Chapter 11: The Storm Before Dawn (Part 2)

  The storm caused by the "Pravda affair" was strong, within two weeks after the Smolny meeting, a large number of members of the highest Soviet organizations, including Pravda editor Molotov, Central Secretariat secretary Malenkov and Defense Committee member Voroshilov, were isolated for examination. As the head of the secret police, Beria himself was fully responsible for investigating this incident, but he also failed to escape the fate of being examined.

  No wonder Stalin was so agitated, even Chu Zhen himself felt that Comrade Khrushchev's actions this time were indeed too hasty, and the planning of the whole action also used some overly radical means.

  The article about Tukhachevsky was indeed written by Chusynin. After completing the manuscript, he handed it over to Kryuchkov through secret channels. His original intention was to publish this article in an ordinary newspaper with limited influence, and its purpose was only to silently accumulate evidence for Tukhachevsky's unjust case, so that it could be used as a basis for rehabilitation in the future. However, Kryuchkov, who had been obedient before, suddenly made a mistake in this process. He did not follow Chusynin's plan and instead bribed a secretary named Kurchinsky from the Kremlin Secretariat to send the manuscript directly to Pravda. Due to the urgency of time and the special identity of the person sending the manuscript, the editors of Pravda, as the central organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, did not have time to carefully consider the impact of this article and hastily rearranged the layout, publishing it on the front page. After the event, Kryuchkov personally took action to silence Kurchinsky, so when Beria's men arrived at Kurchinsky's residence, they only found a corpse.

  Kerensky's death undoubtedly temporarily lost the thread of investigation for the secret police, but in return it brought Stalin even more uncontrollable anger. This suspicious old fox quickly defined a nature for this incident - "This is an enemy sabotage, and this enemy is either the remnants of Trotskyist organizations or German fascist spies." In this way, what was originally supposed to be a problem of biased news reporting was transformed into a struggle between the Soviet regime and the enemy in a very short period of time.

  The nature of the event has changed, so the intensity of the blow must be strengthened, and the scope of the blow must also be expanded. The means of striking will naturally become more diversified as well. For a time, a cold and terrifying dark cloud hung over Moscow and the Kremlin, but this dark cloud was what Comrade Belyaev, who was skilled in this aspect, most wanted to see. After all, he had operated many times before, so doing it again would be easy and effortless. Most importantly, this was the best opportunity to strike at his political enemies.

  Everything seems like a new beginning, yet everything also seems like a reenactment of history.

  After the Smolny meeting, a storm began to brew. Chudnovsky was immediately placed under house arrest, with sentries standing guard around his residence and strict vigilance being maintained; no one except Gilina-Lovova, who was engaged to him, was allowed to enter. Moreover, according to Gilina-Lovova herself, she had also lost a great deal of her freedom, with people watching her every move and preventing her from doing anything, even the organization of intelligence units having been suspended.

  The news brought by Zhil'nova made Chusonan feel extremely uneasy. He clearly remembered how solemn Zhil'nova's expression was at that time, and of course, he also clearly remembered the shocking power of the first piece of news she announced.

  "Malenkov was secretly arrested and deprived of all his party posts, his original work is temporarily handled by Comrade Suslov. Comrade Molotov was also imprisoned, and several main leaders of Pravda will be subject to examination."

  "This is a conspiracy, and it's absolutely Belia who is taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble." As soon as Chu Si Nan heard this news, he thought of these things. His own actions seemed to have given others an excuse to frame him, without a doubt, this time Belia was going to make a big move, thoroughly eliminating any opposition. Chu Si Nan even suspected that this guy might take advantage of this opportunity to get rid of Stalin as well.

  This is not an unfounded assumption of Chu Si-nan, it is very likely. Now Beria must also have a sense of crisis, he is a man who has been struggling in the power struggle for half his life, and cannot feel the change in Stalin's attitude towards him, let alone know the secrets he knows himself, how important they are to Stalin. In this situation, it is very likely that Beria will make a desperate decision and make a last-ditch effort.

  Most importantly, Beria, who holds the power of the secret police, is now in a position of absolute authority in the Soviet high echelons, with no one above him and millions below. From this situation, it seems that he has also gotten entangled with Voroshilov, and as the head of the secret police who can control the army, the storm he can stir up will absolutely not be a mere drizzle.

  "Kryuchkov! Kryuchkov!"

  Now, the only counterweight that Chu Si Nan can rely on is just Klyuchkov. He holds the third bureau of the secret police agency, which is the most important one. As long as he stands firmly on his own side, even if Belia makes any rash moves in the future, he will be able to play a very important restrictive role.

  The question is what kind of choice Kryuchkov will make when facing a huge change that may occur.

  This guy is timid, but his desire for power is great. He can only play a role that can be used but not trusted. If Stalin didn't fall or Beria couldn't become the number one in the Soviet Union, Chu would have 90% control over him. But now Beria wants to take charge, does Khrushchev still dare to follow himself? Chu has no confidence, not even a little bit.

  Through the window of his residence, Chusov looked at the guards walking back and forth outside the window, and the heavy feeling in his heart became more apparent. He dared not imagine the consequences of Kryuchkov's betrayal, without his appearance, Tukhachevsky's old marshals had no one to protect them, the old marshals' former subordinates had no one to contact, and each of his plans could not be carried out, etc., etc.

  Chu Si Nan finally felt the biggest weakness of his entire plan, that is, the circle of forces he could rely on was too small. Those old marshals had great potential, but they were in trouble and couldn't exert any strength. Only one Kryuchkov was available. In this way, although the opportunity to expose himself was smaller, the space for plotting was also smaller.

  "What should I do? What can I do?" Chu Si Nan repeatedly asked herself in her heart, gazing out the window at the dark and overcast sky.