Big Time 1958

   Obviously, Serov of the KGB, Ustinov of the Ministry of Defense, and Gromyko of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have jointly decided on this matter, and the time is within an hour of the death of General Secretary Brezhnev. The leaders of these departments have had enough patience with the Dnipro gang and are not ready to welcome the next general secretary of the same group.

   "Comrade Chernenko, what do you think?" Defense Minister Marshal Ustinov said in a low voice, "At a time like this, we must first ensure the stability of the Soviet Union, isn't it?"

  Who is the unstable factor? Chernenko and Tikhonov were both dissatisfied. They were Brezhnev's subordinates for a long time, and today they were called unstable factors by another group of people. So fast? Brezhnev had just died of illness, and the entire Soviet Union had changed. Chernenko was about to speak when his face changed. Shcherbitsky suddenly said, "Then trouble Comrade Andropov, the external The pressure is mounting and what the country needs now is unity!"

   "Comrade Chernenko, isn't that so?" Shcherbitsky turned his head and looked at Chernenko with inexplicable eyes.

   "Of course, we must inherit the general secretary's legacy and defeat the United States." Andropov nodded, at least on the surface he respected Shcherbitsky's opinion very much. If he had a choice, he also didn't want to fight the mighty Dnipro gang. At least to postpone, now is not the right time.

   "Respect and solidarity are mutual!" Shirbitsky added without missing a moment. "Any internal conflict will affect the current confrontation with Reagan, and I hope all comrades understand that."

   Chernenko looked serious, and after a long time he sighed, he understood that it was Shcherbitsky who was avoiding confrontation. The leader of the powerful department of the other side Yishui, standing together is much more oppressive than his own side. It is very likely that Grishin and Romanov will bow their heads, and he will lose in the end.

   "I agree with Shcherbitsky!" Although Chernenko was reluctant, he finally chose to bow his head.

"Then according to the decision of the Central Committee, Comrade Andropov will be the chairman of the funeral committee. The Central Committee has already decided, and I hope Comrade Andropov will not refuse," Serov announced flatly. Television announced the news of Brezhnev's death due to illness."

   "I'm not really humble, but I have great respect for the general secretary and am willing to serve as chairman of the funeral committee!" Andropov said flatly, "I will definitely do this job well."

  In the news program "Time" of the Soviet Central Television, the host's usual formal clothes were also replaced by mourning clothes. The televised announcement will be broadcast by Igor Kirillov at 11:00 a.m. Moscow time the next day. Comrade Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet, Chairman of the National Defense Committee, Died after ineffective rescue.

Once the news of    was released, it shocked the whole world, and even made people all over the world forget the ongoing Falklands War.

   Then Andropov announced that he would pay homage to Brezhnev in five days, and a state funeral would be held five days later. Until now, the Soviet people did not believe that the General Secretary Brezhnev, who had been in control of the country for more than ten years, was gone.

The   Brezhnev period can be said to be the most critical period in the Soviet Union to the present, spanning the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The duration is second only to the thirty years under Stalin. Became the second leader of the Soviet Union to rule for a longer period of time. Under the leadership of this powerful regime, the Soviet Union's science and other industries have developed.

  As of this year, the Soviet Union's gross social output, national income, and fixed production funds of the national economy have all grown considerably, and this rate of development is higher than that of the United States during the same period. In addition, the Soviet Union has more than 20 kinds of important products ranked first in the world. It was during this period that the economic power of the Soviet Union doubled and the gap between the Soviet Union and the United States in economic power narrowed further. During this period, the standard of living of the Soviet people also improved.

  The military field is the fastest growing field in the Soviet Union. As early as the early 1970s, the Soviet Union had achieved a military balance with the United States. In the following years, the balance of military power between the two sides has increasingly developed in favor of the Soviet Union.

  After the Iranian Revolution, the Soviet Union did not have any pro-American country on its land border, and from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet Union did not have any neighbors that could be called enemy countries. From the point of view of the card, no one dares to say that the current Soviet Union is fragile, even if the United States has already expressed its intention to wrestle with the Soviet Union again.

   Lubyanka KGB headquarters, Serov stood by the window with his hands in his pockets, and Dzerzhinsky's back could be seen from this angle.

   "Chairman, everyone has arrived at the conference room!" Little Valia came, softly calling out to the KGB chairman who had her back turned to her, but she seemed to be a little too intimate compared to the general secretary.

Serov turned around slowly, looked down at little Valya, and instructed, "The whole country is in grief these few days, and all the units in Moscow are very busy, including our Lubyanka, don't go back to the dormitory these days. already."

   "Yes! I will help the chairman arrange the security work in the capital." Little Valia replied in a soft voice with her legs together.

   "Under my personal guidance, you can continue to make progress!" Shelov said with a pun, watching the woman put on a blue-rimmed big-brimmed hat for herself, and tiptoed to give her fragrant lips.

   Soon Serov arrived at the conference room. This meeting was slightly expanded. In general meetings, Serov did not interfere with the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, especially after Brezhnev came to power. As a result, many people forget that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is actually a subordinate department of the KGB. After Khrushchev merged the Ministry of Internal Affairs into the KGB, the department never went out.

"The first thing we want to discuss is the retirement of General Zinev!" Serov threw a bomb as soon as he sat down, ignoring the expressions of others and continued, "General Zinev's retirement has passed through the Central Presidium. After the discussion, I will approve it. Today I am here to inform you! General Zinev has worked hard and made great contributions to the party and the country in his seventy-five years of life. Therefore, after applying, I think I can keep the original salary. As well as the allotted housing for retirement, the benefits of our security unit have always been good, and this also depends on the importance of external work. General Zinev, who has been in charge of our KGB intelligence fund for a long time, should deserve this honor.”

   "Thank you, Chairman, can I keep my job? As long as I serve the country, any unit can do it." Zinev was silent for a long time. Since the news of Brezhnev's death spread all over the country, he knew that day would come sooner or later. It's just that I didn't expect it to come so quickly, of course, Serov didn't really want to learn from Andropov, and he didn't hurry up to clean up you when the biggest backer arrived.

   But there is one thing, he will never force suicide, the two historical examples of Tsvigon and Serokoff being forced to commit suicide by Andropov will not appear here.

"Marshal Ustinov needs a director, and I will discuss this with Comrade Minister of Defense." Serov nodded indifferently, and then comforted Tsvigon and Serokoff, who he was going to stay. To Andropov. Again, he would never do something like forcing two people to commit suicide.

   "Are you in such a hurry?" Shcherbitsky was still waiting for the funeral, but did not leave Moscow at this time. After learning that Zinev entered the Ministry of Defense in the name of semi-retirement, he couldn't wait to ask Serov to start his army and ask him the guilt.

"I didn't kill him again, I just returned the situation of Yegolychev and Semichasny. It's fair, no more or less." Serov, who was on the phone Without any sense of guilt, the corners of his mouth curled slightly and said, "This is what you learned. The director of the Ministry of Defense is still a relatively busy position. Let the first secretary of the Moscow Municipal Party Committee be the ambassador of a small country, this kind of thing is not what I do!"

"Comrade Shcherbitsky, don't be so excited, do you want to attend your funeral before you can attend Serbilova's wedding?" Serov said with a reluctant look, "That's not good. Well, without you, the wedding would be boring."

The KGB internal police force has imposed martial law in the center of Moscow. The main roads in the city are guarded by the police and the Moscow Internal Affairs Forces. Soldiers wearing red armbands are also standing in front of the trade union building, which is covered with countless red flags and Communist Party. Decorated with the logo. Brezhnev's body was placed in the trade union building for three days.

  According to the custom, all the medals obtained in front of the body will be supported by those who follow the coffin with velvet pads for people to pay their respects. Also by convention, the **** of medals was generally the responsibility of senior officials of the Soviet government, and each only carried a velvet pad with only one medal. But Brezhnev has more than 200 medals in front of him, and this practice is invalid.

Among the Soviet leaders who supported Brezhnev's coffin, Andropov ranked first, Chernenko ranked second, Serov ranked third, Ustinov ranked fourth, followed by other Soviet Central Presidiums member. With the consent of Andropov, Kirilenko, the secretary of the Central Committee who has been dismissed, also attended the funeral.

  Behind Fu Ling, member of the Central Presidium, forty-four active Soviet generals held the medals Brezhnev won during his lifetime, including a total of 32 heads of state and 15 heads of government attended the funeral.

US Vice President Bush shook hands with Andropov, who had become the de facto general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, followed by Chernenko, and by the time of Serov, Bush could clearly hear the other party's fluent English, "Tell Reagan to be fine. Alive, when he dies, I will definitely go to the funeral, whether he invites me or not, I will go."