Struggle in Soviet Russia

However, when the situation has developed to this stage, Comrade Kuznetsov obviously does not have many choices. Comrade Stalin is eager to see changes in the situation, and he is highly dissatisfied with the status quo of the personnel of the national security department. Everyone can feel it. Such a situation has put too much pressure on Comrade Kuznetsov, and it is conceivable that he would take such a radical move when the situation of the People's Commissariat of State Security was delayed.

Of course, Comrade Stalin's urgent attitude in turn gave Comrade Kuznetsov enough confidence, which made him clearly realize that even if he chooses to replace Ogoltsov directly, the Central Committee is likely to agree with him. The suggestion, and the direct transfer of Ogolitsov, will go a long way to solving the predicament he is facing.

In addition, it may not be difficult to remove Ogolitsov from the People's Commissariat of State Security, but to find another person to replace him without reducing the efficiency of the People's Commissariat of State Security requires a library Comrade Znetsov has made another effort, in other words, he needs to have relevant talents available, and since Comrade Stalin mentioned Abakumov here, it means that Comrade Kuznetsov still does After a certain job, he didn't know when, he had already drawn Abakumov over.

Viktor is no stranger to Abakumov. In fact, he and this person are former colleagues. In addition, he also knows very well that the young and uneducated Abakumov is the one who is in the hands of Beria. He was promoted to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, and he was also an absolute confidant of Beria.

But these are obviously the past tense. Since Comrade Kuznetsov can recommend Abakumov as the chairman of the People's Commissariat of State Security, it means that the latter is no longer from Beria, at least, He is no longer as loyal to Beria as he used to be.

As far as Victor knows, Comrade Abakumov has done a lot of work in the past few years. Although his educational level is very low, his ability to do intelligence work is innate. Among them, his ability is also ranked first. Take the period of his work in the Transcaucasus region as an example. In the process of destroying the local rebel forces, it can be said that he has made great contributions to curbing the British's influence on the region. In penetration work, his performance is also super good.

Logically speaking, due to his outstanding performance in his work, he should have emerged in the NKVD long ago, but unfortunately, Comrade Beria's firm control over the NKVD is based on a faction Basically, to be more specific, the people who have been reused by him are basically from Georgia or have worked in Georgia. Comrade Abakumov did not have such an experience. He was fundamentally not accepted by Beria's small group. Therefore, even if he finally came to Comrade Beria, he still failed to climb to the top of the NKVD. go up.

After so many years, Victor, who was only a small role in the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs at the beginning, has become Comrade Stalin's close minister, and he is about to become a core cadre in the second echelon of the alliance. , Abakumov, who is already a major of the NKVD, is still only a major general of national security. Just imagine, with his outstanding ability in his work, how could he not have any ideas?

It must be admitted that Comrade Kuznetsov finally found the weakness of the NKVD, and the power network woven by Comrade Beria was eventually drilled into a hole by him.

No matter from which aspect, if Abakumov really votes for Kuznetsov, Beria's position in the national security system will be greatly impacted, and for now, its most direct impact , that after Ogolitsov was transferred, Comrade Kuznetsov had a very appropriate recommendation for the new chairman of the People's Commissariat of State Security. To be honest, compared to Ogolicsov, Abakumov, who is experienced and has made outstanding contributions to intelligence work, is indeed more suitable for the post of chairman of the People's Commissariat of State Security.

Of course, as far as Abakumov's vote for Kuznetsov is concerned, it is not without influence on Victor. After all, after taking up the post of Chairman of the People's Commissariat of State Security, Ogolitsov took into account Victor's influence. , did not make large-scale personnel changes to the committee, nor did he think about arranging his own people in various important positions, which is also a tacit understanding between Beria and Victor.

But if Abakumov succeeds Ogolitsov and becomes the chairman of the People's Commissariat of State Security, what kind of actions he will make is really difficult for anyone to judge. There is a tacit understanding.

And now, Comrade Stalin asked Victor for his opinion, what can Victor say? From the point of view of interests, of course, he should clearly express his opposition. If he opposes Abakumov, he is not unable to put forward reasonable reasons, but the problem is that if he is from a rational point of view Consider that, when Comrade Stalin asked him this question, he could not prevaricate by looking for "reasonable and reasonable" reasons, but should try to figure out Comrade Stalin's true intentions.

Comrade Kuznetsov has been unable to open up the situation in the work of the state security agency for a long time, and he has not been able to produce satisfactory results for Comrade Stalin. Under such circumstances, Comrade Stalin hopes that Ogolicov will continue to be in the state security. Should the People's Commissariat stay, or do they hope to transfer him and thus open up the situation for Comrade Kuznetsov? There is no doubt that the answer is not difficult to find. In other words, when he came to ask Victor's opinion, he probably didn't really need any constructive opinion from Victor, he just needed to see Victor's attitude and his position in the People's Commissar for National Security. On the question of the Ministry, what kind of stance was chosen.

Although Victor has left the People's Commissariat for National Security, his influence in this important institution has always existed, especially after he started to serve as the director of the Secretariat of the Central Secretariat. Comrade Stalin must have known that he had direct working contact with the People's Commissariat of State Security, but he never expressed his attitude on this.

The fact that he did not express his attitude does not mean that he has no attitude. The key point is whether Victor, the party concerned, can keep his balance. If he can keep his balance, Comrade Stalin may not have any thoughts about him. On the contrary, if he intends to be like Beria If he is so greedy for power, Comrade Stalin will probably have another position. And this time, it is very likely that Comrade Stalin is a temptation to him.

Therefore, what Victor needs to show is not his clear position on the selection of the chairman of the committee, or even that kind of impartial attitude, but his detached position on this issue.

"Comrade Ogolitsov was also the candidate I recommended at the beginning," Viktor said with a thoughtful expression, and after being silent for a while, "But my main consideration is that he has work experience in intelligence work and should be able to As for Comrade Abakumov, I had some contacts with him when I was still in the NKVD, and he is certainly a suitable candidate in terms of work ability and experience.”

"So, who do you think is more suitable?" Comrade Stalin continued to ask with a very interested expression.

"As for which of them is more suitable, I think the opinion of Comrade Alexei Alexanderrovich should be considered," Victor said without hesitation, "after all, he is the secretary of the Secretariat who is mainly responsible for national security work. Whether the chairman of the National Security People's Commissariat can effectively cooperate with the secretariat's work is crucial to the smooth development of national security work. Therefore, my opinion is that the Politburo should be based on the actual situation. , and more considering the attitude of Comrade Alexei Alexanderrovich, if he thinks Comrade Abakumov is more suitable for this post, then Comrade Ogolitsov is not impossible for the People's Commissariat of State Security Short."

After a pause, he added with a smile: "Actually, for the People's Commissariat of National Security, no one is indispensable. This is an institution that needs to exert collective strength, and individual factors play a role in it. to be decisive.”

Comrade Stalin was obviously very satisfied with this answer. He leaned back on the sofa, nodded with a smile on his face, and then said: "You are very right, Victor, not only for a People's Commissariat of State Security, you can say, For the whole league, no one is indispensable. Look, Georgi Konstantinovich went to Odessa, isn't the situation in Berlin still very stable? No, it should be said Now the situation in Berlin is more stable."

Victor was stunned for a moment. He felt that Comrade Stalin's thinking was a bit strong. He had clearly mentioned the matter of the People's Commissariat of State Security. How could it come to Comrade Zhukov in the blink of an eye?

However, he soon realized that it seemed that Comrade Stalin's antipathy towards Zhukov had not been eliminated because he was demoted to Odessa. If nothing else, the unfortunate Comrade Zhukov might not stay in Odessa for long. In the next step, it is estimated that he will have to be relegated to a more remote place.

However, Zhukov's whereabouts had nothing to do with Viktor. Compared with the fate of the marshal comrade, he was more concerned about what kind of turmoil the People's Commissariat of National Security would have in the future.