A Young Woman's Heart

Although the presidential election was scheduled for June 2000, his sudden resignation likely meant that the election would have to be brought forward.

Even if it's brought forward, there will still be a gap period in between where there is no president.

If there were an acting president, who would act as president?

Will this country, which is already in a slump, ever have a chance to regain its former glory?

Or will the new president make things even worse?

Many Russians toss and turn in bed because of all sorts of complicated thoughts.

Nora is the same.

“Glimmer, I really envy your country (this is in Russian, but I don’t know it, so I’m writing it in Chinese)…” Nora looked at the gloomy sky and sighed.

She was Chenxing, the pen pal of Mo Xueyao who exchanged letters with her.

Choosing this pen name is actually a way of hoping for the dawn to break.

Unfortunately, she still sees no hope at the moment.

She rested her chin on her chest, fiddling with the quill pen on the table that was used as a decoration.

In the night sky, the heavy snow falling outside the window seemed to be burying Moscow.

Nora couldn't fall asleep after all.

She thought for a moment, picked up the coat from the clothes rack next to her, put it on, and pushed open the door.

"Where are we going?" asked the father, who was listening to the radio with his eyes half-closed in the living room.

"Let's go see Red Square."

The father touched his bald head, nodded, and then whispered, "Be careful on the road," when Nora reached the door.

"understood."

Nora slipped on her thick fur boots and closed the door.

She walked out onto the street with a black umbrella and noticed that many other people were also heading towards Red Square.

Red Square is the oldest square in Russia, where many things have happened, the most famous of which is the Red Square military parade in modern times.

With nowhere to retreat, the Soviet soldiers rushed directly to the battlefield after the parade, their roars of revenge echoing throughout the battlefield and the world, telling everyone that fascism was not invincible.

Although Nora did not experience that era, she was influenced by her parents and knew about this once magnificent history.

On December 6, 1941, the Soviet army launched a counter-offensive from the outskirts of Moscow, shattering the myth of the German army's invincibility since World War II.

The so-called blitzkrieg has finally ceased to be invincible.

People at that time believed that this country would eventually become number one in the world, and in fact, it did become number one for a period of time.

But good times never last.

The ultimate prosperity always symbolizes decline.

Nora took a cigarette out of her pocket, put it in her mouth, and tried to light it several times with a kerosene lighter.

She took a deep drag of her cigarette and exhaled a rather unsightly smoke ring. Before she knew it, she had reached the edge of Red Square.

Many people gathered here, feeling lost and powerless.

The last time a president suddenly stepped down, the Soviet Union split up the very next day. What kind of turmoil will this sudden step down cause?

Everyone felt uneasy.

Many people would rather fight on the battlefield than endure such torment.

Being unable to see the enemy and being powerless to throw a punch only makes one feel more frustrated.

Many people stood silently in Red Square, holding black umbrellas.

Nora vaguely heard someone sobbing softly, as if they felt that the country was about to face turmoil again.

Perhaps it will cease to exist after tonight.

Will its territory become smaller in the future?

What will it be called after that?

The snow kept falling, and a thick layer of snow accumulated on the umbrellas.

Nora felt the umbrella was a bit heavy, so she shook it vigorously, shaking the snow off onto the ground.

Suddenly, the Soviet national anthem began to play softly in my ears.

The national anthems of the Soviet Union and Russia have the same melody, but the lyrics are completely different.

No one knows who started it, but Nora, who was in the crowd, was unconsciously infected and started singing along.

"Great Russia, eternal alliance."

"An independent republic, formed by free association."

"The Soviet Union was established by the will of all nations."

"United and powerful, may you live for ten thousand years!"

As they sang, some people began to weep, and Nora couldn't help but shed tears as well.

Large teardrops rolled down the ground, melting the cold snow.

Is this country destined to become history, unable to continue into the new 21st century?

Moreover, according to another calculation method, we haven't even entered the 21st century yet.

"The great Lenin guided our future, and Stalin taught us to be loyal to the people."

"The Soviet Red Banner, the People's Red Banner, leads from victory to victory!"

Yes, in the end, the Soviet Union won on the main battlefield.

However, on another battlefield, the Soviet Union was defeated.

So it broke apart.

So what will be the fate of the newly born Russia?

"Putin might be the acting president!" Suddenly, a message spread through the crowd, and people whispered among themselves. Soon, most people knew about it.

Nora remembers Putin, a former KGB agent who was officially appointed prime minister in 1999. At the time, many people speculated that he might be the successor to the next president. Now, is that really the case?

With the news of a new president, or even just an acting president, everyone felt much more at ease.

At least you won't wake up one day to find that the country has suddenly disintegrated.

No one wants to experience the same nightmare a second time.

Nora shivered, shook the snow off her umbrella, and turned to walk back.

A beggar huddled under a thin blanket in the alley couldn't help but ask a passerby, "How are you? Will Russia still be here tomorrow?"

"Maybe," someone replied.

“It will definitely be there,” Nora replied.

"Thank you, thank you..." the beggar stammered, tears welling in his sunken eyes. Nora noticed that he was in poor health, with obvious ulcers on his skin.

“You don’t look well?” Nora stopped and took out a hundred-ruble note with a picture of a two-doored chariot on the portico of the Bolshoi Theatre from her pocket, and gently placed it in front of the beggar.

"Thank you..." The other person seemed a little embarrassed, but due to their dire financial situation, they accepted it anyway. "I walked all the way here from Kharkiv and I'm penniless."

"You're from Ukraine?"

"Not Ukraine, but Kharkiv in the Soviet Union," the beggar insisted.

“Okay.” Nora nodded. “Are you Russian?”

“I am a Soviet citizen—or at least I used to be.”

"..." Nora pulled a crumpled cigarette case from her pocket and handed a Winston cigarette to the other person. "Want a smoke?"

"Thank you." The beggar trembled as he took the cigarette, put it in his mouth, lit it with a match, and gave an ugly smile. "It's been so long... since I've had a whole cigarette."

Why did you come here?

"I want to see Moscow one last time, haha... Actually, I probably won't live much longer." The beggar chuckled. "You know about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, right?"

“Of course.” Nora nodded, then asked in surprise, unconsciously using honorifics, “Did you participate in that rescue operation?”

"Yes...we fight against an unseen enemy, just to clean up the messes of those damned politicians." Although the beggar said this, there wasn't much anger or hatred on his face.

Which batch are you in?

“When the middle batches arrived, we were mainly responsible for the landfill project. Later, I also participated in the sealing project of the stone coffin—that is, building those reinforced concrete blocks.” The beggar smiled. “Heh, sealing, it’s like the brave adventurer in the story finally sealing the evil dragon, but the evil dragon may still break the seal, while the hero will not live for long.”

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred in 1986, and many people died there, or died shortly after leaving.

Those who survived also lived in pain, with weakened immunity and various strange complications, which overwhelmed many and even led some to commit suicide.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was partly related to Chernobyl, which was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Finally, five years after 86 years, the Soviet Union collapsed.

Many people who were still carrying out follow-up work then discovered that they were now homeless.

Ukraine is Ukraine, and Russia is Russia; neither of them is the Soviet Union.

"Thank you." Nora held these rescue workers in the highest esteem. If the nuclear leak were left unchecked, the disaster would likely affect not only Europe, but the entire world.

Despite the already dire economic situation in the Soviet Union at the time, they persevered and completed the project.

The backbone of that great nation was not the government officials who shirked their responsibilities at the time, but precisely those people who rushed to the front lines without hesitation.

Even if the country is on the verge of collapse, one should at least fulfill one's obligations.

The beggar's eyes were somewhat blurry, as if he were recalling the past.

"Haha, back then, nobody was afraid at all. We didn't even want to wear protective suits because they were too hot. We just drank vodka. We all thought it could protect against radiation. If we felt unwell, we'd have a bottle of vodka. If we felt really bad, we'd have a bottle of vodka. If we couldn't take it anymore, we'd have another bottle of vodka! If all else failed, we'd have two bottles!"

"If you had been wearing protective clothing at the time, your condition might not be so bad now."

"Actually, it's all the same. The difference in the protective suits isn't significant. In the end, the cleanup and burial still involve risking lives. At the epicenter of a nuclear leak, no one who goes in can last more than a few minutes. Each person is only allowed to work inside for forty seconds..."

Nora hunched her shoulders and flicked the ash from her cigarette, as if she were imagining herself fighting against an unseen enemy and racing against time to save her life.

"Do you regret it?" she finally couldn't help but ask this question that troubles many young people.