Big Time 1958

In the following days, Khrushchev took his son Sergei Khrushchev to visit Kozlov who had woken up several times, but every time he came back, he couldn't hide his disappointment. Khrushchev had already learned that, It is impossible for Kozlov's body to return to its original state, which means that Kozlov cannot continue to be competent for high-intensity work.

In Shelepin's house, taking advantage of the opportunity of Tikunov's promotion to the Minister of Petroleum Industry, several people gathered again. Compared with the past, their expressions were much more serious this time, and no one would have thought that their health had been in good condition. All of a sudden, Kozlov couldn't do it anymore. This incident was very impactful, enough for these people to discuss it seriously.

  Egolychev, Tikunov, Serov, and Semychasny, who had just returned from Bulgaria, were all silent. They all knew that Sherepin had something to do, which was the follow-up influence on Kozlov's illness. Kozlov's body is obviously impossible to perform the duties of second secretary, Khrushchev will definitely find someone to replace Kozlov's position, who will this person be?

   Xie Lepin also knew that that person would definitely not be him, but Xie Lepin could not determine who it was. He simply has many friends, from the government to the party committee to the security agency, there is no shortage of talented people to help him make judgments.

"Who is it? Shvernik?" Shelepin said first after a brief silence, "He is the chairman of the Party Affairs Committee of the CPSU Central Committee and the chairman of the Central Supervisory Committee of the CPSU Central Committee, supervising judicial work, and the first secretary trusts him very much. "

"It's unlikely, Shvernik is older than the first secretary, so it's definitely not him!" Yegolychev, the first secretary of the Moscow Municipal Party Committee, shook his head and said, and Serov nodded in agreement with Yegolychev's judgment. , the position of Chairman of the Party Affairs Committee of the CPSU Central Committee and Chairman of the Central Supervisory Committee of the CPSU Central Committee, if Serov remembers correctly, the two departments will be merged immediately. After the expansion of powers, Shelepin will be the boss of this department and the chairman of the Party and State Supervisory Committee. Similarly, Mikoyan will not be considered because it does not meet the standard.

"What about Voronov? It's not like that. Marshal Voronov is a soldier. It seems inappropriate to train a marshal directly as a successor, and Marshal Voronov is five years younger than the first secretary!" Tikunov began to shake his head as he spoke, rejecting his own judgment. The Central Presidium does not exclude cadres with military experience, but if it is an active soldier, or a marshal who spends most of his time in charge of military work, it seems that he is the successor. Not realistic.

   "What do you think of Polyakov and Ilyichev!?" Semichasny began to select from Sherepin's colleagues. Polyakov and Ilyichev, like Sherepin, are both party secretaries.

"The two of them are very loyal to the first secretary, that's all!" Although Shelepin didn't talk much, he let everyone know from his tone and demeanor that for the two central secretaries of Polyakov and Ilyichev, His evaluation is average.

Serov and the others were no stranger to Shelepin's attitude, so they didn't say much. Shelepin himself put forward another candidate and asked, "Is it possible that it is Suslov? The first secretary uses Suslov as a candidate. Excessive character, looking for time to find targets, in fact, I personally think that Kosygin has great hopes, Kosygin and the first secretary have a common language in the economic field, and Kosygin has great hopes..."

"Suslov has only been in charge of party affairs, and the attitude of the first secretary towards him is worth thinking about. He is also sixty-one years old, so there is not much hope!" Shelov shook his head directly, "Let many cadres treat Suslov against him. Comrades respect that is not a problem at all, let the comrades elect Secretary Suslov as the second secretary, there is no possibility at all!"

   Recommend Suslov as the second secretary? Live like him? Soviet cadres are not stupid, how could they have done such a thing? Besides, Suslov had done nothing but party work. He has never been a local cadre, let alone presided over economic work. Being in charge of ideology and form is indeed a big killer, but Tesuslov, the party, government and army, cannot reach out.

  The status is more useful when the superiors and subordinates are obvious, but if you have reached the same level as Suslov, the real power is very useful. Brezhnev later took over Sherepin, Podgorny and Kosygin one after another. Just keep Suslov, are you afraid of Suslov? Not at all, Suslov was kept only because, at most, Suslov could only cause a small obstacle to Brezhnev, as long as Brezhnev ignored him, as long as he put his efforts on the first few people. Taking out half, Suslov couldn't take it either.

Serov, who supported his neck and tilted his head with one hand, said slowly, "Actually, there are two people who are of the right age, who have presided over economic work, and who have presided over local work. Podgorny, the former first secretary of the Ukrainian Party Committee!"

"Podgorny's style is very obvious, Brezhnev? His talent is very ordinary!" Shelepin said with some disbelief, "The first secretary will find a moderate person to be the second secretary? Not quite. Possibly, Brezhnev doesn't deserve any special credit at all, like a dancing ballerina..."

   The attitude of his own boss made Serov have a heart to die. Why does Mrs. Brezhne think that Mrs. Brezhne is harmless except for himself? Was Stalin the strongest man at the time? No, he didn't mention that the founder of the Red Army, Trotsky, even Bukharin and Kamenev ranked higher than him. In front of Khrushchev, there are Beria, Malenkov, and when Stalin just died, Khrushchev was only fifth in the Soviet Union.

  Two precedents are already ahead, how come there are still people who think that Brezhnev will be a good man?

"The qualifications of the two of them are definitely enough. Yuri is right, Shurik, the first secretary is likely to choose one of the two as the second secretary!" Yegolychev thought for a moment seriously Said, "Talent is not important, if Brezhnev is really the second secretary, it will be a good thing, there is more room for our activities!"

  Egolychev's first half sentence made Serov nodded frequently. Sure enough, the level of the first secretary of the Moscow Municipal Party Committee is not high. The second half of the sentence directly gave Serov the urge to be a Japanese dog. At this level, can he be the first secretary of the Moscow Municipal Party Committee? No wonder he was later expelled by Brezhnev to become an ambassador. That's what happened to former foreign minister Sepilov.

   Brezhnev is much better at farming than you, and everyone thinks that he is a gentle and good man. Even if you are a good person, who told you that an elderly person cannot handle you?

  Brezhnev has the necessary conditions: he is a member of the Presidium of the Party Central Committee and Secretary of the Central Committee. He has a long-term working experience as a leader of the state party committee and the Central Party of the Union Republic. He is a relatively old-fashioned leader among the new generation of leaders.

   Whether in the central, local, or senior military leaders, he has many old friends occupying important positions. Brezhnev has a very good relationship with the military. The only one who is stronger than him is Kozlov who has been paralyzed. The current Minister of Defense, Marshal Malinovsky, was Brezhnev during the Great Patriotic War. The first deputy minister of defense, the commander-in-chief of the joint forces of the Warsaw Pact countries, Marshal Grechko, and the deputy minister of defense and commander-in-chief of the navy, Admiral Gorshkov, have established a long-term relationship with Brezhnev. A comrade-in-arms with a deep friendship; Marshal Moskarenko, Deputy Minister of Defense and Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense, who entered Prague with Brezhnev; his college classmate and colleague Grushevoi is now in the Moscow Military District Director of Political Department

   In addition, Brezhnev's popularity in the leadership group is also good. He came across as calm, honest, and easy-going, not as cunning as a wily politician or aggressive as a political strongman. The weak feel that he is reliable and safe, the strong that he is easy to manipulate and not a threat. Moreover, given his actual status in the party, it is more natural and logical for him to take over as the second secretary.

"If it is all this kind of understanding, I think this ship will capsize sooner or later. Is it really the character that determines the fate?" Shelov didn't know where Shelepin and their confidence came from, but if these people always think about things like this, then Failure is a matter of time, and the addition of Serov just lasted a little longer.

Later, Serov also received two guests in his home, and the three of them talked deeply into the night before Serov sent his two friends away, "From the issue of the second secretary's illness, our security work seems to be a little bit. There are problems, so we must focus on improving in this area, and the work of the two of you is very important. The Kremlin is the heart of the alliance, and there can be no problems. If you have any problems, remember to report to me, to me!"

   Shelov emphasized the need to report to himself, rather than to KGB chairman Semichasny, in exchange for a positive answer from the two. Serov's two friends are Major General Chekalov, commander of the Kremlin garrison, and Major Georgadze, the captain of the Khrushchev garrison.

When Khrushchev smashed Malenkov, the position of the Kremlin guards was questionable at that time. At that time, the entire army was exchanged. At that time, Serov happened to be doing this work. The entire Kremlin guards were selected by Serov, At that time, he was preparing for this work. In order to prevent Khrushchev from being locked in the Kremlin and unable to mobilize the forces to support him, Serov also opened up a backup line of contact, which even Semichasny did not know. I know, in order to prevent Khrushchev from being coup. (To be continued~^~)