In St. Petersburg, Simon ended the video call with Amy Pascal, handled some other work, turned off the computer, got up and walked out of the study.
This is a coastal suburb southwest of St. Petersburg.
When it comes to choosing the best place to live in a city, you can't go wrong with following the mansions of powerful people or government agencies.
The southwest coastal area of St. Petersburg is dotted with many palaces of Russian dignitaries during the Tsarist period, including the Summer Palace of Peter the Great. Simon began to lay out Russia a few years ago, and it was natural for him to choose his residence in St. Petersburg here.
Russia is vast and sparsely populated, and the most important thing it lacks is land.
Therefore, Simon's seaside manor was allocated a full 100 hectares of land. It was located between the Summer Palace of Peter the Great and the other Palace of Constantine. It took three years to complete the construction. The main building in the manor is a similar building. A Baroque-style three-story villa in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, except that the exterior of this villa is made of simple and heavy raw lime instead of the grass green of the Winter Palace.
In order to avoid being mixed with sand during the construction process, the building materials and construction team came from Ukraine.
Simon knew that the bricks of the U.S. Embassy were filled with bugs.
Ever since that experience at the Plaza Hotel, Simon had always had a shadow about this kind of thing.
After leaving the study, Lady A quickly came over with two maids. The maids still held two sets of clothes in their hands and picked one at random. Simon changed into it in the bedroom next door and then went downstairs.
The car was already waiting outside the villa.
Sensing that Simon was about to go out, a little kid broke away from his mother's arms and ran over.
To be together.
Simon picked up the little girl and saw Shulshkina coming to take the child away. He smiled and shook his head and said to the little guy in his arms: "We can do it together, but we must be good."
The little guy said sweetly: "Of course, Dad, Nina is very well-behaved."
Yulia Shulshkina wasn't quite sure what Simon was going to do next, but she understood that it was definitely not an ordinary social gathering. She stepped forward a little more, stretched out her hand and said: "Sir, give me the child, Nina. Inappropriate."
When the little guy in Simon's arms saw his mother coming forward, he immediately hugged Simon's neck like a koala and urged: "Daddy, go quickly."
Shaking his head at Shulshkina again, Simon carried the child outside the villa. The waiting bodyguards and drivers were a little surprised to see Simon holding a little one, but they didn't say anything. They just opened the car door for their boss.
Simon carried the child and got into the car, and Girl A followed. When the car door closed, the little girl immediately made a face at her mother outside the car window.
Without reminding the child that her mother couldn't actually see inside the car, Simon told the driver to drive.
Two identical black Mercedes-Benz cars left the manor through the long corridor and turned onto the road heading towards St. Petersburg.
It was already past seven o'clock in the afternoon, and it was still bright in St. Petersburg, which is located at a high latitude. It was not expected to get dark until after eight o'clock. Simon was dealing with various problems with the little one in his arms while looking at the city outside the car window.
This ancient city located at the mouth of the Baltic Sea can be described as a testimony of Russia's transformation from a small and backward country in a remote corner to a European power.
At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter the Great moved the capital of Russia from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Against the unanimous opposition of the domestic elite, he strongly promoted Russia's Europeanization process and accepted various advanced technologies and cultures. This ultimately laid the foundation for Russia's development nearly three hundred years before the collapse of the Soviet Union. status of a powerful nation.
Speaking of which, Peter the Great happened to be in the same period as Emperor Kangxi of China, but the two led the two countries in completely opposite directions.
One forced openness and eventually became a European power.
A country that insists on seclusion ends up being abandoned by history.
Now, this ancient city, which has experienced three hundred years of vicissitudes of history, has once again fallen into a period of depression in its life.
When Simon's car drove into the city of St. Petersburg, except for the asphalt roads left over from the Soviet era, which were still wide and solid, in other aspects, there was an air of decadence similar to that of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. Many building appearances on both sides of the road looked dilapidated due to lack of maintenance. The mottled and dilapidated landscape, combined with Russia's relatively sparse population, makes it look like a ghost town at first glance.
Simon knew, however, that such decadence was still not the lowest point in Russia.
Although Russia's GDP has dropped from US$517.9 billion in 1991, when the Soviet Union just collapsed, to US$395.5 billion in 1995, a drop of 24%, the real abyss still lies after 1997.
The turning point is this year.
1996 was not only a presidential election year in the United States, but also a presidential election year in Russia.
Yeltsin succeeded in stealing the country's presidential power. Over the past few years, he completely messed up Russia. As a result, at the beginning of this year, the Russian people's approval rating for this president who was more speculator than politician was only a pitiful 3 %, either 30%, or a paltry 3%.
Yeltsin, who knew exactly what would happen to him if he lost the election this year, decisively joined forces with Russia's major oligarchs and invested large sums of money to reverse the situation.
The information age has not yet fully arrived. Because media communication channels are limited, it is quite easy to manipulate public opinion. With large sums of money poured into it, a few months later, Yeltsin's approval rating has risen to about 50%, leading the His rival, no doubt, will be successfully re-elected in the general election in July.
Since the major oligarchs gave Yeltsin so much support, of course they had to ask for something in return.
As a result, the second feast of carving up Russian state-owned assets became more and more unscrupulous during Yeltsin's second term. Coupled with the spread of the financial crisis in Southeast Asia, the Russian economy fell into an abyss from which it could not extricate itself. At its lowest point in 1999, Russia's GDP was only over US$190 billion, a further 50% drop from around US$400 billion at that time.
If Yeltsin had not done the only thing right in the last period of his rule and elected a qualified successor, it would not be impossible for Russia to make a living by selling land again after the millennium, as it did when it sold Alaska.
Simon and his party entered the city of St. Petersburg from the southwest suburbs, crossed the Neva River, and after a journey of more than 40 minutes, finally arrived at another private residence in the eastern suburbs of the city.
This is a private residence of Mikhail Friedman, a corporate oligarch supported by the Westeros system in Russia.
A small-scale political and business reception will be held here tonight.
The reception was arranged by Simon himself.
Over the years, as Simon, the big butterfly, has become more and more influential, many things have begun to turn away from the remembered history. After all, according to the butterfly effect theory that people are used to understanding, two seemingly unrelated things will eventually affect each other due to various involvements, not to mention that Simon is directly involved in it.
So some things are inevitable.
In order to prevent history from going in a strange direction that he could not understand at all, Simon decided to gently push the wheel of history at a critical moment after repeated deliberation.
Just like this time.
In Russia, the much-anticipated presidential election is related to the political trend of the country in the next four years, and another event, the new St. Petersburg mayoral election that happened almost at the same time, can be said to be related to the next twenty years. Russian political trends.
Because a very key person is involved.
In fact, the St. Petersburg mayoral election ended on May 19. The current mayor Sobchak lost to his competitor with a negligible 1.5% vote gap. Unlike the United States, which usually takes office the following year after the election is completed, here in St. Petersburg, the mayor will be sworn in on the last day of August and begin taking office in September.
If there are no other external influences, the original mayor's team is likely to be separated by then.
Toward all kinds of unknowns.
One of the guys who was entrusted with an important task by the current mayor Sobchak was definitely unlikely to be retained. In my memory, the fact that the other party was finally able to get a vacancy in Moscow was actually full of all kinds of chance.
If Simon hadn't stepped in, it's hard to say what would have happened next.
Even if Simon wants to change some history now, it is very easy to give the other party a high-paying position in a private company that he cannot refuse. Then the Russia of the future may no longer be the Russia in Simon's memory, and everything will change.
Simon doesn't plan to change.
In the dark night that finally enveloped the city, Simon had just got off the car at this private residence in the eastern suburbs. Mikhail Friedman, who was full of caution about the big boss's visit, personally greeted him. Come over, and he obviously has something to say.
Simon handed the little girl in his arms, who was looking around curiously, to Girl A behind him. Without too many hints, several bodyguards around him stepped back, and then Friedman leaned into Simon's ear and whispered. A few words or something.
Simon was a little surprised when he heard what the other party revealed, but he still said: "Then let's talk."
Mikhail Friedman immediately made a gesture of invitation: "Simon, this way."
The two entered from a side door of the villa. Friedman noticed that Simon's entourage followed naturally, paused, and did not stop them.
The villa corridor connected to the side door did not turn on the lights. In the dim light, you could see the cocktail party crowded with people at the end of the corridor.
Simon told Girl A behind him to take the little guy directly to the hall. He and Friedman turned to the stairs and arrived at the second floor of the villa. The lights were also not turned on in the corridor. At the door of a room, there were two burly figures standing on the left and right. Seeing the two Simons appear, they first looked at this side warily, and then relaxed after confirming their identities.
However, when they saw the bodyguards following Simon and the two of them, they stopped talking again.
Simon ignored the two of them and went straight to the door. One of them hesitated for a moment, then took the initiative to help open the door and whispered something to him.
This is a study room.
Only a dim yellow wall lamp was turned on, and the light was as dim as the corridor outside.
Simon walked in and saw a woman with short hair in a black professional suit sitting on the sofa in the reception area, with her legs crossed and a glass of wine in her hand. It wasn't until Simon came closer that the woman put down her wine glass and stood up leisurely. Although she raised her face slightly due to her height, she stretched out her hand to Simon with a hint of deliberate pride: "Hello, Mr. Westeros."
Simon smiled and shook the woman's hand: "Hello."
The woman paused and then took the initiative: "You can call me Tatiana."
"OK."
Simon nodded, walked straight to the single sofa opposite and sat down.
The woman had just subconsciously made some adjustments, but now she felt that she was completely in vain, and she couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
Seeing that Simon was still sitting down on the sofa, he frowned slightly, and finally sat down. After noticing that the man opposite was leaning on the sofa very relaxedly and looking at her, he finally spoke again and pointed to a bottle on the coffee table in front of him. Whiskey: "Mr. Westeros, would you like a drink?"
"No, you can do it yourself."
The woman nodded, hesitated for a moment, and then picked up the glass of wine she just had. Then she felt that she was completely at a disadvantage, like a guilty little girl who subconsciously picked up something to protect herself. After a pause, he put the wine glass back on the coffee table. He wanted to imitate the man opposite him and lean on the sofa as relaxedly as he did, but in the end he sat up straight.
Simon looked at everything in front of him with a smile, and suddenly said: "Now is the critical moment of the election. If it is revealed that you are meeting with me at this time, it will definitely bring great potential risks to your father's campaign."
When the woman heard this, she couldn't help but said: "We are not Mr. Westeros. People will know where we go. We can still keep this secret."
Simon arrived in St. Petersburg in the morning. It was originally a secret trip, and there was no news in the public media. Now that someone suddenly came to the door, it was obviously still noticed by many people.
Hearing these words, Simon just smiled: "So, Tanya, what do you want from me?"
The woman's expression froze slightly before she remembered the official purpose of this secret visit.
However, just now she couldn't help but try to bully a certain guy and directly changed her tone, it seemed... But she was not a sloppy woman. In recent months, she had taken the initiative to stand on the stage to organize campaigns for her father, which had achieved remarkable results, so she quickly said : "Mr. Westeros, my father has always admired you very much. He said that you are definitely the most unexpected miracle of this era."
"Thanks."
The woman was stunned again, a little petty and sullen. Shouldn't we be polite to each other at this time
I finally regretted my initial deliberate decision.
In fact, I had read a thick secret file about the young man in front of me in advance, and many things were very detailed.
However, when it comes to the other party's character, the conclusion is elusive.
It's like multiple personalities mixed together.
When he is cold, he can start a war without hesitation; when he is tender, he can even love the small vase he once abandoned; his pursuit of female sex seems endless, but in the blink of an eye he can restrain himself and become an ascetic who does not touch everything...
This does not seem surprising, after all, it is well known that someone has been in a mental hospital.
Because it is too complex, it is difficult to set targeted responses.
After thinking for a moment, the woman finally said: "Mr. Westeros, what do you think of this Russian presidential election?"
Seeing that the woman asked another question that was not nutritious, Simon shook his head directly: "Tanya, I think we should be more direct. Tell me, why are you looking for me?"
Tanya.
It's Tanya again.
Are we that close
The woman complained slightly, but finally said: "Mr. Westeros, we found that the spokesperson of the Westeros system, Mr. Mikhail Friedman, seems to have unsatisfactory development plans in Russia in recent years. And In this election, as expected, my father will be re-elected. So, if Mr. Westeros wants to develop further in Russia, maybe we can become allies?"
Simon finally showed some expression of interest: "Who do we mean?"
The woman said: "The Westeros family, the Yeltsin family."