Novgorod, Tsavorite of the North!

[squigian]

Thanks. The only problem that remains in terms of freedom is cultural discrimination, really; I think a national idea to get around this would have been a nice addition (although Bill of Rights takes care of the revolt risk and gives the 'minority prospers' event).

[squigian]

Chapter 22: 1609-1620, Shades of Incompetence

Bad Perception



Years of relative peace in the north and the spread of Russian influence to the south had been seen by the people as proof of governmental competence. This perception meant that the economy prospered as merchants invested money that would have otherwise been saved or ordinary peasants and townspeople spent what little disposable income they had on trade goods. As a result, 1610 was a bumper tax year for the Union, bringing in huge sums that would be reinvested into local infrastructure. The customs houses and so forth built with this money would in turn make trade even more profitable than before and getting from state to state a less arduous task.



These successes were not traced back to Menshikov, though. The success of his policies had made the Assembly somewhat complacent in terms of administration, thinking that their success could not be easily undone. By associating them with the government as a whole, and not the man, he was not able to gain the support necessary for re-election. Instead, the brother of Fyodor Chuiski was elected, a highly energetic if somewhat erratic military adventurer who had made his name and fortune in the Russo-Persian wars.



Before attrition, the first was a 20k stack, the other a 30k stack.

On Chuiski's agenda was the annexation of Bessarabia. Long had the Union wished war with Hungary, as they tried to stir up trouble in the states, not to mention the fact that they held onto very rich lands* that could be easily integrated into the Union. Preparations for an eventual war had been made since the beginning of the century, huge fortresses built by the renowned engineer Kirill Repnin having been constructed along the border. The only thing that had been lacking for the declaration of war was a cause that would not draw in Hungary's allies, forcing Denmark to choose between Russia and a fellow kingdom. The answer came with the Saxon inheritance, in which Saxony's King Frederick VII obtained the throne. Russia could then be assured of Denmark's support; she had long wished to take over the tiny German state and even the Hungarian alliance would not stop them.

Russia's plan was simple; lure the Hungarians into the country with rumours of a planned Polish-Ruthenian revolt and watch as they vainly sieged Repnin's forts in the middle of a barren no-mans-land. This strategy did fool the Hungarians for a time, long enough for Russia to manoeuver her armies into position and destroy much of the Royal Hungarian Army, before taking the offensive themselves. They found the kingdom ill-prepared for an invasion and, despite Austrian help, the Russians soon held the entire Eastern Frontier. Russia and Denmark seized this opportunity to extract very favourable terms from the Saxons due to the tiny size of their state. After this peace was signed, Ivan Spiridof also seized Budjak and the small treasury kept there; the Hungarians were in no position to resist Russia's demands for the time and greatly resented losing a key port to their hated enemy.



Chuiski became embroiled in a trade scandal with his brother, though, apparently smuggling spice between Russia and the Persian territories through Georgia. Whether this allegation was true or not, it was enough to motivate the Assembly to demand his immediate replacement. A mainly Republican-backed candidate, Bogdan Barayatiski, stepped up to the plate. He declared that he would use his power to attempt to reverse what he saw as the harmful effects the previous two Posadniks had had on the Russian state.



Being hardly the most diplomatic individual, Barayatiski deferring to the wisdom of the Assembly was probably the best course of action for the country. Some argue that Russia should have exploited her success and expanded into Europe at this point though whether it could have done so and not become some form of military dictatorship is a question left to other historians. Whatever potential was squandered, Assembly policy managed to convince the other states of the world that Russia was not interested in further wars, as Barayatiski himself was not. Many members of the Assembly only voted for war out of patriotism, and the fact that their constituencies were out of the way of the warzone, mostly. It had been a long time since a war had made itself felt in the northern lands, and even the south-east, to be honest.



The other option gives 5 inflation!

Barayatiski then attempted an administrative reform. It would be unfair to critcise his abilities in this field, as some historians have done, but two things have to be understood. Firstly, trade was not his area of expertise; he dabbled far more in organising production and taxation. Secondly, he wanted to dispense with what the previous two Posadniks had done, and that meant he often threw out the baby with the bathwater; this is merely the biggest and clearest example of this. Getting rid of Menshikov's reforms meant that Russia's finances, and more importantly the electorate, were worse off than at the beginning of his term. These reforms would be reinstated by the '20s, but for now, the damage would remain in place.

Adventure, ho!



The perceived failure of the provincialist sections of the Assembly led to the Novaya Russia faction getting their first Posadnik into power for some time. Epifaniy Shuiski was hardly the sharpest knife in the draw and had made his name as something of a legend amongst the gentlemens' clubs of Aleksandrovsk as a demagogue and audacious leader. Perhaps the free vodka had convinced them, or there truly was no-one better-suited for the job available but Shuiski was confirmed in his position by April of 1617. He was keen to get started on living up to his rhetoric and moved for another war with Turkey.



The ill-prepared Russian Army's performance against the Turks was, quite frankly, embarrassing, though not quite as embarrassing as Shuiski's attempts at leadership. At the Battle of Basra, for example, he actually placed his artillery at the centre of the front line. This allowed to Ottomans to easily break through with their Sihapi cavalry, routing the Russians, causing 1,000s of Russian casualties, a feat unheard of for decades. Luckily for Shuiski, though, the Sultan was more concerned with the internal stability of his empire and believed that Russian numbers could lead to a wasteful war and exhausting war of attrition. Thus, he was more than happy for the Russians to take the troublesome province of Mosul and the governor's personal treasury, especially since it had a chance of making the Russian's re-elect their incompetent leader.

Shuiski then turned his attention to Persia, hoping to recreate Spiridof's achievements. Although the Russians were triumphant in this war too, taking Hormuz (which was the sole Persian port, completely isolated from the rest of the Theocratic State), it was certainly not thanks to Shuiski's efforts. Senyavin's reforms and the lack of a real Persian resistance meant that this war could have been won by a sleeping bear as much as Shuiski. If we are to believe certain ribald theatre of the time, the bear would have made less noise, at least, both in terms of snoring and speaking.



Needless to say, his boasting over victories that he had little to do with did not endear him to the Assembly. We are told, too, from the diaries of Dmitry Skopin, a prominent civil servant, that many regarded him as something of a country bumpkin who was completely out of place in the capital. The Assembly certainly did seem very prejudiced in picking their next leader, an erudite representative from Aleksandrovsk itself. He had a keen eye for numbers but virtually no experience of the wider world beyond perhaps Novgorod. Hopefully he would not have too much difficulty adjusting to his new role.

So here we are. It was at this point that I actually learnt a couple of things that I found quite helpful (and you'll see what I mean in the next update). Firstly, province improvements have special effects if you have certain trade goods, making some more worth building than before. Secondly, cavalry have an insane modifier during this period; I can't believe I neglected this so much before, and you'll see in the next update just how powerful they are. Now I just need a surefire way of getting some decent advisors!

*Near every single province in Hungary has a manufactory in it.

[Nodscouterr]

Could we get a world map please?

[squigian]

It really hasn't changed much since the centenary. I'll upload another if something really interesting happens in the global political situation.

Chapter 23: 1620-1629, A Necessary Move

Inviting Opposition



Apraxine soon showed his naïvety by sparking a feud with Georgia. The state had been Russia's vassal for all of living memory, and this prompted the Posadnik to criticise what they had done in this time. Not only were they behind the rest of the world technologically, they had not altered their government as the Russians had to accomodate those without a noble or mercantile background. Only the capital itself had a majority of Christians, the rest very similar in outlook to the old Horde. Apraxine went further still, declaring that if the Georgians had changed their ways within four years, converted their population and developed their country, Russia would see it as her duty to forcibly integrate them into the Union. Needless to say such ill-considered speaking did not win him many friends in Georgia or in the Assembly.



At the same time as Apraxine made something of a fool of himself, the military was restless. They had been gravely worried by Russia's poor performance in the last war with the Turks and their fears were not assuaged by the presence of what they saw as a Posadnik incapable of dealing with such matters. The new cavalry regiments raised prior to the last war rallied round the banner of Senyavin who convinced much of the army that what was needed was a change of leadership. Senyavin himself would not do, though; he was, after all, not from an old enough family to command the respect he would need as a Posadnik or greatly talented outside of his chosen fields of expertise. Luckily for this faction, the right man was waiting in the wings.



Ovchina-Obolenski was a Muscovite by birth, unlike his namesake ancestor, and a scion of one of the great military families of Russia. This had been part of the 'Kievan wave' of generals, a little-talked-about phenomenon; as the Horde had collapsed, many had risen to claim lands in the south. These men had cited their names as evidence of the birthright; Obolenski, Repnin and so on. Funnily enough, he was the very opposite of his ancestor in terms of military talent, an artillery expert rather than a cavalry leader. Regardless of this little history lesson, all the reader has to take from this is that when he marched into the Assembly and had Aparaxine dragged away for imprisonment, the Novaya Russian faction backed him and the others dared not challenge him, be it for fear of his loyal troops or just out of respect for his ancestral name.

Free Rein



To prevent challenge to his rule, and bowing to his supporters' demands, Ovchina-Obolenski plunged the Union once more into war with the Ottoman Empire. This time, however, they were prepared. Mosul became a killing ground for the Ottomans, changing hands at least four times over the course of the war. The Russians re-applied their Hungarian strategy to the Turks and it worked even better than imagined, thanks to the huge armies the Sublime Porte had raised against them.



Watch me try and justify a decision I only took because it's bound to lead to later hilarity.

Although the Posadnik was from a military background, his noble upbringing had led him to become something of a diplomat. The Ming Empire was going through a time of troubles. Exhausted from war, it was close to collapse and needed outside help to maintain its dominions. So, when a Chinese emissary approached with an offer of an alliance, it was an understandable move for Obolenski to accept. The collapse of the Empire would mean dozens of tiny khanates, raiding the Union and barring trade to the east. For all his faults, Obolenski had great regard for his ancestors and knew that they would not want a resurgence of what they had fought so desperately to destroy.



Although he had diplomatic success in the East, in the West many were unnerved by the dictatorship that seemed to have seized control of the Union. Russia's merchants faced continued opposition from the Venetians and French and Obolenski was in no way equipped to cope with a trade crisis, military man that he was. Only two years into his dictatorship and his poor administrative skills had begun to show. The Assembly had officially been dissolved at this point but, in the clubs and taverns of the capital, political groups continued to meet. We must remember that this was before the days of organised spy networks, at least in Russia, so the state had limited ways to combat what was seen as sedition.



War had raged for three years, the Empire being pushed out of the Holy Land, Iraq and Syria, Russia actually making some incursions into Turkey itself. The Sultan was forced to cede the rest of his Iraqi possessions as well as southern Syria, his empire shaken by the resounding defeat it had just been delivered. Obolenski looked secure, and his triumph helped secure his position in the eyes of the army, but dissent continued to grow amongst those who had until recently possessed a vote.

Marching Through Georgia



The Posadnik's next move was to make good on Apraxine's promise to deal with the Georgians. They were in position to oppose Russia's numerically superior, disciplined and westernised troops but a concerted resistance would continue for many years afterwards. Indeed, the capital was forced to concede power so that the regional governor could adequately deal with the problems posed by this new addition to Russia's territory. Ovchina-Obolenski decided that his skills would be necessary for this task, and he marched his personal army of 25,000 men south to take control of the territory, leaving the capital at a crucial time.



With Obolenski absent and Senyavin politically isolated, the 'Golden Revolution' of 1629 was launched on the 5th of July. The Republican Guard, roused by former Assembly members, stormed the Capitol building and reinstated the Assembly. Senyavin fled the city for Austria, leaving his future plans behind him; the invitation of the long-lost heir to the Muscovite dynasty to Russia, to rule upon his return. At least, that is the official story; some historians question the likelihood of such a person, with a strong claim to throne, at least, being so easy to find. Ovchina-Obolenski, upon hearing news of this, immediately resigned his position as Posadnik. The Assembly, headed by Yefin Adashev, worked quickly to make it look as though he had been a mere figurehead, allowing the nobleman to keep his place in society as a useful general and governor.

Perhaps it should be explained the difference between those men recruited from the cities, and those from the country. The Republican Guard, Army of the West and Army of Astrakhan came primarily from the big cities of Russia. Here, they were far more exposed to politics, especially for soldiers. They were also economically better off than their country counterparts, and thus more likely to have the vote, or to have friends or family with a vote. Thus they actually lost out in a dictatorship, surprisingly enough, and supported the
'revolutionaries' against the reaction. The Novaya Russia faction was all but destroyed by this counteraction to growing military power and illegal occupation of office. Some readers may be happy to know that Apraxine was released from imprisonment after Adashev's election and promptly managed to lose his seat. He lived happily ever after as a tax inspector.



Despite the chaos of the past few years, Russian Persia had been stable. The Bill of Rights let the many cultures there prosper as they continued to integrate into Russian society. This would, however, bring a new problem to the Union: the issue of voting rights. As the Persians became Orthodox Christians, and accepted their new rulers, it was inevitable that they would have to be granted similar rights to the peoples of the north. But would this mean the north would have to sacrifice power? Would Aleksandrovsk no longer be the 'true' capital of Russia? And how would the Union deal with the future challenges of taking on-board the Arabs and, dare they think it, India?

Doing this has made me think; surely the capital's position should have more of an effect on the game? On a less speculative note, now that we have a Ming alliance, I'll be interested how often they honour it (considering they have -99 Prestige). Also, I'll be laying off the wars for a while: we're at 'tarnished', which is my personal limit for this AAR, just to reflect our gradual expansion and the fact we're actually pretty nice guys.

[USSR]

Great progress. Plz continue the good work.

[squigian]

Sure thing, dear reader! I'm really enjoying myself at the moment now that the whole world's opened up to us.

Chapter 24: 1629-1648, Eastern Promises

East India Company



Adashev did not do enough to solidify his position, though. He was a good enough speaker and administrator but lacked a certain gravitas; the Assembly did not feel that the Union was as strong as it might be and that he was not the man to lead it. As a result of this perception, and his failure to correct it, the ruling Republican-Unionist coalition chose a new Posadnik, Andrei Yermak, the former military governor of the Indus territories. He maintained a special interest in the area and a desire to expand Russia's presence in the peninsula, especially since Venice and Spain were doing so, and France had taken control of the Spice Islands from Brunei.



Sind presented a problem for Yermak's desires. Their country rested in such a position as to block access to the whole of the Indian subcontinent over land; their capital was built to command the Indus and, as such, any sort of land movement to or from India would be controlled by Sind. Yermak found few problems in initiating a war with the small Muslim state under the pretext of harm done to Russian merchants. The 'war' was over quickly and Kutch seized, its wealth confiscated by the Governor of the Indus. Although it was disconnected from the rest of the Union the navy was now strong enough to secure the trade lanes between the exclave and the Persian coast.



To handle this disconnection, Yermak got into contact with one of the many trader friends he had made as governor. Together with a group of investors, they formed the Russian East India Company. This organisation would take over the administration of Kutch and attempt to penetrate the markets further east. Although only a small collection of investments amongst a circle of friends in 1631, it would soon grow as Russia made its presence felt in the Subcontinent.



Although he had not done that much to strengthen the Union, or answer the Persian Question, the improving economy and success in India meant that the Assembly saw fit to re-elect Yermak for a second term, especially since the Federalist-Provincial coalition had not yet solidified a position on Persian voting rights.

Andrei Yermak and the Last Crusade



The Ottoman Empire was weaker than at any time in recent history, Ahmet I desperately trying to find allies and vassals to support his now-disintegrating realm. Russia sensed this weakness and so pounced, the small sultunate of Hassa being their first objective. As the Russian forces marched into Turkey and Palestine, the Sultan of Hassa was forced into vassalization. Yermak promised him sole dominion over the whole of Arabia in the Treaty of Fars, something that probably influenced his decision to yield so early in the war.



The Posadnik himself led the Army of Fars which, combined with the Persian Corps and Army of Iraq, managed to defeat the Turks, annihilating the Royal Army at the walls of now-Christian Beirut. They then spread out, taking city after city until Jerusalem itself lay before them. Further north, Van and Mus had fallen to Russian arms.

At the same time as all this was going on, the Russian merchants had begun to consolidate Iraq, integrating it properly into the trading network with government-supported market places and a new system of customs houses in particularly important trade routes. What is interesting to note is that the quality of the roads in the region had remained unchanged for near a whole century, dusty trails offering little in the way of fast transport or security for travellers. The increased trade fostered by the improved civic infrastructure meant increased customs revenues which would be reinvested over the next few decades to remedy this problem*.



Sadly, for Yermak at least, he was not to be the one to conclude a peace treaty with the Ottomans. He sustained great wounds during the siege of Jerusalem, living long enough to see the city fall. His troops bore him to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where a brief scuffle between the monks took place as they fought over who got to look after him. He died on the 7th of August 1635, a day still celebrated for the Christian reclaiming of Jerusalem. News took some time to travel back to the capital of these developments but, when it did, the Republicans (Yermak's true faction) were able to secure the election of their chosen candidate with ease.



Take this as evidence of how weak the Ottomans have actually become.

Interestingly enough, the Treaty of Alexandria was negotiated primarily by Swahili and Russian diplomats, rather than Russia. The Hungarians saw this as a sign of weakness and begun their own war against the Turks just as they were forced to cede the entire Levant and Van to Russia. This was a truly prestigious occasion, elevating the Union in the eyes of Christendom. The Lebanese in particular were quite happy with having Christian rulers and the Azerbaijani people who lived around Lake Van were also glad to be reunited with their brethren in the Union, even if they did not have a nation of their own at this point.



All our small ships were destroyed in a long naval engagement against Ottoman galleys. Our big ships survived just fine.

Russia's military had undergone a demographic shift of sorts in the '30s, the eventual result being the development of the more flexible Eastern Tercio and greater numbers of cavalry on the battlefield. Artillery, too, had become smaller and lighter, more viable for fighting on the battlefield rather than just for bombardment. Russia's military was now the most disciplined fighting force in the world, if not the most advanced in terms of firearms.



Unseen is the Army Reform event that gave me +2 Quality.

The Siberian Seizure remains one of the most controversial episodes in Russian history. Romodanovski, upon being returned to office, severed relations with Muslim Sibir, claiming that they had barred Russia's path eastwards for too long. The Siberians bravely resisted, of course, but they were gravely outnumbered and outclassed. All their lands bar Tyumen were seized and Russian settlers moved in. They found the Siberian Tundra even less developed than expected, large swathes lacking so much as a hill fort or cottage workbench. The Siberians had set up a great meeting place at Surgut, a town that would be fortified by the Russians and used as a trading centre. This would be a great boon to the future Siberian settlers, the only equivalent cities in the north being Novgorod and Astrakhan.

Romodanovski came from a wealthy family of merchants and was very eager to add to this fortune. They had missed the boat, so to speak, on the Indus trade but he was convinced that there was profit to be had in the frigid eastern wastes. Assembling an expedition with his brother Platon, the Posadnik headed east, hopefully to glory.

I've FINALLY begun to head east into Siberia, long since the decision to do so disappeared. We also have Jerusalem, which lets me drop the Divine Supremacy idea (more on that historically in the next update). I'm up to 1668 as of writing and Badboy, at least within my RPing limits, is becoming a problem. I'll probably take Cabinet as my next idea, since Scientific Revolution is out of my reach for now and Press Gangs can wait as money is not an object for now. Why does Cabinet lower badboy, anyway? I'd have thought it would make a lot more sense if it boosted your ruler's skills or gave you better advisors.

Oh, and here's a world map, accurate for 1650, as requested. Things actually have changed quite a lot, and even more by 1668 (I've got my eye on Hungary...). As always, click for a bigger image.

[Fronzel]

Originally Posted by squigian

Why does Cabinet lower badboy, anyway? I'd have thought it would make a lot more sense if it boosted your ruler's skills or gave you better advisors.

Because you're assembling a skilled team of statesmen who can argue for your country's interests?

Or because you can blame one of them for the badboy and sack them?

[blsteen]

Superb, time to russianize siberia. To the Pacific!

[squigian]

@Fronzel: That makes sense, especially the blame part. Still, I can't wait to have a way of getting better advisors with HttT.

@blsteen: We're making steady progress in that direction; next update is where that really starts to show.

Chapter 25: 1648-1668, 20 Years of Mediocrity

Aleksandrovsk, we have a problem



Romodanovski was never seen again, his party having split of from his brother's, heading south, deep into the frozen wastes. Subsequent attempts at colonisation were more successful and Russia began to creep towards the coast. The Assembly had become polarised over the seizure of the Siberian lands, the Provincials outraged and the Novaya Russia faction approving of what they saw as the righting of an ancient wrong. In the end, a Federalist compromise candidate was elected to end this polarisation. Expectations were, quite frankly, astronomical.



Gagarin was not exactly suited to the role and rose mostly due to the other candidates raising too much opposition in key quarters. There was a genuine danger that the foreign, disenfranchised people of the Union would fall out of Russia's orbit. Accepting all these many cultures would just lead to less control over the country and greatly strengthen the conservative factions in the Assembly. However, the Persian people had not only converted to Christianity but shown what Gagarin, and many prominent Russians, viewed as a culture every bit as rich and civilized as the primary Russian one.

Thus Gagarin managed to get a Bill passed for the formation of a Persian Regional Assembly. In return for a pledge of allegiance to the Union and a guarantee that Aleksandrovsk would retain military control and revenues, the Persian area would be divided into three states centred around the three most prominent cities in the country: Fars, Ajam and Hormuz. The Assembly also gained 10 new seats, for a total of 100, representatives for Persia. This proposal only passed by a narrow margin; some historians have even theorised that the Persian notables who stood to gain from this Bill heavily bribed the Republicans to back it. There is certainly evidence from the personal letters of the men involved that bribery was involved on both sides but the extent to which this occurred is impossible to quantify. Regardless, this laid the foundations for a stable and strong union of free and equal peoples that would come about by the beginning of the 19th century.



The Ottoman Empire was now little more than a Sultanate like any other with the Russians, Hungarians and even the Armenians attempting to carve off a piece of the 'Sick Man of Europe'. The war actually began with the actions of the Governor of Judea's attempts to seize control of Gaza after a border dispute left him with the 'legal' ability to do so. Before long, Gagarin had been forced to declare war, due in part to his poor diplomatic abilities and due to the Assembly's belligerence. At their insistence, he led an expedition to capture Constantinople (not Istanbul as the Hungarians had forced the Ottomans to relocate their capital). Although this placed the newly-formed Army of Thrace in a precarious position, and the province itself was wedged between Hungarian holdings, the Assembly could not bear to see the formerly Orthodox capital be taken from their hated enemies by those that also opposed all the Republic stood for. Thus, for the first time in two centuries, Constantinople was in Christian hands.



Gagarin, despite his modest skillset, had made quite an impact on the Union and looked set to ascend to greater heights. Alas, his career was cut short during an inspection of artillery in which the new rocket battery he and an entourage were viewing malfunctioned, killing some 8 people including the Posadnik. The lack of control that Gagarin had displayed, though, was noted, especially in regards to the commencement of the last war with the Ottomans. As a result, the government grew more hawkish and, with the popular Posadnik dead, a Unionist general was propelled to the executive.

A Glimpse of Hope



In the wake of the near-equality granted to the Persians, the other cultures in the Union grew restless. The Georgians were just one of these, perhaps best remembered because Senyavin himself fought them. We must not forget the Muslim uprisings in the former Turkish territories and lands of the steppe people, as well as the Kutchian Uprising. What is debatable, though, is the significance of these rebellions. Militarily, they were ineffective; the Russians were too numerous, their forts too strong and their weapons too advanced to confront head-on. They did disrupt the local economy slightly, the Kutch Uprising, for instance, destroying the East India Company's offices. On a national level, though, the effects were minimal; there are few records of Assembly members raising the issue or complaints being issued beyond local government. Arguably, though, the rebellions did play a role in the extension of the Bill of Rights to cover all the peoples of the Union, at the turn of the 18th century.

Going in Circles



As the Union was pacified, the Assembly fell out of love with Senyavin. He received his second term due to the lack of a credible opposition; the members felt that his militarism had its place in putting down uprisings but did little to prevent them from happening again. A well-connected young nobleman had collected quite a coalition of powerful friends, some who saw him as a source of wealth, others as a pliable Posadnik. Exploiting Senyavin's weakness in the wake of his unpopular war with the Golden 'Horde', he put himself forward as a candidate for change. The Posadnik's administration had, admittedly, been lamentable, but the Republican Koltsov-Mosalski proved little better.



The new Posadnik first attempted to bolster his popularity by finishing what Senyavin had started. He extracted a punitive peace deal with the Sultanates of the Steppes in an effort to demonstrate his martial prowess. His foes countered that not only had he done nothing personally to win this victory but that now Kazakh had turned her attention to the east, reclaiming lands and gaining new ones out of the decaying Ming Empire. Despite the Russian alliance, it had done nothing to prevent the re-emergence of the Qin dynasty and Oirat Horde. Russia had maintained her alliance with Ming but had no desire to become embroiled in a foreign civil war.



The construction of a grand fleet had also been a project that had been started on Senyavin's watch and was completed during Mosalski's term of office. It was actually this that would play a key role in bringing him down; the investigations of a journalist led him to discover a link between the Posadnik and a shipwright who had been adding 'special' fees to the construction of new ships. What was especially strange was that his prices were so much higher than the other shipwrights that the Union was using. An official investigation found that this had been consistently overlooked and the money flowing from the treasury to a prominent merchant closely linked to Mosalski. In truth, it seems consistent with what we know of his character to believe that he did not know of these matters but merely delegated poorly. Regardless, the Assembly, deeply disappointed with his performance and using the corruption charges as a 'casus belli' in terms of forcing him to resign.

Musical Chairs



Russia's reputation had taken a beating over the years, France and Venice both maintaining embargoes against the Union; the corruption charges against the Posadnik had not helped matters. Thus, a prominent diplomat won the next election for the Federalists. Over the next four years, he would restore ties between the centre and the provinces, rebuild relations with the other major powers with whom Russia had nothing to gain from war and reaffirm the Danish alliance, an agreement that had endured for over a century by this point. This did mean the concession of Vilna to the Danish kingdom but Chuiski was willing to permit this if it meant Russia could keep a trusted friend.



The electorate, though, felt otherwise. Many Russians thought that Russia was weakening, not having engaged in war or achieved much besides the construction of a great navy, a force traditionally looked down upon. This was reflected in the election results in which Chuiski, a representative for the Ukraine, actually lost his seat thanks to a sudden resurgence of Unionist deputies. The man propelled to power by this shift in attitude was an old general who had served some time as a the governor of the Northern Territory, that centred around the Andreigrad manufactory. He had a plan to restore Russia's military reputation, one that began with in the East.

We sure do get through those Posadniks pretty rapidly. Fun fact: I got the chance to re-elect each of the bad rulers and did not do so, only to get a decent one that only lasted a term! This is just a phase we're going through, though...hopefully. Next update, we get some decent leaders and get back to warring. Also, if anyone knows, does jut converting your ruler into a general increase the odds of their dying before an election? That seems to be a reoccuring phenomenon.

[squigian]

Chapter 26: 1668-1679, An Expanding Empire

N.B. Another book has been added to my research:

The Collapse of the Asian Order (1650-1750) by K. Oz

Exploration



Petrov's love of the north had given him a taste for remote climes across the world. He maintained a certain love for exploration, which was perceived by the more conservative Assembly as being more conduicive to their expansionist interests. Siberian colonisation had continued apace ever since it had begun under Romodanovski but, for the first time, the Union had begun to extend itself east of Lake Kama, at least officially. Military outposts and fortified towns had been constructed throughout the previously barren wastes. As for the natives, integration was mostly easy, the tribes having little reason to attack the isolated Russian communities and the towns doing little to provoke them, at least for now.



Russia's fleets did not sit idly by as the Colonial Corps led the way to the Pacific. An Eastern Expedition was organised to scout out the East Indies which were now partially occupied by the French but still mostly under the control of Aceh and Brunei. The Posadnik himself came on this expedition, visiting Venetian Madurai and sampling the local cuisine before joining the fleet all the way to Banten. This absence, and the lack of war, weakened his position in the Assembly. Petrov did not stand for re-election, instead electing to settle down in the Indus region in the hopes of broadening his personal exploration of the Far East. This prevented a political crisis that might have split the Unionists; instead, their clear second-in-command was easily able to get the support of the entire party.



Prepare for great ruler to die in 3...2...1...

Artemiy Apraxine had big plans for the country. In the east, he wished to Russify the Siberian colonies. Currently, they were semi-autonomous in an effort to foster growth and encourage further expansion without the central government hampering them. Apraxine wished to fund regional capitals that would give the government a real presence in the provinces in exchange for giving the pioneers proper trading centres and fortifications. Diplomatically, there were also options in the west; Hungary was embroiled in a prolonged war with Venice, one that was beneficial to both Russia's security situation and for the iron-producing regions that made up a significant proportion of the north-eastern economy. In regards to the military, Apraxine took on board a young and promising officer by the name of Varfolomey Tottleben to overview and reform the current military.



Their stats are 5/5 4/3 3/4. The fire stats don't help much considering that the enemy nearly always flees after 5 days.

Tottleben completely changed Russian thinking with regard to unit tactics. Previously, Russian troops had been based around the idea of melée as the height of the battle and ranged fire as supporting the movements of the pikemen and cavalry. However, advances in weapon technology, especially the appearance of the plug bayonet and the widespread distribution of flintlock muskets, had leant more weight to the School of Fire, or the Danish School, over the School of Shock, or the French School, as they were known at the time. Tottleben sided with the Danish School and, together with a team of experts, came up with a new infantry soldier, the Russian New Model as it was known around the world. Equipped with the latest firearms available, ammunition distribution was upped to 18 rounds per soldier, from 9, and new lightweight clothing was issued. This would make the Russian New Model less durable in melée combat but better able to suppress and harrass enemy formations.

Expansion



However, the Assembly's militarism had not been sated by Apraxine. He tried to explain that the diplomatic situation and Russia's need to stabilise itself but they were having none of it. A member of the Novaya Russia faction, an old hand at politics, quickly assembled a platform of war with Persia and Hungary as well as a quick victory, linking Thrace with the rest of Russia. Despite his considerable abilities, this was a case of 'vast, impersonal forces' interfering with the political process, this one being a sense of chauvinistic nationalism. This old member got elected, and his name was Boris Sheremetev.



Long periods of relative peace had made the intelligentsia of Russia turn away from the army as a path to glory and take a greater interest in learning and science. In the wake of the collapse of the Church's authority with the lack of a significant religious minority in Russia to give them a divine mission, this had also meant many new discoveries were being made, often simultaneously to those occuring in Western Europe. Even men of the cloth participated in this revolution, the monk Sergei Chernigovets of Ukraine conducting early genetics experiments with peas, for instance. Sheremetev, meanwhile, took steps to assemble a cadre of experts around him to form Russia's first true cabinet. Previously, ministerial duties were fulfilled by political appointees or taken on by members of the civil service as vacancies arose. Sheremetev instead created a double-tiered system of ministers and secretaries. The ministers would be drawn from the Assembly, the secretaries from the civil service; this would mean that political niceities could be observed at the same times as making sure that competence was still present.



The Danes regularly send 20,000+ armies to help me out.

The Posadnik's war with Persia was indeed swift and victorious. He boasted that he had divided the Mufti's land into four; by 1700, Persia would consist of only two western exclaves, Khoresan breaking away with the entire eastern region.

Hungary for Power



Sheremetev's age eventually caught up with him, though, and he died three years into his term. To complete the remainder of his term, the head of the civil service was brought in pending replacement upon the now inevitable declaration of war. This was done to make sure the assembly of the new armies of Hungary and Macedonia continued without problems; recruiting over 40,000 men, equipping the now obsolete older formations properly and keeping them all supplied was sure to be a challenging task. Only a competent administrator would be able to handle it.



Poyarkov's poor diplomatic abilities might have shown through had it not been for the cabinet that the previous incumbent had assembled. They managed to convince the Danes to side with Russia, their old ally, against the Hungarians, an almost as old ally, even though Russia had begun the war. They cited the previous conflicts with Sweden and in Europe that Russia had unfailingly helped them in. They also depicted the Hungarians as backward and disintegrating, an ally who would prove to be more of a drain on Denmark's resources than a useful friend. Their arguments worked and the Danes invaded southern Poland, now northern Hungary, whilst the Russians marched against the main body of the Hungarian Army.



In accordance with the prior agreement, Poyarkov left office and a fresh election was held. They wanted a leader, someone who could direct the armies in the field, and Tottleben was the man best suited to this, knowing more than anyone of how to use the troops he himself had created. The Russian Army proceeded slowly but surely southwards, taking the ports along the coast and chasing the Hungarian Army into the lands around Thrace. The men in Thrace now faced some 50,000 men; 26,000 in northern Macedonia and 24,000 waiting in Bithynia.

I just had a strange thought. Surely rulers that lost an election but did not die should stay on as military leaders? Rather like the ex-consul system of Rome, it would make sense that an ex-Posadnik would have the experience and prestige necessary to lead an army. Anyway, sorry for all the rulers dying left, right and centre but that's politics, I guess.

[blsteen]

No consuls, that was one of the downfalls of the republic, the bickering between the parties and powerful personages that dominated the senate. Besides, to use a modern analogy, could you really see Donald Rumsfeld and Newt Gingrich working for Barack Obama in a high level capacity (at least Clinton belongs to the same party)? Maybe, if it was back to the wall/ armageddeon/ dying with your boots on time but really that's why they're called parties.

[squigian]

Indeed. Still, at least Tottleben lasts a while...in the French WC game I've just started, I've been landed with a 3/4/3 king for 20 years whilst the Austrian 9/9/9 has lasted 30

Chapter 27: 1679-1693, Spring Cleaning

From Edirne in the Aegean



Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this campaign was that Hungary at no point even attempted an attack on Thrace despite outnumbering the Russians by a very fair margin. The problem lay with doctrine. Although very willing to make quick, decisive strikes against their enemies, or make a costly defence before suddenly retreating, long, drawn-out fighting would prove costly; the out-dated Hungarian cannon and muskets, as well as the slow-moving tercios, would make their infantry fodder for Russian guns. Besides, Thrace was one of most fortified cities on Earth at this point, with coastal artillery covering the Hellespont and Bosphorus, making a land near-impossible without heavy casualties. By pinning a large portion of the Hungarian army in Turkey, the already numerically superior Russian troops were given far more freedom to manoeuvre about the rest of the country.



Russia's priority in the peace deal that followed in 1680 was the connection of Thrace with the rest of the Union. It also meant Russian dominance of the Black Sea, the Ottoman Empire having a force composed mostly of galleys rather than galleons. As the coastline grew, so did the Union Navy, badly stretched as it was before the war.



Tottleben then turned his attention inwards, or at least to what Russia regarded as internal politics. In the militaristic environment of the time, pressure had grown to fully 'integrate' certain tiny countries that still existed as enclaves within the Union. These states, of ocurse, objected to their annexation but could do little to prevent it, the Russian Army being far too large to fight off. Although it angered many in the Muslim world, Tottleben thought it more than worthwhile to bring these under the Russian banner.



The Unionist control of the Assembly, being a near-outright majority, allowed Tottleben to appoint those he wished to cabinet, meaning talent triumphed over political expediency. Russia's administration benefitted greatly from this. In particular, Gavriil Dubenski's tenure as treasury minister* also ensured a healthy growth in tax revenues.



The Balkan region had undergone much change in recent years, Serbia having broken away from Hungary during the previous war and, from 1683 onwards, embroiled in war with Castille, who were attempting to carve out a presence in the eastern Mediterranean before Venice, their main rival at home and in India, could do so first. Russia, wishing to keep their Orthodox brethren within the boundaries of the Union, was very interested in integrating Serbia into the Union, but the Spanish presence prevented this, at least for now.

To Goa in the Laccadive



Russia's interest in India made confrontation inevitable with Venice, who had carved out a principality centred around the port city of Goa. The Venetian fleet was considerably larger than the Russian one but they would find themselves tied up fighting pirates in the Mediterranean for the duration of this very long war. Some historians have quite reasonably speculated that Russia funded privateers based along the Barbary coast to harrass the Venetians, but no solid evidence has emerged to confirm this theory. For now, though, the Russians would gather intelligence on their enemy rather than send an expedition out against them.



As the cold war with Venice progressed uneventfully, Tottleben turned his attention to Central Asia. The 'Nogai Horde', as they still called themselves, had broken away as a vassal from Russia. Attempts to integrate them over the course of the past century had failed, the Tartar Muslims proving very much opposed to being ruled by Orthodox Russians. Here, he reapplied the 'southern strategy' that he had used to annex the other tiny enclaves. In Nogai's case, though, full integration would be a long, tedious process with the capital holding out for decades before submitting to central authority.



Persia joined in the war too, in a vain attempt to protect their Muslim brethren only to be foced to make further territorial concessions to Russia, opening a path to the north from the Indus region. To call this state 'Persia' would be a misnomer: the only city with a truly Persian culture was Gurgan, the isolated capital. The Persian people now looked to the Union as their true home, seeing as they shared equal rights with the Russians legally and economically, if not entirely politically.

A velvet curtain has descended



Even Sibir was disintegrating, Tara breaking away along with much of the Sultan's treasury staff with the Russian invasion. It would not be long before they, too, were completely absorbed into the Union.



Kazakh's re-emergence from the collapsing Ming Empire had spawned a whole variety of problems for Russia, most prominent of which was a rival trading centre and a new Mongol-like power for the oppressed peoples of the region to flock to. Although Russia had success in fighting off this new menace, and taking land wherever possible, China had less luck, a Muslim Mongol dynasty setting itself up as the reborn Qin Empire in the west of the country. Tottleben's rule had gone some way to tidying the borders of Russia but much remained to be done.

I just hate it when all that remains to be taken care of are a lot of two/three province minors that I have to take apart in two wars, rather than one; so much less satisfying and rather a drag on the pace of this AAR. Anyway, in the next update we take on Venice, or at least the fringes of their rich little empire and round off the century.

*6-Star Sheriff

[squigian]

Chapter 28: 1693-1702, Made in India

East meets West



Tottleben could not hold onto power forever, though. Gavriil Dubenski had outmanoeuvered the Posadnik, saying that his poor administrative abilities could only ruin the country. So eloquent were his words, and such was growing resentment in the Assembly at the continued power of a general amongst the remaining merchants that he managed to get his own brother appointed to replace Tottleben. The previous ruler was understandibly angry and was only drawn back to his old post reforming the army through a tripling of his salary.



It was decided that the only way the war would end was if the Union could demonstrate to the Venetians that their presence in India, so close to Russian territory, was not only undesired but unsustainable. Dubenski himself set out on an expedition with elements of the Army of the Indus and the newly formed Russian Marine Corps to take possession of the regions controlled by the Venetian East India Company for the Russian East India Company.



The Army of the West, under the redoubtable Yuriy Shuiski, had managed to drive the Venetians from northern Greece and Albania, even sparking a rebellion in Ragusa. The Venetians would attempt to land troops here over the years but never managed to land a force capable of securing a foothold on their old territory. The Venetian Army was of poorer quality than the navy, without talented commanders either, at least protecting Venice itself from seaborne invasion.



The war would continue for another two years before reaching a conclusion. Perhaps now would be a good time to describe and explain the collapse of the Ming Empire. Besides the strain placed on the state through exhaustion from constant war and the acquistion of new, foreign lands, a militant strain of Islam had been imported from Persia and spread amongst the noble class of the northern and western lands. This had led to previously nomadic sultanates emerging, such as the Kazakh state and the Oirats. However, most interesting of all was the saga of Zhengde, a convert to Islam and a powerful figure in the region who led a re-emergence of the Qin Empire in that region, truly bringing Islam into China-proper. That tale, though, is not that relevant to a history of Russia, at least not until future border disputes led to parts of China being taken to be part of the Union.



After over two years, the final Venetian stronghold had fallen, its three thousand man garrison leaving with just over one thousand men still alive. Dubenski had been unwilling to mount an assault due to the casualties that might entail and he was unsure as to how the locals might react to Russian weakness, making it a risk not worth taking, at least to his mind.



The Venetian East India Company's assets were seamlessly 'integrated' into the Russian Company's operation. Venice, suffering under the strain of war far more than the Russian state was, was also forced to release a couple of vassal states by the Russians, who wished to weaken them but not take their European possessions, lest they cross swords with France or Spain, a war that would be most inconvenient for their trade.

The Return of Competence



Dubenski was no match for his opposition come election time. Despite his achievements in the previous war, the Russian Assembly wanted a Republican in power now that they had reorganised. Still recovering slightly, the Republican could only offer Sergei Chernigovets, an ex-civil servant, getting on in years but a very talented administrator. In his time, the effort to convert the remaining heathens of former Persia and India would be stepped up and local government would be improved greatly in the new territories. His death in 1699 came as no shock, and a replacement of equal worth was quickly sort.



This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call a decent ruler.

The next Posadnik was actually a foreign import, his father being a French convert to the Orthodox religion who had set up shop in Aleksandrovsk, making his fortune off of the then newly-founded East India Company. His son had managed to use this massive fortune to fund a political career where he managed to get admittance to the Assembly from the support of a variety of foreign merchants. As a Federalist, his election may have seemed unlikely a year before but decreasing xenophobia, thanks to the better integration of immigrant communities and the lack of threat to the Orthodox faith, had seen a growth of support for them. Enough so that they could tip the balance in the leadership race, forming a Republican-Federalist coalition to back what they saw as the best-suited man to the task, even if that meant electing a second-generation foreigner (this eventuality had not been forseen but it is likely that a law would have been made against such a Posadnik by the Unionists had it been so).



Posadnik de Tolly's first act was to secure his own wealth and that of a considerable number of his backers by granting the Russian East India Company a monopoly on trade in the region. This monopoly would actually be a positive thing for trade income due to the presence of much foreign competition, enough to stop the organisation from stagnating from complacency. It also prevented many would-be fraudster from involving themselves in the region, another boon for financial stability.



I only just noticed the Danish monopoly; I cancelled our TA, sent 5 merchants and re-established it with me in control.

Russian trade had truly boomed in the past century thanks to the dynamic and free market approach favoured by the Russian merchants. The only real competition came from Venice and, even then, there was plenty of room for both powers to operate without clashing. Some in the Assembly argued that Russia should turn inwards, utilising its own industry over the foreign trade networks but, for now, they would be mostly ignored. Despite the increasing size of Russia's industrial base, trade remained a huge source of income for the state.

1702 Statisticsc



Going clockwise from top left. This shows how limited our diplomatic options are, most of the world hating us due to a lack of effort on my part/lack of diplomats/undiplomatic rulers. On the other hand, we have powerful allies and good relations with them. The casus belli on Persia comes from a core on Gurgan gotten through a boundary dispute.

Our Posadnik and Great Men. Not too much to complain about here, only that a lack of decent income-boosting advisors means the pure tech guys are the best option in terms of technological progress. Dubenski's getting quite old, though...also, taking Grand Army as a NI was actually the cause of those very helpful 'Army Reform' events. If you have that, a Land Reformer and a ruler who is also a general, then you get the chance to move -2 Quality and gain 50 ducats in exchange for a short period of +2 revolt risk.

Our National Ideas have changed a lot, more in this century than any other. Changing ideas isn't so rough for Russia; it takes us 5-6 months to recover a level of stability at full investment. Everything except the two colonisation ideas are permanent fixtures; I'll probably swap out colonial ventures near the end of the game for something more relevant to our interests. Slider-wise, we're drifting towards innovation and have really moved towards Free Subjects. The nice thing about the Orthodox religion is the low stability cost (+15), allowing us to do this without being left with nasty stability costs.

Government, Production and Land are all ahead of their time, so I've reduced investment considerably; trade is somewhat behind and our biggest income source, still, so research has been resumed with renewed vigour. I'm relying on a big navy, rather than a quality one, so I've only just started to up investment into that. Our slider changes and ideas reduce tech costs considerably but, for now at least, these will remain mostly unmoved.



All I can say is that our income has increased considerably since 1601. I've had a lot of spare money thanks to war taxes and peace settlements which I reinvested into workshops and constables, before moving on to marketplaces, customs houses and temples, courthouses being mostly unnecessary. Prestige has fallen slightly but what can you do? The more you get, the faster it falls.



The Orthodox faith has become slightly more dominant despite the acquisition of further Muslim lands. Our Protestant provinces have been converted only to be replaced by Reformed ones from Hungary. Conversion efforts continue, with about 10 provinces or so having missionaries working away with a 12-20% chance of conversion.

Wool is now viewed as equal to grain in the basic goods we export. Iron and copper production has kept up with our growing economy as the Siberian colonies have begun producing mostly industrial metals. This is used within the Union for the most part, principally by the army. Beyond bulk utility goods and our staple grain, we also hold a monopoly on the spice and seasoning market in the West; if you enjoy exotic food, you should probably thank the Russians.

Our empire has been consolidated slightly as the proportion of core territory increases further and a full 80% or so of our provinces now have an accepted culture. The core on Gurgan will let us add the last Persian province in the world to our collection as well, which is nice; kind of funny to think of Persia having Turkmeni as the primary culture from now on.



We have quite a few monopolies now and have basically got merchants in every single CoT that matters - as well as the ones that don't! I'm still amazed at how trade is still outclassing production as our primary source of income; looks like a switch over to a Constitutional Republic can wait. Our armies have grown considerably, of course, and need a little reorganisation but, for the most part, they're as they should be.



Colonisation of the world is now almost complete. Some of you might be pleased to note that the Creek, Zapotec and Mayans have survived, and as Christian nations no less. I personally hope at least one of them last to the end of the game. Looks like France is looking to take Siberia from us...if they do, I guarantee that we will be waiting to give them a warm reception. The collapse of the Ming Empire is pretty apparent here; the observant among you will have noted that Xia has also declared independence, as evidenced by our relations of +2 with them. It'll be interesting to see if anyone else breaks loose and what China looks like by the end of the next century.



And, last but hopefully not least, the growth of the Union. Unlike this AAR, the quality of our provinces has increased along with their quantity. The coloured states are those I intend to annex as soon as possible as they are either completely surrounded by Russian lands or, in Georgia's case, an incendiary influence on nationalism.

Alright, another century down, 120 years or so to go. I still feel compelled to complete this, even if hardly anyone is reading; I don't want the stain of an abandoned AAR on my record, especially so far in and given that I'm still enjoying this particular game. So, hopefully another update in a couple of days; oh, and of course, click on the maps for bigger versions.

[Duke of Awesome]

im still enjoying it AAR man. just consider me a stalker

[squigian]

Just keep your distance to 200 paces and we'll get along fine.

No update today, been a little busy but do forgive me if I indulge myself in what I believe is called a teaser.

[LewsTherin]

Great AAR! Just caught up. Makes me want to play Novgorod.

[blsteen]

And what a tease...

[squigian]

@LewsTherin: You should! What's more is you don't even have to expand in the same direction I did. North Germany is a pretty rich area...

@blsteen: And no reward!

Chapter 29: 1702-1716, Russian Independence

N.B. Another couple of books added to my studies:

A Study of European Relations in the 18th Century by Warren Peace
The Union and the Right (Russian Nationalism 1700-1850) by Stanton Principle

Indian Expansion



Tolly had much interest in Indian expansion, due not only to his (and many Assembly members') investments in the region but also to counter the machinations of Castille, France and Venice. Vijayanagara was a paper tiger at this point, unable to fend of the attacks of the other Indian states, let alone the colonial powers. The Posadnik successfully capitalised on this wave of thinking to rally the Assembly around the idea of a full-scale war to take over the weak kingdom's land. This would mean war with the strong state of Bihar as well, though, something which the Republic did not take lightly.



In the formerly Venetian territories, sepoys and Venetian sympathisers were organised into flying columns as the Army of Goa marched to the border. The plan was to engage the main Vijayanagaran army with the professional forces whilst these levies secured supply lines and encircled the enemy ruler's fortresses. In the north, Persian forces had been arrayed to march into Jodhpur, avoiding the main Bihari army (some 50,000 men). It was hoped that the Army of Fars, marching along the coast, would unite with the Army of Kutch to face this foe once the time came.

The declaration of war was issued on the 7th of October, 1705. In the south, everything proceeded according to plan. Vijayanagara fielded less than 10,000 men, a paltry force for a state of its size and wealth. Successive family disputes and seperatist movements had led to the King disbanding most of his army out of paranoia, keeping only those units he believed were truly loyal to him. In Bihar, though, the situation was not quite as rosy. Although the blockade was in place, and the Army of Kutch had laid siege to the city of Jaisalmer, local commanders began to agree that they had underestimated the military abilities and determination of the Bihari leadership.



Vijayanagara had truly collapsed but Tolly found it impossible to demand the capital in the ensuing peace deal. The King had refused to negotiate with the Russians, holed up in the besieged capital as he was. In his place came a deputation of noblemen, interested in peace and a change of rulership so long as their privileges were preserved. The Indian governor, one Mikhail Repnin, accepted on behalf of the Assembly. This breach of conduct privately annoyed Tolly but he was a pragmatic man. He turned Repnin's actions to his advantage, both politically and militarily. He used this sudden capitulation to prove to doubters that these wars could be won with few casualties and in a short time. The end of hostilities also allowed the Eastern Expedition to move to repair in Golconda before placing Bihar's eastern ports under blockade.

In the northwest, the Army of Fars had arrived and, finding the Bihari army suffering from starvation and disease in Bakkar, was able to drive their demoralised foe back across the border. The Russian Marine Corps, relieved of duties in Goa thanks to the end of the war, had also been brought over for a landing at the port of Baroda. Bihar was now matched in numbers and completely outclassed in terms of technology despite having what historians have judged to be some of the finest tactical minds of the region.



This was not enough to win them the war, though. The combined effects of the blockade as well as the bloody defeats inflicted upon them by the Russian Army forced them to the negotiating table, conceding access to the Persian Gulf and paying an indemnity. Tolly was hailed as having won the Republic a great strategic and economic victory.



Using his political clout, he managed to wangle himself the position of Governor of India out from under Repnin and secure the election of his protégé in the Assembly, Grigor Poyarkov. Poyarkov was a nephew of Konstantin Poyarkov, the interim Posadnik brought in to run the Republic upon the sudden death of Sheremetev. Grigoriy possessed the talents of his uncle when it came to bureaucracy but also had something of a personal charm that made people feel not just happy with him in a practical sense but in a personal one too. This would prove valuable, keeping him in power for very nearly eight years and halting a potential disaster in its tracks.



Poyarkov wanted to emulate the success of Tolly's war with his own. It wasn't hard to find an excuse; the tiny state of Gujurat, lying between Kutch and Baroda, soon found itself invaded and swiftly annexed by the resurgent kingdom of Khandesh. This was perfect; not only would this sudden 'upsetting of the balance of power' (as the Posadnik portrayed it) be used as an excuse to retaliate against Khandesh but it meant that Russia would not carry the infamy of annexing Gujurat. The ensuing war, the Second Russo-Indian War as it is now known, was an even greater success than the first one. Bihar, too embroiled in a succession crisis to intervene militarily, was denied southern expansion, a land route was created, linking Russian India with Persia, and a friendly Indian Republic of Malwa was put in place. Through this state, Russia would, in the future, control the north. Perhaps the greatest success of this war was the near-total dominance over Indian trade established through possession of the major trading cities. Only Kalanpu in Orissa, Patna in Bihar and Kalanpu on still-free Ceylon remained as rivals.

Crisis or Opportunity?



Despite the freedom afforded to missionaries in the Middle East, India and Central Asia, the Church felt that it was losing its links with the Russian establishment. Over the years, their had been something of a lack of zeal. With no immediate threat to their religion in Russia itself, the people and their leaders saw no need to rally around the Church. The great trading empire and agricultural reforms also meant that people were more concerned with financial matters, especially given that they now had the freedom to deal with these issues. In a less free society, perhaps the responsibility of taking care of the peasantry could have been afforded to the clergy, too. Urbanisation had contributed, too, detaching people from their native land and community. The Church protested but the Assembly ignored them, causing some friction. However, the great prosperity of these times meant that little lasting damage was caused by the Church's constant complaints*.



All I need is a Boundary Dispute...

In 1715, a great shock came to the Assembly. Christian X, the King of Denmark, had died. In his place came a Regency Council. This would not have been an event that would have had a great effect of world history had it not been for the nobles who dominated the council. For centuries, the Danish Alliance had endured through diplomacy and necessity. Now both powers were completely self-sufficient but Denmark was growing worried by Russia's expansionism. The nobles who dominated the Regency Council were reactionaries in this regard and determined to take action against their ancient rivals, the merchants. They convinced the young heir to back them in expelling the Russian merchants of Lübeck and severing the alliance, proclaiming that Denmark no longer wished to be in thrall to Russia.

The Assembly was outraged by this move, if disbelieving at first. Poyarkov pleaded for calm, reasoning that Russia could not afford a European war at the moment and had little to gain. India was by far the more lucrative region, he argued; the Danes could have Lübeck all to themselves and Russia would have the entire Indies. It was only through friends and valuable contacts that the Posadnik was able to suppress calls for war. On the streets of the capital and in other major cities, Danish immigrants faced harrassment and, on the border, militiae formed and local garrisons mobilised. Calming this panic and averting an ill-considered war took all of Poyarkov's considerable talents and political power. Although he succeeded, it was at the cost of his career; on the 17th October, 1715, he stepped down in favour of whomsoever the Assembly desired to elect.

Our Backyard



Potemkin was this man, one of the Assembly's most eloquent speakers and a man who knew a great many powerful merchants. He actually came from the right of the Unionist Party, riding a wave of nationalism in the wake of the Danish Betrayal. He argued, though, that war was not the answer...for now. Instead, Russia should seek to remove the remaining enclaves from Central Asia and fight Denmark through trade and diplomacy, rather than making Russia appear as the aggressor. The Assembly accepted his views, mostly because no-one of a more bellicose disposition had either the brains or the friends to challenge him.



Potemkin's term started well. The nation of 'Persia', as it stilled called itself, was little more than a city state. Russian troops marched into the so-called capital of this state, seizing control at the behest of the officials and leaving a small Tartar exclave to the north in 'Persian' hands. The Persian people had long since lost their respect for the Theocracy and instead wished to continue their existence within the borders of the Union, an entity which respected their customs and in which they had greater freedom**. With this matter resolved, the Posadnik again considered how he might deal with the Danes and, for that matter, the other Europeans...

It was inevitable, really, but now the Danes are our enemies. Besides, they're a little too powerful for my tastes and occupy the Baltic states, historically part of the Russian sphere of influence, as well as many Lithuanian territories. In the next update, we finish what we started in India and fight a few more unrelated wars before (hopefully) we get sufficient reason to move onto the main event.

Also, I was going to do this for a while but kept forgetting. A little question, if anyone's willing to give it a shot:

Was Poyarkov right that focusing on Lübeck would make less economic sense than continuing to expand trade in India and Asia?

*Stability regain times are now about 3-4 months.
**We have a core on Gurgan.

[blsteen]

India and Asia are a longer term play, Lubeck's a good sized COT but to dominate it with the danes being annoyed with you will get
harder and harder. Plus Lubeck's import will mean its a high value war score province, probably worth at least a couple of the other
baltic provinces you want and you have a land connection to India, which is always nice!

[squigian]

True, true. Lübeck is a little oversized, if you know what I mean. I'm thinking that instead of taking it over, I'll force Denmark to free Mecklenburg; if, for whatever reason, that can't be done, then I'll set up my own CoT to feed off of theirs and Pecs.

Chapter 30: 1716-1729, Russian India

Trade in the West



Constantinople had become a city of equal significance to Novgorod and Astrakhan in its time under Russian stewardship. It had, after all, been one of the foremost cities in the entire world not so long ago. The Turks, however, had neglected trade and Hungary had taken advantage of this, creating a trading capital of sorts in Bursa. Potemkin declared that this was an intolerable situation and managed to get the Assembly to back him in granting a large sum to the Governor of Thrace for the creation of a similar forum for merchants. This had great success initially, letting the formerly Hungarian lands (now known as the State of Romania) use Russian facilities for plying their wares. However, the Ottomans still maintained their ties to Alexandria and the Turkish Hungarian lands continued to use Bursa for their needs.



The success of merchants, bankers and others of a financial persuasion meant that they soon demanded yet more political power. Potemkin was only too glad to grant it to them, seeing the Russian aristocrats as potential foreign sympathisers, especially with the Danes. He painted his privilege-removing proposals as such, necessary for making all Russians better off. These reforms, including abolishing lordly court systems and removing certain noble duties, hurt Russia's standing in the mostly aristocratic world of the 18th Century. They did, however, strengthen her economy.



Potemkin's skill lay in knowing how far was too far, letting him take situations to the brink of disaster and yet reap maximum advantage. Such was the case in the dispute over Vilna, formerly Lithuanian territory. It was discovered in the Russian archives that the Prince of Belarus had a claim on the region due to a complex series of marriages that had begun in the 15th century. Ironic as it was that an aristocrat should further his plans, Potemkin managed to have his cake and eat it; he upheld the claim at the same time as saying that Russia would not go to war over a dynastic squabble! Thus the fire of conflict remained lit, although burning only dimly.

Expansion in the East



As a dispute smoldered in the west, trouble brewed in the east; Bihar had inherited the throne of Vijayanagara and was itself now in a Union with the Kingdom of Pegu, a state located in modern-day Burma. The Russians saw this as their time to strike and, on the 27th March, 1720, war was declared against Bihar. The Union's greatest problem was the disloyalty of the population of Company-controlled territory. The Indians had little reason to be loyal, seeing as how their land was being run by Tolly as little more than a huge corporation which was now seeking to 'acquire' more of their land and countrymen. Nevertheless, progress was made quickly in the south, allowing an expedition to Pegu to be prepared. Meanwhile, in the north, Bihar was slowly losing ground, sacrificing men for time against the superior Russian forces.



As success in the war was achieved, many of the lords who lived under Bihari rule considered defection to the Union. They calculated that if they went over voluntarily that they would keep their land and titles; after all, the Republic could hardly demand more tribute than the Maharajah already did. The Company was only too willing to accept these defectors in return for certain trade privileges and tax exemptions. Surprisingly few did defect in the end, especially considering that the war would drag on for nine years in all.



It was not just Potemkin's charisma and successes that would keep him in power longer than any man since the time of Roman Khotetovsky. His wars in India were very beneficial for Tolly and the Company, the former lending him political support, the latter financial. It helped, too, that there stood no credible opponent to the Posadnik in the Assembly. Despite the war dragging on and on as the Bihari armies were pushed back further and further, Potemkin maintained his grip on power.



Success was just around the corner in Bihar, the capital soon to fall. It was at this time, though, in 1727, that a strange man arrived to petition the Assembly. It turned out that he was Firmin de Chambronne, an old friend of Tolly's. He claimed that the Indians of Orissa had ruined his business and knew a pretender the Orissan throne who would be amenable to the idea of being Rajah of a Company-owned state. In this way, he could make sure the annexation of Orissa was perceived as justified and also use his talents to make further 'acquisitions' less odious. Needless to say the Assembly was thrilled and a new war was begun against the tiny Orissan state.



Upon the death of the ruler of Pegu, in 1728, negotiations begun for the division of the conquered land. One prominent man was not happy with the direction Russia was taking in the Subcontinent, disgusted with the way the Union seemed to be bowing to the East India Company at every turn. He wanted expansion to the west, was with the Hungarians and Danes, to come as soon as possible. Varfolomey Tottleben would die on the 1st December without seeing whether Potemkin did indeed intend to head west. The discussions, meanwhile, took time and it was not until the 14th March 1729 that the final deal was agreed, giving Russia, or at least the Company, the lion's share of India.

The Triumph of Wealth



Centuries had done little to change Russia's approach to trade; the free market was best and competition should be open to all (except in India). In recent years, though, the 'professionalisation' of certain trades, increasing specialisation and the rise of economics as a serious field of study had combined to create what hisotrians and economists now term 'Potemkinian Economics', a system under which the division of labour leads to a greater quantity of produce. This left the Russian state and the Union as a whole with yet more money to invest in the growth and improvement of all facets of government and society.



It was under such a system that men like Ugo Vico could prosper. One of the greatest bankers of the world, he died without an heir he could trust. In consequence, he left it to his business partner, one Mefodiy de Tolly. Tolly had no use for such a vast sum so, after taking as much as he needed, he left the rest to Potemkin.

And with that very nice event, I'll leave it up to you to decide what we do with that huge donation. Shall we finish building everything we ever wanted? Build a huge(r) army and crush the Danes? Plough it into a new navy? Go to war with another Asian empire? Expand our army so we can attack the Big Red Blob? Invest it all in technology? Clear up trade issues in the Near East? Or perhaps even increase our army size and go to war with Denmark?