Chapter 82: Reform Over Dinner
"Andrei, you did a good job in Sokolovka." When he returned to Moscow, Andrei didn't go to a hotel. Instead, he followed Ekaterina to her modest apartment. Only then did he discover that she shared the small space with a little girl. It was a one-bedroom unit with a living room, just enough for Andrei to stay temporarily.
Upon learning that Andrei was back in town, Ye Linna warmly invited him over for dinner. It was a chance to reconnect and share stories over a home-cooked meal.
Not long after they arrived, Andropov returned. He noticed Andrei and offered a rare nod of approval. "Andrei, you did a good job in Sokolovka."
"Serving the Union is my duty," Andrei replied. "It's just a pity I had to leave before the new regulations were officially in place."
Of course, Andrei knew Andropov's praise wasn't just about shooting down the Blackbird reconnaissance plane. That incident had earned Andrei national attention, but the man before him was far more concerned with reforming the state from within.
Without reform, the country was on a collision course with stagnation. Andropov, who had witnessed firsthand what unrest in places like Hungary could ignite, understood how dangerous it was to ignore pressures from below.
"Andrei, you've made an excellent start. Since your overhaul at Sokolovka, discipline has returned. The toxic environment has been checked," Andropov remarked. "Where did these solutions of yours come from?"
Andropov had kept close tabs on the developments at Sokolovka. Andrei's reforms might have been local, but their effect was clear: merit over connections. Technicians were finally judged by their work, not by whom they knew.
"The Sokolovka base is a strategic post for the 513th Regiment. Its readiness hinges on the competence of the ground crews. I watched inefficiencies fester for years. At the time, I was too junior to act. Now, I had the authority—and your support. Without that, none of this would've been possible," Andrei said. "If that toxic culture hadn't existed, maybe Belenko wouldn't have defected. That betrayal wasn't just personal—it exposed deeper institutional rot."
Indeed, Belenko's defection had shocked the military. In Andrei's view, the system itself had driven him out. It wouldn't be the last such case.
"Andrei," Andropov asked thoughtfully, "what do you think would happen if your reforms were extended beyond your base?"
"You're asking for my unfiltered opinion?" Andrei smiled.
"Of course. Speak freely. You did so before you knew who I was—why stop now?"
The room felt warmer despite the October chill outside. Andrei respected the man before him, not just for his rank but for the intellect behind it.
"In the army, this model can work," Andrei said. "Technical competitions, accountability, rewards for merit—we can root out incompetence. But it won't be easy. You'd be threatening entrenched interests. Many have grown used to privilege without performance."
The Soviet armed forces, the largest in the world, were weighed down by politics and patronage. Andrei's method, if implemented widely, could modernize them—but not without resistance.
"Other sectors, though? That's more complicated," Andrei added. "Take agriculture. We have the most fertile black soil in the world, and yet we still have to import grain. It's absurd."
He paused, then continued with a tone of restrained frustration.
"Europe's land is cramped and overworked, and they feed themselves—even export. Yet we, with our endless fields, can't do the same."
He shook his head. "Look at North Korea. Plenty of farmland, and still they starve. The problem isn't the soil. It's the system."
For now, the Soviet Union masked this with oil exports. But Andrei knew it was a temporary fix. When the war in Afghanistan drained resources and the foreign exchange reserves dwindled, even food imports would come with political strings.
"If people can't put food on the table, order collapses. Desperation festers. We've seen it before."
Andropov leaned forward. "What would you do?"
"Scrap the communal distribution model," Andrei said firmly. "Adopt a contract responsibility system. Assign land not just for work, but for management. Give farming families autonomy. Let them be accountable for their plots, while collective organizations handle infrastructure and oversight. You blend independence with structure."
Andrei had taken inspiration from successful land reforms elsewhere, where peasants became stakeholders rather than just laborers.
"Turn passive workers into active producers. Only then will people take pride in the soil beneath their boots."
The logic was simple: if doing more earns you nothing, why bother? If slacking off has no consequence, why work at all?
Andropov said nothing for a long moment. The light from the kitchen glinted off his glasses, and behind them, his eyes seemed sharper than ever.
Andrei waited. He had spoken his truth. What came next was beyond his control.