Servant of the People in Kyiv

Kartov also used his connections with Lukachikov, the secretary of the Forestry Committee, and was appointed to stay in the Kiev State Forestry Committee as vice chairman of the trade union. Although his rank was the same, he no longer had the opportunity or power.

However, there are no regions where I am currently serving. Although I will definitely establish a new region in the future, when will it be completed? By then, everything will be delayed.

It is precisely with this idea in mind that everyone wants to be transferred as soon as possible, even if it means being demoted.

Kartov also advised Haniyev to talk to Lukachikov, but Haniyev was not in a hurry. He did not tell anyone that he had direct access to the emperor's ears. With the appreciation of Secretary Sherbitsky, Haniyev did not have to worry about his career.

So since mid-May, Haniyev has been constantly reading and translating various books from the Far East, marking out fragments of political struggles that are beneficial to Sherbitsky's current situation, so that he can understand the political culture of the Khitan from the Far East.

As of May 24, Haniyev had sent three lists of books to the Mariinsky Palace, including but not limited to - many excerpts from the Book of Han, the History of Ming Dynasty and the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as the biography of Zeng Guofan written by American scholar Hale.

The most recent time was yesterday afternoon. In order to show that he was well-versed in both Eastern and Western studies, Haniyev found no less than three similar passages in Lenin's collected works that included the phrases "One step back, two steps forward..." and "Retreat in order to advance, in order to advance, one must retreat, without retreat one cannot advance..." He marked them together and gave them to Nikolay who came to pick up the book list.

However, there is a big difference between what Lenin said and the Far East's retreat in order to advance. Lenin's meaning has always been about temporary concessions in exchange for greater progress in the future. In response to Sherbitsky's current situation, Haniyev's suggestion of "retreat in order to advance" is to let him take concessions as a positive measure, which is a way of playing that can directly resolve Gotup's attack.

After all, before the Soviet Plenary Session in September 1988, Gorbachev had not yet completely purged the old cadres and conservative leaders of the Party Central Committee, and he did not dare to be too harsh on the Ukrainian faction, which played an important role in the Soviet cause. Combined with the precedent of forcing Sherbitsky to "retire" in 1989 in his previous life, Haniyev knew very well that even if Sherbitsky chose to give in now and temporarily retreat to the second line, Gorbachev would not dare to really prevent Sherbitsky from returning to the front line. Even because of Sherbitsky's temporary retreat, Gorbachev would not be able to continue to suppress the Ukrainian faction.

However, whether it is appropriate or not is not something that Haniyev should consider. He only needs to actively show himself in front of Sherbitsky. As long as Sherbitsky believes it, he will naturally associate everything in a direction that is beneficial to him.

On May 28, Haniyev received the news that the fourth power generation unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident had been permanently sealed by the Soviet soldiers' sarcophagus, and the thick cement slabs had completely isolated the radiation. Although the preliminary work of the completely enclosed large project has been completed, the radiation has been temporarily contained, and the overall reinforcement will be completed in the next few months.

Haniyev finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the next day he ran out to have a big drink with Sergei, Anatoly, Pristin, Vyshevsky and others. During the banquet, Sergei also called his younger brother Poroshenko.

Poroshenko, who already had ideas about politics at this time and wanted to make some political development after graduation, was more enthusiastic about Haniyev than before, and even a little flattering and worshipful. In his own words, not only did he admire Haniyev, but almost all his classmates in the school did not admire Haniyev.

After waking up from a hangover, Haniyev and Natasha spent time together. The two went to parks, amusement parks and guesthouses to play for several days. Haniyev also personally took Natasha and some expensive foreign wine to visit Chekhov, who had already decided to retire.

If Haniyev had not received a call from Chekhov on the morning of June 8, he would have been ready to take Natasha out for endless fun.

Because of the phone call this morning, Haniyev hurriedly changed his suit and went out to meet Chekhov. After obtaining a document, he prepared to go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs building to meet Sherbitsky's confidant Novikov first. However, before entering the door, Haniyev changed his target and went directly to the Mariinsky Palace.

It turned out that the call that Chekonenv made to Haniyev had only one meaning, which was that he received a call from Kravchuk himself last night, asking him to personally take out Haniyev's file and hand it over to Haniyev.

Haniyev did get his own file from Chekhov, which also included the commendation from the regional party committee for his work.

After asking Chekhov, Haniyev learned that the decision should have come from the Mariinsky Palace, and it was obvious that the person who gave the order was Sherbitsky.

Cheković quietly told Haniyev that Secretary Sherbitsky had decided to go to the Friendship Sanatorium in Yalta to rest for a few months as requested by Gordić, and he would leave the center of power in Ukraine. Cheković was very worried that Gordić's people would be sent to take over Ukraine, causing everything in Ukraine to change.

Because these pieces of information put together gave a feeling of monkeys scattering when the tree falls, Chekhov was worried that Sherbitsky would not be able to withstand Gorbachev's pressure and would secretly deal with Haniyev, so he was pessimistic about Haniyev, Sherbitsky and the future of Ukraine, and his tone was full of care and blessings.

Chapter 069: First Secretary of Yalta City

Although Chekhov was worried, Haniyev did not think that this would be disadvantageous to him.

Haniyev, who knew more about the inside story, knew that Sherbitsky's retreat to the second line was obviously due to the success of his persuasion. So, the old man's single-handed order to retrieve his own file must be to secretly arrange his own position.

Thinking of this, Haniyev suddenly became excited.

Haniyev took the files and did not go home. Instead, he went to the Mariinsky Palace to meet with Sherbitsky.

Although he had been here twice, Haniyev took Novikov's car on the last two occasions and was able to enter and exit without any obstruction. However, this time he entered the palace on foot and was stopped and questioned by the armed police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs near the gate.

Haniyev didn't want to cause any trouble, so he directly asked the guard and armed police to contact Nikolay, the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

Nicholas was not a high-ranking official, and his position was just a secretary serving the leader, but he was the grandson of Secretary Sherbitsky after all, and no one from top to bottom really treated him as a small secretary.

Nikolay seemed to be busy and the office staff did not see him. After Haniyev said his name, he waited in the sun at the door for more than ten minutes.

The phone in the guard room rang. After the call was connected, the armed police came out and took Haniyev into the Mariinsky Palace with a smile.

He walked into the palace and through the corridor with ease. Just as Haniyev was about to ask a few people about the location of the office, he saw Nikolay walking towards him quickly.

"Grandpa didn't seem to call you, why are you here?" Nicholas asked curiously.

Haniyev tucked his file under his other shoulder and told what he had learned. He then asked, "Is Secretary Shcherbitsky really going to step down and recuperate?"

Nikolay frowned and pulled Haniyev to a small office. After they entered, before they could even sit down, Nikolay asked, "How did you know?"

……

After discussing it for a while, Nikolay nodded in relief and said, "Yes, Grandpa has indeed promised Moscow that he will take responsibility for the accident and mass incidents in Ukraine, and will then step down from his position as First Secretary of Ukraine and rest at a sanatorium in Yalta for a few months."

Haniyev frowned and said, "Yalta? Given his status, shouldn't he be recuperating in Gagra, Georgia? The conditions there are much better than in Yalta."

Nicholas smiled mysteriously and said, "Isn't Georgia too far away from Kiev..."

Haniyev immediately understood that Sherbitsky wanted to stay in Yalta and rule from behind the scenes, or to give remote orders. He nodded and said, "Yes, it's too far away, and there's also the Black Sea."

Nikolay naturally knew that Haniyev was also a young man that Grandpa favored. He explained in a low voice, "Grandpa has been handing over the work of several important central officials these days. He recruited Vladimir Ivashko into the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. He also recruited Kravchuk, Macik, the First Secretary of the Kharkiv Regional Committee, and several other young people that Grandpa favored the most into the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. So he is very busy every day, and he also has to explain to these new Secretariat secretaries how to carry out their work. You have to wait if you want to see him."

Haniyev smiled slightly and whispered, "Secretary Shcherbitsky is very capable. With the new Secretariat team, we don't have to worry about werewolves appearing after dark."

"Werewolves will appear when the sun goes down" is a slang term in Northern and Eastern Europe, which means that when you are unlucky, worse things will happen, or that things will continue to deteriorate and be beyond people's control.

Haniyev secretly admired him in his heart. He could understand why Sherbitsky adjusted the Secretariat team before retiring. That was so that he could still control the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine when he was no longer the first secretary.

Because the Secretariat is the secretariat team serving the First Secretary. It is the core department above the Party Committee Office that manages the Communist Party of Ukraine Committee and various ministries and states.

Sherbitsky temporarily retired from the position of First Secretary of Ukraine, but he was still a leader of the Soviet Central Committee after all, and he was not completely overthrown. All the leaders of Ukraine, big and small, were promoted by him. In addition, the power of the conservatives and the Ukrainian gang in the Soviet Central Committee is still very strong. I am afraid no one will take Sherbitsky's abdication seriously.

However, Sherbitsky was, after all, an old politician who had experienced ups and downs. In order to ensure his own rights and interests, he used his greatest power and, as the first secretary, made some transfers and promotions to the positions of ministers and governors. He also expanded the establishment of the Central Secretariat. With the supervision of new people, no matter whether some of the old people would have second thoughts, I am afraid that in fact everyone would have to serve Sherbitsky wholeheartedly.

Nikolay looked at the file bag Haniyev was holding and smiled, "Are you worried about where my grandfather would assign you?"

Haniyev felt relieved when he saw Nikolay's smile and asked, "Nikolay, do you know? Tell me."

Nikolay smiled mysteriously and said, "This is a position appointed by the First Secretary of Ukraine. I dare not say more. You should wait until you meet him before asking."

Nikolay turned and was about to leave when Haniyev hurriedly grabbed him and pestered him for a long time. Nikolay couldn't stand it anymore and snorted coldly, "You're such a scoundrel! I can't stand it anymore. Victor, let me tell you, the old man wants you to be his messenger, waiter, and logistics support staff. Aren't you smart? Guess what position he's going to assign you?"

Haniyev frowned and thought for a moment. Combining his current position and the ability he demonstrated in the nuclear power plant explosion, Haniyev thought of three or four positions at once. However, when he remembered that Sherbitsky was about to retire to Yalta to become the emperor of Ukraine, there were almost no positions that met all three characteristics.

"You didn't expect it, did you? Hehe." Nikolay said with a smile, then he sat down slowly and picked up the teacup, wanting to wait for Haniyev to admit his mistake before telling him.

Haniyev closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Suddenly, a possibility occurred to him. He opened his eyes and asked, "Is he asking me to go to Yalta with him? Is he asking me to be the mayor of Yalta?"

Nikolay suddenly choked and coughed more than ten times before looking at Haniyev in surprise. He frowned and said, "You are really an extremely smart person. No wonder my grandfather likes you so much."

Seeing Nikolay's performance, Haniyev became more and more confident and continued to ask, "When he goes to Yalta for recuperation, I have to be his correspondent, waiter, and logistics support. I'm afraid I'll either be the director of the sanatorium or the mayor of Yalta. The sanatorium can't make full use of my role. I guess he will let me govern Yalta, right?"

Nicholas stood up, clapped his hands, and clicked his tongue in surprise. Finally, he said admiringly, "Congratulations, you guessed it right. The old man is planning to arrange for you to be the First Secretary of the Yalta Municipal Party Committee in the Crimean Peninsula before he goes to Yalta for recuperation. He wants you to ensure that everything from recuperation to safety inspections is in place."

Nikolay wiped the water stains from his mouth and collar with a handkerchief and whispered, "Just be prepared. Even though we're going far, you should stay with the old man. We brothers will stay in Kiev, and you'll have the right to talk directly to the Central Secretariat. You've really made it big!"

Haniyev chuckled and said, "It's more than just a quick promotion. If I become the First Secretary of the Yalta Municipal Party Committee, I'll have taken a step forward in my career. If I'm promoted again, I'll become the main leader of the region.

This time, the old man treated me like his own grandson, and I felt really proud."

Haniyev kept expressing his loyalty and even said that he was the third grandson of Sherbitsky.

Nicholas laughed and nodded, saying, "Don't tell me that. When you see my grandfather later, tell him properly."

Chapter 070 Driver and Secretary

Haniyev waited three hours before finally seeing Shcherbitsky.

After an hour of secret talks, Haniyev left the Mariinsky Palace happily.

After returning home, Haniyev remembered Sherbitsky's instructions firmly and did not dare to tell anyone that he was going to Yalta to be the first secretary. He only told his father Vladimir and his younger brother Sidrov.

Vladimir already knew that Haniyev was Sherbitsky's confidant, and he got drunk with joy.

The next morning, Haniyev invited Pristin, Sergei, Anatoly, and Vyshevsky to dinner, wanting to say a simple farewell to his close friends. At the same time, he also left some secrets, asking them to cooperate with Sherbitsky's plan when necessary and help the First Secretary make a comeback.

Three days passed quickly and Haniyev received a call from Nikolay, informing him that his position had been arranged in Crimea and all he needed to do was to take his file with him to take up the post.

Before hanging up, Haniyev asked, "Nikolai, I'm a Party secretary now, so don't I have the right to bring my secretary and driver with me?"

During the Brezhnev era, corruption in the Soviet bureaucracy began to grow rapidly, and even formed a tradition that officials could be transferred and promoted with their relatives and friends. In other words, while leaders were in office, they could also arrange jobs for their so-called secretaries and drivers. This actually evolved into a form of privileged corruption.

Nicholas was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone and said, "Don't bring too many people. Just a secretary and a driver will be enough."

Haniyev smiled and thanked him, then hung up the phone and called Vyshevsky to make an appointment to meet him.

After an hour of communication, Vyshevsky agreed to Haniyev's request and agreed to go south with him to work in Crimea.

Haniyev's driver problem was solved, and then the secretary.

This year it is June 12th, and Haniyev must rush to Yalta to take up his post before June 20th, because July will be the day when Sherbitsky will stay in the Friendship Sanatorium in Yalta. Haniyev must take control of Yalta in advance and put together a capable team to provide logistical services and ensure safety for Secretary Sherbitsky.

The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which is under the management of the North Caucasus Military District. Therefore, even as the First Secretary of Ukraine, Sherbitsky cannot control the military here.

Since Shcherbitsky's position as the emperor was a secret matter, and Haniyev had been in the limelight before and was disliked by many bigwigs in the party, turning Yalta into a private territory in advance was the most important task Shcherbitsky gave to Haniyev. Therefore, this required Haniyev to have extremely strong abilities to complete the task, while at the same time not being too prominent and making a noise to attract the attention of Moscow.

Haniyev was going to work in a completely unfamiliar place, so he naturally wanted to bring someone who was capable and trustworthy with him. Therefore, the driver prepared two candidates, Vyshevsky and Belanov. Now that Vyshevsky agreed to quit his job as a bus driver in Kiev and go to Yalta with Haniyev, Haniyev temporarily gave up Belanov.

The driver is the leader's confidant, who knows the leader's whereabouts and follows the leader closely to protect him. Naturally, he must bring the most trustworthy person.

The secretary is a confidant who assists the leader in his work. His importance is no less than that of the driver. He can even participate in many tasks that the driver cannot participate in. Haniyev needs to start work quickly after arriving in Yalta, so he urgently needs a capable and trustworthy secretary.

There is no doubt that the candidate is Natasha, and there is no need to even think about it.

Haniyev asked Natasha out, who was idle because of the abolition of the Chernobyl zone, and told her that he was going to Yalta to take up a post, and invited Natasha to be his secretary.

Natasha hesitated for a moment, but love eventually won out over reason. She nodded and said, "I'm willing to go with you, but my father and grandfather both want me to break up with you. They want me to marry Nicholas, saying you've offended the leadership of the Central Committee and have no future. But Nicholas's father has just been promoted from Minister of the Ukrainian Shipbuilding Industry to Secretary. My family all think Nicholas has a bright future."

Haniyev knew that Natasha was also the child of a high-ranking official.

Her grandfather is a retired secretary of a region in Kyiv Oblast, and her father is the second secretary of the Blovary region, 30 miles east of Kyiv. The one who is doing the best is her uncle, who is currently the director of the Industrial Committee of Kharkiv Oblast.

Judging from family background, Natasha's family is much better off than Haniyev's family. However, Haniyev also had a bright future before, so Natasha's family naturally acquiesced to her relationship with Haniyev.

But now the Chernobyl zone has been abolished, and Haniyev will definitely not have the opportunity to make progress because of his bad influence. Natasha's parents naturally don't want her to marry a guy with no future.

Haniyev saw Natasha's torment, reached out and held her hands, and spoke emotionally to her.

Natasha soon collapsed into Haniyev's arms.

After the departure time was agreed upon, Haniyev sent Natasha back home and began to prepare cash, exchange tickets and necessary supplies.

In a blink of an eye, it was the agreed date of June 15th, and Haniyev was preparing to take a boat down the Dnieper River and then reach Yalta on the southern coast of Crimea via the Black Sea.

Early in the morning, Vyshevsky arrived at Hanyev's house with a lot of bags on his back and waited. Vladimir personally drove Hanyev and Vyshevsky to the dock to take the boat.

Natalia, her youngest son and daughter reluctantly saw him off at the door. When the car drove into Zhukov Street, Haniyev's face was covered with the saliva of his mother, brother and sister.

They arrived at the dock around 9 am. Since Haniyev and Natasha agreed to meet at 9 o'clock, after Vladimir left, Haniyev and Vyshevsky stood at the dock carrying large and small bags waiting for Natasha.

Twenty minutes later, Sergei drove with Pristin and Anato to see his two friends off.

After a warm hug between a few close friends, it was almost time to sail.

Haniyev kept standing on tiptoe to look, but he could not see his beloved woman among the bustling crowd on the dock.

Sergei shook his head slightly and said, "It looks like Natasha won't be coming."

Haniyev frowned. After waiting for twenty minutes without seeing Natasha, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

Now the bell urging tourists to board the ship rang, but there was still no sign of Natasha. Haniyev closed his eyes sadly.

Pristin hugged Haniyev again and said, "Maybe she has something urgent to do at home and can't come out. You can go to Yalta first and then call her to find out."

Haniyev shook his head slightly and said, "Don't ask. Maybe she can't come out because of family reasons, or maybe she can't come for other reasons. But whether she comes or not can't affect my plan to go south. Guys, the ship is about to leave. I'm leaving first."

After saying that, Haniyev and Vyshevsky gave their three best friends a warm hug, then picked up their packages and suitcases, turned around and left resolutely, walked through the crowd with firm steps, stepped onto the gangway to board the three-story blue and white iron cruise ship, and embarked on a new journey in life.

Chapter 071 The Future Gas Princess

After boarding the ship, Haniyev and Vyshevsky went to the cabin to put their luggage. The small and dark place was barely acceptable. If they took the train, they would have to transfer twice, but the ship could go directly, so even though the conditions were a little worse, Haniyev still chose to take the ship.

The ship is a professional ferry that departs from the Kiev Reservoir Pier and sails south through Cherkasy, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, all the way to Odessa, and then southeast to Sevastopol, Crimea's first major military and commercial port.

The entire route takes seven days, and it is said that the route will be adjusted to the other side of the Black Sea based on the number of passengers.

Taking the train would be a day faster than taking the boat, but because of the multiple transfers, it would be more tiring. Haniyev still had plenty of time, so he decided to take the boat to the end.

Although it was Haniyev's first time to travel long distances by boat, as the secretary of the Gaopodi State Forest Farm, he was familiar with the river shipping routes of the Dnieper River. Because in addition to some logs transported by train and car, 90% of the output of the forest farm was transported southward via the Dnieper River.

After boarding the ship, Haniyev and Vyshevsky stayed in the restaurant, eating potato pancakes and watching TV. They only returned to the cabin to rest when it got dark.

The boring days soon came to the morning of the third day, and the ship docked in Dnipropetrovsk, a large city in central Ukraine.

The city of Dnipropetrovsk is the capital of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a large province in south-central Ukraine. It has a developed industry and is an important iron ore production base and machinery manufacturing base in Ukraine. Among the 26 provinces of Ukraine, it ranks among the best in terms of economic level, industrial level, population and education level, and can be regarded as one of the mainstays of Ukraine.

Therefore, this port is an important transit area for tourists, and ships will have to wait for an hour to dock here.

Haniyev and Vyshevsky sat in the restaurant drinking soda and watching TV boredly. After waves of tourists came in and out, Haniyev looked around and suddenly saw a family of three that was somewhat eye-catching.

A man with thick short brown hair and a woman with long brown-black hair walked in with a six-year-old girl and sat in a seat not far from Haniyev.

The man and the woman looked about the same age as Haniyev and Vyshevsky. The man had a high hairline and was pretty good-looking, but the woman had a high nose and deep eyes with bright and lively spirit. She was wearing a thin white suit and looked capable and beautiful. Her image and temperament were better than Natasha's. She was a rare beauty even in Ukraine.