Servant of the People in Kyiv

"This is obvious. For decades, we've had a planned economy. All commodities were centrally allocated and sold by the Material Bureau, consumer cooperatives, department stores, and other departments. Every link, from production, procurement, transportation, to sales, was coordinated by the relevant departments. Now, you're saying that we're suddenly opening up to allow private capital and the people to operate independently. Farmers and factories can only sell agricultural and industrial products locally, and the volumes are very small. Doesn't external sales and the allocation of supplies still rely on the operations of these departments?"

Haniyev also drank half a cup of coffee to moisten his throat and continued, "Gordian knot's economic reforms haven't eliminated these units yet. Will department heads with power and channels resist the opportunity to make a fortune and not run them?

Although private enterprises are not allowed yet, it is only a matter of time if we follow this trend.

At that time, those with a sense of shame will have their families set up trading companies, while those without shame will most likely do it themselves. It may seem that there are countless Soviet private operators, but in reality, the main operators are still the same group of people. It's just that they used to run businesses for the country and the Soviet Union, at most enriching themselves and becoming socialist parasites. Now they can legitimately abuse their power for personal gain and turn public property into private property!

Sherbitsky's thick, dark eyebrows frowned. He knew that what Haniyev said was absolutely right. As long as Gorbachev's economic reform plan was implemented, the Soviet termites would appear a hundredfold and a thousandfold, and all of them would lie on the broken body of the motherland to suck blood and enrich themselves. This reform would become a bullet that killed the motherland.

Shcherbitsky slammed the table and cursed: "Damn those parasites, damn Gorbachev, they are committing crimes and treason!"

Haniyev can say this because he truly understands how the Soviet Union entered a vicious cycle after reform, which is something no one in the world can compare to.

Although Sherbitsky did not agree with Gorbachev's reforms in his heart, he could not imagine how bad the impact would be. Now thinking about Haniyev's prophecy, he knew that in time, the prophecy would come true.

But now the documents of economic reform have been transmitted from Moscow to various regions of the Soviet Union. Not to mention that Sherbitsky has already been a retired cadre, even if he is still the First Secretary of Ukraine, Deputy Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and Member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, he is powerless to change the will of the General Secretary.

Shcherbitsky tapped his fingers on the table and muttered, "I need to call Ryzhkov and tell him. We have to think of a way out. We can't just let Gordi do what he wants..."

Ryzhkov was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, or the Prime Minister in colloquial terms. He was Ukrainian and was later than Sherbitsky in both age and working experience, but he had a rich resume and outstanding working ability, and was highly regarded by Andropov. He entered the Central Committee in 81 and the core in 82, becoming Secretary of the Central Secretariat and Minister of Economy. In September 85, he became Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, becoming a veritable head of government.

Ryzhkov and Shcherbytsky are both Ukrainians and representatives of conservatives. They belong to the same camp in terms of political interests and political ideas. Since Gorbachev became General Secretary, not only has Shcherbytsky sung a different tune from Gorbachev, but Ryzhkov has also been arguing and trying his best to save the situation.

Through Haniyev's inference, Sherbitsky realized that Gorbachev's economic reforms would be a disaster. He knew that if he wanted to make up for it, he could only rely on Prime Minister Ryzhkov.

Haniyev knew that he was not the one who decided the fate of the Soviet Union or Ukraine. Seeing that Sherbitsky was busy calling Moscow, he tactfully said goodbye and left.

After all, Haniyev is the top leader of Yalta, and the provincial party committee seems to have not appointed a mayor in order to allow Haniyev to show his talents, which makes Haniyev have to deal with heavy affairs in all aspects of Yalta every day.

Although Haniyev is busy, he does not feel stressed or worried. Instead, he is very happy that he has such a good opportunity to train himself. After all, for Haniyev, he has positioned himself to lead Ukraine and even the Soviet Union. How can he be wise and lead a great country without grassroots work experience?

On the way to the municipal party committee, Haniyev was still thinking about Gorbachev's reforms.

Gorbachev was elected General Secretary in 1985 and has been committed to reform since taking office.

Previously, his reforms were limited to verbal statements, because the constraints of conservatives and Ukrainian factions made it impossible for Gorbachev to implement them.

However, with the outbreak of the Chernobyl nuclear leak, Gorbachev found an opportunity to crack down on the Ukrainian gang. After suppressing the Ukrainian faction headed by Sherbitsky, Gorbachev began to formally implement the reform plan.

Haniyev, who knows history, knows that Gorbachev first carried out economic reforms, then implemented political reforms, and finally, after signing the Nuclear Disarmament Treaty with Reagan in 87, he led the Soviet Union onto the road of so-called reform, which was actually a road of destruction.

Regardless of whether Gorbachev really wanted to save the Soviet Union or whether he was motivated by public interest, his reforms were a complete failure.

Gorbachev shares a common trait with the last emperors of dynasties such as Song Huizong, Chongzhen, and Guangxu, which is that they are incompetent but still love to make trouble.

However, Gorbachev's role as General Secretary was different from the emperor's family inheritance. He still had extraordinary talent and skills in political struggle.

Haniyev knew that for Gorbachev, who was an expert in infighting, no one could stop his determination to carry out reforms, not even Ryzhkov.

So, looking out the window at the bustling Yalta city, Haniyev sighed with feeling: "This economic reform is just Gorbachev's first test of the waters. From now on, the Soviet Union, this broken ship, has sailed into the Arctic Ocean. In the future, powerful people in the Soviet Union will become wild horses that have broken free from their reins and will quickly steal the country's wealth.

The political situation is changing rapidly. If the Soviet Union collapses inevitably, how to preserve Ukraine and myself will be a major problem. How to survive well is also a question that I have to think about.

I am the First Secretary of the Yalta Municipal Party Committee and a favorite of Secretary Sherbitsky. Should I also prepare for a rainy day and consider emergency measures to undermine the foundations of socialism?

Since everyone is feasting on the motherland, instead of letting these parasites who only know how to take advantage of the United States and Britain grab the benefits, it is better for me, a proletarian revolutionary fighter loyal to the motherland, to keep the people's wealth..."

Chapter 084: Soviet Resources Must Not Be Wasted

Yalta is a place with a single industry, sparse population, and excellent environment and climate. It has been a sanatorium resort for the Soviet Union for decades. After Haniyev came to power, it has worked hard to create a business card for ecological livability.

By relying on Sherbitsky, no matter what Haniyev wanted to do or how much money he wanted to spend, as long as it was beneficial to the old secretary's recuperation, the provincial party committee would approve it unanimously. So although Haniyev had only been in office for about a month, his series of major actions not only allowed him to completely control all departments in Yalta and implement his will in all communities and farms in Yalta, but what was even more rare was that the success in both the crackdown on gangsters and the greening and lighting projects had greatly improved Yalta's spiritual outlook and environmental index.

In other words, Haniyev was in Yalta for only a little over a month, but he transformed Yalta and made it the most famous business card in the Crimean Oblast. The tourism industry also began to pick up at the end of July, and many people in the north and nearby cities chose to come here for tourism and vacation.

Ever since Haniyev and Shcherbitsky discussed the future of Gorbachev's economic reforms, Shcherbitsky has been busy every day making calls and correspondence with old friends in Moscow and Kiev, trying every possible way to delay the implementation of "Gorbachev's New Deal."

Sherbitsky was busy worrying about the country and the people, so Haniyev no longer bothered his old leader and lived in the municipal building every day, busy with party and government affairs.

In the blink of an eye, it was August. After presiding over the Yalta Soviet Standing Committee, Haniyev returned to his office a little tired. Just as he was about to take a nap, he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Please come in!"

Vyshevsky pushed the door open and walked in, whispering, "I just received a call from Kiev. It's Chekhovian who's coming to retire."

Chekhov was Haniyev's mentor; they had a good relationship, and Chekhov had always taken good care of Haniyev. Haniyev was very happy and said with a smile, "Has he retired? I heard he was transferred to a committee in Kyiv as deputy director. It seems he's been promoted to the second line. When he arrives, we should prepare in advance and give him a good reception."

"He said the flight is on August 5th. He's currently the Ninth Deputy Director of the Industrial Committee. It just so happens that the Industrial Committee has also issued an order stating that, based on his rank, he can't recuperate at Massandra Palace. Any other sanatorium will do. You need to personally sign and indicate which sanatorium room is available."

Haniyev was slightly taken aback. "There are many sanatoriums available for those below the vice-ministerial level. Our best sanatorium in Yalta, Friendship Sanatorium, doesn't seem to have any specific level requirements. Even a model worker from a certain state is eligible to stay there. I think we should let Chekhov stay at the Friendship Sanatorium."

Visheski hesitated: "That old man lives there, would it be appropriate for you to arrange for someone else?"

"Hasn't he retired? We can't let him be separated from the masses."

Haniyev joked and explained, "The Friendship Sanatorium is quite large. It was originally planned to accommodate over three hundred cadres. We can just give the twenty rooms on the top floor to the old secretary. I think the three floors below can be opened to the public. With people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB's Ninth Bureau here, not even a mosquito can get to the third floor. But you're right. I'd better ask Shcherbitsky for instructions. I haven't seen him in a few days."

Vyshevsky immediately went to drive the car. After Haniyev came downstairs, the car with license plate 0001A was already parked in front of the administrative building.

The two Internal Affairs Ministry policemen guarding the gate saluted and said, "Hello, Secretary Haniyev!"

Haniyev nodded and left in his car.

A tall policeman looked at the car with envy as it drove away, muttering, "I'd be so happy if I could ride in a car like this someday."

The other policeman, who was older, snorted coldly, "If you're lucky enough to become a farm secretary, you'll be lucky. How can you dream of becoming a municipal party secretary?

Haniyev is from Kiev. He is Secretary Sherbitsky's man. He became famous during the Chernobyl nuclear leak and has a bright future. Being the secretary in Yalta is just a small step in his promotion. Maybe next year he will be an official in the state.

Joseph, you have to know that being a high official is not something we can ever dream of..."

Joseph had just started working this year and was full of hope for the future. He was very dissatisfied with his colleague's words and glared at him angrily, saying, "No, Belichev, you are wrong. The Soviets were established by proletarian revolutionaries. All workers and peasants are masters!"

"Ha ha……"

Belichev burst into laughter, tears almost streaming down his face. He looked at Joseph's determined face and said nothing more. He just murmured to himself: "Poor Joseph, the Soviet Union is no longer what it used to be. When you reach my age, you will understand everything..."

Haniyev didn't know that he had caused a dispute between the two Internal Affairs Ministry policemen, but even if he knew, he wouldn't care, because as one's position gets higher and higher, there are more opportunities for him to come into the public eye, and it is inevitable to be talked about, envied, and even hated. All he can do is try his best to do everything he can and wants to do.

"It's all your fault, Victor. The old man hasn't been eating or sleeping well these past few days, and the corners of his mouth are all irritated. You're just analyzing economic reforms for him. He's a retired official and should be recuperating properly..."

After meeting Shcherbitsky in the guest room, Haniyev was scolded by Mrs. Shcherbitsky before he could even say anything.

Haniyev looked carefully at Sherbitsky sitting on the sofa. Sure enough, his hair was a little messy and there was a blister at the corner of his mouth.

"It's all my fault... Madam, what you taught me is..."

Whether it was his work experience or his own interpersonal skills, Haniyev subconsciously admitted his mistakes and gave in. If he had complained and explained at this time, or even argued unconvincedly, it would have been inhumane.

Shcherbitsky waved his hand to interrupt Haniyev and said unhappily, "Old woman, go make some tea. Don't blame Victor. I made him say that..."

Madame Shcherbitsky snorted barely perceptibly and went to the kitchen to make tea.

Sherbitsky pointed to the sofa on his left, and Haniyev sat down consciously, leaning forward and showing concern for Sherbitsky's health.

Sherbitsky has a health doctor who checks his body every day and has a very strict diet and schedule. There is no risk of sudden illness, death, or hospitalization. Haniyev's inquiry is just a show of loyalty.

After a few polite words, Haniyev stated his purpose. His reason was that he did not want people to talk about the Ukrainian General Secretary still engaging in political corruption after his retirement and turning the public sanatorium into his own. This would not only be detrimental to Sherbitsky's reputation, but would also provide material for Gorbachev to make a fuss.

"You're right."

Shcherbitsky nodded. "The third floor is more than enough for me. It might even be a bit wasteful, but for safety's sake, I can't say anything. You can discuss the remaining space with Jivalif, Kodmenf, and the others. As long as the three of you agree on who will move in, I have no objection."

Jivalif was the captain of the KGB's ninth group stationed next to Sherbitsky in charge of security, and Kodmenev was the head of the security personnel sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Only with their consent could Haniyev arrange for the old cadre to be recuperated in the Friendship Sanatorium.

With Sherbitsky's consent and the reasonable plan proposed by Haniyev, Givalev and his companions accepted it after consulting the top leaders in Kiev.

Having achieved his goal, Haniyev immediately prepared a suite on the second floor and arranged for the sanatorium's health doctors, cleaners, nutritionists, etc. These people were all professionals, but they had been unemployed since the Friendship Sanatorium was put into use.

However, what Haniyev hated most was the waste of resources. He planned to use some of the people for Chekhov first, and the remaining staff must not be left idle. Winter is coming, and they will soon serve the national model workers and provincial and ministerial leaders who will move in in the future.

To this end, Haniyev held a special democratic life meeting for the leadership team of the Friendship Sanatorium to discuss how to improve professional level and service awareness to meet the winter convalescent season, and at the same time to explore a plan for the rational deployment of personnel.

At the meeting, Haniyev spoke passionately: "What I hate most is the waste of Soviet resources. Human resources are also resources. Sanatoriums are service facilities built by our party and our country at the cost of a lot of manpower, material and financial resources. They are to ensure that model workers and leaders across the country have good health. In my leadership, there must be no waste of Soviet resources..."

"I don't care what happened in the past, but from now on, there must be no such thing as people drawing salaries without doing any work, and no such thing as redundant personnel..."

Haniyev set the tone, and the leadership team of the sanatorium naturally agreed and actually discussed the reform plan.

However, after the meeting, around nine o'clock that evening, Secretary Golon and Director Liashko of the sanatorium went to visit Haniyev in his office together.

Haniyev had a very pleasant conversation with the two old men. The extremely shrewd Golon and Liashko actively expressed their willingness to use the sanatorium's funds to make some contributions to the municipal party committee and government.

Since the Friendship Sanatorium was built, it has enjoyed strong support from party committees and governments at all levels, especially in recent months, it has received the most support funds from the provincial party committee and government. This money is intended to satisfy Sherbitsky.

However, the Friendship Sanatorium, which had already prepared supporting facilities and personnel, could not spend all the money. The purpose of Haniyev's meeting was also to give Golon and Lyashko a warning. After all, so much time had passed, and it was really too much for the two of them to eat such a big piece of cake without sharing some of the profits.

Seeing that the two men were on the right track, Haniyev patted them on the shoulders with satisfaction and told them to contact Vyshevsky tomorrow.

Chapter 085: People from Kiev

Haniyev is neither a qualified proletarian revolutionary fighter nor a qualified communist. He has always admitted that he has selfish motives.

Haniyev has never denied that all his efforts were just to move up higher and gain more power.

For this purpose, although Haniyev did not hate the current corruption in the Soviet Union, he did not want to be involved in it.

Therefore, Haniyev asked Secretary Golon and Director Liashko of the sanatorium to give up part of the funds not to put it into his own pocket, but more because he wanted to increase some income for Yalta's finances so that he could carry out drastic reforms.

That’s right, although Haniyev is already in the conservative camp, he has always wanted to reform. This is not only to show his ambition, but more to take advantage of the momentum of Gorbachev’s reform to gain experience and make some “Gopy Harbour” political achievements.

Ever since Haniyev applied to be the secretary of Gaopodi Forest Farm, he had already set his sights on the development after the collapse of the Soviet Union. All his efforts now are just to accumulate political resources so that he can get a larger share of the political legacy when the Soviet Union collapses.

At noon the next day, Vyshevsky found Hanyev, who was reviewing and conveying documents from his superiors. He took out a check and whispered, "This is from Golon and his men. It's 80,000 rubles."

Haniyev's current monthly salary is 320 rubles, while Vyshevsky's is only 188 rubles. Eighty thousand rubles is equivalent to ten years' salary for both of them.

However, for Haniyev, who had seen big scenes and handled expenses of 100,000 rubles, he did not care about 80,000 rubles.

"Please keep it for now. We never know when we might need it."

Vyshevsky was just a bus driver. The most money he had ever seen was no more than 10,000 rubles. Now, holding a check for 80,000 rubles, he was very excited. But when he learned that Haniyev wanted him to keep it, he shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, I can't afford to pay for it if it's lost."

Haniyev scolded him angrily, "You're good in every way except that you're too timid. If you're worried about losing it, just hand the check over to the City Soviet Finance Department and have Accountant Zhuliev keep it and use it for its intended purpose."

Only then did Vyshevsky breathe a sigh of relief and left happily.

"Hey……"

Haniyev sighed softly. He was satisfied with many aspects of Vyshevsky, such as his down-to-earth work, seriousness and responsibility, and his true loyalty and closeness to him.

However, due to his limited knowledge and background, it was difficult for Vyshevsky to stand on his own.

So many times, Haniyev missed the days when Natasha was by his side.

Thinking of Natasha again, Haniyev's expression changed. He put down his pen, rubbed his fingers, and whispered, "I wonder how she is doing now?"

……

The days are always not enough when we are busy.

In the blink of an eye, it was the afternoon of August 5th. After dealing with urgent work in the morning, Haniyev postponed other matters to tomorrow, and then asked Vyshevsky to take him to the airport to wait for his old leader Comrade Chekhov, who was about to come from Kiev for recuperation.

Cheković is now a deputy in a ministry of the Republic of Ukraine. Compared with other major Eastern countries, it is a deputy-department-level position, but in Ukraine it is equivalent to a deputy-ministerial level position. This power conversion is only suitable for the Soviet republics and only involves domestic affairs.

If he was only at the deputy director level, Chekhov would obviously not be qualified to stay in the Friendship Sanatorium, unless he was a national model worker.

However, because he is now an official of the Ukrainian central government, which is roughly equivalent to the vice-ministerial level, he enjoys the invisible rights that the Ukrainian central government bureaucrats should have. If the officials of the Ukrainian central government cannot recuperate in Ukraine’s own sanatorium, wouldn’t that be sad?

It was for this reason that Chekhov came to Yalta for recuperation.

When Haniyev came to Yalta to take office, he could not enjoy the rights of the municipal party secretary and his only means of transportation were trains and boats. However, someone of Chekhov's level could fly back and forth.

As a behemoth that had been operating for more than 60 years, every part of the Soviet Union was rotten and rigid, and its various problems were not known to outsiders.

Haniyev sometimes couldn't figure it out clearly, but he had a vague feeling that the current Soviet bureaucrats were very similar to the old Qing Dynasty bureaucrats in some ways: conservative and ignorant, greedy and authoritarian, and keen on studying various forms of political corruption.

Sitting in the reception room, Haniyev breathed a sigh of relief. He felt that even if Lenin were resurrected, it would be difficult to change the fate of the Soviet Union's disintegration, because this behemoth had already become irreversible.

"When a whale falls, everything comes to life!"

Haniyev sighed and said to himself, "The CIS is the skeleton of a whale after it falls. Whether I can become a sharer depends on the planning in the next few years."

Ten minutes later, the flight that Chekovo was on arrived. Ten minutes later, Haniyev saw a group of veteran cadres coming out with suitcases, and Chekovo was among them.

This group of veteran cadres was the first group of recuperators from the various committees in Kyiv this year. Eighty percent of them were veteran cadres, and 20 percent were national model workers. Most of them were placed in other sanatoriums. Only Chekov was assigned to the Friendship Sanatorium by Hanyev, and became a neighbor of Sherbitsky.

Haniyev, who didn't like small talk, asked Vyshevsky to bring Chekhov over.

After a warm hug, Haniyev took the large suitcase from Chekhov's hand, felt its heaviness, and smiled: "Are you moving? It's really heavy."

Chekhov laughed heartily. "Knowing I was coming, your father asked me to bring you some sausages your mother had made. Also, your old friends at the Highland Forest Farm and in Pripyat have sent me gifts and letters."

Haniyev felt warm in his heart. He smiled and nodded. "The days under your leadership were the happiest I've ever had. I also miss the time when I worked with them."