USSR 1991

"Thank you very much, Reporter Wallace. If you hadn't brought it up deliberately, I am afraid that the entire Soviet Union would have forgotten this small group of people who should have gone home. We will set up a search and rescue team to make those who are still scattered all over Afghanistan finally able to go home."

Yanayev pointed at the camera and said with a smile, "Whether I can see it or not, I want to tell them here that their mothers, and the motherland, have not forgotten him."

After saying this, the studio fell silent. Wallace, who was the first to react, stood up from his seat and gave Yanayev a warm applause for his frankness and seriousness.Also applauding were those who were moved by Yanayev's speech.

Seeing that the interview has been terminated here, Surkov finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension is no less than a political crisis.

"It seems that our president can deal with this kind of thing with ease. I really don't know how sensational this report will be in the United States." Plekhanov poked Surkov's shoulder with his elbow, somewhat He looked proudly at the surrender of the American reporter.

Surkov squinted his eyes watching the scene, and everyone believed that the president's perfect answer was his credit.But he never told those around him that none of the president's answers were based on the standards he wrote.

"After all, he is also the most deviant among so many supreme leaders." Surkov said.

"Excellent, President Yanayev. I think your reporting is far better than any other national leader I have interviewed before. I would also like to do my part through some government friends if I can." Weak efforts. There may be differences in ideology, but international humanitarian aid has no ideology."

"Thank you, my friend Wallace. The Soviet people will never forget what you did." Yanayev and Wallace held hands tightly.

The image of the brutal Soviet leader created by the United States was shattered at this moment, and Yanayev's image in Wallace's mind suddenly became taller.And he has already prepared a draft in his mind, ready to let the Western world see a Soviet leader with a completely different image.

Chapter 60 Welcome Home (1)

Perhaps this day was the most shocking day in the American press. A piece of news titled "Western Hoax - Restoring a Real Soviet Leader" hit the headlines of major Western newspapers, and the article was signed by Mike Wallace, the famous American news host.No one will doubt the weight and authenticity of this report, because when Wallace was invited to participate in the Soviet interview, almost all the friends he knew in the press came to celebrate his great feat.

In Wallace's report, Yanayev is no longer the dictatorial figure that everyone in the West fears. His friendly and friendly image is vivid on the paper. Wallace even described Yanayev in the newspaper, "God The long sword of the Archangel is given because he knows that love and peace cannot resolve all disputes." And Yanayev revealed all of the dark history of the United States intact, and analyzed it thoroughly.

What the audience sees on the screen is a national leader who is full of wit and sharpness, especially when he speaks out about the various malpractices of American society, and is supported by the American people. Some people even think that Yanayev should not stay in Moscow , he should stay in the White House and knock down Bush who only wages war to strengthen his position.

Another person was not in a better mood. Solzhenitsyn, who was ridiculed by Yanayev as a Russian tsarist, was finally caught by his colleagues in the United States.Perhaps it is a common fault of literati that they look down on each other, and they can’t understand the other party’s popularity. The columnist Anthony described Solzhenitsyn as a religious fanatic who used the profession of "social conscience" to criticize freedom and human rights. In fact, he His conscience has long been thrown into the sewer.

The publication of his new book on the Soviet tsar was repeatedly delayed because of the turmoil.

Some people are sad, others are happy. With this excellent report, Wallace once again won the Pulitzer Prize. The judges praised this report for describing a flesh-and-blood Soviet leader from a new angle, and telling the world Show a completely different side of him.

Maybe Yanayev himself didn’t know that the unintentional act of this interview made him the most watched national leader in the United States unintentionally. Some people joked that if Yanayev was willing to give up the post of President of the Soviet Union to come to the United States Running for president, he must have received far more votes than Bush, the executioner who started the war.

The wave of Yanayev-style worship in the American people is inseparable from the sluggish economic development in the United States. Of course, the US official report on Wallace was silent and did not make any response.After all, Bush is still angry at this time, who would not have a good eye to report this kind of thing that arouses other people's ambitions.

Yanayev, who saw the report, also called Wallace from Moscow to congratulate him. At this time, Wallace was conducting an interview on the "60 Minutes" program on TV. When he heard the assistant say that there was a call from Moscow in the outfield , he decisively asked his assistant to move the phone to the studio, and have an old friend-style conversation in front of millions of viewers.

"Hey, Mike, my friend, how are you doing?" Yanayev, who spoke Russian English, said hello to Wallace. Speak in private.

Wallace made a silent gesture to the surrounding audience, and everyone else held their breath, listening quietly to Wallace's free play.He held the microphone and replied, "Of course, my friend, guess where I am speaking to you now?"

"Eh? It won't be in your studio." Yanayev asked curiously.

Wallace, who had been holding back all this time, laughed out loud at this moment, and he said, "Haha, that's right, I'm in the studio at this time. Our call is watched by millions of viewers across the country, so don't call them hello?"

"Hello, everyone. I think you all know my identity. Of course, I am the Soviet tyrant that you criticize in words and pens. Of course, I don't think I am cruel at all. Maybe your American government has a different understanding of the Slavic nation. Deviation, even though we can overturn a polar bear with our bare hands and hold a bottle of vodka with our heads up, it doesn’t mean we don’t love peace.” Yanayev’s humorous self-deprecation made all the audience laugh, making people think that the other side of the phone It's just an old friend with a good humor, not the leader of a country.

The director behind the scenes looked at this scene and couldn't help showing a triumphant smile. Tonight's "60 Minutes" program must have the highest ratings among all peer programs. With such an important guest sitting here, maybe it can break through history new high.

"Do you have anything to say to the leaders of the Soviet Union? This may be the only time you have had close contact with the president of a country?" Wallace asked the audience around him holding up the microphone.

Of course, many people wanted to give it a try, and almost everyone present raised their hands. Wallace picked out a thin young man wearing glasses, and said to him, "Do you want to say something to President Yanayev?"

"Except for my private privacy questions, I will answer as much as I can." Yanayev said straightforwardly, "Hi, friend, what's your name?"

"Kane, just call me Kane, Your Excellency." The young man held the microphone and asked nervously, "President of the Soviet Union, I want to know if you will implement the same democratic system as ours? Or is it always the right of leaders? Supreme? Is it really a dictatorship like our government advertises?”

Yanayev smiled and said, "Hey, friend. I think you have misunderstood the Soviet Union's political system. Don't always believe what the government says. What they say is indeed the truth, but it may not be the truth that the government wants to tell you. We have a Soviet Presidium, which uses the same meritocratic system as yours in the United States. As for the leader’s rights you mentioned, they must be voted through collective discussions in front of major events. It’s not that I can say it alone. This is unfair to those who have other opinions. And starting from my term, the supreme chairman is not a life-long system. We will issue clear regulations on how many terms the Soviet supreme chairman can hold, and each term How many years. Start a new era of leaders in office."

"We think the democratic system is good. It means that we can refer to more grassroots discourse and constrain our behavior. The Soviet Union has made some mistakes in history, and we have also reflected on it. I also think that the democratic system of the Soviet Union must Based on a complete legal system, no matter whether it is the supreme leader or ordinary people, those who break the law must be tried. They will not be pardoned because they have privileges, nor will the results of the trial be manipulated by public opinion just because they are a vulnerable group. .”

"The remarkable achievements of American democracy are largely due to the basis of law. Of course, we also have to decide the system according to our actual situation. Any democracy that is divorced from reality and talked about is nothing but a mirage, just like South Korea. Like South Vietnam, they have the same American democratic system, but it does not prevent the supreme leader from being a dictator. Are there any other problems?"

"I want to know what to do with the soldiers scattered in Afghanistan? Is your government really going to rescue them all?" The young man asked another question.

"Haha, I don't know if you still remember that you released a movie "First Blood 2" that discredited the image of the Soviet Union six years ago. It was the movie that starred Rambo and was betrayed by his boss in order to investigate the missing soldiers on the Vietnam battlefield. Movie. He said a very famous sentence at that time, and I still remember it, 'I love the motherland, but does the motherland love me?' Although I don't know whether the United States has searched for the missing soldiers in Vietnam in reality, but the plot in the movie , I hope that the Soviet Union will never be staged. This time I came to my friend Wallace, and I also hope that I can ask Western humanitarian relief organizations to help find those lost soldiers in Afghanistan.”

When Yanayev said this, the audience became quiet, silently waiting for him to continue.

"I want to say to these children in the desert who are looking forward to the return of the army day after day, the war is over, come home with me, the motherland and your mother have not forgotten, they have been waiting for you to come home."

Chapter 61 Welcome Home (2)

It is impossible to count how many people watched Yanayev chatting and laughing with Western people last night. Wallace only knew that the ratings of his program rose by 80.00% five, beating all current affairs programs in one fell swoop. TV programs.When everyone at CBS opened champagne to celebrate that night, Wallace found an excuse to leave the celebration temporarily, and silently dialed the number of members of the international rescue organization he knew in his office.

Du -, after a brief busy tone, the person on the other side picked up the phone and said in a somewhat impatient tone, "Hi, I'm Pete, who are you?"

"Hi, Pete, old man, I'm Wallace, I'm sorry to bother you, are you free now? Can you do me a favor?" Wallace called his friend from the International Rescue Organization. On the table, turn your head slightly to the left, hold the microphone between your shoulders, and pull out your hand to light a cigarette for yourself, to calm down the nervous state of mind when recording the program just now.

"It's Wallace." The man called Pete immediately changed his tone, his plump body was lying lazily on the sofa, holding a glass of wine, and he replied in a hearty voice, "Tell me, what difficulties do you have? Is it? I will try my best to help you."

"It's like this." Wallace held the microphone in his left hand and held a cigarette between his right fingers, and said in a heavy tone, "Aren't you organizing humanitarian relief in Afghanistan now? It's just distributing food to refugees. I would like to ask you to No, by the way, ask the refugees, look for the Soviet soldiers who entered Afghanistan and lost contact."

"You mean to help the Soviet government find the missing soldiers?" Pete hesitated for a moment, he put the cup on the table, and his tone became hesitant, "Wallace, you know, even if we know where the missing Soviet soldiers are It is also impossible to rescue them. Because the behind-the-scenes sponsors of international rescue organizations are large American consortiums, if these things are known to them, it will be very troublesome. If they accuse us of not telling us, they may even cut off our financial assistance.”

Wallace turned on the loudspeaker function of the phone silently, and turned on the recording equipment he was carrying with him. Pete on the other side of the phone didn't know that every word he said next was completely recorded by Wallace.

"Peter, I want to know what will happen if your international rescue organization rescues Soviet soldiers if the funder behind the scenes knows?" Wallace asked again pretending not to hear.

Sure enough, Pete, who was led into the trap, casually repeated what he said just now, "I mean, because of ideology, it is impossible for international rescue organizations to help find the missing soldiers of the Soviet Union, even if they help to pay attention, because For our donors, they refuse to help these people, even watching Soviet prisoners being tortured to death by Afghan guerrillas. To me, the death of a hundred Soviets is not as important as the life of one American."

After Wallace recorded Pete's words in full, he pressed the play button. He calmly said to the person on the other end of the phone, "If I publish these words, what kind of sensation do you think will be caused, Pete?"

When he heard Pete's disdainful voice playing in the recording on the other end of the phone, he panicked, clenched the microphone and stammered and asked, "My God, what are you doing Wallace? Damn, you Knowing that these words cannot be made public, otherwise the rescue organization will be condemned by public opinion. And my job may not be guaranteed!"

"You can choose to help to keep an eye on it, or you can choose to let the public watch over you." Wallace seemed to think of something, and added, "Oh, by the way, the image of Soviet President Yanayev is deeply rooted in those Heart of the TV crowd, I don't know what to expect if you choose wrong on this question."

"Okay, okay, I'll just help you." The person on the other end of the phone wanted to cry.Between offending a big benefactor and losing his job, he would rather choose the former.

While the United States was still immersed in the surprise of Yanayev's sudden interview, senior leaders in Moscow, with special approval, set up a special rescue committee to search for the missing soldiers.If the previous actions were to establish an image of a tough leader, then this rescue is to show Yanayev's benevolent side.

Others secretly complained that this search was meaningless, like looking for a needle in a haystack. Where did the years of war in Afghanistan go to find soldiers and captives who had been missing for many years.At that time, Minister of Defense Yazov raised this issue, thinking that this search was a waste of money.

"Looking for an Afghan resistance fighter named Islamuddin. He is the bodyguard of Masood. Of course, he has another identity before. The soldier of the 101st Motor Rifle Regiment, formerly named Nikolai Bystrov, is a Uzbekistan." Yanayev gave a name that shocked everyone present.

"Masood's guards? That Masood known as the 'Lion of Panjshir'? Our biggest enemy in Afghanistan." Yazov asked hesitantly. He was a little surprised why even the KGB agents could not get them. The intelligence, the president actually has first-hand resources.Yanayev suddenly became mysterious in Yazov's mind. Looking back carefully, it seems that since the August [-]th coup, he has been in control of various situations.

"Yes." Yanayev nodded, he pretended to be mysterious and said, "Of course Comrade Yazov doesn't need to ask me why I know this, I won't tell you. You just need to go through the intelligence between Afghanistan The Internet found Islamuddin. He should have a lot of information on missing Soviet soldiers. Most of those soldiers did not return to China. They all went to Pakistan through his relationship, and then transferred to South Africa or Europe. "

"Okay, I will let the people in the committee find ways to contact him. By the way, General Secretary Yanayev, there is one more thing to report to you." Yazov said with some concern, "About the Soviet troops stationed in However, the major alliance countries generally adopt a negative attitude, refusing to disclose the specific number of troops, details of weapons, refusing to hand over issues, etc. Yes, they are delaying time and refusing to turn the alliance countries into an inalienable part of the Soviet Union. part."

Hearing Yazov's report, Yanayev became interested. He asked, "In other words, are there still a considerable number of separatist forces in the major alliance countries that are trying to obstruct the Soviet Union's grand unification plan? They didn't because The fate of the three Baltic countries restrained their actions. I have given them a considerable part of economic autonomy, but at the expense of their army, are you not satisfied?"

Minister of Defense Yazov added another sentence, "Yes, especially Georgia showed the strongest performance. The Soviet army sent to be recruited had a small-scale conflict with the Georgian army. Fortunately, there were no casualties. Although they knew that the unified It is inevitable, but they have been trying their best to delay the time, and seem to be planning something."

It's really interesting.Yanayev narrowed his eyes slowly, thinking carefully about what Georgian President Zvyad would do. As a running dog of the United States and a vanguard against the Soviet Union, Zvyad seemed to be more difficult to deal with than imagined .