Yanayev boarded a plane to Estonia. Because the Soviet Union was in a delicate period of relations with its member states at that time, after the presidential plane Il-62 took off from Moscow, two Su-27 fighter jets escorted the "flying palace" all the way to the airspace border of Estonia before returning to Moscow.
Although some people were concerned about the political instability in the three Baltic countries, Yanayev insisted on entering the territory that opposed him and the huge red empire behind him. Although the Soviet Union gradually began to resume its step-by-step strategy, the armies of the three Baltic countries did not have the courage to put their fingers on the button to launch surface-to-air missiles.
The Il-62 presidential plane landed on the tarmac of Lennart Meri Tallinn International Airport. When Yanaev got off the plane, he found that Estonia had not laid out a red carpet in front of the plane to welcome foreign guests. Yanaev just smiled disdainfully at this rude behavior and didn't care. Instead, Putin, who was traveling with Yanaev, saw it all.
When Yanaev walked down the last step, the Estonian president quickly forced a smile to greet him. He extended his hand and greeted Yanaev in a friendly manner, "Welcome to Estonia, General Secretary Yanaev."
"Haha, Tallinn is a great place." Yanayev shook his hand and said, "In 1940, my grandfather was a Red Army soldier. He once rode a tank into this beautiful city, the capital of Estonia. I didn't expect that today I would be honored to set foot on this land that I once fought for, just like my fathers."
The smile on the Estonian president's face froze. Yanaev's words clearly contained a layer of implicit threat. For a moment, he didn't know how to reply to Yanaev. In the end, it was Yanaev who resolved the awkward situation. "Of course, I came here in peace today, for the independence of the three Baltic countries. I'm sure Anatoly Valery Gorbunov and Vytautas Landsbergis are waiting for me in the conference room. Let's go there first."
Arnold Ruettel, who had just woken up from a dream, hurriedly accompanied Yanaev to the City Hall. Now he alone might not be Yanaev's opponent, but his allies were sharpening their knives in the conference room, waiting for Yanaev's arrival.
On the way to the city hall, Yanaev could see through the car window that the outside was full of demonstrators. They held high signs with slogans of varying lengths, all of which were "Tyrants get out of Estonia", "We don't welcome dictators", "We want democracy and freedom". In any case, none of the slogans were positive. If the police hadn't been strictly guarding the road, this group of indignant people would probably have attacked Yanaev's convoy.
Arnold smiled awkwardly at Yanaev and explained, "We can't help it. Estonia is a democratic country. We can't reject legitimate demonstrations by the people. Otherwise, how would we be different from a dictator?"
In response to Arnold's disguised sarcasm, Yanaev could only smile helplessly, thinking to himself, "Don't you have a clue as to who arranged these people, old fox? When you get to the conference table, it will be the time for the leaders of the three Baltic countries to cry."
Soon the car stopped in front of the city hall, and the reporters who had been waiting for a long time swarmed in. The moment Yanaev opened the door, the spotlights blinded him. The sharp-tongued reporters seized this opportunity to throw sharp questions at Yanaev.
"Mr. President, are you here to stop the separation of the three Baltic countries? Then is Gorbachev's new union treaty still valid?"
"If it had not succeeded, would the Soviet Union have sent troops to conquer the three Baltic states by force? Would the Prague Spring have happened in Estonia? Are you really a cold-blooded tyrant as they describe you to be?"
"Does the Soviet Union still have human rights under martial law? Do the people have the freedom to speak..."
Yanaev, who originally did not want to deal with these reporters, stopped when he heard about the human rights issue in the Soviet Union. He stretched out his hands to make a gesture for everyone to be quiet, and the originally bustling crowd of reporters gradually quieted down. Yanaev waited until everyone was silent before he said, "There is no human rights in the Soviet Union? Hey, I think you Estonian press still need to learn. The media always likes to make a fuss. When receiving these unconfirmed news, the media itself must make judgments. Without investigation, there is no right to speak. Do you understand what I mean? You are very familiar with the theories of Western European countries and like to question the authorities with human rights issues, but you are still too young after all. The questions you ask are very naive. Journalists are not to become political tools of others, but to speak for the people and the country with their own conscience. Of course, today I am saying these words to you as an elder who teaches the younger generation, not as an iron-blooded tyrant who you are going to smear in the newspapers."
Yanayev's words made the reporters who wanted to see him make a fool of himself look at each other in bewilderment. Then he turned and walked into the door, leaving these people with an elusive back.
"This national leader really likes to speak directly." A reporter scratched his head and sighed thoughtfully.
After this episode, Yanaev officially met with the leaders of the other two countries in the conference room. Latvian Acting President Anatoly showed an expression of concern for Yanaev, while only Lithuanian Supreme Council Chairman Vytautas, who was sitting in the corner, remained silent, waiting for the meeting to begin.
Yanayev first apologized to the other two leaders, "I'm sorry I'm a little late. I was blocked by reporters at the door and wasted some time. Hey, you know that some foreigners who have nothing to do after eating like to instigate some despicable villains to meddle in our country's internal affairs."
Yanaev's indirect criticism made Vytautas' mouth twitch for a moment, but soon his expression returned to normal. He said, "Then let's start the meeting now. The content of this meeting is still about the new union treaty signed between our three countries and the Soviet Union. We, the three Baltic countries, can accept a loose confederation of states, but we cannot accept the Soviet Union's control over us, and the Soviet Supreme Constitution also states that we have the right to freely choose whether to withdraw from the Soviet Union. This negotiation is based on these conditions."
"That's right." Someone took the lead in speaking, followed by Estonian President Arnold. "Our proposal is to immediately put the new union treaty into effect, and allow the member states to break away from the control of the Soviet Union and develop freely. Otherwise, we will call on the people of the three Baltic countries to stand up and resist Soviet oppression."
Yanayev suddenly burst out laughing, and explained in the puzzled looks of the other three presidents, "I'm sorry, I'm not targeting you, President of Estonia. I actually want to say that the three of you here are rubbish who can't recognize the form."
The president of a country was called a piece of trash, and the expressions of the leaders of the three Baltic countries suddenly became gloomy. Yanayev ignored it and continued, "Don't forget that in the national referendum held in mid-March, 70% of Soviet citizens and more than nine member states did not agree to separate into a loose confederation system and supported a highly unified Soviet Union. That's why I laugh at you for being a bunch of pathetic people who can't see the situation clearly."
"Oh, by the way, I only said that I came from Moscow with love and peace, but I didn't say whether 'love and peace' was the name of a Soviet tactical nuclear warhead." Yanaev crossed his legs, rolled up his sleeves, glanced at his watch, and said, "It's about time. If you turn on the TV, I think you should see the news that made the situation of the three Baltic countries even worse."
"What news?" Anatoly asked. He almost had a myocardial infarction when he heard about the tactical nuclear bomb just now. Now there was another piece of news that made the situation even worse. He might faint on the spot.
Before Yanayev could speak, the Estonian presidential assistant hurried over to Arnold and whispered a few words in his ear. Arnold, who had originally looked a little gloomy, turned pale in an instant.
"Quick, turn on the TV." Arnold said angrily.