Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 859 - 830: Even More Famous_2

Chapter 859: Chapter 830: Even More Famous_2

She now calls Wang Ye "Uncle" as well.

Khodorkovsky said helplessly, "This expense is indeed not small, and if there was a better way, I wouldn’t do this either. There’s no choice, our faction is newly established, and our popular support is too weak; even the majority of voters haven’t heard of us. With such pressing time, we can only adopt the simplest and most direct method. Bread is something every family needs every day and is the most practical. Our faction distributing bread, though costly, can indeed pull in quite a few votes.

Wang Ye deeply agreed with this point.

When he first ran for Duma Member, it was with vodka that he won the seat!

Even now, there are still legends about him in Chukotka. During festivals, Wang Ye still sends out vodka, after all, it is his "voting district market," and he cannot afford to take it lightly.

"By the way, Misha, what kind of tricks are you preparing this time? You’re not still distributing vodka, are you?" Khodorkovsky asked with a chuckle.

Wang Ye quickly shook his head, "That’s too expensive to do now! This time it’s just about grassroots promotion and speaking tours. As for what gifts to give, that will have to be decided based on the competition in each voting district."

Indeed, even if Wang Ye was rolling in money, he couldn’t possibly distribute vodka like he did during his own campaign this time.

Because this time it’s the faction as a whole running, and there are a couple of hundred districts!

Even Khodorkovsky only dared to distribute black bread, how could he dare to give out vodka, or else he would go bankrupt!

Khodorkovsky turned to look at Rossiyana and said with a smile, "I’ve been traveling around the various states recently and heard some news about you. Do you know that in some states, your fame is greater than Misha’s?"

Rossiyana was astonished and a bit at a loss, "What? My fame greater than Misha’s? How is that possible!"

She truly couldn’t believe it.

She had never been in politics, previously working as a journalist and now as Wang Ye’s assistant, rarely having the opportunity to be in the spotlight on her own.

How could anyone know her...

Wang Ye was also surprised and asked curiously, "Her fame? In what aspect?"

"Haha, wasn’t your engagement ceremony broadcast all over Russia a while back?

You might not feel it, but now both of you are quite famous.

Especially Rossiyana, don’t forget she is the legitimate heir of the Romanov family, the only Grand Duchess in this era!

In Moscow, people might not feel it’s anything special, but in more remote places, people there tend to believe in this, and many are nostalgic for the once glorious Romanov Monarchy."

Khodorkovsky answered with a laugh.

Wang Ye and Rossiyana exchanged a smile; it wasn’t a bad thing...

However, Khodorkovsky’s next words made his heart skip a beat.

"Perhaps, Rossiyana could start a new faction and propose something like... returning to the Tsarist Russia era? Anyway, a slogan like that could probably pull in quite a few votes!" Khodorkovsky said offhandedly.

These words gave Wang Ye quite a shock.

Perhaps Khodorkovsky didn’t mean anything by it and was just making a casual joke.

Rossiyana wouldn’t take it seriously.

But only Wang Ye knew that there really was a significant Tsarist faction "hiding" in Russia!

It’s just that the previous environment didn’t allow these people to stand out and declare their position, but with the Former Soviet Breakdown and Russia’s challenging integration into Western society, along with the persistent economic slump, this Tsarist group would gradually "raise their heads" and could even become the largest force in the political arena...

Since it’s called "Tsarist Russia," that "Tsar" word is very important!

Originally, in his memory, because there was no leader with the "Tsar" title, the Tsarist faction didn’t stir up much in Russia, with no one uniting them into a significant force.

But in this life, by a twist of fate, Rossiyana inherited the Grand Duchess title.

And with the dual "recognition" from the Kremlin and the Patriarch, she became the most legitimate heir of the Romanov family!

If she made a call to action, perhaps people would indeed rally to her...

Thinking of this, Wang Ye quickly shook his head; he did not want this to happen.

What a joke!

By then, he might already be leading The First Faction in the Duma, possibly already in the Chairman position, while his own wife could be leading the Tsarist faction to challenge his status?

Wouldn’t that become an internal struggle?

"Uncle, stop joking. How could I possibly get involved in any factions? I’m already too busy helping Misha manage his," Rossiyana said, waving her hand dismissively.

That was indeed her genuine thought.

At least for now, she was completely devoid of ambition.

What she most looked forward to was getting married to Misha as soon as possible, then settling down into a happy life as a devoted wife and mother!

After marriage, she had no intention of working anymore, let alone forming her own faction. What would be the point of that?

The subject was dropped there and then. Khodorkovsky had mentioned it casually, and no one had taken it seriously.

Even Wang Ye didn’t believe Rossiyana had the desire or capability to lead a Tsarist faction and step onto the political stage.

...

After eating and chatting for a while, Wang Ye and Rossiyana finally stood up to say their goodbyes.

It wasn’t until he was back in the car that Wang Ye let out a long sigh of relief.

Throughout the entire time, Khodorkovsky had shown no signs of wanting Wang Ye’s help!

It was known that Wang Ye’s faction might very well become the second largest in the Duma next year, and they might even have a chance to "touch" the first faction.

If he had Wang Ye’s support, Khodorkovsky’s chances of winning the presidential election would greatly increase!

And given their relationship, Khodorkovsky had every right to make such a request.

But he hadn’t brought it up...

Perhaps Khodorkovsky knew it would put Wang Ye in a difficult position, being caught between him and the Kremlin; or maybe Khodorkovsky didn’t want to involve Wang Ye...

In fact, Wang Ye had been avoiding Khodorkovsky recently precisely because he was worried about such a request.

If Khodorkovsky did ask, Wang Ye would find himself in a tough spot.

Unable to refuse, yet unable to agree...

So he had been playing dumb all along, implying through his words that he was leading his faction with all his energy into the Duma election. As for the presidential race, it was as if he didn’t even know about it, let alone pay any attention.

Perhaps Khodorkovsky had read Wang Ye’s intentions from his attitude, which was why he didn’t bring up the matter with him.

The entire evening, everyone discussed the Duma election, the factional struggles...

Both parties tacitly avoided mentioning next year’s even more important election—the presidential general election!

...

Rossiyana naturally understood the subtleties as well, and seeing Wang Ye breathe a sigh of relief, she said with a smile, "Look how scared you got. I think you should have an open and honest talk with Uncle Khodorkovsky and tell him about your difficulties. Make a clear stance that we won’t partake in their competition. Wouldn’t that solve everything?"

Wang Ye shook his head and didn’t reply. Things were not that simple.

Moreover, one should repay the smallest favor with the sincerest gratitude!

That was Wang Ye’s principle in life.

Khodorkovsky had given him a great deal of help, and Wang Ye would have to repay that favor sooner or later.

But right now, he simply didn’t have the capacity to do so.

As for the Kremlin, to be honest, they had also been good to Wang Ye!

It was just that he had a hand in both sides and didn’t want to spoil the relationship with either.

Therefore, his only choice was to keep his head down and continue to grow his own influence. When his power was strong enough, maybe then he could resolve the conflict between Khodorkovsky and the Kremlin.

After all, his influence wasn’t substantial enough yet to bring both sides together to listen to him...

...

In the following period, Wang Ye became even busier.

Because he had to start "campaigning" for some key members within his faction.

That meant accompanying those core members to various cities, holding seminars, and collecting votes!

The country of Russia is vast, with a multitude of administrative divisions, consisting of 22 autonomous republics, 46 oblasts, 9 krais, 4 autonomous okrugs, one autonomous oblast, and three federal cities...