Chapter 148 The Mass Enters the Soviet Union
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During Seryozha's time in the Soviet Union, the case of Mathias Rust was finally pronounced. This verdict has aroused widespread concern in Western countries, and Soviet officials also attached great importance to it. Not only was the whole trial made public, but foreign journalists were allowed to observe the trial. The final result was that Mathias Rust was sentenced to one year in prison, and he would be deported from the Soviet Union after serving his sentence.
This result was expected by Seryozha, and the German side mostly accepted it. After all, sneaking across the border is a crime in any country, and it is even more serious to fly a plane to land in a sensitive place like Red Square. For Mathias Rust's sentence, the Soviets have done their utmost to endure.
The matter of the bear child has finally come to an end, then Serezha can talk about serious matters with the Federal Republic of Germany. Regarding the debt issue, the German side did not raise much objection. The Federal Republic of Germany itself is not rich in resources, and the Soviet Union chose to use mineral resources to repay foreign debts, which is the appetite of the Federal Republic of Germany. Therefore, the foreign debt negotiations in charge of Gaidar went very smoothly. Except for some details, the two sides have basically reached an agreement. unanimous.
However, the Germans seem to have a lot of concerns about investing in the Soviet Union. There are not only the considerations of Volkswagen and the Federal Government of Germany, but also the attitude of the United States. Because Tonya and Karim each hold a large number of shares in Volkswagen, Seryozha is not in a hurry with regard to the board of directors of Volkswagen. On the contrary, the work of the Federal Government of Germany is much more difficult.
In order to gain the trust of the Kohl government, Seriosha contacted General Secretary Gorbachev, who had not been in touch for a long time, through Yakovlev's relationship. Gorbachev is also happy to see the results of the cooperation with Volkswagen. He even had a phone call with Prime Minister Kerr in person, and specifically mentioned this matter on the phone.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, please rest assured! It is not the first time that we have introduced foreign capital. Even in the Stalin era, Ford Motor Company and Fiat Automobile Company once cooperated with the Soviet Union to build a car city, and the Gorky Automobile Factory cooperated with Ford Motor Company at the beginning. products, while our domestic best-selling model Lada Vani is entirely the result of cooperation with Fiat Automobile Company. Now under the leadership of General Secretary Gorbachev, we are carrying out economic reforms and hope to learn advanced technologies from the West Technology, management experience, and the construction of the Soviet Union's new economy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Seryozha said enthusiastically on the side.
Prime Minister Kerr didn't take what Seryozha said very seriously. After all, everyone can say good things. When Volkswagen really invests in the Soviet Union, if the Soviets turn their backs, the money will really have to be thrown away. . At that time, how will the Federal Republic of Germany recover the losses for its own enterprises and uphold justice.
"Mr. Minister, I don't know much about the Soviet Union's fund management methods and investment environment..."
Before Prime Minister Kohl could finish his refusal, Seryozha interrupted his speech, although it was impolite,
But Seryozha just likes to make quick cuts. Hypocrisy among politicians is not to Seryozha's liking. So he said bluntly: "A few years ago, we built a pan-European natural gas pipeline with the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the United Kingdom and other countries. The environment at that time was much worse than it is now. It's done. It can be seen that if we really want to cooperate, these objective reasons are not a problem. You don't worry about fund management. It doesn't matter. I can open a branch of the VTB Bank in Bonn, specializing in fund management for automobile projects. The German side can check the accounts at any time. Prime Minister Kohl, please don’t refuse this opportunity easily. You are facing a vast market of more than a dozen countries and hundreds of millions of people across the Iron Curtain. Do you really want to give up this opportunity? "
Speaking of this, Cole no longer has any worries in his heart. After all, there is a precedent for the sharing of pan-European natural gas pipelines. And now the Soviet Union is no longer the aggressive Soviet Union during the Brezhnev period. Even the President of the United States invited Gorbachev to visit the United States this year, and the world situation has eased. As the Federal Republic of Germany, if it can take the lead in the further exchanges between the United States and the Soviet Union, and fully establish good relations with both countries, then the benefits to the Federal Republic of Germany are obvious.
"Well, our German government will no longer interfere with domestic companies investing in the Soviet Union, as long as they are willing!" Chancellor Kohl finally nodded in agreement.
After obtaining the permission of the German government, Sergesha contacted the staff of the Gorky Automobile Factory and the Volga Automobile Factory and asked them to fly to Bonn to discuss cooperation with Volkswagen. In addition, Seryozha also asked the Bank of the Soviet Union to set up a local branch in Bonn, which was specially used to deal with the debts of the Soviet Union and the investment of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Soviet Union.
The board of directors of Volkswagen was not unanimous in its internal opinions on investing in the Soviet Union, but with the approval votes of MSC and Bank of Colombia, the opinions of other shareholders of the company were not important. So just before Seryozha left Bonn and returned to Moscow, the agreement between the Gorky Automobile Factory, the Volga Automobile Factory and the German Volkswagen Group to jointly build a new automobile company in the Soviet Union was officially signed. In this agreement, the German Volkswagen AG holds 50% of the shares in the joint venture, while the remaining shares belong to the VTB Bank of the Soviet Union, as well as the Gorky Automobile Plant and the Volga Automobile Plant. At the personal request of Seryozha, the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to go to Gorky City for field inspections next month and choose a suitable place as the new site of the factory.
Gorbachev was delighted when the news got back home, seeing it as a huge achievement for the economic reforms he had advocated. So under the fuel of Yakovlev, mainstream media such as Izvestia, Labor, and Komsomolskaya Pravda, as well as Moscow TV stations, all began to frenzy about the entry of Volkswagen into Moscow.
For most ordinary people, the only advantage of this matter is that there are companies that want to recruit workers on a large scale. Now in the Soviet Union, because the war in Afghanistan has reached a stalemate, the Soviet Union has gradually withdrawn most of its troops, leaving only some of the elite guarding key cities in Afghanistan. The return of a large number of personnel and the dismissal of military posts have caused difficulties in employment. Coupled with the soaring prices, people's lives have become more and more difficult. Volkswagen's investment in the Soviet Union means that more foreign companies may come to the Soviet Union in the future, which is definitely a boon for many unemployed young people.