Chapter 49: The Bear's Country is Now Mine

Chapter 049: Voting Lottery / Yahoo! IPO

March 25, 1996.

A total of 11 people completed their candidate registration after collecting one million signatures.

Among them, Yeltsin, Zyuganov, Zakhar the Minister of Justice, and former General Secretary Gorbachev stood out the most.

Initially, people expected the race to be a two-horse contest between Yeltsin and Zyuganov.

However, as time went on, Minister Zakhar's popularity surged, creating a three-way race.

From the next day until June 15, the day before the first round of voting, the candidates would begin their full-fledged election campaigns.

* * *

Zakhar's campaign headquarters were set up in the Gum Department Store.

Nikolai, serving as the "Election Strategy Chairman," gave detailed instructions to the heads and members of various departments.

"What message should we show to the people? What slogan should we use?"

"Since the candidate is a former Minister of Justice, wouldn't it be good to focus on law-related issues? For example, the gun control law he implemented significantly reduced gun-related deaths."

"That's a good idea, but it's a bit weak."

While it's natural for a former Minister of Justice to emphasize the law, it's just one of many promises and seems too weak to be a slogan.

It needs to be a powerful phrase that will stick in people's minds, like Bill Clinton's "It's the economy, stupid," when he ran against H.W. Bush.

Nikolai shook his head, and another person spoke up.

"Since the candidate's approval ratings skyrocketed after the interviews at U-Mart and the Ussuriysk apartments, how about focusing on economic issues?"

"Good idea. The government considers the Chechen War the biggest issue, but the public is still most concerned about the economy. An economic slogan will resonate the most."

Despite the economic improvements due to the Unicorn Group's massive investments and Yeltsin's pro-Western policies, Russia, which had sunk dozens of floors underground, still needed a lot of time and more investment to rise to the surface.

People were still struggling through hopeless days.

A powerful phrase that would strongly imprint on the minds of such people, related to the economy.

Nikolai decided to think simpler the more complicated it got.

"An economy that saves me. A war that kills you."

"What do you think?"

"It's definitely impactful, but won't Yeltsin's campaign team react to this?"

"Will they protest?"

"Anyone can see that this is a criticism of Yeltsin, who started the Chechen War. It will be a problem if we use it."

"Is it okay if they don't protest?"

"Well... the intuitive feeling is very good."

"Then let's put it out and see the reaction."

Nikolai then discussed the election music.

"Prepare a children's song that everyone from kids to seniors knows, something cheerful with repeated words. Our election words should also be repeated in it. Let's make it based on this."

"I understand."

Next, they discussed the handsome men and beautiful women who would follow Zakhar to brighten the atmosphere.

"It would be good to make uniforms. Mix white, blue, and red, the colors of the Russian flag, well."

"Yes. Do we need hats?"

"Oh, hats. That's a good idea. Let's make them too."

Then, the focus turned to Ilya, who was in charge of the internet.

"Is there any idea to ensure people vote?"

To maximize the number of votes for Zakhar, the voter turnout needs to be high, especially among young people.

"I've heard that foreign countries issue lottery tickets to encourage voting."

"Interesting. We can give out lottery tickets when people vote and announce the results on the voting day, right?"

Since there's no time to import machines, Nikolai planned to use the "Shoot!" method used in Korea in the past.

When the wheel spins, an arrow flies and hits a number plate.

"Yes, we can make it our way. But the prizes and rewards should be significant to get a good response."

"I can ensure that."

Give a lottery ticket to everyone who votes, regardless of who they vote for.

1st prize: 3 winners - Moscow apartment (550 sq ft)

2nd prize: 6 winners - Moscow apartment (450 sq ft)

3rd prize: 9 winners - Moscow apartment (350 sq ft)

4th prize: 15 winners - Moscow apartment (250 sq ft)

5th prize: 20 winners - SUV car

6th prize: 30 winners - 3,000 sq ft of land (within a residential city)

7th prize: 50 winners - computer (latest model)

8th prize: 100 winners - TV (latest model)

9th prize: 200 winners - camera (latest model)

10th prize: 300 winners - washing machine (latest model)

After the discussion, Nikolai compiled the items that needed to be discussed with Yeltsin's campaign team and sent them to their headquarters.

* * *

Tanya, flipping through the papers, burst into a hollow laugh and asked,

"Hehe, voting lottery?"

"I was a bit surprised too."

"Who came up with this?"

"The election strategy chairman of their campaign."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Nikolai, Zakhar's grandson. He's 26 years old."

"The campaign chairman is 26? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I've heard about him several times from Yuri and have seen him myself. He's been called a genius since he was young."

"Zakhar can't be senile... "

Tanya became very curious about Nikolai.

"Nikolai... I want to meet him. I need to see him myself."

"Should I set up a meeting?"

"After the first round of voting, let's meet once."

"Understood. But what should we do about this?"

Tanya, resting her chin in her hand, thought for a moment and then asked with a smile,

"How many registered voters are there?"

"About 110 million."

"Should we just watch as Zakhar's team actively tries to increase voter turnout?"

"Then...?"

"Connect me to the Minister of Land and Resources."

"Yes."

After a moment, a man's voice came through.

"Minister here."

-Yes. Do you have any instructions?

"There's a lot of government-owned land, right?"

-Yes, there is. But some of it was sold to the private sector during the economic crisis...

"Isn't there a plan to build a few houses in each region?"

-Of course. I thought it was needed.

"I'll talk to the administrative director. Implement it as is."

-...Understood.

After hanging up, Tanya smiled and said,

"The government will provide the land. We need to do this to save face."

"You're right. I'll proceed as instructed."

"But won't this violate election laws?"

"Since it's not about making people vote for a specific candidate, there's no legal issue."

Similar actions have been taken in Korea.

"Zakhar's team seems to think that with higher voter turnout, more votes will go to Zakhar, who is seen as a fresh face... Nikolai doesn't seem to be an ordinary person."

"I felt the same way."

"If more votes go to Zakhar, it's good for us too. Please keep an eye on the other candidates' reactions."

"Understood."

Tanya, confident of Yeltsin's victory, turned her head back and frowned.

There, Yeltsin was lying on the bed, drunk again.

'Sigh... If only he weren't my father...'

* * *

As the campaign began, Nikolai toured the country.

Beside Zakhar, the 20 winners of the "1st Unicorn Miss and Mister Contest" and Nikolai were always present.

"Wow, they're really beautiful. If I were a bit younger, I would..."

"Would what? It's not too late now. Want a divorce?"

"No, if I were a bit younger, I'd try to get an autograph. You're the most beautiful person in the world. Come here for a kiss."

"Smear some saliva on your lips and lie. You'll have to prepare dinner yourself tonight."

"Just kidding."

On the other side, people were distracted by the handsome men.

"Oh, he looks just like my first love."

"Your first love, who's a bit better-looking than a monkey? No way."

"This one. Wait, isn't that the man who appeared on TV at the opening of the Ussuriysk apartments and U-Mart?"

"Oh, right. I remember. He did an interview with Zakhar when the apartments were being occupied. You were jumping around saying how handsome he was."

"I wasn't jumping around. I looked him up online, and he's not an ordinary person."

"...?"

"The Ussuriysk apartments and the apartments being built in Moscow are his. U-Mart and Gazprom are his too, they say."

"Really?"

"I checked several sources. He's only 26 but is a complete billionaire. If I hadn't gotten married... Honestly, he's much better-looking than the male models. Don't you think?"

"You're right."

Meanwhile, Ilya worked to make keywords related to Zakhar appear first in internet searches, further boosting his approval ratings.

Newspaper and TV station executives also subtly included content related to Zakhar.

However, Yeltsin's campaign team, which had never criticized Zakhar before, had one issue.

"An economy that saves me. A war that kills you."

They demanded that this slogan be taken down immediately.

Nikolai called his responsible person and asked,

"Does this violate election laws?"

"No, there's no problem. The Zyuganov campaign is also directly and strongly criticizing President Yeltsin's Chechen War."

"Then let's keep it as is."

"The protests will get stronger. Is that okay?"

"If the protests come again, let me know."

Threatening a fellow candidate.

Yeltsin's thinking hasn't changed.

He only sees Zakhar as someone to help his re-election.

Despite touring the country, Zakhar's approval ratings didn't rise significantly in February.

However, starting in March, noticeable results began to appear.

The changes were more surprising to Yeltsin's side than Zakhar's.

"Is this... definitely accurate?"

"Yes. We surveyed three places, and all showed the same results."

"The difference in approval ratings between Zakhar and Zyuganov is only 5%... This is very different from what I expected..."

"Isn't that good? Since Zakhar will support us anyway."

Tanya had expected Zakhar's approval ratings to be around 10% to 15%.

If the difference between Yeltsin and Zyuganov, who was in second place, was small, and Zakhar joined forces with them, Yeltsin would easily pass the first round of voting.

The momentum would carry over to the second round, ensuring Yeltsin's smooth re-election.

But...

Only a 5% difference from second-place Zyuganov.

This means the approval ratings are within the margin of error and have already surpassed 25%.

This means...

'Zakhar might have a change of heart. It's dangerous.'

A red light went off in her head.

* * *

Tanya's unease gradually became reality.

She pushed back against the unease by putting more pressure on Zakhar's camp.

"An economy that saves me. A war that kills you."

Take down the banners or change the slogan!

However, Nikolai, the election strategy chairman, had a surprising reaction.

"Make more banners and put them up wherever there's a lot of foot traffic."

Amid all these events, time passed, and in April, a call came from Dennis in the UK.

-Nikolai, Jerry just contacted me. Yahoo! is going public on April 12. On NASDAQ.

"What?"

-Yahoo! is going public.

Nikolai gripped the phone tightly.

'The moment of the big win has arrived.'