Servant of the People in Kyiv

"I almost forgot your methods."

Sherbitsky and Nikolay smiled at each other. They both remembered that a few months ago, Haniyev used the attention paid to Chernobyl by Reuters and other Western media to protect himself, and even turned a disaster into a blessing and became a rising star in Ukrainian politics.

Nicholas thought of the almost blind worship of the West by domestic intellectuals, spat, and said, "These bastards just don't know how to be grateful. But maybe this trick of yours will really work."

After the three discussed some details, Haniyev, in order to show his attention and dedication to Sherbitsky's comeback, volunteered to go back to Kyiv in person to talk to foreign media reporters, and at the same time contact some well-known people at Kyiv National University, making a tireless effort to build momentum for the old secretary.

Sherbitsky was very satisfied with Haniyev's attitude. Naturally, in his position, he would not be grateful for his subordinates' hard work, but he would weigh the interests, score Haniyev's contribution in his heart, and double the reward for Haniyev when necessary in the future.

It was already past ten o'clock in the evening when they left the Friendship Sanatorium. Haniyev and Nikolay were drunk, but they were both very happy.

The next morning, after getting up, Haniyev asked the office to book two tickets for him and Vyshevsky to return to Kiev. The date was tentatively set for September 5th, because that day was a Friday. He would take a week off, plus two weeks of rest, so he could return to Kiev for nine days.

Obviously, Haniyev was also planning to return to Kiev to see his family and friends under the pretext of working for Sherbitsky.

Vyshevsky was overjoyed when he learned he could go home for nine days. He excitedly hugged Haniyev and kissed his cheek. Haniyev wiped the saliva from his face with some disgust and muttered, "Don't put your stinky mouth on my face in the future. If it were Zoya, it would be almost the same..."

Vyshevsky was in a good mood and didn't care about Haniyev's accusation of taking advantage. He just turned around happily and walked out while saying, "I'm about to see Zoya and little Ivan. I have to buy them some gifts to bring back."

When he reached the door, Vyshevsky suddenly stopped and turned to look at Hanyev: "Victor, do you want to take anything? I'll buy it for you."

Haniyev thought for a moment and said, "Yalta's red wine is quite famous. You can ask Suva to get some, and we can ship it back as a gift. This shouldn't be considered a violation of the General Secretary's ban on alcohol."

Suva is the deputy director of the office, but because she is conscientious and responsible in her work, she has always been a favorite of Haniyev. If he asks her to get the red wine, he only needs to hint to the winery below, and truckloads of red wine will be delivered this afternoon.

When Visheski thought that this could save a lot of money, he agreed with a smile. When he left, he thought to himself: Since Victor has said so, I will ask Suva to buy some toys and canned fish. These expenses can be paid directly from the office, which saves a lot of expenses.

Chapter 089 Going Home

At 11:40 p.m. on September 5, Haniyev and Vyshevsky walked out of Terminal B of Kyiv's Boryspil Airport, pulling two suitcases and carrying backpacks.

It was already late autumn in Ukraine, and the temperature was a bit low at night. Wearing only a coat, Haniyev tightened his clothes and asked, "Shall we take a taxi?"

Vyshevsky smiled and raised his chin towards a Volga on the side of the road: "Isn't the car that's coming to pick us up here?"

Haniyev saw the car door open and Sergei and Pristin walked out.

After the four of them hugged, Sergei and Pristin took the two people's suitcases. Vyshevsky asked, "Why didn't Shatya (Anatto) come?"

Sergei shrugged. "He's the head of the Reuters bureau in Kyiv. He's a very busy man."

Pristin explained with a smile, "Shajia told me that Mr. Mike asked him to be in charge of setting up the Reuters Kyiv bureau. He's been busy day and night lately and can't get away for the time being. He said he'd treat you and Yuri (Vyshevsky) to lunch tomorrow at noon, so we'd like to keep him company."

Haniyev smiled and said, "That's fine. It's time we made the big journalists bleed."

After getting in the car, Sergei turned around and looked at Haniyev: "Who will be sent first?"

Vyshevsky responded quickly: "First send Victor, then send me."

In fact, the most time-saving route should be to send Vyshev first, but Vyshev mostly thought about Haniyev first. Haniyev, Sergei and the other two seemed to be used to it and didn't say much.

As the car was driving, Pristin asked about the scenery in Yalta.

Haniyev chatted with them for a long time and said with a smile: "If you all come to Yalta this winter, I will arrange for you to have a good time. It is the best place for a winter vacation."

"Then it's settled."

Pristin handed a cigarette to each of Haniyev and the other two. After lighting it, the four of them opened the car windows and started smoking.

After dusting off his cigarette, Sergei looked at Haniyev in the rearview mirror and asked, "Didn't you say you needed my help with something? What is it?"

"I hope you can use your connections to help me keep an eye on some famous intellectuals at state universities, send them some Reuters newspapers when necessary, and then guide them to make their voices heard in our Soviet newspapers and magazines."

Everyone in the car was Haniyev's best friends. He smiled and told them about his and Sherbitsky's plans.

After hearing this, Pristin and Sergei began to think.

After a long time, Sergei asked, "Are you planning to have Reuters report on Shcherbitsky's achievements first?"

Haniyev smiled slightly and said, "Yes, we can have Reuters publish speculative reports on the circumstances surrounding Shcherbitsky's resignation. This will help us to uncover his merits and demerits during his time in office."

Pristin shook his head slightly. "Although Gorbachev has always said that he wants to openly lift various restrictions and carry out deep reforms, it is still very bold to openly criticize national leaders. Do these scholars dare to do it? Even if they dare to write, will any newspapers or magazines dare to publish it?"

Haniyev, who had been following the direction of Soviet public opinion, said angrily: "Perhaps no one dared to write about it before, but now it's hard to say.

I think our Propaganda Minister, Comrade Yakovlev, has completely given up on the public opinion front. He's even destroying his own Great Wall. Recently, the highly regarded New World magazine has been very liberal, daring to publish any article, isn't it?

Sergei and Pristin also recalled the New World magazine, which dared to publish any banned book, and nodded in agreement. Pristin praised it highly, saying, "That's how it should be. The West has freedom of speech, and the masses live with dignity. Our party shouldn't control everyone's mouths."

Haniyev did not agree with Pristin's remarks, but he did not want to argue with his good friend. He smiled and lay down on the backrest to take a nap.

Soon Sergei sent Haniyev to his home. After helping Haniyev carry his suitcase and backpack to the door, the three of them said goodbye and left.

Knowing that Haniyev would be home tonight, his mother Natalia and Haniyev's brothers and sisters did not go to bed early. Even his father Vladimir took a leave of absence to come back and wait for his eldest son.

Haniyev first gave his family members warm hugs and kisses, and then took out the red wine, candies, canned goods and other gifts he brought back like presenting treasures.

Natalia felt distressed when she saw Haniyev, who had become much thinner. She gently stroked Haniyev's face and said, "My son has worked too hard for the Soviet Union and Ukraine. You must learn to take care of yourself."

Haniyev took his mother's hand with some embarrassment and said, "Don't worry, I have the final say in Yalta. The food and accommodation are good."

"What's good? You've lost weight."

Natalia said unhappily, "Maybe I should find someone to take care of you."

Haniyev laughed and stopped talking. Vladimir coughed lightly and said, "Alright, Victor is very tired after the journey. Let him rest first."

"well."

Natalia nodded and asked, "Are you hungry? I cooked some deer steak for you. Just heat it up and you can eat it."

Haniyev had some bread and vegetable salad on the plane and was not hungry, so after saying good night, the family members went back to their rooms to rest.

Lying on the bed he had not seen for a long time, Haniyev tossed and turned in bed. He thought that home was a harbor, and when he returned home he would no longer be nervous and anxious, and would think about his political future and the future of the Soviet Union. But perhaps he was too worried about gains and losses, and Haniyev's mind was still full of thoughts. He kept worrying about whether he could satisfy Sherbits, and worried that his little actions would affect the course of history, thus making him lose the prophet's greatest reliance.

Haniyev fell asleep in a daze, and when he woke up it was already eight o'clock in the morning.

Perhaps it was Vladimir's intentional arrangement that Natalia did not disturb Haniyev's sleep. After washing up, Haniyev had a hearty breakfast, and then Vladimir called him and Sidrov to the study for tea.

While working in Yalta, Haniyev would call his father and home every week to communicate, so Vladimir knew his son was doing well.

After drinking half a cup of tea, Vladimir asked: "What are you doing back here?"

Haniyev told Sidrov about his mission. Sidrov was a little surprised and could only drink his tea and prepare to listen to his father's comments.

Vladimir nodded. "Your method is good. You're Shcherbitsky's man now, and there's no getting away from it. As long as you help him, your political future will improve. If the old secretary comes back to run Ukraine, you'll soon be able to become governor."

Before being benched, Vladimir had only been the director of the Kyiv City Agricultural Committee. His administrative level was the same as Haniyev's current level, but it took him 25 years to get to that position. Haniyev is only 26 years old this year. City party secretaries of this age are rare not only in Ukraine, but also in the entire Soviet Union.

Vladimir was well aware that his eldest son's political courage and political means had long surpassed his own, so he did not intend to interfere in what he was going to do.

Chapter 090 Doing Business

Haniyev has always been satisfied with his father. He would never stubbornly think that he is right and force his children to obey his arrangements.

After having a pleasant conversation with her father and brother for over an hour, Natalia suddenly pushed the door open and said, "Victor, there's a call for you."

Haniyev got up and went to the living room. He picked up the phone but before he could say anything, he heard a cheerful voice from the other end: "Brother Victor, I heard from Brother Sergei that you've returned to Kiev. You've always taken good care of me. I'd like to treat you to a simple meal. Is that convenient?"

"You are……"

Haniyev thought the voice was familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a moment.

A voice answered from the microphone: "I'm Peter, brother. Peter Alexeevich Poroshenko from Kyiv State University."

"It's you. It's been a while since we last met. Peter, how are you doing lately? Are you graduating soon?"

"It'll take another two years to graduate, but with Brother Sergei taking care of me, I have a lot of freedom at school. As long as I pass my exams, I can do whatever I want."

Haniyev understood clearly that what Poroshenko wanted to do was to resell banned pirated discs. His business talent was really worthy of the Jewish blood flowing in his body.

After exchanging pleasantries on the phone for a while, the two agreed to have dinner tonight and then hung up.

After returning to the study and saying goodbye to his parents, Haniyev went to the bathroom to wash his hair and changed into imported Nike sportswear.

His younger brother Sidrov had no plans for the day off, so Haniyev decided to have him have dinner with him.

Yesterday, Anato had already arranged to treat a few people to wild game at the state-owned restaurant he often went to. Haniyev didn't want to be late, so he asked Sidrov to take two bottles of red wine brought back from Yalta and went out.

By the time the Haniyev brothers entered the hotel, Anatole, dressed in an Armani suit, was already sitting in a window seat in a respectable manner.

When Anato saw Haniyev, he quickly stood up and greeted him. The two hugged each other and then sat back at the table.

"Comrade great journalist is very glorious now."

Haniyev looked Anato up and down and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

"I'm now a full-time employee of Reuters, in charge of the Kiev office. I've made great progress compared to before, but that's also thanks to you. Without Secretary Haniyev's help, there's no way I could have made the leap from a reporter for the Moscow News Agency to the head of a Reuters branch so quickly. I'll definitely have a few drinks with Secretary Haniyev later."

Anato laughed heartily, poured two glasses of ice water for the Haniyev brothers himself, then stood up and greeted Vyshevsky and Pristin who came in.

A few of them sat down and talked, and soon Sergei arrived.

Only when Haniyev was with his good friends did he temporarily forget his identity as the First Secretary of Yalta, all the pressure and work, and just talked about everyone's embarrassing stories, joked with each other, drank, and swore.

It was already past four in the afternoon when the dinner ended.

Sergei drunkenly tugged at Haniyev and shouted, "Peter said he'll arrange dinner for us tonight. You all should come back to school with me, or to my dorm. Let's watch an American blockbuster and have some fun."

Several people agreed loudly.

An hour later, Sergei returned to his dormitory with his friends who were already quite drunk after drinking two bottles of red wine and three bottles of vodka. Poroshenko had already cleaned the place, put some fresh fruits on the table, and brewed a pot of flower tea.

"Hey guys, these are canned Chinese apples and pineapples I bought at the market. I asked someone to line up in advance to get them. Please have some. I'll treat you to barbecue and American whiskey tonight."

Poroshenko was very thoughtful in his work. He politely brought a few plates of fruit and casually mentioned their value, with the aim of demonstrating his intentions and sincerity.

Although Haniyev had drunk some wine, he was very sober. He smiled and thanked Poroshenko, and then everyone ate fruit and watched the Hollywood blockbuster "Alien 2".

Western films, books, and songs are the literary and artistic content that is currently strictly controlled by the Soviet government. However, due to the rigid ideology and backward literary and artistic work in the Soviet Union in recent years, even strict control cannot resist the young people's love for Western literary works and their yearning for the Western world.

After watching the film, Haniyev had to admit that the current Soviet films are far inferior to Hollywood in terms of special effects, plot, and openness. The Soviet people's love for Western films is just like the young people in the Eastern countries in the 1980s and 1990s who liked to watch Hong Kong films.

Haniyev looked at Poroshenko and thought that although this young man would be the candy king of Ukraine in the future and his main business was candy and chocolate, it did not mean that he would not be involved in other businesses. Wasn't it now open to independent operation? Maybe he could use Nikolay's relationship to let Poroshenko open a video store specializing in renting discs. However, the profit of this business was not great. If he wanted to make money, he had to rely on the power of the government to become an exclusive agent, and then attract investors to open branches in Kiev or even Ukraine to earn franchise fees.

Since Yakovlev became the Soviet Minister of Propaganda, the Soviet Union's cultural control has become increasingly loose, and many rules and regulations have gradually become unpopular.

Haniyev knew that the Soviet Union might open up cultural restrictions and freedom of speech as early as next year, and then all the so-called banned books and films would be able to appear openly among the public.

At that time, those who are able to obtain imported film books can naturally engage in the book and film rental business, but this business, which only survives for about ten years, does not have a big scale at all.

But Haniyev thought that there were no private video stores specializing in renting videotapes, movies and books in Kyiv or even in Ukrainian cities. If he could open one now, the business might be very popular. After all, the Soviet people were extremely spiritually deficient. Then he could go the route of franchising a store, earn a franchise fee and run away, maybe he could make a lot of money.

The more Haniyev thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. So he called Poroshenko over and asked, "Are you interested in making a lot of money?"

Poroshenko's ancestors were all Jewish businessmen, but after the establishment of the Soviet Union, private business was no longer allowed. Poroshenko's father cleverly married into a proletarian family in Odessa and raised Poroshenko.

Influenced by his father since childhood, Poroshenko was very interested in doing business and making money. At the same time, his ancestors also left him a part of the inheritance, which was enough for him to use as the starting capital for his business.

After hearing Haniyev's plan, Poroshenko was very excited. He has been in the videotape rental business for a long time and knows how huge this market is.

"Brother, if you are willing to do it, I will of course fully cooperate. However, many of the videos are banned. Even if we open up the autonomous business law, it is still unsafe for us to do it."

Although Poroshenko was happy, he also knew the seriousness of the problem and spoke cautiously.

Haniyev waved his hand. "Don't worry. We can start preparations this year and officially start operations next year. I've heard rumors that the censorship and ban on imported literary and artistic works will be lifted soon. Even if it's not explicitly lifted, it'll be almost the same. By then, we'll be able to make money legally and reasonably!"

Chapter 091 They Are Not Stupid, They Are Just Bad

Poroshenko had always been currying favor with Sergei at school for his own business, and later he currying favor with Haniyev for the sake of the future.

He wanted to find a backer for himself, so that if Haniyev grew up, it would be convenient for him to do business in the future.

For this reason, when Haniyev was under investigation, Poroshenko also followed Sergei to campaign for him and made some efforts.

After Haniyev was released, many people thought that his political future was bleak, but Poroshenko still firmly believed that Haniyev would achieve extraordinary results. For this reason, he thought in his heart that he could ask Haniyev to do business together after he graduated.

Later, when people were feeling sorry for Haniyev, he was suddenly transferred to Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula in the south to serve as the first secretary of the municipal party committee. Poroshenko was very happy when he learned about it.

Some people rumored that Haniyev was promoted in name only and demoted in reality, and was sent to a remote area to retire early.

But Poroshenko did not think so. It was not until a month later that the news broke that Secretary Sherbitsky retired from the position of First Secretary of Ukraine and went to Yalta for recuperation. Poroshenko immediately connected the information together and speculated that Secretary Sherbitsky would arrange Haniyev to be the secretary of the municipal party committee in his retirement place in advance, which meant that Haniyev had already been appreciated by Sherbitsky.

Although Sherbitsky has now retreated to the second line, his influence is still there. Coupled with his disciples and former officials all over Ukraine, Haniyev has leaned on this big tree, and his future is limitless.

After learning from Sergei about the many political achievements made by Haniyev in Yalta, Poroshenko knew that making friends with Haniyev was the most important investment in his life.

After listening to Haniyev's talk about the video store business, Poroshenko was very excited. He knew that as long as Haniyev said it could be done, it would definitely be done because Sherbitsky was behind him.

After discussing some details and steps, Haniyev handed the task of selecting the store location to Poroshenko.

"There's no rush to rent a house. Just get the license and do the renovations before the New Year, then build up the reputation and recruit franchisees. Just take it one step at a time and don't rush."