Servant of the People in Kyiv

Vladimir, who was politically astute, had already guessed the plans of Haniyev and Sherbitsky. He knew that the so-called "Ukrainian People's Movement" that had developed from last month to today was essentially a political activity organized by Haniyev to help Sherbitsky make a comeback, with the aim of overthrowing Gulenko.

Political struggles are always fraught with danger. The process of the people's movement organized and launched by Haniyev was extremely dangerous. Now the result is clear, and his son's side has won.

Vladimir personally poured his son a cup of tea and asked, "What are your plans after you are released from prison? Are you going to continue to lead the Ukrainian people's movement in criticizing reforms?"

Haniyev smiled slightly. "Sherbitsky has already regained control of Ukraine. Why should I stir up trouble? Wouldn't that just cause trouble for the old man?"

Vladimir smiled slightly. Just as Sidlov, who was completely confused, was about to ask a question, he heard the phone ring at home. His sister picked up the phone and called out, "Brother, this is for you."

Haniyev put down his bowl and chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before answering the phone.

Seeing his youngest son's confused face, Vladimir seemed to understand something and whispered, "Haven't you been participating in the people's movement every day recently? You should know that your brother is behind the people's movement, but have you ever thought about it?

Your brother is just a deputy director of the Education Commission, and he was imprisoned in a secret KGB prison. How could he have the ability to issue instructions to lead the people's movement? How could he remotely command the people's movement in Kiev and even the entire Ukraine from a KGB prison?

Sidlov whispered, "This shows that my elder brother has many friends in high-ranking positions in the Ukrainian central government who are helping him. At least there are high-ranking officials in the National Security Council who are helping him."

"But why would they help your brother? Your brother's level of power is not as high as theirs. What benefits can they gain by helping Victor?"

Sidlov thought for a moment, thinking of the conversation between Haniyev and his father, and a light bulb went off in his head: "I understand, behind my brother is Sherbitsky!"

"clever."

Vladimir smiled and nodded. Sidlov whispered, "No wonder..."

While the father and son were talking, Haniyev had already kissed his wife goodbye and hurriedly put on a woolen coat. He said, "Sherbitsky summoned me. The car to pick me up should be here soon. You don't have to wait for me to come back for lunch..."

"Slow down, dear, it's cold outside..."

As Haniyev was about to leave, Tatyana stopped him again, put a bearskin hat on him with her own hands, and then let him go.

After Haniyev went out, he saw a Seagull car parked in front of his house. When he walked to the front of the car, Haniyev saw a familiar face.

"Secretary Haniyev, please get in the car."

Haniyev recognized that the driver was the MVD special police officer who was protecting Sherbitsky at the Friendship Sanatorium. He greeted him with a smile and got into the car.

Soon the car drove into the Army General Staff building, and Haniyev met Sherbitsky, Nikolay, Novikov, Boladanov and others in an office.

These people are all Sherbitsky's confidants, and Haniyev has met them all at Villa No. 12. It can even be said that the growth of the "Ukrainian People's Movement" and the development of the people's movement since November are all due to these ministerial-level cadres.

After Haniyev came in, everyone shook hands with him one by one. Standing in front of Shcherbitsky, Haniyev bowed slightly, hugged the old man and said, "Welcome home, dear father."

Shcherbitsky smiled, patted Pahaniyev on the shoulder, and said, "You've worked hard."

"It's not hard."

……

After a few pleasantries, Shcherbitsky got straight to the point. "Our plan was a success. Your people's movement was a resounding success. Gorbachev was deeply disappointed with Gulenko, but he didn't dare risk sending troops to suppress the protesters and students. He had no choice but to ask me to step in. Now I have the final say in Ukraine. You must immediately stop the people's movement. We must show Moscow our sincerity and my control over Ukraine."

Haniyev nodded and said, "I'm just waiting for your order. I could order the members of the People's Movement and the students who are besieging the Marin Palace and the Verkhovna Rada to disperse right now, but I think it would be a waste to just let them go."

Shcherbitsky's eyebrows, streaked with gray hair, twitched as he asked, "What are your plans?"

"You are the longest-serving leader of Ukraine. Every Ukrainian knows and is grateful for your prestige and achievements. I think you should come out and speak to the representatives of the people's movement and the students. At this moment, foreign and domestic media reporters are all focused on Kyiv. Shouldn't you take this opportunity to shine and lay the foundation for your comeback?"

After listening to Haniyev's proposal, Shcherbitsky thought for a moment and said with a smile, "You are the real person in charge of the people's movement. You know best what these people want to hear and what they need. You write the article for me yourself, and I will go to the outside of the Mariinsky Palace this afternoon to talk to the people."

After Haniyev agreed, he was taken to a small room to start writing his speech.

Sherbitsky has a special identity. He is an old leader with great prestige in Ukraine and a conservative leader who has always opposed reform. His identity prevents him from speaking as he pleases. Once the content of his speech to the representatives of the people's movement is reported, it will definitely be interpreted by many people.

Haniyev knew that Sherbitsky wanted to continue to serve as the First Secretary of Ukraine steadily because he felt that he could not openly criticize Gorbachev's reforms, nor could he openly agree with and support the legitimacy of the Ukrainian people's movement.

Therefore, in the speech he wrote himself, he avoided the main issue of reform, but emphasized that the Ukrainian Central Committee's decision to arrest the Ukrainian People's Movement Committee headed by Haniyev and the masses and students who participated in organizing the Ukrainian People's Movement was wrong. It was a misjudgment caused by the Ukrainian Central Committee cadres headed by Gulenko's inaccurate grasp of the spirit of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

In his speech, Sherbitsky still protected Gorbachev and put all the responsibility for the serious consequences of the Ukrainian people's movement on Gulenko. Now, the Ukrainian people's movement has won.

The winners are Sherbitsky and the Ukrainian People's Movement Organization, but there must also be losers. If Gorbachev wants to remain unscathed and be satisfied with Sherbitsky's handling of the matter, he can only make Gulenko the unforgivable scapegoat.

This outcome had already been decided when Sherbitsky returned, but Haniyev also asked Sherbitsky to emphasize this point deeply in his speeches to the representatives of the People's Movement, and strive to bring Gulenko and his gang into an irretrievable situation.

Haniyev did this not to vent his anger, but more to build up Sherbitsky's prestige. At the same time, by completely defeating Gulenko's party, he could ensure that Sherbitsky's faction would be in power in the future Ukraine. In this way, Haniyev could maximize his influence and seek the greatest benefits for himself and Ukraine in the short few years before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Haniyev finished the speech in more than two hours. He first conveyed the latest instructions to the Council of People's Commissars of Ukraine, and then delivered the speech to Sherbitsky.

After reading it, the old secretary was basically satisfied and personally revised some of the content. Then he took his newly adjusted Ukrainian top leadership team to Mariinsky Park in armored vehicles and tanks.

Because of his special status, Haniyev was at the center of this political vortex. Even if he was released, it would be inconvenient for him to show up in public. So after Sherbitsky and his party left, Haniyev was driven home by the Ministry of Internal Affairs police.

After returning home, Haniyev asked his wife to turn on the TV. The TV, which had lost signal for several days, restored its signal this morning. At the same time, the news programs of Ukrainian National Television and Soviet National Television were broadcast on time. In particular, Ukrainian National Television started live broadcasting the situation of the people's movement in Kiev and the Soviet Central Committee's attention and decision-making on Ukraine since this morning.

The TV program reported more than once that the first order issued by Secretary Sherbitsky after he returned to Kyiv early this morning was to release the arrested members of the Ukrainian People's Movement. This news quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kyiv and various cities in Ukraine.

The people's movement, which was originally so vigorous, gradually began to die down this morning. Although 100,000 representatives of the people's movement in Kyiv were still gathered outside the Mariinsky Palace, the core members of the people's movement, who had not received the latest instructions from the organization, no longer led the students in shouting slogans. Everyone just waited quietly.

At 12 noon, representatives of the People's Movement outside the Mariinsky Palace received the latest instructions from the committee:

"The Ukrainian People's Movement has achieved complete victory. The conservative leader has become the supreme leader of Ukraine and has chosen to cooperate with the Committee of the People's Movement of Ukraine. Therefore, all members of the People's Movement are requested to actively cooperate with Shcherbitsky when he requests dialogue, and to disperse and return to normal production and life, accumulating strength and waiting for the latest instructions from the next movement..."

Chapter 224: The Spring Breeze of Reform Blows into the Door (5)

Haniyev's instructions were quickly conveyed to the people of Kiev who surrounded the Mariinsky Palace and the Verkhovna Rada.

The leaders of the people's movement and the backbones of the university youth association have become very mature after a month of people's movement. In particular, the success of this major movement in defeating Gulenko has boosted everyone's morale. Almost all members admire Haniyev very much and obey his orders.

After hundreds of leaders of the people's movement understood the spirit, they conveyed Haniyev's meaning among the backbone members. More than 100,000 intellectuals, students, and young people in Kiev soon regained their backbone and prepared to perform a final drama to successfully end the struggle.

At 2 p.m., Shcherbitsky indeed appeared outside the Mariinsky Palace.

Standing on an armored vehicle, Shcherbitsky waved the Soviet flag and demanded dialogue with representatives of the people's movement.

The leaders of the people's movement who received Haniyev's latest instructions cooperated and walked out of the crowd to respond to Sherbitsky.

In the eyes of many domestic and foreign media, Sherbitsky has a very good mass base. Many young people, scholars and college students who had previously been resentful of the CPSU and the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Party burst into tears and raised their hands to welcome the return of the old secretary after seeing Sherbitsky's kind smile and hearing his warm greetings and care.

The courtesy and respect Shcherbitsky received in the face of the people's movement formed a huge contrast with Gulenko's embarrassment.

If this scene were reported by Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS, or Ukrainian News Agency, as long as it was accompanied by images, Sherbitsky's supreme prestige in Ukraine would be established.

From then on, even if Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Gorbachev wanted to overthrow Sherbitsky, it would no longer be an easy task.

Shcherbitsky felt welcomed by the over 100,000 people who had gathered. Part of him was satisfied with Haniyev's arrangements, and part of him also attributed it to the reputation and prestige he had accumulated over his years of business in Ukraine. His face flushed with joy as he raised his hand high and said, "On behalf of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Supreme Soviet, I have come to deal with the people's movement in Kyiv. I am not here to deal with you, but with the CPSU cadres who have displeased the masses. I served as First Secretary in Ukraine for nearly 15 years, and I know firsthand the kindness, bravery, loyalty, and greatness of our Ukrainian people..."

If Gulenko and others had not gone too far, violated the General Secretary's promises and policies of reform, and forcibly arrested comrades of the Ukrainian People's Movement who were exercising their rights, how could they have aroused everyone's anger and attracted rallies and marches of hundreds of thousands of people in Kyiv?

I had originally planned to rest and recuperate in Yalta and stop working, but Gulenko was so incompetent that the General Secretary specially asked me to come out of retirement. I couldn't bear to see Gulenko and his people destroy Ukraine, the homeland that generations of our ancestors had built together, so I flew back to Kyiv overnight...

Comrades, teachers, students, and friends, the more than one thousand members of the Ukrainian People's Movement who were mistakenly arrested have now all been released. I will instruct the relevant departments to compensate them both spiritually and materially. I will absolutely not allow the loyal and kind-hearted Soviet people to suffer unwarranted harm...

As a member of the Soviet Presidium, the Political Bureau, and the Central Committee member in charge of Ukrainian Party affairs, I assure you that I will take all of your reasonable demands seriously and do my best to address them. I will personally report to the Central Committee of the CPSU the culprits who caused this huge dispute and damaged the relationship between cadres and the masses, and propose solutions. Please rest assured that I guarantee with my Party character that I will not show leniency to Gulenko, who has committed serious mistakes, and I will definitely give justice to the Ukrainian people's movement and the Ukrainian students!

The content of Sherbitsky's speech was written by Haniyev and revised by him personally. It cleared Gorbachev of all charges, but also completely nailed Gulenko to the pillar of shame.

In Shcherbitsky's speech, the Ukrainian people's movement that had been going on for more than ten days was defined. It was because Gulenko and others acted on their own initiative and violated the requirements of reform. The General Secretary had clearly lifted the ban on newspapers and allowed freedom of speech, but they still arrested thousands of Ukrainian intellectuals, university professors, middle school principals, and ministerial and department-level cadres because they said some unpleasant words about the Ukrainian people's movement and published some newspapers that did not praise them. This was a very bureaucratic behavior and must be dealt with seriously.

Many times, when the wind changes, everything changes.

Originally, with Haniyev's instructions, many members of the Ukrainian people's movement, intellectuals, and students had decided to unconditionally support Sherbitsky. However, after listening to Sherbitsky's speech, everyone felt that the old secretary had touched their hearts and began to wholeheartedly recognize the old secretary.

After Shcherbitsky's speech, thunderous applause and cheers broke out outside the Mariinsky Palace without the need for members of the Ukrainian People's Movement to lead the way.

Standing on an armored vehicle, Sherbitsky looked down at the crowded Mariinsky Park, and at the Mariinsky Palace and the Verkhovna Rada behind him. He felt that he had owned Ukraine again.

Shcherbitsky, in a joyful mood, had an idea in his head. He raised his hands and shouted excitedly: "Long live the USSR, long live the Soviets, long live the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic!"

Over a hundred thousand people followed Shcherbitsky's lead and began shouting. At first, the sounds were disorganized, but as the shouts continued to repeat, the voices of over a hundred thousand people merged into one.

"Long live the Soviet Union...

Long live the Soviets...

Long live the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic..."

The shouts of "Ura" from the people of Kiev were earth-shaking, and the shouting people were heart-wrenching and hoarse, showing how fanatical they were.

But any enthusiasm will eventually fade away.

The Ukrainian people's movement, which had been raging in Kiev for more than ten days, ended with a cheer of "Long Live" led by Sherbitsky.

The people of Kiev returned to their normal lives at an extraordinary speed the next day.

All universities and middle schools that had been suspended have resumed classes. The released university teachers and students seem to be attending classes normally without any impact. The young people, cadres, workers and people in the capital who participated in the people's movement also go to work as before.

The whole of Kiev quickly turned from the wave of people's movement back to a calm state as if no movement had ever occurred. Even Sherbitsky felt incredible when he learned about it.

This is naturally attributed to the "Ukrainian People's Movement Committee" led by Haniyev himself and many organizations such as the "People's Movement" and "University Youth Association" managed by the committee. After this people's movement that lasted more than ten days and achieved major victories, the ideas of "Rukh" have been completely unified under Haniyev's will, and the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the entire organization have reached a level never before achieved.

On the second day after the movement ended, Haniyev convened the "Enlarged Meeting of the Committee of the Ukrainian People's Movement". Not only more than 30 committee members attended, but also the presidents of the Youth Associations of major universities and the backbone elites who emerged in this movement were invited to attend. The number of participants reached 601.

Because of the large number of people, Haniyev chose the auditorium of Kyiv National University as the venue. At the meeting, Haniyev reviewed the process of leading everyone's struggle and the achievements made. Then he held high the banner of his own "rational reform" political concept and "Ukrainian national historical view", and asked all personnel to persist in learning, strictly follow the organization and management of war activities, and contribute to the revival of the Ukrainian nation and the future of the Soviet Union.

The conference organized by Haniyev marked the tremendous development and growth of the "Ukrainian People's Movement". At the same time, it also truly transformed from a non-governmental environmental protection organization into a political organization that demands to participate in politics and policy-making, and it is a political organization with a political program and political demands. As long as Haniyev manages it properly and the "People's Daily" continues to publicize it, the "Ukrainian People's Movement" will inevitably become a political force within Ukraine that can compete with the CPSU in the future.

After the conference, Haniyev stayed behind to hold a meeting with 30 members. At the meeting, the proposal to absorb 183 new members was passed. Then Haniyev divided the work among the members and the secretary-general and deputy secretary-general, and asked them to reorganize forces from various aspects such as the "People's Daily", "University Youth Association", and "Workers' Games". At the same time, they should persist in propaganda and learning to ensure that the "Ukrainian People's Movement" after the end of the great movement would not degenerate or change color while growing rapidly, and would still follow Haniyev unswervingly.

After dealing with the internal affairs of the Ukrainian people's movement, Haniyev also instructed the members of the committee to actively communicate and contact the external forces of the people's movement in various states, asking them to end the movement like the people's movement in Kiev and return to their normal production life to continue studying.

In order to be able to thoroughly lead the people's movements in various states in the future, Haniyev also asked Drak and others to study a list, select some backbones and send them to various states to integrate and establish branches of the "Ukrainian People's Movement" in various states. This is a necessary path for the development of the Ukrainian people's movement and an extremely important step.

It was already 11 o'clock in the evening when Haniyev had arranged many affairs of the Ukrainian people's movement. He said goodbye to everyone and drove home alone.

On the way home, Haniyev was driving while thinking about the Ukrainian people's movement. He felt that even if he took the CPSU as an example to establish an organizational framework in the people's movement, it would save a lot of trouble. However, due to the tight time and the fact that most of the people in the organization were intellectuals with complex minds, it would probably take a long time and a lot of effort for the Ukrainian people's movement to develop into a mature political party.

Chapter 225: Spring Breeze Does Not Pass Yumen Pass

The saying "a single hair can move the whole body" is like a person. If you pull his hair, his body will move according to the pulling force.

But the underlying truth is even more obvious in politics.

After the Ukrainian people's movement led by Haniyev emerged, large-scale mass rallies and marches took place in the capital of the Soviet Union's largest republic. When other republics of the Soviet Union learned about it, the honest and law-abiding ones were amazed, but the dishonest ones could not help but have some evil thoughts.

The end of 1988 was an eventful year. From November to December, within dozens of days, mass incidents with various reasons and demands broke out in more than one place and country in the Soviet Union.

……

As the reform progressed, the Soviet Communist Party's control over nationalism loosened, and ethnic problems emerged to varying degrees in many republics.

The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic has been troubled by Abkhaz nationalism in recent years. The Abkhaz people have always demanded independence, but the Georgians will never allow it.

Along with Gorbachev's reform and opening up, the ethnic struggles of Georgians and Abkhazians also advanced. When Haniyev and Tatyana were on vacation after their wedding, they saw Abkhazians holding rallies and propaganda in Tbilisi. That was at the beginning of the year.

As the situation continued to deteriorate, Georgians held a large-scale rally and protest in November. The event initially opposed the independence of Abkhazia, but with the infiltration of Western forces, it gradually turned into an attack on Great Russianism and a call for Georgia to secede from the Soviet Union.

Gorbachev was shocked to learn about the situation and sent his confidant, Shevardnadze, the former First Secretary of Georgia, to Tbilisi to deal with the mass incident.

Shevardnadze had been operating in Georgia for many years and had accumulated a high prestige. His ability to handle matters was also very outstanding. Within a few days in Tbilisi, the massive Georgian mass incident was resolved.

However, with the outbreak of the popular movement in Kiev, Ukraine in early December, the Soviet Union's prestige suffered a severe blow. The details of this action also gave confidence to nationalists in many small countries.

Many people believed that since the Ukrainians could not do anything about it and the Ukrainian First Secretary Gulenko was even frightened to death, the CPSU might have become a paper tiger.

What the Ukrainians can do, we Georgians (Estonians, Lithuanians) can certainly do too.

So around December 10, mass rallies broke out again in Georgia, which had just been peaceful for a few days, and the scale was much larger than last month.

Gorbachev once again sent Shevardnadze to deal with the matter. At the same time, in order to resolve the people's movement in Ukraine, he reluctantly asked Sherbitsky to come out of retirement.

On December 16, Shcherbytsky released the arrested leaders of the Ukrainian People's Movement, and that evening the crowd of more than 12 protesters in the capital dispersed.

Starting from the 17th, the people's movement in the capitals of various Ukrainian states quickly dissipated. The people's movement in Ukraine was successfully resolved, and Sherbitsky also became famous among the top leaders of the CPSU.

Sherbitsky sent a telegram to Moscow to report on the handling process and investigation results, indicating that although the members of the Ukrainian People's Movement and its leader Haniyev had minor problems, they had no principled faults and were not counter-revolutionaries. Therefore, the Ukrainian mass rallies and protests were indeed a bad backlash caused by Gulenko's arbitrary arrest operation.

Gulenko's unauthorized actions violated the human rights and freedom of speech of the Soviet people and were completely contrary to the spirit of Gorbachev's reforms.

Shcherbitsky suggested that the Central Committee of the CPSU take serious action against Gulenko.

Sherbitsky's handling of the situation was praised by the Ukrainian National News Agency and many official Soviet media as a "textbook approach", and his speech received unanimous praise at home and abroad after being published in newspapers.

Reuters even praised Sherbitsky as a rare outstanding veteran cadre in the Soviet Union, and the words between the lines were full of provocations against Sherbitsky and Gorbachev.

The Americans and the British have always regarded the Soviet Union as a thorn in their side, and they will not miss any opportunity to cause trouble for the Soviet Union.

Although the problem of mass protests in Ukraine was quickly resolved after Sherbitsky came out of retirement, the 11-day people's movement in Kyiv has produced some kind of wonderful chemical reaction.

After the Ukrainian issue was resolved, similar mass rallies and protests broke out in other republics.

On December 17, a protest rally by Georgians in Tbilisi against the Abkhazians' pursuit of independence once again evolved into a mass event demanding Georgian independence and criticizing Great Russian chauvinism.

Although Shevardnadze tried his best to meet with representatives of all parties to seek reconciliation and communication, perhaps Ukraine's success gave them courage, and the attitude of Georgia's national separatists was very firm. Gorbachev was very angry when he learned of the situation and demanded that the Georgian Party Central Committee come up with a solution immediately.

For Moscow, Georgia's importance and status are far less than Ukraine. If Tbilisi wants to learn from Kiev, the CPSU can completely launch a heavy blow to alert the weak ethnic groups and weak republics of the Soviet Union.