Chapter 100 The Reform Controversy
The difficulties encountered by Eva can be easily reversed by relying on the strong financial strength of the Gorky-based enterprises, but the difficulties encountered by the Soviet Union have made the country's financial situation worse. Only halfway through 1986, the Soviet Union's annual budget has been seriously overrun. The reason lies in the sudden crisis of Chernobyl.
In this crisis, the Soviets, relying on the sense of responsibility in their hearts, blocked this catastrophe on their own land. Many Soviets risked deadly nuclear radiation to redeem the country's mistakes. The Soviet Air Force used forty-five Mi-6 and Mi-8 heavy helicopters to spray borax, lead powder and sand into the blasted roof of the reactor to reduce the spread of high doses of radiation. Since the pilots had to throw protective objects as accurately as possible from the sky above Chernobyl, the strong radiation dose had rendered all protection useless, and the behavior of the Soviet pilots was basically the same as suicide. General Valentin Ivankovich Valennikov, who was the commander-in-chief of the rescue operation, also suffered from nuclear contamination.
Due to the continuous spread of nuclear pollution, 60% of the land in Belarus has been polluted by nuclear pollution, and the number of people who need to be transferred in this area is as high as 330,000. In addition, 600,000 troops conscripted from all over the Soviet Union were building embankments along the dense river network around Chernobyl. As the logistics steward of this rescue operation, the budget handled by Seriosha has exceeded 150 billion U.S. dollars. According to the current situation, when the rescue operation is really over, the total budget of the Chernobyl accident will reach more than 200 billion US dollars. This huge sum of money can hold twenty-five Moscow Olympic Games, and every sum of money here is saved by the Soviets from their own income.
The $200 billion financial tattoos made the Soviet Union's financial situation suddenly difficult. At this critical time, Gorbachev brought Sergei back to Moscow to discuss financial issues. Because several foreign debts borrowed from Western European countries were about to expire, the Soviet Union could hardly raise enough funds to repay these huge sums of money in a hurry.
"Seryozha, I want to know, what trouble will we have if we cannot repay these arrears?" Gorbachev asked Seryozha in front of all Politburo Standing Committee members.
"General Secretary, leaders, if we don't pay this amount, then our national credit will be greatly reduced, and our international financing conditions will be more stringent in the future! It is really unwise to do so!" Sergey Sha He resolutely said that he did not want the Soviet Union to default on its credit, because judging from the current economic situation, the Soviet Union is far from the most critical moment, and as a socialist country, it has always been extremely difficult for the Soviet Union to obtain international financing of.
"Then what do you suggest?" Ligachev asked, frowning.
"My suggestion is to sell gold reserves to foreign countries to cope with our current predicament. From now on, international oil prices continue to fall, natural gas pipelines are still in a state of balance of payments, and the dollar has been depreciating. Gold Now it is a hot commodity in the international market, we should be able to sell gold at a fair price." Sergey Sha replied.
"Comrades,
I believe the difficulties we are experiencing now are only temporary. Although the main topic of today's meeting is our foreign debt that is about to expire, what I want to say is that selling the country's precious gold reserves is definitely not a long-term solution. I think it's time for our economic reforms to speed up! "Shortly after Seriosha's speech, the conference room fell into silence. At this moment, General Secretary Gorbachev raised the big issue of economic reform.
"General Secretary, our current financial situation should not be a good time to carry out economic reforms, right?" Ligachev said first. He himself was not against reforms, but what Ligachev advocated was gradual reforms rather than gambles eager for quick success . Because in Ligachev's view, that kind of reform method is simply asking for trouble. "
"Comrade Ligachev, do we still have a way out now? Our financial situation is already very dangerous. The economic data continues to deteriorate. If we can't bring our economy back on track, how can we be worthy of the party, right For the Soviet people, worthy of the responsibility entrusted to us by this country?" Gorbachev's tone gradually became more serious, and he obviously had no patience to continue arguing with Ligachev on this issue.
"General Secretary, I still reserve my opinion, but I have no objection to a vote within the Politburo on economic reform. In addition, I hold Yakovlev's position on certain historical issues. Criticism, I think it is irresponsible to carry out a reform blindly when the overall conditions are immature. My suggestion is to experiment with this reform in a small area first. It is best when we supply The most tense areas of light industry and agriculture." Ligachev tried to use a calm tone to persuade Gorbachev to give up quick success. These views of Ligachev represent the views of the Soviet conservatives. In recent times, public discussions led by Yakovlev have exposed some shady areas of the Soviet Communist Party that have remained untouched for decades. For example, Stalin killed innocent people indiscriminately during the eradication of counter-revolutionaries, and Stalin’s brutal oppression of Chechnya, Ingushetia and other ethnic groups. Although these issues have won the welcome of some intellectuals in the society, they have dissatisfied many old party members. They feel that this can already be regarded as an act of corruption, or even a betrayal of the cause of Leninism.
Seryozha and other officials attending the meeting watched Ligachev and Gorbachev fight directly against your gods without saying a word. They weighed the pros and cons in their hearts. In fact, from the present point of view, Gorbachev should not stand up and argue tit-for-tat with Ligachev in person, because the identity of the general secretary is detached, but now it seems that Gorbachev has clearly expressed his opinion of the conservatives. The constraints are dissatisfied.
"No... no, Comrade Ligachev, our people are wise enough to judge the merits and demerits of our party on historical issues. I don't think there is anything wrong with Comrade Yakovlev's approach in the ideological sphere. Our party must correctly view some historical issues, use them to face our mistakes on certain issues, learn from them, and prevent them from the system. Only in this way will our party maintain its vitality forever..." Ge Erbachev persuaded patiently.