Struggle in Soviet Russia

In addition to the struggle for power among various departments, Victor is more concerned about the important projects mentioned at this meeting, that is, the penetration of the British in the "explosive uranium" research mission.

The so-called "explosive uranium" is the name of the Soviet high-level nuclear weapons development projects in this era. In fact, the research work on uranium fission in the Soviet Union did not start very late. From 1939 in front of the station, he served as the president of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Academician Yue Fei has led an expert group to conduct research in this area.

However, due to the influence of all aspects and the unsatisfactory progress of the research, this research group was quickly withdrawn. In the final analysis, Moscow's top management did not pay enough attention. Even today, intelligence personnel lurking in the Physics Laboratory of the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom have stolen a large amount of intelligence information from the British. The Soviet Union, which is mired in war, still has not paid enough attention to this issue.

As a traversing Victor who has memories of his past life, he knows how important this project is. To put it bluntly, the balance of nuclear power is the best way to maintain peace between the United States and the Soviet Union during the entire Cold War in his previous life. The fundamental reason is also the most direct driving force for the Soviet Union to have the confidence to start a global hegemony with the United States.

To be honest, if feasible, Victor would be happy to exchange jobs with Comrade Merkulov. Comrade Merkulov will lead the internal intelligence work of the NKVD, and he will be responsible for external intelligence work.

Compared with internal intelligence work, external intelligence work is more difficult and riskier. Moreover, the achievements of external intelligence work are difficult to be known to the world. The vast majority of foreign intelligence work Intelligence personnel are basically unknown, and those who are well-known have basically failed or been detected by the latent country where they are located.

However, presiding over the foreign intelligence work also has some advantages, that is, once achieved, it is often a considerable achievement. In addition, the foreign intelligence work is not like the internal intelligence work, which will directly participate in the political struggle within the country. Unless it is under very special circumstances, foreign intelligence personnel will not be affected by internal struggles.

Just like the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff, several responsible persons starting from Berzin were executed mainly because they had a standpoint, and at the same time, they were in a special period such as the Great Purge. They belonged to It is a very special situation.

Although Victor didn’t know much about the history of the former Soviet Union, he also knew that during the reign of Stalin, until the later period of his notice, the struggles at the top of the Soviet party were quite cruel, and as a powerful department, the NKVD hardly May escape any struggle.

As for the NKVD, the internal intelligence department is a very special institution. It must be made clear that what the internal intelligence bureau monitors is not only the hidden spies, saboteurs, and ordinary people, but also the subordinates. The special department is still in charge of monitoring a large number of alliance officials, and this work can be said to be very fatal.

Since his rebirth, Victor dare not say that he is cautious, but at least he is very cautious in his behavior. When dealing with work issues, he is not only careful, but also proactive; when dealing with his staff, he is as tolerant and approachable as possible; and when dealing with leaders, he is more respectful and in place, asking for instructions early and reporting later. All are essential.

In Victor’s previous life, he was not such a character, and all these changes came from the invisible pressure around him, so if given the opportunity, he would rely on that instinct to find the safest corner to squat in. .

Therefore, the current Victor is a contradiction. On the one hand, he hopes to make more achievements, climb to a higher position, and give himself more security with more power. On the other hand, he wants to make more achievements. I hope to hide in the shadows as much as possible and not be discovered by others. But the problem is that these two points are like fish and bear's paws, and they can never have both. In terms of how to solve these problems, Victor has not yet set goals-which means that he is not politically mature enough.

In order to make up for the shortage of personnel, the opinion of the General Staff is to select experienced intelligence personnel from the Foreign Intelligence Department of the NKVD. Golikov even proposed the "Rado" intelligence network of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau. Incorporate the London Department of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau of the NKVD to expand the strength of the "Lado Intelligence Network."

However, it is obvious that such a proposal will not be accepted by Comrade Merkulov. Although Beria is not in Moscow, and despite the pressure of the General Staff with the help of the People’s Committee for National Defense, it is necessary for Merkulov to accept it. Such conditions are also impossible.

In fact, unlike the appearance of amiability and harmlessness of humans and animals, Comrade Merkulov is not an easy person to get along with. Comrade Serov’s evaluation of him is: "A person who likes to complicate simple problems, but also It's hard to be persuaded."

Therefore, at this meeting, there was a quarrel between Merkulov and Golikov. If it weren’t for Poskrebeshev, who represented Comrade Stalin, to persuade them, it is estimated that they would be able to quarrel. One hour.

In the end, at the request of Shaboshnikov, Merkulov agreed to recommend some experienced intelligence personnel to the General Staff Intelligence Bureau, but considering his attitude on this matter, Goli was not very relieved. Cove, also asked Victor to select some useful intelligence personnel from the internal intelligence system.

Victor’s character is not as popular as Comrade Merkulov. What's more, the demands made by Golikov of him are not excessive. It is nothing more than a few people. The NKVD is in the territory of the League. There are dozens of short-term and long-term special agent training schools, and there is no shortage of grassroots agents. What he has to do is nothing more than to spend some effort to screen some people with better qualifications for the General Staff Intelligence Bureau.

The meeting ended in an atmosphere that was not very friendly. Victor left the General Staff in the car by himself-he and Merkulov had no friendship, and although there was a gap between them, they were definitely not counted as estrangements. Rapport.

Back at Lubyanka 2’s own office, Victor directly called the subordinates in charge of the organization and personnel work and began to read the relevant personnel files. He planned to list the list of recommended personnel as soon as possible to finish the mission.

However, at this time Victor did not know that in the meeting room of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau that he had just left, the versatile Golikov was submitting a piece of intelligence personnel information to Shaboshnikov. This was his plan from the NKVD. The intelligence personnel called by the Ministry, and the number one in this information was Victor himself.

In the meeting room, Shaboshnikov had a pale face and frowned frowning. To be honest, even the chief of staff thought that Golikov's request was excessive. Who is Victor? He is the eighth person from Beria under the People's Committee of the Interior. He is in charge of the domestic intelligence work of the Committee, and belongs to the high-ranking category.

Now Golikov wants to transfer such an individual to the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff and let him be in charge of the work of the Intelligence Bureau of the General Staff.

According to regulations, the director of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau is generally concurrently served by the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the General Staff. Before being transferred to the group army, Golikov held the position of Deputy Chief of Staff. Considering that Victor is a high-ranking officer in the national security system, he cannot serve concurrently in the military. In other words, it is impossible for the General Staff to give him a vacant position as deputy chief of staff, nor can he be appointed to the General Staff Intelligence Agency. Secretary. This means that after Victor is transferred to the General Staff, he can only serve as the deputy of the Director of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau.

Well, this kind of appointment regulation is a bit complicated to say, but the general idea is that if Victor is transferred from the NKVD to the General Staff and Intelligence Bureau, he will actually be demoted in terms of his position.

What's more, for the NKVD, Victor is the real "owner". He climbed up from the grass-roots level of the NKVD. He belongs to the cadres cultivated by the NKVD itself, and it was Beria who took over as the NKVD. After that, a cadre was promoted. Although Victor himself doesn't think so, he is Beria's confidant in the eyes of outsiders, no different from Merkulov and others.

It is conceivable how difficult it is for a person like this to be transferred by the General Staff.

However, Golikov also has his own good reasons. Since the outbreak of the war, he has been commanding the 10th Army and belongs to the sequence of the Western Front. Therefore, he is well aware of the importance of Victor in the Western Front. effect. In Golikov's view, although Victor has not received much professional training, he has an unmatched talent in intelligence work. Today, the foreign intelligence network of the General Staff Intelligence Bureau is in a stage of rapid development, and the bureau needs such an experienced and talented person.

Of course, there is another reason for Golikov, that is, as a commander of the group army, he does not have much energy to manage the work of the intelligence agency now, and he needs a person to replace him. Among the current deputy chiefs of general staff, including Vatutin, Vasilevsky and others, none of them have any experience in intelligence work.

For Golikov’s suggestion, Vasilievsky also supported him. There was no other reason. Golikov would soon hand over the work of the Intelligence Agency to him. As a soldier, Vasilevsky He didn't want to engage in intelligence work either. He didn't even want to be a chief of staff. He just wanted to go to the front with all his heart. Therefore, considering the practical problems, he also needs an experienced person to help him.

In the end, under the suggestion of his students, Shaboshnikov was relieved. He agreed to make this suggestion to Comrade Stalin, but he did not dare to guarantee whether the other party would agree.