness the Crown Prince of the Rhine Empire will discuss them with you. His Majesty the Emperor is currently away in Rhine City due to an inspection tour in the south, so we hope you will understand."

"You don't need to worry. Crown Prince Frederick has already begun handling government affairs and is now the de facto leader of the empire. If the empire and your country reach a consensus on unification, His Highness the Crown Prince can make the final decision."

Ernst had already toured the south before the Soviets sent anyone to Rhine. However, since he held the title of Emperor, Ernst remained the head of state and a symbol of the nation. East African officials were worried that the Soviets would feel uncomfortable, so they specifically reminded him of this.

(End of this chapter)