Empire of the Ring

Youngho and his company left Volgograd to look around the logging site that Yaniv had prepared for Youngho. The on-site survey of the Taiga forest of Siberia was scheduled to take a domestic flight to Krasnoyarsk and then explore with a helicopter provided by the Russian Army. Youngho was supposed to meet a guide at Krasnoyarsk International Airport.

The group could also take Trans-Siberian Railway but it was a three-full-day trip on the road. It was fortunate that there was an airport in Krasnoyarsk as an industrial city of southern Siberia. After his experience on Trains Siberian Train, Youngho hated to get on there for another trip no matter how luxurious the passenger compartment was. He was completed disgusted that he would never recommend it to someone else.

It was because the trip was so boring. After spending an hour or two on the train, his whole body was twisted out of discomfort and boredom—as the only entertainment was the simple scenery unfolded outside the window. Alcohol was the only thing on the boring trip that allowed alcohol-loving Russians to breathe. Although Youngho was quite an optimistic person, it was almost impossible for him to endure the long journey. Thus, he was just glad that there was an airport in the city.

At the airport, there was a man who definitely looked like a mafia but he was quite polite to Youngho and his family. It seemed that he was informed by Yaniv about who Youngho was.

"Mr. Lee? I'm Sergeenko. Please to meet you."

"Hi, I'm sorry that you had to wait for us in this cold weather."

"Boss told me to escort you well. If you have any inconvenience, please feel free to tell me."

Yaniv must have asked him to treat Youngho's group politely, but his face looked so intimidating that Youngho did not want to ask anything from him even if he had inconvenience.

"It snowed too much. I'm not sure if the helicopter can fly today."

"The snow is only going to stop tomorrow morning. You can take some rest here tonight. In the morning, we'll drive for a while to get to a military unit and get on a helicopter from there."

It was odd that there was a military unit in the middle of the Siberian field, but this was Russia where uncommon things were possible. Youngho thought it would take an hour or two to get to the unit but his expectation was almost shattered the next day. Siberia was a large land. The drive on the unpaved, snowy road took all day long. In Russia, the Krasnoyarsk region east of the Ural Mountains and the Zabaikal region in the south were called the Siberian region, while the rest of the region was called the Far East.

Youngho and his family were now visiting Krasnoyarsk, which was widely known as a haven for political prisoners, and Taiga forest. The coniferous forest belt in the north was called Taiga. It was a tundra region where it was permafrost that was frozen all year round.

Sergeenko kept saying 'we are almost there,' but the car drove for a couple more hours. It was the moment when the concept of time distance turned out to be meaningless to Russians. It took a long time until the military unit showed up.

It was already evening when they arrived at the place. The place of the military unit used to be a concentration camp for prisoners but now it was where a battalion military unit was stationed.

It was such a vast area that many people had been illegally collecting natural resources from the forest without permission. To prevent it, the government had stationed a military unit here. Since local police colluded with illegal smugglers, the military soldiers were sent to do the police's job but as far as Youngho knew, the Russian army was as rotten as the police.

Upon meeting the battalion commander, Youngho gave him gifts that he had prepared previously. Whenever he had to meet someone in a high rank in Russia, he always prepared some gifts. This time, he brought a box of premium Zeynep Wine and the hunting rifle made in the Arirang Autonomous State. As he kindly informed the commander that the same hunting rifle was also given to President Putin as a gift, he was almost out of breath.

The battalion commander was a lieutenant colonel in his early 40s. His name was Dmitry Nikolayevich Klimov. Although he might have been in a tight spot when he was placed in this Taiga region, which was not a border area, Youngho still had to earn his favor since he was the commander of the garrison area. It would be a honor for his family since he was given the same hunting rifle which was given to the president as a gift as well. The lieutenant colonel immediately called the guard and told him to bring the vodka.

***

The next day, a heavy helicopter to guide around the Taiga forest was preheating its engine at the training camp. It was unusual for a battalion-level unit in a remote area to have a helicopter of its own.

The helicopter was one of the Kamov series that Russia boasted of. The helicopter was first introduced to Korea Forest Service in 1993. It looked so old that Youngho wondered if it could still fly without any problem.

"Mr. Lee. This is what the Far East Fleet used to have. It still has a long way to live. This is the best helicopter that can hold up in terrible weather conditions."

Youngho felt out of breath to hear that the unit still used retired items from the Russian Navy.

"Commander Klimov, is there any way that we can look around the region on a car?"

"That'll take too long because of the snow that had been piled up. I tell you this is totally safe, please don't worry."

The commander was being very kind to Youngho since they got to know each other better from sharing vodka together last night, but Youngho still could not believe he was going to get on the helicopter. But, it seemed that the commander would be very disappointed if Youngho refused to get on it. Since Russian-made munitions were said to be strong, Youngho decided to trust him and venture.

The endless stretch of woodland was, in short, spectacular. All he could remember from touring the whole area for about an hour was that what was white were frozen lakes or rivers and what was black were trees. The huge Siberian forest, which accounted for 22 percent of the world's total forest area, was beyond description. Passing through the dense forest, he could see large and small lakes and streams, and then again, the spectacular view of the vast forest continued. He wanted to stay there for hours but the group was forced to return to the base since the helicopter would be overloaded if it flew for hours.

Desolate Kazakhstan's vast plains were also spectacular, but the snow-covered Taiga region of Siberia was a fantasy itself. It was unbelievable that this beautiful land of resources remained still intact in the north. Because of the awe that Youngho felt from the forest, he felt that it would be a crime to develop the untouched nature. He immediately fell in love with the huge land.

It was not a matter of developing or not developing, but he wanted to feel the vastness of nature all over again by walking on the unchallenged land. Youngho had also heard last night that there would be no problem buying the land since it was neither a border area nor a specially protected area. The Russian government would not make a problem selling the land to foreign corporations that were registered in the country.

Lt. Col. Klimov, who saw Youngho getting off the helicopter, grinned since he looked almost ecstatic.

"Mr. Lee. Do you like this place?"

"The forest is so majestic that I'm almost lost for words."

"The person who recommended this place must be Mr. Yaniv in Volgograd."

"…"

"I already received an instruction from the higher-ups so I already know. He's a wealthy man who's close to President Putin."

He seemed to know that Yaniv was the boss of southern Russia mafia organization. Youngho had nothing to hide from him anymore.

"Yes, that is right. I saved his life once and now he treats me like his son."

"So, what do you think? Do you still want to start a logging business here?"

"I'm still astounded by nature but I wouldn't have come here in this cold weather if I was not interested in the business."

"Have you heard that this is a repository of resources?"

"Isn't that what everyone already knows?"

"Do you remember that I told you that I've been voluntarily working here for the past five years?"

Lt. Col. Klimov's words sounded quite significant. Last night, he said that he was mesmerized by nature here, so he volunteered to work overtime even though he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. When Youngho heard him, he smirked in his mind since no one would volunteer to be in this remote area. He was sure that Klimov had nowhere else to go. But, it didn't seem like that. Klimov was trying to share a secret to Youngho now after he saw how Youngho was intrigued by the land.

***

Comparing aerial photos and maps taken last summer, Klimov continued on to explain about the land.

"Where you'd be exploiting is from this region to that region, Mr. Lee. Other regions are already selected by President Putin's close friends."

"This region is full of little lakes and rivers but there are still countless trees to cut down."

"It becomes like a swamp in the summer because it gets really muddy. You could start working in October when the land dries out."

"Then we'll have to take a break during the summer."

"Are you still interested in developing the land?"

Since it was a simple business that only needed cutting down and transporting trees, there was no reason for him to refuse it, especially when he did not need to pay for the land with his own money. Moreover, Youngho was already in love with the black woods, Taiga.

"I'd like to try."

The captain was lost in thought for a long time.

"Commander Klimov, is there a problem?"

"Mr. Lee, are you a Koryoin by any chance?"

"No, I was born in Korea and have been living in the Caucasus for almost ten years."

"As far as I know, many say that Koreans are not to be trusted. Is that true?"

"Well, I can't say that they could be trusted but there are; as many great Koreans as well as bad Koreans."

"Hahaha… You're quite honest. That makes me want to trust you."

He was beating around the bush, so Youngho asked him directly.

"I don't know what you are thinking but I am a businessman. I have never betrayed anyone so far. I never know if I'll ever betray someone though."

Klimov took a small leather pocket which was on the iron table between the two and began to spread out the contents carefully. Hundreds of small stones were found in the leather pocket, they were the size of Leon's pinky fingernail.

They were unclear but Youngho could tell that they were something like gemstones.

"These are rough diamonds."

"What? Are these all diamonds?"

"I have checked already and I can tell you they are diamonds."

"I see."

He was surprised to see Youngho's calm reaction.

"Isn't this amazing?"

"Rough diamonds are found frequently in Kazakhstan but gemstones are not pricey. Also, only 20% of the original gemstone is used to become jewelry and the rest would be used for industrial uses. Its value is unknown until it's processed and evaluated."

"…"

"I know it's important to know where it comes from if you're going to be able to feel and rate it."

Hundreds of little rocks were making Youngho dizzy.

"I wanted to ask you to dispose of this. Wouldn't Mr. Yaniv have a market for these?"

"As you know, mafias will do any job that will make them money. It must be the best for you if you didn't expose this to them."

"But wouldn't Mr. Yaniv give me some profit if it was for your sake?"

"Phew, it sounds like you want to be responsible for this. It might be better for me to buy them from your hands and just let them rot at my home."

"That may be true. You know since it's between you and me, we'll keep it as our own secret."

Youngho was also in a quandary because he had never experienced such a case before. It was also funny to set the price on a raw stone, let alone making a deal. If it were only industrial diamond and not jewelry-quality diamond, it would only be a problem for Youngho. Since he had no knowledge about diamonds, there was no price Young-ho could offer for the jewelry.

However, Klimov insisted that they were diamonds. Because of the fact that Youngho had already learned the secret of the lieutenant colonel, he was forced to accept the offer now. The colonel offered the price of 50 dollars per rock. It seemed that even if Youngho sold them for industrial use, he would easily make such amount of money.

In order to develop the forest in the future, Youngho would have to earn the colonel's favor or the colonel could interrupt his business any time.

They counted the number of rocks and settled the price of 27,000 dollars for 430 rocks. Youngho promised to give cash on his next visit. That amount of money was quite a lot of money in Russia.

At the end of the deal, Klimov surprised Youngho by making an unexpected announcement.

"I collected these gemstones near the trees, lakes, and rivers from the region where you're going to exploit."

"What?"

If that was true, it seemed that Youngho had truly gained a treasure land. It was only a matter of time how long the secret would be kept.