Andrei was, by his own admission, is a military blind.
He could not tell the difference between a T-72 and a T-80 tank, and when looking at an AK-47 and an AK-74, he honestly believed they were basically the same weapon.
Perhaps his understanding of weapons was finally reduced to three things, nuclear bombs, atomic bombs, and hydrogen bombs.
But with his intuition, he also felt that the Soviet Union must have something wrong with his head.
Why were f40,000 tanks deployed along the Western European front? Why did the armed forces number more than 4.3 million men? You produced guns in such obscene quantities, parked it on someone else's doorstep, and then calmly announced to the world that you had come in peace.
Whether others believed it or not, officially, no one will deny it.
A fan of Hearts of Iron might look at such numbers with excitement., but as the head of this crumbling empire, Andrei is quite painful.
Even if it disintegrated in 1991, the Soviet Union's military budget still stood at 67.3 billion U.S. dollars. The economy, already exhausted, could no longer sustain this burden. The massive military-industrial system was decaying, yet it refused to shrink. Entire departments existed simply because they always had.
The nature of warfare itself had changed. The future belonged to information, precision, and technology—not endless waves of steel. The Gulf War that ended earlier that year had made this painfully clear. Still, conservative factions within the Soviet leadership clung to outdated doctrines, occupying key positions and blocking reform.
At the height of the Cold War, Soviet GDP had reached only about forty percent of that of the United States. By 1991, the gap had become humiliating. The U.S. economy stood at 6.17 trillion dollars, while the Soviet Union struggled at just over 757 billion.
Even for the sake of strategic balance, this level of conventional buildup was absurd.
Didn't the so-called evil empire understand that great powers no longer spoke through tanks, but through nuclear deterrence?
How much of a coward are you?
Doesn't the evil empire know that the big powers now rely on nuclear bombs to speak?
If the Beacon of Freedom really dared to invade the mainland of the evil empire, then Andrei would definitely dare to shoot out all the nuclear bombs and plant mushrooms all over the world.
The reason is simple, Andrei doesn't care about the world hegemony .
But if he can't rule the Soviet empire, then there is no need for the earth to exist. That's called hooliganism, and it's an extremely wrong, despicable idea.
Still, Andrei preferred not to reach that point.
If the Soviet Union already possessed such an enormous arsenal, then at the very least it should be used to generate foreign currency and relieve the people's suffering. With that in mind, he turned to Yanayev.
"There is another matter concerning the future of the Soviet Union," Yanayev said calmly. "It concerns you directly, so you should be prepared."
He pulled a document from his coat and placed it on the cabinet table.
Pugo flipped through the pages. When he saw the title on the first page, his expression froze.
"A large-scale disarmament plan?" he asked, stunned. "My God… are you serious?"
"Completely," Yanayev replied. "This is a classified initiative known as The Great Red Soviet Sell. What you are holding is second only in secrecy to the nuclear launch codes."
Andrei nodded, the strategic thinking of the Soviet military had to change.
Once nuclear weapons existed, total war between major powers became impossible. A state that continued to prepare for doomsday battles would only trap itself in stagnation.
Obsolete weapons had to be scrapped or sold. Bloated forces had to be reduced. The ultimate goal was not more tanks, but a smaller, modern, high-technology army capable of surviving the next century.
"The disbanded units will leave behind enormous quantities of equipment," Andrei said calmly. "Armored vehicles, tanks, helicopter perfectly usable weapons. It would be irresponsible not to sell them."
Pugo hesitated. "To… whom?"
"To anyone who can pay," Andrei replied without hesitation. "Third World allies, Middle Eastern oil magnates, African warlords it makes no difference. Religion, ideology, loyalty none of that matter in front of money."
He leaned back slightly.
What the Soviet Union lacked most was money.
What it had in excess was weapons.
There was no war worth fighting, and maintaining vast stockpiles was draining the economy. Streamlining the force and shifting toward advanced, high-technology warfare was unavoidable. The surplus obsolete but still lethal could be exported to smaller, poorer states that would pay dearly for it.
Iran, too, was an ideal customer. Permanently at odds with the Arab world, eager for leverage, and useful in unsettling the region.
"And didn't Saddam boast that Iraq was the fourth strongest military power on earth? Look how that turned out. The Gulf War shattered his army, and he hasn't had time to rebuild. Inform him that Cuba and we are willing to supply what he needs, provided he can afford it. The biological weapons facility on Pozluz Island is nearly empty anyway."
"Are you really going to deviate from our ideological commitments against imperialism?" Pugo's spoke clearly still the unofficial head of moderates, wanted to preserve the establishment interest. "Are you trying to prop up Saddam to counterbalance the Arab states?"
Andrei shook his head.
"No. I want chaos." He spoke evenly, "We sell weapons and destabilize the situation. The demobilized soldiers will be reorganized into a multinational private military corporation something similar to the South African 'strategic cooperation' firms. They won't be Soviet troops. Officially, they won't even exist."
He paused, clearly remembering certain egghead cook, he continued.
"First, we sell arms to ignite conflicts. Regime collapses, border wars, internal revolts whatever happens, happens. Then our contractors move in to 'restore stability.' Naturally, they won't work for free. Governments short on cash can pledge mineral rights, oil fields, or infrastructure as collateral."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"Destruction and reconstruction, both handled by us. In the end, the money still flows back to the same place."
He didn't bother imagining the expressions of foreign leaders who would one day realize who had orchestrated their ruin. That knowledge would come far too late to matter.
This was Andrei's real military plan.
He had never intended to turn the official Soviet Army into a commercial enterprise. The goal was simpler: absorb the shock of demobilization, keep restless veterans employed, and quietly create a new stream of revenue beyond the public budget.
Destabilize the Middle East. Drive crude prices upward. Sink Africa deeper into chaos if necessary.
If the world insisted on calling the Soviet Union a red evil empire, then Andrei saw no reason not to embrace the role.
Every regime supported by Washington would be undermined with a shipment of Ak-47.
Let the Yankees choke on headaches.
The red polar bear was open for business!