"Comrade Secretary, Major General Vasily Stalin wants to see you, he is downstairs now." Manturov's secretary Konstantin walked into the office and said to the "owner" of the room.

"Will you invite him in?" Manturov never expected that Vasily would come to the door at this time.

At this juncture, Vasily can be said to be the figure who played a key role in the Novikov case. As long as Manturov can get his relationship with Vasily right, it will be possible to avoid being implicated in the Novikov case.

Led by Konstantin to Manturov's office, Vasily was dressed in the uniform of an Air Force Major General, with a heroic posture, but there was a hint of worry in his young eyes.

Manturov stood up and stretched out his right hand, "Comrade Vasily, may I ask if there is anything I can do to help you?" ”

Vasily took Manturov's hand and said: "Comrade Manturov, I heard that you are a fan of Spartak Moscow?" ”

"Sort of."

"What do you do with Nikolai Starostin?"

Nikolai Starostin, as Vasily spoke, was one of the founders of the Moscow Spartak Football Club, as well as a football coach, the most well-known figure in Soviet football and respected by many people.

Under his management, Spartak Moscow became a powerful Soviet team, winning the Soviet Football League several times. Because of its brilliant record, combined with the fact that Spartak Moscow traditionally represented the proletarians (Spartak), this team was supported by countless people and became the most popular team in the whole Soviet Union.

However, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Soviet Union and Chairman of the Dynamo Moscow football team, Lavrenty Beria, was not happy about the rise of Spartak Moscow, and while he tried to strengthen the ranks of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he also used his power and the resources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect "evidence" against Starostatin and his teammates, and tried to convict and arrest him.

Originally, in 1939, Beria had collected enough "evidence" to convict Starostatin and applied for an arrest warrant, but the arrest warrant was invalidated without the signature of any Politburo member or secretary of the Central Secretariat.

However, Beria did not give up on this, and he imposed another charge on Starostin, accusing Starostin and several of the management and core players of Spartak Moscow of "trying to add bourgeois values to Soviet sports".

Although the charge was not credible, the arrest warrant came into effect because it was signed by the secretary of the Central Committee, Malenkov, who was Beria's "good friend").

In March 1942, Starostin and a number of high-ranking and leading players of Spartak Moscow were arrested. After a series of "investigations", it was found that Starostin had "stolen and resold sporting goods for a profit of 28,000 roubles" and had "bribed Kutazhevsky, the military commissar of Moscow's Bauman district, to obtain an unlimited supply of food from the army's food rations." ”

Starostatin and the other arrested Spartak Moscow players were tortured to confess all charges and sent to the Gulagri in Siberia.

During the period of "re-education through labor", Starosin was actually treated mercifully by the Gulag commander (because this commander was also his fan). He was often provided with adequate food rations, was able to live in a more comfortable room, and his only "labor job" was teaching others to play football, and his life was quite easy.

"He was a great footballer who made a significant contribution to the development of football in the Soviet Union. But I don't agree with his behavior of reselling sports goods and bribing military cadres. Manturov knew that Vasily was a fan of Starostin, so he made a more positive assessment of Starostin, but he was also worried that he would offend Beria, so he also told the "criminal facts" of Starostin's reselling of materials and bribing officials.

"You're right, he was indeed a great athlete, but all the charges he had for selling sports goods, bribing military cadres, and even instilling bourgeois ideas and attempting to assassinate my father were all invented by Beria and Malenkov." Vasily was a big fan of Starostin, and he was bent on rehabilitating Starostin, but for so long he did not find a good opportunity.

Historically, Vasily did not come to the aid of Starosin until 1948, when he became commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Force, using his power as commander-in-chief of the Air Force to take Starostin from Gulagry and send him to coach the football team of the Air Force.

And in this world, he does not seem to have the patience to wait for 1948, when he learned that Manturov was a fan of Spartak Moscow, and after the successful "entry into the Politburo" at the 19th Congress of the CPSU, he began to pin his hopes on Manturov, hoping that Manturov would lend a helping hand to Starolov.

You may ask me, why didn't Vasily ask his father for help? Because his dad doesn't want to help. As for the reason for his reluctance to help, there is still no accurate conclusion.

In fact, the relationship between Vasily and Starosin is not just about fans and idols.

Back in the 1930s (the exact year is unknown), Vasily, who goes by the pseudonym "Volkov", met Starostin's daughter at the riding club of Spartak Moscow, and on the recommendation of the girl, he became acquainted with Starotin, who was then the chairman of Spartak Moscow.

The specific relationship between Vasily and the girl is still unknown to outsiders, some say that they were just pure friends, others say that there was an unforgettable love affair between them, but it is certain that the relationship between Vasily and Starosin is not ordinary.

If Vasily really had a relationship with Starostin's daughter, it is not difficult to understand his motives for saving Starostin. Of course, it is not difficult to understand if it is a pure fan to save the idol.

Manturov thought for a moment and responded: "Actually, I also want to believe that he was wronged, and his arrest is a great loss to the sports world of our country.

But now that the results of the investigation have come out, there is relevant evidence on the charges of reselling sporting goods and bribing military cadres, and it is really difficult to release him. ”

"Isn't there a way to save him?"

"There's always a way, but I just didn't think of it. As a friend of Nikolai (Starotin), if there is a way to save him and prove his innocence, I will definitely help. ”