Chapter 50: The Winter of Krisko (Part 1)

On the last night of 1998, a grand celebration was held at a manor house in the eastern suburbs of Krisko, the capital of the Northern Russian Republic. Many senior officials, celebrities and wealthy people from the Northern Russian Republic gathered here to celebrate the birth of the country's second head of state.

A short man with short hair walked onto the stage. This person was none other than Kimi Viking, who had taken over the position of President of the North Russian Republic from Nikolayevich. He raised his glass high and said, 'I feel very honoured to be here today to attend this banquet. In the afternoon, I swore to the entire North Russian people that I will firmly carry out my oath to the end.'

Kimi Viking continued, 'Of course, I would also like to thank everyone here, because I am the President of Northern Russia, not an emperor, and not a dictator. My dream is to restore Northern Russia to its former position as a superpower in the world, so that everyone here can become a citizen of a superpower. Then, whether it is defending the democracy of the Northern Russian Republic or revitalising the national economy, it is impossible without the joint efforts of everyone here!'

As the new president finished his speech, the room erupted in the warmest applause. But the applause did not last long, because a moment later, another person walked into the ballroom. As this person entered, the applause slowly died down.

This person was wearing a purple evening dress, and her high heels made a tapping sound on the ground. She was a woman, and a very beautiful woman at that. The appearance of this woman caused a scene of uproar.

'My goodness, is that really our great Republic Godmother, Ms Kalelina? Shouldn't she be supporting Mr Nikolic? Why is she now appearing at a Kimi Viking banquet?'

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, but his exclamation was quickly met with a cold stare from someone nearby: 'Are you really ignorant or are you just pretending to be? You also know that Ms. Kareina is the godmother of our North Russian Republic, and more than half of the country's financial and petroleum industries are under her control. You also know that previously, Mr. Nikolavich practiced oligarchy, and she is the oligarch of the oligarchs. Such a person must certainly grasp the deepest political trends. Now that Kimi Viking has come to power, what's so strange about her coming here?'

Others were discussing: 'Ms. Kareina is so powerful, but I heard that she is still unmarried. I wonder what kind of man is worthy of her? I'm afraid that such a man simply does not exist.'

Today, everyone present is either rich or powerful, and naturally they all know Katerina. When she walked in, everyone made way for her. Katerina walked proudly past them, with everyone looking at her with respect. Even the newly sworn-in President Kimmi Viking hurried down from the stage to come to Katerina.

'Dear Ms Katerina, welcome!' Kimmi Viking said, holding up a glass.

Kaleina gave a slight smile, took a glass of wine from the waiter beside her, and said to Kimi Viking with a gesture, 'Congratulations to Mr. Kimi Viking on taking office as President of Northern Russia. I hope that under your leadership, our Northern Russian Republic will reach a higher level.'

After Kaleina finished speaking, she took a sip of the wine in her glass, while Kimi Viking shook his head and said, 'Ms. Kaleina, I don't think this is good news for me. Rather, it is a kind of pressure and encouragement for me personally.'

Kimi Viking finished and took a sip of wine. Katerina smiled and said, 'I have a certain understanding of your governance style, as well as your attitude towards some consortia and financial oligarchs. But I only have one thing to say: no matter what your decision is, I don't want to see another Krisko Winter. Our Northern Russian people can't afford another Krisko Winter.'

Although it was just a light remark, it made everyone present subconsciously shiver. The catastrophe in the Northern Russian Republic was still fresh in the memories of even those with a high social status.

When Kimi Viking heard this, pain immediately flashed in his eyes. He said, 'Miss Karolina, you may not know, but as someone who experienced it first-hand, I personally also hate that kind of oligarchic practice very much. It was they who almost destroyed the country! So, Miss Karolina, please rest assured, I aim to develop the economy of the Northern Russian Republic and restore the country's international status. There is no way that such a thing will happen again.'

Kimi the Viking assured Katerina with a firm look in his eyes, patting his chest.

In the crowd below, a child who had come to the banquet with his parents asked his father what the Krisco Winter was. Katerina heard him and answered on behalf of the child's father: 'The Krisco Winter was a catastrophe that happened in this capital ten years ago. the whole country was on the verge of bankruptcy, people could no longer survive, and children your age were sold. Those were even worse times than the harshest winters we have here, so we have since called that period the Khrushchev Winter.'

'So it wasn't really winter! Was it really that miserable?' the child asked curiously.

'It wasn't winter, but it was even more miserable than a real winter. It was miserable beyond the imagination of anyone who hadn't experienced it, and it was a pain that the Northern Russian Republic would never want to remember.'

Katerina said so, and it was true, but in fact there was still one thing she hadn't said in her heart: that winter in Krisco was also her fondest memory, and one that she could never forget, to the extent that she had refused to marry both the most successful businessman in the Northern Russian Republic and the godmother of the Northern Russian Republic.

Because for Katerina, there was no man in the world more worthy of her trust than him...

Let's rewind the clock ten years to May 1st, which was originally a very important holiday, a big day to celebrate the victory of a certain struggle. While demonstrations were being held all over the continent of Europa to commemorate this day, there was no movement at all in Krisco, the world's red heart.

However, it was not that the people or groups here did not want to commemorate, but that everyone's situation was really bad. When everyone was unable to live happily, no one had the time to commemorate any holiday.

The temperature in Criesco in May had already noticeably warmed up. The large sun hung in the sky, and the golden yellow sunlight shone on everyone. However, the people on the streets of Criesco did not feel even a hint of warmth.

The Northern Russian Camp Department Store is the largest department store in Krisko and even the entire Soviet Union. As the best department store on the planet, the only one that can rival the United States as a superpower, it should naturally have a complete range of goods. However, on this day, there was a long queue here. Countless citizens of Krisko and the surrounding Northern Russia crowded here, all shouting and cursing at the top of their lungs.

'Can you hurry up in front? Either you hurry up and buy, and then get out of here, don't crowd here and blind me with your eyes... People in the back, don't push! If you like pushing, is there shit for you to eat in the front?'

Of course, apart from the shouting from front to back and left to right, there was more shouting directed at the store: 'What do you mean? This only cost 30 roubles yesterday, why does it cost 50 roubles today? Are you robbing people?'

The staff at the store simply ignored the customers' abuse: 'It's fifty roubles, if you have the money, buy it; if not, just go out the door on your right. I'll tell you something else, we're the only ones selling them in the whole of Khrushchevskaya. If you go elsewhere, even if you pay eighty roubles, there's no guarantee that someone will sell them to you. You should also take a look outside on Gorky Street, it's full of people who can't afford to buy anything!'

At the moment, on Gorky Street, the traffic is terrible. Cars are honking their horns furiously as they crawl along like snails.

The reason for this is not that there are a lot of cars on Gorky Street, but that the whole street has been occupied by various street stalls, with all kinds of hawkers shouting out their wares. It seems that this is not the busiest street in Krisco, but more like a market in some county town in China.

'Sir, come and have a look. This watch was made by a famous watch company and is normally priced at at least 10,000 US dollars. But I really need money urgently. How about 8,000 US dollars? No, 4,000 US dollars at most. I'll sell it to you for that. If that's not possible, if you can go to the mall and buy me a bottle of vodka and some black bread, I'm sure we can negotiate the price of the watch. Who am I? I'm a doctor at the Central Hospital.'

'Sir, I have a villa in the southern suburbs. If you can pay me $100,000, the villa and everything in it is yours. This is a very good deal. I am the manager of an eastern company. I just can't stand it here anymore!'

At this moment, all kinds of people were hawking their goods along the street like peddlers. But with hawkers all over the street, and the whole street selling things, who would buy anything? So bartering began to appear.

'Hey, my friend, do you have any salt? That's great, I hope you can sell me some. I'll pay you in roubles, or if you don't want roubles, I'll trade you my beloved barbecue grill. It's a great grill, you can cook the most delicious kebabs on it, and I swear to God, when you see the golden, oily kebabs, you'll fall in love with kebabs!'

'Hey, are you out of your mind? The meat in the supermarket is almost as expensive as a plane ticket, I can't afford that damn luxury!'

Apart from the various North Russians buying and selling in barter, more people are cursing in fear: 'What's wrong with our Soviet Union? Aren't we the other superpower in the world? How did we become like this? We have nothing left, why do I feel colder than in the depths of winter in this May?'