Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 1271 - 1035: Who Will Take Over_2

Chapter 1271: Chapter 1035: Who Will Take Over_2

So after Li Zairong and Li Fuzhen left, Wang Ye redirected his energy back to his own affairs.

In July’s Duma regular session, due to Chairman Grezlov’s overseas visit, it was Wang Ye, as the First Vice Speaker, who presided over the meeting.

However, recently there haven’t been any significant issues at the Duma, and the internal atmosphere has been very harmonious. Everyone has been amicable, and decisions have been made through consultation, nearly eliminating any major disagreements.

Wang Ye’s voice and influence in the Duma have been steadily increasing. Furthermore, with Chairman Grezlov coming to terms with retirement after his current term, he has been intentionally and unintentionally aiding Wang Ye’s work, to ensure a smooth transition of power in the next assembly.

By now, an internal consensus had been reached in the Duma, that in the next session, the next Duma Speaker would be none other than Wang Ye!

Under his leadership, the Duma had reclaimed much of its power from the Kremlin and the Government, and even gained more. Previously, the Duma was seen as nothing more than a "voting machine" with no real power, but now the situation has entirely changed.

Whether it’s the Kremlin or the Government, it’s not that they have to consider the Duma’s position in everything, but it’s quite close. Whenever an important policy or regulation is introduced, it must gain the Duma’s support; otherwise, the Duma wouldn’t give them any face.

With Grezlov intending to retire, the real power within the Duma was with Wang Ye, and of course, with the old man Rilinov.

Out of the four hundred fifty dumasiats, even though the Grezlov-led Hilarwick Group remains the First Faction, the number of seats they occupy is not much more than the Second Faction headed by Wang Ye.

And don’t forget, the Third Faction led by Rilinov, and the virtually defunct Fourth Faction, also known as the Moscow Faction, fundamentally follow Wang Ye’s lead, essentially acting as "sub-factions" of the Second Faction.

This means Wang Ye effectively controls close to three hundred dumasiats...

Which also means that when Wang Ye wants to push through or pass a certain regulation in the Duma, he doesn’t need to consult with anyone – with the seats he controls, he can do as he pleases!

Of course, under normal circumstances, Wang Ye wouldn’t do this, as it’s still important to give some respect to Chairman Grezlov and the Hilarwick Group.

This is also about showing respect to the Kremlin...

Speaking of the Kremlin, during Wang Ye’s recent visits to his father-in-law, his father-in-law also subtly mentioned the matter of the next Kremlin election.

According to the law, his father-in-law must step down after this term, and he doesn’t have the right to compete in the next election; hence, he began to ponder over his successor.

Even though Wang Ye had stated several times before that he would stay in the Duma, with no interest in any Kremlin position.

But people change, don’t they? Perhaps he truly held no interest in the Kremlin position before, but who could guarantee that Wang Ye, or rather, the Wang Ye of one or two years later, still had no interest in it?

After all, in both legal terms and practical terms, the Kremlin remains the highest position in the Moscow political arena!

For anyone in politics, if there’s the slightest chance, who could resist such a temptation...

Thus, his father-in-law was also probing Wang Ye’s attitude, to see what his stance was regarding the next election.

Wang Ye, of course, still firmly stated that he wouldn’t participate in the next election, but that he would compete for the position of Duma Speaker as much as he could, and then serve as Duma Speaker for perhaps two more terms or even more...

It’s important to know that one term of the Duma is six years, two terms make twelve years, and the Duma Speaker position has no restriction against consecutive terms. As long as the Duma Members endorse and support you, you might well hold the position indefinitely...

By making such a statement, Wang Ye essentially made it clear that he would not be entering the competition for the Kremlin election. He was signaling to his father-in-law to consider other candidates without having to worry about Wang Ye joining the fray.

Regarding this attitude of Wang Ye’s, his father-in-law couldn’t say whether he was pleased or disappointed...

Perhaps in his heart, he too believed that Wang Ye was the best candidate to succeed him!

But on the other hand, he hadn’t completely settled his mind about Wang Ye, deep down harboring a trace of concern, even though Wang Ye was nearly his son-in-law!

After all, he was very clear about Wang Ye’s true identity.

Over the years, he had been closely observing every move made by Wang Ye, and most of what Wang Ye did did not escape his "eyes."

Overall, the actions of Wang Ye were reassuring, to the point where he would sometimes forget Wang Ye’s true identity and believe that Wang Ye was indeed of "Russian Chinese descent"...

Even though he approved of Wang Ye, the position at the Kremlin was simply too important; hence, if it were up to him to choose, he would rather have Rossiyana take over the position and have Wang Ye "assist" Rossiyana.

This would be killing two birds with one stone.

It ensured the most critical position at the Kremlin remained in the hands of "one of our own," and it wouldn’t be a waste of Wang Ye’s talents.

After all, Rossiyana and Wang Ye were husband and wife; Wang Ye certainly wouldn’t go against Rossiyana...

Without Rossiyana there, he wouldn’t have felt at ease with anyone else taking over his post.

Because the power and influence of Wang Ye was too great!

While he was in office, he could hold Wang Ye down, but once he stepped down, a newcomer would take over, lacking the qualifications, influence, prestige, and ability... With every aspect being dominated by Wang Ye, how could anyone be able to contend with Wang Ye?

Rossiyana perfectly resolved this issue, and upon realizing this, the father-in-law silently commended himself!

The decision to have Rossiyana engaged to Wang Ye was absolutely a stroke of genius...

However, if Rossiyana were to succeed in the next term, there would actually be a small issue—her lack of experience was far too thin, which might not convince everyone.

Moreover, Rossiyana was not a member of the Hilarwick Group; she led the Royalist Party, and what if his own faction did not approve of Rossiyana’s succession? He would be stuck in a difficult position in the middle.

Thinking of this, the father-in-law felt a headache coming on.

He looked at Wang Ye and asked with a smile,

"Hey, Misha, to be honest, you are the one I have the most hope for!

But to each their own. Since you are not interested in my position and prefer working in the Duma, I will not force you.

However, do you have any good candidates to recommend, Misha?"

This question wasn’t really appropriate for him to ask since logically, the choice of the next leader was not up to him and Wang Ye to decide, as it was determined by an election, and only the votes of the electorate could decide who would take over the Kremlin!

But the thing was, many things in the world don’t go by the book...

If the father-in-law and Wang Ye joined forces to support a certain candidate, then that candidate was almost sure to take over the position at the Kremlin.

Hearing the father-in-law’s question, Wang Ye pondered for a moment before replying,

"There are only a few truly qualified candidates for the election, Chairman Grezlov, Rilinov, Medvedev, Rossiyana. If Luzhikov hadn’t run into trouble, he would certainly be a strong contender, but unfortunately, he has no hope now.

Among those candidates, Chairman Grezlov has said he plans to retire after this term as Speaker and is unlikely to participate in the General Election.

Rilinov, although he is very experienced and has considerable prestige, has never worked on the government side, which makes him unsuitable.

Thus, I believe it comes down to Medvedev and Rossiyana.

However, they each have their strengths and weaknesses, and it is not clear who is more suitable.

What do you think, father-in-law?"