After the secret meeting, everyone dispersed with their own thoughts. Yanayev asked them to keep it secret for the time being, and to spread the news through the mouthpieces of the Communist Party when he went to meet with the leaders of the three Baltic countries. It was unknown what the expressions and moods of the leaders of the countries who met Yanayev would be.
The next day after the meeting, the leaders of the three Baltic countries finally got the response they had been waiting for. The Soviet Union said Yanaev was willing to have friendly consultations on the independence of the member states and discuss the future direction of the member states. He also suggested that the talks be held in Tallinn, Estonia, which fully showed that he came with peace and friendship. As for whether that meant peace or nuclear peace, only Yanaev himself knew.
However, the Western world was relieved by his actions. The fact that the Russians did not intend to start a war without declaration showed that the top leaders could no longer solve the problem through war. It also showed that the Soviet Union was suffocating under Gorbachev's previous policies. NATO hinted to the presidents of the three Baltic countries that the Soviet Union no longer had the ability to fight a war. They would increase their verbal support for the three Baltic countries and said that if a war really broke out, they would take the lead and lead the charge.
NATO may not be a match for the Soviet Union in either conventional or nuclear war, but when it comes to conspiracy, the straightforward polar bear is probably no match for the group of cunning Western European politicians.
Everyone knows that this is an unrealistic promise, and no one knows how likely it is to be fulfilled. But the Estonian president, who rushed back from Finland, still believed it. Under the instigation of NATO, he shouted arrogant remarks such as "I would rather have war than independence" and "Russians get out of Estonia" with a sense of superiority, and even instigated the people to attack the local Soviet Communist Party office and protest against the Russians and other ethnic groups in order to gain more political benefits. For this, the top leader in Moscow, with his hands behind his back, just smiled grimly.
Things were developing in the direction he expected. What he had to do now was to wait and see before war broke out.
NATO began to panic at the Red Polar Bear's ability to remain calm despite being humiliated. They began to convene think tanks to guess what the Soviet Union was secretly preparing. However, after much discussion, they came to the conclusion that it was impossible for the Soviet Union to send troops to suppress the rebellion. They no longer had the ability to fight a war of attrition. Moreover, the member states were not Afghanistan. Even if they defeated the government army, they would have to spend a lot of money on reconstruction to prevent attacks by nationalists. It would not be worth it.
The reason why the red polar bears remained calm was because they had already given in.
Before setting off, Yanayev specially convened a special meeting with the Party Secretary of the Army, Surkov, the Army Commander-in-Chief, Valennikov, the Defense Minister, Yazov, and the Logistics Minister, General Arkhipov. For this purpose, Yanayev also specially selected the meeting room at the place where the Army held an emergency meeting on the Battle of Stalingrad that year, and the political significance contained in it was particularly obvious.
Everyone knows that the Soviet Union is now at a critical moment comparable to the Battle of Stalingrad, and the motherland may collapse and disintegrate at any time due to internal problems.
The difference is that the entire Soviet Communist Party was united back then, but now it seems that only Yanayev is trying to turn the tide. Others, either overtly or covertly, have become the driving force behind the disintegration of the Soviet Communist Party.
Yanayev sat in the chief seat, with only a portrait of Stalin hanging on the wall behind him. There was no Gorbachev, no Khrushchev, no Brezhnev, and even no Lenin around him. This poorly decorated conference room contained a deeper meaning: he would become the next Stalin-like figure.
Except for Yanayev, all the others were military veterans. However, these iron-blooded heroes were in awe of the slightly younger general secretary, who was a tough guy who had dealt with two top leaders in a single day.
"I know that you all come from the military, so I won't say anything meaningless." As soon as Yanaev started talking, everyone sat up straight and listened to him. "I think everyone here should know why the position of political commissar was established during the Great Patriotic War, right?"
Varennikov, who is very familiar with the political commissar system, immediately gave the answer, "Because during the arduous Soviet Civil War, the Soviet Red Army expanded rapidly from scratch, and workers and peasants actively joined the army and fought. However, there was a serious shortage of military commanders, and many old officers who expressed their loyalty to the Soviet Union were promoted and retained. Lenin established the political commissar system. Most of these people were old Bolsheviks drawn from major factories. The political commissars at all levels of the Soviet Army led by example in all previous wars and cultivated the brave and tenacious fighting style of each unit. Leading the charge is the basic quality of Communist Party members and political commissars at all levels to ensure that the troops did not surrender or collapse. Even during the Soviet-German War, there was basically no surrender of entire units. But later, commanders at all levels were basically party members, and the functions of political commissars were weakened."
As soon as he finished speaking, Varennikov had a bad feeling in his heart, "Could it be that General Secretary Yanaev wants to restore the political commissar system? But later on, our commanders were all Communist Party members. In my opinion, the establishment of the political commissar system is completely unnecessary."
Yanayev folded his hands on the table. After hearing Varennikov's answer, he said calmly, "Oh, really? Since those people are military commanders loyal to the Soviet Union, then who can explain why there was a major Yevdokimov who betrayed communism in the Taman Division, and why there were scums who betrayed the Soviet Union such as Lieutenant General Grachev, Major General Konstantin Kobets and Major General Lebed in the Air Force Ministry? Isn't it because our party's political and ideological work was not done well enough during the Gorbachev period?"
Varennikov had nothing to refute. Although he opposed the establishment of a two-man system of political commissars, everything Yanayev said was true. The Soviet army did a very bad job in political work. Perhaps their fighting style was as brave as before, but they were no longer loyal to communism, but leaned towards the ideological enemy.
Stalin and Zhukov had previously argued over the one-leader system and the two-leader system. Stalin established the political commissar to divide the power of the army so that he could firmly control the Red Army. Zhukov believed that the army could only be most efficient if there was only one supreme leader. Of course, Stalin compromised in the end, and Zhukov was squeezed out because of this.
Now Yanaev is following Stalin's approach, which is undoubtedly the first step to fully control the army.
Surkov was smarter than Varennikov. He said directly, "If we really need to establish a political commissar, I will be responsible for setting it up. With all due respect to General Secretary Yenayev, it will take at least more than half a year to fully establish political commissars in our army."
"It doesn't matter how long it takes. I can wait." Surkov's answer satisfied Yanayev. He made another request to Surkov, "But the Soviet armored forces and infantry divisions responsible for the western defense line must have priority over other forces in establishing political commissars. Oh, and the Baltic Fleet."
"Wait, are we going to have a war with the armies of the three Baltic countries? No, Your Majesty, if we have to go to war, our current mobilization capabilities can only last for about a week at most. If we want to make long-term preparations, it may take more than a month of mobilization time." Logistics Minister Arkhipov said anxiously.
"Who said we want to wage a full-scale war with the armies of the three Baltic countries? Can we still afford to fight now? Aren't you afraid of becoming the next meat grinder in the imperial graveyard?" Yanaev scolded with amusement and anger. At the same time, he glanced at Yazov, and the two of them smiled in tacit understanding.
Yazov cleared his throat, and everyone's attention was drawn to his cough. "It's like this. Our military came up with a detailed offensive plan a few days ago. Of course, it has been reviewed by the General Secretary, and he has given his final approval."
Just as everyone was amazed at how many secrets the General Secretary had kept from them, Yanayev said innocently, "Ladies and gentlemen, the plan you have seen is the Soviet Union's top secret. Of course, I hope you can keep it secret, um, until the war starts."