Chapter 362 Strict Treatment

"Up to now, the amount of all the stolen money and property we have seized is 12 billion rubles. Our evidence is sufficient to accuse more than 100 senior officials, including five secretaries of the Central Committee of the Uzbek Party, six provincial party secretaries, and three chairmen of the Council of Ministers, of corruption and bribery. Among them, property worth 300 million rubles was found in the private residence of Uzbek General Secretary Rashidov alone. We have investigated more than 3,000 officials and approximately 20,000 party members in Uzbekistan, all of whom will face charges of bribery or corruption," said Vorotnikov.

Twelve billion rubles! This is equivalent to one percent of the Soviet Union's annual GDP! This amount is already so huge that no one can imagine it!

"The funds that should have been used for socialist construction have been diverted and turned into the private money of certain people. The whole of Uzbekistan is full of complaints. The people have lost their trust in us. Moreover, in Uzbekistan, there have been incidents of serfs being kept in captivity, private guards and dungeons! Can we just laugh it off?" Andropov looked at the people in front of him and his voice became stern.

No one dared to question Andropov's words. This was no longer the time when Andropov had just taken office. Now, Andropov had firmly established his position and had control over the entire country!

"If the people have lost their trust in us, can we still ride on their heads and bully them? Such people are the scum in our team and should be sentenced to death! In the era of Comrade Stalin, such incidents did not happen!" Andropov said: "We must deal with this incident strictly! We must not only investigate the officials in Uzbekistan, even if we investigate Moscow and everyone here, I will never condone it!"

"General Secretary Andropov, we have actually found a person who has been accepting a large amount of money and property from Uzbekistan in recent years," said Vorotnikov.

Churbanov's face turned pale immediately.

"Who is this man?" Andropov asked.

"Comrade Churbanov, he has accepted at least 30 million rubles in bribes over the years," said Vorotnikov.

"Vorotnikov, you are talking nonsense. I am the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and the most trusted official of Comrade Leonid. I would never do such a thing!" Churbanov shouted.

"We only believe in evidence!" Andropov said, "Immediately place Comrade Churbanov under quarantine!"

Seeing Churbanov being taken away, everyone present looked unhappy. They all knew that Andropov was serious now! Thinking of the Great Purge during the Stalin era in history, everyone shuddered.

"Our country has gone in the wrong direction over the past decade or so. We have regarded ourselves as a privileged class and have become disconnected from the people. This has led to people's dissatisfaction with our government and our party. This unhealthy trend must be stopped! We will never condone it, and we will not allow this behavior to develop for any reason that would discredit our party! We must launch a rectification campaign across the country! Our country must be reformed!" Andropov's words were so majestic that everyone below had cold sweat on their foreheads.

………

"Lianna, Lilia, guess what this is?" After returning to the military district headquarters, Andre saw the two little girls still active in their dormitories, one washing a pile of dirty clothes for him, and the other making lunch for herself on the simple natural gas stove. He couldn't help but say to the two sisters, while raising the things in his hand.

"What is it?" The two sisters stopped what they were doing and came over to surround Andre, but when they saw the red skin, the joy on their faces disappeared.

"So it's the notification letter from middle school. General Andre, are you still planning to kick us two sisters out?" Lianna's mouth turned up, almost crying.

"Yes, General Andre, do you really hate us sisters so much?" Lilia also looked unhappy.

Andre really didn't know how to deal with these two girls who had been pestering him and had experienced hardships. These days, the two girls have been coming in and out of his office, forcing him to go back to the office and sleep on the camp bed. Now, he has completed the formalities for them and can let the two girls continue to go to school, but who knows, the two girls are unwilling!

"In the Soviet Union, compulsory education is implemented for all school-age people." Andrei said, "You two sisters did not go to school at the most suitable age. Now, you must make up for this regret. Otherwise, how can you get a job in the future? Don't worry, I treat you as my sisters. When my wife Ekaterina comes, I will introduce you to her. She will definitely like you two. After you finish high school, you can go to Tashkent Medical College, and even go to Moscow to work in the future."

Andre knew that the two girls were infatuated with each other, and he had to make it clear to them that he was a family man and he treated them as his sisters.

Sure enough, when Andre said this, the two girls' eyes dimmed. Lianna said, "Okay, then we sisters will go to school. However, the school is not far from here anyway. Can we go there as a day student and come back every day?"

Come back every day? Andre was speechless. He still hadn't achieved his goal!

"No, I've already made the arrangements. You can stay at the school and come to my place every weekend. You can just treat this place as your home," said Andre.

"In that case, then okay." Lianna said, "Brother Andre, we love you."

After saying that, Lianna stood on tiptoe and kissed Andre on the left cheek. At this time, Lilia also kissed Andre on the right cheek at the same time, leaving Andre no way to hide.

Instantly, Andre blushed.

"Brother Andrei, we know you have sister Ekaterina, but we two sisters will not give up." Lilia also expressed her opinion: "In our Uzbek ethnic group, after a girl is rescued, the only way to repay the benefactor is to marry him! And now, you are the great savior of our entire Uzbek people!"

Andre felt confused. How come these two girls still didn't understand?