特雷古波娃走出門時，她聽到了咔嗒聲。門砰地一聲關上並鎖上了。特雷古波娃尖叫道：“亞歷克斯！請放我出去！”

　　 沒有回應。

　　 特雷古波娃環顧了一下房間。沒有門。這些牆是用石頭砌的。沒有辦法逃脫。

　　 她尖叫道：“救命！”牆上回蕩著她的尖叫聲。

　　 然後，沉默。

　　 隨著時間的流逝，石牆變得越來越老。它們裂開了。它們崩潰了。水滲入並沿著牆壁雕刻了深溝。天花板生鏽並倒塌。

　　 ***

　　 羅曼諾夫站在床邊盯著床上做噩夢的特雷古波娃。她喊道，“亞歷克斯，請放我出去！”

　　 “我沒有力氣了。”羅曼諾夫說。“我再也沒有眼淚了。”

　　 她能聽到哭泣的聲音。她看見了那個男孩。“亞歷克斯，請告訴我該怎麼辦！”

　　 “我給你看看。”羅曼諾夫走到她跟前，伸手去抓她。她掐住自己的喉嚨。“亞歷克斯，求你了，不要！”

　　 他的手松開了。特雷古波娃吸了一口氣。她的身體抽搐著。她尖叫著醒來。她環顧四周。臥室很暗。她尖叫著，“亞歷克斯，進來！”

　　 “我一直在努力。”羅曼諾夫嘆了口氣。“冷靜點，看著我。”

　　 特雷古波娃坐起來，凝視著羅曼諾夫的眼睛。她的尖叫聲在喉嚨里消失了。“冷靜點。”羅曼諾夫說。“這只是一個夢。”

　　 “這不是夢。”特雷古波娃說。

　　 “是的。你必須相信一些東西。否則，活著有什麼意義？”

　　 “但那不是……”特雷古波娃的聲音嘶啞了。“不要拋棄我！求你了！我撐不住！”

　　 “我不是。”羅曼諾夫站了起來。“我要帶你離開這里，但我需要你先為我做點什麼。”特雷古波娃看著他。

　　 “什麼？”

　　 “我需要你把你所知道的關於這所房子的一切都寫下來。這以後會很重要的。”

　　 “不……”

　　 “你別無選擇。”

　　 “不要離開我…”

　　 “我會回來的，我保證。”

　　 特雷古波娃看著她的手。它們又瘦又白。她沒有食物，沒有水，也沒有希望。

　　 “好的。”她說。“我該寫什麼？”

　　 * * *

　　 “你不會離開我的，”特雷古波娃說。“你答應過的。”羅曼諾夫沒有回應。他把目光移開。

　　 “開始記錄。”

　　 特雷古波娃拿起筆盯著傳真發來的情報資料，這些都是克格勃與她的特工匯總發來的監聽報告，她需要將這些報告分類。

　　 “你要去哪里？”

　　 “我會回來的。如果我不回來，就報警。告訴他們發生了什麼事。告訴他們有關文件的情況。”

　　 “什麼文件？”

　　 “一切。文件、報告、照片。一切。”

　　 “你不能離開我！”特雷古波娃哭了。

　　 “我會回來的。”羅曼諾夫轉身走出了門。

　　 特雷古波娃盯著門。她看了看資料。一切都在那里。她沒有什麼可失去的。

　　 她拿起電話撥了俄文號碼。

　　 ***

　　 莫斯科盧比揚卡廣場11號

　　 在這座燈火通明的大型聯邦大樓內，牆上掛滿了深色、光滑的照片，其中許多是舊照片，另一些是新照片。

　　 你注意到的第一件事是每個人看起來都年輕多了。

　　 照片覆蓋的牆比牆的任何其他部分都長，而牆的其他部分沒有被照片覆蓋。

　　 你注意到的第二件事是覆蓋在長而平的牆上的玻璃磚。

　　 玻璃磚里面有一種黑色的液體。

　　 窗外廣場的光线沒有穿透玻璃磚。

　　 羅曼諾夫點點頭，現在負責管理克里姆林宮衛隊的弗拉基米爾•梅德韋傑夫少將陪著他前往一間牢房。

　　 他打開門，示意羅曼諾夫進去。

　　 那兩個人走了進去。

　　 牢房又小又黑。沒有窗戶。進出的唯一途徑就是門。

　　 羅曼諾夫走了進來，前阿塞拜疆第一書記阿利耶夫從床墊上起身盯著他。“羅曼諾夫，你把我轉移到這間臨時牢房就是為了見一面？”

　　 “是的。”

　　 “這是胡說八道。”

　　 “不，這是新俄羅斯，同志。”

　　 “胡說。我是一個經驗豐富的政治家。我知道這個游戲是如何運作的。”

　　 “我知道你很聰明，所以你才在這里。”羅曼諾夫坐在他對面的床墊說：“我們今晚的談話不會被記錄。”

　　 “啊，很好。”

　　 阿利耶夫盯著羅曼諾夫。“那麼，告訴我他媽的發生了什麼事。”

　　 “一群愛國者想要建立一個更完美的聯盟。這是一個很長的故事。”

　　 “我想不起來允許你發言了。”

　　 “阿利耶夫，你真的要像個野蠻人一樣嘲諷還是好好交談？”

　　 “我不想和一個試圖接管政府的法西斯分子關在一起。”

　　 “這麼說可不太好。”

　　 “不，但這是一個該死的事實。”阿利耶夫坐回床墊上。“還有什麼新鮮事？”

　　 “這是新的。”

　　 “你想要什麼，羅曼諾夫？我還以為我們站在同一邊呢。”

　　 “什麼時候？”羅曼諾夫盯著他的白頭發笑了說：“我要擴大蘇維埃的權力，而你這樣的阿塞拜疆地方實力派可能不到這里嗎？”

　　 “你什麼時候需要我？”

　　 “我現在需要你。我需要你勝過我需要一個只會做殉道者的混蛋。”

　　 “我不是你的同志。”

　　 “我知道。”羅曼諾夫看著他的手。“我知道我不是你的同志。我需要你提供的是信息。告訴我你知道什麼。”

　　 “我知道的不多。有一位名叫卡洛夫的老克格勃特工在阿富汗被捕。他加入了中央情報局的阿富汗聖戰組織，他也是阿塞拜疆人。中情局負責阿塞拜疆民族分離主義組織的人就是他。我只知道這些。”

　　 “他姓什麼？”

　　 “卡洛夫。”

　　 “謝謝，另外還有一件事情，我打算把納卡地區由蘇聯中央政府直轄。”

　　 “沒有。”

　　 “是的。”羅曼諾夫點點頭。

　　 阿利耶夫睜大了眼睛。

　　 “我不會讓你毀掉我們為之奮斗的一切。”

　　 羅曼諾夫的聲音很冷淡，他的目光也很堅定。他坐起來，向阿利耶夫靠去。“你是想死在這里，還是想生活在一個更美好的世界？”

　　 “你不能這樣做！把這片領土變成亞美尼亞人的領土！”

　　 “是的，我可以。你想生活在一個沒有你稱之為家的國家的世界里嗎？在那里每個人都是陌生人？不，你不想這樣。那麼，告訴我，你到底想不想生活在一個新的世界？”

　　 阿利耶夫眯起了眼睛。“你會失敗的，羅曼諾夫。”

　　 “我知道的，這已經注定了。當列寧1924年逝世後，他葬在彼得格勒母親身旁的遺願並未實現，遺體被安放在紅場，由此開創了社會主義國家保存重要領導人遺體的先河時，斯大林恢復了個人崇拜與聖髑傳統成為了新沙皇時…”

　　 阿利耶夫額頭上的靜脈隆起，他從床墊上站了起來。“不過，我要告訴你。我們不會讓某個蘇聯傀儡左右這個國家的未來。”

　　 “我們已經過去了，同志。蘇聯已經結束，一個新的世界秩序將要建立。這將由誰擁有最大的權力來決定，而不是由某個政黨來決定。”

　　 “有什麼區別？”

　　 “我不是那些無能需要向人民讓步的懦夫，更不是需要從死人來獲得威望的官僚。”羅曼諾夫站起身說：“還有什麼話？”

　　 “我不是你的同志。”

　　 “我知道你不是。這就是為什麼我們要談這個。現在，我離開你。”羅曼諾夫走出牢房，繼續趕路。

　　 蘇聯共產黨的命運已經注定了，當斯大林授予官僚特權與對官僚舉起屠刀時，當先鋒隊共產主義式政黨庸俗化成宗教時，也終將像宗教一樣分裂與消亡。

　　 當老布爾什維克黨失去戰斗意志時，同樣的命運等待著它。1991年蘇聯解體時，這個曾經偉大的政黨的殘余勢力分裂成了一百萬塊。

　　 這個下場是合理的，當它背棄人民時也終將被人民背棄，可惜的是1991年人民沒有把蘇聯官僚集團一並殺死，更糟糕的是，葉利欽上台了。結果，俄羅斯人民選出了一位公開吹噓個人腐敗日益嚴重的人作為總統，而他只是憑借一個正在解體的超級大國的恩典才得以執政。

　　 俄羅斯的未來是什麼？

　　 蘇聯的解體留下了一個尚未填補的權力真空。該國爆發了暴力事件，經濟陷入困境。

　　 這個問題的根本在於人類的社會制度是否能夠無視歷史傳統與文化習慣而發展？

　　 無產階級和資產階級是按經濟分的，統治階級和被統治階級是按政治分的，二者沒有什麼必然聯系。一個統治集團里也可以同時有出身無產階級和出身資產階級的人。

　　 工人階級必然會受到資產階級思想的影響和限制。先鋒隊來保衛工人階級思想，那誰來保衛先鋒隊呢？

　　 當時蘇聯在宣傳將社會的一切問題歸咎於蘇聯人民懶惰、曠工、酗酒等行為，用來掩蓋體制問題。掩蓋國家已經落在了修正主義者手中的事實。前蘇聯的斯拉夫族知識分子們傳播大俄羅斯主義的思想傳播到了整個俄羅斯，這時候的前蘇聯已經變成了紅色俄羅斯帝國，而不再是全世界無產階級的祖國，對於一個民族意識高漲與由十五個加盟國組成的國家來說，民族主義的後果很明顯。

　　 斯大林主義的地基就是列寧主義，當然可以指責斯大林主義建築下死去的人。但否認斯大林就會否認列寧，進而指責列寧建立契卡，鎮壓富農等等，戈爾巴喬夫公開化以“要列寧不要斯大林”起，到末期民主派揭露列寧“邪惡”真相時蘇聯就不可能保持穩定了。

　　 當然，轉向自由市場經濟，公民可以自由選擇死或不死，就像東歐劇變後東歐各國女性們可以自由選擇去西歐當妓女或在本國當妓女，男人們可以選擇死亡或者加入黑幫。

　　 即使是共產主義理想最狂熱的捍衛者也會承認，該體系已不再能夠提供商品。

　　 關鍵在於任何國家都無法通過內循環的封閉經濟來做到徹底與國際市場隔離。這就是蘇聯集團崩潰的主要原因：他們的指令經濟效率太低。從而導致了經濟停滯與落後世界技術。即使不轉向市場化改革，也需要一個與國際市場進行經濟交換的港灣。

　　 當然，葉利欽領導下的新政府在本質上對工人階級並不友好，而且它所實施的許多改革都絕對有利於它。

　　 對於蘇聯解體這件事情，人們還在通過各種立場看待它，對於蘇聯解體後包括俄羅斯的十五個民族國家來說，蘇聯當然是罪惡的殖民者，但總有人將蘇聯視為俄羅斯。最顯著的是，1932年蘇聯大飢荒被烏克蘭民族主義者視為蘇聯針對烏克蘭或者哈薩克的種族滅絕…然而，1932年蘇聯大飢荒的范圍是烏克蘭、南俄羅斯與哈薩克。

　　 而且在此之前，列寧執行了新經濟政策時就導致了出現俄羅斯人退出全聯盟共產黨的浪潮與烏克蘭化，至於斯大林他只是一個是國家主義者。總有一種將斯大林這個格魯吉亞人也稱為俄羅斯民族主義者的錯誤看法，斯大林作為格魯吉亞人與共產主義者只是利用與壓制俄羅斯民族主義來維持統治，否則米哈伊爾·伊萬諾維奇·羅季昂諾夫（1905-1050）就不會被以民族主義的理由被槍斃了。

　　 工業化的原始資本積累無非兩種。一，剝削殖民地。二，剝削本國農民。前者更多打著民族主義，擴大生存空間。後者容易打著階級斗爭。

　　 蘇聯的一五計劃工業化成果還是很成功的，1930年，開始建造約1,500個工業聯合體，其中50個吸收了幾乎全部投資的一半。許多巨大的交通和工業結構被創造出來：突厥-西伯利亞鐵路，第聶伯河水電站，馬格尼托哥爾斯克，利佩茨克和車里雅賓斯克、新庫茲涅茨克、諾里爾斯克的冶金廠以及烏拉爾重型機器制造廠，以及斯大林格勒、車里雅賓斯克、哈爾科夫的拖拉機廠、烏拉爾機車車輛廠，戈爾科夫斯基汽車廠，利哈切夫工廠。可惜，工業發展過快與農業上攫取太多，引發了大飢荒。

　　 至於，為什麼把錯誤的工業化政策結果、虛報指標與強制征糧的烏克蘭官僚集團歸因於蘇聯針對烏克蘭的種族滅絕敘事，而在一樣遭受飢荒的南俄羅斯與哈薩克則幾乎沒有這種從民族角度來看待的敘事？

　　 這並不是要否認有確鑿證據的暴行，但就烏克蘭而言，這是對經濟問題的政治解釋，而不是從馬克思主義角度可以很容易地解釋的原則性拒絕。

　　 當然，有人會完全否認飢荒的存在，聲稱數字被夸大了，大飢荒期間的損失是與波蘭軍隊發生軍事衝突的結果，而不是人為飢荒的結果。

　　 人們應該時刻警惕這種過於簡單化的理由，或者人們所認為的理由。

　　 人們應當追求歷史本身，而不是用各種各樣的立場與角度來得到自身所希望的結論，那只會造成德克薩斯槍手效應。

　　 在舊蘇聯的廢墟上，又出現了第二次更加活躍的共產主義運動。這很大程度上是，1991蘇聯解體（一些美國人將其稱為革命，並且相信在那里沒有人傷亡…）是不成功的，比1917年十月革命相比，當時蘇聯的官僚集團與軍隊就像1917年的臨時政府與它的政黨一樣沒有實際行動，而葉利欽與支持葉利欽的自由主義者與民族主義者、社會主義者（有趣的是，當時很多人並不認為支持葉利欽相當於反對社會主義）都積極參與或者迅速行動。最終結果當然是葉利欽的勝利。

　　 只不過，葉利欽不是為了什麼民主化或者讓人們過上更好的生活。因此，他雖然進行去共產主義化與廢除社會主義制度，但卻與前蘇聯的精英階層合作肢解了蘇聯、然後又與脫下社會主義外衣後穿上資本主義西裝的寡頭們合作並建立總統制。當然，回報是豐厚的，即使他退休了也住在莫斯科郊外的國有豪華別墅，身旁廚師、警衛、醫生俱全，出入有警車開路，還可乘坐政府專機。退休後，他每年出國遠游8至10次，費用全由國家支付。他的後代依然是俄羅斯聯邦的精英階級。

　　 但蘇聯解體的經濟後果是可怕的。它不僅導致了廣泛的貧困和失業，還導致了銀行體系幾近崩潰。俄羅斯財經報刊上充斥著關於“新經濟危機”的文章，盡管鐵幕已經落下30年多了。

　　 蘇聯解體這件事情，如果你是資本主義陣營的平民，尤其是美國人，當然是一件好事。

　　 對前蘇聯人民來說，蘇聯解體是一場災難，事實上是他們漫長的國家支持的壓迫、剝削和種族滅絕歷史上最糟糕的事情之一。

　　 對他們中的大多數人來說，這意味著計劃經濟的必然性的終結，在計劃經濟中，一切都是為每個人提供的，也意味著一種更加原子化的生活的開始，在這種生活中，個人負責滿足自己的需要，這通常意味著與社區其他人一起與殘酷的暴力斗爭，不公正、不寬容的市場。

　　 ***

　　 特雷古波娃打了哈欠，把手里的匯總分析報告放下。

　　 “太干燥了。我需要一些新鮮空氣。我們去公園散散步吧，”她說，沒有抬頭看。

　　 “先讓我看看信息情報報告。”羅曼諾夫拿過來報告查看說：“希望我做的都是對的。”

　　 “我對此毫無疑問，”特雷古波娃說。

　　 “那為什麼我覺得自己被棍子打了？”

　　 “沒必要夸大，”特雷古波娃說。

　　 “我沒有夸張。我研究了所有記錄，知道如何評估信息。但我們必須能夠相互信任。”羅曼諾夫嘆了口氣說：“我所得到的信息太多了以至於我無法判斷什麼是真實的？什麼是謊言？”

　　 “不要為此自責。有時我們不得不猜測。我們正在努力建設一個更美好的世界，你猜怎麼著？在這個世界上，猜猜大多數人想要什麼？更多的謊言。\"

　　 “我想是吧。既然我們不能相信消息來源，那我們怎麼能相信一份簡要的情報報告呢？”

　　 “我們不能。這是可悲的現實。”

　　 這就是矛盾所在，蘇聯高層恰恰是情報過多而不是情報過少，早在安德羅波夫時期就已經出過這些問題了，而他的秘密研究工作也預測出蘇聯之後可能的三十多種未來走向，蘇聯解體正是其中之一。

　　 而在情報機構上，蘇共中央委員會國際部、克格勃、軍事情報機構以及外交部等四個機構都能向總書記、政治局委員以及中央委員發放自己的情報文件。而中央委員會也有它的情報機構來判斷，與沒有情報與信息的普通人相比，中央委員會反而是信息多到無法判斷正確了。

　　 “我們無法正確判斷出可能發生的事情，即使作為統治者也無法控制歷史發展進程。”羅曼諾夫面無表情地說。

　　 “歷史總是最後一個字，”特雷古波娃笑著說。

　　 “歷史將審判我們。”

　　 “如果你這麼說的話，那麼我們該怎麼辦呢？”

　　 “成立一個信息情報部門，來分析社會信息與國際情報與預測未來發展並給出解決方案。”

　　 “好主意。我們找誰來管理它？”

　　 “你來管理它，”羅曼諾夫說。

　　 特雷古波娃困惑地眨著眼睛。“我？”

　　 “是的，我們需要一個不怕做出艱難決定的人，一個不介意冒險的人，一個不怕爭議的人。我們需要一個像你這樣的人，特雷古波娃同志。”

　　 特雷古波娃揚起眉毛。她向後靠在椅子上。“為什麼是我？”

　　 “我相信你不會誤導我，更重要的是，你只需要收集一切信息來分析與預測任何有相當可能的結果。”羅曼諾夫盯著報告說，報告的內容與安德羅波夫看到的沒什麼大變化，依然是預測蘇聯在二十一世紀初期會經歷嚴重的危機並可能解體。

　　 特雷古波娃研究了一下羅曼諾夫的表情，說：“你是一個非常奇怪的人，羅曼諾夫同志。你怎麼能對我如此確信？”

　　 “也許是愛？”

　　 特雷古波娃笑了。“也許吧。愛是你決定的一個因素嗎？”

　　 “當然。”

　　 “嗯，我真的愛你。你愛我嗎？”

　　 “是的，”羅曼諾夫說。“別說了，去公園散步，然後去看看電影？”

　　 “聽起來不錯。我希望你會喜歡這部電影。”

　　 “我們拭目以待。”

　　 特雷古波娃從座位上站起來。她伸了伸懶腰說，“來吧。”

　　 他們離開房間，前往公園。那是一個無風的日子，天空晴朗蔚藍。公園又大又整潔，是蘇聯人喜歡建造的那種地方。他們沿著小路散步，欣賞著一排排原始的樹木。

　　 “在保衛國家的過程中，紅軍殺害了多少人？”特雷古波娃問道。

　　 “很多，黑軍、白衛軍與綠軍都抵抗過,最好讓那些名字留在檔案管理總局。”羅曼諾夫問道。“你要看的電影叫什麼名字？”

　　 “欲望之翅（柏林蒼穹下）。”

　　 “我從來沒聽過這個故事，是什麼？”

　　 特雷古波娃笑了。“這是一部藝術片。你會喜歡的。不過有點奇怪。告訴我，你相信上帝嗎？”

　　 “當然不是。”

　　 “鬼呢？”

　　 “我不確定。”

　　 “你認為有天堂嗎？”

　　 “沒有。”

　　 特雷古波娃笑了。“好，我也不喜歡。”

　　 “沒有幻想的天堂，美好的世界只能讓我們自己創造。經濟計劃發展委員會在考慮到了進入二十一世紀執行七小時工作制，或許到了2020年，蘇聯能通過四天工作制度或者六小時工作制。”

　　 “我認為你高估了工人階級。”

　　 “也許吧。我認為低估他們是不明智的。至少，我們應該讓人們生活更美好，我們無法供應商品也只是生產力產能問題，而不是生產關系的計劃經濟制度。不應該為了防止成本上升與利潤下降，而拒絕讓工作時間縮短與勞動生產率上升。當工作的人有動力的時候，當他們有閒暇的時候，他們能夠做很多事情。”

　　 “你怎麼能這麼肯定？”

　　 “如果你一天工作12小時甚至像十九世紀沒有工會與民主社會主義者的資本主義剝削下工作16小時，你會有時間與精力來學習與創造藝術來滿足自我實現的價值需求嗎？”

　　 “可能不會。”

　　 “人類生存的價值和潛力永遠不會僅僅通過工作更多的時間而得到充分實現。”

　　 “你到底想說什麼？”

　　 “關鍵是，在一個完全工業化的社會中，我們的閒暇時間充滿了資本主義創造的產品。閒暇時間是為了個人的利益，而不是為了一大群人的利益。當我們工作時，我們為自己的產品創造材料，即使只是在短時間內。這就是工作的作用。當我們不工作時，我們為他人創造。當別人不創造時，我們就沒有創造。這是創造的循環。\"

　　 “那麼，你是否建議我們實施一個系統，讓我們為他人創造更多？”

　　 “是也不是，我們應該創造一個集體利他主義的生活方式，想一想，一個沒有貨幣與所有生活商品按需分配的社會形態。”羅曼諾夫握著她的手微笑，這是一種真心相信的微笑，而不是偽善。“有了這一點，我們都可以實現一個真正自由的國家，一個沒有匱乏和需要的世界。”

　　 “聽起來像個烏托邦。”

　　 “一個可以實現的烏托邦，現在，我們無法做到是生產力的關系而不是無法實現，如果人們不去實現當然不會有這個烏托邦。只是利己主義會阻礙我們，讓人們陷入追求個體最佳選擇的囚徒困境。”羅曼諾夫停頓了一下說：“但只要生產力不斷發展，總有實現的一天。就像如果有一天商品的生產與維護完全無人自動化，那時生產關系與社會分配必然到了按需分配的時候，否則就陷入失業與經濟囚境。這不會以人的意志所改變。”

　　 “那麼，自動化和機器人技術將幫助我們走向烏托邦？”

　　 “有可能，或者是其他的社會形態。但肯定就像資本主義淘汰封建主義一樣，新的社會形態也會淘汰資本主義。到了那時的人類新一代或許會討論新的話題，而社會主義與資本主義會像曾經的基督教與伊斯蘭教的對立一樣被淘汰。”

　　 “因此，你相信需要一個為人民服務的社會組織體系。”

　　 “是的，但它不是由人們隨心所欲創造出來的。它是在有約束的情況下創造出來的，它將由想要與眾不同的人創造出來。它將被創造來滿足人類的需求和欲望，而不僅僅是滿足它們。\"

　　 “這是一項艱巨的任務，同志。”

　　 “是的。我們坐在河邊的長凳上吧。在下次會議之前我還有幾分鍾。我們可以檢查一下今天的計劃。如果你有任何創造性的想法，我相信你會分享它們，這樣我們都能從中受益。”

　　 特雷古波娃沿著堤岸走著，雙手插在口袋里，凝視著水面。羅曼諾夫坐下來，伸開雙腿，向後一靠，閉上眼睛片刻。

　　 “我們生活的世界就像一台巨大的機器，”羅曼諾夫說。“和任何機器一樣，它必須有制衡機制。我們是人類，我們是工程師。我們有一定的責任，我們需要履行這些責任，否則機器將無法工作。問題是，人們不一定喜歡讓工程師來做決定。他們寧願認為自己是決策者，即使事實並非如此。我想工人階級就是這樣的。他們已經失去了決定人生道路的能力。他們成了臣民而不是公民。他們已經放棄了選擇的權力，現在他們對此感到憤怒。我們不能放棄他們。問題是我們如何激勵人們選擇更好的選擇？\"

　　 “如果我們告訴他們後果，你認為他們會選擇更好的選擇嗎？”

　　 “是的，我知道。”

　　 特雷古波娃仔細想了想說：“你為什麼要說蘇聯計劃經濟的停滯是被隔離於資本主義陣營經濟區域集團的貿易之外？這是美國與我們蘇聯共同造成的鐵幕隔離結果。”

　　 “是的，但宣傳上我們把原因全歸因於斯大林認為資本主義市場會爆發經濟危機而讓蘇聯經濟內循環的，全歸因於資本主義陣營對我們的貿易封鎖能爭取支持與排外心理。這些是為了宣傳，就像其他國家的共產黨利用赫魯曉夫的秘密報告與死亡的斯大林來擺脫蘇聯控制一樣。雖然在此之前，它們參加了去斯大林化。”

　　 蘇聯對外貿易

　　 出口貨物$11.07億(石油及其副產品、天然氣、金屬、木材、農產品、和其他不同種類的產品。)

　　 出口合作伙伴——東歐集團50%、歐洲共同體13%、古巴、中國、美國

　　 進口貨物$114,70億（谷物及其他農產品、機械和設備、電子產品、消費品)

　　 進口合作伙伴——東歐集團46%、歐洲共同體16%、古巴6%、美國、阿富汗

　　 “我認為你太憤世嫉俗了。斯大林是個暴君，他利用了政治制度……”

　　 “他不重要，死人比活人有用。就像列寧一樣，重要的是宣傳與人民支持，就像自由主義者反對列寧與斯大林，不是反對他們而是反對共產主義。畢竟，大屠殺與軍事鎮壓每個政府都做過。有人會用愛爾蘭大飢荒、美國華盛頓慘案、奧斯曼帝國種族屠殺亞美尼亞人來指責反對嗎？”

　　 “好吧，沒有人利用亞美尼亞種族滅絕……”

　　 “對，所以重點在於我們控制了宣傳，宣傳才能控制公眾記憶。只有歷史學家才需要真正的歷史，人們只能從真正的歷史看到血淚。”羅曼諾夫沉默了一會說：“我們不會掩蓋歷史，只是讓檔案五十年後再解密更好。”

　　 “但這難道不讓人們更容易證明……”

　　 “你希望讓人們知道你在瑞士銀行有多少存款嗎？”羅曼諾夫面無表情地盯著她說：“多少錢？”

　　 “嗯……”她低下頭。

　　 “多少錢？”他又問。

　　 “好吧，如果你想逃避遺產或信托，你應該避免官僚主義……”

　　 羅曼諾夫俯身凝視著她。

　　 “好吧，三千萬美元。”

　　 她點點頭。

　　 “我會把錢轉到一個離岸賬戶。”

　　 “哦，我不想……”她開始說，但後來停了下來。

　　 “你當然不，”羅曼諾夫說，“你想讓錢在那里？讓我的錢在你的銀行賬戶上？”

　　 “嗯……”

　　 “你的賬戶里有沒有？”

　　 “嗯，是的，但是……”

　　 “離岸銀行賬戶詳情，”羅曼諾夫說，“或者你可以在西伯利亞做苦工，度過余生。”

　　 “好吧……”她軟化了，“錢在瑞士的賬戶里。”

　　 羅曼諾夫說，“你總是喜歡在這種小事情上掙扎，走吧，我們回別墅看電影。”

　　 她挽著他的手臂，走回堤岸。

　　 羅曼諾夫望著天空，思考著。然後他站起來，伸了伸懶腰，沿著堤岸走著，思考著。

　　 “回家後，把錢轉到我的離岸賬戶上，你的錢也會在里面。”

　　 “是的，”她說，轉身走回家。

　　 她又挽著他的胳膊，他們沿著堤岸走去。他們默默地走了很長時間。

　　 當他們到達回城的路上時，她說，“我們被監視著。”

　　 “是誰干的？”

　　 “我不知道。”

　　 “好吧，讓我們看看，”羅曼諾夫說。

　　 在羅曼諾夫的衛隊車輛之外，有幾輛民用車輛緊跟其後。該小組沿著公路行駛，隨後兩輛車從機場駛出。

　　 “你認為他們在跟蹤我們嗎？”她問。

　　 “是的，”羅曼諾夫說，“克格勃？還是內務部？”

　　 “很難說，”他說，“情報部有一個習慣，就是讓他們自己的人互相監視。”

　　 “那我們不應該加快速度嗎？”她問。

　　 “不，那就代表我們發現了他們。”羅曼諾夫閉上眼睛說：“保持清醒，按正常情況繼續行駛。”

　　 “好的，”她說著，把外套拉得更緊。

　　 這些車在後面拖了一會兒，然後都在附近落了下來。當警車開始停在他們旁邊時，突然出現了閃爍的藍色和紅色燈光。

　　 “警察來了，”她說。

　　 帶隊的警察拔出手槍說：“保持冷靜，靠邊停車，這只是例行檢查。”

　　 司機是個二十多歲的年輕人，他把車停了下來。

　　 “下車，雙手放在車上。”

　　 他這樣做了，盡管他把手放在口袋里。他的手在發抖，他不停地朝警車的方向瞥了一眼。

　　 “搜索車輛。”

　　 ***

　　 “也許，克格勃權力太大了。”羅曼諾夫試探她說。

　　 “我不是在爭辯，但你認為他們是如何找到我們的？”

　　 “我認為他們不稱職。”他笑了。“這就是我們要接管一切的原因。”

　　 “你是什麼意思？”

　　 “我的意思是，我要帶頭。你要毫無疑問地按我說的去做。”

　　 “好吧……”她吃驚地說。

　　 羅曼諾夫微笑地說：“我下周得去東歐，斬斷美國煽動者的黑手。”

　　 “我和你一起去。”

　　 “我很樂意，”他說。

　　 她靜靜地坐了一會兒，然後說：“好的。”

　　 “很好。”他點點頭說：“希望我能解決那些叛徒，還有讓民眾安分點。”

　　 “希望如此，”她說。

　　 “好吧，”他說，“我們回家吧。”

　　 這兩個人走回他的豪華轎車。

　　 他回到車里，坐上司機的座位，她坐到另一邊，坐在他旁邊。汽車開走了。他們朝他的莊園走去。

　　 “你覺得怎麼樣？”他問道，轉向她。

　　 “但你還是要和我一起去。”

　　 “我做這件事真是瘋了，”她說。

　　 “很好，”他笑著說。“你能幫我嗎？”

　　 “是的，”她說。

　　 “那我們開始吧。”

　　 他一天剩下的時間都在計劃，接下來的幾天也是如此。計劃不會結束，只需要等待東歐的叛徒掉進陷阱。

　　 [newpage]

　　 As Tregubova walked out the door, she heard a clicking sound. The door slammed shut and locked. Tregubova screamed, \"Alex! Please, let me out!\"

　　 No response.

　　 Tregubova looked around the room. There was no door. The walls were made of stone. There was no way to escape.

　　 She screamed, \"Help!\" The walls reverberated with her screams.

　　 Then, silence.

　　 As time passed, the stone walls grew old. They cracked. They crumbled. Water leaked in and carved deep grooves along the walls. The ceiling rusted and collapsed.

　　 ***

　　 Romanov stood by the bed staring at Tregubova who was having nightmares in bed. She cried, \"Alex, please, let me out!\"

　　 \"I have no more strength.\" Romanov said. \"I have no more tears.\"

　　 She could hear the sounds of crying. She saw the boy. \"Alex, please, tell me what to do!\"

　　 \"I\u0027ll show you.\" Romanov walked up to She and reached for her. She grabbed her own throat. \"Alex, please, no!\"

　　 his released his grip. Tregubova sucked in her breath. Her body convulsed. She awoke screaming. She looked around. The bedroom was dark. She screamed, \"Alex, get in here!\"

　　 \"I\u0027ve been trying.\" Romanov sighed. \"Calm down and look at me.\" Tregubova sat up and stared into Romanov\u0027s eyes. Her screams died in her throat. \"Calm down.\" Romanov said. \"It\u0027s just a dream.\"

　　 \"It wasn\u0027t a dream.\" Tregubova said.

　　 \"Yes it was. You have to believe in something. Otherwise, what\u0027s the point of living?\"

　　 \"But that wasn\u0027t...\" Tregubova\u0027s voice cracked. \"Don\u0027t abandon me! Please! I can\u0027t hold out!\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not.\" Romanov stood up. \"I\u0027m going to get you out of here, but I need you to do something for me first.\" Tregubova looked at him.

　　 \"What?\"

　　 \"I need you to write down everything you know about this house. It\u0027s going to be important later.\"

　　 \"No...\"

　　 \"You have no choice.\"

　　 \"Don\u0027t leave me...\"

　　 \"I\u0027ll be back. I promise.\"

　　 Tregubova looked at her hands. They were thin and white. She had no food, no water, and no hope.

　　 \"Fine.\" She said. \"What should I write?\"

　　 * * *

　　 \"You\u0027re not going to leave me,\" Tregubova said. \"You promised.\" Romanov didn\u0027t respond. He looked away.

　　 \"Start recording.\"

　　 Tregubova picked up a pen and stared at the faxed intelligence information, the wiretap reports sent by the KGB and her agents in aggregate, which she needed to sort through.

　　 \"Where are you going?\"

　　 \"I\u0027ll be back. If I don\u0027t come back, go to the police. Tell them what happened. Tell them about the documents.\"

　　 \"What documents?\"

　　 \"Everything. The documents, the reports, the photos. Everything.\"

　　 \"You can\u0027t leave me!\" Tregubova cried.

　　 \"I\u0027ll be back.\" Romanov turned and walked out the door.

　　 Tregubova stared at the door. She looked at the information. It was all there. She had nothing to lose.

　　 She picked up the phone and dialed the Russian number.

　　 ***

　　 11 Lubyanka Square, Moscow

　　 Inside the large, brightly lit, federal building, the walls were covered with dark, glossy photographs, many of them old, others new.

　　 The first thing that you noticed was how much younger everyone looked.

　　 The photographs covered a wall that was far longer than any other part of the wall, the part that was not covered with photographs.

　　 The second thing you noticed were the glass bricks that covered the long, flat wall.

　　 The glass bricks had a dark liquid inside them.

　　 The light from the square beyond the window did not penetrate the glass bricks.

　　 Romanov nodded, and Major General Vladimir Medvedev, who now runs the Kremlin guard, accompanied him to a cell.

　　 He opened the door and gestured for Romanov to enter.

　　 The two men walked inside.

　　 The cell was small and dark. There were no windows. The only way in or out was the door.

　　 Romanov walked in, and Aliyev, the former First Secretary of Azerbaijan, got up from the mattress to stare at him. \"Romanov, you transferred me to this makeshift cell just to meet?\"

　　 \"Yes.\"

　　 \"This is bullshit.\"

　　 \"No, this is the new Russia, comrade.\"

　　 \"Bullshit. I\u0027m an experienced politician. I know how this game works.\"

　　 \"I know you\u0027re smart, that\u0027s why you\u0027re here.\" Romanov sat across from him on the mattress and said, \"Our conversation tonight will not be recorded.\"

　　 \"Ah, good.\"

　　 Aliyev stared at Romanov. \"So, tell me what the fuck is going on.\"

　　 \"A group of patriots want to create a more perfect union. It\u0027s a long story.\"

　　 \"I don\u0027t recall granting you permission to speak.\"

　　 \"Aliyev, are you really going to taunt like a barbarian or have a good conversation?\"

　　 \"I\u0027d rather not be in a cell with a fascist who is trying to take over the government.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s not a very nice thing to say.\"

　　 \"No, but it\u0027s a damn fact.\" Aliyev sat back down on the mattress. \"What else is new?\"

　　 \"That\u0027s new.\"

　　 \"What do you want, Romanov? I thought we were on the same side.\"

　　 \"When?\" Romanov stared at his white hair and smiled, \"I want to expand the power of the Soviet, and a local Azerbaijani powerhouse like you might not be here?\"

　　 \"When did you need me?\"

　　 \"I need you now. I need you more than I need some asshole who is only good at being a martyr.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not your comrade.\"

　　 \"I know.\" Romanov looked at his hands. \"I know I\u0027m not your comrade. What I need from you is information. Tell me what you know.\"

　　 \"I don\u0027t know much. There was an old KGB agent named Karloff who was arrested in Afghanistan. He joined the Afghan Mujahideen with the CIA, and he was also an Azerbaijani. He was the CIA man in charge of the Azerbaijani national separatist organization. That\u0027s all I know.\"

　　 \"What\u0027s his last name?\"

　　 \"Karloff.\"

　　 \"Thank you, and one other thing, I intend to put the Naka region under the central government of the Soviet Union.\"

　　 \"No.\"

　　 \"Yes.\" Romanov nodded.

　　 Aliyev\u0027s eyes widened.

　　 \"I\u0027m not going to let you ruin everything that we\u0027ve worked for.\"

　　 Romanov\u0027s voice was cold, and his stare was hard. He sat up and leaned toward Aliyev. \"Do you want to die here, or do you want to live in a better world?\"

　　 \"You can\u0027t do that! Turn this territory into Armenian territory!\"

　　 \"Yes, I can. Do you want to live in a world with no nation that you call home? Where everyone is a stranger? No, you don\u0027t want that. So, tell me, do you want to live in a new world or not?\"

　　 Aliyev\u0027s eyes narrowed. \"You will fail, Romanov.\"

　　 \"I know it, it\u0027s already doomed. When Lenin died in 1924, his last wish to be buried next to his mother in Petrograd was not fulfilled, and his body was laid to rest in Red Square, thus pioneering the preservation of the remains of important leaders in socialist countries, when Stalin resumed his personal cult and the tradition of St. Calvary as the new tsar...\"

　　 The veins bulged in Aliyev\u0027s forehead, and he got up from the mattress. \"I\u0027ll tell you this though. We\u0027re not going to let some Soviet puppet dictate what\u0027s going to happen to the country.\"

　　 \"We\u0027re past that, comrade. The Soviet Union is over, and a new world order will take place. It\u0027s going to be decided by who has the most power, not by some political party.\"

　　 \"What\u0027s the difference?\"

　　 \"I am not one of those cowards who are incompetent and need to concede to the people, much less a bureaucrat who needs to gain prestige from dead people.\" Romanov stood up and said, \"What else do you have to say?\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not your comrade.\"

　　 \"I know you\u0027re not. That\u0027s why we\u0027re having this conversation. Now, I\u0027ll leave you be.\" Romanov stepped away from the cell and continued on his way.

　　 The fate of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was already sealed when Stalin granted privileges to the bureaucrats and raised the butcher\u0027s knife against them, and when the vanguard communist-style party vulgarized itself into a religion, it would eventually split and perish like a religion.

　　 The same fate awaited the old Bolshevik party when it lost its will to fight. As the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the remnants of the once great party disintegrated into a million pieces.

　　 It is reasonable that when it turns its back on the people it will eventually be turned by the people, but unfortunately the people did not kill the Soviet bureaucracy along with it in 1991, and worse still, Yeltsin came to power.

　　 As a result, the people of Russia elected as president a man who openly boasted of increasing personal corruption and was only kept in office by the grace of a disintegrating superpower.

　　 What does the future hold for Russia?

　　 The collapse of the Soviet Union left behind a power vacuum that has yet to be filled. The country has witnessed an outbreak of violence, and the economy is in tatters.

　　 The root of this question is whether human social systems can develop in spite of historical traditions and cultural habits?

　　 The proletariat and the bourgeoisie are divided by economy, the ruling class and the ruled class are divided by politics, and there is no necessary connection between them. A ruling group can have people of both proletarian and bourgeois origins.

　　 The working class is necessarily influenced and limited by bourgeois ideology. The vanguard came to defend the working class ideology, so who would defend the vanguard?

　　 At that time the Soviet Union was using propaganda that blamed all the problems of society on the laziness, absenteeism, and alcoholism of the Soviet people to cover up the problems of the system. To cover up the fact that the country had fallen into the hands of the revisionists. The Slavic intellectuals of the former Soviet Union spread the ideas of Great Russianism throughout Russia, which by this time had become the Red Russian Empire and no longer the motherland of the proletariat of the world, and the consequences of nationalism were obvious for a country with a high national consciousness with a group of fifteen constituent states.

　　 The foundation of Stalinism is Leninism, and one can certainly blame those who died under the Stalinist building. But to deny Stalin would be to deny Lenin, and then accuse Lenin of establishing the Cheka, suppressing the rich peasants, etc. Gorbachev openly to \"Lenin not Stalin\" from the end of the democratic faction to reveal the truth of Lenin\u0027s \"evil\" the Soviet Union will not be able to maintain stability.

　　 Of course, with the shift to a free market economy, citizens were free to choose to die or not to die, just as women in Eastern Europe were free to choose to become prostitutes in Western Europe or in their own countries after the Eastern European upheaval, and men were free to choose to die or join the mob.

　　 Even the most ardent defenders of a Communist ideal will admit that the system is no longer capable of delivering the goods.

　　 The point is that no country can be completely isolated from the international market through a closed economy with internal circulation. That\u0027s the main reason why the Soviet bloc collapsed in the first place: their command economy was simply too inefficient. This has led to economic stagnation and lagging world technology. Even without turning to market-oriented reforms, a harbor for economic exchange with international markets is needed.

　　 Of course, the new government under Yeltsin was not exactly amicable in nature to the working class, and many of the reforms it enacted were decidedly in its favor.

　　 The dissolution of the Soviet Union is still being viewed through a variety of positions. For the fifteen nation-states that included Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union was certainly the criminal colonizer, but there were always those who saw the Soviet Union as Russia. Most notably, the 1932 Soviet Holodomor was viewed by Ukrainian nationalists as a Soviet genocide against Ukraine or Kazakhstan...However, the 1932 Soviet Holodomor covered Ukraine, South Russia, and Kazakhstan.

　　 And before that, Lenin\u0027s implementation of the New Economic Policy led to a wave of Russian withdrawal from the All-Union Communist Party and Ukrainianization, while Stalin was only a statist. There is always a misconception that Stalin, a Georgian, was also a Russian nationalist. Stalin, as a Georgian and a communist, only used and suppressed Russian nationalism to maintain his rule, otherwise Mikhail Ivanovich Rodionov (1905-1050) would not have been shot on nationalistic grounds.

　　 There are only two kinds of primitive capital accumulation for industrialization. One, the exploitation of colonies. Two, the exploitation of national peasants. The former is more likely to fight nationalism and expand the space for survival. The latter is easier to fight class struggle.

　　 The results of the Soviet Union\u0027s First Five-Year Plan for industrialization were still very successful. In 1930, the construction of some 1,500 industrial complexes began, 50 of which absorbed almost half of the total investment. Many huge transport and industrial structures were created: the Turkic-Siberian railroad, the Dnepr River hydroelectric power station, Magnitogorsk, metallurgical plants in Lipetsk and Chelyabinsk, Novokuznetsk, Norilsk, and the Ural heavy machine building plant, as well as tractor plants in Stalingrad, Chelyabinsk, Kharkov, the Ural rolling stock plant, the Gorkovsky automobile plant, the Likhachev plant. Unfortunately, too much industrial development and too much agricultural seizure led to the Holodomor.

　　 As to why the results of the wrong industrialization policy, the misrepresentation of the targets and the forced grain collection by the Ukrainian bureaucracy are attributed to the Soviet genocide narrative against Ukraine, while in South Russia and Kazakhstan, which also suffered from famine, there is almost no such narrative from the national point of view?

　　 It is not to deny the atrocities that are firmly documented, but in the case of Ukraine, it is a political interpretation of an economic problem, not a principled rejection that can be easily explained from a Marxist perspective.

　　 There are of course those who will deny the existence of the famine altogether, claiming that the figures are exaggerated and that the losses during the Holodomor are a result of military conflict with the Polish army, not the result of a man-made famine.

　　 One should always be wary of such simplistic justifications, or what is perceived to be such.

　　 One should pursue history itself, rather than using a variety of positions and perspectives to reach one\u0027s desired conclusion, which would only create the Texas shooter effect.

　　 From the ashes of the old Soviet Union, a second, far more vibrant communist movement arose.

　　 Much of this is that the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union (which some Americans call a revolution and believe where no one was killed or injured...) was unsuccessful, compared to the October Revolution of 1917, when the Soviet bureaucracy and military were as inactive as the Provisional Government of 1917 was with its political parties, and Yeltsin and the pro-Yeltsin liberals and nationalists, and socialists (interestingly, many at the time did not consider support for Yeltsin as equivalent to opposition to socialism) were actively involved or acted quickly. The end result was, of course, a victory for Yeltsin.

　　 Only, Yeltsin was not about any democratization or making a better life for people. Thus, while he carried out the de-communization and abolition of the socialist system, he worked with the elites of the former Soviet Union to dismember the Soviet Union and then with the oligarchs who put on the capitalist suits after taking off the socialist veneer and established the presidential system. Of course, the rewards were great, and even after his retirement he lived in a state-owned luxury villa outside Moscow, with a full complement of cooks, guards, doctors, a police car to get in and out, and access to a government plane. After his retirement, he traveled abroad 8 to 10 times a year, all paid for by the state. His descendants are still among the elite class of the Russian Federation.

　　 But the economic consequences of the dissolution of the Soviet Union were dire. Not only did it result in widespread poverty and unemployment, it also led to the near-collapse of the banking system. The Russian financial press is rife with articles about the \"New Economic Crisis,\" even though it has been more than 30 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

　　 The matter of the collapse of the Soviet Union is certainly a good thing if you are a civilian in the capitalist camp, especially if you are an American.

　　 For the people of the former Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a catastrophe, and indeed one of the worst things to happen in their long history of state-sponsored oppression, exploitation, and genocide.

　　 For most of them, it meant the end of the certainties of a planned economy in which everything was provided for everyone, and the beginning of a more atomized existence in which the individual was responsible for providing for his or her own needs, which usually meant struggling alongside the rest of the community against the odds of a brutal, unjust, and unforgiving market.

　　 ***

　　 Tregubova yawned and put down the summary analysis report in her hand.

　　 \"Too dry. I need some fresh air. Let\u0027s go for a walk in the park,\" she said, not looking up.

　　 \"First let me see the information intelligence report.\" Romanov took the report over to view it and said, \"I hope I did everything right.\"

　　 \"I have no doubt about that,\" Tregubova said.

　　 \"Then why do I feel like I\u0027ve been beaten with a club?\"

　　 \"No need to exaggerate,\" Tregubova said.

　　 \"I\u0027m not exaggerating. I\u0027ve studied all the records and I know how to assess information. But we have to be able to trust each other.\" Romanov sighed and said, \"I have been given so much information that I can\u0027t tell what is true? What is a lie?\"

　　 \"Don\u0027t beat yourself up over it. Sometimes we have to guess. We\u0027re trying to build a better world, and guess what? In this world, guess what most people want? More lies.\"

　　 \"I suppose. So how can we trust a summary intelligence report when we can\u0027t trust the source?\"

　　 \"We can\u0027t. That\u0027s the sad reality.\"

　　 This is the paradox, that the Soviet hierarchy was precisely over-intelligent rather than under-intelligent, and that these problems had already arisen under Andropov, whose secret research work had predicted more than thirty possible future directions for the Soviet Union afterwards, the collapse of the Soviet Union being one of them.

　　 As for the intelligence agencies, four agencies, the International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the KGB, the Military Intelligence Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were able to issue their own intelligence documents to the General Secretary, Politburo members, and members of the Central Committee. And the Central Committee also had its intelligence agencies to judge, as opposed to the ordinary people who had no intelligence and information, but instead the Central Committee had so much information that it could not judge correctly.

　　 \"We cannot judge correctly what may happen, and even as rulers we cannot control the course of history.\" Romanov said with an expressionless face.

　　 \"History always gets the last word,\" Tregubova said, amused.

　　 \"History will judge us.\"

　　 \"If you say so. So what are we going to do about this situation?\"

　　 \"To establish an information intelligence unit to analyze social information and international intelligence and predict future developments and give solutions.\"

　　 \"Good idea. Who will we get to run it?\"

　　 \"You will run it,\" Romanov said.

　　 Tregubova blinked in confusion. \"Me?\"

　　 \"Yes. We need someone who isn\u0027t afraid to make hard decisions, someone who doesn\u0027t mind taking risks, and someone who is not afraid of controversy. We need a man like you, Comrade Tregubova.\"

　　 Tregubova raised her eyebrows. She leaned back in her chair. \"Why me?\"

　　 \"I trust that you will not mislead me, and more importantly, that you will simply gather all the information to analyze and predict any outcome that is fairly likely.\" Romanov said as he stared at the report, the content of which had not changed much from what Andropov had seen, still predicting that the Soviet Union would experience a serious crisis and possible disintegration in the early twenty-first century.

　　 Tregubova studied Romanov\u0027s expression and said, \"You are a very strange man, Comrade Romanov. How can you be so sure of me?\"

　　 \"Maybe it\u0027s love?\"

　　 Tregubova smiled. \"Maybe. Is love a factor in your decision?\"

　　 \"Of course.\"

　　 \"Well, I do love you. Do you love me?\"

　　 \"Yes,\" Romanov said. \"Stop it, go for a walk in the park and then go see a movie?\"

　　 \"Sounds good to me. I hope you will like the movie.\"

　　 \"We\u0027ll see.\"

　　 Tregubova got up from her seat. She stretched, and said, \"Come on.\"

　　 They left the room, heading to the park. It was a breezeless day, the sky being clear and blue. The park was large and uncluttered, the sort of place that the Soviets were fond of creating. They walked along the pathways, admiring the pristine rows of pristine trees.

　　 \"How many people were killed by the Red Army during the defense of the nation?\" Tregubova asked.

　　 \"Many, the Black Army, the White Guard and the Green Army have resisted, and it would be better to keep those names in the General Administration of Archives.\" Romanov asked. \"What is the name of the movie you want to see?\"

　　 \"Wings of Desire.\"

　　 \"I have never heard this story. What is it?\"

　　 Tregubova smiled. \"It\u0027s an art film. You will like it. It\u0027s a little strange, though. Tell me, do you believe in God?\"

　　 \"Of course not.\"

　　 \"How about ghosts?\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not sure.\"

　　 \"Do you think there\u0027s a heaven?\"

　　 \"No.\"

　　 Tregubova smiled. \"Good. Neither do I.\"

　　 \"There is no paradise of illusions, a better world can only be created by ourselves. The Committee on Economic Planning and Development is thinking about the implementation of a seven-hour workday into the twenty-first century, and perhaps by 2020 the Soviet Union will be able to adopt a four-day workday or a six-hour workday.\"

　　 \"I think you overestimate the working class.\"

　　 \"Maybe. I don\u0027t think it\u0027s wise to underestimate them. At the very least, we should make people\u0027s lives better, and our inability to supply goods is only a matter of productivity capacity, not a planned economic system of production relations. We should not refuse to let working hours shorten and labor productivity rise in order to prevent costs from rising and profits from falling. Working people are capable of a great deal when they are motivated, and when they have the leisure to do so.\"

　　 \"How can you be so sure of this?\"

　　 \"If you worked 12 hours a day or even 16 hours like you did in the nineteenth century under capitalist exploitation without unions and democratic socialists, would you have the time and energy to learn and create art to satisfy the value of self-actualization?\"

　　 \"Probably not.\"

　　 \"The value and potential for human existence is never going to be fully realized by simply working more hours.\"

　　 \"What exactly are you getting at?\"

　　 \"The point is, in a fully industrialized society, what leisure time we have is filled with the products that capitalism creates. Leisure time is for the benefit of the individual, not one big mass of people. When we work, we create, if only for a short period of time, the materials for our own products. That is the role of work. When we don\u0027t work, we create for others. When others don\u0027t create, we go without. This is the cycle of creation.\"

　　 \"So, are you suggesting that we implement a system where we create more for others?\"

　　 \"Yes and no, we should create a collective altruistic way of life, think of a form of society where there is no currency with all the goods of life distributed on demand.\" Romanov shook her hand and smiled, a smile of genuine belief, not hypocrisy. \"With that, we can all achieve a state of true freedom, a world without want and need.\"

　　 \"Sounds like an utopia.\"

　　 \"An achievable utopia, now, that we can\u0027t achieve is a relationship of productivity rather than an inability to achieve, and it certainly wouldn\u0027t be there if people didn\u0027t go for it. It\u0027s just that egoism can get in our way and put people in a prisoner\u0027s dilemma of pursuing the best option for the individual.\" Romanov paused and said, \"But as long as the productivity keeps developing, there will be a day when it will be realized. Just as if one day the production and maintenance of goods is completely unmanned and automated, then the time will come when production relations and social distribution will inevitably be based on need, or else we will be in unemployment and economic captivity. This will not be changed by the will of man.\"

　　 \"So, automation and robotics would help us toward a utopia?\"

　　 \"It\u0027s possible, or some other social formation. But surely just as capitalism eliminated feudalism, so the new social form will eliminate capitalism. The new generation of humanity at that time might discuss new topics, and socialism and capitalism would be eliminated just as Christianity was once opposed to Islam.\"

　　 \"So, you believe in the need for a system of social organization that works for people.\"

　　 \"Yes, but it\u0027s not going to be created by people doing what they want. It will be created with constraints and it will be created by people who want something different. It will be created to fulfill human needs and desires, not merely to satisfy them.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s a tall order, comrade.\"

　　 \"Yes, it is. Let\u0027s sit on a bench by the river. I have a few minutes before my next meeting. We can go over our plans for the day. If you have any creative ideas, I\u0027m sure you\u0027ll share them so we can all benefit from them.\"

　　 Tregubova walked along the embankment, her hands in her pocket, staring out into the water. Romanov sat down and stretched out his legs, leaning back and closing his eyes for a moment.

　　 \"The world we live in is like an immense machine,\" Romanov said. \"And like any machine, it has to have checks and balances. We are the humans, and we are the engineers. We have certain responsibilities and we need to fulfill them or the machine won\u0027t work. The problem is, people don\u0027t necessarily like having the engineers make the decisions. They prefer to think they\u0027re the ones making the decisions, even if that isn\u0027t the case. I think that\u0027s what\u0027s happened with the working class. They\u0027ve lost their ability to decide the course of their lives. They\u0027ve become subjects instead of citizens. They\u0027ve given up the power to choose, and now they\u0027re angry about it. We can\u0027t give up on them. The question is how do we motivate people to want to choose the better options?\"

　　 \"Do you think they\u0027ll choose the better options if we tell them the consequences?\"

　　 \"Yes, I do.\"

　　 Tregubova thought carefully and said, \"Why do you say that the stagnation of the Soviet planned economy was isolated from the trade of the economic regional blocs of the capitalist camp? It was the result of the Iron Curtain isolation caused by the United States together with us in the Soviet Union.\"

　　 \"Yes, but propaganda has us attributing the cause all to Stalin\u0027s belief that an economic crisis would erupt in the capitalist market and the Soviet economy was allowed to circulate internally, all because the capitalist camp\u0027s trade blockade of us could garner support and xenophobia. These were for propaganda purposes, just as the communist parties in other countries used Khrushchev\u0027s secret reports with a dead Stalin to get out of Soviet control. Although before that they participated in de-Stalinization.\"

　　 \"I think you are being overly cynical. Stalin was a tyrant, and he used the political system...\"

　　 \"He doesn\u0027t matter, the dead are more useful than the living. Just like Lenin, what matters is propaganda and popular support, just as liberals opposed Lenin and Stalin, not against them but against communism. After all, massacres and military repression have been done by every government. Would anyone use the Irish famine, the Washington tragedy in the US, or the Ottoman genocide of Armenians to accuse against?\"

　　 \"Well, no one\u0027s using the Armenian genocide...\"

　　 \"Right, so the point is that we control propaganda, and propaganda is what controls public memory. Only historians need real history, people can only see blood and tears from real history.\" Romanov said after a moment of silence, \"We won\u0027t cover up history, it\u0027s just better to let the archives be declassified fifty years later.\"

　　 \"But doesn\u0027t that make it easier for people to justify...\"

　　 \"Do you want people to know how much you have in a Swiss bank?\" Romanov stared at her expressionlessly and said, \"How much?\"

　　 \"Um...\" She looked down.

　　 \"How much?\" he asked again.

　　 \"Well, let\u0027s just say that if there was an inheritance or trust that you wanted to escape, you\u0027d want to avoid the bureaucracy...\"

　　 Romanov leaned forward and stared at her.

　　 \"Okay, $30 million.\"

　　 She nodded.

　　 \"I\u0027ll get the money transferred to an offshore account.\"

　　 \"Oh, I didn\u0027t want to...\" She started to say, but then stopped.

　　 \"Of course you didn\u0027t,\" Romanov said, \"You want the money there? Have my money in your bank account?\"

　　 \"Well...\"

　　 \"You have it in your account or not?\"

　　 \"Well yeah, but...\"

　　 \"Offshore bank account details,\" Romanov said, \"Or you can spend the rest of your life doing hard labor in Siberia.\"

　　 \"Fine...\" She relented, \"The money\u0027s in a Swiss account.\"

　　 Romanov said, \"You always like to struggle with such small things, come on, let\u0027s go back to the villa and watch a movie.\"

　　 She took his arm and walked back out onto the embankment.

　　 Romanov looked to the sky, thinking. Then he got up, stretched, and walked along the embankment, thinking.

　　 \"When you get home, transfer the money to my offshore account and your money will be in it.\"

　　 \"Yes,\" she said, turning around to walk back home.

　　 She took his arm again and they walked along the embankment. They walked for a long time in silence.

　　 When they reached the road back to the city, she said, \"We\u0027re being watched.\"

　　 \"By whom?\"

　　 \"I don\u0027t know.\"

　　 \"Well, let\u0027s find out,\" Romanov said.

　　 Beyond Romanov\u0027s guard vehicles, several civilian vehicles followed close behind. The group drove down the road, followed by two vehicles from the airport.

　　 \"Do you think they\u0027re following us?\" she asked.

　　 \"Yes,\" Romanov said, \"KGB? Or the Interior Ministry?\"

　　 \"Hard to say,\" he said, \"The Ministry of Intelligence has a habit of putting their own people in to spy on each other.\"

　　 \"Then shouldn\u0027t we increase our speed?\" she asked.

　　 \"No, that means we found them.\" Romanov closed his eyes and said, \"Stay awake and keep moving as normal.\"

　　 \"Okay,\" she said, pulling her coat tighter.

　　 The cars trailed behind for a little longer, then all fell in close proximity. There was a sudden burst of flashing blue and red lights as the police cars began to pull up alongside them.

　　 \"There\u0027s the police,\" she said.

　　 police who was leading the group, drew his pistol and said, \"Stay calm. Pull over, it\u0027s only a routine check.\"

　　 The driver, a young man in his twenties, stopped the car.

　　 \"Step out of the vehicle, hands on the vehicle.\"

　　 He did so, though he kept his hands in his pockets. His hands were shaking, and he kept glancing in the direction of the police cars.

　　 \"Search the vehicle.\"

　　 ***

　　 \"Perhaps, the KGB has too much power.\" Romanov tried her out.

　　 \"I\u0027m not arguing that, but how do you think they found us?\"

　　 \"I think they\u0027re incompetent.\" He smiled. \"That\u0027s why we\u0027re going to take things over.\"

　　 \"What do you mean?\"

　　 \"What I mean is, I\u0027m going to take the lead. You do what I say without questions.\"

　　 \"Okay...\" She said, taken aback.

　　 Romanov smiled and said, \"I have to go to Eastern Europe next week to cut off the black hand of the American agitators.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m coming with you.\"

　　 \"I\u0027d like that,\" he said.

　　 She sat quietly for a moment, then said, \"Okay.\"

　　 \"Good.\" He nodded and said, \"Hopefully I can take care of the traitors, as well as keep the people in peace.\"

　　 \"Hopefully,\" she said.

　　 \"Okay,\" he said, \"Let\u0027s go home.\"

　　 The two men walked back to his limousine.

　　 He got back into the car and took the driver\u0027s seat, she got in the other side and sat next to him. The car drove off. They headed back toward his estate.

　　 \"What do you think?\" he asked, turning to her.

　　 \"But you\u0027re coming with me anyway.\"

　　 \"That I\u0027m out of my mind to be doing this,\" she said.

　　 \"Good,\" he said, smiling. \"Will you help me?\"

　　 \"Yes,\" she said.

　　 \"Then let\u0027s get down to it.\"

　　 He spent the rest of the day planning, and the next several days as well. The plan will not end, just wait for the traitors in Eastern Europe to fall into the trap.