Dmitry took his new responsibility seriously, especially after the Americans had nearly killed Petrov in the first couple days of the war with the attack on the National Defense Building. Dmitry had cycled his twelve companies through intense close-quarter combat training, urban warfare training and small-unit tactics, training with one of the Spetsnaz schools outside Moscow. His regiment was also equipped with the best weapons, body armor, and other equipment he felt they might need. On numerous occasions, President Petrov had commended him personally on how professional and fearsome his regiment now looked. Dmitry valued that praise, and he made sure his soldiers knew the President himself was proud of each of them. The esprit de corps within his regiment was high, and so was their loyalty to him personally.
Dmitry briefly eyed Oleg, as if he were not fully sure if he could truly trust him. He looked as though he were carrying a tremendous burden on his shoulders. He sighed, gulped down the contents of his tumbler, and whispered, “I received some disturbing news from my father yesterday. As you know, his army group has fallen back to just outside Kursk. They’re preparing for another major battle with the Allies, but he isn’t confident they are going to be able to stop them,” he said in a hushed tone.
Oleg smiled. “I’ve been in enough meetings to know our army can no longer stop the Allies from invading our country, Dmitry,” he said, almost relieved. “I’m also not hopeful about Minister Kozlov securing a peace deal that wouldn’t humiliate our nation in the process. It’s not a matter of if we’ll be defeated so much as when at this point.”
Dmitry shook his head. “No, it’s more than that, Oleg,” he insisted. “My father told me he had been issued an ‘eyes only’ order directly from Egorkin and the President to ready a series of tactical nuclear weapons to be used when the Americans attack.”
Oleg felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He’d heard Minister Semenov implore the President not to use such weapons against the Allies. The man’s logic and arguments were clear; the use of such weapons wouldn’t save Russia. It wouldn’t end the war on more favorable terms — if anything, it would result in an overwhelming retaliatory strike by the Americans, and that counterstrike would necessitate yet another round of counterstrikes, each larger than the previous one until Russia and the rest of the world were obliterated.
“Dmitry, your father can’t allow that to happen!” Oleg insisted. “If he uses nuclear weapons on the Americans, they will destroy us all. The President must have been mistaken in issuing those orders.” A bit of fear was evident in his voice.
“You know my father, Oleg. He’s a soldier, not a politician. He will do as he’s told. If Petrov orders him to use tactical nuclear weapons, he’ll use them in a manner that will best serve his army. I’m sure he’ll only use enough of these weapons to accomplish his stated goal without going overboard,” Dmitry countered. He seemed almost bewildered by Oleg’s response.
Oleg sat there for a moment, absorbing what his son-in-law had just told him. He knew Dmitry’s father to be one of the most competent military leaders in Russia. It was only through his father’s tactical skill that the Allies had not already marched on Moscow. To hear that he was willing to use nuclear weapons if so ordered shocked him.
“I need another drink,” Oleg announced. He stood and walked over to the wet bar in his office. Rather than pouring himself another glass, he grabbed the bottle and walked over to Dmitry, pouring him another tumbler and refilling his own, then placing the bottle between them.
Oleg sighed deeply. “How much do I tell him?” he wondered. He pondered what Dmitry would say when he learned the truth, and whether or not he would be turned in or arrested and shot.
“Dmitry, what do you believe will happen to Russia if your father follows Petrov’s order and uses nuclear weapons against the Americans?” Oleg finally asked, taking a calculated risk.
Dmitry shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Oleg understood the struggle his son-in-law must be experiencing. Even if he wanted to be honest, it would go against everything he had been taught as an officer. Softly, he asserted, “Whatever you say to me now will stay between us. I won’t turn you in or have you arrested. You are my son-in-law, father to my grandchildren. This is a frank and honest conversation you and I need to have, and we need to have it without fear that either of us will report the other for his opinions. Is that understood?” A brief awkward moment passed as he waited to see how Dmitry would respond.
Finally, his son-in-law nodded. “If my father uses nuclear weapons, I’m confident the Americans will hit us back, and probably much harder than we hit them,” he admitted. “That attack will cause an even larger response, and then the Americans will probably obliterate the rest of our country. I believe a nuclear attack on the Americans now will lead to the complete destruction of our country.” He looked like heavy stones had just been lifted off his shoulders.
Oleg smiled. “That is right, Son. I was in the room when Minister Semenov pleaded with Petrov not to use these weapons. The Chief of the Air Force also made the case for us not to use them as well. That was two days ago. What has changed that calculus?” He paused for a second. “We can’t win this war using nuclear weapons, nor can we win by keeping the war conventional. Right now, the best we can hope for Russia is an end to this war that doesn’t result in the complete destruction of our country.”
“And how do we achieve that? If the President has made his mind up, then there is no changing it. We are soldiers, we must accept our fate,” blurted out Dmitry angrily.
“No, we don’t have to accept that fate,” Oleg insisted. “If the President is going down a path that will not only destroy our country but the rest of the world, then we as officers, sworn to the protection of our country, must stop him.” He paused, calculating whether or not to say his next sentence. “We must remove him from power,” he finally said.
Dmitry’s jaw dropped, and his facial expression registered a mix of shock and horror. He struggled to say something in response, but all that came out was a garbled muttering.
Leaning forward in his chair, Oleg looked Dmitry squarely in the eyes. “I’m about to tell you something — something so secret, only a few senior officers know. With what you just told me about your father, I don’t see any other course of action. We have to move now before it’s too late. Do you want to save your country? Will you save your children from the holocaust that is about to be unleashed on the world?”
Dmitry inched away from Oleg for a second, apparently attempting to wrap his mind around what had just been said. A moment later, he leaned back forward and looked at Oleg. “What do you have in mind?” he asked cautiously.
Oleg smiled as he looked at his son-in-law with new respect. “You’ve heard of Alexei Kasyanov?”
“Yes, I’ve heard of him. No one is allowed to listen to him on the radio or the internet, but from the small pieces I’ve heard, he seems to have his facts straight on what’s going on in the war. The state media is continually putting out counterinformation to what he is saying, but most of my officers don’t believe the state news anymore. I’m finding more and more of my men tuning in to what he has to say.”
Oleg nodded. “A handful of us have been in contact with him,” he admitted. “We’ve been trying to figure out when would be the most opportune moment to remove Petrov, but with what your father just told you, it seems we don’t have much time to act. When did your father say he might be ordered to use the weapons?”
Dmitry seemed to go into a sort of trance as he processed all of the information that was being shared. Oleg snapped his fingers to break him from his sea of swirling thoughts. “Hey, I know you may have a lot of questions about Alexei, but right now we don’t have a lot of time. I need to know what your father told you.”