Chapter 52

By the order of the Director of the Third Main Directorate of the National Security Committee, all the offices of the Third Main Directorate stationed with the Soviet Red Army units in Eastern Europe are to immediately begin investigating the following issues within the four major groupings, with a focus on the relationship between the Red Army stationed in these countries and the local residents. They are to conduct investigations into incidents of friction between the Red Army and local residents with a fair attitude. All agents of the Third Main Directorate stationed with the Red Army have the responsibility to curb the corrosive influence of backward thinking on the Red Army and correct any improper conduct. The operation is codenamed "East Wind Westward." This order was issued in Berlin on May 13 by the Director of the Third Main Directorate, Yuri Yefimovich Serov.

After issuing the director's order, Serov sent a backup copy via telegram to Moscow, informing the current KGB Chairman, Aleksandr Shelepin, of the operation. Shelepin, who had already prepared himself mentally for this report, sighed and signed his name on it.

Earlier, before Shelepin received the telegram, the Polish Minister of Internal Affairs, Kozinsky, and the Hungarian Minister of Internal Affairs, Laszlo, had already received Serov's telegram. They only glanced briefly at its contents, which were far less interesting to them than Serov's signature.

Kozinsky and Laszlo, as the Ministers of Internal Affairs of their respective countries, had met before. The only common point between them was that three years ago, during the turbulent times in Poland and Hungary, they had both cooperated with Serov's operations, which ultimately helped Serov successfully quell the highly disruptive riots.

Based on their understanding of Serov, they immediately convened meetings and issued orders to cooperate with the Third Main Directorate upon receiving the telegram. From any perspective, this investigation would be a good thing for the residents of their countries. With proper packaging, it could even become a political achievement.

Under Serov's strict orders, the movement to correct the Red Army's erroneous ideology quickly spread from the Western Group of Forces in Germany to all Soviet forces in Eastern Europe. Led by representatives of the Group Armies, 2,000 KGB personnel and all agents of the Third Main Directorate were mobilized, sparking a storm across the three countries and four major groupings.

With the coordination of the First Main Directorate's advisors stationed throughout Eastern Europe and the specific execution by the Third Main Directorate's agents, supported by local internal affairs personnel, the joint efforts of the Third and First Main Directorates immediately proved highly effective. The First Main Directorate's advisors retrieved files from local internal affairs departments and handed them over to the Third Main Directorate's agents, who then immediately began searching for the involved soldiers based on the records.

Among the four major groupings, the Central Group was only a shell, and the Northern and Southern Groups had few troops. The most challenging was the Western Group, which had numerous units, each with a glorious history. Serov's focus was primarily on this area. From the beginning, Serov's investigation of the Red Army was unusual. Under the strict orders of the director, the agents of the Third Main Directorate were not their usual lazy selves. They appeared in the soldiers' fields of vision in large numbers, like a pack of hungry wolves roaming the grasslands.

To be honest, ordinary soldiers rarely saw these KGB personnel with blue-trimmed peaked caps, and many were seeing such a force for the first time in their military camps.

However, soldiers who saw KGB agents for the first time generally did not have a good impression, as they soon saw one of their comrades being called away by these blue-trimmed peaked cap KGB personnel. Considering the nature of KGB work, these soldiers found it hard to have a good impression of the agents. However, the actions of the Third Main Directorate could win the favor of the local population, especially under the guidance of Laszlo and Kozinsky. The Polish and Hungarian media quickly focused on the actions of the Third Main Directorate. The Warsaw Youth News and the Hungarian Capital News began reporting on the developments from the start.

"For a long time, there have indeed been some frictions between the Soviet Red Army and the local residents in our country. Some residents near the garrisons are also very troubled. As a sovereign nation, we accept this for the current situation and the struggle against capitalist countries, and we have taken a coordinating attitude. Now, it is clear that the Soviet Union has noticed these issues and has begun to address them!" said the Warsaw Youth News.

"As the initiator of this movement, the current Director of the Third Main Directorate is not unfamiliar to us. Three years ago, when Hungary faced nationwide resistance, the then Director of the Third Main Directorate, Serov, came to Hungary and facilitated dialogue within our country, preventing Hungary from falling into the danger of ideological division..." The Hungarian Capital News focused on the initiator of the movement, Serov, and included a photo of Serov in his major general's uniform, captioned, "The youngest major general in the Soviet Union..."

The current youngest major general, Serov, went to great lengths to send away Major General Tikhonov, the deputy commander of the 79th Guards Tank Division. Tikhonov had come to pull strings. The lieutenant who had driven an armored vehicle and damaged the local farmers' land was Tikhonov's nephew, whose father had died in the Great Patriotic War. Tikhonov was very protective of his nephew and, upon hearing that the Third Main Directorate had begun an investigation involving his nephew's file, hurriedly came to seek help.

Facing Serov, who was over a decade younger, Tikhonov did not dare to be disrespectful. After all, in the eyes of the Red Army, the director of the Main Directorate, who had seen many generals fall, had already instilled a natural fear.

"Kids make mistakes, it's normal. Have him apologize to the farmer and pay some symbolic compensation!" The young Serov spoke seriously to Major General Tikhonov, pretending to be a peer. As for the lieutenant in his twenties, he immediately became Serov's nephew, even though Serov's son was still in Valia's womb and might not even be a son.

After sending Tikhonov away, Serov rubbed his face hard and returned to his room. In the eyes of some, this investigation might seem like he was courting death, needlessly offending a large number of people. In reality, it was not as severe as the newspapers portrayed. It could be considered a low-risk, high-reward action, not only quelling the discontent of some allied countries with the Soviet Red Army and restoring the Red Army's reputation but also cleansing the Red Army of some impurities, achieving two goals at once! As for the people he offended, in the eyes of ordinary people, it might still be a problem, but in Serov's eyes, how could the ordinary soldiers being dealt with compare to the high-ranking generals from a year ago?

Precisely because the ordinary soldiers being dealt with had issues, and Serov did not target the officer class, the commanders of the four major groupings remained silent, allowing Serov to act freely. The image of the cold and ruthless director, the merciless approach, were all blown out of proportion by the newspapers. At least in this operation, it was all hype.

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