When the thorny domestic problems were temporarily resolved, Yanayev, who was finally busy and anxious, finally had time to deal with the secession crisis from the member states, especially the three Baltic states. Since Stalin's death, the original harsh policy against separatism has been loosened, and from the Khrushchev to the Gorbachev era, the iron chains that tightly bound national separatism have been loosened, and the rift has become wider and wider, and finally a complete gap has been created at the moment when Gorbachev proposed political pluralism, and the last embankment to defend the territorial integrity of the Soviet Union has been broken.

Although the territory of the Soviet Union was huge, there was no superfluous place. As an important springboard for threatening Western Europe and suppressing NATO, and as a strategic buffer point for Russia on the Baltic front, the three Baltic countries will not agree to it, the Baltic Fleet will not agree, and similarly, the top government leaders will not agree.

Although it was not until the end that most of the member countries were fooled into becoming independent by the fools of the West and finding themselves even more impoverished than before, those countries that produced oil, cotton and other abundant resources eventually became the regions rich in Western European dishwashers and **.

But now, in all fairness, even Yanayev himself could not guarantee that he would be able to hold back the wave of arrogant separatism before the disintegration of the three Baltic states reached a point of no return.

In March of this year, Lithuania had already begun to plan for its own independence, and the top leadership of the CPSU, of course, did not recognize it. Although Gorbachev's new alliance treaty gave these member states hope for independence. But the coup d'état of the Emergency Committee has cast a shadow over these independents. Estonian President Arnold Rütter, who is still visiting Finland, heard the news of the successful coup and was even ready to establish a government-in-exile.

Yanayev thought about using the army to advance into Czechoslovakia as he did in the Prague Spring, but he dismissed this idea in the face of the Soviet Union's internal and external troubles. The war is a continuation of political helplessness, and although he does not mind turning the three Baltic states into ruins with a torrent of steel, it is not worth spending a lot of manpower, material and financial resources to defend the hard-won fruits of victory.

For example, it was easy to take out Saddam's troops in the Iraq war, but how to deal with the endless guerrillas and suicide attacks after the war was a constant financial headache for the United States. The USSR suffered the loss of the Afghan imperial graveyard, so in any case, Yanayev did not want to solve the problem by means of war. Diplomatic pressure? Whoever can see that the red polar bear that appears is already weak, and if he pretends to be tough, he just slaps the swollen face and fills the fat man.

For this reason, he needs to exchange this issue with Defense Minister Yazov, after all, Yazov, as the former leader of Army Group Center, does have more say on this issue than Yazov, who talks about it on paper. Yanayev threw out his question, but the defense minister's answer surprised him.

"War? Why are we starting war? The current economic situation in the Soviet Union has deteriorated to such a point that it is hard for me to imagine what kind of abyss our country will slide into if we go to war again. IMHO, General Secretary Yanayev, in doing so, would the Soviet leaders be portrayed as the executioners who unleashed the Third World War, or Hitler of the evil empire? Yazov asked calmly.

"I always thought that you would approve of the use of the means of war, Comrade Yazov." Since even the military and political leaders were unwilling to use the means of war, Yanayev's hanging heart was relaxed. But he still had a big question in his heart, "Since you don't agree to use the means of war, then the separation of the three Baltic countries will also become an established fact." After that, the ripple effect of the member countries is feared...... It's even more unacceptable. ”

"Moreover, Estonia's oil shale reserves are as high as 15 billion tons, with an annual output of 35 million tons, accounting for 80% of the total oil shale production in the former Soviet Union. When it comes to resources, Yanayev is a capitalist with a glittering face, and the resources that can create wealth for the Soviets are indispensable to him.

"Rather than struggling to maintain a ruined post-war state, it is better to squeeze his surplus value while he has a breath, until finally the three Baltic countries have to turn back and beg us for help." Yazov smiled and made a vicious suggestion to Yanayev, "The industrial bases that we helped build in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia should be dismantled, either shipped back to the country, or destroyed on the spot." Let these miscellaneous pieces return to the era of agricultural civilization. ”

"This alone is not enough, in order to deal with us, the West will give them a lot of economic aid, and we have to completely cut off their thoughts from the root." Yanayev, who has always been easy to brainstorm, quickly thought of other countermeasures, "There are Latvians, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Poles, and Lithuanians among the Latvians. In addition, there are Jews, Estonians and other ethnic groups. Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Jews, Latvians and other nationalities are among the Lithuanian nationalities. Complex ethnic relations have always been the trigger for civil war, and the masses only lack a gap for catharsis. ”

Thinking of this, Yanayev smiled slightly, "The Soviets have enough weapons brought back from hell, we can sell half and give them to the people of the three Baltic countries, after all, the democratic world has the right to take up guns to defend its own safety." Then, in the light of the democratic spring, they will find that a safe and stable social environment will be much more important than the votes in their hands. Of course, for those who would rather die for the votes than live for the food of dictatorship, they should be happy. Moreover, if the Union countries betrayed the Soviets, they would have to bear the risk of civil war and regime subversion, and they would all think about it slowly. ”

"But do you really want to do that? Although it is a temporary compromise, once the precedent is set. I'm afraid that the next member countries will have the idea of trying it. This approach is okay against these three countries, but if it is against Ukraine, our heavy industry base, the hard work will be ruined. Yazov did not expect that Yanayev's scheme would be even more vicious than his. Not only will the vitality of the three Baltic countries be greatly damaged, but they will not even have the slightest strength to fight back in the next few decades.

"On other important member country issues, we can't compromise, we still have to send troops, the West knows very well that Ukraine is not Afghanistan, and they don't dare to make small moves behind their backs. Therefore, we have to move a little faster than the West, provoking ethnic estrangement and contradictions among the three Baltic countries, so that NATO has no time to react, and a civil war will quietly and silently bloom. As long as one of the countries goes to war because of the national question, then the other unrest will definitely not be spared. "Since the three Baltic states are unwilling to submit, Yanayev will have to make the other member states see the fate of their independence.

Yanayev's approach is nothing more than a copy of the prelude to the Crimean War.

"What if NATO intervenes? If we succeed, we will not only lose three member countries, but even lose our strategic advantage. "Yazov always thinks about the worst side first. Now the Baltic Sea will become the first game of chess in the battle of wits between the Soviet Union and the West.

"NATO only likes to give empty checks to Eastern European countries, and we have enough covert means to overthrow their regimes, and we also have enough means to prop up a dictator. Although the instability of the Union State would directly threaten the security of the Soviets, it would be much better than an embattled ending in which all betrayals were carried out. Thank you very much for your answer, Comrade Yazov, I will leave first if I have something to do. ”

Yanayev got up to say goodbye to Yazov, who was now rushing back to the Kremlin to draw up a plan of strikes against the three Baltic states. A workable carrot and stick policy.

Yazov looked at the distant back of the general secretary of the Soviet Union, and said silently in his heart, "I hope we can make up for the mistake of Gorbachev's idiot now." ”

I only received the contract at the starting point today, and I will see if I can change the signing status