Struggle in Soviet Russia - Chapter 623

The rumble of thunder rolled over, and the dull sound seemed to be close at hand, like a group of frightened galloping horses roaring from under the eaves, shaking the rain-filled glass windows with a humming sound.

In the room, Victor, who was awakened by the thunder, rubbed his eyes. He first groped to find the watch that was on the bedside table last night, looked at the time, and then felt dark. He carefully placed An Lina’s arm on his chest. Moved away, tiptoed over and sat up from the bed.

It was just four o’clock in the morning, and he needed to get up to deal with his work, but An Lina could sleep a little longer, and Victor didn’t plan to wake her up.

An Lina is in a bad mood recently. Her mother was seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital. She seemed to need surgery, which made An Lina a little haggard. A woman who is suffering can get the best care and don’t have to worry about not being able to afford medical expenses, which can be regarded as a kind of comfort.

Zhuo pulled on the slippers by the bed, and Victor took the nightgown and draped it over his body. Then he left the bedroom in the dark and went to his study.

After a while, a light came on, and Victor was already standing beside the large desk in the study.

Lighting a cigarette and pouring himself a cup of hot water, Victor did not sit directly behind the desk, but walked straight to the large French window next to the desk, looking out through the rain-stained glass window. past.

At this moment, a flash of lightning flashed across the night sky, and the street downstairs outside the window was brightened by electric light. With this light, Victor saw a black Volga sedan passing through the rain curtain, slowly walking down the street towards this side. Drive over.

I didn’t care about this Volga sedan. After all, there are many central officers of the Alliance living in this residential area. It is quite normal for vehicles to come and go at this point, especially in the recent period.

Standing by the window smoking a cigarette, Victor’s mind started to think about the job at hand.

Since the temporary Politburo meeting a few months ago, there seems to be a tacit understanding between him and Comrade Zhdanov. Of course, this tacit understanding has been tacitly approved by Comrade Malenkov and Comrade Beria. Yes, he would also often brief these two comrades on his contacts with Comrade Zhdanov, and in particular, he would report to Comrade Malenkov about his work.

As a person who has worked by Comrade Stalin’s side for a long time, Victor is absolutely no stranger to Comrade Zhdanov. What’s more, there have been some conflicts and contacts between the two, but seriously, he is very familiar with Japan. Comrade Danov’s understanding is still very limited. After all, all his previous contacts with Comrade Zhdanov were very superficial, and the in-depth understanding is basically lacking, let alone lacking.

However, during this period of time, Viktor met with Comrade Zhdanov almost every day. Even if there was an occasional day when he didn’t meet, Comrade Zhdanov would make a phone call to inquire about the progress of the work. How seriously Comrade Novo attaches great importance to what Victor is doing right now.

What is Victor doing?

In the past month, he has mainly been in charge of the overall reorganization of the Central International Department.

Initially, according to Viktor’s conception, it was only planned to bring Moscow Radio under the direct jurisdiction of the Central International Department, and there was no plan to make extensive adjustments to the entire Central International Department. But Comrade Zhdanov did not agree with his idea. The committee comrade insisted that if Viktor planned to use the Central International Department as the main agency to promote the development of the soft power of the alliance, then the Central International Department must make changes, its powers Responsibilities and institutional settings need to be adjusted accordingly.

It must be admitted that although Comrade Malenkov and Beria were ambitious, and fought fiercely with Comrade Zhdanov in the Politburo, they still had to combine their qualifications, status, and especially the trust of Comrade Stalin. Consider, these two still can’t fight Comrade Zhdanov, because in the eyes of Comrade Stalin, Comrade Zhdanov is not only a “comrade”, but also his friend, and their mutual trust is incomparable to ordinary people of. For some things, Comrade Zhdanov personally promoted it, and the effect was completely different from Malenkov or Beria.

Take the merger of Moscow Radio Station into the International Department of the Central Committee. Because of the personal promotion of Comrade Zhdanov, in less than half a month, the entire process was basically completed, and the rest was some specific details. the actual work.

As for the reorganization of the International Department of the Central Committee, following Comrade Zhdanov’s report, the Central Committee held a meeting to discuss it, which was soon approved.

The specific reorganization plan of the Central International Department was proposed by Victor. According to his plan, the Central International Department broke the institutional model directly transformed from the Comintern in the past, and adopted the organizational principle of dividing departments by regional activities. , the general plan of the executive agency of the entire international department is divided into nine departments, namely: the first bureau (Eastern Europe Bureau), the second bureau (Western Europe, the Nordic Bureau), the third bureau (North America Bureau, also become the United States Bureau), the fourth bureau Bureau (East Asia Bureau), Fifth Bureau (South Asia, Southeast Asia Bureau), Sixth Bureau (Middle East and Central Asia Bureau), Seventh Bureau (Africa Bureau), Eighth Bureau (South American Bureau), Ninth Bureau (North Africa and West Asia Bureau) Bureau).

In addition to these nine specific executive bureaus, there are also the General Office responsible for administrative work, the Cadre Bureau responsible for party affairs, the Foreign Affairs Bureau responsible for external liaison, and, of course, the Information Center responsible for information work and research work.

As for the department that promotes cultural influence, it is a special “Information Communication Bureau”, which is also the most important department currently determined by the Central International Department. Related, at the same time, it also has its own research laboratory and radio station.

In addition, the business connection between the Central International Department and the Propaganda and Agitation Department is also in charge of the Information Communication Bureau, which has great authority. When necessary, it can even use the Propaganda and Agitation Department to control the entire culture of the alliance. influence in the world.

Of course, this reorganization plan has just come out, and the specific reorganization work has not yet officially started, but considering Comrade Zhdanov’s vigorous and resolute work attitude, it is estimated that this matter will not be too far from the official implementation. .

In the past month, through the cooperation with Comrade Zhdanov, Viktor has a very real feeling, that is… how can I put it, working under Comrade Zhdanov is better than working under Malenko Comrade Husband does things under his hands, which is a lot more enjoyable.

Comrade Zhdanov’s character is very characteristic. He looks rather arrogant. Of course, this is the feeling that people who are not familiar with him will have, but once you have more contact with him, you will have a deeper understanding of his arrogance. level of understanding. He’s not really arrogant, but he speaks and does things very directly, and he doesn’t think about going around in circles or saving face for anyone.

But having said that, this kind of character that does not go around in circles can sometimes bring great convenience to people at work. Just as Victor felt, no matter what kind of work it is, as long as it is in front of Comrade Zhdanov After making it clear, you don’t have to worry about him jumping out and picking on small faults. Of course, when he has any requirements, he will directly raise them without fear.

For example, when it comes to the candidate for the vice-chairman of the International Department of the Central Committee, Comrade Zhdanov directly talked to Victor when he was planning the adjustment of the organization, saying that he believed that the future work of the International Department of the Central Committee was very important. As a working Politburo member, he needs to have a comprehensive grasp of the overall work of the International Department of the Central Committee. Therefore, the candidate for the first vice-chairman should be determined by him.

This kind of straightforward method was somewhat unaccustomed to Victor, but he finally accepted Comrade Zhdanov’s request, so he added an “assistant” to the work of the Central International Department – Mihai Er Andreevich Suslov, originally, Comrade Zhdanov had prepared to push this person to the position of the head of the propaganda and agitation department, but now, he has been placed in the Central International Department.

In addition, on the future of the Central International Department, Comrade Zhdanov also made it very clear. He clearly told Victor that if the Central International Department performed well in the work of promoting soft power and proved Victor’s theory If it is effective, then the Central International Department is likely to be dismantled in the future, the external executive body within the agency will be assigned to the People’s Committee of Foreign Affairs, and the part of soft power output will be assigned to the Propaganda and Agitation Department. In other words, what Comrade Zhdanov planned is to continue to strengthen the work functions of the Propaganda and Agitation Department. If the dismantling of the Central International Department in the future is successful, then the Propaganda and Agitation Department will have a functional part of external work.

For Victor, what he must understand is that any national leader has his own plans and ideas for the development direction and major policies of the country. Comrade Lenin in those days was like this, and Comrade Stalin is like this now. If Comrade Zhdanov succeeds Comrade Stalin and becomes the third central leader of the alliance in the future, then he will naturally have his own position and ideas.

In this regard, Viktor did not have any resistance. He could not decide the future of the Central International Department. If Comrade Zhdanov became the leader of the Central Committee in the future, then the dismantling of the Central International Department would be inevitable. He can’t become the leader of the central government, then, what he says now is equivalent to waste, and Victor doesn’t have to worry about it at all.