Chapter 9

Even the world-renowned U.S. Navy could not do much about the Soviet long-distance fishing boats. The practice of disguising as spy ships was something the United States often did in later years, but in fact, it was the Soviet Union, which was at a disadvantage in surface ships during the Cold War, that first began to do this on a large scale. These long-distance fishing boats spent several years mapping out all the routes for the Red Navy's nuclear submarines around the world.

With Shelepin's approval, the suggestion made by Shcherbatov resolved the dilemma of the State Traffic Management Administration. The KGB currently faced a shortage of personnel, mainly due to the large-scale dismissal of staff with insufficient education, while the newly recruited highly educated staff were not enough. For everyone present, the difficulties were temporary.

"I have two more suggestions, please help me with them, comrades!" Shcherbatov extinguished the cigarette in his hand and said with a serious face, without any reservation, "Half a month ago, I went to the KGB General Hospital for a routine physical examination and had a very bad feeling! The two departments of the Technical Management Administration are too close, and our comrades who go for treatment can easily see the scenes of experiments with spies on the other side. Therefore, I suggest separating the medical department from the Technical Management Administration and establishing an auxiliary administration responsible for the medical care of the entire KGB, the Medical and Health Administration!"

At first glance, Shcherbatov's words seemed to be a challenge to another administration, and those who did not know the inside story might think that Shcherbatov had some grudge against the head of the Technical Management Administration. But as long as everyone thought about it a little, it was not the case at all. With the relationship between Shcherbatov and the current KGB chairman Shelepin, they could easily achieve the separation of the medical institution from the Technical Management Administration in private, without having to say it openly.

"Separating the powers is not a problem, next issue!" Shelepin did not consider anyone else's feelings at all; as long as he thought it was right, he would agree, just that simple! The strongman's style was fully displayed in Shelepin.

"I want to recruit a batch of high-quality students from the mathematics departments of various universities, about five hundred people!" Shcherbatov calmly stated his second suggestion.

"Reason!" Shelepin did not oppose it but was ready to ask where these students would be used.

"My idea is to form a team of traders directly under the First Administration! Allocate a batch of funds to test the waters and cultivate a capital force to create chaos in the stock markets of European and American countries!" Shcherbatov spoke confidently about his idea, "The stock market is a double-edged sword. If used well, it indeed looks like that, but if it collapses, it can instantly ruin a country..."

The stock market did not exist in any of the socialist countries at the time. Since it did not exist, it meant that the Soviet Union was invulnerable in this area, and no one could exploit the fluctuations in the stock market to squeeze the blood and sweat of the Soviet people. However, the Soviet Union could use this to create chaos.

"Is that so? Are you confident?" Shelepin glanced at General Sakhatovskiy and asked, "What is Comrade Sakhatovskiy's opinion? This matter also requires the First Administration to make a comprehensive plan!"

"Haha, I have no objections! Our administration has already cooperated with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Lomonosov Moscow State University. There's nothing wrong with cooperating with the university again!" General Sakhatovskiy laughed and directly approved Shcherbatov's proposal. The benefits to the First Administration were obvious, and there were no apparent drawbacks, so why not?

"What we do is inherently risky, isn't it?" Shcherbatov said with a double meaning.

In Shcherbatov's view, the only thing these high-caliber students lacked was experience. As for the quality of the students from Lomonosov Moscow State University, Shcherbatov had no doubts. Soviet universities were renowned for their science and engineering, and the mathematics department was the strongest. Soviet mathematics students were skilled at solving problems with unconventional methods, which was not an exaggeration. The Soviet Union was at a world-class level in mathematics, and the International Mathematical Olympiad, which became popular in later years, was initiated by the Soviet Union. Every year, countless students from Moscow and Leningrad universities participated in such competitions.

The prowess of Soviet mathematicians can be proven by a counterexample from later years, such as one of the seven oligarchs, Boris Berezovsky. Berezovsky applied his mathematical knowledge to capital and became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Soviet Union's collapse. Although Shcherbatov did not understand the principles of the stock market, it was composed of numbers, and he had no reason to believe that the Soviet Union's large team of mathematicians would fail in the stock market.

"The construction of our country itself requires a lot of funding, and we should indeed think of ways to do it! Using capitalist funds to develop our own socialism is not bad at all!" Shelepin's attitude was already very clear, and he also approved of Shcherbatov's second proposal.

"Comrade Shcherbatov, don't you have your own matters to handle? For example, the difficulties encountered by the Military Administration, can you tell us so we can help?" The head of the Secret Police Administration, General Aleksey, could not stand it and said directly.

"Difficulties? What difficulties do I have?" Shcherbatov had a bewildered look and said in a harmless manner, "I have already handled all the matters of the Military Administration. Do I need to talk about such small issues in this meeting?"

If you don't understand why Shcherbatov was a director-general at the age of thirty, with a major general's rank and inspecting everywhere, it's because he could win battles from afar and act coolly without showing off. He could always extinguish a fire before it spread. When he had nothing to do, he could even do some things that challenged the limits, like bombing the U.S. embassy in Hungary.

Shelepin calmly observed the expressions of all the directors-general and silently shook his head. If all his directors-general were like Shcherbatov, who fanned the flames and stirred up trouble worldwide, the ideal of world revolution would not be hard to achieve.

"Has everyone finished speaking? Now I have a situation that needs to be discussed with the comrades!" Shelepin attracted everyone's attention to himself, cleared his throat, and said, "Everyone knows that the next Olympic Games will be held in Rome, and our Italian comrades are accelerating the construction of the venues. However, everyone also understands that although Italy's economy has recovered, it is still somewhat strained to host the Olympics alone. Therefore, the Italian Prime Minister and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Palmiro Togliatti, hopes that we consider the revolutionary feelings of the proletariat and can lend a hand in some projects. Comrades, let's discuss this matter..."

"Although I am the director-general of the First Administration, the issue of Italy actually has a comrade who is more qualified to speak!" General Sakhatovskiy was very modest and remained silent. Soon, everyone's eyes unconsciously focused on Shcherbatov. Shcherbatov looked around suspiciously, really wanting to ask these people, "What are you looking at?"

[Is my cover okay? I don't know why, but I can never see my own cover!]

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