Divided We Fall

United We Stand

by raihaikyo

PART 33 - Anadyr (Анадырь)

21.05.1962

Kronstadt (federal city of Leningrad/St. Petersburg, USSR)

Kronstadt in Leningrad Oblast of the far north was a port city close to Finland and Estonia. A chilly northern wind was blowing over the harbour making some men, who were present tighten their fingers around scarfs or hats. One of them was a man with silvery coloured hair. He held the military hat in a secure grip while his red eyes were scanning the dock. Wooden containers with words stamped in Cyrillic alphabet were being heaved on deck of a heavy transport ship. The crane was creaking softly under the weight sometimes.

"Эй, ухнем! Эй, ухнем! Ещё разик, ещё да раз!" (1)

The silvery haired man grins lightly hearing the happy tune next to him. "Enjoying yourself, Pavel Andreevich?" He commented, revealing his amusement. While everyone else seemed concentrated on the loading task, the person in charge was singing softly and crossing off the cargo numbers on his transport papers.

"It's an old, but famous song sung by the Volga Boatsmen when they were pulling boats with cargo when the tide was at its lowest. We are doing something similar…more or less."

Gilbert gave a short nod interested in hearing the background story to the folk song. During his time in Moscow and being around Russia, he had learned several things about the Slavic culture. Some of the rituals and traditions reached very far back. Some of which the people themselves did not know the origin.

As Pavel told him about the background story their bodies suddenly tensed up due to a loud crash not too far away. The crane had been lifting a wooden crate, but the sturdy cable had snapped letting the content smash on the pavement. Hats, heavy winter jackets and valenki (2) were spread out over the dock now.

"We should contact the dock workers to pick it all up." Gilbert said, wanting to go to the telephone post quickly to make the call.

"Nyet*, let it stay there for just a moment longer." The Russian shruged, paying far more attention to the shipping list in his hands.

"Why? The ship will lose valuable time." Was it not important to send the ship as fast as possible to the new military base in the far east of the country?

"They're on the lookout. Let them. Don't look around."

"They? You mean…die Amis*?"

"Da. Who else? They're obsessed with what the Soviets are doing."

"It's a good idea to let them see it?"

"They'll stop spying on us once they see it's just bare necessities for the new base in Chukotka. Maybe they'll like our military fashion sense, get envious as usual and copy." The man glanced over to the German giving him an amused grin. "I don't think they ever understood the sense of wearing valenki, though."

"I do wonder sometimes if you people really mean something serious or if you're joking."

That comment elicited a hearty laugh from Pavel followed by a light pat on Gilbert's shoulder. "You Germans are so serious sometimes."

"Da*…maybe." He smiled a bit looking at the pier again as the soldiers were finally gathering all the items that had fallen out of the crate. "I need to make a call to inform Moscow the ship is ready for departure." Right before leaving, Ivan had asked to keep him updated about the loading process of this particular ship. Having a broad interest in many fields was what made the Russian interesting. Asking an embodiment to oversee a shipment to a new military post, however was rather unusual. Then again, it was not. The First Secretary of the Soviet Union Khrushchev himself often had a plan of his own that he followed through. Gilbert had the chance to listen to one of the man's speeches during the UN summits and the open threats aimed toward the US. Maybe it was what many often called the 'Russian soul' that seemed difficult to figure out. The Russians had a sort of duality in almost all aspects of their behaviour. They hardly smiled at people they did not know, but have a great sense of humour. Ivan was pessimistic when things went well, but showed great endurance and joked, when they did not. He believed in fate, luck and magical forces. It was funny to see him knock on wood sometimes for good luck and get out of the way when a black cat happened to cross the street. Gilbert smiled lightly at his observations while walking over to the administration offices. Russians were a curious lot, but fascinating to try figuring out.

On the ship itself, the crew was dressing into heavy winter coats to start their journey to the far East of the Soviet Union as indicated in the logbook.

Murmansk, same day, different time zone, 02:36

If you wanted to see where your country landmass wise ended, then travelling to the far northwest was the way to go.

Murmansk, an estuarine inlet of the Bering Sea that bordered on both Finland and Norway was such a place. It had been the last established city during the last years of the Russian Empire. That was at least what the locals told him upon his arrival a couple of days ago. He himself did know it was a port town of strategical importance. What mattered to him the most, however, was the current mission he had been assigned to.

There was another man standing a couple steps ahead of him. Up until now, he had been focussing on the documents held together by a clipboard in his hand. "I hope, you know what you're doing by sending that German to the other port." The stout elderly man commented, giving Ivan a stern look.

"He's just a witness that we're really shipping out 'goods for the new military base in Chukotka'."

Anatoly Gribkov (3) knew this, being in charge of the first stage of the operation. Ivan still felt the need to explain. "First Secretary Nikita Sergeevich asked him to attend. Beilschmidt does not know what is really being shipped."

"Better this way. Even if the GDR belongs to us. They can't be trusted. None of them." The man made his standpoint clear what he thought of the German personification.

Ivan gave a wordless nod, not seeing the need to say anything else and watched the huge containers being loaded. Military ships like these were being prepared in several specially designated ports in different part of the Soviet Union. A total of 70 ships had sail out on a long journey with a thight schedual. They may leave from different places, but were all united by one sole destination. The freedom island: Cuba. The huge landmass of the Soviet Union allowed such a huge undertaking to operate day and night. While the GDR was witnessing the innocent looking day time loading of provisions, the Soviet Union embodiment saw at night what was really being loaded into the fast underbelly of the ships. Two cranes were being deployed to lift several large oval shapes object. This process had to be observed and assisted by several teams to place each cylinder as precise as possible. The ship was destined for a long journey across the Atlantic, which was known to be rowdy. It had to be spread evenly to reduce the danger of capsizing. On top of that the cargo itself would share close quarters with a crew of up to 500 men.

"Comrade Braginsky." One of the military dockworkers approached the two men standing at the pier. "Gilbert Beilschmidt is requesting for you from Kronstadt."

"I'll take the call." Ivan nods to the soldier and told Gribkov he would be back soon. The loading operation was going to be successful even without the German's update, but one of Khrushchev's orders consisted of reporting over the phone about the cargo destined for the port town Anadyr.

Ivan took the horn, announcing himself with his last name. "Braginsky." There was no immediate reply, but a moment of silence and then followed by a 'I'm freezing my ass off here.' Gilbert mumbled into the phone, which was being squeezed in between a metal cup of hot steaming liquid and his face.

"It's not that cold. It's almost spring."

"Spring…ja*, easy for you to say with General Winter hanging around you."

"You don't have to stay outside, you know."

"Promised I would and it's just boxes full of winter clothes and supplies. I don't get why such trivial cargo has to be overseen."

"The Chukotka region is an important strategical area and Khrushchev asked to have you or me to oversee the shipment. See it this way, it's a good opportunity to get out of Moscow." Ivan says, while watching a large crane lift long cylindrical objects made out of metal with no markings get loading under deck.

"You really do like to take on odd jobs." Gilbert grinned before hiding away in his scarf again. The tea with a little something had helped a bit, but its effect was only temporary. His fingertips were starting to become little popsicles again. Dealing with the cold was really not something for Western Europeans.

"Go inside." Ivan ordered with a gentler tone.

"Ja*, I guess…but later." The German had to agree grudgingly and ended the call with a 'see you soon' before looking at the large ship again with the name 'Poltava' (4). The dockworkers had completed loading huge card-boarded containers.

Ivan stood for a moment longer looking at the phone as if waiting for another call. Informing the First Secretary about the progress had to be done only in person. Aside from Ivan, three other people were involved in the planning of the operation named after the river in the far East. Anadyr. GDR was being kept at arm's length in this operation. No matter how much Ivan may like the German, as a superpower he would share some of the information, once everything had been completed. Would Gilbert be hurt and offended by the lack of trust? Certainly. But the GDR would understand. Placed in Russia's position, he might do the same. There were spies everywhere and the US always kept an extra watchful eyes on the doings of the USSR. It was no secret they installed a listening station in West Berlin on the so-called Teufelsberg (5) to monitor radio and microwave signals from Soviets, GDR and other Warsaw Pact nations. The Soviet Union military did the same with the Americans of course.

He let out a sigh not liking the whole situation, but not doing anything and letting the Americans corner him with missiles would make it even worse. His leaders did what had to be done to ensure survival and he supported them.

A cold wind had picked up while he had been inside the building. While not being so strong it still managed to penetrate through his thick woollen coat. Wrapping the white scarf tighter around his neck, he returned to the peer determined to watch the loading process until its completion. "How much time left until the loading's done?" Ivan inquired, standing next to Anatoly again.

"Just 2 hours left. We're on schedule." He turned his attention to the embodiment. "You don't have to stand here and watch the whole process, you know."

"No, I have to be here to witness this." This will change the world, he thought, knowing that this was Khrushchev's dangerous gamble, but they needed to keep the status quo. If possible, even gain an advantage and outsmart the other party by diplomatic and military deception instead of openly fighting fire with fire.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Thanks for reading and leaving comments!

Additional Notes:

(1) Эй, ухнем! Эй, ухнем! Ещё разик, ещё да раз!

A famous Russian traditional song sung by men who hauled barges and other vessels upstreat the river Volga from the 17th to 20th centuries during the Russian Empire.

(2) Valenki (валенки): These are winter boots made out of woll felt. They are often worn with galoshes to protect them from water.

(3) Anatoly Gribkov: Anatoly Ivanovich Gribkov (1919 – 2008) was working in the Soviet Army High Command during the Cold War period. Before the so-called Cuba Crisis began, he was one of the 4 people who knew about operation 'Anadyr' and actively coordinated the biggest military endeavour of that time. What exactly was placed in Cuba will be revealed in future chapters.

(4) Poltava (Полтава) was one of the Soviet ships that was enroute to Cuba in 1962 to deliver military equipment for the missiles installations.

(5) Teufelsberg or Devil's Mountain in English is located in former West Berlin. It is a man-made hill out of rubble on which the Field Station Berlin was built to be used by the US as listening station during the Cold War. Right now, it is slowly falling apart, but tourist tours can still be arranged.

Translations:

* Nyet (нет): No

* die Amis: Germanm colloquial for Americans

* Da (да): Yes

* Ja: German for yes