没有社会主义的民主只是资产阶级专政，没有民主的社会主义只有官僚阶级专政。两者都是绝对专制，都无法想象与对手分享权力。

　　 这一新秩序的问题在于，两个极端都没有解决人类问题。经济发达与思想启蒙才能带来民主与社会主义，而不是相反；正因如此，在那些最早完成原始资本积累的帝国主义国家才能在之后成为民主社会主义国家或者自由国家。

　　 但对于公民而言，即使是金融资本主导的国家也要好于官僚资本垄断的国家，前者以财富取代了一切关系，后者却既想保持资本垄断又保持权力，还害怕被人看出端倪。想要吃人血肉又要偷偷摸摸。

　　 ---

　　 1986年4月

　　 特雷古波娃过来给罗曼诺夫放下报告，他抬头问：“你过的怎么样？”

　　 “很好，”她说。“你今天看起来很优雅。”

　　 “谢谢，我今天有很重要的事情处理，我想先问一下你。”罗曼诺夫指了指椅子说：“坐下，我想问问你对苏联官僚怎么看待的？”

　　 “他们怎么了？”她说。

　　 “他们是自私的；他们不关心苏联。”

　　 特雷古波娃笑了。罗曼诺夫又说：“更重要的是，他们不想听我的话。”

　　 “这不是一个好的特质。”

　　 “我知道，”他说。“你明白这很危险，如果他们的人反对我们，我们会很危险甚至坐牢。”

　　 “我不担心坐牢，”她说，“我担心的是你。”

　　 “别这样，”他说。“我有很大的自由。”罗曼诺夫拿起笔写了一些名字说：“我所以来问你这件事情来得到意见，我信任你。”

　　 “当然，”她说。“老板不是每天都相信下属的意见。”她咧嘴笑了。“尤其是在这么重要的事情上。”

　　 “你觉得我这个人怎么样？”

　　 “你是个伟大的领袖，”她说。“以你领导国家的方式，我别无选择，只能尊重你。”

　　 “谢谢你，”他说。“我认为你很棒，你是一笔真正的财富。”

　　 “这就是我想听到的，”她说。

　　 “所以，让我们谈谈得到官僚支持的方法。我想恢复地方领导人任期制度，但又不能让官僚反对我。”他指着那些名字。“这些人都非常乐意遵守我的法令，但他们仍然需要通过这个系统。”

　　 “你可以随时威胁要揭露他们。”特雷古波娃说。

　　 “我认为这没有必要。”罗曼诺夫闭上眼睛说：“这会触怒他们，他们是记仇的。我可以通过协商他们退休，但要保证他们的特权与待遇并让他们指定继任者。”

　　 特雷古波娃说：“你也可以把它们移除。”

　　 “风险更大，”他说。“我需要保护的不仅仅是他们的特权，还有他们的生命。”

　　 “有什么区别？”

　　 “不同的是，如果我杀了他们，那么我必须自己动手。如果他们被移除，那么他们将受到体系的摆布。”罗曼诺夫又解释说：“他们是一堆人脉关系组成的集团，一荣俱荣，一损俱损。而且换掉他们换上新的人也会反对我们，因为新一代官僚的腐化与野心比这些老人更严重。”

　　 现实中戈尔巴乔夫这样做了，结果他提拨的改革派年轻人马上就在享受原有特权的基础上开创了新的腐败手段。甚至连戈尔巴乔夫都一边用反腐运动清理政治对手，一边修造豪华别墅（比如克里米亚半岛弗洛斯镇的豪华宅邸）。

　　 戈尔巴乔夫他被官僚体系的瞒骗与苏联最高领导人的光环与特权让他对苏联的现实几乎是一无所知，同时西方领导人与西方媒体的赞颂（尤其是撒切尔与里根对他的赞美吹捧还有礼物）让他产生了错觉。

　　 以前苏联领导人不会有这个致命错误。即使是勃列日涅夫也不会愚蠢到相信另一个阵营的敌人并按它说的做，因为敌人希望他这样做。

　　 而戈尔巴乔夫居然相信苏联可以通过改革（尤其是政治改革）融入欧美国家主导的政治经济体制，并且一厢情愿支持东欧国家与加盟国的自由主义与民族主义者来打压东欧保守派与加盟国官僚集团，这是戈尔巴乔夫与他派系的一个致命错误。

　　 “我明白你为什么会这样想，”特雷古波娃说。

　　 “你还有别的办法吗？”

　　 “不，”她说。

　　 “那我们就得冒得罪他们的风险。”罗曼诺夫站起来说：“我有个会议，一小时后回来。”

　　 特雷古波娃说：“这次会议是关于什么的？”

　　 “军事改革的事情，坐在这里等我。”

　　 罗曼诺夫走了出去，特雷古波娃转向她的同事自言自语地说：“从他的行为方式来看，你会认为他在管理一个独裁政权，而不是一个民主国家。”

　　 “他永远不会成为独裁者，即使他拥有所有的权力，”卡塔琳娜说。“他太有原则了。”

　　 “我还是不喜欢，”她说。

　　 “比如？”卡塔琳娜问。

　　 “他把太多的权力交给了将军和官僚，而不是我们。”她坐在卡塔琳娜旁边说，“我已经厌倦了当第二副手。”

　　 “哦，别这样，”卡塔琳娜说，“我们都知道你是他的最爱。”

　　 “那是真的，”她说。

　　 “如果你想改变现状，那就去找他谈谈。”卡塔琳娜说：“他听你的。”

　　 她想了想说，“我想我会的。”

　　 ***

　　 与此同时，罗曼诺夫走到会议室内和苏联国家经济计划发展委员会主席尼古拉·康斯坦丁诺维奇·巴伊巴科夫与国家计划委员会副主席列夫·沃罗宁会面。

　　 “同志们，请坐，”罗曼诺夫说。“我们将讨论苏联经济的未来。”

　　 两个人坐下来，罗曼诺夫说：“我们已经开始在内部讨论这些问题，并提出了一些解决当前问题的方案。”他把一个马尼拉文件夹放在桌子上。“请看一下。然后我们将讨论如何进行。”

　　 巴伊巴科夫和沃罗宁仔细阅读了文件夹中的文件，完成后，巴伊巴科夫说，“罗曼诺夫同志，我知道你对我们目前的问题有一些建议。请告诉我们。”

　　 “第一件也是最重要的事，”他开始说，“必须要物价上涨到合理的地步，苏联干预经济锁死物价的直接后果已经显露出来了，国营商店名义上的牛肉与面包价格居然比原料还便宜！锁死物价的代价就是地下黑市已经取代了国营商店成为了零售市场。而且苏联不断提高工资使货币超发过多，又没有任何行业作为蓄水池保护。”

　　 “换句话说，我们有通货膨胀，”巴伊巴科夫说。

　　 “当然，”罗曼诺夫说。“虽然物价一直在上涨，但预算赤字也在上涨。当货币过度膨胀时，物价实际上在上涨，国家不能对收入或商品征税。当德国占领法国时，黑市成为法国事实上的经济，直到政府能够重新控制经济。同样的事情也在这里发生。地下黑市已经成为了事实的零售市场，如果摧毁它反而会产生真正的黑市。相反，我们应该逐步提高物价。”

　　 “这也是我们支持的意见，问题在于民众已经习惯了物价不变，上涨幅度太大会让民众恐慌与反对。”

　　 “这就是为什么我们必须采取缓慢、有计划的手段，以可控的方式提高价格。你的这个计划听起来很合理，但可能适得其反。如果我们走得太快，人民会感到不安，就会发生暴乱。我们需要找到一个快乐的媒介。\"

　　 “那么，你有什么建议？”

　　 “我建议食品价格上涨15%，其他商品价格上涨10%，服务和货币价格上涨5%。这些都是合理的数字，而且仍将允许一个更繁荣、尽管略为紧缩的社会。”罗曼诺夫说。

　　 “这太快了，食品价格应该上涨不过3%，其他商品价格不应该超过5%，太快了民众会像新切尔斯克事件那样示威的。”

　　 “我不是在为这个争论，但我认为我们需要为任何可能性做好准备。这是一个长期项目，需要一些时间，我们不能太匆忙。我们应该在15年内让物价上涨80%，每年上涨4%～5%。我认为这是合理的。”

　　 “不，太快了。好吧，食品增加1%，其他商品增加2%，货币增加1%。这是合理的。我们不能容忍暴乱发生。这是一个微妙的行动，我们需要非常小心如何进行。”

　　 “那么，我们是一致的。我将把这些问题提交政治局，并获得他们对新政策的批准。他们批准这一行动方针是很重要的，因此，我需要你对其他一些问题的意见。例如，美国目前正在推行一项威胁苏联生存的政策。你对此有何看法？”

　　 “我们关于美帝国主义侵略的思想是众所周知的。正因如此，列宁格勒对外开放经济是很危险的。”

　　 罗曼诺夫皱了皱眉，果然计划经济委员会还是会对这种措施感到不满。

　　 “然而，美国人提出的一些想法似乎并没有那么糟糕。”罗曼诺夫说：“而且我们必需与国际市场进行商品与技术交易，当然，我的意思并不是苏联要像中国与越南一样进行市场化改革。我的想法是苏联需要一个对外进行经济交流的港湾与金融经济的蓄水池来防止零售市场与制造业承担超发的货币。”

　　 “让我把这件事说清楚，”巴伊巴科夫说。“你想让苏联走上贸易修正的道路，但前提是它不会变得太市场化。我这样说对吗？”

　　 “是的，这是正确的，”罗曼诺夫说。

　　 “嗯，我不同意这一点。同志，你建议走的这条路很危险。苏联经济的问题在于，它与国家完全融合，国家有陷入不可持续甚至毁灭性活动的倾向。而且，现在苏联是第二大经济体与城镇率70%以上的国家，不是识字率28%全国人口81%是农民的旧俄罗斯帝国。这正是资本主义国家在走上国家支持的工业化道路时所遇到的问题，它通常会导致经济灾难。用亚当·斯密的话说，一个依赖于“国家干预”的社会的问题在于，从长远来看，国家的“干预”永远不会惠及任何人，除了使用干预武器的政客”

　　 “这相当于减少了资本主义关于自由放任的争论。”罗曼诺夫说：“我明白的，苏联作高纬度地区它进行工业建设与生产的成本远远大于那些热带国家地区。如果不是布尔什维克强行工业化是没有可能产生一整套工业生产体系的，苏联市场化将会出现去工业化的情形。你与计划经济的其他同志可以相信我将坚持苏联的计划经济，波罗的海的经济开放只是提供一个贸易口，金融经济不会占据苏联经济的20%比重。”

　　 “嗯，是的。我相信你会的。但请记住，对于剩下的80%的国家来说，这将是一个非常痛苦的变化。必须制定解决这些问题的计划。”

　　 “当然。计划将作相应调整。然而，我认为没有必要改变这个制度。目前的制度有缺陷，但我相信可以用苏联制度的工具加以纠正。通过集体努力，我们可以创建一个更强大、更繁荣的国家。”

　　 “最后一件事，同志。财政预算调整是不是太激进了？为什么降低教育预算而不是军事预算？为什么不两个都削减？”

　　 “嗯，苏联不能通过增加军费来提高工人阶级的生活水平。但我们不增加军事预算就可以了，削减军事预算会让军队不满。”罗曼诺夫疲惫不堪地回应说，军费开支只占整体经济的更大一部分，而且是可以控制的。

　　 “好吧，我相信，”巴伊巴科夫从椅子上站起来说。“我相信你，同志。我希望你是对的。”

　　 两个人握了握手，然后罗曼诺夫离开了。

　　 ***

　　 罗曼诺夫回到办公室，告诉她发生了什么事。

　　 “我不认为巴伊巴科夫同志相信这一点，”特雷古波娃说，目光直指罗曼诺夫。

　　 “苏联官僚很聪明又不聪明。”罗曼诺夫脱下手套扔在桌上说：“应付他们是一件能让人加速死亡的事情。”

　　 “很明显，他没有，”她说。

　　 “并不是说他不相信，”罗曼诺夫说，“这取决于这件事情会不会伤害他们的利益，比如说，奥加尔科夫元帅的信息化军事理论所有人都知道是正确的，但没有人支持他还想让他退体养老。”

　　 “我明白你的意思。”

　　 “关键是，官僚机构就像人一样。如果你想继续呼吸，就必须让他们高兴。”

　　 “但他们不是人。”

　　 罗曼诺夫笑了一声说：“这句话很对，劳动者才是人，而且存在两个苏联。好了，我太累了。”

　　 “你认为这会很快结束吗？”她问。

　　 “我真的没想过，”罗曼诺夫说，“有些事情需要我去做，有些事情不需要任何人去做。你明白吗？”他闭上眼睛叹息一声。“有时候，我想现在只有我一个人能理解。”

　　 “我想那是真的，”她同情地说。“无论如何，我会永远支持你。”

　　 他回头看着她说：“对我来说，你也是。”

　　 “嗯，我一直在想。”特雷古波娃断断续续地称赞道：“如果你这么肯定，你为什么还要为苏联服务？为什么不私有化或股份化？你可以赚很多钱。”

　　 “钱不能使人幸福，”罗曼诺夫说，“只有死人才能幸福。”

　　 “是的。”她叹了口气说：“但是值得你冒生命危险吗？我是说，除了你自己，你并不是在为任何人的利益而工作。\"

　　 “你错了。”他指着自己的胸膛说：“我为苏联工作。”

　　 “如果你这么想，你就是个傻瓜。”

　　 “也许吧，但我是个爱国者。”他握着她的手说，“我会追求个人享受但不代表会背叛苏联人民。而且我爱你的灵魂与肉体。”

　　 她朝他微笑，看着他的眼睛。“我也爱你的灵魂和肉体，”她说。“共产主义只是一个谎言与借口，所以，我希望你像勃列日涅夫那样掌握权力，而我会帮助你管理具体事务。”

　　 “如你所愿，”他说，“但我会成为一个好领袖，为国家，也为你。”

　　 “我也是，”她捏着他的手说。罗曼诺夫盯着她心想，你会是我的季莫申科。

　　 罗曼诺夫执掌苏联的头几个月出人意料地平静。与西方的关系紧张，但没有公开的战争。没必要。

　　 尽管苏联的军费开支很惊人，在1989年戈尔巴乔夫公布苏联财政支出时，苏联军事预算为773亿卢布，这还是在戈尔巴乔夫大幅削减开支的情况下。而美国国会联合经济委员会专家理查德考夫曼说，中央情报局表示，1985年苏联的军费开支在1150亿至1250亿卢布之间。

　　 如果中情局没有故意夸大预测的话，这说明苏联的军备完全是战时国家状态。而在1989年之前苏联宣称的军事开支过于低下以至于到了不可信的地步。

　　 只要罗曼诺夫必需先取得苏联官僚集团的政治支持。使用权力就会削弱政府权威与公信力，他应当谨慎小心使用权力。而不是像历史上的戈尔巴乔夫一样，先在数个月清除了罗曼诺夫的势力，（历史上的罗曼诺夫经济建设很优秀，但对于政治与人脉就一言难尽。在列宁格勒经营十几年居然没有绑上同一战车的忠诚派…更不要说，在1985年3月匈牙利中央会议上酗酒出镜、以及著名的婚礼流言了。）然后又迅速借助安德罗波夫时期的乌兹别克棉花案件清洗勃列日涅夫家族与乌兹别克苏维埃，撤职乌斯曼霍亚耶夫并造假丘尔巴诺夫贪污65万卢布（实际上不到10万卢布），让中亚苏维埃第一书记退休并任命斯拉夫人担任来维持统治。

　　 结果，很明显如果你是苏联加盟国第一书记担任第一书记十几年被新上台的戈尔巴乔夫强迫退休，继任者居然还是他任命的斯拉夫人，你会怎么做？

　　 罗曼诺夫很清楚，煽动地方民族主义以允许种族仇恨引发示威，迫使戈尔巴乔夫任命一名地方官员担任第一书记。如果存在这种可能性，那么戈尔巴乔夫肯定会非常不高兴。

　　 戈尔巴乔夫是精致的利己主义者。很精明的人都不会解决问题来承担责任，于是他镇压了阿拉木图事件并把责任推到军队身上。向官僚集团制定达不到的指标再清洗他们，煽动加盟国民族主义制造冲突。这样，他就可以把责任和注意力从自己身上移开。

　　 再通过经济与政治改革清除反对者，通过亲民行为拉拢人心。戈尔巴乔夫上台时的苏联联盟部所有部门领导人几乎都在1986年左右被撤换，尤其是计划经济委员会。

　　 （只要使用权力就会影响到公信力，如果你没有意志抵抗权力就会堕落。比如卡扎菲、齐奥塞斯库，卡扎菲与齐奥塞斯库如果分别在1979年与1974年死去，他们的历史评价会好的多。遗憾的是，时间与权力让他们背弃了改善人民生活的初心本意。）

　　 让我们看一下计划委员会的任职名单：

　　 国家计划委员会 Государственная плановая комиссия

　　 姓名\t在职期间上任\t离任

　　 克尔日扎诺夫斯基\t1921年8月13日\t1923年12月11日\t列宁

　　 瞿鲁巴\t1923年12月11日\t1925年11月18日

　　 克尔日扎诺夫斯基\t1925年11月18日\t1930年11月10日

　　 古比雪夫\t1930年11月10日\t1934年4月25日

　　 瓦·伊·梅日劳克\t1934年4月25日\t1937年2月25日

　　 根·伊·斯米尔诺夫\t1937年2月25日\t1937年10月17日

　　 瓦·伊·梅日劳克\t1937年10月17日\t1937年12月1日

　　 沃兹涅先斯基\t1938年1月19日\t1941年3月10日

　　 萨布罗夫\t1941年3月10日\t1942年12月8日

　　 沃兹涅先斯基\t1942年12月8日\t1949年3月5日

　　 萨布罗夫\t1949年3月5日\t1953年3月5日

　　 科夏琴科\t1953年3月5日\t1953年6月29日

　　 萨布罗夫\t1953年6月29日\t1955年5月25日

　　 巴伊巴科夫\t1955年5月25日\t1957年5月3日

　　 库兹明\t1957年5月3日\t1959年3月20日

　　 柯西金\t1959年3月20日\t1960年5月4日

　　 弗·诺维科夫\t1960年5月4日\t1962年7月17日

　　 迪姆希茨\t1962年7月17日\t1962年12月24日

　　 洛马科\t1962年12月24日\t1965年10月2日

　　 巴伊巴科夫\t1965年10月2日\t1985年10月14日

　　 塔雷津\t1985年10月14日\t1988年2月5日

　　 马斯柳科夫\t1988年2月5日\t1991年4月1日

　　 我们很容易发现在沃兹涅先斯基被处决与萨布罗夫之后直到1965年，计划经济委员会呈现了高度不稳定的撤换。也是在这一时期，苏联五年计划经济增长率开始缓慢下降。

　　 由于冷战时期时间跨度四十多年，我们不能用单一时间的经济来判定苏联与美国的竞赛。

　　 1975年世界前七国家GDP

　　 美国16,849亿

　　 苏联6859亿

　　 日本5215.42亿

　　 德国4906.37亿（两德共同计算）

　　 法国3608.32亿

　　 英国2417.57亿

　　 意大利2276.96亿

　　 1986年世界各国前十五GNP(国民生产总值,美元计)数据

　　 |国家/地区|所在洲|GNP(美元计)|占世界%

　　 全世界||14.0万亿(14,001,469,191,761)

　　 1. |美国|美洲|4.59万亿|32.7688%

　　 2. |日本|亚洲|1.68万亿|12.0217%

　　 3. |苏联|亚洲|1.38万亿|9.8%

　　 4. |德国|欧洲|8735.68亿|6.2391%

　　 5. |法国|欧洲|6453.4亿|4.6091%

　　 6. |英国|欧洲|5795.35亿|4.1391%

　　 7. |意大利|欧洲|5307.81亿|3.7909%

　　 8. |加拿大|美洲|3801.56亿|2.7151%

　　 9. |中国|亚洲|3313.39亿|2.3665%

　　 10. |印度|亚洲|2504.06亿|1.7884%

　　 11. |巴西|美洲|2489.79亿|1.7782%

　　 12. |西班牙|欧洲|2084.44亿|1.4887%

　　 13. |澳大利亚|大洋洲|1967.86亿|1.4055%

　　 14. |伊朗|亚洲|1772.08亿|1.2656%

　　 15. |荷兰|欧洲|1703.9亿|1.2169%

　　 1985年苏联的经济并没有到全面崩溃的地步，但它的外交环境与商品供应很糟糕。（即使如此，也不会比二十世纪九十年代更糟糕。）直到解体时，苏联才掉落为世界第七大经济体。

　　 在评价苏联经济时，人们总会陷入误区，将国家视为一个整体甚至人格化。一个国家不同时期与不同政府、阶级是完全不同的，国家整体经济并不能反应单一个体的生活水平。苏联不是乌托邦也不是地狱，这就是为什么它的经济呈现一种反常的现象。

　　 首先，苏联陷入的经济困境根本原因与石油冲击（80年代国际油价最低价格与70年代最高价格相近）、粮食进口（苏联主要进口的是饲料粮来喂养牛羊等家畜用于食用与生产原材料，比如羊毛用于纺织。）关系不大。

　　 而政治制度与计划经济在戈尔巴乔夫政治改革直接废除苏维埃共和制度与转型市场经济也说明了核心问题并不是。

　　 思考一下，苏联经济从第八个五年计划后出现停滞的问题？

　　 在分析情况时，必须考虑许多因素。最重要的因素是劳动力的供给和需求。

　　 经济增长最重要的基本要素是劳动人口与市场（这里的劳动人口不仅指体力劳动者），与社会环境相同，一个国家的经济环境是适者生存，只有与该国经济基础最适应的制度才能存在直到该国经济基础产生变化，而不是最超前的制度能存在。

　　 比如说，阿富汗的经济生产主要由畜牧业为主，农业生产力只是游牧国家的水平。所以在这样社会下能否建立现代政治制度呢？答案是否定的。要取得进步，就需要一个受过教育、现代和有生产力的劳动人口。这也是为什么苏联与美国在阿富汗注定失败，因为阿富汗经济还没有工业化与成为消费市场的环境。您也可以从供需的角度来看待这个问题。产品的市场可能受到各种社会，政治和经济因素的影响。很多时候，一个社会会施加压力，为了改变市场而改变政府。

　　 例如，美国在20世纪90年代对塔利班政权施加压力，要求其将大麻的生产和销售合法化。然而，这一尝试是徒劳的。

　　 消费主义问题也是一个复杂的问题。苏联没有控制足够的人口与市场，如果勃列日涅夫能投资印度市场的话，印度的价人力资源与政治立场能保证苏联经济的内循环。

　　 毫无疑问，苏联有能力成为一个第一世界国家。但由于力量的严重错位，它注定要失败。

　　 “需要军工产业的情况下，把一些经济产业交给东欧国家一体化产业链。同时，投贸印度与东南亚。”

　　 \"然而，这些并不是解决我们问题的办法。我们需要改变我们的经济结构，以满足21世纪的需求。我们不能依赖一个落后于时代几十年的系统。我们需要与全球经济合作。\"

　　 \"同志，我们需要的是一个现代化的、高效的、能够保证无产阶级的权利和需求的系统。\"

　　 他向后仰放松。

　　 你刚才到底说了什么？

　　 \"然而，这些并不是解决我们问题的办法。\"

　　 \"我们需要改变我们的经济结构，以满足21世纪的需求。\"他闭上眼睛，只要等待1988年萨达姆入侵科威特引发第三次石油危机，国际油价回升再等到里根下台就可以了。特雷古波娃沉默了。

　　 军火只要贩卖出去，军阀与战犯总能得到它；没有顾客才没有商人，而不是没有商人就没有顾客了。

　　 计划经济与市场经济的竞争只是表面现象，生产力决定生产关系，本质还是生产力的竞争，是市场规模的竞争。华约的人口只有北约的60%左右，华约和北约相互封闭，华约没有获胜的希望。华沙条约组织获胜的唯一途径是将中国纳入其中，而且它有实力这样做。苏联在第一个五年计划中的投入将中国的工业实力发展到1937年日本的水平，这是日本明治维新70年的结果。但有一个问题是，苏联不能容忍中国的崛起对其领袖地位构成威胁。因此，没有中国的华约阵营无法对抗北约阵营，苏联失去了冷战，于是带来了市场经济必须击败计划经济的说法。

　　 同样，美日经济战打败日本的根本原因也不是《广场协议》，因为当时英、法、德也签署了该协议，但这些国家背后控制着欧盟地区与老殖民地，而日本的人口只有美国的1/3，日本不会赢。

　　 而现实是，冷战结束三十年后，世界十大互联网公司也被中国和美国垄断，原因是其他国家的政治和经济制度不如中国和美国吗？不是，但美国控制着世界上绝大多数的英语人口，而中国有14亿人口。其他国家的人口和市场是多少？

　　 计算机及相关产品市场由美国、日本和欧盟成员国主导，而中国仍由其主导制造。

　　 然而，在二十世代七十年代美国深陷泥潭，通货膨胀率高达10%以上，当时的总统卡特没有解决经济问题，加上石油危机这给苏联高层一种错误判断国际油价将维持高价下去而押注石油美元。结果1981年里根上台，美国经济因此重新发展起来，尽管他支持的新自由主义经济有一些隐患，比如美国从最大债权国转为最大债务国等，但当时他仍然取得了成功。

　　 新自由主义是个好东西，罗曼诺夫虽然不能像撒切尔一样售卖国家企业与武力镇压工人，但有一些方法可以使用，比如对非洲、亚洲国家进行国际投资建立经济产业，通过国际投资的回报资金来改善本国公民福利待遇。这种方法好处是不需要对国内富人征税来进行财富再分配导致资本外逃的情况下，也能让全民享受福利待遇，但问题是技术与工业要领先于被投资的国家，人口也没有庞大到印度与中国的程度。而且会造成一个国家内阶级剥削类似的情况，发达先进的国家继续发达先进，而贫穷落后的国家沦为原料与廉价资源市场。（廉价资源在有些落后国家里包括了人）

　　 但对于罗曼诺夫而言，必须保证苏联人民拥有足够的消费品与退休后的养老金，剥削外国人总比剥削本国人好？另外要找到把利益分配到让所有阶层都能接受的利益分配方案呢？不能像戈尔巴乔夫一样把规则都扔了独占，否则那样所有人都不遵守游戏规则的时候，罗曼诺夫就可以去见死神了。

　　 他需要扪心自问的问题是，为什么有些人愿意接受一个人口中极少数人能够积累不相称的资源份额的制度？

　　 是欲望，它吞噬了理想与真理。

　　 罗曼诺夫叹了一口气，重新睁开眼睛盯着特雷古波娃。

　　 “你对担任我的秘书感觉怎么样？”

　　 特雷古波娃向罗曼诺夫眨了眨眼，她的眼睛垂到了他裸露的胸前。她感到困惑，对自己的困惑有点反感。

　　 “我……我不确定。”

　　 他感到失望的把桌上的手套穿上说：“说出你的真实感觉，不要让我失望。”

　　 特雷古波娃看了一下地板。她感到愤怒、尴尬和渴望交织在一起。她抬头看着罗曼诺夫说：“我……我想让你解雇我。”

　　 罗曼诺夫闭上眼睛，一时一言不发。最后，他说：“不。”

　　 特雷古波娃脸色发红，她说：“我……我想回家。”

　　 “不，猜猜我不解雇你的原因。”罗曼诺夫盯着手套想着事情说，也许逗逗她会更好？

　　 特雷古波娃把目光从罗曼诺夫身上移开，低头盯着她面前的桌子。她拿起一只手套戴上。

　　 罗曼诺夫坚持自己的立场。

　　 罗曼诺夫说：“你认为你能做什么？这是浪费时间吗？”

　　 特雷古波娃盯着她面前的桌子看了几秒钟。

　　 “我一文不值。”

　　 “那是真的。”罗曼诺夫说：“你是一个无能的废物，但我可能仍然需要你。你能理解吗？\"

　　 特雷古波娃抬起头说：“不。”

　　 “那么，你要遵守规则，做得很好。你要照我说的做，毫无怨言。你明白了吗？”

　　 特雷古波娃再次低头。她感到脸发红，拳头紧握。

　　 “是的。”

　　 “很好。”

　　 “但是……”

　　 “没有但是。”他强硬地说：“你是谁的宠物？你属于谁？你的精神被谁管理着？”

　　 “我……我不属于任何人，也不应该属于任何人……”她感到脸发红，拳头紧握。

　　 “你的思想。谁主宰你的思想？你为谁服务？”

　　 “你。”

　　 罗曼诺夫笑了问：“为什么你属于谁？你要赞美谁？”

　　 特雷古波娃抬头看着他。她感到自己对他怒不可遏，带着厌恶、困惑和愤怒的混合表情瞪着他。

　　 特雷古波娃把目光移开，有点害怕。

　　 “说吧。”

　　 “说什么？”

　　 “你为什么为谁服务？你为什么在这里？你知道为什么。说吧，你这个胆小鬼。”

　　 “我……我不知道。”

　　 “别骗我。”

　　 特雷古波娃低头盯着桌面。她感到眼泪涌上了眼眶。

　　 罗曼诺夫盯着那个女人看了一会儿。他低下头。他说：“说吧，这是控制的一种方式。只有这样才能巩固我们之间的关系。”

　　 “你。”

　　 “为什么？”

　　 “因为你是我爱的人。”

　　 罗曼诺夫笑了。他又盯着特雷古波娃看了几秒钟。最后他说：“我也爱你，过来到我面前深呼吸看着我。我需要你把你奉献给我，包括你的灵魂。”

　　 特雷古波娃犹豫了一会儿，然后站起来，走向罗曼诺夫。她把手放在他的肩膀上，看着他的眼睛。

　　 “我完全地、不可挽回地把自己献给你。”

　　 “是的。”

　　 “我是你的。”

　　 罗曼诺夫笑了。

　　 他从抽屉里拿出一把装了消音器的手枪递给她说：“对你自己开枪。”

　　 特雷古波娃震惊地睁大了眼睛，盯着枪。

　　 “来吧，开枪打我。”

　　 她盯着枪。她惊慌失措。

　　 “开枪打我。”

　　 特雷古波娃把目光移开。她把手放在枪上，深吸了一口气。她盯着自己的胸部，紧闭双眼，扣动了扳机。

　　 咔嗒一声，枪空了。

　　 特雷古波娃站着，看着罗曼诺夫。他也站着，眼睛睁不开。

　　 特雷古波娃说：“你骗了我。”

　　 “不，我是测试你。你感觉怎么样？”罗曼诺夫笑了笑把手枪收到抽屉里问。

　　 “我……我觉得自己被骗了。”

　　 罗曼诺夫笑了。“你在学习，我要你绝对忠诚我。没有它我不能相信你。我给你第二次机会，你接受吗？”

　　 特雷古波娃感到她的脸变红了。

　　 “是的。”

　　 “很好，苏联没有一个妇女联合组织，我担心以后会出问题。明年，我打算成立苏联妇女组织并让你担任第一书记。”

　　 特雷古波娃开始说些什么，但罗曼诺夫伸出了一只手。

　　 “没有争论，我完全知道你不是最有经验的人，但你很年轻，很渴望，很忠诚。我需要这些品质，而不是经验。你是我的副手，你会做得很好的，我知道你会的。现在，我让你去做吧。我给了你第二次机会。我不打算有第三次机会。我明白了吗？”

　　 特雷古波娃点点头。

　　 “好。你明白苏联妇女联合组织成立后你需要帮我做什么呢？”他坐下说：“组织妇女与青少女工作与生活，但最重要的是防止美国组织女权组织与提高出生率。”

　　 “出生率？”

　　 罗曼诺夫解释说，并想到现实中俄罗斯联邦部分行政区也降低了结婚年龄的问题。“是的，新生儿数量减少会导致人口老龄化与劳动力减少。我打算延长退休年龄到60岁与降低结婚年龄到16岁。”他想了一会儿，问道：“你觉得怎么样？”

　　 特雷古波娃把目光移开，觉得有点不舒服。“好的。”

　　 “很好。”罗曼诺夫给了特雷古波娃一个微笑。“开心点，你能统治苏联全国妇女还不高兴？要我带你去打猎或者旅游吗？”

　　 特雷古波娃也笑了。“没有。”

　　 “好吧，我会让你摆脱这种状况。我会让你远程工作，只要你全身心地投入到这项事业中。”他吻了她额头说：“你想要什么，我就给你什么。”

　　 “谢谢你。”

　　 “好吧，我们开始工作吧。”

　　 特雷古波娃跟着罗曼诺夫离开房间时笑了。她沿着格鲁吉亚建筑的长廊走去。它曾经是富人的家，但现在是一个博物馆。挂在墙上的画大多是活在罗曼诺夫时代的俄罗斯艺术家的作品。

　　 有一幅画特别吸引了特雷古波娃的注意。这是普辛的一幅画，画的是一个被罗马女神勒死的男人。女神的表情是欣喜若狂。特雷古波娃的眼睛蒙上了一层薄雾，她感到脊梁骨一阵颤抖。她几乎能感觉到那个罗马女神在她自己脖子上的呼吸…

　　 “我是你欲望的实现和梦想的化身。”

　　 特雷古波娃转过身，看到一个小男孩正盯着她。她喘息着。那男孩穿着黑色衣服，腰间系着一条红色腰带。他乌黑的头发和苍白的皮肤。他的眼睛明亮，像两块切割成小面的翡翠。他的面颊红润，和她母亲长得很像。

　　 “你是谁？你怎么进来的？”特雷古波娃把手放在枪上问道。

　　 “我是你渴望的人，傻瓜。我来这里是为了摆脱你的阻碍。”

　　 特雷古波娃的手垂到了她的身边。

　　 “我的……我的什么？”

　　 “你的……阻碍。”

　　 “我没有任何阻碍。”

　　 男孩走近了一步。他低头看着她的枪管说：“你的内心并不没有这么想，你在恐惧，恐惧你失去权力与罗曼诺夫、他

　　 与你肚子里的孩子。你想保住你的王位。你没有理性地思考。把枪放下，我来帮你。”

　　 特雷古波娃扔下了枪。她感到自己被抬离地面几英寸。

　　 “慢慢地，把手放在我能看见的地方。”

　　 那男孩照她说的做了。

　　 “谢谢你。”他笑了。“我叫亚历山大，但你可以叫我亚历克斯。我想给你看些东西。”他伸出手来。“请跟我来。”

　　 特雷古波娃跟着亚历克斯穿过许多大厅，上下楼梯。他们走了几个小时，直到亚历克斯在一扇大门前停了下来。他转身说：“这是你房间的门，进去吧。”他转过身，继续沿着一条长长的走廊走。

　　 特雷古波娃走进房间，看见一个年轻女子躺在床上。她居然和特雷古波娃一模一样，而罗曼诺夫躺在床上沉睡着。这位年轻女子穿着一件带红点的白色连衣裙。她金色的长发垂到膝盖。女孩睁开眼睛说：“你好。”

　　 “嗨。”

　　 “罗曼诺夫向你致意，并请你向世界其他地方转达他的问候。”女孩坐起来，下了床。她走过房间。“你可以坐在这儿。我能帮你什么忙吗？”

　　 “我是……”特雷古波娃环顾四周。“我不理解这怎么回事，你是谁？带我来这里的男孩是怎么回事？”

　　 女孩笑了。她移动时，白色的连衣裙发出嗖嗖声。特雷古波娃发现自己被女孩的动作迷住了。特雷古波娃感到一阵平静。那女孩动作像芭蕾舞演员。

　　 “你在罗曼诺夫的后宫里。没有‘怎么回事’，只有罗曼诺夫的意愿。”

　　 男孩坐在床上。“我来当你的向导。”

　　 “向导？”特雷古波娃重复了一遍。“做什么？”

　　 男孩笑了。“到这儿来。”

　　 特雷古波娃笑了。这太奇怪了。男孩牵着她的手走到门口说：“仔细想想，我们要去其他几扇门了。”他领着特雷古波娃进门，他们又走进了另一扇门。

　　 “欢迎来到你的新生活。”

　　 特雷古波娃的眼睛模糊了。这是她一生中最不可思议的夜晚。她再也想象不出比这更好的了。这就是她想要的一切。一个温柔的微笑使她的嘴唇增色。

　　 “你想看更多吗？”男孩亚历克斯问道。

　　 特雷古波娃点点头。亚历克斯打开了门。然后，她一直憋在心里的泪水涌了出来。她任由它们流动，无法阻止它们。它们把她的衣服弄湿了。特雷古波娃不在乎。

　　 她在房间里面看到了什么？这是她印象中最奢华的房间，房间的地板上铺着厚厚的红地毯。天花板上悬挂着一盏吊灯，一根高柱子支撑着吊灯。这盏枝形吊灯是水晶做的，发出白光。一个大理石壁炉靠在远处的墙上。地幔上雕刻着错综复杂的狼雕。墙壁被漆成深玫瑰色。壁炉旁边坐着两张舒适的大椅子。椅子之间放着一张桌子，里面放着一大碗水果、一本书和一个插着鲜花的小花瓶。

　　 “这就是我所有的。”男孩亚历克斯说。“坐下。”男孩指着椅子。

　　 特雷古波娃走到椅子前坐下。亚历克斯走向水果碗，拿起一个苹果，坐在特雷古波娃对面。

　　 “你可以吃这个。”他说。

　　 特雷古波娃拿着苹果，咬了一口。她的牙齿咬进肉里，汁液喷进嘴里。“我们都到了，现在怎么办？”

　　 “我需要知道你从哪里来，你是谁。我需要了解一点你的情况，这样我们才能互相了解。”

　　 “哦，我明白了。”那个叫亚历克斯的男孩看着特雷古波娃。男孩说，“你想告诉我什么都行，我不会评判你的。”

　　 特雷古波娃看着手中的苹果。她挑了挑，仍然不知道该说什么。

　　 “那么，你从哪里来？”男孩问。

　　 特雷古波娃又咬了一口苹果说：“我出生在列宁格勒。”

　　 “列宁格勒。”男孩重复了这个名字。“离这里很远。”

　　 “是的，很长的路。”特雷古波娃说。她停顿了一下。“我小时候来到这个城市。我父亲在一家钢铁厂工作。他在我五岁时去世。我母亲在我十二岁时死于心脏病。”

　　 “对不起。”男孩说。他的脸上丝毫没有流露出他的感受。特雷古波娃抬头看着他。男孩说：“我不是。”

　　 “你看起来不太……”特雷古波娃拖着脚步走了。这男孩的脸是她见过的最富于表情的脸。“我想你不是很伤心吧。”

　　 “我不难过。”男孩说。

　　 “但你也不快乐。”

　　 “我不快乐也不悲伤。”男孩交叉双臂说：“你会怎么办？留在这里还是继续向下一道门走？”

　　 特雷古波娃不知道该说什么。“我不知道。”

　　 “好吧，你可以和我呆在这里，或者你可以从门进去。这是你的选择。”

　　 特雷古波娃别无选择。她不知道怎么做其他事情。“我去开门。”

　　 “好的，好的选择，来吧。”他站了起来。

　　 “等等。”特雷古波娃说。“我能问你件事吗？”

　　 “当然。”男孩坐了下来。

　　 “你是怎么变得这么富有的？我是说，这一切……”

　　 “我工作很努力。”男孩说。“但最重要的是，你要拥有一个支持你的上司。”特雷古波娃笑着说：“这是什么意思？”

　　 那男孩把她看了一眼。“这意味着拥有这所房子的人愿意把它卖给你，这样你就可以拥有它。”特雷古波娃的笑容消失了。她感到双颊发烫。“你是……一……一……”

　　 “什么？”男孩问。

　　 “我想不起这个词了。”特雷古波娃低头看着她的膝盖。

　　 “你是奴隶？”

　　 “不。”特雷古波娃抬起头来。“我不是。”

　　 “是的，你是。”男孩说。“你照我说的做，否则我就鞭打你。”特雷古波娃站了起来。“我不会让你那样做的。”

　　 “不管你让不让我，这是你的选择。”

　　 特雷古波娃站了起来。她交叉双臂。“好的，我会的。”

　　 “你很聪明又怯弱，你得到找到你自己的位置。”男孩走到房间尽头一篇黑色的门说：“做好心理准备，门后面是你内心不喜欢的事情。”特雷古波娃深吸了一口气。

　　 男孩转过身，走向那扇黑色的门。他打开门走了过去。他走了。

　　 [newpage]

　　 Democracy without socialism is only the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, and socialism without democracy is only the dictatorship of the bureaucratic class. But for citizens, even a state dominated by finance capital is better than a state with a bureaucratic capital monopoly, where the former replaces all relations with wealth, while the latter wants to maintain both capital monopoly and power, and is afraid of being seen to do so. Want to eat human flesh and blood and have to sneak around.

　　 ---

　　 ***

　　 April 1986

　　 Tregubova came over to put down the report for Romanov, and he looked up and asked, \"How have you been?\"

　　 \"Fine,\" she said. \"You\u0027re looking very elegant today.\" \"Thank you, I have something very important to deal with today, and I wanted to ask you first.\" Romanov gestured to the chair and said, \"Sit down, I want to ask you what you think of Soviet bureaucrats?\"

　　 \"That\u0027s not a good trait to have.\"

　　 \"I know,\" he said. \"You understand it\u0027s dangerous, and if their people are against us, we could be in danger or even in jail.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not worried about jail,\" she said, \"I\u0027m worried about you.\"

　　 \"Don\u0027t be,\" he said. \"I have a great deal of freedom.\" Romanov picked up a pen and wrote some names and said, \"I so come to ask you about this matter to get an opinion, I trust you.\"

　　 \"Of course,\" she said. \"It\u0027s not everyday that the boss trusts a subordinate\u0027s opinion.\" She grinned. \"Especially not on something as important as this.\"

　　 \"What do you think of this me?\"

　　 \"You a great leader,\" she said. \"The way you\u0027ve led the country, I have no choice but to respect you.\"

　　 \"Thank you,\" he said. \"And I think you\u0027re great; you\u0027re a real asset.\"

　　 \"This is what I wanted to hear,\" she said.

　　 \"So, let\u0027s talk about ways to get bureaucratic support. I want to bring back the term system for local leaders, but not have the bureaucrats oppose me.\" He pointed to the names. \"These people are all too happy to comply with my edicts, but they\u0027re still going to have to go through the system.\"

　　 \"You could always threaten to expose them,\" Tregubova said.

　　 \"That\u0027s a threat I could definitely make good on,\" he said.

　　 \"That\u0027s one way to go about it,\" she said.

　　 \"I don\u0027t think that\u0027s necessary.\" Romanov closed his eyes and said, \"It would offend them, and they are vindictive. I can negotiate their withdrawal from the body, but guarantee their privileges and treatment and let them appoint a successor.\"

　　 Tregubova said, \"You could also just remove them.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s much riskier,\" he said. \"It\u0027s not just their privileges that I need protected, but also their lives.\"

　　 \"What\u0027s the difference?\"

　　 \"The difference is, if I killed them, then I would have to do it myself. If they\u0027re removed, then they\u0027ll be at the mercy of the system.\" Romanov explained again, \"They are a group of a bunch of connections, one for all the glory and one for all the losses. And replacing them with new people will also oppose us, because the new generation of bureaucrats is more corrupt and ambitious than these old people.\"

　　 \"I can see why you\u0027d think that,\" Tregubova said.

　　 \"Do you see any other way?\"

　　 \"No,\" she said.

　　 \"Then we\u0027ll have to risk offending them.\" Romanov stood up and said, \"I have a meeting, and I\u0027ll be back in an hour.\"

　　 Tregubova said, \"What\u0027s this meeting about?\"

　　 \"The military reform thing, sit here and wait for me.\"

　　 Romanov went out and Tregubova turned to herself and said, \"The way he acts, you\u0027d think he was running a dictatorship, instead of a democracy.\"

　　 \"He\u0027s never going to be a dictator, even if he has all the power,\" said Katarina. \"He\u0027s too principled.\"

　　 \"I still don\u0027t like it,\" she said.

　　 \"Like what?\" asked Katarina.

　　 \"He\u0027s giving too much power to the generals and the bureaucrats, instead of us.\" She sat down next to Katarina and said, \"And I\u0027m tired of being the second fiddle.\"

　　 \"Oh, come on,\" said Katarina, \"We all know that you\u0027re his favorite.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s true,\" she said.

　　 \"If you want to change things, then go talk to him,\" said Katarina. \"He listens to you.\"

　　 She considered and said, \"I think I will.\"

　　 In reality Gorbachev did so, and as a result the young reformists he promoted immediately created new means of corruption based on the enjoyment of the old privileges. Even Gorbachev used the anti-corruption campaign to purge his political opponents while building luxury villas (such as the luxury mansion in the town of Flos on the Crimean peninsula).

　　 Gorbachev, who was conned by the bureaucracy and the aura and privileges of the top Soviet leader, was almost ignorant of the Soviet reality, while the praise of Western leaders and Western media (especially Thatcher and Reagan\u0027s praise and gifts to him) gave him the illusion.

　　 Previous Soviet leaders would not have made this fatal mistake. Even Brezhnev would not have been stupid enough to believe the enemy of the other camp and do what it said, because the enemy wanted him to do so.

　　 And it was a fatal mistake of Gorbachev and the KGB to believe that the Soviet Union could integrate into the European and American dominated political and economic system through reforms (especially political reforms) and to support wishfully the liberals and nationalists of the Eastern European countries and franchises to suppress the Eastern European conservatives and franchisee bureaucracies.

　　 ***

　　 Meanwhile, Romanov walked into the conference room to meet with Nikolai Konstantinovich Baibakov, chairman of the USSR State Economic Planning and Development Committee, and Lev Voronin, deputy chairman of the State Planning Committee.

　　 \"Please have a seat, Comrades,\" said Romanov. \"We\u0027re going to discuss the future of the USSR economy.\"

　　 The two men sat down and Romanov said, \"We\u0027ve already started discussing these issues internally, and came up with a few solutions to our current problems.\" He put a manila folder on the table. \"Please take a look at this. Then we\u0027ll discuss how we should proceed.\"

　　 Baibakov and Voronin read through the documents from the folder, and when they were done, Baibakov said, \"I see that you have a few suggestions for our current problems, Comrade Romanov. Please tell us about them.\"

　　 \"The first and most important thing,\" he began, \"Prices must rise to a reasonable level. The direct consequences of the Soviet intervention in the economy to lock in prices have become apparent, as the nominal price of beef and bread in the state stores is actually cheaper than the raw materials! The cost of locking in prices was that the underground black market had replaced the state stores as the retail market. And the Soviet Union kept raising wages so that the currency was over-issued and there was no industry to protect it as a reservoir.\"

　　 \"In other words, we have inflation,\" said Baibakov.

　　 \"Absolutely,\" said Romanov. \"While prices have been going up, so has the budget deficit. When the currency is over-inflated, prices are actually going up, and the state cannot tax income or goods. When Germany occupied France, the black market became the de facto economy of France, until the government could reestablish control over the economy. The same thing is happening here. The underground black market has become a de facto retail market, and to destroy it would instead create a real black market. Instead, we should gradually raise prices.\"

　　 \"This is also the opinion we support, the problem is that the people have already gotten used to the prices remaining the same, and too much of an increase will cause the people to panic and object.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s why we must use slow, calculated means to bring the prices up in a controlled way. This plan of yours sounds reasonable, but it could backfire. If we go too fast, the people will get upset, and there will be a riot. We need to find a happy medium.\"

　　 \"Well, then, what do you suggest?\"

　　 \"I suggest a 15 percent increase for food and a 10 percent increase for other goods, and a 5 percent increase for both services and the currency. These are reasonable numbers, and will still allow for a more prosperous, albeit a slightly more austere, society.\" said Romanov.

　　 \"It\u0027s too fast, food prices should rise no more than 3% and other commodity prices should not exceed 5%, too fast the people will demonstrate like in the Novochersk incident.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not arguing for that, but I think we need to be prepared for any possibility. This is a long term project that will take some time, and we cannot be too hasty. We can\u0027t be in too much of a hurry. We should have prices rise 80% in 15 years, 4% to 5% per year. I think that\u0027s reasonable.\"

　　 \"No, too fast. OK, 1% increase in food and 2% in other goods, and a 1% increase in the currency. That will be reasonable. I will take these issues to the Politburo and get their approval for the new policies. It is important that they approve of this course of action, and for that reason, I need your opinions on some other matters. For instance, the United States is currently pursuing a policy that threatens the very existence of the Soviet Union. What are your thoughts on this?\"

　　 \"Our thoughts on the American imperialist aggression are well known. It is for this reason that it is dangerous for Leningrad to open its economy to the outside world.\"

　　 Romanov frowned, sure enough the Planning and Economic Committee would still be unhappy with such measures.

　　 \"However, it seems that some of the ideas being proposed by the Americans are not so bad,\" offered Romanov. \"And we need to trade goods and technology with international markets, but of course, I don\u0027t mean that the Soviet Union needs market-oriented reforms like China and Vietnam. My idea is that the Soviet Union needs a harbor for economic exchange with the outside world and a reservoir for the financial economy to prevent the retail market and manufacturing industry from taking on the excess currency.\"

　　 \"So let me get this straight,\" said Baibakov. \"You want to put the Soviet Union on a trade-correction course, but only to the extent that it does not become too market-oriented. Am I correct in stating so?\"

　　 \"Yes, that is correct,\" said Romanov.

　　 \"Well, I don\u0027t agree with this. This is a very dangerous path you\u0027re proposing to take, comrade. The problem with the Soviet economy is that it is completely integrated with the state, and the state has a tendency to get into unsustainable, or even ruinous, activities. Moreover, the Soviet Union is now the second largest economy with an urban rate of over 70%, not the old Russian Empire with a literacy rate of 28% and a population that was 81% peasant. This is the exact sort of problem that capitalist countries experience when they go down the road of state-sponsored industrialization, and it usually leads to economic catastrophe. In the words of Adam Smith, the problem with a society dependent upon \u0027the intervention of the state\u0027 is that, in the long run, the \u0027\"interference\" of the state never benefits anyone, except the politician who wields the intervention weapon.\u0027\"

　　 \"This is quite a reduction of the capitalist argument for laissez-faire,\" said Romanov. \"I understand that the cost of industrial construction and production in the high latitudes of the Soviet Union is much greater than in the tropical countries. If it were not for our Bolsheviks\u0027 forced industrialization it would have been impossible to produce a whole system of industrial production, and the Soviet market would have been de-industrialized. You and the other comrades of the planned economy can trust that I will stick to the planned economy of the Soviet Union, that the opening of the Baltic economy will only provide a trade outlet, and that the financial economy will not occupy 20% of the Soviet economy.\"

　　 \"Well, yes. I\u0027m sure you will. But please keep in mind, that for the remaining 80% of the country, this will be a very traumatic change. The plans must be prepared to address these issues.\"

　　 \"Of course. The plans will be adjusted accordingly. However, I don\u0027t think a change in the system will be necessary. The current system is flawed, but I believe that it can be corrected using the tools of the Soviet system. Why not cut both?\u0027\u0027

　　 \"Well, the Soviet Union cannot afford to raise the living standards of the working class by increasing military spending. But we\u0027re fine without increasing the military budget, and cutting it would make the military unhappy.\" Romanov responded wearily that military spending simply accounted for a larger portion of the overall economy, and that it could be controlled.

　　 \"Well, I believe it,\" said Baibakov, getting up from the table. \"I believe you, comrade. And I hope you\u0027re right.\"

　　 The two men shook hands, and then Romanov took his leave.

　　 ***

　　 Romanov went back to her office to tell what had happened.

　　 \"I don\u0027t think comrade Baibakov believes that,\" said Tregubova, looking pointedly at Romanov.

　　 \"Soviet bureaucrats are smart and not so smart.\" Romanov took off his gloves and threw them on the table, saying, \"Dealing with them is a thing that can hasten one\u0027s death.\"

　　 \"It\u0027s obvious that he doesn\u0027t,\" she said.

　　 \"It\u0027s not so much that he doesn\u0027t believe it,\" said Romanov, \"It depends on whether this thing will hurt their interests, for example, Marshal Ogarkov\u0027s informational military doctrine everyone knows is correct, but no one supports him still wants him to retire from the body and retire.\"

　　 \"I see what you mean.\"

　　 \"The point is, bureaucracies are like people. You have to keep them happy if you want to keep breathing.\"

　　 \"But they\u0027re not people.\"

　　 Romanov gave a laugh and said, \"That\u0027s very true, the working man is the man, and there exist two Soviet Union. Well, I\u0027m too tired.\"

　　 \"Do you think this\u0027ll be over soon?\" she asked.

　　 \"I hadn\u0027t really thought about it,\" said Romanov, \"There are things I need to do, and there are things no one needs to do. Do you understand?\" He closed his eyes and sighed. \"Sometimes, I think I\u0027m the only one who understands these days.\"

　　 \"I suppose that\u0027s true,\" she said sympathetically. \"No matter what, I will always be there for you.\"

　　 He looked back at her, and said, \"And for me, you.\"

　　 \"Well, I\u0027ve been thinking.\" Tregubova compliments in a staccato manner, \"If you are so sure, why do you still serve the Soviet Union? Why not privatize or demutualize? You could make a lot of money.\"

　　 \"Money doesn\u0027t make a man happy,\" said Romanov, \"Only a dead man can be happy.\"

　　 \"True.\" She sighed and said, \"But is it worth risking your life for? I mean, it\u0027s not like you\u0027re working for the good of anyone but yourself.\"

　　 \"You\u0027re wrong there.\" He pointed to his chest, and said, \"I work for the good of the Soviet Union.\"

　　 \"You\u0027re a fool if you think that.\"

　　 \"Maybe, but I\u0027m a patriot.\" He took her hands in his and said, \"I will pursue personal enjoyment but that doesn\u0027t mean I will betray the Soviet people. And I love your soul and your flesh.\"

　　 She smiled at him and looked into his eyes. \"I love your soul and your flesh too,\" she said. \"Communism is just a lie and an excuse, so I want you to hold power like Brezhnev, and I will help you manage concrete affairs.\"

　　 \"As you wish,\" he said, \"But I will be a good leader, for the nation, and for you.\"

　　 \"And for me,\" she said, squeezing his hand. Romanov stared at her and thought, You\u0027ll be my Timoshenko.

　　 Romanov\u0027s first few months in charge of the Soviet Union were surprisingly quiet. Relations with the West were tense, but there was no open warfare. No need.

　　 Although Soviet military spending was staggering, when Gorbachev announced Soviet fiscal spending in 1989, the Soviet military budget was 77.3 billion rubles, and that was despite Gorbachev\u0027s drastic spending cuts. And in 1985 Richard Kaufman, an expert on the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, said that the CIA indicated that Soviet military spending was between 115 billion and 125 billion rubles.

　　 If the CIA did not deliberately exaggerate its projections, this suggests that Soviet armaments were in full wartime state. And prior to 1989 Soviet claims of military spending were so low as to be implausible.

　　 As long as Romanov had to first secure the political support of the Soviet bureaucracy.

　　 If the CIA did not deliberately exaggerate its projections, this suggests that Soviet armaments were in full wartime state. And prior to 1989 Soviet claims of military spending were so low as to be implausible.

　　 As long as Romanov had to first gain the political support of the Soviet bureaucracy. Using power would have weakened government authority and credibility, and he should have used it carefully and cautiously. Instead of clearing out Romanov\u0027s forces in a few months first, as Gorbachev did in history, (the historical Romanov was excellent in economic construction, but for politics and people it was hard to say. It is surprising that there were no loyalists tied to the same chariot in Leningrad for more than a decade of operation...not to mention, the drunken appearance at the Hungarian Central Conference in March 1985, and the famous wedding rumors.) And then quickly used the Uzbek cotton case under Andropov to cleanse the Brezhnev family from the Uzbek Soviet, remove Usmanhoyaev and fake Churbanov\u0027s embezzlement of 650,000 rubles (actually less than 100,000 rubles), and have the First Secretary of the Central Asian Soviet retire and appoint Slavs to maintain rule.

　　 As a result, it is obvious what you would do if you were the first secretary of the Soviet Union to serve as the first secretary for more than ten years and were forced to retire by the new Gorbachev, whose successor was actually appointed by him as a Slav, what would you do?

　　 Romanov is clear that the incitement of local nationalism to allow ethnic hatred triggered demonstrations to force Gorbachev to appoint a local as first secretary. If such a possibility existed, then it was a certainty that Gorbachev would have been very displeased.

　　 Gorbachev is a refined egoist. Very shrewd people do not solve problems to take responsibility, so he suppressed the Almaty incident and put the blame on the army. To set targets for bureaucratic groups that cannot be met and then purge them, and to incite nationalism in the constituent countries to create conflicts. This way, he can shift the blame and the attention away from himself. The opposition was then removed through economic and political reforms, and people were drawn in through pro-people behavior. Almost all the leaders of the Soviet Union ministry when Gorbachev came to power were removed around 1986, especially the Planning and Economic Council.

　　 (Just using power affects credibility, and if you don\u0027t have the will to resist power you will fall. For example, Gaddafi and Ceausescu, Gaddafi and Ceausescu would have had much better historical ratings if they had died in 1979 and 1974, respectively. Unfortunately, time and power made them turn their backs on their original intent to improve the lives of their people.) It is easy to see that after the execution of Voznesensky and Saburov until 1965, the Planning and Economic Committee showed a highly erratic removal. It was also during this period that the economic growth rate of the Soviet five-year plan began to slowly decline.

　　 Since the Cold War period spanned more than forty years, we cannot judge the Soviet-US race in terms of a single time economy.

　　 GDP of the top seven countries in the world in 1975

　　 U.S. 1,684.9 billion

　　 Soviet Union 685.9 billion

　　 Japan 521,542 billion

　　 Germany 4,906.37 billion (calculated jointly by the two Germanies)

　　 France 360.832 billion

　　 United Kingdom 241,757 million

　　 Italy 2276.96 billion

　　 The top 15 GNP (Gross National Product, in US dollars) data of the world in 1986

　　 |country/region|continent|GNP(USD)|% of the world

　　 World||14.0 trillion (14,001,469,191,761)

　　 1. |United States|Americas|4.59 trillion|32.7688%

　　 2. |Japan|Asia|1.68 trillion|12.0217%

　　 3. Soviet Union|Asia|1.38 trillion|9.8%

　　 4. Germany|Europe|873.568 billion|6.2391%

　　 5. France|Europe|645.34 billion|4.6091%

　　 6. UK|Europe|579.535 billion|4.1391%

　　 7. Italy|Europe|530.781 billion|3.7909%

　　 8. Canada|America|3801.56 billion|2.7151%

　　 9. China|Asia|3313.39 billion|2.3665%

　　 10. India|Asia|250.406 billion|1.7884%

　　 11. Brazil|America|248.979 billion|1.7782%

　　 12. Spain|Europe|2084.44 billion|1.4887%

　　 13. Australia|Oceania|1967.86 billion|1.4055%

　　 14. Iran|Asia|1772.08 billion|1.2656%

　　 15. |Netherlands|Europe|1703.09 billion|1.2169%

　　 The Soviet economy was not at the point of total collapse in 1985, but its diplomatic environment and commodity supply was terrible. (Even so, it was no worse than it was in the 1990s.) It was only at the time of its dissolution that the Soviet Union dropped to the seventh largest economy in the world.

　　 When evaluating the Soviet economy, people invariably fall into the misconception that the country is seen as a whole or even personified. Different periods of a country with different governments and classes are completely different, and the overall economy of the country does not reflect the standard of living of a single individual. The Soviet Union was neither a utopia nor a hell, which is why its economy presented an anomaly.

　　 First of all, the root cause of the economic difficulties the Soviet Union was in had little to do with oil shocks (the lowest international oil prices in the 1980s were similar to the highest prices in the 1970s), grain imports (the Soviet Union mainly imported feed grains to feed livestock such as cattle and sheep for food and raw materials for production, such as wool for textiles.) There is little relationship.

　　 And the political system and planned economy in the Gorbachev political reform directly abolished the Soviet republican system and the transition to a market economy also shows that the core problem is not.

　　 Think about the problem of stagnation in the Soviet economy from the eighth five-year plan?

　　 When analyzing the situation, a number of factors must be considered. The most important factor is the supply of and demand for labor. The most important basic elements of economic growth are the working population and the market (here the working population does not only mean manual workers), and the same as the social environment, the economic environment of a country is the survival of the fittest, and only the system that is most compatible with the economic base of the country can exist until a change in the economic base of the country occurs, not the most advanced system can exist.

　　 For example, Afghanistan\u0027s economic production is mainly dominated by livestock, and agricultural productivity is only at the level of nomadic countries. So is it possible to establish a modern political system under such a society?

　　 The answer is no. To progress, it would require a working population that is educated, modern, and productive. This is why the Soviet Union and the United States are doomed to fail in Afghanistan because the Afghan economy has not yet industrialized with the environment to become a consumer market.

　　 You can also look at the matter from a supply and demand perspective. The market for a product can be influenced by a variety of societal, political, and economic factors. Many times, a society will put pressure to change the government in order to change the market. For example, the United States put pressure on the Taliban regime in the 1990s to legalize the production and sale of marijuana. However, the attempt was futile.

　　 The issue of consumerism is also a complicated one. The Soviet Union did not control enough population and markets, and India\u0027s huge low-cost human resources and political stance could have ensured the internal circulation of the Soviet economy if Brezhnev could have invested in the Indian market.

　　 Without a doubt, the Soviet Union had the capacity to be a first world country. But because of a gross misalignment of forces, it was doomed to fail.

　　 Romanov says \"

　　 \"In case of needing military industry, some economic industries are given to the integrated chain of Eastern European countries. At the same time, investment and trade India and Southeast Asia.\"

　　 \"However, these are not the solutions to our problems. We need to change the structure of our economy to meet the demands of the 21st century. We cannot rely on a system that is decades behind the times. We need to work with the global economy.\"

　　 \"What we need, comrade, is a system that is modern, efficient, and is able to guarantee the rights and needs of the proletariat.\"

　　 omanov leans back to relax and falls asleep.

　　 What the hell did you just say?

　　 \"However, these are not the solutions to our problems.\"

　　 \"We need to change the structure of our economy to meet the demands of the 21st century.\" He closed his eyes and just waited until 1988 when Saddam\u0027s invasion of Kuwait triggered the third oil crisis and international oil prices rebounded before waiting for Reagan to step down. Tregubova was silent.

　　 The market for computer and related products is dominated by the United States, Japan, and EU member countries, while China is still dominated by its manufacturing base.

　　 However, in the 1970s the United States was in a deep quagmire, with inflation rates of more than 10%, the failure of then President Jimmy Carter to solve economic problems, and the oil crisis which gave the Soviet top brass a false judgment that international oil prices would remain high and bet on the petrodollar. As a result, Reagan came to power in 1981, and the U.S. economy was thus redeveloped. Although the neoliberal economy he supported had some pitfalls, such as the U.S. turning from the largest creditor to the largest debtor, etc., he was still successful at the time.

　　 Neoliberalism is a good thing, and while Romanoff could not sell off state enterprises with forceful repression of workers like Thatcher, there were methods that could be used, such as international investment in African and Asian countries to build economic industries and improve the welfare of their citizens through the return funds from international investment. The advantage of this method is that it does not require taxation of the rich in the country to redistribute wealth leading to capital flight, but also allows the entire population to enjoy welfare benefits, but the problem is that technology and industry have to be ahead of the countries being invested in, and the population is not as large as India and China. And it will cause a similar situation of class exploitation in a country, the developed and advanced countries continue to develop and advanced, while poor and backward countries are reduced to raw materials and cheap resources market. (Cheap resources include people in some backward countries)

　　 But for Romanov, it is necessary to ensure that the Soviet people have enough consumer goods and retirement pensions, the exploitation of foreigners is better than the exploitation of their own people? In addition to find the distribution of benefits to make all classes can accept the distribution of benefits program? Can not be like Gorbachev threw the rules are exclusive, or then everyone does not comply with the rules of the game when Romanov can go to the death.

　　 The question he needs to ask himself is, why are some people willing to accept a system where a tiny minority of the population is able to amASS a disproportionate share of the resources? It is desire, which swallows up ideals and truth.

　　 Romanov sighed and reopened his eyes to stare at Tregubova.

　　 Romanov says \"How do you feel about being my secretary?\"

　　 Tregubova blinked at Romanov, and her eyes dropped down to his bare chest. She felt confused, and a bit disgusted with herself for being confused.

　　 \"I... I\u0027m not sure.\"

　　 Frustrated, he put the gloves on the table and said, \"Tell me how you really feel and don\u0027t let me down.\"

　　 Tregubova looked at the floor for a second. She felt a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and desire. She looked up at Romanov and said, \"I... I want you to fire me.\"

　　 Romanov closed his eyes and said nothing for a moment. Finally, he said, \"No.\"

　　 Tregubova\u0027s face colored and she said, \"I... I want to go home.\"

　　 \"No, guess the reason I\u0027m not firing you.\" Romanov stared at the glove thinking of things to say, maybe it would be better to tease her?

　　 Tregubova looked away from Romanov and stared down at the table in front of her. She picked up one of the gloves and put it on.

　　 Romanov stood his ground.

　　 Romanov says \"What do you think you\u0027re capable of? Is it a waste of time?\"

　　 Tregubova stared at the table in front of her for a few seconds.

　　 \"I am not worth anything.\"

　　 \"That\u0027s true.\" Romanov said, \"You\u0027re an incompetent piece of shit, but I might still need you. Can you understand that?\"

　　 Tregubova lifted her head and said, \"No.\"

　　 \"So, you\u0027re going to comply with the rules and you\u0027re going to do a good job. You\u0027re going to do as I say without complaint. Am you understood?\"

　　 Tregubova looked down again. She felt her face redden and her fists clench.

　　 \"Yes.\"

　　 \"Good.\"

　　 \"But...\"

　　 \"No buts.\" He said forcefully, \"Whose pet are you? To whom do you belong? By whom is your spirit governed?\"

　　 \"I... I belong to no one and no one is supposed to...\" She felt her face redden and her fists clench.

　　 \"Your mind. Who dominates your thoughts? Who do you serve?\"

　　 \"You.\"

　　 Romanov laughed and asked, \"Why do you belong to whom? Whom do you praise?\"

　　 Tregubova looked up at him. She felt her anger rise up at him, and she glared at him with a mixture of repulsion, confusion, and anger.

　　 Tregubova looked away, a bit frightened.

　　 \"Say it.\"

　　 \"Say what?\"

　　 \"Why do you serve whom? Why are you here? You know why. Say it, you coward.\"

　　 \"I... I don\u0027t know.\"

　　 \"Don\u0027t lie to me.\"

　　 Tregubova stared down at the tabletop. She felt tears well up in her eyes.

　　 Romanov stared at the woman for a moment. He lowered his head. He said, \"Say, this is one way to control. It\u0027s the only way to cement our relationship.\"

　　 \"You.\"

　　 \"Why?\"

　　 \"Because you\u0027re the one I love.\"

　　 Romanov smiled. He stared at Tregubova for a few seconds more. Finally, he said, \"I love you too, come over to me and take a deep breath and look at me. I need you to give yourself to Me, including your soul.\"

　　 Tregubova hesitated for a moment, then she rose and walked over to Romanov. She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

　　 \"I give myself to you, completely and irrevocably.\"

　　 \"Yes.\"

　　 \"I am thine.\"

　　 Romanov smiled. He took a pistol with a silencer out of the drawer and handed it to her, saying, \"Shoot yourself.\"

　　 Tregubova\u0027s eyes widened in shock and she stared at the gun.

　　 \"Go ahead, shoot me.\"

　　 She stared at the gun. Panic seized her.

　　 \"Shoot me.\"

　　 Tregubova looked away. She put a hand on the gun and took a deep breath. She stared down the barrel at her chest and squeezed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger.

　　 There was a click and the gun was empty.

　　 Tregubova stood, and she looked at Romanov. He was standing too, his eyes unblinking.

　　 Tregubova said, \"You tricked me.\"

　　 \"No, I\u0027m testing you. How do you feel?\" Romanov asked with a smile as he received the pistol in his drawer.

　　 \"I... I feel like I\u0027ve been tricked.\"

　　 Romanov laughed. \"You\u0027re learning, I want you to be absolutely loyal to me. I cannot trust you without it. I\u0027m giving you a second chance, do you accept it?\"

　　 Tregubova felt her face redden.

　　 \"Yes.\"

　　 Romanov says \"Very well, there is no united women\u0027s organization in the Soviet Union, and I am afraid that something will go wrong in the future. Next year, I intend to set up a Soviet women\u0027s organization and make you its first secretary.\"

　　 Tregubova started to say something, but Romanov held up a hand.

　　 \"No arguments, I\u0027m fully aware that you\u0027re not the most experienced person, but you are young, you\u0027re eager, and you\u0027re loyal. I need those qualities more than I need experience. You are my second in command, and you are going to do a very good job, I know you will. Now, I\u0027m going to leave you to it. I\u0027ve given you a second chance. I don\u0027t intend to have any third chances. Am I understood?\"

　　 Tregubova nodded.

　　 \"Good. Do you understand what you need to help me do after the United Soviet Women is formed?\" He sat down and said, \"Organize women and young girls to work and live, but most importantly to prevent the United States from organizing feminist organizations and raising the birth rate.\"

　　 \"Birth rate?\"

　　 Romanov explained and thought about the reality that some administrative regions of the Russian Federation have also lowered the age of marriage. \"Yes, the decrease in the number of newborns will lead to the aging of the population with a decrease in the workforce. I intend to extend the retirement age to 60 years with lowering the marriage age to 16 years.\" He thought for a moment and asked, \"How do you feel about this?\"

　　 Tregubova looked away, feeling a bit uncomfortable. \"Fine.\"

　　 \"Good.\" Romanov gave Tregubova a smile. \"Cheer up, you\u0027re still not happy to rule the women of the Soviet Union as a whole? Want me to take you on a hunt or a trip?\"

　　 Tregubova smiled back. \"No.\"

　　 \"All right, I\u0027ll let you off this condition. I\u0027ll let you work remotely, as long as you dedicate yourself to the cause full-time.\" He kissed her forehead and said, \"Whatever you want, I\u0027ll give you.\"

　　 \"Thank you.\"

　　 \"Alright, let\u0027s get down to work.\"

　　 Tregubova smiled as she left the room after Romanov. She walked down the long hallways of the Georgian building. It had once been the home of the wealthy, but now it was a museum. The paintings hung on the walls were mostly by Russian artists who were alive during the time of the Romanovs.

　　 One painting in particular caught Tregubova\u0027s eye. It was a painting by Poussin, and it depicted a man being strangled by a Roman goddess. The goddess\u0027s expression was one of rapture. Tregubova\u0027s eyes misted over and she felt a shiver run down her spine. She could almost feel the breath of that Roman goddess upon her own neck...

　　 \"I am the fulfillment of your desires and the embodiment of your dreams.\"

　　 Tregubova turned around to see a young boy staring at her. She gasped. The boy was dressed in black with a red sash tied around his waist. He had raven black hair and pale skin. His eyes were bright, like two pieces of emerald cut into facets. His cheeks were ruddy, and he bore a strong resemblance to her mother.

　　 \"Who are you? How did you get in here?\" Tregubova demanded with her hand on her gun.

　　 \"I\u0027m a your desires, stupid. I\u0027m here to get rid of your hindrance.\"

　　 Tregubova\u0027s hand dropped to her side.

　　 \"My... my what?\"

　　 \"Your... hindrance.\"

　　 \"I don\u0027t have a hindrance.\"

　　 The boy stepped closer. He looked down the barrel of her gun and said, \"Your heart doesn\u0027t think that way, you\u0027re in fear, fear that you\u0027ll lose your power with Romanov, him

　　 with the child in your womb. You\u0027re trying to save your throne. You\u0027re not thinking rationally. Put that gun down, and I\u0027ll help you.\"

　　 Tregubova dropped the gun. She felt herself being lifted off the ground a few inches.

　　 \"Put your hands where I can see them, slowly.\"

　　 The boy did as she was told.

　　 \"Thank you.\" He smiled. \"My name is Alexander, but you can call me Alex. I\u0027d like to show you something.\" He held his hand out. \"Please, follow me.\"

　　 Tregubova followed Alex through many halls and up and down many flights of stairs. They walked for what felt like hours until Alex stopped in front of a large door. He turned and said, \"This is the door of your chamber. Enter it.\" He turned and continued walking down a long hallway.

　　 Tregubova walked into the room and saw a young woman lying on the bed. She actually looked exactly like Tregubova, and Romanov was lying in bed in a deep sleep. The young woman wore a white dress with red dots. Her long blond hair reached her knees. The girl opened her eyes and said, \"Hello.\"

　　 \"Hi.\"

　　 \"Romanov sends his greetings to you, and asks for you to convey his greetings to the rest of the world.\" The girl sat up and got off the bed. She walked across the room. \"You can sit here. How may I help you?\"

　　 \"I\u0027m...\" Tregubova looked around. \"I don\u0027t understand what\u0027s going on here, who are you? What\u0027s up with the boy who brought me here?\"

　　 The girl laughed. Her white dress swished as she moved. Tregubova found herself mesmerized by the girl\u0027s movements. Tregubova felt a sense of calm come over her. The girl moved like a dancer in a ballet.

　　 \"You\u0027re in the Romanov\u0027s harems. There is no \u0027what\u0027s going on\u0027, there is only Romanov\u0027s will.\"

　　 The boy sat on the bed. \"I\u0027ll be your guide.\"

　　 \"Guide?\" Tregubova repeated. \"To do what?\"

　　 The boy smiled. \"To be here.\"

　　 Tregubova laughed. This was all too strange. The boy took her hand and walked to the door and said, \"Come to think of it, we\u0027re going to a few other doors.\" He led Tregubova through the door, and they walked through another door.

　　 \"Welcome to your new life.\"

　　 Tregubova\u0027s eyes misted over. This was the most incredible night of her life. She could not imagine anything better. This was all she\u0027d ever wanted. A soft smile graced her lips.

　　 \"Do you wish to see more?\" The boy, Alex, asked.

　　 Tregubova nodded. Alex opened the door. Then, the tears she\u0027d been holding in all this time came pouring out. She let them flow and couldn\u0027t stop them. They soaked her dress. Tregubova didn\u0027t care.

　　 What did she see inside the room? It was the most luxurious room she could ever remember, and A thick red carpet covered the floor of the room. A chandelier hung from the ceiling, with a tall pillar holding the chandelier. The chandelier was made of crystal and shone with a white light. A marble fireplace sat against the far wall. The mantle was carved with intricate carvings of wolves. The walls were painted a deep rose-colored color. Two large, comfortable chairs sat next to the fireplace. A table stood between the chairs, holding a large bowl of fruit, a book, and a little vase with fresh flowers.

　　 \"This is all I have.\" The boy, Alex, said. \"Sit down.\" The boy pointed to the chairs.

　　 Tregubova walked over to the chairs and sat down. Alex walked to the bowl of fruit, picked up an apple, and sat across from Tregubova. \"You can eat this.\" He said.

　　 Tregubova took the apple in her hand and bit into it. Her teeth sank into the flesh and juices squirted into her mouth. \"Well, we\u0027re all here. What now?\"

　　 \"I need to know where you\u0027re from and who you are. I need to know a little bit about you, so we can get to know each other.\"

　　 \"Oh, I see.\" The boy, Alex, looked at Tregubova. The boy said, \"You can tell me anything you want. I won\u0027t judge you.\"

　　 Tregubova looked at the apple in her hand. She picked at it, still unsure what to say.

　　 \"Well, where do you come from?\" The boy asked.

　　 Tregubova bit into the apple again and said, \"I was born in Leningrad.\"

　　 \"Leningrad.\" The boy repeated the name. \"That\u0027s a long way from here.\"

　　 \"Yes, a long way.\" Tregubova said. She paused. \"I came to this city when I was little. My father worked in a steel mill. He died when I was five years old. My mother died of a heart defect when I was twelve.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m sorry.\" The boy said. His face revealed nothing of what he felt. Tregubova looked up at him. The boy said, \"I\u0027m not.\"

　　 \"You don\u0027t seem like you\u0027re very...\" Tregubova trailed off. The boy had the most expressive face she\u0027d ever seen. \"You\u0027re not very sad, I guess.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not sad.\" The boy said.

　　 \"But you\u0027re not happy either.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m not happy or sad.\" The boy crossed his arms and said, \"What would you do? Stay here or go on to the next door?\"

　　 Tregubova didn\u0027t know what to say. \"I don\u0027t know.\"

　　 \"Well, you could stay here with the I, or you could go on through the door. Your choice.\"

　　 Tregubova didn\u0027t have a choice. She didn\u0027t know how to do anything else. \"I\u0027ll go through the door.\"

　　 \"Alright. Good choice. Come on.\" He stood up.

　　 \"Wait.\" Tregubova said. \"Can I ask you something?\"

　　 \"Sure.\" The boy sat down.

　　 \"How did you get so rich? I mean, all of this...\"

　　 \"I worked hard.\" The boy said. \"But the most important thing is that you have a supportive boss.\" Tregubova smiled and said, \"What does that mean?\"

　　 The boy looked her over. \"It means that the person who owns this home is willing to sell it to you so that you can have it.\" Tregubova\u0027s smile faded. She felt her cheeks grow hot. \"You\u0027re a... A... A...\"

　　 \"What?\" The boy asked.

　　 \"I can\u0027t think of the word.\" Tregubova looked down at her lap.

　　 \"You\u0027re a slave?\"

　　 \"No.\" Tregubova looked up. \"I\u0027m not.\"

　　 \"Yes you are.\" The boy said. \"You do as I say or I\u0027ll whip you.\" Tregubova stood up. \"I won\u0027t let you do that.\"

　　 \"It\u0027s your choice whether you let me or not.\"

　　 Tregubova stood up. She crossed her arms. \"Fine. I\u0027ll do it.\"

　　 \"You\u0027re smart and timid, you get to find your own place.\" The boy walked to the end of the room a black door and said, \"Be prepared, behind the door is something you don\u0027t like inside.\" Tregubova took a deep breath.

　　 The boy turned around and walked to the black door. He opened it and walked through. He was gone.