Chapter 380
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Attack on the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union would crumble.
Of course, it wouldn't happen overnight.
That said, all the groundwork needed to attack the Soviet economy was already in place.
Severe fiscal strain from military spending and low oil prices.
Chronic current account deficits caused by Korean consumer goods.
Weakening of the regime due to reforms.
And the foreign debt crisis triggered by the high interest rates Korea had sparked.
If America wanted to go after the Soviet economy, simply piling on in this situation would be more than enough.
'Adding a food crisis on top wouldn't hurt either.'
The Soviet Union's vast population was a burden on its economy in itself.
Feeding a population of 300 million that couldn't even feed itself wasn't as easy as it sounded.
The Reagan administration decided to push the Soviet economy over the cliff while Moscow wasn't paying attention.
"The government will prioritize purchasing grain?"
"So raise the grain prices."
The U.S. government first decided to drive up grain prices.
The stated reason was this:
"To respond to the increasing frequency of natural disasters, we've decided to increase grain reserves."
America urged its allies to stockpile grain as well.
Of course, it didn't forget to supply grain at low prices to its Anglo-Saxon allies.
Washington slowly pulled grain prices higher.
Since Moscow wasn't exporting food but importing it, the rising grain prices posed a serious threat to the Soviets.
Starting with wheat prices, which had fluctuated around $3.40 per bushel, now marching toward $4, prices for corn, soybeans, and others skyrocketed too.
"Aren't wheat and corn prices rising too much?"
The White House decided to push oil prices down even further.
"To ensure America's energy security, we'll increase the share of oil produced domestically."
To that end, America committed to subsidizing shale production in places like Texas.
As a result, oil prices faced even more downward pressure.
"Oil prices dropping below $9 a barrel?"
With U.S. demand expected to fall, oil prices hit new lows.
This trend only made Moscow crave more foreign debt.
But with Korea having jacked up interest rates as high as they could go, funds weren't easy to come by.
"Can't we get funding from Korea?"
Even Pyongyang was burdened by high interest rates and in no position to pour unlimited money into the Soviets.
"What about elsewhere?"
Same story there.
Europe and America had long since raised their own rates in lockstep with Korea's hikes.
"If we don't raise rates, all the money gets sucked into Korea—it's only natural, right?"
In this bind, the Soviets tried to break through with internal reforms.
The Shelpin regime, which had been cautiously tweaking the economy to avoid shaking the system, now switched to aggressive reforms.
'Ordinary stuff like order, principles, and a vodka-free life won't cut it.'
Against this backdrop, Shelpin pulled out an old precedent.
"We'll reinstate the New Economic Policy from Vladimir Lenin's era."
The Soviets put up that slogan, but in reality, they pivoted hard toward introducing capitalist elements.
"From now on, we recognize private and corporate economic activity across federal territory."
Through these reforms, the Soviets aimed to boost grain production and fix their chronic current account deficits.
The direction of the reforms wasn't bad, but solving the piling deficits right away was unrealistic.
In this situation, Middle Eastern countries drove oil prices even lower, ramping up the pressure on the Soviet economy.
"Why are you dropping oil prices?"
"The gas fields are complete now—we need to ramp up oil exports, don't we?"
The tricks Korea had pulled to tank oil prices in the past now grabbed the Soviets by the ankle once more.
After agonizing deliberations, the Soviet government decided to cut military spending.
After all, the Soviets were no longer in the league to compete with Korea or America.
Fortunately, Shelpin's authority, built over a decade on the throne, was enough to suppress military backlash.
As a result, massive quantities of military surplus flooded markets in the Middle East, Africa, and beyond at rock-bottom prices.
While scaling back military spending, the Soviets also cut support to their satellite states.
"You're supposed to be socialist brothers—how can you cut aid like this?"
"Even brothers have to keep the accounts straight."
The Soviets were even willing to accept a loss of influence in their sphere.
It was a change unimaginable in the Khrushchev or Brezhnev eras, but they had no choice.
If they didn't cut back to their weight class, the federation itself could shake apart.
By slashing spending like this, the Soviets cut costs wherever they could.
This obsessive austerity led to delays in nuclear power plant upgrades.
"Are we really postponing nuclear plant improvements? Korea warned us to pay attention to this."
"Ah, what can we do? We have no money."
The Shelpin regime's intense reforms paid off, at least for now.
A fiscal situation that might have gone bankrupt in five years improved enough to hold out for at least a decade.
Shelpin figured that if they could just hang on, international grain prices would fall and oil prices would rise again.
But the White House had no intention of letting that happen.
"That's what the reds think."
America planned to keep the low oil, high grain era going.
America's invisible pressure weighed heavily on the Soviet economy.
Moscow figured it needed Korea's cooperation to break out of this.
"Please lower your interest rates."
That was the only way the Soviets could breathe.
But the Bae Seong-jun regime didn't readily agree.
"Lowering rates now would bring back the bubble. It's not a decision we can make lightly."
Instead, Korea proposed investments through its sovereign wealth fund.
"Sovereign wealth fund?"
"If you open up mines and such, we'll invest."
The Soviets had sturdy walls around their primary commodity markets, but desperate for cash, they had no choice.
"What will you invest in?"
"Gold's fine, uranium, titanium—whatever."
Shelpin decided to open the primary commodity markets to Korea.
This put out the immediate fires, but the federation's crisis was far from over.
"We need to increase troops in Afghanistan? What the hell does that mean?"
The Soviet garrison in Afghanistan was demanding reinforcements.
"The mujahideen numbers have multiplied several times over."
To the Soviets' dismay, the anti-Soviet mujahideen were growing over time.
Behind this surge was, in fact, the CIA.
The CIA, having learned from Koreans, quietly ran propaganda campaigns in the Middle East to fan anti-Soviet sentiment.
"We need to show the Islamic world it's no longer powerless against white people."
America never stepped forward directly against the Soviets.
It squeezed the Soviet economy from the shadows and egged on Muslims from behind for proxy wars.
"This is low-cost, high-efficiency warfare."
Due to America's cunning maneuvers, the Soviets had to double their Afghan deployment from 40,000 to 80,000 troops.
Even with more troops, it wasn't enough to cover Afghanistan's endless mountains.
At this point, Shelpin and the Soviet Communist Party Central Committee considered cutting losses in Afghanistan.
But that wasn't an easy choice either.
If they abandoned the Afghan communist government and withdrew,
"Cut loose the communist government? Who's going to follow a leader with no 'loyalty' to show for?"
It would shatter trust among global socialist forces as a bonus.
The military's discontent was a problem too.
With the brass already fuming over spending cuts, showing 'weakness' could spark who-knows-what.
"Don't forget we have the power to stage a coup too."
For the Communist Party, maintaining the status quo was practically the only option.
Korea knew the Soviets were hurting.
'If this keeps up, the Soviets might actually collapse.'
The Soviets were in better shape than the Yuan Empire, but that didn't guarantee Moscow's survival.
Why couldn't they be sure the Soviets wouldn't survive like the centralized Yuan?
The biggest reason was nationalism.
While Russians, the federation's majority, made up less than half the population, the Han made up over 92%.
In other words, the Soviets lacked the structure for the majority to suppress the rest.
So when crisis hit the regime, the union could tear apart at any moment.
The second reason was power dispersion.
Unlike the hyper-centralized Yuan, the Soviets' republics held significant authority.
Shelpin having stronger state control than Gorbachev was a variable, but it wasn't enough to relax.
If the Soviet economy kept tanking, even that control could crumble.
Bae Seong-jun decided to act before the Soviets collapsed.
"We can't extend more loans, so let's defer interest first."
Korea started by granting interest payment moratoriums.
The second measure was mediation talks for the Afghan war.
"The goal is to save Soviet face while giving them an exit."
Korea stepped up aggressively to open a path out of the bottomless pit of the Afghan war for the Soviets.
The third was partially lifting oil prices.
"Not a big deal."
Korea faked an 'accident' at its domestic oil fields, suddenly cutting production.
"What? Korea's oil production is dropping?"
By trimming output a bit, Korea reversed the falling oil prices.
The Soviets sighed in relief at Korea's moves, but it was too early to relax.
The real threat was approaching from a place they didn't even notice.
'Chernobyl'.
The name of a disaster that could bring down the Soviet Union.