USSR 1991

Chapter 64 Welcome Home (5)

Lieutenant Card was slowly shaving his messy beard in front of the mirror in the bathroom. He hadn't seen modern equipment for several years, and he had been living a life like a guerrilla who drank blood.So much so that after seeing the faucet valve, he hesitated for a moment, and then slowly turned the switch to release the tap water.

After washing his body and wiping his face, Card found it hard to believe that the haggard guy in the mirror was a heroic soldier who stepped into Afghanistan six years ago. He took over the long-lost Soviet Union from the Tajik National Army. Military uniform, then buttoned up and hat on.

When Lieutenant Card came out of the bathroom, four other teammates were waiting for him in the corridor, waiting for him to take the military transport plane specially mobilized by the Tajik border air force base to Moscow.

Major Vasily helped him straighten his clothes, then looked around at the people around him, and said slowly, "Let's go, you will have to cheer for the motherland later, don't look depressed. You are not deserters or sinners, you A great Soviet hero, understand?"

Everyone nodded. Card actually wanted to open his mouth to show a smile, but found that he had forgotten what a smile was after so many years of hard labor.Major Vasily did not force him, but just led the five of them to the long-awaited Il-76 transport plane, and arranged for everyone to sit in their seats.After everything was confirmed, we got off the plane.

Then they watched as Major Vasili waved goodbye until the hatch closed shut, separating them between two separate worlds.On the tarmac, Major Vasily silently watched the plane heading towards the taxiway, silently wishing these soldiers who had gone through hardships.

Card sat on the seat and closed his eyes tiredly, as if he had had a long nightmare, which lasted for several years, and now he was finally able to get rid of the nightmare, hoping to start a new period after waking up. Life.

There were only five tired Soviet prisoners in the huge cabin. They leaned their heads against the seats, listening to the roar of the plane's engine, and fell into a deep sleep.When they woke up from the shaking, they found that the plane was about to land at Moscow International Airport.

Looking out through the window, Lieutenant Card saw that the apron was full of welcome crowds, waiting for the Il-76 transport plane to stop on the apron smoothly, then Lieutenant Card walked to the door of the cabin and waited impatiently for the aircraft door to open .

At the tail of the cabin, a tiny crack first revealed a soft light, which sprinkled into the dim space, and then the crack slowly expanded, and the light kept pouring into Card's line of sight like a raging tide, until he couldn't open his eyes.After he got used to the light outside, Card finally saw the cheering crowd. His mother, whom he had not seen for many years, was looking at him with tears in his eyes. A middle-aged man in a long black windbreaker stood beside him and waved to him with a smile. .

Oh, it turns out that the motherland has already entered winter. How long has it been since I saw snow.He looked at the snowflakes floating on his shoulders, and said silently in his heart.

There were guards with guns standing nearby, and Card's first reaction was that the man standing next to his mother should be a figure above the rank of major general in the army.

"Mom!" Card dropped his luggage and ran over, opened his arms and hugged the old woman who came up to him tightly. Card buried his head deeply in his mother's scarf, which was the smell he had been familiar with since he was a child.

"I haven't seen you for so many years, I thought I would never see you again, my child." Kade's mother raised her head, looked at Kade, who was much thinner, and stroked his cheek with rough hands, heartbroken Said, "My God, thank President Yanayev for giving us mother and son a chance to reunite."

"His Excellency President Yanayev? Are you saying that this operation was personally arranged by His Excellency the President?" Card said in surprise. He glanced at the tall man beside him in disbelief, and said, "Excuse me, are you the government?" A representative sent over?"

The man smiled, put his hand next to his nose, took a deep breath, and said with a smile, "Uh, I guess."

"Thanks to the help of the party and the government, I thought we would never come back to our dear motherland. For so many years I have wanted to tell everyone that the people of the [-]th company did not disgrace the Soviet army, and we held the high ground until the last man .” Card held the man’s hand tightly, excited.

"Son, put it down, the war is over, I hope you and your mother will live well from now on." The man standing in front of Card patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile.He seemed to have an indescribable charisma, which made Kade let go of his nervousness in an instant.

"May I ask, what's your name?" Card hesitated for a long time on this question, and finally blurted it out.The mother standing next to Card patted him on the head and reproached him softly, "How did you talk to the president?"

"President?" It was Card's turn to be dumbfounded this time. He didn't expect that the middle-aged man next to him, who seemed approachable no matter what, was actually the supreme leader of the Soviet.And unlike Brezhnev's lofty arrogance, he doesn't seem to show the authority that a leader should have.

"Your mother is right, I am Yanayev, President of the Soviet Union."

Yanayev, who seemed to have penetrated his mind, shrugged his shoulders, showing a helpless look, "The president was also born from a commoner, and I am no different from you. In the Soviet Union, everyone is equal, with identity and soul. There is no distinction between high and low."

What Yanayev said casually won the applause of everyone present, and Kad standing beside him applauded the most intensely. This time, it was not the perfunctory applause he had to deal with his superiors before, but he expressed it from the bottom of his heart. A sincere tribute to the supreme leader.By all accounts, this president seemed to be the future hope of the Soviet Union.

Yanayev enjoyed everyone's applause with satisfaction, this is what he wanted.To unite the hearts of the people tightly, after Borezhnev and Gorbachev's foolish toss, what the Soviet Union lacks most is the power to solidify the hearts of the people.

"See, I'm saving you, the great Soviet, even those damned intellectuals don't understand and think I'm a dictator, but I'm really saving you from decay." Yanayev touched The sickle and hammer medal on the chest, the heart is heavy.In his efforts, the badge symbolizing socialism has not fallen, but the flames of revolution are already scattered and on the verge of extinction.

Five Soviet prisoners of war lined up to accept the medals awarded to them by Yanayev himself.Every time someone passed by, Yanayev patted them on the shoulder, and then gave them an affectionate hug as a sign of encouragement.Finally, Yanayev stood in front of them and bowed deeply to these suffering people.

"The motherland is sorry to you, and I am here to apologize to you on behalf of the government that has forgotten you."

The audience was silent, and even the reporters didn't know how to shoot this scene. The Soviet government, which has always been imaged as great and wise and never made mistakes, unexpectedly showed an unexpected image of humility. How should tomorrow's report be written?

"The Soviet policy is not 100% correct, and we will encounter various problems in our development. But it is not terrible to have problems. It is absolutely not allowed by us. Therefore, these five forgotten soldiers, please accept our late apology. Your honor may be late, but it will never be absent.”

Yanayev's voice was steady and powerful, and it was transmitted far and far away through the loudspeaker. After a short period of calm, the crowd once again burst into thunderous applause. Card was full of tears, and he looked around They also gave Yanayev the warmest applause.

"Long live the Soviets!"

"Long live socialism!"

"Long live great communism!"

I don't know who is the leader in the crowd, and the slogans and shouts rise and fall with each other in an instant, even covering up the roar of the aircraft engine.The people gathered around the Supreme General Secretary and gave them the warmest cheers.

Chapter 65 Arms Show in Berlin

In 1991, the Berlin Arms Exhibition.

悬挂着24发火箭巢的暴力美学杰作——雌鹿武装直升机模型与美国的搭载了四挺7.62mm M134机枪的UH1直升机，两个军备竞赛的战争产物正用冰冷的枪口对准了彼此。组装了复合装甲的T72坦克在梅卡瓦主战坦克和M60坦克面前显得格外出众，仿佛随时要在他们面前碾压一切。还有一边停靠着粗犷风格的米格21战斗机，悬挂R33空对空导弹外贸版本引来了其他国家的军火贸易代表的围观，啧啧赞叹。

There is no so-called United Nations arms restriction law here, and there are no signage protests by peace organizations, and all sales are freely licensed.Because the leaders behind the exhibition are the five permanent members of the United Nations that collectively control the global arms trade. Those countries that often claim to be just are the driving forces behind the genocide and regional disputes.

And these international arms exhibitions are the paradise and private clubs that arms dealers dream of. The cold war is not yet over. Transactions are often cooperation between governments. All arms sales representatives and chairmen, those arms dealers who represent a country are almost life-long. chairmanship.

When they deal in arms, they often only need to bear in mind one iron rule, that is, do not sell weapons to the enemies of the country you represent.

If someone pays attention, they will find a guy with messy hair in the weapon exhibition hall. He is neither like an arms dealer nor a purchasing representative, just like a wandering idler, looking around with a strong interest in these killing machines .

Of course, people who know his other identity may not think so, Victor Bout.A rising star in the world of arms dealers, he has suddenly become an international arms dealer from an unknown Russian, showing a strong talent for arms sales. A deal with an amount of 9.8 million US dollars was reached within a month, setting a record high. What's even more frightening is that Victor Bout's business partners are almost always available, as long as the other party can afford the money, Even if it is Colombian or Islamic religious extremist forces, he is still willing to sit at the same table with the other party to discuss business happily, and finally shake hands to reach a consensus.

Victor's creed is, as long as the other party is not an enemy of the Soviet Union, who cares whose blood their hands are stained red?

And this aggressive "balance of interests spoiler" is particularly low-key. No one knows who he is, and some colleagues have nicknamed him the Merchant of Death.

Victor Bout appeared at the Berlin Arms Show at this time, not looking for hunting targets, but following the Soviet delegation to broaden their horizons.Yanayev did not allow Victor to intervene in these open arms transactions. Chemezov personally acted as a mediator with the government delegation.Yanayev once said to Victor that his trading talent should be used in black and gray income areas, rather than being wasted on these false politeness that have already known the results and are mere formalities.

Suddenly, a man with a shiny combed hair stopped in front of Victor. He held up a brochure in his hand and enthusiastically introduced their company's products to Victor.

"Sir, sir, I am a representative of the International Missile Defense Corporation. Are you interested in seeing our SAM 7 surface-to-air missiles, an outdated model copied by China. It may no longer be used on modern military fighter jets, but it is still good against commercial airliners. There's more than enough poking."

Seeing that Victor didn't seem to be interested in the imitation Sam 7 missile, he changed his words and said, "The price is only 850 US dollars. That's right, the missile is only 850 US dollars. This is equivalent to giving it to you for nothing."

Victor tried his best to get rid of this guy's entanglement, and said impatiently, "I'm sorry, I'm not interested in buying outdated products, please step aside." Then he only pointed his finger at the Indian delegation not far to the left, Said, "Maybe you should try recommending it to the Indian delegation with white hoods, maybe they will be happy to accept this outdated weapon. So for God's sake don't bother me, I sold it to the Indian Army But the SA19 Gustonka air defense missile is not comparable to your air defense weapon that is more than ten or twenty years behind."

"This guy is simply inexplicable." The dry-mouthed sales representative who was talking to Victor glanced at Victor's back.Ignore that neurotic guy.

Victor took a closer look. The entire arms exhibition delegation was divided into two parts. One was a circle dominated by arms dealers from various American companies, and the other was a Soviet-made weapons delegation headed by Chemezov. Just like the theme of this exhibition, the NATO war machine is on the left, and the violent products of the socialist camp are on the right.

Of course, there will always be some vacillating folly, and what Victor does is to try to win over them and close a deal.For example, the representative of the Republic of Mozambique who was still looking left and right.Victor reviewed the pronunciation of Portuguese in his mind, and then greeted him.

"Hey, my friend, how are you?" Victor's enthusiastic attitude made the other party a little baffled. He reached out and shook Victor's hand politely, and asked with some doubts, "Do I know you?" ?”

"Has our great socialist ally forgotten about our big Soviet brother?" Victor said with a smile, his politeness was just right, and he didn't look artificial at all.

"Oh? Are you from the Soviet delegation?" The representative of Mozambique was a little flattered. He didn't expect that the Russians would take the initiative to greet him.You must know that the United States has always disliked that the purchase amount of the Republic of Mozambique is too small, and the profit of the purchased weapons is too low, so it refuses to do business with him.

"Yes, my friend. My name is Victor, and I am the sales manager of the Soviet Arms Foreign Trade Company. This is my business card." Victor ignored Yanayev's advice and decided to use his eloquence casually. .

The other party took Victor's business card and replied, "I am Newsical from the Mozambique delegation. This is how we plan to purchase a batch of firearms and anti-tank missiles, but many companies are not willing to accept my business. Because our quotation is really too low."

"A Kalashnikov rifle or an RPG rocket launcher?" Victor asked. His previous experience in Africa also made him understand how the proliferation of guns in those countries is exaggerated. A chicken can be exchanged for a gun. How much can they afford.

"I need them all." Niusika said readily, but his eyes darkened immediately, "But we can't afford the price of a rifle at 250 dollars, and you are not willing to accept other item transactions."