Chapter 162 Yeltsin's Harvest
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It was the first time for Yeltsin to set foot on American soil. Before he walked into the supermarket in the suburbs of New York City, Yeltsin would never have imagined that the life of Americans would be so affluent. This was a blow to him. It was too big. Yeltsin cried out of control in the car because he felt that the belief he had insisted on since childhood completely collapsed at this moment. The collapse of faith made Yeltsin feel desperate for the socialist road pursued by the Soviet Union. He couldn't help but ask himself: "Is what we insist on really correct?"
When Yeltsin's driver told Sergesha what happened to Yeltsin on the road, Sergesha didn't know how to persuade him. As the actual head of the Soviet Union's foreign trade, coupled with his experience in two lifetimes, Seryozha has an extraordinary understanding of the society on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The material wealth of capitalism is indeed worthy of the envy of the people of the socialist world, but Americans themselves have their own troubles. Because of the popularity of personal credit transactions, almost every American is working for a bank, and most Americans are burdened with All kinds of debts, once they lose their ability to work or lose their jobs, the bank will mercilessly deprive them of their houses and cars and turn them into proletarians. Such a thing was simply unimaginable in the Soviet Union.
After listening to the driver's report, Sergesha told the other party not to mention this matter to anyone. Then the next day, Sergey arranged for his men to continue to take care of Yeltsin's next itinerary, and Sergey left New York on the pretext of attending a meeting and set off for Boston.
In the following days, with the support of the Center for Soviet Studies at Harvard University, Yeltsin started his own investigation tour. It was almost the end of the year, and in a few days it would be Christian Christmas. It's a good time for Americans to purchase, and the sales promotion of merchants also stimulates consumers to contribute their own wallets. But when it comes to your most anticipated Christmas item, it's a satellite phone that supports the Iridium network. In Times Square, New York, Yeltsin witnessed the scene of queuing up all night waiting for the release of the Iridium phone. When he learned that this is a mobile phone that can support wireless access in Europe and the Americas, Yeltsin was surprised again speechless.
A few years ago, for the honor of the Soviet Union, Brezhnev once established a wireless communication network in Moscow - Altai, but because of the lack of capital investment, coupled with the high price of car phones, the Altai system quickly fell into No one cares about the situation. When Yeltsin was the secretary of the municipal party committee, in order to save money, he deleted this project from the government budget. Now seeing that ordinary people in the United States have started to use satellite phones, Yeltsin felt another pain in his heart.
Under Yeltsin's questioning, the invitation revealed a little information to Yeltsin. That is, the cost of this visit was provided by Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company. They heard that many Marlboro cigarettes were smuggled into the Soviet Union to be sold as high-end cigarettes. In addition, Volkswagen and the Soviet government established a joint venture car The news of the factory seemed to indicate that the restrictions on foreign investment in the Soviet Union were beginning to loosen, so Philip Morris wanted to ask Yeltsin about the possibility of Marlboro cigarettes entering the Soviet market directly.
Although Yeltsin has broken up with Gorbachev,
But in front of the Americans, Yeltsin still consciously maintained the dignity of the Soviet Union. For Philip Morris' consultation, Yeltsin explained in detail the openness of the Soviet Union's economic reforms to foreign capital. He guaranteed that after Philip Morris entered the Soviet market, it would receive preferential treatment in terms of taxation and policy, as long as Philip Morris Obeying the laws of the Soviet Union, they can get full equal treatment with Soviet enterprises.
Unbeknownst to Yeltsin, his rivalry with Gorbachev had made him widely known among Soviet scholars in the United States. After news spread that Yeltsin had accepted the invitation from Philip Morris, more and more research institutions and organizations on Soviet issues sent invitations to Yeltsin. And companies like Philip Morris, whose products have entered the Soviet market, have certain expectations for Yeltsin's inspection in the United States. They hope that the economic reforms of the Soviet Union will open the door for themselves.
So in the following days, Kraft Foods and McDonald's also invited Yeltsin to visit and investigate. Yeltsin was surprised by the enthusiasm of American companies. He originally thought that his visit to the United States would end soon, but now it seems that Not so. Because there were too many invitations, Yeltsin had to apply to the Soviet embassy for an extension to return home. After getting domestic approval, Yeltsin accepted these invitations and began to continue his trip to the United States.
After Yeltsin left New York, he came to Chicago, where Kraft Foods is headquartered. Yeltsin saw thousands of products in Kraft's showroom, many of which are still on sale.
Yeltsin focused on asking about the origin, output, and sales of some best-selling biscuits, coffee and other products. He is very concerned about these issues and listens very seriously. Yeltsin is not as depressed as he was when he was in China. He seems to feel that he can contribute to his country even if he does not lead. That is to study the advanced economic system of the United States and introduce these systems to the Soviet bureaucracy.
With this attitude, Yeltsin paid more attention to the investigation and visit activities. At his request, Yeltsin also made a special trip to Texas, the largest agricultural state in the United States, to inspect the planting and animal husbandry here. The livestock industry in Texas ranks first among the US states. The inspection in Texas gave Yeltsin the opportunity to get in touch with the forefront of American agricultural production. Yeltsin also inspected collective farms when he was in China. The leisurely life on the farm is completely different.
When Yeltsin's one-month trip to the United States came to an end, Sergei had already returned to the Soviet Union ahead of schedule. Before leaving the United States, Yeltsin made a phone call with Sergei. He hoped that after returning home, he could open a column in the "Komsomolskaya Pravda" to introduce the economic situation in the United States, and Sergei agreed without thinking about it. Seryozha was very happy that Yeltsin had recovered. As for Yeltsin's idea of funding several American companies that he visited to invest in the Soviet Union, Seryozha also agreed to consult Gorbachev for advice.