Vladislav Surkov, according to the timeline of history, was supposed to have joined Menatep Bank two years ago, and then, with Khodorkovsky's promotion, he entered the bank group's decision-making body and became a member of the board of directors in 1992. However, due to another coincidence, he met Vice President Yanaev, and then resolutely resigned from his position as a senior bank manager and became a secret aide to Yanaev.
No one knows what Yanaev said to Vladislav, but after that meeting, he became Yanaev's most loyal follower and political adviser, and advised Yanaev on his next series of actions. In 1991, no one was optimistic about this young man, only Yanaev knew what an unattainable height this guy would climb to in the future.
Deputy Director of the Russian Presidential Administration, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, and a conspirator who manipulates the State Duma have many titles, and his most famous title is "the Kremlin's chief political adviser," which was given by his opponents in the White House.
After executing Pavlov, who betrayed the Soviet Union's highest instructions, Vladislav ordered the KGB agents to fake the scene of Surkov's suicide, move him to the driver's seat, and then lean his head on the steering wheel, holding the pistol that pierced his head in his right hand. Anyway, this is the most remote area in Smolensk, and no one will notice that a powerful leader has fallen here.
After the incident, Vladislav called Yanayev and said that the previous plot could be closed, and the remaining fish that slipped through the net did not have much chance to cheer. In the following days after Vladislav dealt with Pavlov, senior government officials were secretly arrested by the KGB at international airports in the Soviet Union. Those officials who applied for political asylum were taken away by members of the Discipline Inspection Committee before they even stepped out of their homes. As soon as those people left, someone else immediately filled their vacant positions.
For a while, people often saw such headlines in newspapers as "The municipal party secretary who endangered national security has been arrested", "Soviet traitor committed suicide out of fear of punishment", and "The central government's anti-corruption work has risen to a new level." These headlines were published in newspapers together with a speech by Yanaev at the meeting.
"Heretics, yes. We call these people the waste of society, traitors to the Soviet Union, and heretics of communism. They only care about their own wallets and the little calculations in their hearts. They ignore the interests of the Soviet people and the safety of the entire country. They urgently hope that the country can turn the property that originally belonged to the Soviet people into their own pockets through so-called changes, which is actually the political turmoil they expect. For such people, I can only give him two words, garbage. Exquisite, this paragraph is really exquisite. Yanaev's direct speech has won him a lot of applause from the people. Just for this reason, he is much better than previous leaders such as Gorbachev and Khrushchev. By the way, I heard that the editor-in-chief of a Moscow newspaper hesitated whether to put Yanaev's words on the headlines? Haha, what a group of stereotyped and boring guys."
Yakovlev, Minister of Propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was sitting in a chair, sipping his coffee slowly and reading the news in the newspaper. He especially praised Yanaev's seemingly unadorned speech. He didn't care at all about Putin, the gloomy member of the Discipline Inspection Commission sitting opposite him, and the KGB personnel standing around him.
As one of Gorbachev's few close confidants, his crimes of tolerating liberals in propaganda and suppressing the positive image of communism were enough to send him to the gallows, but Yanayev waited until the great political purge to catch him.
Putin picked up his newspaper and threw it aside. He looked at Gorbachev's confidant and said slowly, "Political correctness never gets more applause than radical speech. Which one do you think has higher support, 'We must fight corruption to the end' or 'We must hang all those corrupt officials on the street lights in Red Square'? Yakovlev, you have been the Minister of Propaganda of the Soviet Union for so many years. You don't even have this common sense, do you?"
"My mission is to destroy this regime from the high ground of public opinion, not to maintain its centralized rule like you do. Comrade Putin, I can only call people like you slaves of power," Yakovlev retorted sarcastically.
"It's useless to talk more. Who will have the last laugh and who will stand? The buzz of a fly is not enough to shake the Soviet Union's pace of progress, but you will fall under our iron fist." Putin retorted, "What have you cultivated? A group of corrupt bureaucrats who refuted us under the banner of freedom are destined to fall like a group of dying people who should be sent to the cemetery. Don't worry, after you leave, we will give you a grand funeral and the utmost honor."
Putin's last words were vicious to the extreme.
"You..." Yakovlev, who was older than Putin, blushed. It was the first time he was humiliated by his junior. He wanted to refute something, but in the end he collapsed on the chair powerlessly and said bitterly, "I hope you will never be like me. And tell Yanayev that I will be waiting for him in court and in hell."
"You think too much. There won't be a court or trial here."
Putin's words gave Yakovlev a bad feeling.
Putin, who was sitting opposite, nodded. The KGB officer standing behind Yakovlev took out an invisible rope from his pocket and tightly strangled Yakovlev's neck when he was not paying attention. Out of instinct, Yakovlev grabbed the hand subconsciously, but found that he could not break free at all.
Putin sat next to Yakovlev, watching his struggle with interest. "Yanaev knows that if you are brought to court, those forces that support you will definitely take action to obstruct the trial. The final result may be that you will spend a few years in prison, and then continue to cause trouble for the government when you come out. Only when you die will those guys who are still hoping for the best be completely desperate and give up."
Yakovlev's eyes widened with hatred, as if he wanted to devour Putin alive. He stretched out his hand to grab him, but Putin grabbed his hand and pushed him back.
"I forgot to tell you that I used to be a KGB agent, so you'd better save your worries and go on your way. Also, I will follow our previous agreement and after you die, I will arrange the scene to look like a suicide by hanging, so that you can retain your last bit of dignity. And you will also receive a high-level funeral standard."
"This can be regarded as the last bit of compensation for you. As a traitor, you should feel happy to get this end, Yakovlev."
When Putin said this, Yakovlev had stopped struggling, his pupils slowly dilated, his hands drooped weakly on the seat, his eyes were filled with resentment, malice and unwillingness. He believed that he would die at the hands of Yanayev, but he did not expect to die in such a humiliating way.
Putin picked up the noose and threw it to the KGB agents, saying calmly, "Hang Yakovlev from the ceiling, then arrange the scene properly and then leave the room. This is what you are best at. Remember, make it as much like a suicide scene as possible."
That evening, a shocking news came from Moscow TV: the Soviet Propaganda Minister committed suicide at home that afternoon, and the members of the All-Soviet Communist Party Committee would attend his funeral. Yakovlev's death pushed the government purge to a peak. Those officials who couldn't sleep at night realized for the first time how happy it was to be arrested by the KGB, because you never knew when you would die at home inexplicably and then be labeled as a suicide.
The political turmoil brought about by Black September is still continuing. Everyone is closing their eyes and praying to God that the storm will pass soon. Only the members of the Discipline Inspection Commission are running back and forth across the country collecting evidence and sending those who have not yet been punished to Siberian prisons for reform.