"Vladimir Fedorovich, what do you think of Viktor Semenovich (Abakumov)?" In the Kontsevo dacha on the outskirts of Moscow, Stalin poured himself a glass of red wine and said to Manturov, who was sitting next to him.

It was the first time that Manturov had lunch alone with Stalin, which in his opinion was both a good thing and a bad thing.

Generally speaking, those who were invited to eat at the same table with Stalin at the Kontsevo villa were ostensibly trusted by Stalin, and only those who held important positions in high status, or who were interested in Stalin's attention had the opportunity to dine at the Kontsevo villa.

At the top of the CPSU, the Kontsevo dinner was often seen as an indicator of the Kremlin's power movements.

Many people think that the more people who dine with Stalin, the more he is trusted by Stalin, and those who are denied to the Kontsevo dinner, or even never invited, are often the ones who are snubbed by the top leadership.

As for the officials who were invited by chance to a dinner party at the Kontsevo villa, they were either the ones who were about to rise to prominence, or the ones that Stalin was looking for.

These statements are true to some extent, and those who can attend the dinner at the Kontsevo villa are often figures who are highly trusted by Stalin, but this trust is only superficial and not necessarily practical.

Why? Because the dinner at the Kontsevo villa was not an occasion for bonding, but an occasion for Stalin to test the officials.

All those who attend the dinner will be drunk with Stalin, and then they will involuntarily confide in the truth, revealing their true colors.

Beria, Malenkov, Khrushchev, Molotov, and Mikoyan were all regulars at Kontsevo's dinners, and these men had close ties to Stalin, but none of them were people he really trusted.

In contrast, the three secretaries of the Central Committee, Zhdanov, Manturov and Andreyev (ranked second, third and fourth respectively after the 19th Congress of the CPSU), attended the Kontsevo dinner less often than Beria and Malenkov, but they were in some respects more trusted by Stalin than Beria.

And Manturov is the only one who will not be drunk by Stalin, because he himself cannot drink, and he is also one of the few people who can tell the truth in front of Stalin (although the truth he says is in line with Stalin's will), capable of practical things, and never flatters Stalin excessively, giving Stalin a pragmatic and reliable feeling, and there is no need to test it in the way of "drinking and spitting the truth".

This time, Manturov did not attend a grand dinner in Shengda, but a relatively simple and pragmatic luncheon. The main reason why Stalin invited Manturov to lunch was to allow the two to discuss work matters in a more relaxed atmosphere, rather than to test each other.

For the sake of the afternoon's work, Stalin did not force Manturov to drink this time. He himself only prepared a bottle of Georgian red wine with a lower degree, and even if he drank it all, he would not get drunk.

"Comrade Stalin, I think Comrade Abakumov is a very good counterintelligence worker. He has strong organizational ability, high work efficiency, rich work experience in the national security system, and is familiar with the work of various counter-espionage departments and state security departments. ”

Actually, Manturov did not like Abakumov as a person, but he knew that Abakumov was very trusted by Stalin, so he did not dare to speak ill of him.

Of course, Manturov, who has always been "honest", did not deceive in his evaluation of Abakumov, and this person from the Ministry of Internal Affairs system does have rich experience in national security work, is familiar with the operation of various relevant departments, and is also a rare counter-espionage talent in the country (people engaged in counter-espionage work are themselves a minority, not rare?). ）。

As for the high efficiency and strong organizational skills, there is no false element, after all, Abakumov can organize enough people to arrest the target in a very short time, and force the arrested person to "confess" his crime with drugs and torture in a short time, which is not to be said of the efficiency of the work efficiency.

"I intend to put him (Abakumov) in a more important position, what do you think?" Stalin asked Manturov, head of the Organization of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

"I suggest that he be put in charge of the anti-counter-terrorism work, because his ability and experience in counter-espionage work can also be applied to the anti-counter-terrorism work." As a time-traveler, Manturov certainly knew the fate of Abakumov's "future" - that is, to succeed Melkulov as Minister of State Security.

But in this case, I am afraid that his good friend, the first deputy minister of state security, Yakov, will meet a boss with a very poor character and difficult to deal with.

Moreover, Abakumov's intelligence and infiltration capabilities are not as good as the current Minister of State Security Melkulov and Deputy Minister Yakov, and if he is appointed Minister of State Security, I am afraid that he will only waste the talents of Melkulov and Yakov.

That's why Manturov suggested in front of Stalin that Abakumov be in charge of the anti-rebellion work on the side of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, not on the side of the Ministry of State Security.

"How about making him Minister of the Interior? I already have other arrangements for the work of Lavrenti (Beria). ”

Many people think that Beria, the Minister of Internal Affairs, sits very firmly, but in fact, Stalin has always been jealous of Beria's power, and he also knows something about Beria's evil deeds during his tenure as NKVD, and has always wanted to strip him of the national security system and put people he trusts.

In history, less than half a year after the end of World War II, Beria was removed from the post of Minister of Internal Affairs and replaced by the more "honest" First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kruglov. Melkulov, who was close to Beria, was removed from the post of head of state security and replaced by Stalin's more trusted Abakumov.

In Manturov's plane, this arrangement may be changed, but the purpose of this adjustment is also to weaken Beria's power.

"It's a good arrangement." "If Comrade Beria were to step down as Minister of Internal Affairs, I would also recommend Comrade Abakumov to succeed Comrade Beria as Minister of Internal Affairs," Manturov said.

Compared with the current First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Comrade Kruglov, Comrade Abakumov has stronger work ability and more relevant work experience, and is one of the most suitable candidates to take over the post of Minister of Internal Affairs. (Kruglov was basically not in charge of the anti-rebellion work, and during his tenure as first deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he was purely a soy sauce player, and almost did nothing)"

"Then let's do it for the time being, you go back and inspect it, and if there is no problem, prepare the relevant documents, and discuss at the next meeting of the Secretariat of the Central Committee about the appointment of Comrade Abakumov Raf as Minister of Internal Affairs."