Struggle in Soviet Russia

At dusk, Leningrad, south bank of Lake Ladoga.

On the shore of the Great Lake where more than ten vehicles of all kinds were gathered, Beria, accompanied by a group of officials and soldiers, stood anxiously on the embankment of the Great Lake, looking towards the frozen lake through the telescope in his hand. Overlooking.

Leningrad fell into a German siege in September. As the Finns cut off the railway line from Murmansk to Leningrad in the direction of Murmansk, all supplies to the city were interrupted.

In the following months, even though Leningrad implemented a strict food rationing system, as time passed, the war committee could use less and less food, and it could even be said that it had fallen into a state of exhaustion.

Beginning a week ago, the rationing department of the War Committee has interrupted the provision of food to ordinary citizens and has given priority to guaranteeing the supply of combat troops. For this reason, in the past week, nearly 10,000 people died every day in Leningrad. To hunger.

In order to ensure the supply of Leningrad, Moscow thought of various ways. The People’s Committee for Foreign Affairs under the leadership of Molotov even accepted the suggestion of the British and began secret talks with the Finns, hoping that the Finns would let go of Morman’s The blockade of Skovsky to Leningrad. But this idea was completely shattered yesterday. Mannerheim, who had been vacillating on the issue of attacking the Soviet Union before, rejected this proposal made by the British government.

However, Beria's visit to Leningrad this time was not aimed at negotiating with the Finns. He came to supervise the opening of the "Ice Transport Channel".

Since the blockade of Leningrad, in order to solve the logistics support problem, the NKVD has been cooperating with the logistics support department, using the waterway on the south shore of Lake Ladoga to carry out transportation tasks. The departments involved in this transportation task include the Lake Ladoga Fleet. , Leningrad Air Defense Forces, etc.

However, in the face of German bombing, the cost of this kind of transportation was huge. In less than two months, there were countless transport ships destroyed by the Soviet army, often transporting ten tons of cargo, and none of them were in the end. Surely one-third will be able to reach Leningrad without any problems.

With the advent of severe winter, Moscow once again saw hope. They hoped that the ice layer frozen in severe winter conditions, if the thickness of the ice layer is sufficient, then they can open an ice corridor, thereby increasing the protection of Leningrad. Supplies.

In order to find a safer passage on the ice, the NKVD started to take action three days ago. The first road exploration work was carried out by five trucks loaded with heavy objects. They lined up on the ice and welcomed them. Drive to Leningrad at night. But the result was terrible. All five trucks plunged into the ice cave and plunged into the great lake.

This evening is the fourth attempt. All the people involved in this task, including Beria, have gathered here. They all hope to make a breakthrough tonight and give a good result.

Half an hour ago, I received a telegram from the opposite bank saying that five trucks had already set off. At this time, a thick layer of white mist had already formed on the lake. Dissipate heat.

Beria was a little anxious in his heart. He frequently raised his binoculars and looked at the river, hoping that at least one truck could break through the fog and appear in front of him. That is not only his hope, but also the millions of Leningers. Reinforce the hope of people.

"Comrade Lavrenji," in the midst of this anxiety, a communications soldier from the NKVD hurried over and handed a telegram to Beria, "Please sign for the telegram from Moscow. "

Beria held the binoculars and looked towards the lake for a while. Seeing that there was no movement on the lake, he put the binoculars down with a little disappointment, reached out and took the pen handed by the correspondent, signed the receipt on the document, and received it. Past the message with a lot of content.

The telegram was sent by Victor. In this report, he gave a detailed account of his meeting with Stalin. At the same time, he also described his new plan and the request made by Comrade Stalin. Finally, he also told Bei Leah asked what should be done next.

After reading the entire telegram from beginning to end, Comrade Beria felt that his depressed mood seemed to have improved a bit. He folded the telegram, thought for a while, and said: "Call back Comrade Viktor Viktorovich. ..."

Only when he was talking about this, the people on the shore suddenly became agitated, some cheered from their mouths, and others rushed down the bank with excitement and rushed towards the ice on the lake.

Beria's heart moved, and he hurriedly raised the telescope hanging on his chest and looked towards the lake covered with heavy fog.

I saw that in the dense fog, two cars with their headlights on were driving side by side toward the shore. It was a transport truck that traversed the entire Ladoga Lake, and everyone was looking forward to it. In the middle, they finally appeared on the south bank of the Great Lakes.

Beria, who was in a happy mood, withdrew his gaze from the lake. He turned to his side, looked at the correspondent who sent the message, and said: "Call Comrade Viktor Viktorovich like this, and say I know, let He sorted out the plan as soon as possible and submitted it to Comrade Stalin. In addition, if I fail to return to Moscow in time, let him send a copy to me as well."

Speaking of this, he stopped and thought for a while. The eyes behind the round spectacles flickered, and he changed his words and said, "No, just call him back and say I know."

"Just report that you know?" The correspondent was taken aback and confirmed.

"Yes, just go back," Beria said with a smile and nodded.

………………………

Coming out of the prison in the Lubyanka NKVD, Victor raised his head and glanced at the five-story prison building. It is said that this prison building in the yard of the committee originally had only one floor, and the upper four floors were later added. The design plan came from Langoman. The top circle of the building is surrounded by six walls surrounded by a three-meter high wall. The ventilation area is also part of the design.

Affected by the war, almost all the heads and brains of the NKVD have gone to the front line. Now the only one responsible for the headquarters is Victor, except for Merkulov. Therefore, the management of the prisons set up in the committee is in charge. , Also temporarily assigned to Victor's hands.

In recent days, there has been a problem with the prison's heating facilities. The heating for two consecutive days has been suspended, causing some prisoners to get frostbite. Victor personally took a look today and urged the maintenance department to speed up the progress of the maintenance.

After leaving the prison, Victor did not return to his office. He left the committee building in the car and went straight to the Vulkasovsky alley across the square. For the convenience of work, he asked for a unit in this hutong as a temporary resting place during busy working hours. As a veritable high-level member of the People's Committee of the Interior, he still has this power.

The so-called "unit" here is actually a two-story small building. The building itself is a bit old. The original owner was a nobleman from the old Russian period. He was shot during the Great Revolution and his property was confiscated. When Yezhov headed the People’s Committee of the Interior, this small building was used by Yezhov’s confidant Uspensky. His mistress named Matsson lived here, and was taken by Uspensky. After the shooting, this small building was left unused again.

From the history of this small building, it can be seen that it is definitely a cursed building. It seems that every owner of it cannot escape the fate of being shot. Because of this, no one wants to move here. Come live.

But Victor was not so superstitious. He didn't believe that a building could determine someone's fate, so he ordered this small building down, and after arranging the staff to clean it up, he moved in directly.

Nowadays, this is not only a temporary resting place for him, but also a place where he meets with Safina and Olica who occasionally visits Moscow.

The black Moskva sedan slowly stopped on the edge of the bluestone paved road, and Valenka got out of the car humming and went around the back door to open the door for Victor.

Wrapped in a heavy blue army coat, Victor got out of the carriage, took the folder that Varenka handed over, and said, "Remember to pick me up at one o'clock. Don't be too late."

"Yes!" Varenka responded with a smile and said loudly, "I will definitely be back on time."

Recently, Varenka talked with a girlfriend, who seemed to be a staff member of the Moscow City Committee. The two tasted the forbidden fruit for the first time, and they were glued like glue. As soon as he had time, he would rush to meet the girl. Victor knew this well, but he wouldn't restrain him too much. This young man accompanied him in the wind and rain for several years. The two said that it was a relationship between superiors and subordinates, but even more. Like a close friend, Victor is also happy to give the boy more freedom.

Watching Varenka drive away, Victor took the folder and turned and walked up the stairs in front of the small building.

The iron fence door before going downstairs is not locked, and the orange-red double wooden doors inside are just concealed, and there are footprints stained with slush on the steps in front of the door. Obviously, this is someone who entered not long ago. NS.

Victor pushed the door and walked in, and saw a pair of high-barreled military boots casually discarded in the hallway. In addition, there was a belt with a holster and a pistol thrown at the corner of the hallway.

Shaking his head helplessly, Victor locked the door, picked up the belt, and hung it on the hanger outside the hallway. Then he changed his shoes and unbuttoned his coat while walking into the first floor. living room.

There was no one in the living room on the first floor, but the sound of music played by the phonograph floated down from the second floor. Instead of looking for the source of the sound, Victor sat directly on the sofa in the living room and opened the files in his hand.