Servant of the People in Kyiv

The Minister of Foreign Affairs is Eduard Shevardnadze, a Georgian who was also the First Secretary of Georgia before becoming Foreign Minister.

For small countries like Georgia, the three Baltic countries, and Moldavia, the status of their first secretary is equivalent to that of a minister in the Soviet Union.

The Foreign Minister before Eduard Shevardnadze was Andrei Andreevich Gromyko. Gromyko became the leader of the Soviet party and state almost at the same time as Gorbachev. At that time, Gorbachev was the General Secretary, and Gromyko was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the de facto second-in-command. The two of them and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Ryzhkov were the top three seats in the Soviet Union. If Sherbitsky had not fallen, he would have been able to sit firmly in the fourth seat.

Because of Gromyko, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not an active department of the reformists. In addition, the current minister is Georgian, so this department is obviously the most suitable for Haniyev to gain qualifications.

However, what Sherbitsky did not know was that Haniyev chose to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to use the Soviet Union's huge diplomatic platform to understand the current international situation. It would be best if he could get to know the political leaders of some countries that are destined to rise in the future and lay some preparations for the future independence of Ukraine.

Chapter 113 Going Home

A few days after confirming with Sherbitsky the decision to go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Haniyev discovered that the Ukrainian central government had increased its efforts to promote the "Yalta Experience."

Not only did the news media and newspapers continue to report on the Yalta experience, but Moscow also once again promoted a new wave of learning from the reform pioneers.

The reason was that on September 1, when Gorbachev was conducting market research in Moscow, he put forward the slogan "Learn from Moscow to reform big cities, and learn from Yalta to reform small cities." As a result, the Soviet Union once again launched a new climax of the reform movement from top to bottom.

Starting from September, banners with slogans such as "Learn from Moscow for big city reform and learn from Yalta for small city reform" were painted and hung in cities across the Soviet Union, and Yeltsin and Haniyev became reform stars.

Television stations and newspapers also sent invitations to the city of Yalta to invite Haniyev to be interviewed.

Haniyev was very clear that the main reason he became famous was that Gorbachev and Shcherbitsky wanted to use him, and he happened to be doing well in Yalta. Although Gorbachev praised him, what he really wanted to portray was "Yeltsin".

However, apart from Haniyev, no one in the Soviet Union knew that Yeltsin, whom Gorbachev had promoted and reused all the way, was the gravedigger of the Soviet Union and the first suspect who caused Gorbachev to lose all his power, status and even dignity.

The self-aware Haniyev is most aware of his awkward position in the eyes of the bigwigs in Moscow. After all, it was he who exposed the Chernobyl incident to the international community, putting the Soviet Union in a very passive position. Although his starting point was good, he was suspected of betraying the party and the country. If he had not won the hearts of the people at that time, he would have been severely dealt with or even lost his life. How could he have been promoted and made a fortune?

Haniyev, who was unwilling to be in the spotlight and worried about causing unnecessary trouble, declined all invitations from news media on the grounds of being busy with work, even foreign media such as Reuters with whom he had cooperated before.

On September 9, the transfer order directly issued by the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union was conveyed to the Crimea Oblast, and Haniyev was appointed as the Party Secretary of the Third Division of the African Department by the Organization Department of the Central Committee.

According to administrative level conversion, the first secretary of the Ukrainian municipal party committee is basically at the same level as the party group secretary of a certain department or department of the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but their status is very different.

One is a middle-level leader of the six ministries and nine officials under the emperor, and the other is a county magistrate in a remote area. Naturally, their status is very different.

If Haniyev had not had the help of Sherbitsky, it would have been impossible for a Ukrainian official to be transferred to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Even if we ignore all the background, a simple party secretary of a department or commission, as long as he is willing to be transferred out, will start as a member of the state leadership team. If he can become the leader of a department, he will definitely be the main leader of the state after being transferred out.

Haniyev's promotion to the head of the Second Department of the Central Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a personal matter, but also a matter for the city of Yalta and the Crimean Oblast.

Therefore, after receiving the transfer order, the provincial party committee sent a special person to visit Haniyev.

Aksionov and Haniyev were old acquaintances. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point and asked, "You have about two weeks to prepare. Arrange your current work, then go home and take a look around before you go to Moscow to take up your post. The organization sent me here to talk to you and help you solve your problems. Feel free to share any ideas you have, whether it's about work or life. Is there anything you need help with?"

Haniyev laughed heartily and said, "I ask Mayor Klosky to take over my position, promote Comrade Petrov to mayor, promote Alexander from the Health and Social Welfare Committee to secretary-general of the Municipal Party Committee, and promote Comrade Vyshevsky to first secretary and concurrently director of the Health and Social Welfare Committee, while retaining his position as head of the health care company..."

"You're welcome. I'm afraid I can't make the decision on the promotion and appointment of more than a dozen people. I have to report to the secretary."

"It's okay, the secretary will agree."

Haniyev and Aksionov were very familiar with each other, and he didn't hide his attitude. Aksionov smiled and said, "Yes, with that old man, the provincial party committee can't possibly disagree."

"Haniyev, you've gone to Moscow. I'm afraid you'll be a leader of the Party and the country when we meet again. But will you consider taking care of us old friends?"

"Don't worry, I'll never forget the help you gave me, Comrade Aksionov, or Yalta and the Crimea."

After seeing off Aksionov, Haniyev began to work for the sustainable development of Yalta after his departure. He believed that the provincial party committee would respect his opinions and make reasonable personnel arrangements. At the same time, in order to give an explanation to Banga, Haniyev also organized a selection in the form of "recruiting cadres", and legally turned Banga into the head of the Finance Section of the Yalta Health and Social Support Committee.

This was the first time that Haniyev had abused his power for personal gain since he became an official. He could say without any guilt that all his previous efforts were for the Soviet cause and for Ukraine, but this time his arrangement for Bangya was indeed out of selfish motives.

After all, Bangya was his lover, and he was about to leave Yalta, so he had to give her an explanation before leaving.

Bangya transformed himself from a health care company employee to a section-level cadre within the system. If it weren't for Haniyev, it would probably have taken him ten years even with the help of his brother-in-law.

With gratitude in her heart, Bangya tried her best to repay Haniyev that night. The two of them reached the peak of happiness several times in one night.

September 15th came in a blink of an eye. In six days, Haniyev finally arranged everything, and the personnel appointments in Yalta were also approved by the provincial party committee.

After bidding farewell to the Sherbitskys at the Friendship Sanatorium, Haniyev went to the airport accompanied by the municipal party committee.

Before boarding the plane, Haniyev shook Vyshevsky's hand and said, "From now on, the Yalta property will be handed over to you. You must keep a close eye on it. Don't be angry if I can't take you with me to Moscow."

Vyshchesky chuckled and said, "Don't worry. Being an official in Yalta is much more comfortable than being your driver. If you need money in Moscow, just call me. I won't let you suffer... Our health care company doesn't pay the treasury, so we have plenty of money..."

Haniyev smiled and gave Vyshevsky a warm hug, then hugged the Yalta city leaders one by one. Finally, he looked deeply at the tearful Bunya and resolutely turned around and boarded the plane.

It was already noon when the plane landed at Zhuliany Airport in Kiev. The Haniyev family, the Yushchenko family, Pristin, Sergei and other relatives and friends of Haniyev who had received the news in advance were waiting in front of the plane.

Although Haniyev was a political strongman who had the final say in Yalta, his administrative level was still too low and he was on a plane with many tourists. Therefore, when he was welcomed by everyone after getting off the plane, he attracted the attention of many fellow passengers.

"Is he some movie star?"

"It looks like quite a grand occasion..."

"He looks so familiar..."

"Oh, it's His Excellency Victor Vladimir Haniyev, the First Secretary of the City of Yalta!"

"So it's him. He's a respectable Party member and cadre..."

……

The group included Haniyev's parents, siblings, his good classmates, his close friend Yushchenko, whom he met while studying at the Aokiev Higher Party School, as well as Yushchenko's wife, children and sister-in-law Tatyana.

According to Haniyev's relatives and friends in Kiev, Haniyev became friends with Tatyana after he finished his studies last year. However, one of them is a senior at Kyiv National University and the other is an official in Yalta, so they rarely have the opportunity to meet.

Tatyana hadn't seen Haniyev for six months and only approached him after he had met his family and friends.

Haniyev put his arms around Tatiana's delicate body, smelling the fragrance of her hair and looking into her big sapphire eyes. He smiled and said, "My dear, I'm back!"

Tatyana's eyes were red as she leaned into Haniyev's chest and whispered, "I miss you, Victor!"

Vladimir and Natalia looked at each other and signaled everyone to go out first to leave the young couple enough space to be alone.

After Haniyev and Tatiana were affectionate for a long time, they hugged each other and left the airport, and then everyone went to a newly opened high-end French restaurant in the city center.

Sitting in the magnificent restaurant, looking at the young and beautiful waiters, Haniyev whispered, "This restaurant is great. Who opened it?"

Yushchenko was the most informed of the situation. He pursed his lips and said, "It's the owner of a pipeline company, Viktor Pinchuk. His father-in-law is the deputy director of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Health and Social Care Committee. He's quite influential, so many dignitaries like to come here for dinner."

Pristin nodded. "Our hospital's leaders often come here to spend money. I heard that many hospital leaders in Kyiv are regular customers here. It must be the boss's father-in-law who brings them here."

After hearing this, several people didn't care and called the waiter to start ordering, but Haniyev was also distracted for a moment.

It wasn't until Tatyana gently touched his arm that Haniyev came to his senses.

"Why, dear, are you too tired?"

"It's okay, I just thought of a friend."

Others didn't know, but Haniyev knew clearly that Viktor Pinchuk was one of the future Ukrainian oligarchs. He had been successful all the way with the help of his father-in-law. The father of his first wife was an official. The combination of power and money made him a successful businessman, but to truly rise to become a big oligarch, he had to consider a second marriage, because his second father-in-law was Kuchma, the second president of Ukraine after its independence. With the help of the president's father-in-law, Pinchuk became Ukraine's leading rich man in just a few years, and also became one of the big oligarchs who monopolized state-owned assets.

"I didn't expect Pinchuk to be successful in business so early, even investing in a restaurant in Kyiv. Making money isn't necessarily the goal of this restaurant; it's probably used to connect with Kyiv officials, or even bribe them... Ukrainian oligarchs are just big parasites..."

Haniyev thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

"Pinchuk's rise depends on Kuchma. With me here, Kuchma won't be able to become the future president of Ukraine, and Pinchuk may not be able to become an oligarch either. So there's no need to worry about him..."

Chapter 114 The Happy Haniyev Family

Haniyev has not yet fully realized that his current status and future have long surpassed those of the future oligarchs in Ukraine's original historical line, but he also knows that he really does not need to worry about Pinchuk, so he no longer cares.

After the meal, Haniyev made an appointment with his two close friends to have a drink the next day, said goodbye to Yushchenko, and went home with his family.

Vladimir returned to his post as a provincial committee official from the farm in the spring of this year, and Siderov was promoted to the position of intermediate engineer in May. Both Haniyev and Vladimir knew that it was because of Sherbitsky's appreciation that the Haniyev family had good luck.

After drinking coffee and chatting in the living room for more than an hour, Haniyev gained a deeper understanding of the situation of his father, mother, brother and sister.

The Haniyev family now has two department-level and bureau-level leaders in Ukraine, and can be considered a respectable official family.

Thanks to his family's power, Sidrov is highly valued by the leaders in the Antonov Design Bureau. Perhaps after being promoted to senior engineer in a few years, he will be able to move to a leadership position.

My younger sister Viktoria is still a high school student, but she will go to college next year. With her father Vladimir and older brother Haniyev around, I believe she will be able to go to Kyiv National University even if her grades are not good.

At that time, as long as I follow my father's arrangements, I will have a good starting point and path, whether I become a doctor, an academician, or enter the system.

The greatest advantage of power is that it can mobilize huge resources to achieve a certain goal, which is something that an individual cannot do at all.

Therefore, wise politicians will try every means to put shackles on power. The great man from the East was even willing to sacrifice his life to smash privileges, but the officials in power are very opposed to this.

The rich will help the poor, and they all agree with it before they become rich, but after they become rich, they are afraid that someone else will be able to stand on their class platform.

In a sense, even though Haniyev was only a bureau-level cadre, his political status was no less than that of any Ukrainian state or ministerial leader, as he was praised by the Soviet Union's top leader, had the support of a vice-state-level leader, and had connections with the deputy director of the General Office of the Central Committee of Ukraine and leaders of various ministries.

With such a family and such a political background, the Haniyev family is happy.

Because things have been going better and better at home in recent years, the hostess Natalia has gained more than ten pounds compared to last year.

The storage room at home had long been filled with gifts brought by guests who visited during the holidays. If Natalia had not given some to her family, even the living room would have been filled with honey, furs and game sent by Haniyev's former subordinates from Chernobyl.

After hearing his mother talk about the gifts sent by his former subordinates and friends, Haniyev asked, "Have all the former Chernobyl personnel and departments been properly resettled? Have any of them been assigned to the forest farms below? How can they still obtain the specialties unique to the Great Forest?"

Since going to Yalta, Haniyev has only returned to Kiev twice, and his stay was very short. At that time, he did not have a private mobile phone, and the only ways to communicate were through landlines, letters, and telegrams. Due to the change in status and the distance between them, Haniyev had unknowingly lost contact with his old friends in Chernobyl.

According to Haniyev, all the people in Chernobyl were relocated to the vicinity of Kiev, and officials were assigned according to their ranks.

"Kartov and Gladkov have taken on deputy positions at the Kiev No. 1 Paper Mill and No. 3 Alcohol Factory, respectively. They've retired early. Grigory, whom you carefully nurtured, didn't want to stay in Kiev and went to work as the first secretary of a forestry farm in Zhitomir. He's also benefited from your influence, otherwise he'd be a farm manager at best..."

When Haniyev was not at home, all guests who came to visit his home were received by Vladimir personally, so he knew Haniyev's old subordinates and comrades best.

After listening to his father's brief introduction, Haniyev nodded and said, "It seems that the Chernobyl zone no longer exists. Everyone has become a stepmother and will be assigned a random position... I also wanted to learn about it, but I didn't expect the situation to be even more serious than I knew..."

"Politics is like this. Leaders always focus on the present. So many cadres have returned from Chernobyl, and they've all been assigned positions. What happens to the others?"

Vladimir stroked his mustache and said, "That's good, but I heard that the secretary you're working with got promoted. His father is a high-ranking official, so he must have been giving him a lot of support..."

"You mean Nicholas?"

Haniyev's face changed and he asked, "Where is he now?"

"He's the deputy secretary of Sumy City. He married Natasha after the New Year. There are several old secretaries in Sumy City, and they're expected to retire within a year or two. He's very likely to take over as secretary or even first secretary."

Vladimir said this while looking at Haniyev meaningfully.

Haniyev and Natasha were in a relationship before, and his family knew it. However, when Vladimir learned that Natasha had abandoned Haniyev and went south to Yalta, he was very angry.

Natalia glared at her husband in disapproval and said, "Don't worry, kid. I think Tatiana is much better than Natasha. Whether it's education or family background, Tatiana is superior to Natasha. You and Tatiana are the most suitable couple!"

Haniyev chuckled and said, "I've let it go a long time ago. Dad, Mom, to be honest, the Soviet Union is facing serious internal and external troubles. It's a matter of life and death. After Shi Sanyazi passed away a few years ago, Khitan somehow came into the hands of Xisheng. Although the reform and opening up he led had many problems, it also led to economic growth in Khitan. Gorbachev also hoped to take steps towards reform, but the national conditions of the Soviet Union are very complicated, and how to reform cannot be decided on a whim...

To be honest, I'm not optimistic about Gorbachev and his reforms, but the Soviet Union's development has become stagnant and does need reform. I hope to save Ukraine and the Soviet Union. I don't care about romantic relationships anymore. I just want to pursue power now!"

"it is good!"

Vladimir clapped his hands with a smile on his face and poured a cup of coffee for his eldest son himself.

“You’re right to have this mindset.

If I had your qualifications back then, I would have been appreciated by a vice-state-level leader and would at least be a Ukrainian Central Committee Secretary now. You have better qualifications than your father and me, and you're lucky. No matter what you do in Yalta, as long as you focus on your work, you will definitely be able to enter the Central Committee within ten years. There will be no problem for you to become the national leader of Ukraine around the age of fifty. So, child, you are right to think this way!

Haniyev nodded. Natalia was different from her husband. She was more concerned about her child's health. She asked, "You're already 27, and Tatyana will graduate from university next year. Why don't you get married soon? You'll have someone to take care of you after you start a family. It's better than being an official out there alone."

Vladimir didn't interrupt. Haniyev thought for a moment and said, "Although Tatiana's father is deceased, she comes from an official family after all. Her brother-in-law is the deputy director of the State Bank. She is also very outstanding. I think she is indeed a suitable marriage partner."

Vladimir's lips moved, but in the end he said nothing.

Natalia laughed. "I'll start preparing for your engagement right away. Tatiana often comes to help me with the chores when you're not home. She's a sensible and kind girl. You two should get engaged before you go to Moscow, and then get married when you come back on vacation next time. Then, give us a grandson as soon as possible."

Haniyev nodded and went back to his room to rest.

After the three children had left, Natalia gently hit Vladimir.

"Old man, what's wrong with you? Aren't you satisfied with Tatiana being our daughter-in-law?"

"This girl is a good child, with good looks, knowledge, and character, but if she marries Victor, her family will not be able to help Victor..."

"Ok?"

Natalia frowned and snorted coldly, "Why are you so utilitarian? Was it because my uncle was the Minister of Internal Affairs in Kiev that you pursued me back then?"

"of course not."

Vladimir flatly denied it, then explained, "You can see Victor's future. With Sherbitsky protecting him and Gorbachev's appreciation, as long as our son doesn't become stupid, he will definitely be a good candidate for leadership of the Party and the country. We can see that, and there are others who can see that. So I think even a minister's family would be willing to marry their daughter to Victor. If Victor becomes the minister's son-in-law, his future career will be smoother, right?"

"But our family is not as good as the minister's. What if Victor's father-in-law's family is too powerful? Wouldn't it be like we are raising a son for the minister in the future?"

After hearing Natalia's concerns, Vladimir fell into deep thought and nodded. "You're right. We shouldn't interfere with Victor's marriage. Let's see what he wants. He's made every decision on his own. When I was sent to the farm, it was he who decided to go to Chernobyl and saved our family step by step. His ability and knowledge have long surpassed mine."

We may not have considered everything as thoroughly as he has, so let’s not make rash decisions that will affect him.”

After returning home to Kiev, Haniyev did not expect that he would be more popular than before. After only one day of rest, he was invited by his friends, classmates, old acquaintances and colleagues to dinner and drinks. He declined some of the invitations, but some he really could not refuse.

He was drunk for three days in a row, so much so that in the end he himself was not sure how much he had drunk or what he had said.