Soviet Union 1991

Since the August 19th coup, Yanayev has never been as relaxed as now. He suppressed those nationalists and restless liberals who were ready to move, disrupted the subversive plots and economic blockades of Western hostile forces, and at the same time mastered the The supremacy of the military. The Soviets were once again an unbreakable alliance of allies, an evil empire feared by their enemies, a hegemon feared by their neighbors. And Yanayev became a dictator who was as cruel and evil as Stalin in the eyes of intellectuals.

dictator? As long as this empire, which is on the verge of disintegration, can be saved and the people can enjoy better treatment, it is enough. What is the use of democracy and freedom? Can it be used as food to satisfy the hunger or as food for the soul? Yanayev never believed that nonsense.

Months of exhausting planning gave the Soviets a brief period of peace and stability. During this period, Yanayev planned to continue to deepen the reform of the political and economic systems and use the short respite to restore his overall strength. Taking advantage of a moment of leisure, Yanayev went to the presidential holiday villa on the Black Sea, where he enjoyed a short and leisurely time facing the sea.

Yanayev was lying on the bench, enjoying the warm moment of the sun and the beach, instead of thinking about how to protect himself and kill the other party at the political table. He was filled with emotion. He picked up a glass of wine, took a sip, and said to himself He said to himself, "It's rare that I can enjoy a moment of peace like this world, instead of keeping my hand vigilantly on the button at all times."

While dealing with international affairs, Yanayev also did not relax about the domestic situation. He used every opportunity to unite to create a bright and majestic leader image to the people, convincing the Soviet people that he could lead the Soviet Union out of its predicament. characters.

It’s not that Yanayev is willing to become a dictator, but that countries with complex regional cultures inherently need strong leaders, and corruption is equivalent to self-destruction of the Great Wall. Even if he becomes a brutal dictator whom intellectuals criticize in words and writings, he is not willing to become a historical criminal responsible for the disintegration of Soviet Russia.

So in a moment of leisure, he summoned Surkov, who had just served as Minister of Propaganda, in the private presidential residence and revealed a plan of his own to him.

"Invite CBS News host Mike Wallace to interview you, General Secretary?" After hearing Yanayev's plan, Surkov was a little confused. He added, "Why Mike?" "Wallace came to conduct the interview. Isn't he a Western reporter? If we want to conduct an interview, our Moscow TV station also has a very good host, so there is no need to go out to find a Western reporter."

"No, no, no, Comrade Surkov, journalist Wallace is a very dedicated and excellent journalist. He has interviewed many famous politicians, such as the chief architect of socialist reform and opening up in the South, the United States Seven presidents have been interviewed with tough and profound questions."

Yanayev had other ideas in mind. Wallace was a journalist who liked to go against U.S. policies. Presumably his image in American political cartoons was wearing a golden crown and a red robe, holding a scepter. image of the tsar. This is also one of the ways for the domestic political opposition to propagate to the public and attack the Communist Party of China in power. If Yanayev can break this situation and make his opponents praise him, it will undoubtedly be a big blow to those "spiritual Americans" who admire the West.

Surkov sat next to Yanayev and asked softly, "That's what I say, but if anything happens outside of our control during the interview, it will be a bit troublesome. For example, he asked something more difficult. To answer the question, what should the general secretary do?”

"Just tell him directly that when he asked about martial law in the military during the August 19th coup, the murder of Gorbachev and the assassination of Yeltsin, how should I respond in a way that would appear appropriate?" Yanayev replied directly. Got him.

This was also the most difficult part for Surkov. He frowned and said softly, "Yes, no matter how the General Secretary answers this question, it will seem a little inappropriate."

Yanayev took a sip of his wine and looked at the white waves hitting the rugged rocks on the coastline. The roar of the waves relaxed Yanayev's nerves and allowed his thoughts to slowly become clearer. He put down the cup, turned his head and said to Surkov, "You are now the Propaganda Minister of the Soviet Propaganda Department. You are a quick-thinking guy. Gather them all together, list all the questions that Wallace may raise, and then design Some decent answers. That way, no matter what hard questions the other side may ask, we can find a way to deal with them.”

Now that Yanayev has given the order, Surkov can only accept this thankless task, and the directors of the Propaganda Department office find some quick-thinking guys to deal with it. Although the topic was sensitive, Yanayev still gave these people enough voice to think of some wild answers for him to review, hoping that they could come up with a good enough plan.

A few days later, Surkov gathered the elites from the press and propaganda department in an office for a meeting. The content was to collect answers to questions that Western reporters might ask.

"The first question is, what does President Yanayev think about the West's belief that the Soviet Union lacks a democratic atmosphere, and what will he do when the people oppose his policies." Personnel from the Propaganda Department Office reported these presidents in person The written questions were read aloud word by word, and at the same time, the answers were quickly thought through in one's head. Before this, no one dared to ask the General Secretary of the Soviet Union these "treasonous" questions. Only those Western reporters who stayed out of the matter could ask such pointed questions.

"We can make a fuss about improving people's livelihood. Even if the Soviet Union currently fails to give the people enough voice like American democracy, our commitment to improving people's livelihood is also a bright spot." Markov, the director of the office, replied cautiously , because his immediate boss Surkov was beside him, Markov glanced at him and found that there was no other unpleasant reaction from the other party before continuing, "The Soviets should be allowed to see our determination to make the Soviet Union better. Such reports will be more convincing to the public.”

"Second question, what do you think about the August 19th coup and the fact that Yeltsin and Gorbachev did not receive a state funeral? Could it be that the Soviet leaders could not get out of the weird circle of relying on coups to come to power? After all, Khrushchev Husband, Brezhnev almost always entered the stage of history through dishonorable political means. Can’t he rely on the people’s vote to serve as the most beloved leader like the president of the United States?”

No one dared to speak now. This issue was too sensitive. It was like exposing the dirty and dirty secrets in people's hearts to the world. No one would be able to accept it.

"How should we answer..." Markov swallowed and said helplessly.