USSR 1991

"Can I sit here?"

"Of course, why not." Bunikov moved his body to make room for the little boy, and beckoned him to sit down.Bunikov took out a few candies from his worn coat pocket, stretched out his hand in front of the little boy, and said, "Do you want some candy?"

Looking at the tempting candy, the little boy swallowed his saliva, carefully took the candy from Bunikov's warm palm, and said thank you.

Bunikov just smiled and waved his hands. In the past, when children came to visit the museum, he never brought a few candies with him to give to those children.But now he hasn’t seen visitors at the Aviation Museum in Ulyanovsk for a long time. I don’t know when this museum, which symbolizes the glory of the Soviet Union’s aviation development history, has become deserted and deserted. .

I heard that young people outside are fighting for some kind of democracy and freedom. Bunikov doesn’t understand these things, but he just can’t figure it out. Those young people who smashed the bronze statue of Lenin and humiliated the veterans of World War II, what kind of education and morality do they have? Qualified to say that he is righteous and great?

Is he really old, or has the world become strange and unfamiliar?

"Grandpa, have you been sitting here watching these planes?" the little boy asked while chewing candy, "This is the first time I've come here to watch planes, and I hope one day I can become a hero like my predecessors. "

"You will, son. One day you too will become an excellent pilot." Bunikov said with a smile, "I'm just waiting for my comrades in arms. We agreed to meet on this day every year. Here, look at the fighter jets that flew together."

"But they are all rusted now, can't they fly anymore? These planes are almost becoming scrap iron." The little boy looked at the MiG-19 fighter jet not far away, and the snow was about to cover it. The take-off frame was buried in the paleness, and the rusty skin also announced the end of the fighter jet.

The innocent answer of the little boy touched the tenderest part of Bunikov's heart. He thought of his comrades who died in the war before, and said to the little boy, "No, they are not scrap iron, at least In my eyes, they are not."

"If not, what is it?" With the little boy's current cognition, it is difficult to understand Bunikov's words.

"They are heroes." Bunikov repeated in a low voice, "These fighters are all heroes of the Republic."

"Little guy, it's still early, let me tell you a story." In order to pass the long and boring time, Bunikov simply told the child about his experience, "Have you seen that fighter jet? Yes , is a MiG fighter with a hole in the wing, which was flown by a comrade-in-arms of mine. When he was in North Korea, he was entangled by three American fighter jets, and finally managed to escape. It’s just the last fighter The wings were concentrated, and the result could only be retired early."

"Afterwards, he would brag to us about his experience every time we got together, and we wanted to hit him every time we heard him talk about these old things..." Bunikov suddenly paused when he said this. As if remembering something, he smiled wryly and said to himself, "It's a pity that he died of a cerebral hemorrhage five years ago, and we never had the chance to laugh at him again."

"There is also that fighter jet. His owner received the most medals among us, but unfortunately he died in a car accident later. His last dream is to fly again, even if it is just to see from the sky that he once defended Our motherland is also good." Having said this, two muddy tears fell from Bunikov's eyes.The owners of these fighter jets have been turned into a pinch of loess, but Bunikov has always believed that the comrades-in-arms have never left, and their souls have always been there, accompanying the fighter jets who fought together.

Perhaps when he gets old, Bunikov will think of many comrades-in-arms who will always stay in the years of war, such as the comrade-in-arms who drove the La-7 fighter jet that ran out of ammunition and food to the enemy in order to cover their air fleet, and finally died with Bunikov. The words that Nikoff and his team said, "I can't return, you keep going, repeat, you keep going."

Bunikov can't even remember his name now, but he will never forget that young and immature face and the final expression of determination.

The wind and snow gradually became violent, and the aviation museum was already covered with mist. Bunikov could not stay here any longer. He pulled up the little boy and left this quiet and solemn aviation cemetery with him. .

"A lot of the fighter jets here are going to be shipped off next week, they will be shipped to museums elsewhere, I don't think I'll see them again, but it's better than rusting and rotting in this place , it’s better to let other people know that the great republic once had such a group of unknown heroes.”

The little boy felt that Bunikov's palm suddenly clenched his own, and he asked suspiciously, "What about your comrades in arms? Grandpa, don't you wait for them?"

"I don't think they will come." Bunikov closed his eyes silently, "They will never come."

Chapter 224 Film and Art

The glorious task of shooting war movies was handed over to Moscow Studios, and was directed by the Soviet film master Stanislav Rostotsky. For this reason, Yanayev also took the time to meet with director Rostotsky. As a master figure who directed "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", Yanayev very much believes that Rostotsky can complete this glorious and great task.

Originally, Rostotsky had no interest in Yanayev's instructions. As a film master, if he can't shoot his favorite movies as he likes, he can only make some political propaganda films, what difference does life make.So when he first met Yanayev, Rostotsky treated Yanayev politely, which meant that he and the government did not want to have too much intersection.

But Yanayev did not give up, the director will always have some tempers that are not in harmony with the mainstream, otherwise the film masters Parajanov and Andrei Tarkovsky would not have fled to the Western world to escape the communism sanctions.The former spent 15 precious years in prison because he was considered by the authorities to express negative thoughts, while most of the latter's works were boycotted and banned by the Soviet authorities, so that he had to publish his works overseas.

So Yanayev, the last director of Rostotsky, didn't treat him like a baby.

"This is the movie script we provided to Comrade Rostotsky." Yanayev handed a thick manuscript paper to Rostotsky. When Rostotsky took the manuscript, he did not read it, just set aside.But this arrogant action did not make Yanayev angry.

Anyway, Rostotsky is also a risk-taker. If he can’t survive in the Soviet Union, he will go to Paris or Western Europe. Anyway, the film producers in those places will enshrine him like a god, but he loves this land where he was raised. , I have never chosen to leave.

"You don't need to rush to answer whether I want to take this task, anyway, we have plenty of time." Yanayev took the form of playing hard to get, and first planted a good impression in Rostotsky's heart.

"Farewell, Comrade Rostotsky. I hope to see your work on the big screen." Yanayev said with a smile, then got up and went out.This visit was just him and some KGB security agents, so low-key that almost no one could recognize him as the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

Surkov also complained about Rostotsky's arrogance like Yanayev before, and said why these talented literary and artistic workers just don't like to cooperate with the authorities, which led Yanayev to go to Rostotsky himself Key's residence, handed the manuscript to him in person.

"Politicians have to be close enough to the people to impress those guys with personality." How could Yanayev not understand this truth, so no matter how repulsive the other party behaved, he always waited patiently to be impressed each other's heart.In fact, these guys are soft and not hard, as long as Yanayev is friendly enough, even if the goal is not achieved in the end, they will not face you with a resistant attitude.

Sure enough, Yanayev received a call from Rostotsky a few days later. The director on the phone stuttered, apparently because he was too excited.He asked on the phone if he could chat with the writers of the film scripts, and Yanayev said he was the director of these films.

So Rostotsky strongly demanded to meet with Yanayev. This time, he was no longer looking coldly, but with an expression that he was hard to find a friend. He strongly asked General Secretary Yanayev if he had been Screenwriting graduate.

"I graduated from the Gorky Agricultural Institute, how can I study screenwriting?" Yanayev vetoed Rostotsky's question. He said that these movie scripts were indeed written by himself, but he was just offering an idea. That's it, the rest is written by others.

"But these stories are already exciting enough." Rostotsky said, he has only been in contact with a few high-quality films in the past few years as a director, and the scripts provided by Yanayev can be said to be all They are all fine works, as long as they are put on the big screen through their own shooting, it will definitely be a classic.

Seeing Rostotsky's attitude, Yanayev finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that it was natural, he included all classic Hollywood war movies in it, how could it be rubbish.

"Compared with these, the scripts given to me by the officials of the Propaganda Department are rubbish. What political correctness is not as meaningful as a classic." The studio was turned on immediately for filming.

"As long as you think these scripts are worthwhile, our task is to present more wonderful works to the people." Yanayev added that as long as certain political bottom lines are not touched, the government does not have the right to control film shooting Liberty, whether it is realism or modernism, should have a spring in which a hundred flowers bloom in the Soviet Union.

"We are opposed to some anarchist dross. It does not mean that we oppose the freedom of filming. On the contrary, we should encourage and support your creation. It cannot be said that if a film contains something that the government thinks is wrong, it is not a good film. Movies. Any form of artistic coercion is wrong."

And what Yanayev said is the best description of Andropov who loosened Soviet politics in 1983.At that time, the already overwhelmed Soviet political arena began to reform. First of all, the form of political pressure was appropriately relaxed, so that the works of those film masters could be shown on the screen again.

"Yes, the general secretary is right. The development of art cannot adopt a high-pressure posture, otherwise it will only be counterproductive."

Seeing that the other party had already followed his own thinking, Yanayev said bluntly, "There are also the clothing, props and funds you need, and the government will fully support it, and what you, Comrade Rostotsky, will do , is to shoot these scripts well.” Yanayev said, “I believe you have this ability, so I will deliver these scripts to you. It doesn’t need too much, as long as one high-quality film is put on the screen a year. gone."

"I am very happy, General Secretary Yanayev." Rostotsky said excitedly.

Yanayev successfully solved Rostotsky's biggest problem. Before even Surkov came to the door, he was stunned. Unexpectedly, Yanayev easily solved him.Then he just had to wait quietly for Rostotsky's works.

Surkov was a little surprised. Why did General Secretary Yanayev easily solve the problem that he, the minister of the Soviet Propaganda Department, hadn't solved in person?With curiosity, when he asked Yanayev about this question.But Yanayev replied, "Anyone wants their work to be affirmed by others, and they are the same, but they want their ideas to be affirmed by the mainstream. So when we provide a work that is almost the same as theirs When writing the script, how could the excitement not be beyond words."

"One of the questions I am most curious about is why the general secretary would do it himself? There is no need to bother you with such trivial matters." Surkov did not understand Yanayev's attitude of doing everything by himself. Logically speaking, the general secretary's attention should be on the general direction, such a small matter is not worth his hands at all.What's more, among the few high-level officials in the history of the Soviet Union, only Yanayev will focus on these small details that no one pays attention to.

Hearing what Surkov said, Yanayev sternly criticized, "Comrade Surkov, what you said about trifles is wrong, this is not a trivial matter. Don't forget that we serve the people It’s not just a slogan, but it’s actually implemented in specific details. Why can’t I, as the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, do some small things within my power? I always show a superior posture and lose touch with the people, and sooner or later I will become a corrupt bureaucrat.”

"Everything for the people is not an empty ideal. It is as simple as being loyal to the people and serving the people. If those guys who are used to enjoying class privileges have this awareness, our country will still decline?"

Chapter 225 Secret Selling of Chemical Weapons

This is the first time Victor has set foot in the city of Baghdad. Although he came to this place with a South African passport, the senior officials in Baghdad who had contacted the Soviet Union naturally knew that this person did not seem to have the slightest bit of Russian temperament. , a negotiator sent by the Soviet Union.

This time, Yanayev intends to make a large and risky deal, which will bring an unexpected surprise to Saddam's sales before the formal launch of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.This time Yanayev did not give Saddam a batch of chemical weapons, but directly provided a batch of mechanical supporting facilities for the production of chemical weapons.

Even though Victor is a seasoned international arms dealer, this is the first time he has dealt with such a transaction.In case the incident happens, Victor will have to face multiple pursuits from Mossad, the CIA, and MI[-]. After all, he is also an important figure on the CIA blacklist. Of course, his crime is not about destroying world peace, but Steal the CIA's arms business.

After Victor got off the bus, he covered his face with an Arabian kerchief. The street was very noisy, and crowds of people came and went. He had to carefully avoid these people and walked towards the agreed remote alleyway.At the same time, you have to be alert to whether someone is following you.

At the end of the alley, a jeep was waiting for him, and a few guys with unfriendly faces were waiting for Victor to get in the car. They threw a hood to Victor for him to wear.

Victor put the airtight hood on his head without hesitation, and after undergoing a series of body searches, they pushed him into the jeep and headed for an unknown destination.It was very quiet along the way, and Victor could only hear his own breathing and the roar of the engine as the car was moving.

Victor is now like a helpless fly.Although he has now received a large number of arms orders in local armed conflicts all over the world, even making him a wealthy bourgeoisie.But Victor knew very well that his interests were closely aligned with the Soviet Union and Yanayev.If he had the idea of ​​defecting, no matter where he went in the world, there would be a group of persistent KGB agents who wanted to assassinate him, and the lives of his family members in the Soviet Union were in danger.

So no matter whether the destination given to him by the Soviet Union is heaven or hell, he must move forward without hesitation, because he has no way out.Just like now, as long as the people around him give him a bullet, Victor has nothing to do.

But at least Saddam is a rational and ambitious person, how dare he offend the representatives sent by the Soviet Union.So I specially arranged to meet in Saddam's secret stronghold.Victor felt the noise on the road getting weaker and weaker. He still didn't know that he had left Baghdad and was heading towards a desolate Gobi deep in the desert.

Victor only felt that the light reflected on his eyelids suddenly became a little dim. The car had already driven into a certain cave, and Saddam and his guards had been waiting for Victor here for a long time.Regarding the coveted weapons of mass destruction, Saddam personally intervened in this negotiation.