Text Chapter 18 A Nuclear Talk

Yanayev boarded the plane to Estonia. Because the Soviet Union was in a delicate period of relations with the alliance countries at this time, when the presidential plane Il-62 took off from Moscow, there were two Su-27 fighter jets for this " "Flying Palace" escorted the aircraft until it reached the air border of Estonia before returning to Moscow.

Although some people were worried about the political instability in the three Baltic countries, Yanayev insisted on entering this territory that opposed him and the huge red empire behind him. Although the Soviet Union has gradually begun to resume its strategy of pressing forward step by step, the armies of the three Baltic countries have not yet dared to put their finger on the button for launching surface-to-air missiles.

The Il-62 presidential plane parked on the tarmac of Lennart Meritalin International Airport. When Yanayev got off the plane, he found that Estonia did not lay out a red carpet in front of the plane to welcome foreign guests. For such rudeness Yanayev just smiled disdainfully and didn't take it seriously. On the contrary, Putin, who was traveling with Yanayev, had a panoramic view of it all.

When Yanayev walked down the last step, the Estonian president hurriedly smiled and greeted Yanayev. He extended his hand and greeted Yanayev in a friendly way, "Welcome to Estonia, General Secretary Yanayev."

"Haha, Tallinn is a good place." Yanayev stretched out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling man, and held his hand. "In 1940, my grandfather was still a Red Army soldier. He once rode a tank into the capital of Estonia. It’s a beautiful city. I didn’t expect that today I would be honored to step into this territory that my fathers had fought for.”

The Estonian president's smile froze on his face, and Yanayev's words clearly contained a hint of threat. For a moment, he didn't know how to reply to Yanayev. In the end, it was Yanayev who resolved this embarrassing situation. "Of course I came today with peace, for the independence of the three Baltic countries. I must have been Anatoly Valeryanovich Gorbuno My husband and Vytautas Landsbergis are waiting for my arrival in the conference room, let’s go there first.”

Arnold Rueter, who had just woken up from his dream, hurriedly accompanied Yanayev to the city hall. Now he alone may not be Yanayev's opponent, but his allies are sharpening their knives in the conference room, waiting for Yanayev. The arrival of Nayef.

On the way to the city hall, Yanayev 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 read, "Tyrant, get out of Estonia." ”, “We do not welcome dictators”, “We want democracy and freedom”. Anyway, none of them are positive slogans. If it weren't for the strict police guarding along the road, this group of indignant guys might have attacked Yanayev's motorcade.

Arnold smiled awkwardly at Yanayev and explained, "There is no way, Estonia is a democratic country, and we cannot refuse the legitimate demonstrations of the people. Otherwise, what is the difference from a dictator."

In response to Arnold's disguised ridicule, Yanayev just smiled incredulously and wondered who arranged these people. You old fox, you don't know yet. Wait until the leaders of the three Baltic countries cry at the conference table.

Soon the car stopped in front of the city hall, and reporters who had been waiting for a long time swarmed up to the door. The moment Yanayev opened the door, the spotlight was so bright that he couldn't keep his eyes open. This group of sharp-tongued reporters seized this opportunity to throw pointed questions at Yanayev.

"Your Excellency, are you here to prevent the separation of the three Baltic countries? So is Gorbachev's new alliance treaty still valid?"

"If it fails, will the Soviet Union send troops to conquer the three Baltic countries by force? Will the Prague Spring incident happen in Estonia? Are you really a cold-blooded tyrant as they describe?"

"Does the Soviet Union still have human rights under martial law? Do the people have the freedom to speak..."

Yanayev, who originally didn't want to talk to these reporters, stopped when he heard about the issue of human rights in the Soviet Union, stretched out his hands to make everyone quiet, and the originally bustling crowd of reporters slowly quieted down. Yanayev waited until everyone fell silent before saying, "The Soviet Union has no human rights? Hey, I think your Estonian press still needs to learn. The media always likes to take advantage of the wind and receive these unconfirmed news. , the media themselves have to make judgments. Without investigation, they have no right to speak. Do you understand this? You are very familiar with the theories of Western European countries and like to ask questions about human rights. Questions to question the authorities, but you are still too young after all, and it is very naive to ask those questions. Journalists are not to become other people’s political tools, but to speak for the people and the country based on their own conscience. Of course today. I am speaking to you as an elder who teaches younger generations, not as a tyrant who you are ready to smear in the newspapers.”

Yanayev's words made the reporters who originally wanted to see him make a fool of themselves look at each other in disbelief. Then he turned around and walked in, leaving these people with an elusive figure.

"This national leader really likes to speak directly." A reporter scratched his head and sighed thoughtfully.

After this episode, Yanayev officially met with the leaders of the other two countries in the conference room. Anatoly, the acting president of Latvia, showed a very concerned expression on Yanayev. Only Vytautas, the chairman of the Supreme Council of Lithuania, 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 for being a little late. I was blocked by reporters at the door and wasted a little time. Hey, you also know that there are some foreigners who are full and have nothing to do. Just He likes to encourage some despicable people to dictate the internal affairs of our country.”

Yanayev's accusations made Vytautas' mouth twitch, but his expression soon returned to normal. He said, "Then let's start the meeting now. The content of this meeting is still about the agreement signed between our three countries and the Soviet Union. New Alliance Treaty. The three Baltic countries can accept a loose confederal state, but they cannot accept the Soviet Union's control over us. Moreover, the Supreme Soviet 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 was the first to speak, followed closely by Estonian President Arnold, "Our proposal is to immediately let the new alliance treaty take effect, so that the participating countries can develop freely without the control of the Soviet Union. Otherwise, we will call on the three Baltic countries to The people stood up against Soviet oppression.”

Yanayev suddenly burst into laughter and explained to the puzzled looks of the other three presidents, "I'm sorry, I'm not targeting you, President of Estonia. What I actually want to say is that the three people here are all Incomprehensible garbage.”

The dignified president of a country was called trash, and the expressions of the leaders of the three Baltic countries suddenly darkened. Yanayev turned a blind eye and continued, "Don't forget that in today's national referendum held in mid-March, 70% of Soviet citizens and more than nine member states did not agree to separate into a loose confederal system and supported a high degree of unity. The Soviet Union. That’s why I laugh at you for being a bunch of wretches who can’t see the situation clearly.”

"Oh, by the way, I just said that I came from Moscow with love and peace. I didn't say whether 'love and peace' is the name of a Soviet tactical nuclear warhead." Yanayev crossed his legs and rolled up his arms. Sleeve glanced at his watch and said, "It's almost time. If you turn on the TV, I think you will see the news that makes the three Baltic countries even worse."

"What news?" Anatoly asked. He almost had a myocardial infarction when he heard about tactical nuclear bombs. Now there is news that makes matters worse. He may faint on the spot.

Before Yanayev could speak, Estonia's presidential assistant hurried to Arnold's side and whispered a few words in his ear. Arnold, who was just a little gloomy at first, instantly turned pale.

"Quick, turn on the TV." Arnold said angrily.