I never would have guessed.((The thing I miss most about the old days here is my own custom avatar.))
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Back in the "old" days! Pffft!!!((The thing I miss most about the old days here is my own custom avatar.
Back in my day, we had only 2 avatars, blue and white checks or white and blue checks. And we were happy. I have had the same avatar for 12 1/2 years and never needed no new fangled custom avatar to get the job done. Kids these days, with their itunes and their baseball caps and loud music. Always expecting more rather than keepin' it simple like we used to do before this intanet thingy came along.
Now you kids get off ma damn lawn!!!
LMAO! 628 posts in 13 years? Just wow. I have seen longtimers with fewer, but you guys are pretty rare.
I don't say much but when I do, it's worth listening to.
Back in the day, I used to be Hell on wheels in canonized's Timelines and El Pip's Butterfly Effect but that would have been before your time.
I read the Butterfly effect, though it was already completed at the time. Never heard of timelines. I found the butterfly effect while looking for Blue Emu's "are submarines useless" thread. I know I posted alot more in my early days than I do now. I do enjoy these RP games though. In the DH section, I have had people complain that I posted too much lol. I have cut back majorly there now.
All right, old timers. Let's stay on topic.
[[ I am going to take a shot at a small narrative, which explains Yakushev's rise in the Politburo and closes down some of his cases while in NKVD internal security chief
- The narrative is from a 3rd person perspective, and the narrator is not Yakushev - so don't tear him apart in the admin thread fellow members of the politburo ]]
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Yakushev left the General Secretary's Kremlin office in shock. He had heard about how people felt after their encounters with Stalin, but he dismissed them as superstitions. "He is only a man, and most importantly he is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, our leader and successor to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, selected by him to continue the workers' Revolution", he used to say when rumours about a meeting with Stalin reached his ears. But they were right, Stalin's penetrating look and his cold and firm handshake under Molotov's watchful eyes were enough to replace Yakushev's confidence with a nauseating feeling. It was not fear, but Yakushev wished it was. At least fear is a known emotion... this was something different. "Superstition", he thought as he caught himself almost running from Stalin's office to the Commissariat of Enlightenment section in Kremlin's basement.
Perhaps he should have been afraid. After all it was only recently he got the position of Chief of personal security in NKVD and his promotion to People's Commissar for Enlightenment turned many eyes on him. The fact that it only took him a week to acquire a new set of duties by securing the main role in allocating Soviet Union's research projects for himself did not help to ease the tension surrounding him. Unfortunately for him, his rise was noticed by nearly everyone, and even Stalin pointed out Yakushev's "hijacking" of extra responsibilities. Even if these responsibilities were not claimed by anybody, Yakushev should have known better than interfering with Stalin's favourite Politburo member's portfolio. Luckily, Julia Wjatscheslawowna Rakobolskaja (( shierholzer )), was not even aware that these matters were under the Commissariat of Defence - which says something about her qualifications.
Still, Yakushev's rise to power was compared to Stalin's consolidation of powers after Lenin's death in 1924 by some, and he was sure that Stalin would not appreciate this kind of comparison. They even said that he arranged for something to happen to his predecessors in the Ministry. What built his confidence was that these rumours were spread by the Commissar of Finance, Hryhoriy Fedorovych Hrynko (( Dadarian )), an "unbearable Ukrainian swine" in Yakushev's words, who despised Yakushev. Hrynko was a known dissident, closely escaping a trial and his inevitable execution, with his loyalty not to Stalin. He was barely trusted in his duties and any rumours coming from him were discredited. Yagoda, the formidable NKVD boss (( son of liberty)), Yakushev's former boss and his eternal puppet master as many would claim, was very effective in neutralising these rumours and making Hrynko look even more ridiculous than his actual looks suggested.
Yakushev was amused by the Ukrainian's tantrums and before his meeting with Stalin he looked forward sitting next to him in the next politburo session. He changed his opinion when he realised that this would put him next to Rakobolskaja also. He had heard how Stalin looked at her and he knew what was going on between them, the last thing in the word Yakushev would want was to interfere in one of the legendary exchanges of looks between Stalin and Rakobolskaja. No, he would have to sit opposite to Hrynko, and if that meant that he will have to look at his miserable face, then so be it. At least, he wouldn't have to withstand the horrible stench of pickled eggs and onions that accompanied Hrynko everywhere he went.
He could deal with Hrynko and he could deal with almost anybody in that Politburo. Almost anybody... that excluded Major General Vatutin. Under Yagoda's orders and with his cover as Internal Security chief Yakushev had Vatutin under his watchful eye for weeks. Of course the colonel's (at that time) security was not his primary concern, not that if someone attacked him his agents would not interfere. Vatutin was a compromise between Stalin and the Marshal, hence nobody really wanted him to be there. Yakushev thought he had a lot in common with Vatutin, despite the fact that he had almost nothing. The one thing they had in common though is that their recent promotions did not serve Stalin's plans. Vatutin's was a compromise, and Yakushev's a side-effect of the Kirov incident. As a result nobody trusted them. Yakushev was not aware of Vatutin's opinion on the matter, like Vatutin was not aware of Yakushev's plans. And Yakushev's plans where summarised in the 4-5 lines of the following signal:
That was a big pile of mess. The signal was well engineered by NKVD's specialists. NKVD staff was used so that paperwork can be "adjusted" and Agent Koychev was a well trusted man. Even if he felt like changing his view on the matters, his past would guarantee his loyalty.
Yakushev had information on many meetings in the Voronezh rural area in relation to Vatutin. The fact that Vatutin was born there, suggested that he would have a network of followers, relatives and in general people loyal to him. Despite their insignificance they were followed, and nobody cared. At those times everybody, followed everybody and those tailing targets were being tailed themselves. That was the matter of things.
Both Yagoda and Yakushev didn't expect to learn something useful. But suddenly there was frantic activity in the so-called Vatutin's network. Even contacts with abroad. Our embassies in Paris and Mexico had reports. Mentioning Paris annoyed Yakushev, he absolutely hated the emigres, mentioning Mexico though created waves of shock. Yagoda was sleepless for days trying to verify the story. Could there be a link between Vatutin and the Trots? What about the Marshal? Was Stalin tricked into accepting Vatutin as a compromise when in fact he was the Marshal's first choice? Is the Marshal conspiring with Trotsky?
What was even more disturbing was that all the activity stopped after the announcement of Vatutin's promotion. As if a plan was set in motion and no interference was required. Everybody went underground. The Voronezh network was nowhere to be found. When our agents entered the house where the meetings occurred, there was only one old woman. When they tore the house apart, the only thing they found was 2 hidden orthodox paintings of St. Nikolai and St. Fyodor. Nobody cared about an old woman and her relics. They let her be.
It never occured to any of them that she could be a relative and that perhaps those paintings had something special. "Look at the <ruddy> names of the saints" Yakushev screamed when he read the report. He immediately ordered to go back into the house and get these paintings without touching a single hair of grandma's hair. Last thing he wanted was to harm Vatutin's aunt or even worse his mother. The house was at the state they left it two days ago, but Grandma and her paintings nowhere to be found. When he described everything to Yagoda, Yagoda nearly had a stroke "There are no links to Vatutin" he kept repeating to himself again and again. Yakushev couldn't tell. Was his former boss and now allegedly equal, disappointed or relieved? Would he feed Stalin's paranoia or decide not to risk his image by exposing his and his protege' incompetence ?
"A big pile of mess", Yakushev thought. He was glad to organise within a couple of hours the operation in Kursk and grateful to Koychev for his ruthless efficiency. He was even happier to go to his office in the newly built Ministry of Enlightenment, far away from the administrative centre of Moscow, far away from the Kremlin and the NKVD headquarters.
[[ OK, I hoped it would be smaller, but I couldn't help blabbing about Yakushev's background. The Vatutin incident was something I planned some time ago, but I couldn't help adding some sauce ]]
- The narrative is from a 3rd person perspective, and the narrator is not Yakushev - so don't tear him apart in the admin thread fellow members of the politburo
]]Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Yakushev left the General Secretary's Kremlin office in shock. He had heard about how people felt after their encounters with Stalin, but he dismissed them as superstitions. "He is only a man, and most importantly he is the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, our leader and successor to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, selected by him to continue the workers' Revolution", he used to say when rumours about a meeting with Stalin reached his ears. But they were right, Stalin's penetrating look and his cold and firm handshake under Molotov's watchful eyes were enough to replace Yakushev's confidence with a nauseating feeling. It was not fear, but Yakushev wished it was. At least fear is a known emotion... this was something different. "Superstition", he thought as he caught himself almost running from Stalin's office to the Commissariat of Enlightenment section in Kremlin's basement.
Perhaps he should have been afraid. After all it was only recently he got the position of Chief of personal security in NKVD and his promotion to People's Commissar for Enlightenment turned many eyes on him. The fact that it only took him a week to acquire a new set of duties by securing the main role in allocating Soviet Union's research projects for himself did not help to ease the tension surrounding him. Unfortunately for him, his rise was noticed by nearly everyone, and even Stalin pointed out Yakushev's "hijacking" of extra responsibilities. Even if these responsibilities were not claimed by anybody, Yakushev should have known better than interfering with Stalin's favourite Politburo member's portfolio. Luckily, Julia Wjatscheslawowna Rakobolskaja (( shierholzer )), was not even aware that these matters were under the Commissariat of Defence - which says something about her qualifications.
Still, Yakushev's rise to power was compared to Stalin's consolidation of powers after Lenin's death in 1924 by some, and he was sure that Stalin would not appreciate this kind of comparison. They even said that he arranged for something to happen to his predecessors in the Ministry. What built his confidence was that these rumours were spread by the Commissar of Finance, Hryhoriy Fedorovych Hrynko (( Dadarian )), an "unbearable Ukrainian swine" in Yakushev's words, who despised Yakushev. Hrynko was a known dissident, closely escaping a trial and his inevitable execution, with his loyalty not to Stalin. He was barely trusted in his duties and any rumours coming from him were discredited. Yagoda, the formidable NKVD boss (( son of liberty)), Yakushev's former boss and his eternal puppet master as many would claim, was very effective in neutralising these rumours and making Hrynko look even more ridiculous than his actual looks suggested.
Yakushev was amused by the Ukrainian's tantrums and before his meeting with Stalin he looked forward sitting next to him in the next politburo session. He changed his opinion when he realised that this would put him next to Rakobolskaja also. He had heard how Stalin looked at her and he knew what was going on between them, the last thing in the word Yakushev would want was to interfere in one of the legendary exchanges of looks between Stalin and Rakobolskaja. No, he would have to sit opposite to Hrynko, and if that meant that he will have to look at his miserable face, then so be it. At least, he wouldn't have to withstand the horrible stench of pickled eggs and onions that accompanied Hrynko everywhere he went.
He could deal with Hrynko and he could deal with almost anybody in that Politburo. Almost anybody... that excluded Major General Vatutin. Under Yagoda's orders and with his cover as Internal Security chief Yakushev had Vatutin under his watchful eye for weeks. Of course the colonel's (at that time) security was not his primary concern, not that if someone attacked him his agents would not interfere. Vatutin was a compromise between Stalin and the Marshal, hence nobody really wanted him to be there. Yakushev thought he had a lot in common with Vatutin, despite the fact that he had almost nothing. The one thing they had in common though is that their recent promotions did not serve Stalin's plans. Vatutin's was a compromise, and Yakushev's a side-effect of the Kirov incident. As a result nobody trusted them. Yakushev was not aware of Vatutin's opinion on the matter, like Vatutin was not aware of Yakushev's plans. And Yakushev's plans where summarised in the 4-5 lines of the following signal:
Code:
Top priority - Classified for Internal Security
From: 1. NKVD Korpus - Kursk
To: Moscow NKVD Chief of Internal Security
CC: Head of NKVD
Encounter with counter-revolutionaries. 14 were shot in ambush by elements of 20. NKVD Strelkovaya Diviziya in co-operation with NKVD partisan special forces. Special commendation to Dmitri Dmitriyevich Koychev for his actions ((oskar-kar)).
1 counter-revolutionary was detained, and questioned.
Confession on plot to assassinate Major General Vatutin follows next mail.
NKVD's original assessment on plot's size correct. Links with emigrant communities correct.
Local threat neutralised.
Abroad action required.
No access to ring-leaders.Yakushev had information on many meetings in the Voronezh rural area in relation to Vatutin. The fact that Vatutin was born there, suggested that he would have a network of followers, relatives and in general people loyal to him. Despite their insignificance they were followed, and nobody cared. At those times everybody, followed everybody and those tailing targets were being tailed themselves. That was the matter of things.
Both Yagoda and Yakushev didn't expect to learn something useful. But suddenly there was frantic activity in the so-called Vatutin's network. Even contacts with abroad. Our embassies in Paris and Mexico had reports. Mentioning Paris annoyed Yakushev, he absolutely hated the emigres, mentioning Mexico though created waves of shock. Yagoda was sleepless for days trying to verify the story. Could there be a link between Vatutin and the Trots? What about the Marshal? Was Stalin tricked into accepting Vatutin as a compromise when in fact he was the Marshal's first choice? Is the Marshal conspiring with Trotsky?
What was even more disturbing was that all the activity stopped after the announcement of Vatutin's promotion. As if a plan was set in motion and no interference was required. Everybody went underground. The Voronezh network was nowhere to be found. When our agents entered the house where the meetings occurred, there was only one old woman. When they tore the house apart, the only thing they found was 2 hidden orthodox paintings of St. Nikolai and St. Fyodor. Nobody cared about an old woman and her relics. They let her be.
It never occured to any of them that she could be a relative and that perhaps those paintings had something special. "Look at the <ruddy> names of the saints" Yakushev screamed when he read the report. He immediately ordered to go back into the house and get these paintings without touching a single hair of grandma's hair. Last thing he wanted was to harm Vatutin's aunt or even worse his mother. The house was at the state they left it two days ago, but Grandma and her paintings nowhere to be found. When he described everything to Yagoda, Yagoda nearly had a stroke "There are no links to Vatutin" he kept repeating to himself again and again. Yakushev couldn't tell. Was his former boss and now allegedly equal, disappointed or relieved? Would he feed Stalin's paranoia or decide not to risk his image by exposing his and his protege' incompetence ?
"A big pile of mess", Yakushev thought. He was glad to organise within a couple of hours the operation in Kursk and grateful to Koychev for his ruthless efficiency. He was even happier to go to his office in the newly built Ministry of Enlightenment, far away from the administrative centre of Moscow, far away from the Kremlin and the NKVD headquarters.
[[ OK, I hoped it would be smaller, but I couldn't help blabbing about Yakushev's background. The Vatutin incident was something I planned some time ago, but I couldn't help adding some sauce
]]
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Absolutely love it, Red. Especially this line:
After all the jokes about working "above", "under", and "in" Rakobolskaja ('s department), this particular line made me giggle for quite a while
Very nice! In fact, if others want to contribute stuff about their background, I would not object. I'll create a separate portion of the TOC just for these extra bits; all I ask is some advance warning before I sign off on it in the future, so that this thread doesn't get flooded.
Thanks !!! Yakushev is a big fan of "Julia" and also meets some of her standards (he is around three times here ageAbsolutely love it, Red. Especially this line:
After all the jokes about working "above", "under", and "in" Rakobolskaja ('s department), this particular line made me giggle for quite a while
). But he will keep these thoughts to himself, he has way to many open fronts.Thanks. The first half regarding Yakushev's promotion took me more than I planned. My intention was not to describe his background. That would perfectly fit in the admin thread. In this thread I wanted to progress a storyline regarding Vatutin, which technically would be closer to AAR. I actually thought quite hard on where to post.
Still, I don't expect this to be regular on my behalf. Hopefully, Yakushev will enjoy the dull life of a Moscow bureaucrat and nothing more
** Also any reference to the events described in my AAR post should be made in the admin thread so we don't spam /flood this one (like we do in the admin thread
)** )
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Kamensky needs to interact with her peers. I so love the idea of us adding tidbits here and there.
In BigBadBob's the Presidents, it seemed to work really well (I don't remember if anybody here was part of that too?); again, just give me some notice.
For those who aren't already playing -- first, there are still spots open. Second, we should be updating early next week sometime.
For those who aren't already playing -- first, there are still spots open. Second, we should be updating early next week sometime.
No! The officer core must be properly trained so I may export economic contracts to more socialist nations!I really should just stir things up right now and declare "Minimal Education Investment"....
A man stops at a street corner slightly out of breath. "Finally" he says to himself "I seem to have slipped my guards". At that moment he notices a car approaching in the darkness. As the car pulls up, he senses someone behind him. He feels a slight prick and something goes over his head.
Sometime later he awakes in a dark room. The room smells of vomit and urine. He hears slight scuffing sounds. "Where am I?" he mutters....
"Ahh Comrade, good morning. I trust you slept well?"
The first man tries to rise but something restrains his arms and legs. Stinging sensations begin to course through his wrists and ankles, even his buttocks. Apparently he has been sitting restrained for sometime. He finally realizes the urine and vomit smells are coming from his own body.
"Where am I?" he croaks a little more loudly.
"We decided it was time for a talk comrade. Thus your invitation to meet us here. We wonder why you decided to sneak away from your bodyguards. That was a foolish move, though fortuitous for us."
"Who are you? Why am I here? Do you know who I am?"
The second man laughs and steps into the light. The first man shrinks back into his chair. "The question, comrade, is....do you know who I am?" The second man lights a cigarette. "We must talk of many things. You have a daughter. She is in school to be a ballerina. Perhaps she would serve the state better in a coal mine? or...."
"Or what? Take my daughter if you want, just let me out of here. I'll do anything...."
"Yes, you will."
Sometime later he awakes in a dark room. The room smells of vomit and urine. He hears slight scuffing sounds. "Where am I?" he mutters....
"Ahh Comrade, good morning. I trust you slept well?"
The first man tries to rise but something restrains his arms and legs. Stinging sensations begin to course through his wrists and ankles, even his buttocks. Apparently he has been sitting restrained for sometime. He finally realizes the urine and vomit smells are coming from his own body.
"Where am I?" he croaks a little more loudly.
"We decided it was time for a talk comrade. Thus your invitation to meet us here. We wonder why you decided to sneak away from your bodyguards. That was a foolish move, though fortuitous for us."
"Who are you? Why am I here? Do you know who I am?"
The second man laughs and steps into the light. The first man shrinks back into his chair. "The question, comrade, is....do you know who I am?" The second man lights a cigarette. "We must talk of many things. You have a daughter. She is in school to be a ballerina. Perhaps she would serve the state better in a coal mine? or...."
"Or what? Take my daughter if you want, just let me out of here. I'll do anything...."
"Yes, you will."
Chapter 1: The Spanish Civil War (January 1936 - July 1936)
2 February 1936, Moscow
Iosef Stalin skimmed the dossier of the new Politburo members as he puffed on his pipe. Yakushev. A good man, to be certain, and loyal to the Party. I cannot help but think that Yagoda put forth his name primarily to eliminate a competitor. In any case, he is capable. He closed Yakushev's dossier and proceeded to the liquor-stained file on Comrade Gey, who had kindly provided his own information. Gey. Outmaneuvered in Belarus by Chervyakov, but returned to power thanks to his friendship with Kirov. Must have Yagoda investigate Gey's true loyalties. A buzzer announced the arrival of Comrades Petrova, Kamensky, and Rakobolskaja. As they entered, he gestured to a couch nearby.
"Comrade Rakobolskaja, your report?"
The lovely Commissar for Defense had Stalin's rapt attention. She went into great detail about the intricacies of new factories being constructed and the raising of two new tank divisions. After about fifteen minutes, most of which had nothing to do with her report, she departed, leaving behind Kamensky and Petrova.
"Comrade Kamensky, I am told we have consistent shortfalls in supply. Is it not your job to ensure our soldiers are fed and equipped?"
There was none of the flirting or byplay with Kamensky; only the hard gaze of the most feared man in the Soviet Union. To her credit, she met his inquisition with equanimity. "Comrade General Secretary, I have done everything I can, but many of the capitalists will not trade with us. Perhaps we should devote our industrial capacity to produce our goods here at home."
Stalin considered this. "I will see to it. Thank you, Comrade. And you, Comrade Petrova. How are our friends around the world?"
Petrova opened a briefcase and set some documents in front of Stalin.
"Comrade Stalin, Switzerland is also aligning with the Axis. However, I can no longer pursue activities with Spain; we are out of funding."
Stalin waved impatiently with his pipe. "Take it up at July's Politburo meeting. What about this Rhineland business?"
"Hitler has defied the capitalist pigs in France and the United Kingdom. They are weak, just as you predicted."
Stalin raised his eyebrow in acknowledgement of the second point. Of course, the actual prediction had come from Petrova herself weeks before, but she was bright enough not to mention it. "Very well, Comrade. A good report."
Alone in his office again, Stalin reached for his telephone. "Get me Comrade Yagoda. I want a report from him in March."
[HR][/HR]
28 March 1936, Lubyanka, Moscow
Genrikh Yagoda's meeting with Stalin had been pushed back again and again; the General Secretary was a busy man, after all. Yet, as he read the telegram from the rezidentura in Madrid, he knew the meeting would have to come sooner. He gathered his reports and left for Stalin's office, only to find the General Secretary and Molotov waiting for him in the antechamber. Molotov, as usual, said nothing. Stalin smiled and said, "Ah, Genrikh Gregoryevich! It came to my attention that I have been avoiding you, my old friend. Let us go into your office and have you make your report."
Yagoda was no fool and did not trust Stalin's smile in the least. Still, he returned it with interest, and gestured to seats for the General Secretary and the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. "Comrade Stalin, first, you had asked me to investigate Comrade Gey."
"I did. Go on."
Yagoda arranged the papers on his desk carefully. "Comrade Gey's removal from power in Belarus was the result of a, ah, personal indiscretion."
Stalin laughed. This was the sort of thing he loved to hear, and after a few moments of all the ribald details, even Molotov had the ghost of a smile cross his lips. "And Kirov?"
"Kirov's interest in Gey is purely social. The two are genuinely close, but Comrade Gey knows that you control his future."
Stalin, still shaking with mirth, nodded. "This is good to hear, Comrade Yagoda. Our supply shortages have been corrected as well, and I have you to thank for it, I hear."
Yagoda knew no such thing; it had been Comrade Hrynko's budgetary gymnastics that had found the necessary capacity to keep the Red Army fed.
Still, Hrynko was mistrusted by most of the Politburo, and Comrade Yagoda in particular. The two had never gotten along, and so Yagoda had no qualms about scoring a victory. He merely thanked Stalin profusely and moved onto the activities of the NKVD.
"In addition to those reports, we are also very active in Berlin, per your request, Comrade Stalin. Comrade Koychev has served the rezidentura there very expertly."
Stalin nodded. The smile had yet to leave his face, so Yagoda started to breathe a little easier. After a few moments of small talk, Stalin and Molotov made for the door. Shaking Yagoda's hand, Stalin started to leave, then stopped for a moment. "Comrade, could you turn on your radio for a moment?"
Yagoda, puzzled, nodded. After a few moments of music, the news reporter spoke. "Earlier today, Comrade Stalin, our glorious leader, openly proclaimed the Soviet Union's support for the Republicans of Spain. He condemned the imperialists Hitler and Mussolini for their reactionary defense of the illegally elected Nationalists. In a statement, the General Secretary said 'I call upon all peace and freedom loving nations of the world to aid the Soviet Union in defending the legitimate government in Madrid.'"
Yagoda paled. There was no smile on Stalin's face now. Somehow, Stalin already knew that Spain had erupted in civil war, when he himself found out only moments before. After a minute of icy silence, Stalin patted Yagoda on the shoulder in a friendly way. "You look ill, Comrade. I will take the map on your desk and be on my way. You should really see a doctor."
[HR][/HR]
2 July 1936, STAVKA
Mikhail Tukhachevsky studied the Italian campaigns in Ethiopia with great interest, along with Major General Vatutin. Although the Italians were idiots, they had still managed to win, and they were the first to use some of the new weapons and tactics Tukhachevsky himself had only planned.
More troubling was the progress in Spain. An early and vigorous counterattack by the Republicans in May had been effectively repulsed by Franco's Nationalists, and Franco had captured Madrid. The Republicans had fled to Barcelona, but it was only a matter of time before they would have to surrender. A pity.
The new Commissar for Education, Comrade Yakushev, walked into headquarters confused. His task was simple -- collect Major General Vatutin for the Politburo meeting, and report to Tukhachevsky on the new technical developments. Yet he'd been waiting in Tukhachevsky's office for an hour while the Marshal simply looked at maps. Finally, he cleared his throat. Tukhachevsky and Vatutin looked up, and saw Yakushev. The Marshal snorted, then waved Vatutin over to Yakushev.
"Comrade General, my apologies for interrupting you."
Vatutin shook his head. "Not at all, Comrade People's Commissar. The Marshal is an intractable man when it comes to strategy and does not like to be disturbed. We will head for Comrade Stalin's office together and you can brief me on the way."
As they walked, Yakushev excitedly shared the new breakthroughs the scientists under his direction had made. No fewer than nine major breakthroughs had been achieved, primarily in a new model of light tank, new weapons for the infantry, and improvements to infrastructure for both farms and roads. Yakushev himself had spearheaded a new program of training for all university graduates and a complete overhaul of the basic curriculum that was already showing results. Vatutin and Yakushev continued to chat until they entered the Politburo chambers, to find everybody else seated. Stalin welcomed the new entrants, motioned them to sit, and began the meeting.
[HR][/HR]
In the interest of keeping the story lively, I'm not giving all the nitty gritty details here; if you have questions, by all means ask!
I love that we get to see the characters interacting in the updates, not just the state of the country and army. Keep up the good work .
.
Kamensky telling it like it is... as much as she can without getting shot.
Also, you said Switzerland while the screenshot says Sweden. Meesa confused. >.<
Also, you said Switzerland while the screenshot says Sweden. Meesa confused. >.<
I'm glad you like it!I love that we get to see the characters interacting in the updates, not just the state of the country and army. Keep up the good work
First of all, continuing to imitate a certain character may indeed you get shot, if that's what you're after.
Second, both Sweden and Switzerland aligned to the Axis, but I only got a screenshot of one.
STOP! COOKIE TIME