Novgorod, Tsavorite of the North!

[Duke of Awesome]

i love this AAR! this is exactly what i love. short and sweet paragraphs that let me know whats going on and pretty pictures to make me smile

but one thing is that i dont know how to subscribe. could you tell me? so i can subscribe?

[squigian]

I'm glad that I seem to be getting the picture-to-text ratio right. To subscribe, click on Thread Tools (upper right, below 'Log Out') and the drop-down menu should give you the option to subscribe. Just for future reference, I'll be updating every other day from now on; this is so I can play ahead and make the history flow a bit better. Also, Hearts of Iron 3 is coming out very soon, so forgive me if I get distracted by that.

Edit:

Oh, and so I don't leave you all completely in the dark: so far, things are going well for us but an unexpected development will slow us down a bit. However, it's only a matter of time before the problem disappears and we can get back to taking what rightfully belongs to Russia.

[squigian]

Chapter 12: 1511-1520, Old Enemies; New Problems

The Riga Affair



This way, we only fight Lithuania rather than Bohemia, Poland and the Netherlands, too.

Platon, hoping for another successful war, became involved in a plot with a group of influential nobles in Riga. In exchange for a large sum of money, coming out of the state treasury, they would have documents alleging that Riga had once been part of the old Russian states forged and then exposed to the international community (Tater, p. 17). This ruse worked, inciting the Assembly to issue an ultimatum; Riga was to submit to the Union as a vassal or a state of war would exist. Although a few dissenting voices existed, they were drowned out by a wave of patriotism from those hoping to see yet another great victory (Rønning, p. 12).



Lithuania honoured its guarantee of Riga, to its cost. Alone, despite inflicting many casualties of the Russian armies with their overwhelming cavalry forces (Tokmakov, p. 18), it could not hope to win a drawn out confrontation. With the Russian armies on the march, the capital itself threatened, agreeable terms were soon laid out. Platon enjoyed a period of great support due to his victory although he was apparently privately disappointed that he did not manage to take more from his foes (Tater, p. 18). He intended to rectify this shortcoming soon enough.



Platon’s balloon was soon to viciously popped, though. It turned out that one of the nobles involved in the scheme had betrayed his accomplices in return for Lithuanian money. News soon spread and Platon was forced to resign in disgrace, although the Union had benefitted from his actions, in the end (ibid, p. 21). His replacement was Lev Vishnevetski, a general who had ironically made his bid for election based on his performance in the Lithuanian war. Although they did not agree with Platon’s activities, the Assembly was more than happy to see someone who had helped achieve so much for the Union in power (Tokmakov, p. 19). Lev was an independent, keeping himself out of most voting, but he did maintain a great interest in the army.

Down To Earth



It was no wonder, then, that one of his first acts was to further strengthen the army. His on-battlefield performance was matched by his campaigning skills and here he saw a need for improvement. Since before living memory, the Union and previously Novgorodian army knew little in the way of logistics; armies lived off the land and starved if that was not possible. Vishnevetski made it part of the national military drill, now extended to training army officers, that junior commanders be instructed in the organisation of caissons and supplies as well as cannons and swords (ibid, 20ff).



For those who don’t know, this is one of the three possible effects of moving the slider towards land; the land tech improvements were purely coincidental.

Whilst the army improved, the ‘navy’ (or lack of it) withered away. The last time it had been enlarged was during Prokopiy II’s term of office. Since then, one of the galleys and entire fleet of transports had been decommissioned due to how much they were costing the state in return for next to no benefit. Although blockades had been an issue during the previous wars, they had never been of such importance as to warrant naval expansion; the Union did almost all of its trading via land and thus saw little need for a strong navy (Page & Simons, p. 21; 43; 60-2).



-0.60 Missionaries a year, now.

Saratow was to be the last major city to be converted to Orthodox Christanity during this period; missionary work had been another area where the state had chosen not to invest its time and money, preferring to work with military innovators and statesmen to the clergy (Call, p. 11). This would have major ramifications as more of the expanding Union remained unconverted.

The East Goes South



The next war with ‘Horde’ (from letters, it seems that it became something of an in-joke amongst the Assembly members (Tater, p. 25)) was almost a matter purely of diplomacy; the new states were quickly added to the Union, Nogai (another country against which the Horde had shown its aggression) released and the Mongols left with a little still in their possession (Bligh-Carne, p. 54). Their threat to the Republic was now near non-existent (Patton, p. 22).



Georgia had not assisted in this war and Lev accused them off having been infiltrated by Mongol agents or otherwise aligned with the enemy; Georgia of course denied these allegations but it was cause enough to allow Lev to dispatch two armies of ten thousand men each into the mountainous country; this scared the Georgians enough into renewing their pledge to the Union, this time with more restrictive conditions placed upon them (ibid, p. 23).



At this point Russia seemed near-unstoppable in its military ventures; fate was to put an end to this invulnerability, though, with the election of the Polish King as Holy Roman Emperor. He categorically stated that he would tolerate no further Russian interference in his affairs and that any attempt to press the claims on Riga would be met with force on his part. Interestingly, he did not mention Lithuania so much at his coronation; bitterness still existed between them over the ending of the Polish-Lithuanian Union due to their acceptance of an alternative claimant upon the death of Wladyslaw II (Highwater, p. 357), also motivated by Poland’s failure to control Denmark’s aggression during this early period. However, this did further isolate the Union: now she could only fight Lithuania directly, with all of her allies, a league of kings against the huge republic (Patton, p. 25).



This scared the Union, nonetheless, although this new outside threat might be used to keep the country together should further dissent arise in the south (Rønning, p. 4; 25-7) . Lev would not be around to protect them, though; he died of hypothermia after falling into the freezing Volkhov whilst returning to the city from campaign. Apparently, the old wooden bridge he had been crossing with his troops had collapsed, taking several dozen common lives too. In his place stepped Alexei Beketov, another soldier, one with considerably less administrative talent or political savvy but with more than enough boldness to make up for both (Tater, p. 28).

And with that, we are at the end of another update. Russia is certainly getting stronger and our old enemies have been mostly destroyed. But what of Persia, the Ottomans, Hungry, Lithuania and Sweden? What of the increasing gap between the centre and the provinces? Or can the Union just keep expanding as always? You’ll know by Friday at the very latest, that’s for sure.

[rexodia48]

Originally Posted by squigian

I see your Navy Offers are leaving! Lol. I am loving your AAR and have never really cared about Russia games. So good job!

[Abraxas]

Some nice progress you've been making during my absence!

How secure is Poland's hold of the imperial throne? If it seems to be lasting longer then it might be better to go after Persia or Sweden first so as to have those threats removed before going against most of central Europe. On another note, have you westernised? I don't recall reading about that but I could be wrong. Doing so would allow you to go more narrowminded and still keep up in tech with Russia's huge trade income while getting enough missionaries to convert all the tartars. I think those conversions are particularly wortwhile since they will almost certainly lead to cultural conversions as well. Doing this allowed mo Novgorod-turned-Russia to be all-Orthodox and almost all-Russian while leading the world in all techs.

[squigian]

I need Administrative Republic to move further to centralisation, otherwise I get nasty revolt risk increases; I think I'm only one tech level away. As for shifting towards narrowminded, I'll probably shift towards free citizens to counteract the tech penalty too. What's very nice about the Orthodox religion is the +15 stability cost, the lowest in the game. Sunni only adds +20, so it's not too much of a burden. What that basically means is that Orthodox nations can actually afford to take on board considerable stability cost increases.

As for maximising missionaries, a shift towards narrowminded (perhaps even two, if we're going to focus on this issue), taking on Divine Supremacy as my next idea and passing the Act of Uniformity should give me enough missionaries to convert all my current holdings to Orthodox. I could even roleplay it so that a prominent theologian rises to power and replaces Humanist Tolerance with Divine Supremacy, causing instability and acting as another cause of a civil war...

[squigian]

Chapter 13: 1521-1526, United We Stand

N.B. I have removed the references to my research from the main body of writing. I think that by this point you, the reader, will trust me enough to know that I have done my research and checked my facts.

An End to Enmity



Nogai had placed itself in a similar position to Georgia; alone in the world, its arrogant ruler had turned his back on the only power that was willing to help them. He was soon shown the error of his ways and forced to make a binding treaty, similar to that of Sibir and Georgia, with Russia. Alexei was not going to let such insubordination go by lightly and was determine to make these states completely dependent on the ever-growing Union. This took effect in the form of higher vassalage duties and by imposing limits on the standing army each nation could field. Although this also meant that Russia might have to intervene heavily in the event of war or rebellion, Alexei and the Assembly felt this the safest policy for the moment.



On a provincial level, though, government was drifting apart from Novgorod. Although the Assembly talked of stronger ties and uniformity, the people in the provinces moved to tolerate each other, thanks to the support of local government. Although this seems like a religious issue, it also illustrates the three-tier system that divided Russia during this period. On the one level was the central government and its agents, striving to enforce stability and uniformity, backed by the army and powerful merchants. On another, the provincials, who just wanted a peaceful life and saw central intrusion as a threat to their traditions and the local economy. Although these are generalised views, and the provincials were becoming increasingly represented in the Assembly, they are broadly correct. Where the lines truly blurred was in the local lords and potentates, those who answered to the central government but came from and stayed in the provinces. Their true allegiance varied from province to province but generally in the north, they aligned themselves with the centre but, in the Muslim south, they believed themselves loyal to their land primarily.



The next war with the Horde was presented as little more than finishing the reunification of the old Russian territories in the south. The Ottomans, although they wished to intervene, were too worried about Persian intervention to seriously commit to the war and so bowed out shortly after the ‘deal’ with the ‘Horde’ was made. With only Sarai as their realm, Russia officially recognised their sovereignty over the capital, in truth not wanting to add a frankly uneconomically productive state to the Union. In only 118 years, the Golden Horde had been pulverised from a true superpower to a petty fiefdom, from an empire to a single stronghold, at least a stronghold by 14th Century standards. Alexei was particularly pleased with this turn of events, he being the one in power when this war took place.

A Continuance Of Conflict



Local lords were growing increasingly worried about the power of the centre, though, and their representatives in the Assembly were also concerned about the growing power of the merchant princes. They were not especially envious of their wealth but felt increasingly marginalised, especially so given that they had even less power than during the 15th century. Alexei, pragmatist that he was, decided to buy them off with money from the treasury; such was the cost of stability. He had not just blindly given into their demands for a share of the rewards for the Union’s success, though; by having them accept his gift, he had further bolstered the power of plutocracy in Russia. This was a risky move, though, as it strengthened the sense of entitlement that the nobility held, even if it reduced their power; the danger was that they would cease to bring stability and instead leech off of the state.



I forgot to mention another important military reform;; the introduction of fur coats and fur hats, as seen in the bottom right-hand corner of this picture.

There was simply no way to unseat Alexei at this time. As the Provincial Party grew, so did the Novgorodian and northern reaction in an ex-Patriot and Federalist Coalition. The number of representatives had also changed from 60 to 90. These additions had been made in the north, primarily, with only 5 men representing the Muslim south. Although the provincials were tolerant, it was enshrined in law that only a Christian could act as a representative in the Assembly and such men were few and far between in the south. This was yet another source of tension smoothed over by good personal and business relationships at the very top.

The Grand Solution



Electoral worries behind him, Alexei was free to turn his attention to the Western Question. Simply put, no scheme could avoid the fact that Poland would intervene in a war between Lithuania and the Union. Bohemia was likely to follow and, what was more, all three powers had huge cavalry forces that struck fear into the hearts of Russia’s soldiers. The cavalry charge was the pinnacle of military tactics in the Near West, crude but deadly. This problem would not simply disappear with the ages; every year, Lithuania grew stronger as she consolidated herself from a decade or so of religious turmoil and re-affirmed her ties to Poland and Bohemia.



The mood in Novgorod was certainly not one of compromise; the central government was desperate to avert the growing power of the south by expanding westwards, taking onboard more Orthodox Christians and those who could better fit into northern society. As such, Alexei decided, with the support of the Assembly to issue a general call-to-arms, the formation of a Grand Army of the Republic. Although this was the name of one of the Union’s armies some 200 years on or so, this was not its actual title in the legislation. What was actually said was that ‘orders are to be issued for…the formation of a great host to better protect the Russian people against those who wish to do harm to this…union…’. Within two years, such an army had been constructed and was ready to move out. Though it may have been underfunded and inexperienced, it possessed some of the most advance weapons of the age and some of the best generals.



I think all of my good generals have double-barrelled names at the moment, for some reason.

The war was begun in earnest; as expected, Lithuania’s allies rallied to her as Russia fought alone. Some battles were won, some lost but all brought far more misery to the Europeans than the Russians. Although their cavalry often pushed the enemy off the field, it was only through sheer numbers rather than the skill of their leaders or tactical innovation. Attrition was by far the bigger toll on the Russian forces but even then her losses did not match those of the West.



The war was not to be won on the battlefield alone, though, but through diplomacy. Alexei was by no means a diplomat but it was easy enough to convince the other powers to leave the war. The Netherlands had no business in the East; Bohemia had nothing to gain either. The Emperor allowed personal feelings to triumph over politics, his family still feeling bitter towards what he saw as the Lithuanian pretenders. It did not take much coin to convince him that further war would just lead to more Polish dead on behalf of a country he cared little for.



I have a friend in Minsk, who has a friend in Pinsk, whose friend in Omsk has friend in Tomsk with friend in Akmolinsk…

Its allies having abandoned it, Lithuania was forced to fight nearly three-quarters of Russia’s strength over the next two years. They fought well, manoeuvring cunningly to avoid being caught by the numerically and technologically superior Russian armies. It was, however, inevitable that they would be caught eventually. And so, with Russia occupying their entire country, a whole layer of Russian provinces was shed from the purple onion of that was Lithuania. Alexei, having brought the ragu of Russian politics to a simmer, was ready to start on the main course of the banquet that was his reign.

So, we leave the Russian Union to buffet at a veritable smorgasbord of opportunities. Will the nation help itself to yet more borscht or perhaps even head off in search of a delicious curry? Hopefully we won’t be forced to eat humble pie any time soon or that really would be egg on Alexei’s face. Our just deserts will be served on Saturday.

Also, please comment; a lack of comments means more updates on one page which leads to increased loading times for all viewers. I'm particularly interested to know how you might like me to go about solving our religion problems or which direction we should concentrate expansion in.

[Abraxas]

That's some nice work right there with the Lithuanian war. Buying off the Poles was definitely smart (although something I almost never do out of sheer pride )

I've already stated my stance on the religious policies of Russia, even if the current trend seems to be quite the opposite. The easiest route for expansion would of course seem to be in the east where you could easily obtain numerous new Russian Orthodox provinces in Siberia. I think that should be done, if for no other reason then just because by late game Portugal or some other Western power will make their way there and that just seems wrong. Your economy should by now be able to support a rather ambitious colonisation scheme, but alas that does not make for very interesting reading, so more wars are definitely in order

While typing that I just realised what's the right way to go. The Muslims in the south could start feeling oppressed by their Orthodox overlords and start plotting with the Persians (never mind the Shia-Sunni division, they're still closer to each other than the Russians and the central government couldn't care less). This way you'll both have a sizeable opponent to fight in the south and a credible explanation for a shift in religious policies

[ve3609]

Great AAR so far. I'm playing a novogorod->Russia game as well. I kept expanding east till I ran into Ming. Then what I did was to declare war on Lithuania who had the same allies as she does in your game. well, scorch the earth of the first row of provinces, then when the provinces are under seige come in and wipe them out. It works.

[squigian]

@Abraxas: The civil war could certainly start that way. Hopefully I can learn to make events in the next few days. As for colonising, I probably will take Colonial Ventures as an NI. Why? Because there's a nasty event that forces you to decrease tech investment, Decline of Empire, if you're a Latin without either that or QftNW. Either way, you never know if we'll be able to scrape together a couple of overseas colonies by the end of the game.

@ve3609: Thanks. Scorched Earth really does level the playing field but I'm an impatient player, so I only use it when I really need to (otherwise we could fight these wars for lower WE/casualties but it would take a longer time). As for Ming, I'm not sure whether to try to get their market open for now or just ignore them. Thankfully they cannot commit anything like Persia's forces against me, should they go to war.

@rexodia48: Sorry, I didn't see your post for some reason! Nice to know that I've managed to get you interested in the AAR despite the nation. I admit, there are certainly more interesting positions in the world but Novgorod was the first ever nation I took through a full game in EU3 so I have a certain affection for the country and the region. I'm worried about our navy, to be honest, in private. With a support limit of 3, we're near defenceless against amphibious landing, which may prove quite annoying at some point in the future.

[squigian]

Update 13: 1526-1535, Divided We Fall?

The Final Straw



Alexei was not to make it to his next banquet. He was murdered on campaign by a Muslim fanatic, having stopped in a village to water his horse. The man surprised the Knyaz and his bodyguard, firing a well-aimed arrow through Alexei's neck. His soldiers returned fire, wounding the man and taking him prisoner. We cannot be sure how true the allegations of his extremism were, though, whether this man was insane or whether he was part of a larger network of similarly-minded men.

Anton Senyavin, Alexei's replacement, was not going to let this crime go unpunished. He declared to the Assembly that the time for compromise had long since passed and, clearly, the south had demonstrated that the policy of tolerance had not worked. The Assembly then passed a bill nullifying the power of the local Muslim lords in the south and replacing them forthwith with centrally-appointed governors.



Event 3051, targeted certain provinces

This, naturally enough, spurred the local nobility and their subjects into action. Tribal chiefs and city rulers combined forces as a whole swathe of the southern Muslim lands rose up in revolt. This was not solely the result of Anton's actions but Alexei's murder and the subsequent reaction had unleashed the social, economic and political tensions of the past fifty of so years. The territories that remained loyal, such as Astrakhan, often did so because of the skill of local governors in suppressing attempts to aid the rebels and of general lack of enthusiasm for the rebellion due to the strong economic ties that the local merchant elite felt to the centre. Only the landed elite would have suffered under Anton's proposals.



The rebel stronghold was at Voronezh where 17,000 men under Ivan Cheremshyna; his very name tells us that this was not just a cultural rebellion but also a revolt of Russian lords who had established their own private fiefdoms in the south. The rebels massed at Voronezh, driven westwards by the Army of Astrakhan, surrounded by the Armies of the North and West, of Poland and Ukraine.



Encircled, however, although they had captured the city, the southerners had no means of supplying their troops adequately. This forced some of them to move eastwards and southwards; Ovchina-Obolenski crushed Ivan in the famous Battle of the Don River, using his cavalry to trap the rebels between the river and the main body of his army. The remnants of the rebellion were quickly hunted down.



The Russian Union had not been the only power to suffer from internal strife. Lithuania had imploded in on itself, Ukraine having declared independence and the Poles snatching territories that the Emperor felt rightfully his. Another tiny Khanate had emerged in the extreme south; Anton viewed this new Muslim state as a possible spark for further rebellion.



In the climate of fear surrounding the massive rebellion, it was easy to justify acting against a state sure to be a beacon to nationalists in the Crimea. Thus Zaporozhie was invaded a forced to renounce its claims on the region but was not annexed, only vassalised; Anton had no wish to add further Muslim lands to an already conflict-ridden region.

The Return Of Religion



These events drove the Russian north together as the Provincials were increasingly depicted as southern sympathisers. The Assembly felt that Anton's policies were effective and well-thought out but the northern electors, who actually chose the Assembly members, wanted greater internal action. The men who replaced the old merchants were from the military or local governors who had made an impression on their respective territories. Now the Assembly of 90 members had around 55 merchants, 15 military men, 10 nobles and a small variety of men from the professional classes. This changing make-up meant a new man was elected, not a merchant (despite is acumen) but the ex-governor of Astrakhan, Anton Khabarov.



As power moved away from the merchants, so did the Union's stance on a variety of issues. The most obvious was that of religion, the Assembly having shifted away from a lack of interest in religious matters to more state involvement in public worship. This was motivated as much by the new brands of Christianity that had reached Russia as it was by the presence of the Muslims in the south.



Great instability was caused by the removal of the privileges that the Muslims of the south had enjoyed, granted by the merchants in an effort to mollify them for trade. Anton II and the New Assembly, as it was being called due to the radical shift in make-up, decided to re-establish relations with the Church in an effort to resume the mass conversions of the previous century that seemed to have worked so well.



Persia had decided to intervene in the wake of the insurrection, using the pretext of protecting those of the faith. Their armies met with disaster at the hands of Ovchina-Obolenski despite outnumbering the Russians 5 to 2. Despite his death of old age in Astrakhan, the Persians remained scared of further confrontation and continued to stare across the border for several years before suing for peace. The Union, still restructuring itself around the idea of a central administration rather than a looser collection of states linked by trade, accepted this offer. In the same this occured, Anton moved the capital from Novgorod to Neva in an effort to promote the idea that Novgorod no longer dominated the Union, that it was the north as a whole that mattered. Perhaps the south would one day be included in this ideal, but forgiveness would take time.

This marks quite a shift away from my previous approach of tolerance; it simply does not work for Russia during this period as heretic faiths spread too easily and the south does not run nearly as efficiently as it might otherwise. I'm hoping for a Theologian so we can pass some of the helpful religious decisions and really get started on conversion. We shall also remain at -2 Innovation for now as that's what the Westernisation decision requires but, even so, I'm receiving enough missionaries for now. I didn't mention it explicitly but we are now an Administrative Republic, which allows full centralization and greater trade income, always a plus as opposed to a compete chance boost (we have a glut of merchants). Oh, and here's something I can't make my mind up on: what should the capital be called? It can't be St. Petersburg as, well, we never had a Peter of any variety. I'd really appreciate some suggestions, possibly Knyaz-based.

[Abraxas]

Ahh, it's nice to see my ideas put into action (at least I like to pretend the ideas are mine ). Generating those rebellions in the south definitely gave the chain of events a more naturalistic flavor. And I presume there will be plenty of violence with Persia later on and no more white peaces.

The question of naming your capital is indeed a tricky one. You could take the easy Brasilian route and simply name it Russia City or whatever that would be in Russian. It's a bit hard to say which one of your knyazes deserves to get a capital named after him so I'll vote for Alexander Nevsky who won his greatest victory somewhere near the new capital

[squigian]

That'll probably be the name then, based around Nevsky or Aleksandr. As for Persia, the only thing I fear is my declining military tradition. I'm almost certainly going to take Battlefield Commissions as my next idea, perhaps as a result of army incompetence and lost battles...

The other contenders for the next NI are Bill of Rights (in response to increased central power), Ecumenicism (Tolerating heretics does not bring ill-effects as tolerating Heathens does) and National Bank (always nice to be able to mint some more money). Anyone got any other suggestions? I'll probably update tomorrow as, well, the HoI III demo just came out!

[squigian]

Update 14: 1535-1549, The Great Consolidation

Glory Tarnished



I planned no war so I took this rather than the stability hit.

Despite civil unrest in the south, in the north life was getting more peaceful by the day. The threat of invasion from the east, south and west was nothing more than a memory, or at least seemed that way. As a result, the quality of the recruits available had diminished considerably, not helped at all by the lack of great generals to lead the Russian armies.



As was the case with his ascent to power, so was true of Khabarov's descent. Although a competent administrator, the Assembly felt that a strong leader with a real personality was needed to pull the Union together. Pyotr Potemkin, an ex-commander of some renown, was brought in to try to rejuvenate the government. They hoped that his brash, no-nonsense attitude would assist in this.



Before internal reform could be attempted, though, the border had to be secured. The old Danish alliance was restored and relations improved. Potemkin felt that expansion would be mostly to the south, anyway; Denmark could have the north if she so wished.



Now we're talking!

When it came to rejuvenating the country, though, Potemkin failed; he found that the capital* held less power than he had originally assumed and his attempts at rebuilding the military fell on death ears. His opponents, particularly the next Posadnik, Isaak Kurbski, began to call him 'Pyotr the Terrible' due to his outwardly slipshod efforts. In truth, the system was flawed by, nonetheless, it is probably true that Potemkin was not the right man for the job.

The Right Man In The Right Place



Evidence of this deeper problem can be seen in the rampant smuggling that took place during Kurbski's term of office. He is quoted as saying, in a speech to the Assembly, 'What we're dealing with here is a complete lack of respect for the law!'. Local potentates claimed that it was actually a failure to communicate but nonetheless Kurbski wished to increase central power.



Unseen; an event that let me move +2 mercantilist.

It was felt that perhaps the smugglers could be held in check best by further expanding the Union's own trading network, especially in the south. By establishing monopolies, Kurbski thought that it would let them better monitor trade and extend the central goverment's power over the local merchants who often associated themselves with the smugglers. It is interesting to see what impact the expanded trade network and the Union's hegemony of Russia had on everyday life. In 1399, most people merely ate bread, turnips and other root vegetables with the very occasional cut of local meat. Now this had been expanded to fish brought in from the coasts, pork (one of a number of things subsidised so as to make it more expensive to follow Islam) and even potatoes which were now reaching the Union's warmer climes.



Expanding the central government's power did not come without instability as the increasingly distrusted local lords had power taken away from them. Kurbski curbed the excesses of local mints and implemented new financial regulations, putting Russia on an inflation-decreasing trend for the first time in decades. The Assembly was finally seeing results from their chose of Posadnik so elected to give Kurbski a second term to solidify his reforms.



This was not all his doing, though. For over two decades, Nikodim Baranov had been working behind the scenes at finetuning Russia's tariff system. It would not do to divulge the details in this history as to do so would be very lengthy and most likely bore any reader without some qualifications in the field of economics. Suffice to say it was he who was behind much of Kurbski's counter-smuggling legislation and he who worked at expanding the trade links still further.



All thanks to Centralisation; only one way to go on that slider!

Kurbski kept a close correspondence with the King of Denmark, often asking him how best to solve problems but it is probably apocryphal to say that it was this that motivated him to delegate certain responsibilities to the Patriarch in order to solve some of his quandaries. By handing over more power to the Church, particularly in the south, the Union could have the best of both worlds; innovation within the elite and in the north, religious renewal in the south. Some in the Assembly and in the provinces resented the encroachment of the spiritual on temporal government but they generally fell into two camps: the first camp was not agitated enough by these changes to act against them and the second was already opposed to the government, so no new trouble was brought about, just a slight enlargement of the religious unrest in the south.



I like this event. I like it a lot. Not pictured: Kazakh giving me Zheteru and 350 ducats.

With this new order in place, and Russia returning somewhat to its old self, Kurbski felt it best to solidify his achievements by pursuing a long-held dream of many a Knyaz or Posadnik; repaying Persia for its previous aggression. This action showed up the weaknesses in the army, primarily in leadership, and enabled him to further shift the Union Army towards the idea of a professional, well-trained one over the old style of a hastily-drafted militia. Despite some setbacks, the campaign against Persia proceeded as he had forseen, attrition notwithstanding. The Shah was already contending with his disloyal nobles who were unhappy with the huge war taxes and levies of men being exacted upon them, due to the continual conflicts Persia found itself in, and wished for a quick end to the war. Kurbski did not want much land or money; he was happy that the Russian army had held its own even without great generals to guide it. What had been a potential decline in Russia's greatness had been avoided and a new path to glory was being forged.

I've really nothing to add here, nothing that hasn't been said besides the odd conversion here and there. Hmm, there is one oddity; when I'm recruiting mercenaries, all that's available is the stuff we were using a century ago! Oh, and does anyone know roughly when the advisor pool is restocked? There's about 6 guys in it at the moment, none with more than three stars.

*St. Aleksandrburg doesn't seem quite right; if there's a Russian speaker reading, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me how I'd render Aleksandr into a city name.

[TelcontarElessa]

Originally Posted by squigian

[center][size="5"]Update 14: 1535-1549, The
*St. Aleksandrburg doesn't seem quite right; if there's a Russian speaker reading, I'd appreciate it if you could tell me how I'd render Aleksandr into a city name.

I`m not a Russian, but a Serbian speaker, but something like 'Aleksandrovsk' comes to my mind ... It sounds nice, don't know if it's correct in terms of Russian language. Maybe even 'Aleksandrov', but I prefer first one.

As for advisors, I opened a topic some time ago, month or so, but I have'nt seen it lately, it probably sink down the pages ...

[squigian]

Originally Posted by TelcontarElessa

I`m not a Russian, but a Serbian speaker, but something like 'Aleksandrovsk' comes to my mind ... It sounds nice, don't know if it's correct in terms of Russian language. Maybe even 'Aleksandrov', but I prefer first one.

As for advisors, I opened a topic some time ago, month or so, but I have'nt seen it lately, it probably sink down the pages ...

I'll go for that, then. As for advisors, ours remain as mediocre as ever but, fear not; help is at hand!

Update 15: 1549-1559, An End To Decline

N.B. I have researched yet another book, this one a comprehensive history of Russia from 1550 to 1700, as well as a book telling us about the Russian Army's transition to using gunpowder:

East by Southeast: How Russia came to be Greater Russia by Magnus Nordmarken

Fire and Shock (1550-1620) by Dr. H.E. Schell

All Good Things...



The efforts of the Church in the south were only aggravating the local populace now, not converting them. One reason for this was that the central government's attitude was too lenient to frighten them into submission but not lenient enough that they did not feel angry. A number of rebellions were crushed over the next decade with comparatively few conversions to justify the Church's efforts.



Kurbsky, nevertheless, was still riding on his success against Persia. To capitalise on the nationalist feeling running through the country at the time, he had the capital renamed Aleksandrovsk and its surroundings designated as 'Nevsky' rather than Neva. As the capital had now shifted from Novgorod, the voting rules for the Assembly had changed; 'Great Lord Novgorod' still received a disproportionate number of representatives, 12 of 90, but now 18 came from the Nevsky area, 52 from the northern lands and 8 from the south.



Alas, his career came to an end with his death in 1552. It has been hypothesised that it was his use of the new herb that had arrived, tobacco, that ended his life. Whatever he died of, his successor, Nikodim Repnin, did not possess Kurbsky's diplomatic or military flair. He was, however, a competent enough administrator, having governed the Eastern Provinces for a time.

Before The Storm



This lack of military competence showed in his inability to rein in the overconfidence of the army; the last victory over Persia had left the frankly none-too-gifted generals very prideful of 'their' achievements. Coupled with the lack of a Zhiznomir or similar to advance military thinking, the Union Army was left in a tactical stasis for the next few years.



Repnin's lack of real vision beyond bureaucratic competence led to his eventual replacement by another bureaucrat, Vasiliy Glinski. A nervous man, he had been handpicked by the Federalists as a suitable 'representative' of their interests. It would be worth mentioning that now the Assembly was divided between the majority Federalists, the minority Provincials and the even smaller 'Novaya Russia' group, who campaigned for an even more Russo-centric approach to provincial policy.



Although Glinski was personally shy and nervous, he was not gullible. Although he lacked in diplomacy, secrets and lies were not foreign to him and he often used his personal wealth to smooth over problems with other nations. The conflict between Russia and Venice in trade was truly global, both trade networks playing a key role in the markets of both Europe and Asia. It was hardly unusual for bribes to be exchanged in order to avert conflict but for a Posadnik to get involved was unheard of.



'Greece', as the breakaways from the Republic of Genoa called themselves, had long been a desirable conquest for the Union, its wines as highly valued as its ports. Glinski had his agents fabricate claims to the region, covering up his tracks quite well by paying off those who might protest against such a course of action.

All Bad Things...



Using the justification of the Crimea being an historical part of Russia, Glisnki was able to move upon the tiny state, forcing it into vassalage and extracting a healthy sum of money into the bargain. If the claims had been genuine, it seems sensible to think that annexation would have been immediate rather than occur decades later, diplomatically.



Another quick war occured in 1558, against a variety of Khanates. In the end, Russia was able to exact over 1000 ducats in tribute from them, her modern army rolling over the opposition. However, it was at this time that Glinski's Greek secret was discovered; he faced much hostility in the Assembly even as he protested that what he had done was not illegal, as he was the Posadnik. Nevertheless, he was forced to resign before he was impeached.



I'm taking bets as to whether this guy will get more than one term. Actually, make that more than one YEAR.

The man who was to replace Glinski was Artemiy Spiridof, yet another Governor of Astrakhan. Even at the beginning of his term, people saw something different about him. The Venetian Ambassador remarks on his energy, charismatic presence, keen judgement and brilliant mind; even today he is held up as an example of brilliant statesmanship. Yet, more unusual than this was how different his views were from those of his fellows; he had a vision of Russia, not as a European Empire but as a free Union straddling Europe and Asia, all the way from Madurai to Jerusalem to Nevsky.

This guy is going to be fun! Not only does he have those lovely stats but he also has combat statistics of 2/6/0/1, a decent general given that Army Tradition is trailing at about 13%. Anyway, we're heading in the general direction of India in the next update; it's some way south of us, and it looks like we'll have to cut our way through Persia...

[Abraxas]

It's good to se there's been some steady progress since I last came by. But what's holding your missionaries back? Low conversion chances or just one of those strokes of bad luck the game just loves to throw at you every now and then? And yay, more Persian wars, I hope they'll turn out to be something worth reporting, unlike your recent confortations with minor powers.

And I'll bet the new posadnik will die between the declaration of war and the first battle

[squigian]

Originally Posted by Abraxas

It's good to se there's been some steady progress since I last came by. But what's holding your missionaries back? Low conversion chances or just one of those strokes of bad luck the game just loves to throw at you every now and then? And yay, more Persian wars, I hope they'll turn out to be something worth reporting, unlike your recent confortations with minor powers.

And I'll bet the new posadnik will die between the declaration of war and the first battle

Conversion chances are ~10-15%; of the ten provinces I have attempted in the last few years, about 2 came around. Can't complain, though; I did have about 4 conversions in one month, including Astrakhan, in Kurbsky's reign! Speaking of Persian wars, I was so eager to try out my new Posadnik that I've finished the first war with Persia and am doing an extra-special update on it tonight.

[squigian]

Chapter 16: 1559-1563, Russian Fire

A Return To Arms



Along with the recruiting act, this brings our minimum 'natural' Army Tradition level up from 6.6666% recurring to 40%!

Spiridof, like many of his predecessors, took a keem interest in the army. Unlike many of those who had, though, he was extremely qualified to improve it. He lamented the lack of talent amongst the current generals, saying that the Russian cannon were not only of a higher caliber but more reliable and faster to move. He moved quickly to break up the then-current system of only ex-Assembly members and governors could be nominated to a generalship and replace it with two requirements for generalship. Firstly, a man would have to have been a unit commander prior to his generalship, so as to understand unit tactics. Secondly, written exams would have to be taken to ensure that he would make a good general, rather than just being a common unit commander. These reforms would have an extremely positive effect of Russia's military over the coming centuries.



War with Persia was practically inevitable. Spiridof was a man of action in charge of the most powerful republic on the face of the earth*; what's more, Persia was an exhausted empire locked in a war with the Ming Empire. He personally led an army across the border winning victory after victory, siege forces following in his wake.



For some reason, dragging the dialogue boxes over other images causes the white parts to become see-through (look at the second box).

The Persian Grand Mufti was forced to conclude a white peace with Ming, despite having advanced some way into their newly-acquired Kazakh lands. Nobody had quite anticipated that he would then be so bold as to march them over the border, directly into Russia in the autumn of 1560 but, luckily, Russia had armies in this area, suppressing the Tartar Muslims. The already depleted armies of the Mufti were defeated by the time winter rolled around.

Shades Of Alexander



I stumbled into this mess by accident, pursuing a smaller Persian army only to find that a FAR larger one had suddenly appeared.

The highlight of the war, though, was Spiridof's performance at the Battle of Fars. Outnumbered by over four to one, he orchestrated a cavalry battle still taught in military institutions today as a brilliant combination of delaying tactics and local superiority. He enticed his enemy to attack his smaller army, luring them onto open ground piecemeal and distracting the enemy cavalry with his own. He made it impossible for Aga Muhammad Azizi to concentrate his forces and reorganise, effectively taking control of his own forces away from him. As a result, the Persian army was picked apart and left the field in complete disorder.



Such victories helped reinforce pride in the Union Army, propelling many young men to join up to serve or command, quite differently from the 'generation of cowards' of decades past.



Progress further north was halted as the stubborn Persian defenders held their ground. The Russians could take these places by storm, if they were willing to pay the price, due to the great difference in the quality of siege engineering between the two sides.



Hello, decent advisor!

The war was not just fought on the battlefield but also in the Assembly. They appointed Pyotr Chernigovets, a ukrainian emigré, as Inspector-General of the Armed Forces. It was his job to look into ways of improving the army and making sure the troops and officers were doing their duty to the utmost of their abilities.



With the fall of the northern fortresses, Spiridof was able to link up with reinforcements as well as send out two strong armies to take further provinces. Fars soon fell, due to treachery on the part of the Russian merchants inside the city, as well as parts of the Persian heartland. The war may well have continued had it not been for the sudden uprisings from nationalists in territories 'liberated' by Russia.



As it was, a satisfactory peace deal was concluded between the Mufti and the Posadnik, Russia receiving a number of wealthy provinces south of Georgia and Armenia being granted her freedom.



It was no wonder the Spiridof was re-elected given his glorious achievements. However, the members of the Assembly, particularly the merchants, were growing nervous of a military man gaining so much political power. Privately, parallels were drawn between him and Feodosiy Barashev; for now, though, they would watch him closely and hoped he would continue to use his skills for the good of the Republic.

He actually survived! And we could not have done quite so well in so short a time without him. Conversions continue mostly unchanged, the occasional success breaking up the monotony of money being drained from our treasury. Just to outline my eventual goals: Russia will possess its historical lands as well as the Holy Land, Greece, the Baltic States, the richer portions of India and China, eastern Hungary and, last but most certainly not least, Mecklenburg, currently held by the Danes. So, my (mostly) silent audience, I shall resume this AAR tomorrow.

*Venice doesn't count!

[Beamed]

Great AAR. Interesting, has a lot of pretty pictures, good detail that doesn't leave doubt, and even no exploits! I'll continue to lurk.