Chapter 84

"Are you also considered the head of the secret police? You really don't deserve the name of the General Directorate!" Shefov stuffed the last piece of meat into his mouth and mumbled, "I just need to do my job well and contribute to socialism. I treat all allies equally, giving respect where it's due and providing support where needed! But my abilities are limited; I can't liberate all of humanity. Why should I care about their deaths?"

Putting down his plate, Shefov gave a deep look at this remnant of Beria's faction and said lightly, "How did you lose back then? The Ministry of Internal Affairs was in its complete form, not like the KGB which is now split into two parts. If you had acted decisively back then, would things be like this today?"

"Yuri, you're too direct! You know the current KGB is not as powerful as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, yet you act so high-profile! You set up institutions all over the Arab world, clean out prisons, monitor intellectuals, and crack down on the Red Army system! Do you know how Yezhov died?" Aleksey lowered his voice.

"Don't flatter me; I never fabricated a single wrongful case!" Shefov said indifferently, "I act according to the law and have never wronged anyone! As a counter-revolutionary worker, my job is to eliminate the enemies of the Soviet Union! I sniff out and eliminate traitors, and I never said enemies are always foreigners; they can also come from within! In my eyes, there are only two types of people: the people and the enemies! You should send these children to Ostranaya as soon as possible. In a few decades, they will be a new batch of elites. To be honest, I trust those who are trained from a young age more!"

He wasn't here to argue. Such minor conflicts can be smoothed over. Internal contradictions among the people! Ostranaya is a special agent city facing the Arab region, its exact location is confidential and not marked on Soviet maps. This special agent city is located in Kazakhstan and covers 220 square kilometers! Ostranaya is divided into four districts: the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, each corresponding to the countries in their respective regions. To say it faces the Arab region is not entirely accurate; it should be said that Ostranaya faces the Asian region outside East Asia plus North Africa. The agents trained there generally need to know Arabic, Persian, and Turkic languages, and some specialize in Urdu and other South Asian languages and cultural customs.

Gatsina City has been divided into seven parts. Apart from the original Gatsina City, which still faces the UK and the US, the remaining six special agent cities have been newly established, and Ostranaya is just one of them.

"By the way, if there are any special agent students in Ostranaya who are ready to graduate, they should be directly assigned to the First Directorate's Middle East Department. There are too many Middle East institutions, and personnel are tight! The Middle East Department should be expanded!" Shefov put on his hat and said, "You send people, oh right! You can't manage the special agent cities, so it's better for General Sakhatovsky to go to the chairman for personnel..."

After finishing his meal, Shefov, feeling full, directly grabbed General Aleksey and said, "You don't seem like a subordinate of Minister Beria. Even if you didn't issue orders back then, you must have been involved in arrests! The older you get, the less you worry..."

"I'm doing this for your own good. You can't understand the unease we felt when Minister Beria was in trouble. I consider myself lucky to still be the head of the KGB. Yuri! I know your thoughts, but you're too hasty!" General Aleksey looked at Shefov, "You can develop slowly. Why are you in such a rush at your young age?"

"I have my reasons! Well, I'm going back to the Third Directorate!" Shefov opened his mouth but didn't say thanks. How could he not be anxious! No one he knew now knows that the Soviet Union will disintegrate. Even if they heard such talk, they would only laugh. Only he, Shefov, knows this secret. How could he not be anxious?

The Soviet Union split into fifteen parts, Russia was controlled by oligarchs, Ukraine saw democratic victories in every election over the past decade, but the people's living standards plummeted to African levels. Armenia went to war with Azerbaijan, Romania was in nationwide turmoil with the internal security forces and the people's army facing off, Albania went from the world's first atheist country to a full Islamic resurgence! Yugoslavia split into six and was in continuous civil war. Did the remaining countries really get better? They could only say they were barely managing. The only countries that truly improved were the Baltic states and East Germany.

Shefov sat solemnly in the car. The time given to him was really very limited. Once the Soviet bureaucracy solidified, even the KGB, let alone Beria's Ministry of Internal Affairs at its peak, would not be a match for the united bureaucratic class, a whole class of enemies.

"I will accompany the First Secretary on a visit to the United States in September! So some things need to be arranged in advance! Given that our Third Directorate is newly established, I will bring back an old comrade from the Red Army Intelligence Bureau as the first deputy director of this bureau!" Shefov announced to his department heads, "You'll know who it is soon. This old comrade was once my superior and is now semi-retired! But I didn't want to transfer people from other directorates, as that would make you unhappy. Can you understand my meaning?"

"Sure, that's fine!" Shefov's words were clear. The first deputy director coming here is a nearly retired old comrade who won't hinder their promotions. This was to reassure the department heads he had promoted. After a brief explanation, Shefov moved to the next topic, "I should have handled this issue domestically myself, but the timing doesn't align. Let's discuss this in advance. September is the time for autumn conscription. This time, I will recruit troops from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan into the internal security forces. Some will be dispatched to foreign garrisons, and others will undergo special infiltration training in Azerbaijan to serve as instructors for Iraq. Take note!"

"Director, what is the conscription quota?" The department head responsible for this area stood up to ask.

"About 30,000 to 40,000, most will go to Egypt and other countries as military advisors!" Shefov made the decision for the autumn conscription.

After the meeting, Shefov directly called the Red Army Intelligence Bureau, "I'm looking for General Roman, the former first deputy director of the First Directorate. General Roman, it's Yuri! Your former subordinate. I hope you can come to the Military Administration Directorate as the first deputy director!"

"I'm old, Yuri! You're doing a great job now!" Roman hesitated for a long time before politely declining, "I'm very happy that you still remember me!"

"General Roman, I've always been grateful for your care! The work in the Military Administration Directorate is not easy, and my subordinates are too inexperienced. Even if I promoted them on the spot, it wouldn't be possible! I hope you can help me once!" Shefov requested earnestly.

"Alright, I'll come when I receive the transfer order!" Roman finally agreed to Shefov's invitation after a long pause.