Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Tikhonov, First Secretary of the Party Committee of Ukraine Serbitsky, First Secretary of the Kazakh Party Committee Kunaev, and Secretary of the Central Committee Chernenko. On the other side of www.biquge.info are Secretary of the Central Committee Andropov, Defense Minister Ustinov, Chairman of the National Security Council Serov, and Foreign Minister Gromyko.

Although the two sides are not sitting alone, their eyes are still full of indifference and vigilance, the second secretary Suslov has died, and whoever is the second secretary is Brezhnev's successor. This is not the time to show unity, and when it is time to act, there will not be a single member of the Central Presidium who is soft-handed.

Serov's side happened to be the first secretary of the Ukrainian Party Committee Serbitsky, and the General Political Commissar felt more embarrassed than anyone else, because of the relationship between his son and Serbitsky's daughter, the relationship between the two could not at least not be as stiff as it is now. But he and the Dnipro gang are not on the right plate, and Shcherbitsky is a heavyweight of the Dnipro gang.

It was not only Serov himself who was uncomfortable, but also Serbitzky, who was indifferent, but also because of the spy leader next to him, he felt uncomfortable for a while, and no matter how he adjusted, he couldn't suppress the weirdness in his heart.

Even Leonid Brezhnev himself did not want to be so calm on the surface. Suslov's death exposed a looming problem, and that was the question of Brezhnev's successor. At the time of Suslov was the unquestioned second secretary, the Soviet state, the most important thing was ideological work, to prevent penetration by the United States. Therefore, the consciousness and form of the supervisor have always been the undoubted second secretary, and the authority of the secretary of other heavy industry, light industry, and foreign affairs is heavier.

In order to prevent the killing of each other after the death of Stalin, there was also a coup d'état plot in the Khrushchev era. Brezhnev chose his peer Suslov as the second secretary, and even his close comrades-in-arms Kirilenko and Chernenko had to show respect for Suslov, and now the second secretary is gone.

The purpose of the day is incomprehensible, that is, to elect a second secretary, and Brezhnev's cloudy gaze swept over Andropov and Chernenko, one of whom was the future leader of the Soviet Union. If there is a third candidate, it is the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine Serbitski.

If Kirilenko had not made a mistake, then all of these candidates would have existed, and after his death, it would have been Kirilenko who would have become general secretary and would continue to lead the Soviet Union in accordance with its established policy and confrontation with the United States. But Kirilenko's fall was too sudden, and the remaining Chernenko and Shcherbitsky were not quite qualified enough. Kirilenko's position in his own group was very important, and he was the only one who could overpower other members of the Presidium of the Central Committee in terms of seniority.

It's a pity that the Soviet Union has no mercy on the issue of traitors, the chairman of the KGB has fallen because of this incident, and the marshal of the Red Army has been ordered to retire, so even if he is a close comrade-in-arms of Brezhnev himself, he can't pull a hand, this is a principle, because if he violates this rule, he will be greeted with the doubts of all the members of the Presidium of the Central Committee.

In recent years, because of Brezhnev's poor health, he has more often relied on the Dnipro gangsters to support him as the general secretary, rather than the general secretary cultivating the Dnipro gangsters as when he first came to power. The position of Brezhnev and his own cultivated group has changed, and the most orthodox cronie, Kiriyenko, succeeded Brezhnev as the first secretary of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Party Committee, and was elected a member of the Presidium and Secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the CPSU.

Tikhonov, a native of Dnepropetrovsk, was later elected a member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee and chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR two years earlier, and was Brezhnev's chosen successor to Kosygin.

Serbitsky, a native of Dnepropetrovsk, was the first secretary of the party committee of the oblast, was elected a member of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the CPSU, first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

Serokov, a graduate of the Dnepr-Terzhensk Metallurgical Institute, was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the City Soviet when Brezhnev was the secretary of the Dnepropetrovsk State Party Committee. He was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs by Brezhnev to spy on Serov's KGB and played an important role in the Burg system.

The most important link, because there was a vacancy because of Kirilenko's exit, this is the situation that Brezhnev is facing now.

"I am very saddened by the loss of Comrade Suslov, but the work must continue, the pace of the Soviets must continue to advance, we must put away our grief and continue to devote ourselves to our work." Brezhnev's voice was slow, and he had to pause for a while every time he finished speaking, both to rest and to organize the language, "Well, comrades, who is more suitable for the post of Suslov?" ”

Brezhnev did not directly appoint who the second secretary was, and if he had time, of course he would. But what he is thinking about now is whether he still has time to suppress the voice of dissatisfaction, and if not, he must listen to the opinions of other committee members, which is a very sad consideration.

From Kozlov, Podgorny, Sherepin to Kosygin, he defeated one opponent after another, turned defeat into victory again and again, and suppressed his opponents, but to this day, he must also compromise, even if Brezhnev at this time is still the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the chairman of the Supreme Soviet, the chairman of the National Defense Committee, the supreme great leader, and the symbol of the love of the Soviet people, but these are useless, he has no time......

For the first time, Brezhnev, who didn't know how long he would live, was faced with the question of whether he would be able to make peace between the two sides coexist if his nomination was opposed.

If he still has three years left, this is perfectly fine, if he only has one year left, there is no time to trade again, but the problem is that Brezhnev doesn't know how much time he has now, he doesn't dare to gamble.

"Comrade Chernenko, has always been a very hard-working comrade, and he knows our organization very well!" The speaker was Pavlov, the head of the Central Office of the USSR, who was also an important figure of the Dnipro gang, and at the same time an alternate member of the Presidium of the Central Committee, although he could not participate in the voting, but he could definitely express his opinion.

After Pavlov's voice came, the atmosphere at the meeting instantly became noisy, but it was those who supported Chernenko who spoke, and Andropov, Ustinov, Serov, and Gromyko did not speak. Still silent, listening to the discussions of Kunaev and Shcherbitsky with a listening attitude.

"Be quiet!" Brezhnev's voice was not loud, but it was still audible enough to keep his eyes on Andropov, Serov, Ustinov and Gromyko. And Grischen, Romanov. Finally, he retracted his gaze and asked, "Comrade Ustinov, what do you think!" ”

"Who should take over as the second secretary is in accordance with the party constitution, and there is no need to discuss it at all." Defense Minister Marshal Ustinov said unmoved, "I just came to the meeting." ”

"Comrade Serov tell me your opinion!" Brezhnev opened his mouth again and asked Serov who you think is more suitable." "Brezhnev could feel that those who did not speak did not like Chernenko.

"Marshal Ustinov has already said that I am a security cadre and maintain the majesty of the country, and this matter can be completely solved by the party constitution and customs!" Serov forgot that he was also the secretary of the Central Committee, which, of course, was deliberate.

"Hmm!" Brezhnev agreed softly, sat in his place for a long time, and said, "In the future, when I am not in Moscow for something, the meeting will be chaired by Comrade Andropov and assisted by Comrade Chernenko, so be it." Adjournment ......"

When the dust settled, there was no saber rattling on the surface, and the meeting still maintained the stability and unity of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Soviet Union, but in fact the winner of the battle for the second secretary was already decided in the dialogue of several people. Andropov was half a position ahead, and the reason for this was that Brezhnev still did not forget about Chernenko.

Maybe the general secretary still needs time to figure out a way, but Serov knows that the matter is basically settled. Maybe in Brezhnev's heart, Shcherbitsky weighed more than both of them, but Shcherbitsky was too far away, and even if it was to operate in Moscow, it would take time.

"You must be complaining about why I didn't help you! The same thing Kirilenko asked me. Leaning back in his chair, Brezhnev seemed to recall that there was only one audience, and that was Chernenko, "I think that I have defeated many opponents in my life, and there are many times when the enemy is strong and I am weak." Kozlov I won very lucky, he was not in good health. In the future, Shelepin and Kosygin won without doubt. ”

"When I faced Kozlov, it was the most difficult time for me, and you should know this best, Comrade Chernenko." Brezhnev said with a sigh, "This is different from the confrontation with Sherepin and Kosygin. Kozlov is better than me in almost everything, he is higher than me, he is younger than me, he has more experience than me, and he is more capable than me. At that time, even I thought that I couldn't win against him, and in my heart I threw in the towel. ”

"But time beats him, without a good body, there is nothing, that's why I had to attack Shurik in the first place, I know that once I die, even if Kirilenko is here, you can't win Shurik!" Brezhnev finally tilted his head to look at Chernenko and said quietly, "Now, I'm old, if I have to help you defeat and suppress Andropov, I don't know if there is time for me to finish things." ”

"They will one day tread your grave too!" Chernenko closed his eyes and said something that only the two of them could understand, which was what Brezhnev said about Stalin's fate at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union after seeing Khrushchev's secret report.