Struggle in Soviet Russia

Chapter 364: Supreme Soviet

Prior to this, Victor had participated in a questioning meeting, but that time was an questioning meeting of the Executive Committee. To put it bluntly, it should be regarded as an questioning meeting of the Politburo, and this time it was an questioning meeting of the People’s Committee of National Defense.

In the Soviet institutional structure, the NKVD and the National Defense Commission are not the same thing. The National Defense Commission is a department that has existed for a long time in peacetime and is a purely military institution, while the NKVD is in the outbreak of war. It was established afterwards and worked to unify various functional departments under one department in order to respond to wars more efficiently and in a timely manner.

Relatively speaking, the number of members of the NKVD is relatively large. There are members and deputy members from various departments, and some are in Moscow and some are not in Moscow, but even if they are in Moscow, there are more than 20 people. NS.

As more people participated in the questioning meeting, there would naturally be more opinions and positions. Apart from anything else, it was impossible for the many committee members present to reach a consensus on the attitude towards Fabischenko.

Of course, most of the comrades from the military hope to be exempted from being held accountable to Fabischenko, but some of them are rather vague in their attitudes, and some even hold objections, such as those from the Political Department, People on the military committee.

Except for the many members of the military, most of the members from other departments have not very clear attitudes. Those who have a clear attitude are ultimately only a few.

However, on the issue of restricting the power of national security agencies such as the NKVD, supporters account for the overwhelming majority. Some people even think that the power of the NKVD should also be restricted.

"...The National Security Agency is very special. Their work hides behind a heavy curtain and is full of mystery." Comrade Zhidanov was still so energetic and passionate when he spoke. "We must admit , Their work is very important, but it is also a fact that we are difficult to know about their work and difficult to effectively supervise. I think that including the national security agency responsible for intelligence into the framework of supervision will make the mysterious national security The authority of the department is under effective supervision, and this issue is becoming increasingly urgent..."

It must be admitted that Comrade Zhdanov's eloquence is very good. After all, after so long in charge of propaganda and agitation, people without good eloquence can't do this job. His passionate speeches greeted the applause of many committee members from time to time. Regardless of whether the people present support his views and positions, at least the applause for understanding is indispensable.

Sitting in the seat under question, Victor looked down at the desktop in front of him. At this moment, there was a notebook on the desktop. As Comrade Zhdanov spoke, he wrote something on the notebook from time to time. It's like taking notes seriously.

However, if you look at his notebook, you will find that what he wrote in the notebook has nothing to do with Comrade Zhdanov's speech.

Judging from the situation of today's meeting, it seems that the strengthening of the supervision of the national security department has become the position and viewpoint of everyone, and Victor himself can realize this.

In fact, this is not difficult to understand. After all, the reputation of the national security department is not very good. Although Victor has been trying to improve the image of the National Security People’s Committee for more than a year, this kind of work cannot be. Achieved overnight, it takes time.

If you look at it from another angle, Victor believes that there is nothing wrong with strengthening the supervision of the work of the national security department. After all, whether it is the NKVD or the NKVD, it holds a lot of power. , Without the power of supervision and control, is very dangerous.

However, supervision also depends on who is supervised and what kind of supervision it is subject to. After all, supervision is not equal to dictating, nor is it equal to being overlord. The two are completely different definitions and must be clarified.

Comrade Stalin’s attitude is very clear. He believes that the national security organization needs a certain degree of autonomy, and he does not want to put the reins on the NKVD and the NKVD in order to affect the efficiency of the two departments.

The reason why leaders have such thoughts and opinions, Victor believes, should be inseparable from his own work.

It is not that Victor feels good about himself, nor that he does not know himself, but that the work and achievements of the National Security People's Committee over the past two years have indeed satisfied Comrade Stalin. Especially the Foreign Intelligence Agency, whether it is military intelligence, scientific and technological intelligence, or diplomatic intelligence, business intelligence, etc., the foreign intelligence agency’s gains are huge, not to mention, it is just a penicillin technical intelligence. How much advantage has been created for the alliance?

In addition, including rocket research and development technology, nuclear weapons research and development technology, electronic communication technology, computer technology, etc., which of the massive amounts of technical information did not surprise the Academy of Sciences? To be honest, if anyone in the current alliance has the biggest change in the impression of the NKVD, it must be the academicians and experts of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

But having said that, Comrade Stalin’s position is very important most of the time, but sometimes, his attitude should not be overestimated, because Comrade Stalin is not a foolish person. If anyone can give a correct suggestion , He doesn't mind changing his views.

Therefore, if Viktor does not want Kuznetsov to get too involved in the affairs of the People's Committee of National Security, he must come up with a practical plan. This plan must be accepted by Comrade Stalin and he is willing to support it.

As a rebirth, Victor had not been in contact with the history of Soviet intelligence agencies in his previous life, but he still has some understanding of the domestic situation and the operation of intelligence agencies in some European and American countries.

In fact, in Victor’s view, talking about the rule of law on national security issues is completely a paradox, because for the alliance, national security issues should always take precedence over personal interests. It can also be said that the personal interests of citizens must Obey the overall situation of national security.

Therefore, from this point of view, Comrade Stalin’s idea is the most reasonable. What he needs is a balance. He hopes to ensure that the national security work is not affected to the greatest extent, and to a certain extent reflect the alliance’s Progress in legal system construction.

In Victor’s previous life, Americans also tried to solve this problem in the 1970s. At that time, it was mainly affected by the Watergate Incident. American talents established a "Church Committee" in the Senate and a "Pike" in the House of Representatives. Committee" is dedicated to supervising and investigating the work of national security agencies.

In the United States, whether it is the Senate or the House of Representatives, it belongs to the legislature, but in the Union, what department belongs to the legislature? There is no doubt that it is the Supreme Soviet. However, in the present Union, the Supreme Soviet has a greater symbolic significance, and the actual power is basically out of the question.

What is particularly important is that in the past ten years or so, the power of the Supreme Soviet has been weakening, and neither Shvernik nor Kalinin has any real power.

However, according to the provisions of the Soviet Constitution, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet is an out-and-out head of state. He is the same as the president of the country. But God knows what Comrade Stalin thinks. The seat is not interested.

if…

Of course, what is still considered here is if.

Victor thought, if he submits a report to Comrade Stalin, it is recommended that Comrade Stalin concurrently serve as the chairman of the Supreme Soviet Presidium. At the same time, under the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, an executive committee should be formed to supervise and supervise the work of the State Security Department. Review, what will happen then?

That's right, the issue we are talking about now is the issue of the legal system, and this time the question is under the guise of the legal system to consider strengthening the supervision and management of the People's Commission for National Security and the People's Commission of the Interior.

But what kind of department is the Central Secretariat? That is a party department, what does it have to do with the legal system or national security work? On this issue, to allow the Secretariat of the Central Committee to participate is completely irrelevant to the party and government.

Since it is a legal issue, it should naturally be considered from the legal point of view. However, whether it is the National Security People’s Committee or the People’s Committee of the Interior, their status is equal to that of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Procuratorate. Therefore, the latter two are of course not. It is possible to have the power to supervise or review the first two. Otherwise, it is tantamount to downgrading the national security agency. If that is the case, you have to consider the Supreme Procuratorate or the Supreme Court. What should be done?

Therefore, if the power of supervising and reviewing national security institutions is subordinated to the Supreme Soviet, then everything is reasonable. Even the chairman and people’s commissars of the National Security People’s Committee and the People’s Committee of the Interior can be assigned to the Supreme Soviet. The Soviets came to appoint.

As the legislative body of the Union, the Supreme Soviet has both legislative powers and the power to interpret laws. Therefore, it can formulate corresponding laws in actual work to determine the powers and responsibilities of the national security department and the rules of action, which is also justified.

In addition, Victor was not only prepared to recommend Comrade Stalin concurrently as Chairman of the Supreme Soviet in the form of a report, but also prepared to recommend him concurrently as Secretary of the Bolshevik Central Committee and Chairman of the Military Committee.

Victor believed that as long as he could give enough reasons, he believed that Comrade Stalin would be interested in this proposal.