Servant of the People in Kyiv

Haniyev told me that he evacuated the workers and residents of Pripyat and the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant without waiting for the approval of the regional and state party committee leaders. In the future, he may become a negative example of not abiding by political rules and abusing power and being punished..."

"Is that so?" Mr. Mike smiled. "Don't worry, I'll take over. Perhaps this newly released report should be published simultaneously in Europe, America, Ukraine, and Moscow. I need to ask London for instructions.

Thank you very much, Shatya Vasilievich. If this report goes well, I think you will be given a lifetime employment contract. In the future, as the work demands, you may be filmed all over the world, or transferred back to London, New York, Paris, or Washington. However, as long as you become a full-time employee of Reuters, I think your next step of immigration will not be a problem.

After expressing his heartfelt thanks, Mike left with the film and related data materials.

Anato was very excited and happy, then he remembered Haniyev's reminder, so he dressed very warmly, took the rubles and vouchers, and went to the supermarket to buy supplies.

While Anato wrapped himself up like a leper and went frantically to buy supplies, Haniyev's mother Natalia and other classmates, such as Pristin and Vyshevsky, also put on lead vests, coats, and top hats and ran to the supermarket to buy supplies.

Sergei had the best family background. After all, his father was the secretary of the State Planning and Economic Committee, so he did not have to buy the corresponding supplies himself, but he also used his connections to have people send his home enough bacon, butter, flour, sugar and other supplies to last for three years.

So, in the early morning of April 28, as the first group of Chernobyl citizens returned to Kiev, the leaders of Haniyev, Chekhov, Kartov and other regions leaked the news to their relatives and friends living in Kiev.

Starting from the morning, almost all supermarkets in Kyiv were filled with people wrapped tightly in bags buying daily necessities in large quantities.

By noon, rumors of a fire, a nuclear power plant explosion, spy infiltration and sabotage began to circulate in Kiev. However, no matter how many rumors there were, each one would point out the key point that an accident had occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.

Therefore, starting at 11:00 am on the 28th, tension began to spread in the city of Kyiv, and more citizens rushed to supermarkets and supply and marketing departments waving banknotes and receipts to buy supplies. However, after the rush to buy in the morning and at noon, all supermarkets and stores were temporarily short of food and other supplies, and they had to wait for transportation from warehouses and delivery tomorrow morning.

However, the citizens who were already uneasy due to various rumors were even more frightened by the shortage of supplies. They turned to the black market to buy supplies at high prices. The prices of various supplies in the black market also began to soar. By the afternoon, a bag of rye flour cost 30 rubles, which was nearly ten times higher than the price in grain and oil supermarkets.

……

There are many apartments in the Chernobyl area, which are temporarily used as resettlement points for the evacuees from Pripyat. Tens of thousands of people have entered a city of more than 100,000 people, and they can still accommodate them if they squeeze in.

Haniyev and Natasha responded to the call and lived in the office, but one lived in the inner room and the other in the outer room. If something happened during their stay, it would be a spontaneous act of a Soviet female soldier who had just started working and witnessed Haniyev's fearless actions in strategizing and saving thousands of people from disaster, and was moved by them.

It can be said that this was a young woman who admired and worshipped the proletarian revolutionary fighter. Out of admiration, she followed Haniyev to learn closely, communicate with him at close range, or even at a negative distance. She mainly wanted to undergo the training and cultivation of Haniyev, an outstanding Soviet fighter, and quickly grow from a young and naive female soldier into a seasoned, mature and capable proletarian revolutionary fighter.

In any case, Haniyev looked like a hero because of his decision-making in Pripyat and the courage and ability he showed.

In the eyes of the citizens of Pripyat, Haniyev is indeed a hero.

Natasha, who has just been working for a few years, is actually only a 24-year-old young woman. Apart from a relationship during college that only developed into holding hands and kissing, the rest of her emotional history is blank.

Naturally, she has some hero admiration in her heart. Haniyev is tall and good-looking, not old, has a high status, and has a bright future. He is also a hero with great masculinity. Facing such a leader and staying with Haniyev every day, Natasha can't control herself at all.

Therefore, the natural exchange, learning and close training was very successful.

After getting up early in the morning on the 28th, Natasha's eyes became more gentle when she looked at Haniyev, and she became more adept at taking care of Haniyev's life.

Since arriving in Chernobyl, the follow-up work has been temporarily taken over by the regional secretary committee. Haniyev has basically had nothing to do since the 27th, and at most he has been assisting the work of the regional committee.

However, although there was no work, Haniyev was not idle. On the night of the 27th and the early morning of the 28th, he kept calling his father, brother, mother and four of his best classmates who lived in the capital, asking them not to go out in the next few days and to hurry to buy supplies.

In order to convince them, Haniyev could only reveal that the nuclear power plant had exploded and there would be a nuclear radiation leak.

At the same time, Haniyev also reminded everyone that doors and windows should not be opened and that they must protect themselves when going out.

Haniyev cares about his family and friends, so naturally they keep telling Haniyev to protect himself, especially his family.

It can be said that the phone in Haniyev's office always rings from time to time, and then there are the care and reminders from his father and mother.

At two o'clock in the afternoon on the 28th, after dealing with his mother Natalia's phone call with instructions and concern, Haniyev's door was gently pushed open, and he saw the increasingly beautiful Natasha walking in with her waist swaying.

Haniyev reached out and hugged Natasha, letting her sit in his arms. He smelled her perfume and felt Natasha's energetic and hot body on his lower abdomen and thighs. Haniyev couldn't wait to move around.

"Hate."

Natasha gently hit Haniyev's hand that was about to reach into her underwear, and said with a gasp, "Don't worry, it will be tonight... Kravchuk is going to call everyone to a meeting now... You have to attend too..."

Haniyev paused, then reluctantly pulled his fingers out and rubbed them. Seeing Natasha blush, he laughed and said, "Since our commander-in-chief, Secretary Kravchuk, has summoned you, I can't delay."

Chapter 049: The Nuclear Age (8)

Leonid Kravchuk was born in January 1934 in Rivne Oblast, Ukraine.

In 1958, he graduated from Kyiv University with a PhD in Economics. After graduation, he worked as a teacher of political economics at the Czernowitz School of Finance and Economics.

He started working in party affairs in 1960 and later served as secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

In 1970 he was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

Since 1980, he has served as Minister of Propaganda of the Central Committee of the Party of Ukraine.

He is currently the First Secretary of the Kyiv Oblast Party Committee and the Commander-in-Chief of the Chernobyl disaster relief operations.

Kravchuk arrived at Chernobyl on the afternoon of April 27th with more than 10 leaders from the central government and the Kyiv Oblast.

After Kravchuk and others arrived at around 6 pm yesterday, the army had already entered the scene, and Moscow nuclear energy expert Academician Valery Legasov also arrived at Chernobyl by helicopter to guide the rescue.

Kravchuk, Academician Valery Legasov, and Colonel-General Vladimir Pikalov immediately held a meeting to understand the accident and deploy a rescue plan.

At the meeting, Haniyev, as a representative, gave a five-minute report to Secretary Kravchuk, General Vladimir Pikalov and Academician Valery Legasov. Kravchuk, Academician Valery Legasov and General Vladimir Pikalov all expressed great satisfaction.

After the meeting, the three of them told Haniyev and Chekhov that it was fortunate that Haniyev decisively took special measures at the first time, otherwise the disaster might have caused tens of thousands of citizens in Pripyat to suffer a devastating disaster.

So no matter what the leaders think, Haniyev prepared for more than a month in advance and his decisive handling of the accident after the accident won the support and appreciation of Academician Valery Legasov, Secretary Kravchuk, General Vladimir Pikalov and hundreds of thousands of Chernobyl citizens.

When Haniyev saw Kravchuk's admiring look last night, he knew that he might have already applied to join the cabinet five years in advance and become the future first president of Ukraine.

At last night's meeting, Academician Valery Legasov, as a professional, put forward more than a dozen suggestions after learning about the radiation levels and the actual disaster situation, such as using boron to extinguish fires... preventing secondary explosions... blocking groundwater contamination... establishing isolation zones... and hunting down all animals in the isolation zones...

All suggestions were adopted, and then every decision was carried out in an orderly manner by the army.

Since there are dedicated people responsible for a series of tasks at the nuclear power plant, such as fire fighting and rescue, and intercepting nuclear radiation, and the evacuation of citizens was resolved in advance due to the appearance of Haniyev, the solution to the nuclear power plant problem was earlier and more timely than in original history.

……

Although Gorbachev still issued a gag order, asking the Ukrainian top leaders and the Kyiv State Party Committee to suppress the information, saying that state secrets must not be leaked.

However, due to the information leaked by Haniyev and other people with ulterior motives, many citizens of Kiev knew about it in the early morning of the 28th.

By the afternoon of the 28th, Britain, France, the United States, as well as Western media such as Reuters, the Associated Press, and Agence France-Presse all reported at length on the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the early morning of the 26th.

So when Haniyev learned that Kravchuk had summoned all the leading cadres in the region to an emergency meeting, he immediately thought that the Reuters report might have been freshly released and had played a role.

When I arrived at the venue, I saw Kravchuk holding a newspaper with a frown on his face. I felt relieved, realizing that Kravchuk had called a meeting of regional officials to inform them that information about the nuclear power plant explosion had been leaked and reported by Western media.

Chekhov was looking at a newspaper in his hand with a serious expression.

Haniyev sat down next to Kartov. A moment later, the newspaper was handed to Kartov. He handed it to Haniyev and whispered, "Viktor Vladimirevich, please take a look at this report. Secretary Kravchuk just said that our Party and the Soviets had failed miserably by allowing foreign journalists to access Chernobyl."

"Is there such a thing?"

Haniyev frowned in surprise, then lowered his head and read the newspaper carefully.

A moment later, everyone was basically there. Kravchuk slapped his hand on the table and snorted, "Comrades, now you know that Reuters, the Associated Press, United Press International, and France's Agence France-Presse have all reported the details of the nuclear power plant accident. This proves that the area has been infiltrated by them, and there are traitors among the hundreds of thousands of citizens!

Now that the Western media know about the Chernobyl accident, they are frantically attacking our system and stigmatizing us. Our Soviet cause has suffered a major blow.

Finland, Sweden, Poland, East Germany and other countries have raised questions with Moscow, saying that radioactive dust has blown into their countries and demanding compensation and an explanation. The General Secretary was furious when he learned about this..."

Kravchuk indignantly reported the situation. When he finished, he looked at Academician Legasov and Admiral Pikalov and asked, "The General Secretary is furious and demands severe punishment for the leakers. What should we do, gentlemen?"

Academician Legasov said in a deep voice, "I still maintain my opinion. Now that the West has learned of this, we should immediately organize the evacuation of citizens to Kyiv. Even the citizens of Kyiv should be prepared to evacuate further south."

Since Haniyev disclosed the details of the nuclear accident through Anatoly, the lid of the Chernobyl nuclear accident has been opened since the 28th, that is, this afternoon.

The Kremlin's Gorbachev could only order Ukraine to deal with the situation quickly to prevent the situation from worsening.

At this time, Secretary Kravchuk and Academician Valery Legasov were very clear about one thing, that is, it was time for the Chernobyl personnel to evacuate to Kiev quickly.

The evacuation of personnel had to be quick and loud, so that the Western media could see that the Soviet Union had not blocked the news to fool the people, nor had it delayed evacuation, but had been actively engaged in disaster relief and rescue.

At this time, Kravchuk's potential as a mature politician burst out, and he instantly remembered the suggestions of Academician Valery Legasov and Hanyev last night.

At that time, the two men meant that hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Chernobyl area must also be evacuated quickly, because if they did not evacuate, when the radiation increased, some of the hundreds of thousands of people would inevitably be severely exposed to radiation.

Last night, Kravchuk just wanted to ask Secretary Sherbitsky for instructions, but the Party Central Committee was worried about causing adverse effects, so it was not approved.

But now that Western countries and the media know and report it, Kravchuk knows that he can't delay it any longer.

If we delay for a day or two, and some citizens are injured by radiation or even suffer from painful sequelae in the future, that would be a cause for criticism and the Western media would continue to attack us. Not only would we become the epitome of incompetence, but the accident would also cause unbearable damage to the Soviet Union.

After hearing Academician Legasov's powerful words, Kravchuk looked at General Pikalov again, made up his mind, and stood up to make the decision without waiting for anyone to say anything.

"Now, as the chief commander of the accident handling headquarters, I order the immediate evacuation of all personnel. All residents of Chernobyl City and the region must evacuate southwards. Not only those in the Chernobyl region, but also those in neighboring areas, as well as the hundreds of thousands of people in Chernobyl, must quickly move southwards..."

Kravchuk quickly arranged the evacuation and asked Chekhov and others to arrange the specific matters, after which the emergency meeting ended.

After the meeting, Chekovyev summoned regional officials to finalize the arrangements. Hanyev saw Kravchuk hurried to the office and thought: He must have gone to call Secretary Sherbitsky to report the situation, right?

Chapter 050: The Nuclear Age (9)

After the meeting, Haniyev returned to his office with the newspaper. As the mayor of Pripyat, he felt much more relaxed at this time, while the regional leaders were busy dealing with many evacuation and migration issues, so Kartov and others had no time to disturb him.

Back in the office, Haniyev had just kissed Natasha when he heard the phone ring.

After picking up the phone, Grigori's voice was heard: "Secretary Haniyev, Secretary Kartov just informed us that the entire forest farm needs to prepare for evacuation. Is there anything else I can do?"

Although Haniyev is no longer in charge of the forest farm, Grigory is inseparable from Haniyev both in personal relationship and political symbol. In addition, Grigory witnessed Haniyev's actions before and after the nuclear power plant accident. He is not only worried that this is a man-made accident and Haniyev is involved in it, but also worried that he will be caught by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and disappear from the world.

However, Grigory thought about it for two days and realized that he was involved in the entire incident from beginning to end. He could not get rid of it and had to go down this path to the end. So after learning that he had to evacuate, he called Haniyev to seek instructions as soon as he got the news.

After receiving the call, Haniyev knew that Grigory was a smart man and that he had not misjudged him, so he said in a very relaxed tone: "There is nothing to do. I asked you to prepare in advance. Are you ready?"

"We prepared everything yesterday. All the village staff packed their simple clothes at home and are just waiting for the vehicles to arrive so we can all leave."

Haniyev breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Very good. Comrades in the militia company, please wear the radiation protection suits and masks I issued to you and maintain order. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Please rest assured, Secretary. We will strictly follow your instructions..."

After Grigory's stern assurance, Haniyev hung up the phone, and then saw Natasha sitting at a table not far away, carefully reading the newspaper he brought back.

This is a newspaper from AFP. The report is very detailed, telling the story from the explosion at the nuclear power plant to how the Soviet Union and the Chernobyl region handled the nuclear accident last night. There has basically been no major adjustment, except that some Western media have always avoided the important issues.

This report focused on criticizing the Soviet Union's lack of attention to nuclear power plant safety production, and also dug up Reuters' report and warning from half a month ago to show that the Western media was foresighted and that it was the Soviet official's numbness and slowness that caused the Chernobyl nuclear power plant tragedy.

In addition to criticizing the Soviet Union, the report also focused on describing itself in terms of the responses of regional officials.

For example, the mayor of Pripyat, Viktor Vladimirvich Haniyev, handled the situation decisively, took responsibility, and responded quickly.

Another example he gave was how to attach importance to safe operations and production safety. Half a month ago, when he was the leader of the forestry department, he donated anti-radiation clothing to the fire department. This foresight saved hundreds of firefighters who went to the nuclear power plant to put out the fire after the accident.

Although the report is short, it vividly describes how Haniyev remained calm in the face of danger, handled the situation appropriately, and decisively took responsibility by ordering the transfer of personnel.

Haniyev speculated that perhaps the Western media wanted to create a typical figure to prove the failure of the Soviet political system, so they praised him in such a disgusting way.

Because at the end of the article, it also severely criticized the aging of Soviet cadres and the serious seniority-based system, and expressed regret that young and outstanding cadres like Haniyev were not promoted and reused.

The article even predicted at the end that although Haniyev's decisiveness reflected his personal ability, it also violated the long-standing political rules of the Soviet Union in a sense. He ordered the evacuation of the masses on his own without the approval of his superiors. At the same time, as the mayor, he actually got ahead of the first secretary Nicholas and became the number one person to deal with the accident. This might bring disaster to Haniyev.

When Haniyev saw this report, he kept cheering and applauding in his heart. What he instructed Anato to express was basically expressed. Since the Western media paid attention to him, with Gottu's fear of foreigners, he felt like he had a golden ticket to immortality, and he had the confidence to do bigger things next time.

Natasha raised her head, looking at Haniyev with a complicated expression, and asked, "Dear Victor, this report may make you famous, but the Soviet Union may not like your fame, because your wisdom and bravery are built on the Soviet Union's shame. These Western media reports on you like this... I think it will definitely affect your future... and seriously!"

If Haniyev was someone who was willing to hang himself on the crooked tree of the Soviet Union, he would naturally be extremely sad and disappointed, because such fame might make many people like him, but it would make many old cadres in the Soviet Union disgusted and hate him, and his promotion and appointment were not controlled by the people, but by these old cadres.

But in this world, Haniyev can actually pout and proudly say: No one knows how to destroy the Soviet Union better than I do.

After all, not even Reagan or George H.W. Bush, who brought down the Soviet Union, knew as well as Haniyev that the Soviet Union's lifespan was only five short years.

On a broken ship that is about to sink, if Haniyev wants to overtake on the curve, he can only break the rules.

Although Haniyev had a well-developed plan in mind, he couldn't tell anyone. Seeing Natasha's serious expression, Haniyev stepped forward and kissed her. Then, with a feigned bitterness, he sighed and said, "There's nothing I can do. In such an emergency, I can only think about the safety of the people and the Soviet cause. Personal gains and losses have long been forgotten."

Natasha's eyes turned red, and then she hugged Haniyev tightly and said emotionally: "You are really great, Victor."

Haniyev sniffed the fragrance of Natasha's hair and thought that since he had acted in advance, no matter if it was a leader like Getu or the relevant Ukrainian leaders, if they wanted to settle the score with him later, they would have to consider the impact.

Because foreign media have been allowed in, and the Soviet Union has a "good leader" like Gorbachev, it certainly dare not do anything to the Western media. As long as Haniyev enters the sight of the Western media, it will be difficult for the Soviet government to block the news and quietly punish and dismiss Haniyev.

That's why Haniyev thought that thanks to the Reuters report and the relationship between Anatoly and Mike, he had a golden ticket to immunity.

The problem now is that Haniyev has no need to curry favor with the Soviet leaders who want to block information related to the nuclear accident and disregard the safety of people's lives, because currying favor with them is of no use and may even become a stain on his own before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

When Haniyev chooses to stand on the side of the people, the Western media will also fully support him. At this time, the Soviet Union will not dare to suppress Haniyev, because this will prove that the Soviet political system is garbage as the West expected.

Haniyev even speculated that with Gorbachev's character, if he could accomplish some great things again, the Soviet side might even promote him to prove the superiority and correctness of the Soviet political system. In other words, no matter who the Western media said was good, we in the Soviet Union would discover his goodness earlier and more timely than you, and would make great use of him.

This is the result of losing the right to speak, losing confidence in the path, and being led by others. You will treat everything others say as a formidable enemy.

Chapter 051: The Nuclear Age (10)

Although Haniyev had a good idea and things developed as he expected, after talking with Natasha for a long time, Haniyev learned that the first group of people in the Chernobyl area had already left by train. He remembered that it would be the citizens of Pripyat soon, so he put on a radiation-proof lead suit and went out to help.

That evening, Secretary Kravchuk continued to convene a meeting of all regional officials, this time with the leaders in charge reporting on the evacuation of personnel.

After everyone finished speaking, Kravchuk snorted and said, "We should be able to evacuate everyone tomorrow."