Zhao Xiaohai came to the Soviet Union to make money, not to buy paper. As a precaution, he began selling rubles for dollars through various channels. According to Soviet Central Bank regulations, large-scale ruble-to-dollar transactions were prohibited within the USSR, and even on the international currency market, rubles were not subject to speculation. However, this did not stop the black market trade within the USSR. Meanwhile, foreign banks that had first entered the USSR were also secretly absorbing large amounts of rubles. Therefore, Zhao Xiaohai could easily sell off his ruble holdings. While Zhao Xiaohai was still stranded in China, Li Qiang had already fully implemented his covert exchange business, following his instructions. In a single transaction with Industrial Bank, he exchanged five million rubles in cash. This provided an idea of the magnitude of his income.
Having made his first fortune, Zhao Xiaohai remained mindful of his principle of never taking all the spoils for himself. This principle led to the military leadership receiving their first dividend from Zhao's Import and Export Trading Company: 40,000 rubles each. Furthermore, key officials from various key departments in Blagoveshchensk, including the city government, police department, foreign trade company, supervisory bureau, Amur Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Press Bureau, also received red envelopes.
Zhao Xiaohai wants to drag down all the people in power in Blagoveshchensk, and then those who should contribute will contribute, and those who should keep their mouths shut will keep their mouths shut. As for those who refuse to contribute - the current situation is so chaotic, and these people will naturally find where they should go.
As chairman of the Far Eastern branch of the National Security Committee, Feliknovich sensed a crisis from the intelligence coming in from all sides. He had to admit that, despite its bloated structure, the KGB was incredibly efficient. The Zhao brothers' recent collusion with the military and their widespread bribery of local officials had all fallen under the watchful eyes of the National Security Committee's intelligence officers.
Felikonovich had no idea what the two Chinese businessmen were up to, but he knew one thing: the evidence he had was enough to send them to the execution ground. Since his previous requests for headquarters intervention had been rejected, Felikonovich put a lot of effort into gathering evidence this time.
On May 30, Feliknovich sent the fifth request for the arrest of Zhao Xiaohai and a large amount of evidence via confidential letter to the Security Committee headquarters on Lubyanka Street in Moscow.
Unlike the four previous times, this time, Felikonovich's application was not immediately rejected by headquarters. However, this marked the beginning of a disaster for him and the entire Far Eastern branch of the Security Council. On June 2nd, the day before Zhao Xiaohai returned to the Soviet Union from China, a task force led by Svetanko, Deputy Director of the Third Department of the First Main Directorate of the Security Council, arrived in the Far East. Subsequently, Felikonovich and six other key Far Eastern branch officials were secretly arrested. Shortly thereafter, without a proper trial, Felikonovich and three others were secretly executed by the Security Council on charges of espionage, undermining public security, and accepting bribes. Subsequently, Yakov, transferred from the Siberian branch of the Security Council, took over as Chairman of the Far Eastern branch of the Security Council.
There's no doubt that Filikovich was a loyal man to his country, but his loyalty fell into the trap of a power struggle at the wrong time and in the wrong era. It's foreseeable that the tragic end of a man like him was doomed from the beginning. Even without Zhao Xiaohai's appearance, he wouldn't have had a chance to escape this fate, simply because his presence blocked others' path.
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