Soviet Union 1991

(Two chapters merged into one, a big chapter)

Although the Americans regarded the Soviet Union's intervention as a rude provocation and protested privately, this still did not change the Soviet Union's practice of seeking Chinese orders from the United States. Moreover, although the Americans agreed to sell Black Hawk helicopters, they were civilian versions after all. Under Yanayev's special instructions, the weapons sold by the Soviet Union were truly military-specific. Compared with the American monkey version, the performance was certainly much better than the previous batch of Mi-17 helicopters delivered.

In this way, the sincerity of both sides was immediately apparent. The Chinese military leaders had the same consideration. Since both the United States and the Soviet Union wanted to win over themselves, they took this opportunity to continue to introduce new weapons and equipment in order to eliminate obsolete products in the army. The current Soviet Union is a crazy production machine that runs at full speed after receiving an order, using military sales orders to get rid of the problem of fiscal deficit.

Unlike the United States, which was concerned about its allies' concealment, the Soviet Union generously published the news of its victory over the United States in arms sales in the newspapers, which was also good for disgusting Americans and Europeans, at least to let them see clearly what kind of virtues the leaders of your free world have.

So when Comrade Vladimir saw this news, he couldn't help but applaud and almost overturned a dish on the table. But Vladimir didn't care, because for him, the honor and shame of the motherland were closely related to this old man who was almost 70 years old.

On the contrary, Natasha, who was eating beside him, was a little unhappy. She had taken care of her disabled husband for so many years, and she had never been relieved. Natasha put down her bowl and chopsticks, grabbed Vladimir's ear and yelled, "I've told you so many times, just read the newspaper, why are you so excited! Then let people eat properly."

"Don't be excited, don't be excited, my dear wife, look. Our motherland has just defeated the Americans in the issue of arms sales. Isn't this something worth celebrating?" Comrade Vladimir was like a child, laughing happily.

"That's the credit of the foreign trade personnel. Compared with you who haven't been on the battlefield for decades." Natasha continued to mock him, "Motherland. Only last year, the subsidies for World War II soldiers increased a little. Do you think there is anything else worth your pride and celebration?"

"Of course, this is the only thing that is worth celebrating." Comrade Vladimir's expression became serious, and he said to his wife. "Last year was the most difficult year for our country's economy. The government cut many projects, but the benefits of veterans did not decrease but increased. Doesn't this show that the motherland has not forgotten us?"

After Yanayev came to power, the treatment of retired soldiers and active soldiers was raised. This is also to prevent and balance social problems after large-scale disarmament.

"Yes, yes, whatever you say is right, Comrade Vladimir." Natasha said unhappily. After cleaning up the dishes beside him, she opened the curtains behind her and looked at the sunny weather outside. Asked, "Old man, the weather is so good, do you want to go out for a walk?"

"Okay." Comrade Vladimir agreed readily.

Natasha picked up her husband and put him in a wheelchair like a light child. Vladimir's legs were blown up by Nazi shells in the Great Patriotic War. Although he was amputated in the hospital and saved his life, the doctor told him that he would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to Comrade Vladimir, a soldier. A soldier who lost his legs was like a body with a soul emptied out, which made people feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, his fiancée did not abandon him. Comrade Vladimir returned to his hometown and married his wife who had been waiting for his return for a long time, and then spent the rest of his life peacefully in his hometown. Except for the monthly subsidy for disabled retired soldiers, it seemed that the motherland had forgotten him. Just like those soldiers who had been born and died, he was sleeping under a birch forest in various parts of the Soviet Union, and no one remembered him anymore.

When people get old, they will always be immersed in some memories of the past. Comrade Vladimir, who participated in the Great Patriotic War, will naturally chatter about the war history of the past with his wife, "Let me tell you, back then..."

"Okay!" Natasha interrupted Vladimir's prepared long speech. She said, "I have heard your glorious deeds in the past thousands of times. Besides, you are over 70 years old, why are you still nagging about the past. Change the topic, old man."

Natasha sighed and said, "So many years have passed, don't think about the past, you should let it go. People are still alive, which is better than anything else."

Vladimir remained silent and let his wife Natasha push the wheelchair on the long river bank. The warm wind blew across his face. He squinted his eyes comfortably and quietly appreciated the scenery of the coming spring.

It's not that he was immersed in the past and couldn't get out of it, but he was the only soldier left in the company back then. If he doesn't tell anyone, then the deeds of these people will be buried under an unknown monument. After he dies, no one will remember them.

"In 1942, it was a severe winter." Comrade Vladimir looked at the gradually melting river and said to himself, "Our company is about to cross a river and launch an attack on the German troops guarding supplies on the other side. It was a surprise attack. Those were all the fuel supplies the Germans had in the war zone. We accepted the order as usual and quietly approached the enemy's position under the cover of artillery fire and darkness."

"But we didn't expect that it was a trap carefully designed by the enemy. When our troops were almost halfway ashore, the German machine guns began to fire at us. Many comrades fell. I saw with my own eyes that the political commissar's palm was hit by the enemy's gun. Interrupted. But we didn't give up and crawled toward the enemy camp until those damn Nazis set the vehicles on fire. Oil and fuel supplies. The blazing flames flowed down the slope like lava, mercilessly devouring our comrades. There was a wall of fire between us and the Nazis, and we couldn't get past it. When we were helpless, we left. The political commissar at the front rushed into the burning oil without hesitation, shouting, "Forward, comrades."

"There was the beginning of the political commissar, then the second, third, and fourth. No one chose to retreat, even if they were running at the front and were wrapped in flames. The political commissar, like a moving fireball, rushed forward without hesitation. To the enemy on the opposite side, some comrades were burned to ashes, but they still shot at the Nazis. Natasha, have you seen countless comrades swept by the flames, shouting "Ula" and pressing towards them? The enemy on the opposite side. This scene is something I will never forget as I was running at the end.”

"At that time, the German army was rapidly depleting its troops under the long winter, and there were actually very few troops left to guard supplies. After the entire company suffered one-third casualties, we occupied their logistics camp. It was there. One day, our company received a new title, the Red Army Hell Company. According to the prisoners, it was like seeing countless demons crawling out of hell, ready to tear them apart. "

Natasha felt an inexplicable fear when she thought of what her husband had said about the soldiers covered in fire. Not to mention the German soldiers who witnessed this scene with their own eyes.

"It was that night that my legs were blown off by a mortar and I was sent to the hospital in the rear. Later, the company was surrounded in a war. Reinforcements came too late. Except for a few survivors, the others They were all killed." At this point, muddy tears dropped from the corners of Vladimir's eyes, and Natasha took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped them away carefully. The gray-haired woman kept nagging as usual, gently hugged Vladimir's arm and said, "Old man, don't think about the past anymore, you still have me. That's enough."

Vladimir did not answer, but silently recited a few names that he could still remember.

"Private, Kadyrov, died last March."

"Corporal Rybalko, died last June."

"Private First Class Romanovsky died in January of this year."

"Sergeant Vladimir, the only survivor of the entire company so far."

…………

Dmitri was surprised to meet a Soviet veteran like himself in this remote town. Dmitri, who was wearing an eyepatch, shook hands with Vladimir happily. He smiled and said, "Private Dmitry, you have participated in the Great Patriotic War. Are you?"

"Sergeant Vladimir." The veteran in the wheelchair said with a smile, "He also participated in the Patriotic War. This is my wife, Natasha."

"Hello, madam." Dmitri said to the old woman beside him with a smile.

"There are very few outsiders coming to this remote town, especially Soviet soldiers during World War II. So I am really surprised to meet you, Dmitri." Vladimir said excitedly, "And from you I You can feel the unique temperament that only people who have climbed back from the dead have."

"Can I take it as a compliment? Comrade Vladimir." Dmitri replied politely. No matter how you look at the person in front of you, he looks like a gentle gentleman, not a soldier who has killed people.

"Of course, hahaha." Vladimir grabbed Dmitri's hand and said, "If you are free today, you must come to our house for a drink of vodka. How about it? I haven't told anyone this for a long time. My wife never wanted to hear my story about how I lost my legs."

"Of course, I'm extremely happy. Besides, we all lost our most beloved things in the war, right?" Dmitri took off his blindfold, revealing his blind left eye. "Look, it was injured by a stray bullet. My left eye has lost its sight forever."

The hospitable Comrade Vladimir sat at the dining table with Dmitri. Natasha prepared a bottle of wine and two small glasses for them. She specifically told her husband to drink less.

"Comrade Dmitry, were your eyes injured when you participated in the Battle of Stalingrad?" Vladimir asked. For Red Army soldiers, a person who does not return from the front with scars cannot be called a true soldier.

"No, I didn't lose my eye during the Battle of Stalingrad," Dmitri replied.

"However, when we were in Stalingrad, our troops were defeated by the German army. I was the only one left hiding in the fountain pool. The German patrol armored vehicles shot at the bodies of our comrades in the pool. Fortunately, I I escaped this disaster." Dmitri raised his head and drank a glass of vodka, still feeling frightened even after so long. Said, "Then I met a veteran in the pool. Yes, he was a real hero, calm and rational. We knocked off the heads of three Nazi soldiers with a Mosin-Nagant rifle in the fountain pool, and then Escaped. He said he was going to assassinate a Nazi officer named Amsel, and that’s where he and I finally parted ways.”

"Didn't the patrolling soldiers notice it?" Vladimir said.

"The sound of the gunfire was covered up by the sound of artillery fire, and by the time they found out, they had already escaped from the area." Dmitri said, "Later, I was injured by the stray bullet during the counterattack, and lost my eyes. After being sent to the logistics, we had already entered the strategic counterattack stage, and I was unable to return to the front line. The veteran continued to advance with the armored force and marched all the way to Berlin. It was said that he personally participated in the battle to capture the Reichstag and witnessed the soldiers placing the red flag on the top floor of the Reichstag. This was the highest honor. In the end he failed to return to the Soviet Union as a hero."

Dmitri seemed to be regretting an old friend. He knocked his wine glass gently on the table and whispered, "He said his name was Reznov. I don't know if this is his real name. After the war, , I never heard from him again. Here’s a drink for Kzhenov.”

"This is a real man. If I meet him, I will definitely become friends with him." Vladimir raised his glass and said, "A toast to Comrade Reznov."

Dmitri raised his head and drank another glass of wine. At this time, he was already a little tipsy. He held his cheek with one hand and said slowly, "Haha, it's a pity that these things have long been thrown into the garbage dump of history. The senior leaders who led the war back then are all buried in the New Saint Virgin Cemetery, except for us These old people who can only rely on memories to live their lives, who can remember our heroic efforts to defend the motherland. "

Dmitri said with sadness, "We are all old, and one day we will die along with the long-lost Patriotic War."

At this time, there was a knock on the door of the house, and Natasha called out who it was. The people outside just replied that they were from the army. Please open the door and find Comrade Vladimir.

Natasha hurriedly ran to open the door, and Dmitri and Vladimir both looked at the door curiously. I saw a straight-looking officer standing at the door, and behind him was a black car. The officer nodded politely to Natasha and said, "Hello, I'm here to see Comrade Vladimir, the sergeant of the third company of the Red Army."

"I am." Vladimir pushed the wheelchair to the officer's side and asked, "Comrade, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Oh, that's it." The officer glanced at Vladimir's empty trousers, then took out an invitation from his arms and handed it to Vladimir, "Moscow will hold a celebration for the victory of the Patriotic War next month. We will invite some representatives of World War II veterans to attend the military parade. Comrade Vladimir, please accept this invitation. We will send someone to pick you up one week before the military parade starts."

"You mean, I can go to Moscow's Red Square to watch the military parade?" Vladimir said excitedly, "Oh my God, hurry up, Natasha, prepare a cup for this comrade."

"Yes, Comrade Vladimir, please be sure to attend. I still have official duties, so I won't accompany you." After the officer sent the invitation to Vladimir, he was about to turn back and leave. Before leaving, he glanced sharply at Dmitri, who was sitting at the table with one eye missing, and Comrade Vladimir, who was looking excited. He stood up straight and saluted them with a military salute. This was a tribute to both of them. The respect of a senior who participated in the Patriotic War.

"Two seniors, although the war has taken away your most beloved things, please believe me, the strong motherland will not let you lose more." The officer said seriously. (To be continued.)