Chapter 3: Sword or shield?*
*This is a reference to the NKVD/KGB's motto: "The Sword and the Shield of the Party."
1 March 1937, Perm
Sergei Kirov, ever since the attempt on his life, found himself more and more marginalized from power. Although his formal position had not changed as Leningrad party chief, Stalin would constantly find the slimmest of reasons to send Kirov away from his home. For example, because the new factory foreman's wife was born in Leningrad, Stalin ordered Kirov to attend the opening of a new complex in Perm. Kirov, as cynical as ever, couldn't help but think that part of the urgency of Stalin's request was an important vote in the Politburo to enact Full Mobilization. Kirov had spoken out more than once against the foolishness of preparing for a war that would clearly never come, and had even threatened to mobilize support among the other full members of the Politburo against the measure. Stalin had even denied Kirov's request to call in his vote.
As Kirov frustratedly sighed, one of the factory engineers ran up to him, gasping for breath. "Comrade Kirov!"
"Yes, Comrade Engineer? What is it?"
"The Prosecutor General is here."
Kirov raised his eyebrow. "Is he? Has our glorious
Vozhd' also sent him to inspect the factory?"
"He wouldn't say, Comrade."
"Very well, I will see him."
Oleksandr Kyrylovych Smilyvyўenko was not a patient man by nature. He scowled at Kirov when the party chief arrived at a leisurely pace. "Comrade Kirov, it is most unbecoming for a socialist to have such bourgeois respect for time."
Kirov snorted in derision. "You sound like that buffoon Teterev. What do you want, Sasha?"
Using the Russian version of Oleksandr's nickname was calculated to offend the Prosecutor General, and it worked like a charm. Smilyvyўenko turned bright red with fury. "Comrade Kirov, I am worthy of respect. I can make life very unpleasant for you."
"Yes, I suppose you could. You could force me to attend the opening of a meaningless factory complex in the middle of nowhere. Oh, sorry, Stalin beat you to it."
The Prosecutor General was not a tall man; Kirov easily towered over the Ukrainian. Kirov's smile only infuriated Smilyvyўenko more. "Listen, Comrade, I am here to conduct you to an important meeting. That's it."
"What meeting?"
"The local Soviet wishes to meet with you and hear you speak. You are a popular man, Comrade Kirov."
Kirov's one weakness was his vanity. An opportunity to hear himself praised could not be passed up, and so he hurried to follow the Prosecutor General. Suddenly, one of the workers shouted out in horror. "Get out of the way!"
The last thing to go through Kirov's mind was a concrete rebar. If Kirov hadn't died almost instantly, he would have seen the slightest of smirks on Smilyvyўenko's face.
6 April 1937, Moscow
"Aye."
With the final vote, the decision to increase production of all war materiel passed. Stalin banged his gavel and glanced at the People's Commissar for Ideological Purity.
Teterev took Stalin's cue and cleared his throat to speak. Some of his comrades were not even convinced his position mattered, and so Teterev took every opportunity to enhance his own importance. "Dear Comrades, the tragic passing of Comrade Kirov in Perm has left us all heartbroken. Yet if he were here to speak to us now, he would surely urge our increasing preparations against the Hitler menace. After all, with that fascist maniac Luganov on the loose, we must maintain our vigilance. Even if Hitler can behave himself, surely the capitalist nations of Europe would love nothing more than to crush the proletariat once and for all. That is why this vote was so important, and that is why we must make certain to honor the right people, as examples to the peasantry and proletariat of our glorious nation."
Everybody dutifully applauded. Marshal Tukhachevsky and General Vatutin winced at the mentioning of Luganov; there were already rumblings that the NKVD would try to use his escape as a way to reduce the authority and prestige of the Red Army. As Kirov was posthumously declared a Hero of the Soviet Union, another round of applause scattered throughout the room. It was Stalin's turn to wince slightly; he'd opposed the award for Kirov, wanting to present Kirov as a counter-revolutionary scumbag of a sort not seen since Trotsky, but even Molotov agreed to award the decoration to Kirov. Teterev droned on for another twenty minutes, invoking Stalin's own words no less than eight separate times and Lenin six.
In the back of the room were the General Secretaries from three different countries: Switzerland, Sweden, and Tibet. Each had gained some power in their respective countries and used this power to try to shift their country's foreign policy.
30 June 1937, Voronezh
Marshal Tukhachevsky burst with pride as the new artillery pieces completely decimated the targets set for them at the end of the range. The new Model 1937 consistently reached 16 kilometers, and a skilled crew had been known to get the occasional hit at 20 kilometers. Coupled with new medium tanks, the new 11th Mechanized Corps was the standard bearer for the Red Army. On the subject of Germany, Tukhachevsky and Stalin were in complete agreement: Hitler was going to be a threat to world peace, and probably sooner rather than later. Although Tukhachevsky himself had attended the German tank school built before Hitler's repudiation of Versailles, he did not trust the fascists. Like a few other Soviet officers, he didn't believe the stories about the Hindenburg for one moment. It had to be some sort of new Nazi weapons test.
In fact, Tukhachevsky and a few other trusted officers had begun updating plans for attacks on countries like Japan, Manchukuo, and even Finland. He very much preferred to go on the offensive as quickly as possible.
That is, of course, if the NKVD didn't gut his staff for "helping" Luganov.
A short update, I know, but not much happened.
For those who aren't actually playing, we're seeing quite the rivalry develop between the NKVD and the Red Army; it should lead to some interesting updates in the future!