Chapter 67: Soviet Collapse (4)

Nomenklatura (Номенклату́ра).

There is such a term.

If I were to translate it most intuitively, it would be something like… communist aristocracy.

“Phew… this is top-notch. A distinguished guest has arrived.”

The ‘uncle’, dressed in a generous outfit, as if to break the prejudice of a KGB agent, raised the corners of his mouth in delight as he looked at the pile of gold bars.

‘Well, if he’s a colonel, he’s not a field agent.’

I dismissed the nervous-looking bodyguards and stepped forward with a bright smile.

“How is it?”

The colonel nodded his head largely and chuckled.

“Very good! It seems that capitalist friends know a thing or two!”

“Ahaha, that’s right. No matter how well-made a cog is, it needs to be oiled to turn, doesn’t it? We’re not so heartless as to start a business here in Moscow without any sincerity.”

“Mm-hmm! That’s right. When I was doing fieldwork, I had to earn money for operational expenses because I didn’t have money… It seems like it’s even more so these days. They give us work without even giving us money from above… Hehe, it’s a bit much to say this in front of a capitalist friend, but isn’t this reform policy completely empty?”

Like a relative of the Communist Party conservatives, he didn’t like Gorbachev, who called for reform and opening up.

Then why is he accepting my gold bars?

Well, that’s that and this is this. Originally, the communist aristocrats quickly embraced capitalism after the collapse of the Soviet Union and evolved into the Red Mafia or oligarchs (Russian chaebols).

Of course, right now, they’re not that wealthy, claiming to be the leaders of a communist society. That’s why he’s so happy to see my small token of sincerity.

Stroking his splendid mustache, the colonel nodded.

“I have received your sincerity well. Instead, although it’s not much… I’ll definitely take care of one business.”

“That’s great. It’s good to have someone like a colonel watching our back. Although it’s cautious for a foreigner to say, the current situation isn’t very good, is it?”

The colonel smiled bitterly and affirmed.

“Phew, that’s right. My nephew committed a rudeness the other day, didn’t he? I apologize for that. But… embarrassingly, Yuri is quite a decent young man among Soviet youth. So the rest…”

How could it be otherwise.

He muttered and trailed off. The colonel’s eyes were on the vodka on the table.

Vodka still placed despite the prohibition. It was a kind of proof that he was engaged in smuggling.

“Ahaha, then let’s stop here for today… I’ll come back with another gift for the next conversation.”

“Yes, take care.”

Having made a satisfactory deal, I smiled and left the communist aristocrat’s mansion.

***

I walked down the street, listening to the humming of Russian folk songs.

A gloomy atmosphere hung over the streets of Moscow.

A young man looking around anxiously, a homeless man lying on the floor drunk, and tourists staring curiously at the Kremlin.

The summer sun reached them all equally and conveyed its warmth, but people’s reactions were all different.

From people squinting their eyes and covering the sun with their arms to people raising their heads and enjoying the sunlight as if they were in a good mood.

I slowly passed them all and observed the Soviet Union.

The end of an era was contained in this moment.

‘Certainly, there’s no better time to build connections with so little money.’

It’s a fact that people who pretend to be realistic often misunderstand, but ideology and ideas are surprisingly powerful.

Even now, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union, many communist aristocrats, when they hear that the economic inequality of the Soviet Union should be resolved, look at them with a pathetic gaze as if they are looking at idealists, but they do not deny it.

Even now, the index of economic inequality in the Soviet Union is similar to that of South Korea in the 21st century. The fact that homeless people were witnessed in Moscow was a great shock to the people of the Soviet Union.

They thought that homeless people and the unemployed existed only in capitalist countries.

That is the last pride of the Soviet Union, which claims to be the heart and leader of communism. Even if that alliance is all in vain, even though they have no choice but to watch the communist countries slip away like grains of sand in their hands…

The Soviet Union is a communist country. They thought so.

This is, this place is, this time is.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

It was the ideology, the country, and also the era itself that dominated the 20th century.

The power of ideology caused the illusion that the Soviet Union, which was on the verge of collapse, was still intact. The Soviet Union was already defeated and dead, but the Soviets remained and were passing electricity through the dead corpse.

It was a futile hope, but it was also a real belief.

Free healthcare, free housing, free education are collapsing, state-owned enterprises are being privatized, smuggled goods are openly traded, McDonald’s has entered Moscow, the unemployed and homeless are becoming a public social problem, and there is extreme political chaos in which the secretary general is replaced three times in three years.

The Soviets believed that the Soviet Union still had the strength. They believed that the superpower that had divided the world in two could not collapse so vainly.

Even people who believe in capitalism half-think so.

It was six months before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

And… about a month after I returned to Korea from Moscow.

The August Coup took place.

The Soviets, immersed in the glory of the past, wanted to remain Soviets until the end.

***

[Breaking news, Soviet Secretary General Gorbachev ousted… Coup d’état by communist forces suspected]

[Soviet Union declares state of emergency, all power to the State Committee on the State of Emergency]

[NATO urgently convened, the world is buzzing about the Soviet coup…]

[Boris Yeltsin, calls for a general strike to all Soviet citizens]

“Wh, what do we do?”

Choi Yeonha, who remained in the Soviet Union until early August to coordinate opinions and flew from the Soviet Union at my urgent call, looked at me with trembling eyes.

All political landscapes were fluctuating rapidly as the Soviet Communist Party launched a coup against the Soviet Union, an unprecedented event.

But my focus was on one side.

“What about the financial markets? How did the CDS premium change?”

“Yes? S, stocks? Isn’t the, isn’t the Soviet Union more important than that right now? The KGB also participated in the coup…”

I smiled gently and patted her shoulder.

“That’s important too, but it’ll be okay. The colonel was quite a realistic person, so he wouldn’t have actively participated in the coup. That’s why I sent you there.”

There were voices of opposition within the KGB to the August Coup. The communist aristocrats, who had a lot to lose from the reform policy, supported the coup…

But he’s not a colonel anymore. I gave him a taste of capitalism.

Originally, when a person is hungry, they have all kinds of thoughts. Conversely, when the colonel’s belly became full, he could see the future properly.

-Coup? Why bother? I’ve already adapted to the capitalist market?

The colonel, who neatly got rid of his regrets about the Soviet Union, took an ambiguous stand and looked for an opportunity. The fact that Choi Yeonha came back alive is proof of that.

If the colonel had actively participated in the coup, he wouldn’t have returned a capitalist dog safely.

“The coup will just fail normally if you look at the situation. After that, the Soviet Union will collapse due to radical reformers.”

Since it was a matter that I had talked about until my ears were blocked, Choi Yeonha accepted the fact that the Soviet Union would collapse very naturally.

“The Soviet Union… How, how…”

Her eyes were slightly unfocused and turned to the void. Is it because she can’t believe that what I’ve been claiming has finally happened?

“The KGB is big, so it will be a strong force in the future. Where will all those talents go after the Soviet Union collapses? It’s a win-win situation, and now they’ll need a reliable Western friend.”

“Won’t they be purged…?”

“Hmm, do you really think so? I think it will end with a few people taking responsibility.”

Like a Korean citizen familiar with military coups, Choi Yeonha unfortunately understood the meaning immediately. The purge of the Hanahoe has not yet taken place.

“Ah…”

I shrugged.

“Well… that’s it. After the Russian government is established, Yeltsin will take the side of the communist aristocracy.”

Ironically, the communist aristocracy will embrace capitalism faster than anyone else. Because they are not the proletariat, but just the establishment.

“More importantly, how are the financial markets?”

“Yes? Ah, yes! I’ll report it now!”

Choi Yeonha hurriedly ran to the desk, displayed several screens, and showed them to me.

Financial markets around the world, including Wall Street, were plummeting, and the CDS premium of the Soviet Union was soaring like crazy.

Of course, I wasn’t greatly affected. Because I took a wait-and-see position with all kinds of excuses.

Inside Alpha Fund, they would know that it was because of the secret investment in Eastern Europe. I needed quite a bit of capital to create a proper bank company in Germany these days.

“Hmm, it’s okay.”

Choi Yeonha, who didn’t exist two years ago but knew that I created CDS and the rough plan of Daeha Securities through documents, carefully asked.

“I heard that you plan to buy a large amount of CDS before the collapse of the Soviet Union… Shall I tell them to buy?”

“No, now is not the time. The premium is too high. If the coup fails, then we’ll buy. Early September would be good.”

If Secretary General Gorbachev returns, it will go down quite a bit. It will still be incredibly high, but it’s still a steal.

I watched TV and confirmed that history was flowing as expected, and I lay down comfortably.

“Let the rest follow the instructions… Tell Sihyeon to investigate Nick Leeson’s trends in detail, focusing on derivatives trading volume. If possible, poke around Barings headquarters to find out internal information.”

“Yes!”

I sent out the secretary, who was looking at me with reverent eyes, and smiled slightly and looked at the scenery outside the window.

Now the fish that has become urgent will bite the bait.