1979, Manager Kim is Inheriting Dictatorship! - Chapter 161



Only Krnovel

Episode 161

Since the establishment of the AEU, most Asian countries have been moving in directions quite different from their original history, but Russia in particular has been moving in directions quite different from its original history.

In the original history, Putin was in power for as long as I am now, but in this history, Putin ended up stepping down a few years ago due to low approval ratings, and another man took the presidency.

It was not like Putin had just stepped down from his position and retained power, as before; he had literally lost both his position and his power.

Rather, the fact that the current Russian president recently threatened to investigate Putin shows just how far Putin has fallen.

Of course, it may be a bit disappointing since Korea has put a lot of effort into working with Putin, but it was something that couldn’t be helped.

By the time Putin stepped down, his approval ratings were hovering between double and single digits.

Even if we had done the work in advance and were using him as a puppet, we couldn’t help it if we didn’t receive that level of support from our own people.

But the funny thing was, it was the new Russian President Nikolai.

At first, as soon as he took office, this person displayed an attitude that could be said to be submissive to Korea.

* * *

September 2002.

At a time when the excitement of winning the World Cup had not yet died down, I arrived in Moscow for a summit meeting with Russia.

As soon as the Russian President landed at the Moscow airport, he ran towards me, shook my hand and welcomed me.

“President Kim Jong-guk! I have always respected you! It is such an honor to meet you like this.”

From the first time I met him, his attitude was so friendly to Korea.

“It is an honor to meet you, President Nikolai.”

I greeted him, lightly holding his hand.

He was the first Russian president since Putin.

The impression was milder than expected.

He was always full of praise for Korea, and it was as if this man’s moving tongue was reminiscent of our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoo Sung-guk.

‘Did you all grease your tongues? That’s amazing.’

“Wow! This is really amazing. How can Korean people be so honest and smart? I’ve visited many Asian countries before, but Korea is really on a different level. I really think it’s not for nothing that it’s the world’s number one country!”

“Hahaha. Thank you, President Nikolai. I don’t know how to react to all the compliments. Thank you.”

And he had good reasons for doing so.

He suddenly calms down a bit and asks me.

“By the way, President Kim Jong-guk. Can I ask you something?”

“Oh, yes. Feel free to ask.”

“By any chance, did you get to see anything from the airport to the Kremlin on your way here?”

‘I saw it, right… ‘

I hesitated for a moment.

Because no answer came to mind right away about how to respond.

I added some extra details and told him.

“It was as if the past and present coexisted, as if they had not lost their history. And everyone showed their will to live diligently.”

To be honest, it was a total mess.

Russia’s economy has become even more of a mess since Putin came to power.

If things had gone as planned, the Russian economy should have recovered somewhat under Putin’s leadership, based on natural gas, but this time around, things were a bit different.

First of all, because Korea produced too much natural gas of better quality than expected, Russian natural gas was not sold at a proper price.

Moreover, the emergence of Korea as a new power in Asia was a great burden to Russia.

In addition, unlike previous history, Russia could not have a bad relationship with Korea.

The reason is that Putin had numerous weaknesses since before he came to power, as he had received various bribes from Korea.

And this weakness eventually led to Russia knowingly or unknowingly looking to Korea when implementing various economic policies, which ultimately pushed the Russian economy into the abyss once again.

As a result, Putin could not pursue bold economic policies or take a strong stance against neighboring countries as he had done before, which inevitably led to the end of the Putin regime.

And as a result, the Russian economy has remained in a state of chaos that is not much different from the mess it was in after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

‘Just a little while ago, I saw countless drunk homeless people on the street.’

They must have done some cleanup work around the area in anticipation of the arrival of the Korean president, but the fact that the result was like this shows just how messed up the current state of Russia is.

“As expected, President Kim Jong-guk is a good person. You don’t have to beat around the bush. In fact, the current Russian economy is really in a state of uncertainty. There are even fearful predictions that GDP per capita may fall below $1,000 next year.”

“… … .”

He shows me inside the Kremlin and tells me:

“They said they were repairing it urgently because President Kim Jong-guk was coming, but if you look at it, it looks like this.”

He goes to his usual desk, opens a drawer, applies a little force, and the drawer falls to the floor.

“… Are you so out of money that you don’t even have enough money to repair the Kremlin?”

I asked him in a serious voice.

President Nikolai sighs.

“That’s right. Right now, Russia’s economy is in shambles to the point where it’s on the verge of bankruptcy. So, President Kim Jong-guk, I have one favor to ask of you.”

“What is it? Tell me. Our Korea also says that we helped Russia in the past, but we have a history of buying the land where your ancestors lived. If there is anything I can help you with, I will help you.”

Nikolai comes back to the sofa, sits down, and starts talking to me.

“Why don’t you let Russia join the AEU?”

“Do you want to join the AEU?”

“Yes. There is no answer in Russia today. The value of the ruble is falling every day. Someone joked that people use rubles to clean up after themselves in the toilet.”

It was a funny joke, but it was actually a common occurrence in countries where the value of their currencies had fallen into the abyss.

In countries where the value of their currencies has fallen, it has been common to use currency instead of toilet paper or wallpaper.

And this is no different in present-day Russia.

President Nikolai, according to our intelligence agencies, was not a very incompetent man.

He was a man who had patriotism, a vision of his own, and the determination and ability to execute it.

But the current economic situation in Russia is so messy that it would be difficult for anyone to rescue it.

Some have gone so far as to say that Russia’s current economic situation is worse than that immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

He talks while drinking coffee on the table in front of him.

“Russia’s biggest problem at present is that it is not properly connected to either European or Asian countries and is not organically engaging in proper economic exchanges.”

I was watching it properly.

Russia today is an ambiguous entity, neither European nor Asian.

Since the establishment of the AEU, Asian countries have grown into a single economic community and have grown in size.

And the EU also increased its economic scale by becoming more and more like a single country to counter this AEU.

However, this appearance created two victim countries.

It was Russia and India.

Both Russia and India went their separate ways without joining any economic community.

But the results were disastrous.

Originally, both countries should have recorded high economic growth rates in history, but both countries were blocked by Korea’s overwhelming wall, could not export properly, their trade balances were a mess, inflation occurred at an inexorable level every year, and their economies gradually fell into the abyss.

That is why they have been knocking on the AEU’s door continuously in recent times.

“Do you want to join the AEU economic community?”

I asked him calmly.

“Yes. The current Russia has no answer unless it joins the AEU. At least it should use the AEU won, which can be used stably as a currency.”

His expression looked really desperate.

“Have you ever thought about economic integration with the EU or other countries?”

In fact, it could be said that Russia is closer to the EU, geographically, since Moscow is the center of most of the economy.

But things seemed different.

President Nikolai strongly denies this.

“We have already made several requests to the EU, but they say they cannot accept Russia as a member of the EU. It seems that the former Soviet Union has a big influence.”

Although democracy has been fully established in Russia since Putin, it still seems to be a great burden for the EU to have Russia, which could be seen as an enemy in the past, join the economic community.

‘What should I do?’

It is clear that accepting Russia would not be a problem that would cause Korea great harm.

Rather, it will help the economy in many ways as it will allow for more organic trading of Russia’s many underground resources.

But the question was whether Russia could really come in and not try to be the leader again, as was its old habit.

“… President Nikolai, if you want to join the AEU, there is one condition.”

“We will do whatever Russia can afford.”

I told him exactly what Korea wanted.

“South Korea wants Russia to give up its current nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.”

He thinks for a moment, then tells me.

“…You don’t want Russia, a military power, to join the AEU.”

I nodded silently.

Russia was fine, but if it had nuclear weapons and missiles, it was a no-no.

There was no reason for Korea to welcome more countries that could be influenced by it into the AEU.

“I don’t think it’s a bad suggestion. However, if Russia gives up all of its nuclear weapons, we will definitely expand economic exchanges and support with Russia.”

“Choose between the economy and the military, that’s it.”

I spoke to him about my concerns.

“Is there really any reason to worry? People are starving. Men are becoming alcoholics, and women are increasingly being thrown out onto the streets. In this current situation in Russia, what does it mean to have nuclear weapons or missiles? Wouldn’t it be an opportunity to reduce the amount of money spent on maintaining and repairing them?”

After thinking silently for over 30 minutes, he gets up from his seat.

Then he asks me to shake his hand.

“Understood, President Kim Jong-guk. From this moment on, we, Russia, will renounce Russia as a military power.”

What he ultimately chose was the economy.

As a leader, I could not just stand by and watch my people continue to starve to death.

I shook his hand and said,

“You have made a good decision. This choice will ultimately lead Russia in a good direction!”