Servant of the People in Kyiv

Chapter 031 A Responsible Cadre

Haniyev, Grigory, Kartov, Gladkov and others were talking and drinking in Sasha's restaurant. Amid the sound of crisp clinking glasses, they began to talk about interesting stories and scandals of the country's leaders, and even praised and criticized them.

Haniyev tried hard to control himself from talking too much, and at the same time he sighed inwardly: The Soviet Union is indeed too rigid to survive. State officials are either obsessed with corruption and maintaining the status quo, or they want to start all over again and completely westernize. Neither of these is the right path or the destination...

Politics and women are eternal topics among men. As they talked more and more excitedly, Kartov and Gladkov drank too much without realizing it.

Haniyev was better, Grigory only drank half a pound, so there was no problem at all.

After returning to the room and taking a quick nap, Haniyev woke up the next morning and had some meat pies with Gladkov, Kartov, and Grigory, and then left together.

But before leaving, Grigory took out three hundred and fifty rubles to pay the bill.

Kartov, beaming, pulled Gladkov aside and said, "Victor Vladimirvich is a responsible cadre. You know, in a few days, the Secretary of the Regional Forestry Committee, Lukachikov, will come to inspect the state-owned forest farm. His purpose is to promote Victor. You'll have to speak well of him to Chekhov..."

Before coming to dinner, Gladkov knew what he was doing. He and Kartov were of the same type and knew very well that Haniyev had a bright future and could be won over as a friend, so he never put on airs.

Nodding, Gladkov shook Hanyev's hand and said, "Dear Viktor Vladimirevich, I will definitely recommend you to Comrade Chekhov, don't worry.

We have three positions available for you in our region: Director or Second Secretary of the Forestry Commission, or Deputy Mayor of Pripyat, where I live. If you come, I promise you'll be promoted directly to First Deputy Mayor. It's actually easier to achieve political success here than at the Forestry Commission."

Haniyev knew very well that although the deputy mayor of Pripyat was of a similar rank to the director of the regional forestry committee, he was in charge of a region after all, so his position was more valuable.

So he was very pleased that Kartov and Gladkov really wanted to help him. Of course, as old bureaucrats, they helped him out of their own interests. Hanyev knew very well that this kind of mutually beneficial relationship was actually more stable than many relationships supported by emotions.

After seeing off Kartov and Gladkov, Hanyev and Grigory left Black Forest Village and returned directly to the high slope state forest farm.

After returning to the forest farm, Haniyev actively participated in the front-line production. Although he did not carry a chainsaw to cut wood, it was necessary for him to go to the front line every day to cheer on the workers and give them some bread and biscuits to motivate them and win their hearts.

Just two days later, on the morning of March 11, Tuesday, Kartov brought several leaders and staff of the Forestry Committee to the state-owned forest farm to inspect the work. At the same time, he personally arranged and formulated the content and reception standards for welcoming the provincial forestry committee secretary's investigation.

In order to make Lukachikov more satisfied with Haniyev, and also to satisfy him as the newly appointed first secretary of the regional forestry committee, Kartov specially approved 3000 rubles from the office funds of the regional forestry committee and gave it to Haniyev, asking the state-owned forest farm not to be stingy with the expenses and to add a few thousand more to try to entertain Lukachikov and his party.

Haniyev had already used his old connections in the state to find out who would be coming. Basically, they were all old leaders and colleagues he was familiar with, so Haniyev directly asked the accountant to embezzle part of the next month's salary and let him go to Kiev with a check for 6000 rubles to purchase high-end materials.

If something is not available in the state-owned supermarket, we have to go to the black market. In short, it is not easy for the leaders and colleagues from the state to come here, and we must not let them come with high hopes and leave disappointed.

Haniyev was well aware that these colleagues who came here represented his reputation in Kiev, and if the leaders who followed Lukachikov were transferred, they might become regional secretaries or committee directors. In short, they were all big leaders, and he had to spare no effort to make them happy, because they came here for their own personal matters, and they were just here under the guise of research and inspection.

In addition to all the high-end supplies for food, clothing, housing and transportation, attention should also be paid to hygiene and public security. Hygiene is easy to solve. Grigory can simply instruct the employees to clean up Gaopo Village. However, as a forest farm where wolves and bears injure people or eat livestock every year, and relying on tens of thousands of square kilometers of forest, it is impossible to say when wild beasts will rush into residential areas.

In order to prevent the possible attacks of wild beasts from scaring leaders such as Lukachikov, Haniyev and Kartov unanimously decided to let the militia company continue to concentrate on pushing 20 kilometers into the forest to sweep away wolves, brown bears, foxes, etc.

Because wildlife resources are now key resources that the Soviet State Forestry Committee requires to be protected, the regional committee at the forest farm level has no right to hunt without approval from the state government or above.

However, Haniyev was very smart. He did not order a hunt, but only asked for an exercise. Then he secretly told Belanov to kill small animals, such as foxes, badgers, etc., because these small creatures were inconspicuous, but wolves and bears could only be injured and then captured or expelled to Belarus. In this way, the wild animals could be eliminated without taking responsibility.

Kartov was very happy when he learned about this and once again highly praised Haniyev as a "responsible cadre."

So, with the tacit approval of the two secretaries, the forest ranger militia company of the Gaopodi State Forest Farm carried guns and ammunition magazines and drove trucks and horse-drawn carriages, dragging a net from east to west to hunt foxes, badgers, weasels, mice, cats and other animals. At the same time, they drove away wolves and wild bears, and caught a few antlered deer along the way, preparing to use them to find Lukachikov and other leaders from the capital to let them taste the local wild game specialties.

This illegal operation was launched vigorously on March 12, and two days later it was pushed to the north for 15 kilometers. Another 7 or 8 kilometers to the north would enter the territory of Belarus.

The effect is very good. According to what Belanov secretly reported to Haniyev, he has obtained more than 100 rare furs, the most of which are hare, wild cat, squirrel and mole skins, and a small amount are fox and badger skins.

Belanov had already processed the fur and was sending it to Haniyev after it had dried thoroughly in the shade.

Haniyev naturally would not pretend to be noble in front of his confidant like Belanov and say that collective assets and state-owned assets cannot be encroached upon. He knew very well that if he wanted to move up step by step, he needed the vast forestry resources behind the forest farm to help him.

After all, these rare resources are more precious than money of the same value, especially since the Soviet people have had an obsession with fur for thousands of years. Giving away a good piece of fur is worth thousands of good words and rubles with the scent of ink.

Haniyev was not trying to make himself richer, nor was he trying to accumulate wealth like Korchagin and live a life of luxury and debauchery. He just needed the forest farm's large fur warehouse to support himself, and he needed to use furs and other precious materials to push himself to a higher position.

Therefore, in response to Belanov's flattery, he just smiled and nodded, and at the same time hinted that he was doing a good job, which made Belanov very happy and more motivated to join the dragnet-style campaign to eliminate dangerous elements.

Chapter 032 Must Dare to Lift RPG

Originally, this secretly carried out dragnet operation to clear and expel wild animals was very smooth. In theory, when Lukachikov and other leaders of the State Forestry Committee arrived on March 15, they would be able to enjoy the same quality of life as in Kiev, as well as a safe environment and special food.

But at noon on March 14, an accident happened.

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the outpost suddenly called Haniyev's office. After Grigory answered the call, he walked into Haniyev's office with a serious expression.

Haniyev and Kartov were happily drinking tea and chatting. Seeing Grigory's serious expression, Haniyev's heart tightened and he asked, "What happened?"

Grigori whispered, "Belanov said... a black bear seemed to be agitated by the expulsion. It frightened and broke through the defense line, rushed into Hongsong Village, and went into the abandoned old logging camp in the village, and bit two people."

Haniyev frowned, stood up and said, "This concerns the personal safety of the workers and the masses. We can't be careless. Immediately send Belanov and the militia to shoot the black bear!"

If the wild animals harm the lives of employees due to the actions they secretly instigated to eliminate and expel wild animals, the political future of both of them would be ruined.

So Kartov followed Hanyev and stood up, and then the two of them walked out quickly with Grigory.

"Has the black bear hurt anyone yet? Is there anyone in the old lumber mill?"

As the old office director, Grigory was no fool. He had already investigated the problem clearly and said quickly in a low voice, "That abandoned logging site is useless and is far from the residential area. In recent years, Alexander, the head of Red Pine Village, has turned it into a breeding farm. It is said that there are more than 30 goats there.

It is not night now. If we make too much noise to kill the black bear, the matter will definitely get out of hand and may cause all kinds of rumors. By then, people will be uneasy and the employees will lose confidence in the security force of the forest protection militia company, which will affect the reception of the leaders' research.

When the secretaries and leaders of the State Forestry Committee come and find out what's going on, they will also be dissatisfied with you and Secretary Kartov.

But if we try to shoot it in a small area, we don't have anyone in our militia with good marksmanship, so I'm afraid we won't be able to kill it. If it's just injured and becomes aggressive, it will definitely hurt the villagers, and then the situation will be even more serious. So Belanov doesn't know what to do, please give me some advice."

Kartov was momentarily bewildered after hearing Grigori's analysis. He looked at Haniyev, and seeing the young man's calm expression, he asked in a low voice, "Victor Vladimirevich, what do you say we should do?"

Haniyev was not at all panicked. He knew that things had come to this point and it was impossible to hide it from the public.

It would be better to kill the bear in a high-profile manner in the name of protecting the safety of employees. As for why the black bear suddenly appeared, it can naturally be attributed to an accident. Then, using the appearance of the black bear as an excuse, the beast can be expelled and eliminated openly. The violation will then become a responsible act of protecting people's lives and property.

Haniyev made up his mind and remembered that he had participated in the last spring hunt with Belanov and had even enjoyed shooting a gun himself. So he said in a deep voice: "Remember, there was an incident where a black bear strayed into the village. It was an accident, but we reacted quickly and used all the weapons of the forest ranger company to protect the lives and property of the people.

"Grigory, tell Belanov to take all the forest rangers and their guns to protect the workers and their families in Red Pine Village. Tell him to bring the RPG as well. If necessary, I will personally rush to the front lines of the battle to stop the crazy beasts from harming the workers and people in the forest farm!"

Haniyev spoke with such righteousness that Kartov and Grigory came to their senses instantly and understood that they were trying to unify their statements and characterize the appearance of the black bear as it accidentally entering the village, rather than breaking out of the encirclement after being expelled by the forest ranger militia. The nature of these two things were obviously completely different, and they also had different impacts on the image of the forestry secretary and the team.

Haniyev instantly thought of the most favorable public opinion guidance and event characterization for the leaders, which made Kartov feel ashamed.

Soon Haniyev, Kartov and Grigory rode their horses to Red Pine Village and met Belanov and Alexander, the village chief of Red Pine Village.

Because Grigory had informed Belanov in advance, the militia company had already surrounded the logging camp when Haniyev arrived.

The so-called abandoned logging site in Red Pine Village is actually a large yard where timber was stored and processed in the past. Alexander is a bald old man who looks short and fat and speaks with a stutter.

"Khaniyev... Secretary, you're finally here..."

Before Alexander could finish, Haniyev looked at Belanov and asked in a deep voice, "Is Black Bear still in the lumberyard?"

Belanov nodded and said, "It's still inside, but because there is only one gate, we are worried that the black bear will escape when we open the gate, so we dare not open the gate and go in."

Haniyev knew that the forest rangers' militia skills were not very good at shooting, and the hunting every few years relied on traps and volleys. For example, this year's spring hunting relied on collective strength. If they came to close combat, no militia would dare to face the big black bear, let alone risk their lives to enter the logging camp to eliminate the big black bear.

Haniyev knew his chance to shine had arrived, and snorted coldly, "At critical moments, facing crisis, we must have the willpower to make decisive decisions. Belanov, go get me the RPG. I'll personally take the lumberyard and the black bear inside to the ground, to prevent it from escaping and causing harm."

Belanov was stunned for a moment, and only after Haniyev's repeated urging did he turn around and personally get the only heavy weapon he brought to the high-slope forest farm - the RPG rocket launcher.

When Haniyev took the RPG and just put it on his shoulder, Alexander blushed and said, "Secretary... Secretary... My sheep..."

Haniyev snorted coldly and said, "The abandoned logging site is our forest farm's collective resource. You used it for private farming. Have you paid the rental fee to the forest farm office?"

Alexander's face looked very ugly, his lips trembled and he couldn't speak.

Without even looking at him, Haniyev walked to the gate of the logging yard carrying an RPG rocket launcher, and then pulled the trigger at the dilapidated iron gate.

"Whoosh!"

"boom!"

The huge recoil of the rocket pushed Haniyev's body back suddenly, and he almost fell down. However, the rocket burst into flames, smashed the gate and exploded in the lumberyard with a loud bang.

The ground beneath his feet was trembling. Haniyev looked at the collapsed lumberyard wall and the smoke and dust in the sky. He waved his hand to fan the smell of gunpowder in the air and frowned. "Everyone, cheer up! Let's see if that black bear is about to rush out!"

A moment later, the smoke cleared, and everyone saw only the ruins of the logging yard, with a few broken logs emitting black smoke, broken bricks and goat's broken arms and legs everywhere. Not far from the explosion point were more than a dozen goats that were shocked to death. Next to the goats was a black bear with blood coming out of all seven orifices. Half of its face was blown off, and it lay on the ground bleeding. It was obvious that it was dead.

Chapter 033 A Good Secretary Who Loves the People Like His Own Children

Seeing that the black bear was dead, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Haniyev was lucky enough. He just fired a rocket and killed a black bear that entered the logging site, which attracted everyone's exclamations and admiration.

Many militiamen from the forest protection militia company looked at Secretary Haniyev, who was still carrying a rocket launcher, with various emotions. Some were in awe, while others even admired him.

The militiamen of the forest protection militia company really couldn't imagine that a leader who looked quiet and gentle could actually carry a rocket launcher and personally kill a terrible black bear, and had the courage to destroy an entire logging site.

Kartov was also very surprised. He looked at Haniyev like he had never seen him before. He turned around and smiled, "Victor Vladimirevich. You really impressed me. Your courage and boldness are the most unique I have ever met. Fortunately, this sawmill is abandoned. If it was still in use, you would be destroying state property."

Kartov joked, his admiration barely concealed on his face, and finally added, "If the kind Comrade Brezhnev and the courageous Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov were in power, your character and way of doing things might have had a better political future."

Haniyev smiled slightly and thought to himself: Xunzong and Guangzong? Although Gorbachev was in power now, he liked young cadres with drive and motivation, and his active performance might not fail to win his favor.

However, the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse, and even if he became the general secretary, he would not be able to save the empire from its demise. Moreover, given the aging of Soviet cadres, even if he was appreciated by Gorbachev, he could only be promoted to deputy in some important department before 1991, and could only be an observer at the joint meeting of ministers. Therefore, no matter how big his dreams were, they would not come true.

But no matter how you think about it or what you do, if you want to profit from this chaos, you must be brave enough to fight.

Alexander's face turned bitter when he saw the dead sheep scattered all over the ground. He hurried over and took a look around. Finally, he came over with a little goat that was still warm and cried, saying, "Secretary...Secretary...my...my sheep..."

Haniyev smiled slightly, looked at Grigori, and instructed, "How much is a goat? You calculate it for Alexander. We can compensate him for his losses. We can also calculate the rent for the abandoned lumberyard he used for a certain period of time. After deducting the rent, we can give him compensation for the goats and have someone clean up the place."

Grigory quickly agreed, and then took Alexander to his home, which was also the village committee of Red Pine Village.

Haniyev was still carrying the rather heavy rocket launcher. He smiled slightly and took out a second-hand Leica camera from his pocket.

Grigory was accompanied by a clerk named Ilyich, who was usually in charge of cleaning Haniyev's office. Haniyev handed him the camera he had brought from home and said, "My camera takes clearer pictures than the one we have in the forestry office. Come and get some footage for me and Secretary Kartov."

Haniyev said this as he walked to the black bear's body, ready to let Ilyich pat him on the back for his heroic posture carrying the rocket launcher.

One is the heroic and high-spirited secretary of the forest farm, carrying a rocket launcher on his shoulder, and the other is the dead body of a black bear lying on the ground at the secretary's feet. This contrast can highlight Haniyev's bravery and the spirit of the proletarian revolutionary fighter who can overcome everything.

After taking a few photos in different poses, Haniyev asked Belanov to hand Kartov a gun and asked him to come over, so that Kartov could take a few photos as well, and then asked Kartov to report on the two of them as positive examples in the forestry system.

Kartov laughed heartily, understanding Haniyev's meaning without him having to explain. He then said with a smile, "Victor, you are very clever. I think Lukachikov, Chekhov and other leaders will praise you even more tomorrow when they come."

Lukachikov stood over as he spoke, and then Ilyich took two more group photos of the two secretaries. After that, Haniyev handed the cannon to Belanov and stepped back, giving the space to Kartov to take a few solo photos.

When the photo shoot was over, Grigory came back with Alexander, who was smiling widely. Grigory finally compensated Alexander with 500 rubles, which made Alexander very happy and he seemed to stutter less when he spoke.

Haniyev declined Alexander's invitation to everyone to stay for dinner, turned around and left with Kartov.

A moment later, Haniyev, Kartov and others returned to the office building in Gaopo Village.

The black bear that died from Haniyev's rocket was skinned and dismembered by Belanov's men after the two secretaries took photos. The bear meat was stored in a freezer and prepared as a special food to entertain the leaders who would arrive tomorrow.

The bear skins were propped up with wooden sticks and placed in the warehouse to dry in the shade.

After a brief discussion between Haniyev and Kartov, Ilyich sent the Leica camera, film containing photos of the two secretaries killing the black bear, and the materials written by Grigory to the Chernobyl Radio and Television Bureau that afternoon.

The document was a special report on the heroic deeds of the two secretaries, Kharyev and Kartov, who went to the front line and personally eliminated a black bear that broke into the homes of forestry workers and nearly killed them. It was also the final version that had been polished and reviewed by the two secretaries, Kartov and Hanyev.

By the time Ilyich set out, Grigory had already sent the materials via fax to the Forestry Commission office in the Chernobyl administrative building.

After Kartov personally made a phone call to coordinate, this press release will be distributed to various units in the name of the committee as local information and work briefing tomorrow and reported to higher-level departments such as the provincial committee, provincial party committee and provincial forestry committee.

Haniyev wanted to use this incident to build momentum for himself and Kartov, so after coordinating with Kartov, he decided to call Anato tomorrow morning and wait until the photos were developed so that he and Reuters could report it.

As the saying goes, well done is not as good as well spoken, and well spoken is not as good as well boasted.

The genius idea of ​​using a small black bear to create a heroic, selfless, fearless and people-loving positive image amazed Kartov. He clapped his head and admired Haniyev very much, and knew clearly that he could never have come up with it even if he racked his brains.

After all, Haniyev is not a native Ukrainian. As a person who traveled through time from decades later, he is very clear about the benefits of establishing a personal image, building an image that the public likes, and then hyping it up commercially, and then traffic and popularity will appear. This is a very mature routine that has been tried and tested in the commercial market of later generations.

As long as it is handled properly and the power of the media is used to portray oneself as a brave, decisive, honest, and people-loving young cadre, this will be a politician that the Soviet people will like.

If the people can be more supportive, Hekartov will soon become a political star in the local area and even in Ukraine. Then he will have fame and a future.

As long as he can maintain his personal image, no matter how high or low his official position is, he will have a certain influence and can naturally do a lot of things. It can also ensure that he has a talisman when he makes that big gamble in April.

Moreover, Haniyev felt that no matter what his political future would be after the Chernobyl accident, whether that political gamble would succeed or fail, he, a small secretary of a forest farm, would be able to obtain the support of the Ukrainian people, the Belarusian people, and even many Russian people. This would ensure that even in the worst-case scenario, he could accumulate enough experience to run for election as the democratically elected president of Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even if everything went well and developed towards the best outcome, he would be more likely to become an important figure in the Politburo of the Central Committee during the final period of the Soviet Union's collapse, thus creating opportunities for delaying his recovery.

Chapter 034 The Most Outstanding Young Cadres

Not long after, the phone in the forest farm office kept ringing. Most of the time, they were looking for Kartov, because Haniyev did not know the leaders of the committee and the provincial party committee and committee. Except for Mayor Gladkov, everyone was calling Kartov to tell him the good news.

Obviously, the story of the two secretaries personally taking part in the battle and fearlessly exterminating the black bears has spread among the region's leadership core.

Kartov was very proud. He drank two more glasses of wine at dinner that night. He patted Haniyev on the shoulder and said, "Tomorrow the newspapers and TV stations will report on our story. Secretary Chekhov also praised you as a good cadre who can take on responsibilities. I think your political future is guaranteed."

Haniyev also laughed and praised Kartov, and the dinner ended in a pleasant atmosphere of mutual business praise.

The next morning, Haniyev and Kartov dressed up. Kartov drove the car and Haniyev rode a horse, and they ran to the outside of the forest farm with their team members to welcome more than 10 senior leaders including Lukachikov, secretary of the State Forestry Committee, and Chekonenkov, first secretary of the regional party committee.

The leaders who came were the leaders of the Kyiv State Forestry Committee and related accompanying personnel, as well as the leaders of the regional party committee and committee. Except for a few accompanying clerks, the rest of the twenty or so people who came were Haniyev's old leaders and colleagues. They are still leaders now, so they were naturally very cordial when they met.