Chapter 688: Promotion to Lieutenant General

"Our great hero is back." After returning to the Kremlin, Defense Minister Ustinov said to Andrei.

"Comrade Ustinov, please don't make fun of me. I have done nothing. It is all because of our powerful motherland that I have achieved my current status," said Andrei.

Andrei spoke very modestly, but no matter how modest he was, in this series of actions, Andrei had always been the main planner and implementer. For the Soviet Union, victory in the Middle East had the same huge benefits as that in the Far East!

The victory in the Far East allowed the Soviet Union to gain access to the Pacific Ocean and obtain advanced Western technology, especially electronic technology. The victory in the Middle East allowed the Soviet Union to strangle the economic lifeline of the West!

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"Andrei, you are too modest. Our victory in the Middle East has enabled us to suppress the West in all aspects. Now, Western European countries are trying to maintain friendly relations with us in order to obtain more oil shares from us," said Foreign Minister Gromyko.

Oil is the lifeblood of the economy, and the Soviet Union now controls huge oil resources, which means it has a huge say.

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For the United States, as the world hegemon, it is absolutely impossible to compromise with the Soviet Union. However, other younger brothers in Western Europe may not have the same awareness as the United States. For example, France is now frequently showing goodwill to the Soviet Union.

"Andrei, in view of your outstanding contribution this year, the Supreme People's Congress has passed a decision to promote you to lieutenant general." Andropov said: "Congratulations, you have become the first lieutenant general under the age of 30 in our Soviet Union since World War II."

Andrei's original rank of major general was unprecedented and will never be surpassed. Later, he presided over the work of the Turkish Military District with the rank of major general. In fact, he was sometimes very passive. The rank corresponding to the commander of the military district should be lieutenant general, but Andrei was too young after all. A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. Therefore, Andrei's rank did not rise until now. Finally, Andrei got his own new promotion, lieutenant general!

In fact, with Andre's current performance, he can be promoted to general. However, he is still too young after all. His current rank of lieutenant general is already unprecedented.

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After Andropov finished speaking, there was applause from the audience. This was not a formal awarding of honor, but just Andropov's verbal communication. The people around him were all extremely supportive of Andropov's decision.

"I will never let my motherland down. The goal of our Soviet existence is to liberate the world and rescue the people who are still under the enslavement of capitalists," said Andrei.

This was said in a very solemn manner. Ustinov on the side could not help but pat Andrei on the back and said, "Andrei, with your rise, it is definitely not a dream for us Soviets to control the entire world. But now, we still have to focus on the present. I'm afraid you still have to clean up this mess in the Middle East."

Although it seems peaceful, the Middle East is actually not peaceful. There are unrest in Turkey, the establishment of Kurdistan, and the division of Saudi Arabia. There are still many risks in between, and the Soviet Union must not take it lightly.

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"Yes, in 1982, we will focus on dealing with the current mess." Andre said: "The big war will not happen, and the small war must be beneficial to us."

Andre already has ideas for further action in his mind. As long as they are implemented steadily, there should be no major changes after the Western forces withdraw.

"Among them, Türkiye is the most important," Ustinov said. "It would be great if we could take control of the Black Sea Straits while Turkey is in turmoil."

One of the reasons why the Soviet Union launched a heavy blow and hit Turkey hard last year was that Turkey wanted to make a fuss about this strait and block the Soviet Black Sea Fleet's passage to the sea. Although this incident ended with the victory of the Soviet Union, everyone was unhappy. Such a strategic location must be controlled by one's own side!

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Hearing Ustinov's words, Andrei frowned. Indeed, it would be great if they could control the Black Sea Strait. However, the relationship here is complicated. It is easy for them to mess up the Kurdish-populated areas in Turkey, but it would be difficult to do so in other areas.

"We will try our best to achieve it," Andre said. "To achieve this goal, the Turks themselves must work hard."

"This year's war ended with our victory. The United States did not launch the Third World War with extreme brutality and frantically rob the Middle East's crude oil production areas. It stopped at the last minute. Do you know why?" Foreign Minister Gromyko said.

The United States is the leader of the Western world and a superpower. The United States will never see the Middle East fall to the Soviet Union! And now, the United States has stopped, which is also a mystery.

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In fact, the Soviet high-level officials had prepared a contingency plan. If the United States was unwilling to accept defeat and caused World War III, the Soviet Union would fight to the end! However, such a scene did not occur.

"Why, Gromyko?" asked Ustinov.

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"Because the United States has decided not to rely on the oil resources of the Middle East anymore," Gromyko said. "The United States has found new mining technology that can produce shale oil on a large scale. Soon, the United States' oil production will exceed that of Saudi Arabia and even ours. At that time, the United States can rely on its oil exports to closely connect Western Europe."

This was the conclusion reached by the Soviet ambassador to the United States after careful investigation. If the United States did not have an alternative plan, it would rather start a Third World War to regain the energy resources in the Middle East. But now, the Americans have given up because they have found an alternative!

Shale oil! The second revolution of the oil industry!

Hearing Gromyko's words, Andrei suddenly felt extremely ridiculous. Isn't this a repeat of history? It's a pity that the two sides have already exchanged positions!

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In the 1980s, the United States controlled the entire Middle East and continuously increased oil production to create a global energy oversupply situation, thereby hitting the Soviet economy. At that time, the main source of foreign exchange for the Soviet Union was oil exports, and with the decline in oil prices, the Soviet domestic oil industry fell into an awkward situation. Extracting oil for export would be a loss-making business, and if it did not extract oil, the country's industry would go bankrupt and a large number of people would be unemployed.

And now, it's the Soviet Union's turn!