"Comrade Shaposhnikov, can our troops hold back the German offensive at Nizhny Novgorod?" Molotov asked.
"This..." Marshal Shaposhnikov hesitated, but still shook his head.
"Although the Germans have deployed only a few divisions, they are all elite Armored Forces and mechanized units, with over a thousand tanks alone. At the same time, the German Air Force has dispatched a large number of aircraft to support them. That makes it extremely difficult for our troops to hold back the German offensive. Unless we can concentrate more troops at Nizhny Novgorod, there is no way we can stop the German offensive.
"The Germans are already not far from Nizhny Novgorod, however. The troops we have gathered have all come under German air raids, leaving us without enough time to assemble our forces."
Marshal Shaposhnikov laid out the predicament they faced, point by point, without holding anything back.
The faces of the Russian Politburo members darkened further. From Marshal Shaposhnikov's words, they understood that they simply did not possess sufficient military strength to withstand the German military's attack. Once the German military reached Nizhny Novgorod, they would likely all become prisoners beneath the steps.
Although Russia was already walking step by step toward destruction, these Politburo members had no desire to become the Germans' prisoners, much less lose their lives. They still wanted to hold on, or at the very least flee to Siberia. Conditions there might be harsher, but leaders like them would not suffer all the same; they could still enjoy better treatment.
"Comrade Shaposhnikov, since Nizhny Novgorod can no longer be defended, we must make plans as soon as possible," Andreyev said.
"I agree. We must move east immediately. Otherwise, once the Germans come, every one of us will be captured by them, or even killed," Zhdanov said as well.