“Roskin, are you still there?” asked Melekov.
“Yes, I was just thinking,” replied Roskin. Then he continued. “How do you propose to present all this at the meeting?”
Melekov answered: “The key is that the world must witness the annihilation of the dollar. Not an orderly retreat, not a negotiated adjustment, but a total route. This must be seen as the inevitable result of the policy of American dollar imperialism—the revolt of its captives all around the world. The next step must be to propose a replacement immediately, a non-imperialistic instrument of commerce. Yet one which can gain immediate international trust. My proposal is a gold-based ruble. As simple as that. Initially, we will have to control its use down to the last gold kopeck. Expand the ruble area slowly, so that we don’t run into the same kinds of problems that first the British with their sterling zone, and then the French with the franc zone, and finally the Americans with their global dollar inevitably faced. We don’t want to be the bankers for the world, Roskin. Only for a good part of it. But we cannot fail. As surely as the dollar replaced sterling in country after country in the world after World War II, the gold ruble can start displacing the dollar. There’s an old saying about a banker’s biggest capital being the trust people put in him. The United States was, until this week, the supreme banker of the world. This can now be changed.”
Roskin listened most carefully to all this. And he again could not help but agree. He said, “Tell me, Melekov, do you propose to put these ideas on the table right at the outset of the meeting this morning?”
Melekov replied, “Of course. When you say a, you must also say b. We must now attack. With all the economic weapons at our disposal. And for all the world to witness!”
“Stepanov and his friends in the Central Committee might not buy it, you know.”
“We’ll see. Roskin, I’ve got to clean up just a few things here. See you in about fifteen minutes.”
Melekov carefully gathered his documentation in preparation for the meeting and, after packing his briefcase, leaned back to finish his cup of coffee. After telling his secretary to expect him back around noon, he descended the stairs.
The porter at the exit indicated that a car was waiting for him. Melekov had not ordered one but stepped in anyway. It was too late to search for a taxi.
The National Bank of the Soviet Union was housed in a much more impressive structure than its sister institution. After all, this was the home of the ruble. Marble stairways. And even an elevator. Melekov did not bother to announce himself to the inevitable crew of watchdogs at the entrance. They knew him. He took the elevator to the third floor and strode down the corridor to the very large conference room at the end. He had expected many of the executives from both of the banks to be there but found that the only man awaiting him was his friend Roskin.
“Am I too early or something?” he immediately asked.
“No,” replied Roskin. “It’s scheduled for nine. Maybe I should take a look where everybody’s hiding.”
But as he entered the corridor, it was only to see a group of men heading in his direction.
“Here they come.”
To be more exact, three men entered the conference room. Ivan Litnovich, the man who had moved into the Central Committee only a few years ago and who had almost immediately pulled all the strings of the Soviet financial world right into his own lap. If the Soviet Union had ever had a financial czar, it was Litnovich. He was followed by Slavic, one of the oldest hacks on the committee. He had survived three leadership changes in the Kremlin and was known for his cunning and primitiveness. And finally, Melekov’s boss—Stepanov, a Soviet functionary of the standard type. All three really had only one thing in common, thought Melekov fleetingly as they entered the room: All were Georgians.
Litnovich immediately took the chair at the head of the table and indicated to Stepanov that he should close the door. There was a peculiar absence of the usual handshakes.
Litnovich spoke.
“Comrades, let’s get right down to the business at hand.”
Roskin immediately interrupted.
“Don’t you think we should wait for the others to arrive?”
“No,” replied the man from the Central Committee. “They have been advised to stay at their desks. For the time being, we have everybody here that is necessary.”
Roskin glanced very briefly at Melekov.
“Comrade Melekov, the chairman of the Foreign Trade Bank of the Soviet Union has informed us in the Central Committee that you have wildly embarked on a radically new program, without his knowledge and approval. That you have exceeded your competence limits in a completely unprecedented fashion and have endangered the international financial position of the Soviet Union. I expect an explanation.”
Melekov was shocked to the core. Roskin had assured him that his back had been covered. Perhaps it had been done at the very top. After all, in spite of his meteoric rise, Litnovich was still Number Four in the country at best.
“I do not really understand this accusation,” said Melekov in a strong voice, perhaps a trifle too strong. The echo in this huge almost empty room was resounding. “My job is to oversee the entire foreign exchange operations of the Foreign Trade Bank of the Soviet Union. With this authority comes enormous responsibility for the welfare of our country. I have been trying to meet this responsibility to the best of my ability—and as you will see, quite successfully.”
He reached for his briefcase and started to extract the various documentation he had so carefully prepared.
“I disagree,” interjected Litnovich harshly. “My colleague Slavic disagrees, and your chairman, Stepanov, disagrees.”
“Gentlemen,” said Melekov, “you cannot disagree with irrefutable facts. I have the facts here.” He waved the position sheets he had received less than an hour ago from the foreign exchange desk.
“We are as well informed on your facts as you are, Melekov. Thanks to Chairman Stepanov. If he had not had the acute sense of responsibility which he fortunately has, and if he had not the courage to come directly to us after he had discovered your ‘facts,’ I am afraid that the leaders of this country would have not even received a hint of what has been going on in the Foreign Trade Bank of the Soviet Union during the past few days. Have you gone absolutely mad, Melekov? Are you trying to run a gambling casino? Or are you trying to totally undermine the image of the Soviet Union, an image it has taken us fifty years to build? We are today regarded as the most reliable trade partner in the world. Why do you think that we have literally unlimited credit everywhere? Why is a contract with the Soviet Union regarded as the most eminently bankable piece of paper there is? I’ll tell you why. Because we are serious financial people. Because we always keep our word, regardless of unforeseen circumstances. Because we pay exactly on time, always. Because we do not try to hedge or cheat. Because we are a socialist country and not a pack of speculative capitalistic wolves. That’s why.”