"And what do you think of Comrade Merkulov?" The conversation between Stalin and Manturov did not end, and after discussing the adjustment of Abakumov, the topic was shifted to Melkulov.

Melkulov was Beria's hardcore ally, one of the most important members of the "Georgian gang", and Beria's most trusted cadre. From 1931, when Beria, then the first secretary of the Party Committee of the Republic of Georgia, was elected as an assistant (secretary), Merkulov's fate was closely tied to Beria.

Before that, Merkulov had been a very idealistic and cultured intellectual. At the age of 18 (1913), he was admitted to the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of St. Petersburg University, and was a veritable "polytechnic dog".

In college, as a "science and engineering dog", he actually had a good literary talent. He wrote some romantic love stories in his free time, which were published in local literary magazines, and the response was not bad.

But in 1916, Melkulov's life changed dramatically, and at the age of 21, he entered a military academy in Orenburg, and six months later officially entered the Russian army as a second lieutenant.

After the October Revolution, the young Merkulov served in the Red Army, but soon after he worked as a teacher in a school in Tbilisi, Georgia, until 1921, when he joined the All-Russian Committee for the Suppression of Counter-Terrorism (Cheka), where he began his career as a counter-operative.

During the 10 years from 1921 to 1931, Merkulov was engaged in some relatively ordinary work in the Georgian Anti-Terrorist Committee. After Beria was elected first secretary of the Georgian Party Committee in 1931, the 36-year-old Melkulov became Beria's assistant, and since then Melkulov's fate has been linked with Beria.

Beria greatly admired Merkulov's talent, and after he became NKVD, he promoted Melkulov to the rank of First Deputy NKVD, becoming his most effective deputy.

After that, Melkulov became a prosperous member of the Soviet national security system, and in 1942 he became the People's Commissar for State Security, becoming the first head of the Soviet state security department.

Historically, however, Merkulov's career was not without its challenges, and when Beria lost power, he was also dismissed from his post as Minister of State Security, and spent a year at home until Beria's re-emergence as Minister of State Supervision.

However, the good times did not last long, and after the fall of Beria in 1953, Merkulov was also implicated, and was eventually relieved of all positions, and was shot in December 1953. Before the court handed down his verdict, Merkulov had publicly cursed the day he and Beria met, but it was already too late.

In Manturov's world, Merkulov's fate is no different from history for the time being, but it is very likely that this Kontsewo dinner conversation will change.

"Comrade Stalin, I think Comrade Merkulov is a very learned man. He was courteous and knowledgeable, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was the most cultured person in the national security system.

His work ability and leadership skills are okay, and his execution ability is also good, and he is often able to successfully complete the tasks assigned to him by the organization. But his lack of creativity and sense of crisis made it difficult for him to make a breakthrough in his current work.

All in all, Comrade Merkulov is a very good executor and a very educated person, who has performed quite well in the post of minister of state security, is able to effectively fulfill the tasks assigned by his superiors, and is a qualified national security cadre.

But his lack of crisis awareness makes it difficult for him to identify existing problems in the national security system and to address them in a timely manner. And the weakness of lack of creativity also makes it difficult for him to make breakthroughs in his work and open up new situations. ”

Compared with Abakumov, Manturov does not have a high opinion of Melkulov, but he actually prefers Melkulov in his heart.

However, because Stalin wanted to "adjust (demote)" Merkulov this time, Manturov did not dare to make too high an evaluation of him, but while affirming Merkulov's ability, he also singled out the fault of "lack of crisis awareness and creativity", so that Stalin could find a reason to adjust him.

In fact, Merkulov does have a weakness of lack of creativity and sense of crisis.

Even before Yakov became deputy head of the General Directorate of State Security, the Soviet state security services had many problems (the low level of intelligence personnel stationed abroad, the lack of wartime liaison mechanisms in the foreign intelligence network, and the lack of experts who could distinguish between the truth and the falsity of intelligence), and these problems were often not brought to light in time because of Melkulov's lack of crisis awareness.

It was not until Yakov became deputy head of the General Directorate of State Security that Yakov solved these problems under the guidance of Manturov, and Yakov, who was full of creativity and initiative, also opened up the situation in time before the Soviet-German war, not only established a complete wartime liaison mechanism, but also expanded the scope of penetration of Soviet intelligence personnel, making the Soviet Ministry of State Security one of the best intelligence services in the world.

Stalin picked up his glass, took a sip of red wine, and said: "It seems that we have to find a more suitable position for Comrade Merkulov, for for no one without creativity and a sense of crisis is a qualified state security cadre."

As for the position of Minister of State Security, what do you think about letting Comrade Yakov Yakovich Yakov, First Deputy Minister of State Security, take over? ”

Hearing this, Manturov has already roughly guessed the real reasons for the Novikov case and this adjustment of the national security system.

It is clear that Stalin's reshuffling of Beria and his confidant Melkulov was to combat the forces of the "Georgian gangster" with Beria, and the ultimate goal of the Novikov case, as in history, was to deal with Beria's political ally, the secretary of the Central Committee, Malenkov.

Then why did Stalin push Yakov to the post of Minister of State Security? In Manturov's view, Stalin did so in order to make himself the "greatest beneficiary" of this chain of time.

If Malenkov collapses, the personnel work that was originally in charge of Malenkov on the side of the Secretariat of the CPSU can be handed over to Manturov, the head of the Organization Department of the CPSU Central Committee, so that Manturov will become the only secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in charge of personnel and the person with the greatest personnel power in the CPSU other than Stalin.

After Yakov became the Minister of State Security, Manturov's "hardcore ally" undoubtedly became the first leader of the national security system, giving outsiders the illusion that "Manturov's hand has been extended into the national security system".

On the surface, Manturov is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of this case, which makes people think that he is the "mastermind" behind this series of cases.

As the "biggest loser" of this series of events, Beria is very likely to take revenge on Manturov, the "mastermind behind the Novikov case", so that Stalin successfully provoked a power struggle between the two factions of Manturov and Beria.

In the case of a struggle between the two factions, Stalin tended to be the object of the two factions' co-optation and dependence. During the struggle, in order to win Stalin's support, the two major factions not only did not do anything unfavorable to Stalin, but on the contrary, they would compete to curry favor with Stalin, and they would not have the heart to threaten Stalin's position at all.

In this way, Stalin's position would have been strengthened by the factional struggle below.

Stalin has used this technique many times in history, whether it was the struggle between Kaganovich and Yezhov in the 3o years, or the struggle between Beria and the Leningrad faction in the 4o years, Stalin had a part in provoking it.

However, since he had come to this point, Manturov could not but accept the "good intentions" offered by Stalin, so he had no choice but to say: "In my impression, Comrade Yakov is a talented person engaged in intelligence and espionage infiltration, and he not only has rich experience in national security work, good leadership and organizational skills, but also has a sense of crisis and creativity that Comrade Melkulov lacks, and is a very suitable candidate." ”

"Then let Comrade Yakov be the Minister of State Security."

Browse and read the address: