USSR 1991

"As you said, the power of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is too great, so that there is no organization in the government that can compete with him. There is a risk of arbitrariness." Yanayev said, "So the situation in the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot continue, there must be a change, a new organization will separate the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"General Secretary, you mean..." Putin was taken aback. He would be the first to know about such a major reform measure.

"That's right, I am going to divide the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and delegate some powers that can be transferred to other departments. For example, those who serve as guards and the security of the country's leaders can only be fully handed over to the KGB leader's Security Bureau, including all armed forces. Power," Yanayev said.

"Then the guard brigade, which is responsible for guarding the prisoners, will be divided into the management of the police department of the Political Department newly established by the Supreme People's Court of the Soviet Union, and will no longer be under the care of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

"In terms of armed forces, the Ministry of Internal Affairs cannot possess tanks, fighter jets and other weapons that can only be possessed by the Soviet regular armed forces, and is limited to light armed forces such as infantry fighting vehicles."

"But if a major battle such as the Chechen War breaks out, what should we do? Call the Soviet Union's regular army to suppress it?" Putin asked. When it breaks out again, it still needs the power of the powerful Ministry of Internal Affairs to suppress it.

"I will negotiate with Minister Yazov on this issue to expand certain special 'authorities' of the Soviet Army. This includes the authority to suppress internally." Yanayev's words are already very clear, and the regular Soviet army will serve as a part of it. The mission of the Ministry of the Interior, although their intelligence to defend the country has not changed, but in major events, the Ministry of the Interior no longer has the right to make decisions and act.This is the deadliest right to take time out.

In this way, Yanayev took away at least one-third of the rights of the most popular sector of the Soviet Union in a few words.I don't know how Comrade Serov will feel when he sees these?

"As for other detailed matters, we need to discuss with other members of the Politburo before we can make a decision." The Politburo of the CPSU is now under the collective leadership, and it is impossible for Yanayev to make such a major decision by himself, otherwise Others will have a different opinion too.Isn't reform just taking advantage of the interests of the vast majority of people to deny the vested interests of a small number of people?

"I think this matter should be discussed with Comrade Pugo. After all, he is now the Minister of Internal Affairs. In terms of seniority, he is far above me."

Putin said with some anxiety, according to the tradition of the Soviet system, Pugo should be notified first of such a matter, but Yanayev obviously skipped Pugo first. Are there already some gaps between the ministers?

"Pugo, I will make another announcement. I came to you this time just to chat casually. Also, Comrade Putin, I hope you can get familiar with the Ministry of Internal Affairs' method as soon as possible, so that you can better take over the Ministry of Internal Affairs. After all, the work tasks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the reform will be relatively lightened, allowing you to adapt and get started faster."

Yanayev's desire to cultivate young people is urgent. After the hardliners who supported change turned into conservatives, Yanayev hoped that he would be able to reunite around him with people who were more supportive of his reform measures.After all, those old people are deeply hurt by Gorbachev's reforms, so they have certain prejudices about any measures. Even after Yanayev's steady reforms, they still feel a sense of distrust .

"I will not disappoint the general secretary's expectations of me." Putin nodded towards Yanayev.

Just as he got up and was about to leave the office, Yanayev suddenly said behind Putin, "I heard that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is planning to carry out a public security campaign recently. I am also very interested, and I hope you can share this This rectification activity has been done well. Comrade Putin, this is also a credit to you."

When Putin walked out of Yanayev's office, he felt a sense of relief.Although he is one of Yanayev's high hopes, but I don't know why there is always an invisible pressure every time he talks with the general secretary.

Just like the benevolent Comrade Stalin sitting opposite me.This idea just flashed through Putin's mind, and then it was forgotten.The Ministry of the Interior still has a lot of work waiting for him to complete, including the occasional border riots and the anti-riot and anti-terrorism activities in the Soviet Union that the Ministry of the Interior is going to organize.

Compared with reforms and other matters that the upper echelon of the Politburo cares about, security prevention and control is what Putin considers an urgent matter.

Chapter 258 The KGB and the GRU

The abolition of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will always cause dissatisfaction among certain vested interests. KGB Chairman Kryuchkov is the most critical one. The relationship between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB is also very mysterious. Even in Bailey In the era of Asia, the KGB, then known as the National Security Council, was an organization under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

However, Lubyanka’s owner would not be caught so easily. He came to Yanayev’s Kremlin personal apartment and argued with the Soviet General Secretary in an attempt to let him retain the tradition of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the CPSU. The power that was firmly in the hands was dispersed among various departments.Then let the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs change from a high-ranking authority to a department that only enjoys certain special permissions.

"The tradition of the Soviet Union is that there is a functional department that can firmly monitor and control everyone's behavior. It is undoubtedly a wrong choice to reduce the power of the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Kryuchkov's deeper words are, General Secretary, you actually The above is to attack the KGB.

But how could Yanayev’s determination to reduce the Ministry of Internal Affairs be denied in a few words? Yanayev, who was sitting on the sofa in the Kremlin’s leader’s apartment, refuted Kryuchkov’s point of view on the spot.

"Yes. From the Cheka to the General Administration of Political Security, to the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs, the functions have included our current Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Justice and military forces. It integrates political security, domestic anti-espionage, foreign intelligence, Social security is integrated into one, and it has gradually evolved into a huge institution, managing labor camps, having a directly subordinate internal affairs force, and even a branch in the Soviet Red Army!"

Yanayev stared at Kryuchkov, and he said word by word, "The rights of a department even cover all aspects. Anyone who changes it will be vigilant against this department. Although the Ministry of Internal Affairs actually belongs to the Council of Ministers , but if the Council of Ministers is not concurrently held by the leaders of the Ministry of the Interior or the KGB, they will take the Council of Ministers seriously? I am afraid that only our colleagues in the Politburo can suppress your domineering arrogance?"

From Andropov to Gorbachev, and now Yanayev, almost all of them are working hard for the balance of power, starting from reducing the KGB's right to supervise the people, and now further extending certain powers The Ministry of Internal Affairs is like a victim precisely dismembered by a scalpel, step by step from being dismembered from a thick and strong man to a poor wretch who has lost his limbs.

However, Yanayev still reserved the most basic one for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, maintaining domestic social stability and unity.In this regard, Yanayev, far from reducing the powers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has expanded their powers.

"But if there is no strong department to supervise and lead other departments, it will easily cause difficulties in carrying out work." Kryuchkov said, trying to change Yanayev's mind through his own words.

"So you're saying that it's a good choice for me to keep a department that may launch a coup at any time? Comrade Kryuchkov?" Yanayev chuckled and shook his head, as if talking to Kryuchkov. Like telling a joke.

"Do you remember what I said to you before? We don't need democracy and freedom because those are lies made up by despicable and shameless politicians in the West. Similarly, we don't need centralized power developed under the pretext of national security Rule, because of the concentration of power, there will be terrible political struggles. With all due respect, you can look at how many Soviet government leaders were elected to power? Stalin killed Trotsky, and Khrushchev passed a coup Beria was settled, but he himself was ended by his dear student Brezhnev. Gorbachev was a little bit luckier, after all, Andropov and Chernenko died one after another, That’s why he got the chance to take the stage.”

Yanayev did not mind telling Kryuchkov this at all, "At the beginning I stipulated that the post of general secretary should not exceed eight years, that is, to prevent the pros and cons of the tenure of the chairman, including political struggles. Now I The reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also to prevent political turmoil from happening again, so as to ensure a smooth handover and transition of power."

"But Comrade Yanayev, how will you supervise the party and the hostile elements?" Kryuchkov asked.

"Ideological struggle is no longer the dominant factor, economic development is the top priority in the Soviet Union. Do you still notice the posters everywhere of reaching American imperialism? Those things are long gone. "Yanayev's deliberate downplaying of political struggles does not mean that the Soviet Union is not wary of the United States. The United States will always be that evil empire in Yanayev's heart.

"Although there are occasional frictions with the West in politics, we have also accelerated the transformation of the economic market. Not only have the measures in Lenin's New Economic Policy been restored to some extent, but also the shortcomings brought about by Stalin's system have been modified. .Although for a while, their achievements cannot be clearly seen."

Yanayev's method is more inclined to state control of the economic lifeline, and then reform the market economy.Most of them followed the example of China's reform system.It is much better to be in the hands of the Politburo than to be taken over by those oligarchs.

"So, the same Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB function very differently than before. For you, it is now more important to specialize in homeland security. Especially the rise of Islamic extremism and national separatism in the Russian republics , we should be more vigilant in this respect.”

"So Comrade Kryuchkov, now do you know why I want to weaken the powers and functions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" Yanayev put his hands on his knees and looked at Kryuchkov who was silent in front of him.The words have been said so clearly, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is now the function of homeland security, and other important responsibilities such as ideology are handed over to the Soviet Propaganda Department and the Central Secretariat, and they no longer have to worry about these things.

Kryuchkov knew that there was no point in struggling any longer, so he simply chose to respect Yanayev's decision.My intuition told me that going against the general secretary would not end well.

"Farewell, General Secretary Yanayev." After Kryuchkov finished speaking to Yanayev, he got up and left. After the Ministry of Internal Affairs is weakened, there is no doubt that the next one is the KGB. Yanayev will never hope There will be a sector in this country that can challenge authority.

"GRU." Yanayev whispered softly. As the intelligence department of the army's general staff, Yanayev also began to make up his mind about this department.Although these intelligence agencies that are outside the government departments have always been unpopular and unwelcome, this is why Marshal Beria appeared in the People's Security Committee, while the GRU only appeared General Berzin.

The GRU, also known as the All-Soviet Military Intelligence Agency, was initially responsible for the military intelligence of the Soviet army.It made many contributions to the Soviet Union in the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, but its scale is far less than that of the National Security Council.The biggest difference between the two is that the GRU plays a greater role at the military level, while the KGB plays a greater role in maintaining the country's political order, but their authority is also higher than that of the GRU.And most importantly, the KGB can be said to be subordinate to the government to some extent, while the GRU is subordinate to the military intelligence agency of the Soviet General Staff.

Obviously, the GRU was also used by Yanayev to disperse the KGB's power departments, especially the Border Guards General Directorate. The KGB is known to have a large border guards.The General Administration of Frontier Guards leads the border military districts, border guards and outposts.Although the headquarters of the border guards is not large, the total number of border guards exceeds 22.For a big country like the Soviet Union with a long border, this is the minimum amount that realistic needs will allow.

At the end of the 80s, Kryuchkov wrote to Gorbachev, telling Gorbachev that he urgently needed to expand the border guards, improve their material conditions, and increase financial input for them.The funds for the border guards have already accounted for half of the total budget of the National Security Council, and a considerable part of it is used to update or maintain border technical equipment, military technical weapons, target facility construction, communications, and pay the salaries of major units.

After moving the Border Service from the Lubyanka, it will be under the banner of the GRU, which means that the budget of the National Security Council may be reduced by half, and the power of the KGB will also be reduced by half.Because Yanayev's previous disarmament actions also caused complaints from those in the Soviet Army Staff Office, and the expansion of the GRU's functional authority can just be used to block the mouths of these people.Look, Moscow doesn't treat the GRU as an outsider.So on the issue of disarmament, you'd better give me some pause.

"In this way, the ideal balance has been barely reached. The reduction of the KGB's power should be long-term, rather than a short-term radical state."

After the abolition of the Border Guard, for Yanayev, the KGB finally returned to a relatively safe level.At least like the CIA in the United States, it has power, but it is not yet in a position to override the party.

After Yanayev wrote down a series of lists of characters on paper, he put the list down on the side of the table.Besides Kryuchkov and Pugo, there are comrades Sergei and Slichenkov of the First General Directorate.As the current three-person team of the KGB, their power to call the wind and rain in the government can be said to be not small.

Before Yanayev used a lot of KGB personnel in his actions against government corruption, but also Yanayev was also worried about corruption and bureaucratic issues within the KGB. Some officials chose to ignore and compromise.

After gradually consolidating his power, Yanayev finally won the opportunity to rectify.He wants to let the entire Soviet system know that no one's authority can override the party.

Chapter 259 Forbidden Guns

Compared with the political changes at the top of the Kremlin, Putin's Ministry of Internal Affairs has not been idle. The law and order operation is plainly meant to seize all situations that may threaten the security of the Soviet government, such as privately hidden firearms.The sturdy Slavic nation is not measured by a small-caliber rifle, but directly uses a general-purpose machine gun to tell the other party that I belong to the Russians.When the KGB and the Ministry of Internal Affairs were able to firmly control the situation, the Soviet authorities certainly did not mind citizens owning guns, but what if they lost control?

During the August [-]th Incident, the Ministry of Internal Affairs received reports that the people had hidden a batch of arms and were preparing to launch an armed riot at any time. If Yanayev hadn’t personally issued an order to search and suppress the entire city, it might have really triggered an uncontrollable riot. turmoil.

The law and order operation that lasted for more than a month began. Of course, the Ministry of Internal Affairs adopted the method of exchanging rubles for guns, and adopted the method of registering names on Red Square in Moscow.But if you don't search, you really don't know that there are so many arms and guns hidden in the Soviet Union.

Soldiers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs with Kalashnikovs cordoned off the surrounding areas, and those with guns formed a long queue waiting to collect their rubles.The price of long guns offered by the Ministry of the Interior can basically buy half a Colt M16 in the United States, and because of this, those talents happily contributed their long-hidden World War II treasures.

Standing at the registration site, Putin was a little dazed looking at the piles of World War II firearms discarded on the ground. Most of them were Mosin Nagants produced during World War II. Looking at these rusty and mottled rifles, it is estimated that their last maintenance The time is still 1945.In addition to Mosin Nagant and STV-40 semi-automatic rifles, there are Bobosha submachine guns, a small number of double-barreled shotguns, ST-G44 assault rifles confiscated from the German army during World War II, and even a World War II veteran brought them from home. Simonov anti-tank gun.

There are traces of oil stains on the Simonov anti-tank gun, which seems to have been carefully maintained.Putin looked at these weapons with some lingering fears. If the democrats had really attacked the army with weapons in the coup, August [-] was destined to become a bloody riot.

"Show me your ID." The registration personnel recorded the names of all the people who came to submit the weapons in the booklet, so that they can investigate if they find any problems later.

After registration, the staff asked other people to lead them to another table to receive rewards. For those people, it was a very good deal for a worthless World War II weapon to exchange for a month's living expenses.

These weapons are as common as eating and drinking for the Slavic people who have been exposed to guns and trained since childhood.It may be rare for the younger generation who grew up in the Moscow city, but for those Russians who grew up in the early [-]th century, firearms were their true love and best friend.

Among the confiscated firearms, some rare ones will be exhibited at the World War II Armory Museum in Moscow, while others will be centrally destroyed.In terms of firearms policy, although Yanayev does not adopt a policy of strictly prohibiting suppression like the future of the Southern Republic, it is not as exaggerated as letting people collect RPGs or grenades.