＜ Chapter 30. The end of the world in 3 days, the fire of the world in 30 years (1) ＞
Chapter 30. The end of the world in 3 days, the fire of the world in 30 years (1)
“Mr. Gorbachev, I will put you into custody.”
“Do you know what you guys are doing right now? I am the secretary! This is an obvious treason……”
“The treason is yours, Secretary! To this great Soviet Union! And about Comrade Lenin’s communist ideals! All our patriots agreed that if we let you go, we would sell the future of this Soviet Union and its people to the United States and the West.”
They’re patriots.
With a look of surprise, the old man with opposite hair, Mikhail Gorbachev, general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party, kept his mouth shut.
Of course, he did not agree with the opinions of the air defense unit commander and the KGB chairman, who are threatening with a threatening expression in front of him, of course, and he was just too absurd at the fools’ perception of reality in front of him.
It is common in all ages to hear that those who are far from patriotism mourn about patriotism, but after hearing the conditions they demanded, Gorbachev became even more absurd.
On August 18, 1991, at a villa in the Crimean peninsula, Gorbachev was on a honeymoon vacation after completing a strategic arms reduction agreement with President Bush.
As I was waking up in the morning and returning to Moscow tomorrow to come up with a treaty that would determine the future of the Soviet Union and inform the people, suddenly a group of people came along with a lieutenant colonel in charge of the villa’s security.
Realizing that some of those people had faces mixed with him and some of his colleagues who had not been on the same line before, Gorbachev realized what was going on with him.
And he was put under arrest along with his bodyguards.
“Chief, you have no choice now. All communication lines in this villa have long been cut off. Your only choice now is to declare a state of emergency in the name of the Soviet Secretary-General, or resign as President of the Soviet Union and appoint the Vice-President as interim president.”
“Oleg, Valerie, Oleg, Barennikov, can you do this to me? This is going backwards in time! The Soviet Union is already dead! We must face reality and pioneer a democratic Russia and the future…”
“Mr. Gorbachev, when you say that, Moscow is already in our control. Citizens will soon sympathize with us because you are ruining the lives of the people of this country. America and Western Europe will have to make some concessions, but in the end our Soviet Union will rise again like an eagle soaring from the ruins!”
To First Secretary Oleg Baklanov, who declared in an exaggerated tone, Gorbachev refused to sign the final proposal declaring the transfer of power to the end, but regardless of his resistance, according to the coup planners, in Moscow and the Kremlin, far away from the villa, A riot was happening.
All television and radio stations in Moscow were stopped, and tanks of paratroopers and armored divisions from the outskirts of Moscow, which had been previously brought in by the coup forces, entered the city and took control of major facilities such as broadcasting stations and airports.
Gorbachev was still holding on, but the conservatives who wanted to prevent the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a coup d’état that determined that he would not be persuaded in the short term, formed the National Emergency Committee at 4 o’clock on the 18th of August.
“…We, the 8-member National Emergency Committee, announce that Vice President Gennady Yazoyev has been transferred to the presidency in order to efficiently maintain the country’s operations and the political system for national emergencies.”
“Chairman! Chairman! Russian President Gorbachev… No, what about the former president?”
“Uhm, he is currently unable to serve as president due to a sudden illness. Therefore, according to the Constitution, Vice President Yazoyev succeeded in the presidency.”
‘You’re talking like Byeong-hwan! A blatant lie that even monkeys won’t believe anywhere!’
The same thought came to mind at the same time in the heads of journalists gathered at the press conferences of the conservatives and people around the world who were listening through various media, especially politicians in Western Europe and the United States.
Anyone can see that this was the last effort of the conservatives to support the collapse of the Soviet Union, shaking like a sandcastle in the waves of reform and opening up.
And journalists felt the same way about this, so soon the news of the ‘coup’ was reported on broadcasts around the world, and the stock price fluctuated like a sailboat in a storm.
In the nighttime coup attempt, which was not at all unexpected, the heads of intelligence agencies and security advisers of each country fell on fire.
– Everyone, gather some information! Where did the military come from? Are you really going to start WW3 one last time before the Soviet Union is annihilated?
– Europe? What do you say in Europe? Do you think the coup force will be recognized as a foreign negotiator in the future? If the Soviet Union revives, wouldn’t the EC (European Community, predecessor of the EU) even create an army? European Union Army to fight Russia or something like that?
– USA! The United States is the most important, but what about the Strategic Arms Reduction Agreement? Will the treaty signed by Gorbachev be recognized by conservatives?
– Among the member states of the Federation, Belarus and Azerbaijan are said to have participated. Ukraine, Estonia, Georgia, and Uzbekistan seem to be against the coup… Haven’t the North Koreans expressed their position yet?
The same questions were repeated all over the world.
But the most important question was still one.
Where the hell is Secretary Gorbachev?
Is he dead, alive, or if he is alive, he is buried somewhere?
And the situation was the same in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“…Comrade General Secretary, what should we do?”
“What would my comrades want me to do?”
“…………”
From 7:00 am to two hours after the announcement of the emergency committee in Moscow, members of the Politburo unanimously shut their mouths at Jeong-hwan’s questionable question.
Since there was a seat, the seated people immediately recognized that this question was intrinsically a very complex political question and began to look at each other.
Asking to support the coup d’état faction that advocates the revival of the Soviet Union (although it is closer to the status quo rather than a revival) may go against the will of the supreme leader who advocated reform and opening-up and pro-Americanism.
However, when he insisted on opposing the coup and recognizing Gorbachev as the legitimate head of the Soviet Union, Supreme Leader Jeong Hwan once declared that there was no way to abolish the Workers’ Party of Korea and go to democracy.
It is a crossroads where if you say one word wrong, you could be shot for an anti-party act or for not reading the mind of the general secretary.
At the sight of all the high-ranking people in the republic who asked to give it up as if they had become dumb with honey, Jeonghwan clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘Ttt, the trend of not being able to speak one’s thoughts and one’s own thoughts has not been corrected yet. Under Kim Jong-il, if you don’t know the supreme leader, your neck is blown away.
Even if North Korea has a dictator with absolute authority who has maintained the tradition of a one-man dictatorship (?), which is far from a normal modern state, and is supported by all public and public officials, Jeong Hwan, he cannot do everything alone.
In addition, this reaction was unwelcome for Jeong-hwan, who knew that modern society would become more complex in the future, and that he wanted the party cadres to have as much autonomy and professionalism as possible (in his field).
Fortunately, he was able to read his mind, so some of the bureaucrats, including Kim Yong-geon and Hyun Young-sook, opened their mouths, albeit belatedly.
“As the person in charge of the party’s foreign affairs, I would like to say… For now, the attitude of the United States and Europe is the most important. How about waiting for a while and watching the reaction of other countries?”
“There are comrades in Eastern Europe that have already expressed support for the conservatives. Conservatives also presented the goals of improving people’s living standards and opening the market, are you saying that we shouldn’t even express support in a principled sense?”
“No matter how much a coup was initiated, the current economic situation in the Soviet Union cannot avoid keeping the treaties between Europe (Europe) and Western capitalist countries such as the United States and Japan, especially those with loans. Since the statement has already stated that it will abide by the existing treaties, the West is in the grip of the hilt. If so, wouldn’t there be no reason why our Joseon dynasty would be the first to step forward and be hated by either side?”
Junghwan gently nodded at Kim Yong-geon’s suggestion, which was realistic and well-founded.
As if responding to his gesture, Hyun Young-sook opened his mouth this time.
“We hurriedly contacted the Soviet bureau delegation of the Korean Central Broadcasting Company to gather information, but when they heard the statement, they said that the first reaction of the Moscow people was not as good as expected. Wouldn’t it be better not to act hastily as Foreign Minister Kim said and watch things turn around?”
‘Finally, some opinions are coming out!’
Jeonghwan opened his mouth thinking that he was fortunate that there were some executives who gave rational advice to the leader outside of the political bosom.
It’s not quite satisfactory yet, but it’s promising enough.
“I have listened to the opinions of my comrades. All of them are good opinions, but I need to correct one thing.”
“……?”
“Even if it is not directly related to the republic, I have no intention of just sitting and watching what is going on. I’ll have to talk to President Bush about this. Since you are most thirsty for important information about how Moscow is going now, we need to take this opportunity to show the value of the US-DPRK alliance to American security.”
“………yes? Comrade general secretary?”
After biting the party officials who looked at him with a bewildered expression, ‘Where is the important information we have for the United States?’, Jeong Hwan asked for a phone call.
It will be evening in Washington DC now.
“I want to know your opinion on this emergency in the USSR, folks, what would you like me to do as president?”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, another national leader, President George W. Bush of the United States, similarly to Jeong Hwan, was gathering the opinions of ministers at an emergency cabinet meeting.
And as if proving that it is a democratic country on the other side of the world, contrary to North Korea, as soon as Bush finished speaking, various opinions poured out like a rapid-fire cannon.
“For now, you’re just issuing a commentary on your concerns, and then you can decide whether to support the coup force or Gorbachev.”
“What do you mean? If Gorbachev is overthrown, the Soviet Union will again close its doors to the capitalist world, and the reduction of nuclear missiles will also pass. Are you going to start the Cold War again?”
“We will respond hard, but there is no need to use military force. Even if we cooperate with our allies to cut off loans and block access to international organizations, it will be a fatal blow to the coup forces.”
In the midst of various debates, Bush, seated in the middle of the table, frowned for a moment and supported his forehead with his hand.
There was too little information to make a decision now.
Whether Gorbachev was dead or alive, and if he died, the situation was all in the fog as to whether there was a pinch as active in reform and opening as Gorbachev and supported by the Russian people.
Being in a position to make a decision in such a situation was more arduous than anyone else.
‘I can’t be saddened by the decline in intelligence against the Soviet Union. If you can at least get a sense of the Moscow atmosphere… the CIA spends so much money that they don’t plant a proper fixed spy in Moscow? What the hell has happened since I was the head of state?’
“Sir, may I tell you something?”
All eyes on the table were focused on one man at the sudden sound of a choked, choked voice.
Dick Cheney, the U.S. Secretary of Defense, who wore silver-rimmed glasses and had a bald head, had a large voice.
“Tell me, Dick.”
“I hear something in my ears right now, do you know what it means? dismissal?”
“……?”
At Dick Cheney’s sudden remark, the table became so quiet that you could even hear a needle fall.
You might criticize him for whirling his words out at this urgent time, but those sitting in the seat of the State Council now know very well that Dick Cheney, including George Bush, is not the kind of person who is talking nonsense for no reason.
When the president died, the blue chip on the Washington political board, which put himself and his wife in the sixth place in the line of succession, as White House secretary-level bureaucrats, could not be wasting time needlessly.
“It is the sound of the last swearing of the perishing Evil Empire. I see it as a sporadic rebellion of the conquered, as Carthage did to Rome, unable to accept new conquerors.”
“…Then what do you think you should do as Secretary of Defense, Dick?”
“You’re going to be tough. Re-election issues aside, you must be strong as a defender of world principles and of the free Western world, Your Excellency. It is suggested that the 3rd Fleet be moved to the brink of Russian territorial waters in the Bering Strait.”
“Minister! That is an overly sensitive response!”
It was Colin Powell, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who interrupted Dick Cheney’s words, astonished.
As he was a superior in his position, he couldn’t express it only in words, but he looked at Dick Cheney with an expression of ‘Are you crazy about the end of the Cold War?’
“This is basically a matter of internal affairs in the Soviet Union. Besides, the coup camp over there is made up of Soviet conservatives, so why not create a needlessly confrontational structure to further solidify their political position? The best way for us is to simply issue a diplomatic accusation based on principles…”
“General Powell, what will you do if you miss the time to respond? The goal of the conservatives is obviously to maintain the Soviet Union, but will the conservatives leave Poland and Romania, which have already expressed their withdrawal, and North Korea, which has recently sided with us? The hard-line response now is like a preemptive strike to prevent a bigger sacrifice in the future.”
“……No, something like that…”
“Now, if we hesitate here, we will give the world the impression that we are afraid to fight the communists. Not only in the Soviet Union, but also in China, where it is difficult to predict what lies ahead, we need to deliver a clear message to both our friends and adversaries that we are always on the side of the free world.”
Interestingly enough, just like Gorbachev, now detained somewhere in Crimea, Powell was silenced by Dick Cheney’s absurd claims.
However, some of the people at the table seemed to nod at Dick Cheney’s argument, seemingly convincing.
The unknown anxiety that the Soviet Union, which had provoked the unknown in Americans throughout the Cold War, could not be so shattered, further fueled them.
Dick Cheney’s greatest talent since his days as a White House chief of staff has been, as later historians have pointed out, the ability to weave plausible nonsense, a talent that is now at its peak.
Of course, a person who was one step away from the situation or a person with strong insight and philosophy could prevent Dick Cheney from manipulating himself in this way, but it was very difficult at a time when information for accurate judgment of the situation was lacking.
Even George Bush was at odds.
‘Is Dick really right? Maybe I’m wasting every second I need to make a decision to defend American and world history right now… Damn it, if Gorbachev was still alive, it would have been a lot easier for me to make that decision, but for now everything’s in jeopardy. ..’
“Sir, an international call is waiting for you. Would you like to receive it?”
At that moment, the voice of the liaison officer was heard from outside the meeting room as if to break Bush’s worries.
Dick Cheney raised his voice slightly, as if he was offended as Bush was just about to succumb to his persuasion.
“What phone is that? It is now in the middle of the State Council. Unless it’s an urgent matter or a phone call related to the Soviet side…”
“That’s the phone. Minister. Now, the North Korean leader is waiting on the line saying he wants to talk to the president. I want you to tell me that you have important information about the current situation in the Soviet Union and the life and death of General Gorbachev .”