African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 1311: Chapter 320: Beliazovka Gang

At the end of 1917, the East Africa National Defense Security Bureau began extensive activities across Russia. As a world great power, East Africa naturally has considerable arrangements within Russia.

The main tasks for this round of the National Defense Security Bureau involve two aspects: one is to assist Russian scientists, nobles, and wealthy individuals intending to develop in East Africa to withdraw from Russia, while monitoring various flows of resources within Russia... The second is to successfully extricate themselves from Russia after the mission is completed.

Taking advantage of Russia’s current turbulent situation, East Africa can effortlessly snatch up opportunities and get rich, and in special circumstances, agents can even disguise themselves as ”White Bandits” within Russia to engage directly in banditry.

As early as the beginning of this century, the East Africa National Defense Security Bureau had already focused on the comprehensive collection of relevant Russian data. It can be said that core technologies, scientists’ residences, bank vault locations in Russia, and a large amount of other data are extensively covered.

Kazan.

Located on the banks of the Volga River, Kazan has always been one of the most important cities in Russia, with a construction history even older by more than a hundred years than Moscow, and sometimes even referred to as Russia’s third capital.

Although the western front of Russia is devastated by war, even the capital city, Saint Petersburg, faces the threat of war. However, Kazan, deep in the heart of Russia, is completely unaffected.

As early as the 18th century, Kazan’s industry had already begun its initial development, and by the 20th century, Kazan had become one of the most important industrial cities in Russia.

From 1916, a ”bandit” armed force suddenly emerged around the Kazan City area, rapidly annexing other bandit forces around Kazan, becoming the sole non-official Russian armed force around Kazan.

The quiet emergence of this illegal armed force did not arouse suspicion from anyone, as Russia is a country with quite poor security. The vastness of the territory and poor traffic conditions naturally provide space for bandits to exist.

In fact, apart from imperialist countries with comparatively small areas and strong government management capabilities like the UK, France, and Germany, countries with vast territories like Russia and the United States will also face bandit problems to varying extents.

East Africa is of course an exception, given the long-term planned economy, the state machinery of East Africa has developed to an astonishing degree, coupled with its national system, there are few willing to take risks, let alone organize a bandit gang of any scale, which simply doesn’t exist in East Africa.

Nowadays, about thirty kilometers from the suburbs of Kazan City in Russia, an army is gathering with a number of more than ten thousand people.

”General Beliazovka! Can we really attack Kazan with just the forces we have?” A bandit chief named Chubalov, riding a horse, asked with concern.

Beliazovka is indeed the latest prominent bandit leader emerging near Kazan City, of course, according to Chubalov’s words, he claims the title of general.

The man named Beliazovka gazed at Chubalov with piercing eyes without speaking, but just that gaze made Chubalov shiver from head to toe.

This made Chubalov recall the scene when he first met Beliazovka’s people. Beliazovka’s origins are unknown.

However, bandits around Kazan speculate they might be a defeated army from the Russian front; although numbering only a few hundred, they are decisive and have excellent weapons, ruling the bandit forces around Kazan within less than a year.

”Since I have made the decision, naturally I have everything firmly grasped. If you have objections, you can withdraw,” Beliazovka said indifferently.

When Chubalov heard Beliazovka’s words, he internally muttered, ”Withdraw? I fear if I agree right away, I’ll end up shot from behind later!”

Of course, Chubalov certainly wouldn’t dare say these words in front of Beliazovka, let alone with others, he wouldn’t dare utter a word.

Beliazovka has fortified the entire bandit group solidly, no one knows if there are spies around them for Beliazovka.

Thinking about this, Chubalov can’t help but admire Beliazovka’s methods. As one of the forces forcibly integrated by Beliazovka, bandits around Kazan obviously couldn’t behave honestly, but those who had thoughts have all gone to hell.

Chubalov fawningly addressed the murderous figure in front of him, ”General, I mean no harm, it’s just that we have had dealings with Kazan’s defense army before.”

”They are a regular army; characters like us with bandit origins are no match for them. At intervals, the local garrison in Kazan carries out attacks on us.”

”Only after the outbreak of war, to aid the front lines, they had no other choice but to give us a break. But even now, most of the Kazan garrison’s main forces have been redeployed, yet they are not a force we can provoke.”

One could say the bandits around Kazan are in a bad period, finally getting rid of Kazan’s elites, but unexpectedly another fierce figure, Beliazovka, arose from who knows where.

Over the last year or so, the bandits around Kazan nearly all have been beaten by Beliazovka’s people, especially several of the largest gangs, where Beliazovka would rather cut down at least half the people.

Chubalov was originally one of the minor bandit leaders around Kazan, with only twenty to thirty underlings, and before Beliazovka arrived, they merely harassed Russian civilians.

Once Beliazovka arrived, he conquered the area’s biggest bandit group first, thereafter using it as a basis to clear out the entire bandit forces around Kazan.

Being in the same trade, the bandits around Kazan naturally maintained connections; when one falls, inevitably bringing the next one into trouble.

As for Chubalov’s bandit faction originally, it was reported to Beliazovka by bandits from the neighboring village.

As for why Beliazovka is so powerful, it certainly comes from having money, guns, and men, although initially about 400 to 500 of Beliazovka’s followers arrived in Kazan.

Yet those few hundred are uniformly equipped with Mosin Nagant rifles, even possessing machine guns and small-caliber artillery, abundantly supplied with weaponry and ammo. Apart from local Russian garrison forces, no other power around Kazan can be their opponent.

This is why Chubalov and other Kazan bandits suspect Beliazovka has Russian military background.

Beliazovka arrogantly said, ”Hmph, now with guns and cannons in hand, how can those City Defense Army louts in Kazan possibly be our match.”

”And you’ve overestimated their combat capabilities. Kazan’s original elites have been redeployed westward; now around Kazan, only we, Kazan Army, have the strongest force.”

Chubalov stammeringly responded, ”But the problem is, even if we attack Kazan, we will meet governmental suppression, right? They can deploy forces from other regions to encircle us.”

To Chubalov, Beliazovka’s actions are simply seeking death; the government doesn’t bother to eliminate them not because they couldn’t, but because they don’t want the hassle. This doesn’t mean the government lacks the capability to wipe them out; no one can defy the state machinery.

While attacking Kazan seems like taking a single city, it’s tantamount to declaring war on the Russian government, and the Russian government has millions of troops under its command.

Beliazovka said blandly, ”What’s there to worry about? The Russian order has already collapsed. Petersburg is occupied by a rebellious group; the Russian government is finished. Furthermore, they have to face threats from the Allies. Kazan is too far from Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and even if the new government reacts, we’ll be well-established by then.”

Beliazovka’s shocking revelations left Chubalov dumbfounded, not daring to believe whether Beliazovka spoke truthfully.

This is quite comprehensible, since the order in Kazan and other Russian eastern regions is still maintained, with government personnel being the original staff from the Tsar era.

Thus, the Kazan government naturally tries its best to cover up the news of the Labor Party seizing power in regions like Saint Petersburg, while they themselves remain undecided, many even unsure about the Labor Party’s regime’s stance towards them.

In their anticipation, the best-case scenario would be akin to the previous Russian domestic coup, where although the temporary government represents capitalist interests, it would similarly bestow recognition upon them as the ”pillars” of the Empire.