Servant of the People in Kyiv

With such a beautiful mother, the little girl was naturally very cute. However, after Haniyev saw the woman's appearance clearly, he could not take his eyes off her, because he recognized that the woman was none other than the famous oligarch politician Tymoshenko who became known as the "Ukrainian Gas Princess" and the "Ukrainian Iron Lady" many years later.

Vyshevsky had obviously noticed Haniyev's abnormality. Seeing him looking at the young woman so directly, he patted his shoulder and whispered a reminder: "Victor..."

Haniyev turned around and smiled. Vyshevsky whispered, "That woman is indeed very beautiful, but her husband is still with her. You have to be careful."

Vyshevsky's words made Haniyev stunned for a moment, and then he realized that his old friend had misunderstood him. However, he couldn't explain it, let alone explain it. He just whispered: "Yuri, she looks familiar to me, don't think too much about it."

Vyshevsky forced a smile that I understood, then turned around to watch the old movie "A Irony of Fate" on TV.

The ship started moving soon after. Since most people were immersed in the comedy atmosphere of the movie, the lounge and restaurant was very quiet.

Haniyev's attention was almost entirely focused on the Tymoshenko family of three. He also heard a lot of conversations between Yulia Tymoshenko and her husband Alexander, and learned that the three were going to Zaporizhia in the south.

Haniyev remembered that Gorbachev's reforms had just begun, and the drastic abolition of ministries and departments, layoffs and allowing private enterprises to emerge in large numbers and compete with state-owned enterprises had not yet been implemented, so he guessed that Tymoshenko and her husband had probably not started doing business yet.

Haniyev suddenly remembered that a few years later this young woman who exuded the alluring scent of a ripe peach would become a big oligarch who monopolized Ukrainian natural gas, and then use money as a foundation to enter politics, and eventually serve as prime minister for many years. When she was prime minister, her limelight and power even temporarily overshadowed the president.

Haniyev knew very well that this woman was a very rare talent, and a first-class figure both in business and politics.

However, at this time, the Tymoshenko family had not yet taken advantage of Gorbachev's reforms, and therefore had not yet become successful. The most they could show was that Alexander's father was a high-ranking official in a certain region of Dnipropetrovsk.

Haniyev felt that his administrative level was not much lower than that of Alexander's father, while Alexander and Yulia, a pair of young people of the same age as him, were still just engineers in a machinery factory. Although they had high salaries and noble status, in the Soviet bureaucracy they had to look up to Haniyev, who was about to become the first secretary of the region.

Haniyev knew that Tymoshenko must be a woman with a desire for politics. Thinking of her future achievements, he felt that he could definitely get to know Tymoshenko and have a chance to get a share of the pie when their family seized the opportunity to start a business.

Haniyev felt that he could not only consider promotion, but also had to think about making money. Since he knew that oligarchs like Poroshenko and Tymoshenko would become rich in the future, investing in advance was also a necessary choice.

This mentality is like a person from the 21st century traveling back to 1999. He might think of selling everything he has to invest the money in Jack Ma in Hangzhou, becoming an angel investor and the original shareholder of the future business empire.

So in the following time, Haniyev kept an eye on the Tymoshenko family, and when their little daughter was bored and running around, he took the opportunity to please her. He won the little girl's favor with a handful of expensive high-end candies, and then naturally started talking to the Tymoshenko couple.

In order to demonstrate his strength in front of Tymoshenko, Haniyev directly stated that he was an official going to Yalta to serve as the First Secretary. When Tymoshenko and her husband learned that the Haniyev in front of them was the mayor of Pripyat who had stirred up the entire Soviet Union and the world some time ago, they were overwhelmed with emotion and speechless for a moment.

Alexander is a man who loves his wife very much. His own abilities are not outstanding, so he does not realize the terrible implications behind the fact that Haniyev made such a big fuss and yet was promoted to a position in the south.

But Yulia Tymoshenko is a very smart woman who is extremely sensitive to politics. Even though she, like her husband, is now only working as an engineering economist at the Dnepropetrovsk Machinery Factory, she immediately guessed that Haniyev must have direct connections to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, otherwise he would never be reused at this critical juncture when big news just happened.

At this time, the news of Sherbitsky's retirement had not yet been announced, and Yulia had very little information, but she was sure that Haniyev definitely had connections at the ministerial level or above in Kiev. At this time, she and her husband both wanted to go into politics, and after chatting with Haniyev for a few sentences, they became more and more enthusiastic and familiar.

When the cruise ship arrived at the port of Zaporizhia, Haniyev, Vyshevsky and the Tymoshenko couple, who had become close friends after chatting for three hours, knew it was time to say goodbye.

Haniyev personally saw them off the ship. After kissing the three members of the family goodbye one by one, Haniyev wrote down Alexander's family's phone number and agreed to invite them to Yalta for vacation in winter.

It was already evening when Haniyev and Vyshevsky returned to the cabin. Tired, they prepared to go to bed early. Vyshevsky recalled Haniyev's attentiveness to the Tymoshenko family. Yulia's beautiful face and charming figure lingered in his mind. He lay in bed for a long moment, unable to contain his curiosity, before asking, "Victor, are you really attracted to Mrs. Tymoshenko?"

Haniyev shook his head slightly in the dim light and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I really want to be friends with the Tymoshenko couple. I can say that when I met Tymoshenko, I knew in my heart that Alexander was my friend!"

After hearing this, Vyshevsky was stunned for a moment, obviously not understanding the deep meaning of Haniyev's words. However, he also knew that Haniyev had just broken up, and his Natasha did not come with him. In this situation, she did not show up or call to say a word. Obviously, it meant that Natasha had given up on Haniyev.

So it is understandable that Haniyev was attracted to and even infatuated with the charming Yulia when he was heartbroken and hurt. However, Yulia has a harmonious marriage and children, so she is really not suitable for Haniyev.

Vyshchesky thought for a moment and sighed, "Well, we're going to Yalta without any relatives or friends. I'll support you no matter what you do. I just hope you don't get carried away by your emotions..."

Haniyev heard Vyshevsky's concern, stood up, patted Vyshevsky on the shoulder, and said, "Thank you, my dear friend, you and I are the closest brothers in Yalta.

Don't worry, Yuri. When I become a high-ranking official and return to Kiev as First Secretary, you will definitely be able to become the Minister of Transport and supervise the general manager of the bus company who bullied you. Then you can take your revenge!"

Vyshevsky grinned, fantasized for a long time, and whispered, "It's enough if you can be the minister. Then I can be the general manager of the bus company..."

Haniyev sat up straight on the narrow bed, waved his hand, and said firmly in the dim light: "No, you must be the minister, Yuri. Believe me, I, Victor, always keep my word!"

Vyshevsky laughed heartily, intending to make a few jokes, but seeing Haniyev's resolute expression and the gleaming light in his eyes, he somehow believed him a little and secretly made a wish to God: "May you, Jehovah, bless Haniyev's career and success, so that he can smoothly ascend to the throne of First Secretary of the Mariinsky Palace..."

Chapter 072 The Secretary's First Action

On June 22, 1986, after spending a night in the capital, Haniyev and Vyshevsky drove to Yalta, where they were going to take office, early in the morning accompanied by Aksionov, the party secretary sent by the Simferopol State Party Committee, and a driver.

Yalta, a small seaside town on the northern coast of the Black Sea, has a long history. Backed by mountains and facing the sea, it has a pleasant climate. It is one of the few health resorts in the Soviet Union and also a wine production base.

During World War II, the three giants, the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain, held a meeting in Yalta to finalize the world order after the end of World War II. It can be said that Yalta was the first step in the formation of the current Cold War.

After the end of World War II, Yalta became a sanatorium resort in the Soviet Union. There are three or four sanatoriums of various sizes here, among which the Massandra Palace is specially for the recuperation and rest of national leaders.

In theory, everyone from the General Secretary to the First Secretary of Ukraine could recuperate in the Massandra Palace. However, now that the Friendship Sanatorium, a masterpiece of Soviet ultra-modern architecture, had just been completed and put into use, it had become the best sanatorium in Yalta. Therefore, it replaced the Massandra Palace and became the place designated by Sherbitsky.

Haniyev went south to serve the leaders well, so Kiev had already called the main leaders of Crimea and greeted them. When Haniyev arrived at the Party Committee building in Simferopol, he was soon personally received by the first secretary of the provincial Party Committee.

After a polite meeting with Haniyev, the provincial party committee also arranged good accommodation for him, and the next day sent a special car and the party committee secretary Aksyonov to take Haniyev to Yalta to take up his post.

Although Yalta is a city of the same level as the region, it has simple industries and a small population. Therefore, in less than three days, Haniyev visited four sanatoriums of varying sizes, a wine processing plant and five grape farms in Yalta, and gained a clear understanding of the population, ethnic distribution and industrial distribution of this small city with a population of only 8 that he managed.

Haniyev, who had experience in leading the forest farm and the city of Pripyat, felt that a small Yalta would not be a problem for him. So after getting familiar with the leaders of various departments, Haniyev convened a general meeting involving the farm, various bureaus, committees and communities in the early morning of June 26. It was not only a formal meeting with the heads of various departments, but also an announcement of the first thing he would do after arriving in Yalta as the first secretary. It was also the first of the three priorities of a new official - cracking down on gangsters and eliminating evil.

In order to create the most harmonious and stable social environment for Sherbitsky after his arrival, and also to take control of the entire Yalta as soon as possible, Haniyev decided to launch a campaign after he took office and before Sherbitsky arrived to show his methods and eliminate unstable factors and termites at the social level.

Three years ago, Khitan launched a severe crackdown at the social level. Although it is not certain how many of the more than 800,000 criminals were wrongly convicted or punished severely for minor crimes, the crimes and criminal atmosphere that had arisen due to reform and opening up were indeed curbed.

The Soviet Union's reforms had just begun, and it was a fact that people were unsettled and corrupt. Although it would take two years for gangs to become rampant and crimes to appear in large numbers, the number of local government officials shielding their relatives from criminal activities had begun to increase, and social stability was far less than in previous years.

Haniyev did not want any criminal incidents to occur in the city under his jurisdiction, which was famous for its sanatoriums. These incidents might even threaten Sherbitsky's safety in the future. He understood that the first thing a new official should do when he takes office is to set a fire in order to establish his authority.

Haniyev remembered that Guanglai, the top leader in Gongzhou, became famous for his crackdown on organized crime. Naturally, he could also achieve some results in cracking down on organized crime. Even if he didn't become famous, at least he could make Sherbitsky more satisfied and take control of Yalta more quickly.

Thinking of this, Haniyev couldn't help muttering to himself: Sooner or later I will hang a sign above the gate of the Livadia Palace that says "Secretary Haniyev, thank you for your hard work." This is what a real man should do.

Livadia Palace is the most magnificent of the three major palaces in Yalta. As it was the summer palace of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, it is of great significance, which is why the Yalta Conference was held here at the end of World War II.

This palace is now a museum and is occasionally used as a venue for large-scale international conferences. The fact that a sign reading "Thank you for your hard work, Secretary Haniyev" can be hung on the Livadia Palace is obviously not something a small first secretary of the municipal party committee can do. This actually exposes his ambition to be the head of state.

After the meeting on June 26, the Yalta City Broadcasting Bureau announced to all citizens that, under the instruction of Comrade Haniyev, the First Secretary of the Yalta Municipal Party Committee, a city-wide inspection and investigation would begin on the 27th. At the same time, a reporting mailbox would be installed, and citizens were welcome to report a series of vicious incidents such as oppression of the masses, infringement of state-owned assets, bullying of men and women, etc.

Haniyev followed Khitan's example and applied the methods of cracking down on gangs and evil in Yalta. Although there were no real evil forces in Yalta, Haniyev emphasized this in the meetings over the past two days. In addition, Minister Zagoyev of the Yalta Municipal Ministry of Internal Affairs was over 40 years old and had higher aspirations for his career. Therefore, he expressed his loyalty to Haniyev early on and would strictly implement Secretary Haniyev's instructions with high standards.

As a result, the severe crackdown in Yalta City really caught more than a dozen criminals who bullied men and women, embezzled state-owned assets, and abused their power for personal gain in just a few days. From community secretaries to farm secretaries, all those who were reported were arrested and investigated.

So this anti-gang operation started on the 26th and only reached its climax on July 1st. The detention center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was almost full.

According to rough estimates, more than 300 people have been isolated, investigated and arrested. For a city with a population of only nearly 80,000, arresting nearly 0.4% of the population is a very scary thing.

However, Haniyev was very satisfied, because as the number of people arrested and even sentenced to severe punishment gradually increased, his authority in Yalta was also growing day by day. When he first arrived, few people knew him as the first secretary, but now no matter where he went, people would greet him respectfully.

On the evening of July 3, Haniyev received a notice that Sherbitsky had resigned, and the Ukrainian helmsman would arrive in Yalta on July 10 and stay in the Friendship Sanatorium.

Before it was completely dark, Haniyev summoned a dozen of his confidants to his office. These leaders included the director, secretary, and medical team leader of the Friendship Sanatorium, the Minister of Internal Affairs, the secretary of the Dock Management Committee, the secretary of the Fisheries Management Committee, and the secretary of the Agriculture Committee.

After a major campaign against organized crime, the leaders of the most powerful departments in Yalta City have become Haniyev's most loyal subordinates. At tonight's meeting, Haniyev also stated for the first time that he is Secretary Sherbitsky's man, and that he will lead everyone to take good care of Secretary Sherbitsky who has retired for recuperation.

Everyone was excited. They had guessed that Haniyev was a person with strong connections, but they did not dare to think that he was the First Secretary's man. Now that they knew that Haniyev was Sherbitsky's confidant, everyone felt proud of it. They felt that as Secretary Haniyev's confidant, they were also half of Secretary Sherbitsky's confidant.

Even if Sherbitsky retired, who would really dare to regard him as an old cadre who had retired and was no longer concerned with worldly affairs?

Everyone shouted excitedly in their hearts that the opportunity had come, and then followed Haniyev's instructions and divided the work among themselves. In addition to providing sufficient logistics and various guarantees for the Friendship Sanatorium, each department was also responsible for the sanitation and greening work on the beach in front of the Friendship Sanatorium and the surrounding blocks.

In Hanyev's words, "Let's work together to create a place for Secretary Shcherbitsky that will be a delight to his eyes and even warmer and more comfortable than home!"

Chapter 073: There is still a lot of room for improvement

Yalta's fiscal revenue is very low. Apart from the output value of the winery, the rest depends on the contribution of a small number of foreign tourists on vacation.

More than 90% of Yalta's annual fiscal expenditure comes from grants from the Crimean State Government and the Ukrainian central government. After all, this is a place for model workers and retired cadres to recuperate, and it is a place that embodies the superiority of the socialist system.

Relying on local finances is simply a drop in the bucket. Central and local government funding is definitely needed to support the more than 20,000 employees of the sanatorium and the model workers and leaders who recuperate in Yalta all year round.

After arriving at the Yalta City Party Committee, Haniyev quickly seized the two major powers of personnel and finance by starting the first fire himself.

After learning about Yalta's financial situation, Haniyev's first impression was of wealth.

This small city is extremely rich, with hundreds of millions of rubles passing through it every year, of which only one-fifth goes to salaries, 60% to the maintenance and management of major sanatoriums, and 20% to the working expenses of various committee departments. In addition, if a new sanatorium is needed or a large-scale equipment project is required, an application can be made, and special funds will be allocated after one or two years.

In Haniyev's view, Yalta can be regarded as a rare lucrative position in Ukraine's regional administrative units.

The annual fiscal expenditure of the Chernobyl region is less than a quarter of that of Yalta (excluding the nuclear power plant), and its fiscal revenue is also less than that of Yalta. Haniyev feels that if he wants to be greedy, he can be as good as Secretary Chekhov in ten years in just one year.

However, economic corruption in the Soviet Union is not serious yet. The biggest problem is still political corruption. Haniyev is still thinking about seizing opportunities and taking a few more steps forward. Therefore, he is not in a hurry to make money now. He is just thinking about how to use the money to get things done and save money. Then, he will make some political achievements according to his own ideas, so that Secretary Sherbitsky, who is right in front of him, can see that his governance level is high.

Cracking down on gangs and eliminating evil is the first step for Haniyev to take control of Yalta.

This work has been effective so far, but it is also coming to an end. The reason is that Yalta is very small, and eight days is enough to review all the cadres. Those with major problems have been dealt with, and those without problems are also in awe of Secretary Haniyev.

The people of the small city of Yalta are already in panic, and if things continue like this, it will only make Haniyev's foundation unstable.

So Haniyev knew when to stop the review. After seeing that this work had established his prestige and received praise at the social level, he promptly notified the Minister of Internal Affairs Zagoyev to stop the review.

Haniyev also made it clear at today's conference that the special campaign to crack down on gangsters and eliminate evil will be ended after the investigation of all arrested and detained persons is completed. After the campaign is completed, Yalta will become the city with the best public security and the most positive atmosphere in Ukraine and even in the Soviet Union.

Haniyev was an airborne official sent from the Kyiv Central Committee. Naturally, the local officials of Simferopol Oblast did not dare to control him. Before Haniyev took office, the provincial party committee knew that he was appointed by Secretary Sherbitsky. This shows that Haniyev has a powerful background and a promising future.

Based on this understanding, even though many officials in the provincial party committee and government had opinions about Haniyev's campaign against organized crime in Yalta, believing that Haniyev was messing around and was restless, the provincial party committee secretary and other leaders of the team did not take it seriously and just quietly watched Haniyev's actions in Yalta.

Through his own efforts, Haniyev found two major backers. One was Sherbitsky, the controller of Ukraine, and the other was his own domestic and international reputation accumulated through the Chernobyl incident. Either one was enough to support him in governing and reforming in Yalta.

It was precisely because of this confidence that Haniyev dared to learn from the Khitan Secretary Guanglai. After all, that secretary also had an extraordinary background and family.

Now the first step of the campaign against organized crime has been effective, and the effects Haniyev expected have been achieved. Not only has he consolidated his foundation, firmly grasped power, and turned the Yalta Party Committee and government into his own one-man show, but he has also cleared out all the negative factors in the city, restoring the clean and upright atmosphere of the Stalin era in the Yalta Party Committee, government, and society. This has created a safe and comfortable environment for Sherbitsky's recuperation, allowing him to recuperate with peace of mind.

After the meeting on preparations for the reception of Secretary Sherbitsky on July 10, officials at all levels were assigned important tasks. Even though everyone was starving, they still went out to eat and drink as usual. Considering the tough and capable style of the secretary, everyone could only suppress the urge to eat and drink, and went downstairs to eat some bread to fill their stomachs before working hard all night.

After returning to his office, Haniyev drank a cup of hot tea and began to review his gains and losses in the nearly ten days since he took office.

"I feel that my political wisdom in doing things is still insufficient. Even if I become the municipal party secretary, there is still a lot of room for improvement."

"Confucius's saying 'I examine myself three times a day' is absolutely right. How can we make progress without reflection? I remember my father once quoted Lenin's quotations, which contained similar words. However, no one in the Party studies Marxism-Leninism anymore, and I only know the basics. Perhaps I can learn the Soviet ancestral methods from Secretary Shcherbitsky in the future. He's an old revolutionary, so I don't think he's a complete novice..."

Haniyev talked to himself. Sometimes he almost forgot that his previous life was from that big Eastern country with a red flag. Now, after recalling the gains and losses of his nine days in power, he kept reminding himself in his heart to absorb nutrition from it and improve his abilities.

Rubbing his temples, Haniyev sighed softly, "Maybe I really need to buy some biographies and history books on Khitan. Learning from others' success stories is very important to me. Let Vyshevsky look for them. I'll make a list first..."

As he spoke, Haniyev took out a pen and paper and wrote on it: "The 15th Year of the Wanli Reign... Heshen's biography... Yuan Shikai's rise to power... and Kim Il-sung's true rise to power..."

After filling a sheet of paper with writing, Haniyev blew the ink dry and whispered, "Perhaps the stories of successful people who have similar experiences to mine can help me."

Haniyev has visions and hopes for the future, but he also feels uneasy and worried, because his intervention has changed historical events and may even change the fate of Ukraine and even the Soviet Union. Then the effectiveness of his golden finger as a time traveler to predict the future will be greatly reduced. This sense of unknown makes Haniyev not as calm and fearless as he appears.

Haniyev himself didn't know it, but perhaps he didn't really want to learn from or imitate the fate of certain people through some books. He just wanted to see the successful deeds of politicians who had some similarities with himself to inspire himself.

Rubbing his face, Haniyev cheered himself up, picked up the phone and dialed the number of Vyshevsky's room across the corridor.

"Old buddy, I'm hungry. The cafeteria is probably out of food right now. Can you drive me to the Friendship Nursing Home? There's a chef on duty there at night, and the midnight snacks are pretty good."

Author's words: The author has finally had time to write in the past two months, and will continue to update while he is free. Although I dare not promise too much in terms of update volume, there will be no problem in finishing it.

Chapter 074: Can't Let a Bad Guy Go

It was already late at night, and the lights were on in the Friendship Sanatorium, which had just been put into use and had housed two groups of national model workers and retired ministerial officials.

The clean and spacious restaurant was extremely empty, with only two young men sitting at the front of a round table.

Haniyev, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, drank borscht, ate lamb stewed with cheese and grilled mackerel, and drank a few glasses of vodka. Soon he was sweating all over.

Wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, Haniyev burped and said, "It's more than ten degrees hotter here than in Kiev. It would be more comfortable if there was wind, but now I'm sweating all over after eating a plate of mutton."

Vyshevsky had also eaten his fill. He was a loyal man who always remembered his duties. He hurriedly got up, opened several windows, and opened the door.

The cool and moist sea breeze suddenly poured in, making Haniyev feel refreshed all over.

"Good man, thank goodness for you. Otherwise, I would have been in such a mess coming to the South alone. Not to mention getting anything done, it would have been difficult for me to even gain a foothold."

Looking out the window at the dark sea with only a few fishing boats' lights on, Haniyev's mood suddenly improved. He looked at Vyshevsky who was darker than before, patted his good friend's shoulder and said.

In order to help Haniyev, Vyshevsky even resigned from his job at the Kyiv Bus Company. After arriving in Yalta, he was not only Haniyev's full-time driver, but also took on the job of Haniyev's secretary because Natasha broke her promise. During the more than a week after Haniyev arrived, he was inseparable from Haniyev, even getting up earlier and going to bed later than Haniyev every day.

Even though the two had been good friends for many years, Haniyev couldn't help but feel moved.

Vyshevsky laughed, drank the glass of wine in his hand, and said, "Bayehli."

Putting down his glass, Vyshevsky let out a long sigh and said with a smile, "Dear Victor, the salary you pay me is twice as much as when I was driving a bus. Of course I have to work hard. Besides, I am tired of driving a bus day after day. I have to thank you. Otherwise, I might only want to visit Yalta when I am old."

Haniyev laughed and said no more. Vyshevsky stood up, looked at the chef who was peeking out from the kitchen door in the distance, and asked, "Do you want anything else to eat?"

Haniyev waved his hand and said, "We're done eating. Put away the wine we brought. The alcohol ban is quite strict right now. Let's go back and rest."

Visheski called out, and the chef came out with two kitchen helpers to clear the table.

After Haniyev politely thanked him, the two left the restaurant and prepared to take the elevator down from the surreal building.

The secretary and the dean, who had been waiting in front of the elevator for a long time, came over hurriedly.

"Secretary Haniyev, the room is ready for you and the hot water is boiling. Would you like to come with us?"

Haniyev waved his hand and said, "No need, Davarishi, I have to go back to the city government to rest. If there is anything in the evening, I can deal with it as soon as possible. I am sorry to bother you tonight."

The secretary of the Friendship Sanatorium was Peter Sergeyevich Golon, a man in his sixties, but he was very smooth and was the first cadre who took the initiative to show goodwill and completely obeyed Haniyev's orders after he took office.