Servant of the People in Kyiv

In the future, the CPSU will be destroyed by Gorbachev, and the Pandora's box of multi-party rule will be opened. Soon the CPSU's leadership position will no longer exist. Rukh is definitely a training base for emerging political parties in Ukraine, and it is also a political force to replace the CPSU in leading Ukraine.

Haniyev knew the history very well, so of course he wanted to become the core figure of "Rukh" first, and build "Rukh" into a new "CPSU". In the future, he could also rely on "Rukh" to directly take over the power of the Ukrainian CPSU.

After months of hard work, although Haniyev has not yet joined Rukh, he is already a figure admired and obeyed by the leaders of all factions in Rukh. As long as Haniyev can get the support of various Ukrainian departments and make some contributions to the growth of Rukh, he will suddenly become the soul figure of Rukh.

Haniyev had already made up his mind that by that time he would transform the "Rukh" into a new political force, reorganize it according to the structure of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and improve the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the "Rukh".

When the political system reform entered the deep water zone in February 1990 and the Soviet Union implemented a multi-party system, Haniyev was able to lead Rukh to directly establish the "Ukrainian People's Party" and then push the People's Party to enter the government to compete with the CPSU.

Anyway, the power and status of the CPSU will be divided by other parties sooner or later, so it is better to give it to itself than to other parties.

For Haniyev, it doesn't matter which party is in power, it's just a name. No matter which party comes to power, it is hard to say whether it can adhere to the principles and party constitution. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union has now deteriorated. It would be stupid for him to cling to its old ways and act as the gravekeeper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. It would be more beneficial to go with the flow and use "Rukh" to establish a new political party to take power in Ukraine.

Of course, Haniyev didn't dare to tell Sherbitsky his true thoughts, so he could only act first and report later, or even pretend to obey but actually disobey.

Fortunately, Sherbitsky had lost his patience after being out of power for too long and watching Gorbachev and his gang wreak havoc on the country without being able to intervene. In order to make a quick comeback, he agreed to Haniyev's opinions and suggestions.

After giving Haniyev a few instructions, Sherbitsky pursed his lips, refilled his pipe with tobacco, lit it and took a puff.

“The more unfavorable the situation is, the more we must be patient.

Endurance doesn't mean giving up; it's a belief and faith. Patience means being open-minded and holding on. Just like me, an old man, I'm still ready to work."

Shcherbitsky turned and walked up to Haniyev, saying in a deep voice, "The future of Ukraine and the CPSU rests on the shoulders of a few of us. Victor, if you help me overthrow Gulenko and regain my position as First Secretary of Ukraine, I will promote you to the position of Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine and train you to be my successor!"

Haniyev was flattered by Sherbitsky's promise. Sherbitsky was already 70 years old, which was considered to be one of the older leaders of the Soviet Communist Party. Even if his health allowed, he was too old to last long after regaining power. He would eventually have to train a successor.

Gulenko is actually the successor that Sherbitsky has been training for many years, but now the successor has grown stronger and does not want to be dominated by the emperor.

Maybe it was to make Haniyev help him make a comeback wholeheartedly, or maybe Sherbitsky really admired and had high hopes for Haniyev. In any case, today he made a solemn promise to Haniyev for the first time that he would train him as his successor and push Haniyev to the highest power stage in Ukraine.

Haniyev knew that Sherbitsky's promise must be from the heart, at least it was sincere now. As long as he didn't go too far in the future, Sherbitsky would definitely nominate him to join the Ukrainian Central Committee.

Haniyev bowed to express his gratitude to Sherbitsky, and patted his chest to promise that he would take control of "Rukh" as soon as possible, vigorously develop its members, and let this huge people's organization play its due role when the time is right.

Sherbitsky nodded. "If Gorbachev and his men hadn't gone too far, and Gulenko hadn't turned his back on me, I wouldn't have been willing to support the organizations of the nationalist separatists. For the future of the Soviet Union and Ukraine, I can only..."

Haniyev nodded slightly. "There's an old Khitan saying: 'When faced with two evils, choose the lesser.' Nothing in the world is perfect. We always have to make trade-offs, don't we?"

Shcherbitsky nodded. "You're right. Let's do it. I'm leaving it to you. You have to be attentive."

Haniyev readily agreed, and he and his wife moved into the Friendship Sanatorium in Yalta.

Chapter 194: Duke Zhou spits out food, and the whole world is united

Haniyev and Tatyana stayed in the Friendship Sanatorium for about a week, and before they knew it, it was July 26th.

Since it was agreed that a meeting would be held in a villa in the suburbs of Kiev, in order to integrate forces through the meeting and allow Haniyev to unify command and dispatch, and cultivate and control the "Rukh", Haniyev did not dare to delay any longer. He said goodbye to Sherbitsky at noon that day, and went to the airport with his wife in the afternoon to fly back to Kiev.

After returning to Kiev, Haniyev did not rush to work. He stayed at home with his wife for two days and took her to school to get her diploma. It was already July 30th.

According to Sherbitsky's arrangement, today is the time for a meeting at his suburban villa.

After changing into a nice suit, Haniyev drove his own bus to his suburban villa.

Nicholas had also returned home a long time ago. After exchanging a few pleasantries, they heard the doorbell ring, and then the ministers and deputy ministers of various ministerial units, such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, came in.

Haniyev knew some of the leaders who came, but he did not know many of them.

Nikolay had already received his grandfather's instructions. He solemnly introduced Haniyev to everyone. When there were about 17 or 18 people in the hall, Nikolay nodded and said, "Everyone is here. You are all uncles who have watched me grow up. My grandfather has been recuperating in the south for a long time. You have helped with most of the things in Kiev. My grandfather is very happy, and I am very grateful to you all..."

Nicholas was the most talented of Sherbitsky's descendants, and also the one with the least arrogance among the children of high-ranking officials. That was why Sherbitsky focused on training him.

During the more than two years that Sherbitsky was away from Kiev, his trusted subordinates relied on Nikolay for contact, so it was normal for them to come here for meetings on weekdays. The only difference was that some leaders from other departments were missing from today's meeting, but there was one more person, Haniyev.

After a brief greeting, Nikolay began to introduce Haniyev in detail. Through his introduction, everyone also realized the importance of Haniyev, and understood that Haniyev came to the meeting with Sherbitsky's instructions and tasks.

Although Sherbitsky was not the First Secretary of Ukraine, he was a vice-state-level leader of the Soviet Union after all, and a benefactor who promoted and trained many people, so these people obeyed his orders unconditionally.

After getting to know everyone one by one, Haniyev began to discuss the division of labor with everyone according to the plan he had made.

According to the plan formulated by Haniyev, he has now initially gained control of Rukh. To fully control this already loose organization, he needs to rely on some benefits to completely win over several major intellectuals in Ukraine.

These intellectuals include school professors, academicians of the Academy of Sciences, poets and writers, and great intellectuals who have just been released from prison. Their work units and lives involve the management of many departments such as the Ministry of Culture, the Education Commission, and the Ministry of the Interior. Haniyev needs to mobilize his personal energy in front of them to help them solve their difficulties and improve their treatment in exchange for their greater loyalty.

At the same time, among Ukraine's senior intellectuals there are some celebrities who were imprisoned by Sherbitsky for advocating national independence more than ten years ago. Some of them have been released from prison and are working, and are also representatives of Rukh. Some are still serving their sentences in prison, but they still have many relatives, friends and students in Rukh.

These people have considerable influence, and Haniyev is prepared to use his connections in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to help them reduce their sentences and improve their treatment in exchange for their loyalty and that of their student friends.

In addition to personal favors, Haniyev also plans to use the power of various departments to integrate the various small newspapers currently existing in Rukh into a large newspaper, which will be officially approved and even given appropriate subsidies, so that Rukh can have a mouthpiece controlled by Haniyev.

By accomplishing this, Haniyev will be able to control the public opinion within Rukh and manipulate Rukh's external propaganda window. This can be said to be a very important step.

In Haniyev's plan, he would use his power to recruit many of Rukh's founders and leaders as his subordinates, and then integrate Rukh's propaganda department and establish an organizational department. In less than half a year, this loose civil organization would have the prototype of a political organization, and would also be completely controlled by Haniyev.

Because of Nikolay's presence and everyone knew Haniyev's special status, the meeting ended quickly. The leaders of various departments attending the meeting also agreed with Haniyev's plan. They only needed to wait for Haniyev to instruct Rukh's leaders to apply for various matters, and they would open the door and give approval or even support.

The next day, Haniyev went to the Education Committee and talked with the leadership team, and then he secured places for several of his university professors in the evaluation. Then he called Ivanov, Ivan Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others, inviting them to his office.

In the following half month, Haniyev took Ivanov, Ivan Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others to various ministries in Kiev. Not only did they officially register "Rukh" with the ministries, but they also obtained the rights of a legal newspaper.

Ivanov, Ivan Drak, Gonchar, Makar and other leaders of Rukh were very grateful. After Haniyev expressed his desire to participate in the management of Rukh and help them build Rukh into an organization that would participate in politics in the future, Ivanov, Ivan Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others were so excited that they could hardly contain themselves and happily accepted Haniyev.

Since Rukh is not a clear political organization, but only an "environmental protection organization" registered with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Propaganda, the organization's secretary-general in the registration documents is Draco, and Ivanov, Gonchar and Makar are deputy secretaries-general.

Haniyev did not have a position in the filing materials, but in the eyes of Ivanov, Drak, Gonchar and Makar, Haniyev was already the head of Rukh, and they were willing to obey Haniyev's instructions and arrangements in everything, because in practice Haniyev had become a real leader. The four cultural figures who were originally dissatisfied with each other also accepted Haniyev who could help them personally and the organization.

Drake, Gonchar and others even believed that with Haniyev's joining and leadership, the "Rukh"'s propositions would definitely be realized, and it would truly become an organization that participates in politics and policy-making in the future. None of them had the ambition and confidence to do so, but they had great confidence in Haniyev, who was already a deputy ministerial-level cadre.

After making sure that he had control of Rukh's leadership core, Haniyev held a meeting to unify everyone's thoughts.

Because Haniyev's proposal was far more advanced than that of other intellectuals and was their 2.0 version, more than a dozen senior intellectuals attending the meeting fully supported Haniyev's proposal.

Therefore, the first core member conference of Rukh was a success. At the meeting, Haniyev was established as the executive member of "Rukh", that is, the supreme leader. It also established the arrangements for integrating all newspapers and forming the only official newspaper "People's Daily". It also established the outline of the next step of forming the "Ukrainian People's Movement Committee" to manage all members and activities of Rukh (Ukrainian People's Movement).

As long as the guidelines formulated at this conference are followed, "Ruh" will soon be able to transform from a loose people's assembly organization into a decent political organization.

The meeting was held in Conference Room 3 of Kyiv National University. After the meeting, Haniyev stopped everyone who was about to leave and said, "It's getting dark now. Everyone, don't leave yet. Let's go to the school's small kitchen to eat something and discuss a few things."

Naturally, everyone would not refuse Haniyev's arrangement, so more than a dozen people came to the cafeteria to eat.

With Haniyev, the ninth deputy director of the Education Commission, present, the school of course gave a warm welcome.

During the meal, Haniyev proposed a plan to win over more intellectuals. That was to use his connections to reduce the sentences or even release the many intellectuals who were sentenced in prison for advocating national independence.

Intellectuals in any country in the world have a sense of detachment and think they see the facts clearly. Intellectuals in backward countries admire everything in developed countries and are accustomed to criticizing their own government and policies. Intellectuals from ethnic minorities are even more keen to promote national independence.

This is a universal law. For Ukrainian intellectuals, they have been unwilling to be second-class citizens of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since they were ruled by Poland. Even after Tsarist Russia annexed the Cossack Hetmanate, they were still unwilling to be second-class citizens of Tsarist Russia.

Therefore, Ukrainians have been seeking independence for hundreds of years. More than a hundred years ago, Ukrainian intellectuals during the Tsarist period were the main force in awakening Ukrainian national consciousness. The Central Rada and the Ukrainian People's Republic were established by senior Ukrainian intellectuals.

After the Soviet Union annexed Ukraine, it purged intellectuals who advocated for Ukrainian national independence during the Stalin era. It was not until the Khrushchev era that the shackles on Ukrainian intellectuals were relaxed. During the Brezhnev era, the promotion and study of Ukrainian national culture were further relaxed, and even Ukrainian scholars were allowed to discuss and study Ukraine's modern history. This allowed Ukrainian intellectuals who supported national independence to reappear and continue to grow. The so-called Ukrainian national cultural revival also occurred during this period.

This relaxed state continued until Shcherbytsky came to power in 1972. From 1972 to 1973, Ukraine's First Secretary Shcherbytsky strictly controlled speech and prohibited the promotion of Ukrainian national independence. Nationalists and human rights activists at the time were constantly arrested. During the purges from 1973 to 1975, nearly 5% of the members of the Communist Party of Ukraine were expelled. Countless Ukrainian officials were dismissed, exiled, or demoted for their close ties with nationalists and intellectuals who advocated national independence.

Haniyev's father Vladimir was once punished and demoted by Sherbitsky, who was suppressing independent forces, because he was friends with and had contact with several intellectuals with independent tendencies.

One can imagine how many intellectuals and officials were arrested, imprisoned, and exiled by Shcherbitsky during the fourteen years from 1972 to 1986.

Many of them were mentors among Ukrainian national independence activists, but most of them died in prison. The few who survived were also imprisoned and could no longer organize and promote national culture and national independence. That is why Ivanov, Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others became the flag-bearers among Ukrainian intellectuals.

For senior intellectuals such as Ivanov, Drak, Gonchar, and Makar, many old gentlemen in prison were their mentors, predecessors, and even family elders. Therefore, these intellectuals supported Gorbachev's reforms not only because they believed that the reforms would make the Soviet Union as prosperous as the West and make the atmosphere more open, but also because they wanted to release the imprisoned intellectuals so that everyone could freely say whatever they wanted and do whatever propaganda they wanted.

Haniyev took the initiative to offer to reduce the sentences and provide preferential treatment to the intellectuals who were sentenced for advocating national independence. This courage made Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others admire and worship him very much.

At this point, Drake and others were truly convinced of Haniyev and believed that although Haniyev was a high-ranking official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, he was the same kind of person as them.

Haniyev knows best that intellectuals are very cunning. In order to make the great intellectuals of Ukraine work for him, he can only work wholeheartedly as the leader of Rukh and must always consider the interests and needs of Rukh members and potential members.

The effect was very good. After Haniyev said this, he felt that the attitudes of Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others when talking to him were different. They were more respectful and approachable than before.

In the following days, Haniyev took Drak, Gonchar, Makar, Ivanov and others to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to use their connections to find a way. Haniyev also spent tens of thousands of rubles at his own expense, and finally met the First Minister of Internal Affairs Novikov.

In front of Drak and others, Haniyev and Novikov continued to fight and finally got the guarantee from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that they were willing to take proper care of the intellectuals in prison and strive for opportunities for commutation of their sentences.

After leaving the Ministry of Internal Affairs, standing on October Revolution Square, Haniyev looked at the statue of Lenin on the stone pillar and breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, it's done. I have fulfilled my promise and have not broken my promise."

Drake and the others took off their hats and bowed slightly, expressing their gratitude with deep emotion: "Thank you, Mr. Haniyev. Your selflessness makes us feel as if we have seen Comrade Lenin resurrected. Your broad-mindedness makes us feel as if we are standing on the shores of the Black Sea. You are the most respectful Soviet Communist Party official we have ever met to people of culture. We are fortunate to be your friend and lucky to follow you and make some contributions to the Soviet Union and Ukraine!"

Haniyev laughed heartily. "Don't be so polite. We are all brothers from the same organization. Your business is my business. For the cultural revival of Ukraine and the success of the Soviet Union's reforms, we should work together!"

Chapter 195: Duke Zhou spits out food, and the whole world is at peace (2)

On August 20, 1988, South Africa signed a ceasefire agreement with Angola and Cuba. The Angolan Civil War, which was a struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, ended today.

After the agreement was signed, nearly 10,000 Cuban volunteers began to withdraw. The Afghan war had already ended and the Soviet army also began to withdraw from Afghanistan.

The end of these two wars also marked the end of the Soviet Union's political and military output. Gorbachev's so-called embrace of peace became a reality, but no one could have imagined that the Soviet Union only had three years left to survive.

Haniyev has been very busy recently. He rarely goes to the Education Commission to work every day. Instead, he is busy working for the organization with the secretary-general and deputy secretaries-general of "Rukh".

After Haniyev's coordination efforts, the location of Rukh's "People's Daily" was chosen to be the Faculty of International Relations of Kyiv National University. This was achieved with the help of the principal's secretary and the credit of the security chief Sergei. The location could be tried for free, and the printing equipment was temporarily used from the tabloids run by several previous Rukh members. However, those equipment were too backward, and the cost would also be a problem if they were to be printed and distributed for a long time.

So Haniyev also obtained a sponsorship of 50000 rubles from Rosen Imaging, the largest imaging company in Kiev. This money was enough for the People's Daily to purchase a batch of decent new equipment and a large amount of paper and ink.

The People's Daily only needs to add the name of Rosen Imaging and the imaging company's stores across Kyiv at the beginning of each edition of the newspaper, which is considered a long-term advertising fee.

For the Soviet people who had no business acumen and whose brains had been rigidified by the planned economy for decades, few people could understand how to operate advertising and what its commercial value was.

The top executives of "Rukh" naturally didn't understand it. As high-level intellectuals, they certainly didn't bother to understand it, so they were just grateful to Haniyev for being able to attract sponsorship. In fact, for the "People's Daily" whose audience will exceed one million in the future, charging only 5 rubles for advertising space for decades is already very cheap.

In order to make Rukh's leaders and intellectuals grateful to him, Haniyev would bring Ivanov, Drak, Gonchar, Makar and others with him whenever he did something, so that they could see with their own eyes how he would run into obstacles everywhere when asking for help, and how he would persevere in asking people for help, and even spend money to help people, and finally accomplish many good things for the organization and them personally.

These people were originally high-ranking intellectuals who were arrogant and had never known the feeling of asking others for help because they enjoyed high treatment and high status given by the Soviet Union. After seeing and experiencing it with their own eyes this time, they became more grateful and admired Haniyev.

When Draco and the three deputy secretaries-general, Ivanov, Gonchar and Makar, were chatting privately, they were all glad to have met Haniyev and to have thought highly of them. Otherwise, how could "Rukh" become an officially approved organization and have its own official newspaper? The four of them, who had no organizational experience and ability, asked themselves that they would not be able to achieve what Haniyev had achieved in one month even if they relied on them for ten years.

Therefore, with Haniyev's efforts, after entering August, the secretary-general, deputy secretary-general and more than a dozen members of "Rukh" all admired Haniyev completely. Haniyev can be said to have truly taken control of "Rukh" in his own hands.

At noon on the 21st, since today was Sunday, there were a lot more people in Villa No. 12 in the suburbs than usual.

The curtains were drawn in the hall. Although the lighting was not good enough, many candles were lit, making it very bright.

Clear music echoed in the air, more than 20 ministerial and vice-ministerial leaders were chatting with glasses in hand, and Haniyev and Nikolay stood together, being the center of attention. Unknowingly, Haniyev and Nikolay had become Sherbitsky's spokespersons in Kiev.

Today is the weekend, and attending the cocktail party is just a way to relax. Almost no one is wearing formal clothes.

Novikov also took off the red uniform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that he wore all year round and changed into a casual short-sleeved shirt.

Haniyev walked up to Novikov, clinked his glass with him, and said with a smile, "Thank you for what you did before, Comrade Novikov. Without your cooperation, the intellectuals in Rukh would not have been able to submit so quickly."

Novikov smiled and said, "Everything is Secretary Sherbitsky's order. You are someone he trusts, so you are in charge of this plan. I will naturally cooperate with you. I have brought the money you gave me. It's in the car and I will return it to you later."

Haniyev shook his head and whispered, "I, Haniyev, never take back any gifts I give you. We've known each other for a long time. You took great care of me during the Chernobyl incident, and I'll always remember that. Now we're both working hard to help Shcherbitsky recover. We're true comrades. Please keep this money. After all, I'll have many more things to trouble you with in the future, and your favor shouldn't be wasted. Consider it tea money..."

Novikov nodded in satisfaction. "No wonder the old secretary always favors you. Victor, you are indeed a smart and thoughtful person. Do I really have to give preferential treatment and reduce the sentences of those intellectuals in prison?"

Haniyev nodded. "That's right, you've already promised me. They saw it with their own eyes and heard it with their own ears. How can you go back on your word? Wouldn't that make them underestimate my abilities?"

Novikov said in a deep voice, "But these people were personally targeted by the old secretary. Should we consult Secretary Shcherbitsky before giving them preferential treatment now?"

Haniyev smiled faintly. "I've already asked for instructions. If you're worried, ask again. Our old secretary is not a narrow-minded person. The CPSU Central Committee is now dominated by villains. The old man wants to come out and restore order. To this end, what's wrong with giving some preferential treatment to the intellectuals who were previously persecuted? We need them anyway. If we don't treat them well and give them some favors, how can we make them obey and do their work?"

Novikov looked at Nikolai, who said, "Since my grandfather has given him full authority to preside over this matter, we should listen to him."

Novikov nodded and said, "Okay, I'll pay special attention to those people when I get to work tomorrow and apply for sentence reductions and improved living conditions for them."

Haniyev shook his glass and said, "Although they are in prison, they were all big figures in the education and cultural circles before, and their influence is still not small. As long as we treat them with preferential policies and sentence reductions, they will tell their relatives, students and friends outside. I will become a famous and philanthropic person in the circle of intellectuals in Rukh and outside Rukh. Then we can expand Rukh rapidly.

Under my leadership, Ukrainian intellectuals will be very happy to join Rukh. Perhaps in a few months, Rukh will expand to a size of millions of people. Then we can start to invite Secretary Shcherbitsky to come out.

Everyone present knew Haniyev's plan. They gathered together to overthrow Gulenko and let Sherbitsky regain control of Ukraine. Then, those who had followed him would naturally be promoted, make money, and make continuous progress.

As senior cadres in the Soviet Union, no one did not want to move up a level. Those who were deputy ministers naturally wanted to become ministers, and those who were already ministers also wanted to enter the central government. As Sherbitsky's diehard supporters, Gulenko would not promote them. Therefore, even if it was purely for their personal future, many ministerial-level cadres in Villa No. 12 had to support Haniyev's plan.

It was already evening when they returned home after the cocktail party. Vladimir, Sidlov and Victoria were all at home.

A few days ago, Victoria took the exam for Kyiv National University and is currently waiting for the results, so she has been staying at home honestly.

During dinner, Haniyev had a drink with his father and brother. Vladimir coughed lightly and asked, "Is your Education Committee busy lately?"

Haniyev shook his head slightly. "Recently, universities have been recruiting students one after another. The Education Commission has indeed had more work to do. They have set up many supervision groups and invigilation inspection teams, but I didn't go."

"So what are you busy with? Why are you out early and back late all day?"

Seeing only the father and his two sons gathered at the table, Haniyev smiled softly and whispered, "You all know about Shcherbitsky and I. He currently only has the rank of vice-minister but no real power. I hope he won't be able to take the next step and become governor. This is mainly because Gulenko won't cooperate, and the old man is very dissatisfied. So I discussed a comeback plan with him. I've been busy working on this for Shcherbitsky lately. You must not tell anyone, or it will be troublesome if Gulenko becomes alert."

Sidlov glared and smacked his lips in amazement, "Brother, are you planning to replace the First Secretary of the Republic now? That's amazing!" He raised his thumbs up with admiration on his face.

Vladimir frowned and asked, "Let Shcherbytsky return as Ukraine's First Secretary? That won't be easy. How could Gulenko agree? I'm afraid Gorbachev wouldn't be happy about it either."

Haniyev nodded. "Power is always exclusive. Whether they like it or not, we have to make this happen. Only if Shcherbitsky becomes the First Secretary of Ukraine can I enter the Ukrainian Central Committee in a very short time and even become the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine."

"Sherbitsky promised you?"