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"Comrade Strasser, do you know how long I've been waiting for you in Moscow these days?"
In the vast corridor, Bukharin was expressing his feelings of longing to Strasser. At this moment, Bukharin had completely recovered from the earlier awkwardness; after all, he was involved in politics and had a thick skin.
Strasser glanced discreetly at her colleagues in the distance, where Baron Dezhi was curiously examining the internal architecture of the Kremlin with the German delegation.
This pseudo-Byzantine architectural style is quite rare in Germany; the Berlin City Palace of the German Emperor was built in the Baroque style, which is quite different from the Kremlin.
Therefore, for them, this trip to the Soviet Union can also be considered a cultivation of artistic sentiment.
After confirming that no one else could hear their conversation, Strasser whispered, "Have you completed the tasks I assigned to you?"
"Of course, I have contacted all the Opposition within the party through Comrade Krupskaya, and they unanimously agreed to cooperate with me to overthrow Stalin's reactionary rule."
"Bukharin said proudly, though he was somewhat worried, 'But the First Deputy Director of the National Political Security Agency, Yagoda, discovered my little maneuver. Will it affect our plan?'
'Of course it will have an impact.'"
"What should we do then? Are we going to secretly take him out?"
Bukharin became anxious upon hearing Strasser's words; he did not want to see all his efforts go to waste, even though success was still far off.
"No, what I mean is that Comrade Yagoda is an indispensable part of our plan."
"Um? You’re not suggesting that we should pull Comrade Yagoda into our camp, are you? Although his position is very important, how can we possibly achieve that?"
Bukharin was puzzled. In his view, Yagoda held a high position of power and had no need to join the Opposition in rebellion.
"Comrade Bukharin, this is where your perspective is lacking. There are only two things that can change a person's stance: either wealth and status, or ideals."
"Since Yagoda has already risen to a high position, ideals will be even more appealing to him."
"What ideals can we use to persuade him?"
Looking at the naive Bukharin, Strasser felt embarrassed. This guy truly had a wooden head; he could only present the correct answer right in front of Bukharin.
"According to our intelligence, Comrade Yagoda is a good person, and good people are often soft-hearted; they prefer so-called democracy. As long as you assure him that after eliminating Stalin, you will uphold the democratic system within the party and reject dictatorship, I believe you will certainly gain his support." Strasser's opinion, of course, did not come from any intelligence agency; Germany's intelligence network in the Soviet Union had not yet been established.
And it's not good to idle around and analyze Yagoda's character for no reason. He just inferred what kind of person he is based on the behavior of Yagoda in later generations. Although there is an element of gambling, since Bukharin is still standing here talking to him today, it shows that Yagoda is indeed a good person. If it were one of Stalin's fervent supporters, Bukharin would have been arrested for counter-revolution long ago.
"Understood, then there's no problem. I will start arranging this matter right away." Bukharin still had great faith in Strasser's judgment, which had not been wrong so far. "This matter can be addressed as soon as possible, but we must think carefully before taking action against Stalin."
Strasser felt it was necessary to pour a bucket of cold water on the excited Bukharin. "Why? Since your people are already in place, why not take action against Stalin right away? Are you waiting until they achieve industrialization before you act?" Bukharin seemed a bit anxious.
Strasser really wanted to say that he indeed had this idea. The Soviet Union certainly needed to undergo industrialization; whether it was Trotsky, Zinoviev, or Stalin, they all supported industrialization without exception, with only disputes over leadership. Bukharin, on the other hand, was an outlier. Strasser certainly needed the Soviet Union to industrialize, after all, he was counting on the Soviet Navy to take on the British.
Do you really expect the German army to cross the Dover Strait in bathtubs? We'll have to wait for new genetic technology to be developed so that Germany can mass-produce Aryan supermen. "Comrade Bukharin, I know you're in a hurry, but don't be impatient for now."
"After all, Stalin is the highest leader of the Soviet Union, and the protection around him is very tight. It's not easy to get close to him; one must be fully prepared. Once we are ready, I will notify you of the specific action time through the agents," Strasser explained earnestly to Bukharin.
According to their previous agreement, Bukharin facilitated the infiltration of agents into Germany, allowing them to secretly enter Moscow and identify members of Stalin's group. These individuals would then simultaneously launch an operation to capture Stalin's group, enabling Bukharin to take over the highest authority and oust Stalin from power. Indeed, Strasser had agreed with Bukharin during their negotiations that they would only capture Stalin rather than assassinate him; otherwise, this matter would have been much simpler.
"I know the difficulties of this operation, so we should be fully prepared."
Bukharin also calmed down and realized he was too impatient, so he changed the subject,
"Let's not talk about that. I heard that you came to the Soviet Union this time to discuss military cooperation issues with Stalin?"
"Exactly, we need the help of the Soviet Union. According to reliable intelligence, France may launch a war against Germany in the future, so we must seek more support."
"Really? Didn't France just sign the Treaty of Locarno with you? Why are they planning to break it now?"
Bukharin looked shocked.
"There’s no choice; the Labour Party's growth in the country has seriously threatened the interests of the bourgeoisie. They are willing to sell out the country's interests in exchange for France's guarantee to suppress domestic revolutionary forces. This is a battle we must fight."
Strasser's words resonated with Bukharin; they had also fought a full five years of civil war to completely drive out the Allied intervention forces from the Soviet Union.
"Hope you can convince Stalin."
After escorting Strasser to the door of the living room, Bukharin said a word to Strasser and then turned to leave.
...
"Comrade Stalin, this is everything Comrade Strasser told me. I find it very reasonable; the Soviet Union should indeed strengthen cooperation with Germany." In Stalin's office, Kirov conveyed Strasser's ideas to Stalin in full detail.
"World revolution? Sounds a lot like Trotsky that guy, but I wonder what it actually looks like in practice," Stalin said disdainfully, puffing on his pipe.
"What do you mean by that, Comrade Stalin?"
Kirov It's a bit strange Stalin's attitude. Looking at him, it's neither opposition nor approval.
"We Soviet Union need to focus on development now. Industrialization hasn't even started. How can we compete with those developed Capitalism powers?
Moreover, we've tried to spread the flames of revolution to Europe before, but unfortunately, when we reached Poland, the Red Army stopped advancing."
When it comes to the war, Stalin was also somewhat annoyed. The failure of this war, in addition to Tukhachevsky's arrogance, has a lot to do with Stalin, which is one of the few things that made Stalin feel ashamed. "Comrade Stalin, are you suggesting that we should not cooperate with Germany?"
Kirov is somewhat disappointed.
"No, of course we should cooperate with Germany.
Although we do not have the power to liberate the world now, it may not be the case after the completion of the five-year plan."
"Dividing the influence of we early on... The liberation scope is beneficial for the Soviet Union. Strasser is too stingy; he is only willing to give half of Soviet Union, Baltic States, Finland, and Poland. Both Romania and Hungary are unwilling to hand over to the Soviet Union for liberation, which is unacceptable." Stalin believes that the Soviet Union should have greater influence over Eastern Europe.
His words sounded to Kirov like a desire to exert greater effort in the process of liberating the world. As expected of his mentor, he truly cared about the people of various nations.
"However, didn't Strasser allocate the Arabian Peninsula and India to us? We still have the Far East to liberate; I think that's about enough," Kirov said.
"Too little!"
Stalin put down his pipe and stared at the globe on his desk with his sharp eyes, running his hand over it and drawing a line from Europe.
"According to the size of the Soviet Union, the future liberation zone we are responsible for should be the line from Helsinki-Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius-Warsaw-Budapest-Sarajevo."
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