Servant of the People in Kyiv

After personally watching the Volga car leave, Haniyev smiled. He knew that Korchagin's end would either be eating peanuts or disappearing from people's sight forever. From then on, no one in the forest farm dared to go against him.

An hour later, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came with the Party Committee's order to arrest Korchagin, Ivanov and their ten followers.

Soon the bad apples in the forest farm were taken away by the Ministry of Internal Affairs' vehicles, and Haniyev seized the opportunity to convene a meeting of all employees to criticize the "Korchagin criminal gang."

At the meeting, all of Haniyev's instructions and words received enthusiastic responses from all the leaders and staff. This feeling of one person responding to a hundred calls made Haniyev slightly intoxicated, so he reappointed Belanov as acting company commander the next day and made new divisions of labor among the team members.

Since Grigory was the first one to express his loyalty to Haniyev, and he had been conscientious and responsible in his work over the past half month and had good abilities, Haniyev gave Grigory the most important tasks such as finance, personnel and production, while the forest ranger militia company was personally managed by Haniyev.

By this time, Haniyev finally had complete control over the forest farm. At the same time, he could dispose of the forest farm's funds at will and adjust personnel changes of the forest farm's middle-level leaders at will.

However, he did not become an official to show off his power or to make money, or in other words, not to make such a small fortune.

Therefore, unlike Korchagin who constantly made up excuses to enrich himself, he used the funds to distribute a wave of benefits to the lumberjacks working on the front line. He said that it was to win people's hearts or to be a competent secretary. Anyway, after Haniyev really took control of the forest farm, all he thought about was how to use the state-owned forest farm as a stepping stone to put himself on a higher and bigger political stage.

After much thought, Haniyev felt that if he wanted to move from a town-level secretary to the core leadership of the republic in less than five years, he must make good use of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. And to truly use this accident to make himself a person with direct access to the top, he must continue to seize power before April, and even become a favorite in the eyes of the first secretary of the regional party committee, because only with enough power can he do better and more obviously.

Therefore, the first thing Haniyev had to do was to do his job to the best of his ability. In an internal meeting, he set the tone for this year's logging volume: there must be no delays in time, quality, quantity, and no safety accidents.

Since Haniyev has provided a lot of benefits to the front-line workers, the employees are very motivated and the logging work is carried out in an orderly manner. According to Grigory's daily reports to Haniyev, there is absolutely no problem in completing the work ahead of schedule, exceeding the target and exceeding the standard.

Chapter 019 Giving Gifts

Haniyev handled everything in an orderly manner. The newly appointed First Secretary of the Forestry Committee, Kartov, was very satisfied and praised Haniyev many times in pressure meetings, making Haniyev quickly become the star secretary of the forestry department.

Haniyev's fame grew so much that at a meeting of the regional committee in late February, Secretary Chekhov cited Haniyev as an example of an outstanding cadre who could endure hardships.

So after late February, Haniyev became a hot celebrity in the Chernobyl area.

Haniyev has become a political celebrity in the Chernobyl area. Although he has not seen any benefits so far, his first goal has been achieved.

However, Haniyev is an ambitious man. He wants to maximize his interests and also to have more power to change the subsequent impact of the disaster before it happens in April.

Haniyev still planned to go to Kiev, so he arranged for Belanov and Grigory to start preparing specialties and luxury goods such as furs, red wine, dried meat, mushrooms, and honey.

In Haniyev's plan, these things are the stepping stones he needs to return to the capital.

The most expensive of these materials are furs, but the high-altitude state-owned forest farms have unique resources and are the easiest to prepare.

Because there had just been a spring hunt, the forest was full of fresh and abundant fur.

Because it was just after the cold winter, the fur of wild animals was at its best, and the militia company was experienced in using traps and advanced weapons for hunting, so the state-owned forest farm had a great harvest in this spring hunt.

Ivanov had reported this once before, and Grigory had also passed it on to Haniyev, but Ivanov was placed under quarantine the next day.

Haniyev directly ordered Belanov to process the prey, peel off the fur, and then distribute the meat to the militiamen of the forest ranger militia company.

Belanov carefully carried out Haniyev's order. After dismembering the prey, he distributed the meat fairly. Belanov did not even keep a pheasant or hare. Except for sending five antlered deer to the canteen to make dried meat, the rest were distributed. Therefore, the militiamen who got a lot of meat were very happy.

Haniyev also received more than 100 squirrel skins, 15 fox skins and 23 wolf skins.

In fact, these furs can only be regarded as public assets of the forest farm, but Haniyev's control over the forest farm allows him to take the furs to his home, even though these furs are very precious.

Although the militia company used guns, they relied on their numbers to hunt and the shooters were the ones with the best marksmanship, so the animal skins obtained in this spring hunt were basically intact and not too many bullets were wasted.

The furs had already dried in the shade. After personally inspecting them, Haniyev praised the most valuable black bear skin and said to Grigory and Belanov beside him, "This fur is really good! The best fur coats sold in high-end supermarkets in Kyiv are made of fur like this. If we export this, I'm afraid it will fetch over a thousand dollars in foreign exchange."

Grigory smiled and said, "Our forest farm has the richest forest resources in the country, so we don't have to worry about good fur. I think you, Secretary, will never have to worry about not having a fur coat to wear in winter again."

Belanov clapped his hands and said, "That's right. From now on, I will hunt a bear for you every year. When you get married, I will prepare the best fox fur for your wife every year to make her a scarf and coat."

Although Haniyev is 26 years old, he has no girlfriend since he started working, let alone getting married, except for a relationship during college. It is not that Haniyev does not want to find a woman, but he has always focused on his political destiny. He will not consider the issue of falling in love until his anxiety decreases or he meets the right person.

The three of them made a few harmless jokes, and then Haniyev instructed Belanov to take care of all the furs and have the carpenters in the forest farm make some exquisite pine gift boxes to enhance the quality of the gifts.

Haniyev now needs these furs as the main gifts to build up relations in the state. He needs to make further progress before April and get promoted in the Chernobyl area.

Although Haniyev had only met Chekhov once, he already knew that Chekhov had a good relationship with his old leader, Lukachikov, the secretary of the State Forestry Committee, so he was very kind when he met him last time.

Haniyev keenly grasped the signal and felt that he needed to make good use of the relationship between the two leaders. He should not only find ways to deepen his relationship with the two leaders, but also let them deepen their relationship with each other through him.

Although Chekhov was an old Red Army soldier with awareness, he had good abilities. If he had connections, as an old Red Army soldier, he would be more willing to express his will and would definitely be willing to promote himself.

Haniyev's idea is very mature. He thinks that as long as everything is managed properly, it will not be a problem to get promoted before April. The only difference is how he does it.

Haniyev understood very well that even a socialist country like the Soviet Union had been around for more than 70 years and had no precedent to follow. Such a huge empire had become rigid and corrupt to the core, with rampant bureaucracy and serious corruption.

As a cadre from the capital, Haniyev said he was accustomed to all kinds of corruption and chaos.

However, he knew that he had no ability to change everything, but when he thought about the collapse of the empire in five years and Ukraine becoming a pawn of NATO and the womb of Europe, he felt a sense of urgency.

Therefore, all Haniyev can do now is to apply the rules and gradually improve his position and gain power.

If we can become the rule maker in the future, that will be the time to break the rules and change the destiny of the country and nation.

After more than a week of preparation, Belanov and Grigory had prepared the simply dried and processed furs, as well as specialties such as honey, mushrooms, and wine.

These forest farm specialties are packed in exquisite wooden boxes made of pine and fir by carpenters. The boxes are not only polished smooth, but also brushed with a layer of wax, making them look gorgeous and expensive.

Haniyev was very satisfied after the inspection and immediately convened a team meeting to announce the decision to return to Kiev.

Haniyev did not hide the fact that he was going to give gifts, and even publicized it at the team meeting. This was because he did not tell everyone that these gifts were prepared for his own personal advancement.

Haniyev has said more than once in private these days that due to the bad influence of Comrade Korchagin, the state-owned forest farm has now become a den of notorious embezzlers and evil forces in the minds of higher-level leadership departments. In the future, commendations for the state-owned forest farm and support for funds and equipment will be cut off. Not only will the status of the state-owned forest farm decline, but the welfare benefits of the leaders and employees will also decline.

Therefore, for the future of the forest farm, and to ensure that everyone's treatment is not reduced and funding is not cut, what I have to do is to go to the state and the region, explain the problem to the leaders, and build some connections.

Chapter 020 Yearning for an Independent Kyiv

In this era when almost everyone gives gifts and engages in corruption, Haniyev gave gifts in order to alleviate the adverse influence of Korchagin on the forest farm. In the eyes of the forest farm leaders, their comrade secretary was as pure as a white lotus.

No one would contradict Haniyev's statement, and no one would go to the region and state to inquire about its authenticity, because what they knew was that Korchagin had been sent to see Comrade Lenin and his loving father, and Ivanov had been sent to the Chukchi Peninsula to dig for gold.

It is normal for such a severe punishment to have some impact on the forest farm. Moreover, Secretary Haniyev is from the state, so he certainly would not deceive everyone.

Everyone still believes that Secretary Haniyev is not only capable, but also upright and flexible. Therefore, basically everyone from team members to middle-level leaders and grassroots employees are convinced of Secretary Haniyev. Many people, such as Grigory and Belanov, even admire him.

Since Haniyev and Kartov had a close relationship, and the work in the forest farm was proceeding in an orderly manner, Haniyev could leave his post without asking for leave. However, he was very cautious and called Kartov before leaving to ask for a week's leave.

Kartov readily approved Haniyev's request for leave and asked him in detail whether he had any difficulties or needed help.

I smiled knowingly when I learned that Haniyev was only going to Kiev to deliver some local specialties to Lukachikov, the secretary of the State Forestry Committee.

Kartov whispered to Haniyev on the phone, "You have to hurry up. I've been holding back on the position of Second Secretary of the Forestry Committee and won't let the higher-ups send anyone."

Haniyev also heard the hidden meaning and thanked Kartov with a smile.

The next morning after the meeting, Haniyev left the office with Belanov and Grigory seeing him off.

Before getting in the car, Grigori shoved a bulging envelope into Haniyev's hand and whispered, "I asked the accountant to arrange this. Deputy Secretary Ivan, Deputy Director Kurishenko, and Belanov, and I have all signed the note to settle the bill. Don't worry, take the flowers. After all, this is the capital, and treating people to a meal will cost a lot of money. We'll also have to fill up the gas tank on the way."

Haniyev did not refuse. He opened his briefcase and let Grigory put the envelope in it. Then he opened the door and got into the car with satisfaction. After starting the engine, he waved his hand.

A moment later, Haniyev drove the broken truck he drove when he came and left the forest farm unsteadily.

While driving, Hanif thought about what he had experienced and the decisions he had made since he took office in Chernobyl. The many vivid events in his mind made him feel a lot of emotion.

Haniyev thought about his gains and losses over the past month, and at the same time became more determined to do something next.

After driving for more than four hours, Haniyev finally entered Kiev, the capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

This place is worthy of being an old city with a history of thousands of years. As the capital of Kievan Rus, the first regime in Eastern Europe, it is also the birthplace of the Slavic nation. Relying on the Dnieper River, Kiev has developed very prosperously on both the east and west banks.

Ships carrying supplies run through the river from north to south between Ukraine and Belarus. Although some industrial wastewater discharged into the river makes the river breeze smell unpleasant, this is the smell of socialism in operation, and it is also the smell that Haniyev was accustomed to when he lived in Kiev.

Even though he had been breathing fresh air for a long time at the state-owned forest farm at the bottom of the hill, Haniyev did not feel sick when he suddenly smelled the scent of the capital, but rather felt very at ease.

As a Ukrainian who grew up in the countryside of Kiev, Haniyev is well aware that due to Kiev's unique geographical location and historical culture, scholars, publishers and universities here all have voices calling for Ukraine's independence and to stop providing blood transfusions to poor rural areas in the Soviet Union.

The eastern part of Ukraine is one of the most important industrial bases of the Soviet Union. It also has thousands of military factories and the Soviet Union's only aircraft carrier production base. Not to mention the development of other aspects such as agriculture, animal husbandry, and forestry. It is second only to Russia in the Soviet Union.

Because Ukraine is too close to European countries with good welfare benefits, scholars in the Ukrainian region have been advocating the benefits of independence. In addition, a large number of foreign journalists have entered Ukraine since Gorbachev took office. For these reasons, the voices calling for independence in Ukraine have become louder and louder in recent years.

Even though the current First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Republic, Sherbitsky, a leading figure of the Soviet conservatives, has been severely suppressing domestic independence factions, independent voices have become mainstream in a sense in the intellectual circles in recent years.

Haniyev is now in the middle of the situation, especially since several of his classmates are active supporters of independence, so he understands a lot of things behind Ukraine's independence.

Although Ukraine has been a Soviet republic for 64 years, the Ukrainian people have always had a sense of national independence. They do not recognize that the Ukrainian nation is exactly the same as the Russian nation, and even oppose the view that the Russian and Ukrainian ethnic groups are both descendants of the Slavs of Kievan Rus.

They are more inclined to believe that their ancestors were typical descendants of Kievan Rus, who later became the freedom-loving Cossacks. The Cossacks were a mixed agricultural and pastoral group of multiple ethnic groups living in the Dnieper River basin.

The people of Ukraine firmly believe that their ideas are different from those of Russia, not only because of the differences in history and culture, but also because of the legacy of the Ukrainian famine.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the future, Ukraine will be completely de-Sovietized and de-Russified because it is worried about being annexed by Russia and does not want to be exploited and sucked dry by Russia again. It only wants to be the legal successor of Kievan Rus and the Cossack Emirate and survive independently on the European continent.

Haniyev believes that it is difficult to simply judge whether Ukraine gave blood transfusions to the Soviet Union or the Soviet Union gave blood transfusions to Ukraine, because the Soviet system was a rationing system. Not only did the common people have to be rationed, but countries and even states also had to be assigned tasks and play their respective roles.

Those suitable for agricultural development should focus on developing agriculture, and those suitable for industrial development should focus on developing industry. Then the resources will be allocated to each other and assembled into a powerful "indestructible alliance."

Even Mongolia, an informal member state of the Soviet Union, is still playing the role of developing animal husbandry and then exchanging cattle and sheep for oil, food and other materials, not to mention other countries.

Ukraine is currently developing well and is considered the second most powerful member state under the Soviet system. However, its strength was also deliberately tilted and built by the Soviet Union. It is like a foreign land in the future. The country lifts you up, and you happen to have the conditions to become a star. In a blink of an eye, you forget that it is not that the country cannot do without you, but that you cannot do without the country.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine was running towards a free alliance in the West, but ended up becoming a ridiculous clown. Not only is the president a comedian, but the country has also become a comedian on the world stage.

So Ukraine just thinks too highly of itself. It cannot be said that it has not made outstanding contributions to the Soviet Union, but it cannot be said that its outstanding contributions were not obtained with the support of all Soviet member states.

Chapter 021 Classmates

Looking at the bustling Dnieper River and thinking about Ukraine's future actions, Haniyev couldn't help shaking his head.

Haniyev believes that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, although Ukraine will inevitably become a frontier for competition among NATO, the EU, the future CIS, and Russia, Ukraine's full shift towards NATO, whether from the perspective of national culture or its own interests, is indeed a major manifestation of Ukraine's political immaturity.

As a big country with 60 square kilometers of land and a population of more than 5000 million, it is a country that has no shortage of basic resources except oil.

Judging solely from its land area, population, resources, level of industrial development, and the assets Ukraine has acquired after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, such as weapons and equipment, military factories, and technology, Ukraine is undoubtedly the second largest country in the CIS. If it makes a move, it can compete with France, Britain, and Germany in Europe.

In addition to its territory, population and industrial level being among the highest in the world, Ukraine had another advantage in the 1990s, which was that it controlled Russia's seaports and was also a world-class agricultural power. The upper limit of such a country can be very high, and the lower limit should not be low. Its shortcomings are much higher than the strengths of many countries.

It stands to reason that as long as we plan carefully, make good use of the resources at hand and coordinate relations with all parties, becoming a regional power will be absolutely no problem.

However, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine also embarked on Russia's shock therapy operating table. Not only were state-owned assets rapidly privatized, but foreign capital also infiltrated. Oligarchs colluding with the United States quickly controlled Ukraine's economic lifeline, ultimately enriching the oligarchs and impoverishing the people and the country, turning the second largest republic in the CIS into a tattered European womb, far worse than foot binding, and its GDP could not even catch up with one-fifth of others.

After driving the car to the end of Zhukov Street, Haniyev arrived at his home. The two-story house in the alley beside the street was the house allocated to his father after he worked as an official in Kiev for half his life. However, he was assigned to work as a secretary at the western suburbs farm, so he should be at home.

Hearing the familiar sound of his own truck, the door was pushed open and a burly middle-aged woman came out. Seeing Haniyev getting out of the front of the truck, she smiled and shouted, "My Victor is finally back!"

The woman with a broad waist came out, and behind her appeared a slim girl with glasses and a well-mannered young man. The three of them laughed and hugged Haniyev.

Haniyev let his mother kiss his face, then he said with a smile: "Ms. Natalia, you seem to have lost some weight."

Natalia smiled when she heard that, then turned around and said, "You called yesterday and said you were coming back. I made you a pie this morning. Come home and eat."

Although Natalia looks as strong as a wrestler now, when she was young, she was as thin, tall and beautiful as her youngest daughter Victoria. However, as she grew older, Natalia gained weight like most middle-aged Ukrainian women.

Haniyev hugged his sixteen-year-old sister, Viktoria, and his newly minted brother, Sidrov, and said with a smile, "I brought you some squirrel and fox furs, as well as wine and honey. Please help me take them inside."

The three siblings took three wooden barrels and a wooden box from the carriage and returned home.

After a hearty traditional lunch, Haniyev and Sidlov sat in the living room drinking tea.

Haniyev put down his teacup and asked, "How's work going lately?"

Sidlov had just started working at the Antonov Design Bureau in the western suburbs a few years ago. This unit was considered one of the best in Kiev and even in Ukraine. It was a military scientific research unit that developed military aircraft. After graduating from Moscow University, Sidlov's major could be applied to the design and production of aircraft engines, so his old father Vladimir, who was still in office at the time, arranged for him to work at the Antonov Design Bureau as an employee of a glorious military-industrial enterprise, with a monthly salary of 200 rubles, which was much higher than Haniyev's salary.

Sidlov smiled and said, "I've just started learning to draw accessory blueprints. Brother, you're doing very well in Chernobyl. I heard from my father the day before yesterday. He said you're very famous there. Will you be promoted soon?"

Haniyev smiled and said, "Not so fast. Dad, are you happy living on the farm in the western suburbs?"

Because the Antonov Design Bureau was located in the western suburbs of Kyiv, Sidlov could often see his father. He nodded and said, "He's a little fatter than when he was working in the city, but he only comes back once every two weeks..."

The two brothers talked for a while when the phone at home rang. Natalia put down the receiver and said, "Victor, it's Baktsev calling."

Baktsev Nikolayevich Pristin is a doctor at the Third People's Hospital in Kyiv. He is also Haniyev's cousin and middle school classmate.

When Haniyev was at the forest farm, he often called his relatives, friends, and even old leaders and colleagues in Kiev. At that time, in addition to maintaining relationships, he also wanted to quickly seize power and do something.

For example, he called Baktsev Nikolayevich Pristin to ask him to help divide and disintegrate the relationship between Ivanov and Korchagin.

Pristin knew about Haniyev before he came back this time. The reason he called was to ask Haniyev to go out for dinner. It was said that he was just getting together with some good middle school classmates.

There are only four classmates that Haniyev still keeps in touch with regularly: one is Pristin, and the other three are a reporter, a bus driver, and a school worker at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv.

After hanging up the phone, Haniyev changed into a clean double-breasted woolen coat and went out.

After checking that the truck's door was securely locked, Haniyev left the alley, took two buses, and arrived at Contract Square after about an hour.

It was already around 6pm when we got off the bus and it was already dark.

Haniyev followed the light and walked a few steps, then saw his four old friends waving at him with smiles.

"Victor, this way."