God Save the CzAAR: Novgorod as Russia

[coz1]

Yes, but what about Baden?!?

Now I see why you have not been updating your Vickie AAR. This is obviously a labor of love, what with the music, the map, the font and the care you have taken with the words and event inclusion. So far, I love it and I'll be following as you continue! Wonderful!

 

[Amric]

ah, the Romanovs....Excellent! Can hardly wait for what happens next, Judas!

 

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[coz: You know, I'll have to check on Baden. Sorry about the Victoria AAR... maybe I'll make another one, but frankly, I don't like Victoria that much. We'll see what happens after a few patches.
Amric: This is what happens next.]

Volume IV: The Time of Troubles to the end of the First Empire, 1614-1703

Translated by William Majors, 1879
Published by Geo. E. Stevens and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio​

[*Trans. note: "Present Day" being when the book was written.]

War and Punishment

Thankfully, the Time of Troubles was relatively light on Russia. Certainly, if the Boyars had been free to run over the country fighting for their particular candidate, the results could have been disastrous. As it was, there was still much work to be done. For example, the Novgorod Kremlin had some musket and cannon damage. Aside from the rebuilding, Mikhail also moved the residence of the Czars from outside Moskva to his new palace at Staraya Russa, south of Novgorod.

However, he tried to do too many things at once, and in November of 1614 suffered a mental breakdown. He temporarily gave his powers to a governing council. Fortunately, unlike Ivan IV, during his short retirement he chose good regents and Russia was able to continue recovering. By his return in late 1615 there was little more to be done; in fact, Russia was better off than ever due to the discovery of precious metals in Siberia. Gold and silver poured from the east into the Russian treasury.

In June of 1616 King Gustav II of Sweden, hearing rumors of an invasion of his holdings in Latvia, launched raids into Polish territory to throw the garrisons there into disorder. Poland-Lithuania's King Zygmunt III, a relative of Gustav's, moved his armies towards the border. Gustav, in response, organized his armies in the Baltic territories. The First Baltic War, with Sweden, Norway, Courland, and Russia fighting Poland, Ukraine, Greece (having recently fought its independence from the Ottomans), and Georgia.

Now that Russia was once again stable, Mikhail was able to go on the offensive. By September the Russian army had stormed Polish fortifications in Kursk, and captured that area; by June of 1617 Smolensk had fallen. Next came Velikiye Luki in September, and Mozyr in December. Unfortunately, Mikhail was still in the middle of the war when the Knights of St. John, along with Venice and Modena, decided to declare war themselves. This would have been a problem if any of those had any way to make it to Russian soil without a long voyage around Europe.

In June of 1618 the Russian army defeated an imposing force of Ukranian cavalry in Krementjug. Sadly, the Russian general at that battle, Pozharski, was killed while charging the Poles, and one of them got off a lucky gun-shot. The Ukranian who did so was the first killed when the rest of the Russians completed the charge. Mikhail forced a small tribute from the Ukranians and returned to focusing on the Poles. The new Russian general, Mihail Shein, prepared a new invasion.

 

[stnylan]

Your ToT does seem to have been relatively mild. It's good to see you're heading westward.

 

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[stnylan: Actually, I didn't get the ingame "Time of Troubles" event because my Serfdom was low enough.

One nice thing about the Russian winter is that it actually requires a "campaign season" rather than just letting you fight in both summer and winter. I ignored that by the end of the war, however.]

Music: Stanislaw Moniuszko: La Fileuse

"We shall never rest!"

The Imperial army was in bad shape when Shein became general. Morale was high, but the army was far too small, supply was erratic, and organization was nonexistent. Shein told the Czar that he would not have the army ready before winter and it would thus be at least next year before they could begin again. Mikhail accepted this, and Shein took the next eleven months to expand[*] and organize the army, and set up supply routes. By June of 1619, the army was prepared to move again.


[*]Trans. note: The Russian army was all volunteers until 1621.

In early July it reached the Poltava area. Shein had news of a Polish army nearby, and immediately went into a defensive mode. He built a fort and waited for the Poles to come to him. Many of his subordinates were critical of this, and they would soon be shown right. The Poles took the chance to cut off Shein's supply lines and he was forced to break out. Casualties were low but Shein had been humbled.

Czar Mikhail immediately recommended to the Duma that Shein be relieved of duty, and the Duma overwhelmingly agreed. The army was given to one of the lieutenants, the newly promoted Feodor Stnylan. After the army had recovered, the army was further expanded, and Stnylan promised that "We shall never rest until Kursk and Velikije Luki are Russian permamently," the Russian army once again marched to Poltava in February of 1620. The Russians, marching in bitter cold, caught the Poles by surprise, and Stnylan's careful use of cavalry made sure that few escaped.

After moving back slightly to make sure his supply lines would not be overextended (he could not draw supplies from the land in winter), Stnylan once again attacked the Poles in May. While besieging Poltava, however, the Poles came back in force. Stnylan gave a good fight, holding them off and causing severe casualties, but was force to retreat in July. The fact that Stnylan had held the Poles off so well kept him his position.

Stnylan realized that a new strategy was in order. During the winter, he secretly moved his army north into the still-occupied Polish territories there. Stnylan once again made a risky winter attack, beseiging the fortress at Belgorod. The siege was long, but Belgorod finally fell in September of 1621.

By this point, Velikije Luki was again in Polish hands. In a sudden and glorious winter assault, under cover of a snowfall Stnylan stormed the fortress and hoisted the Imperial eagle over it once again. By this point, the Russians expected the Poles to give up Welikia and Kursk for peace. But the Poles were stubborn. Despite constant attempts by the Russians the Poles fought on. Stnylan would have to fight for his promise.

After beating off Polish armies in Belarus and Welikia, Stnylan captured Minsk in September of 1422. Here, he realized just how close he was to the Polish capital of Warsaw. After destroying a Polish army there in December, Stnylan surrounded Warsaw and began a siege. The city fell on 15 June 1423. But the Polish king fled to Vilnius and continued his defiance. When Stnylan moved to take that city, he fled to the Pripet marshes, then to another Polish army which retook Warsaw in May of 1624. This time, Stnylan caught him in the city, which surrendered in January of 1625. Zygmunt finally accepted a peace, with Welikia and Kursk becoming Russian provinces. The long Baltic War finally reached its conclusion.

Figure 4.1: European Russia after the First Baltic War​

[Boy, those Poles were stubborn. Finally forced the provinces from their miserly hands, however.]

 

[coz1]

Ahh, beautiful blood red. I never could decide who my second favorite was to play in EU - Russia or England. Best of both worlds here with the Stylan fighting for the Russians! And you are right the Poles just don't know when to give up.

Continued excellence Judas Maccabeus!

 

[stnylan]

*chuckles* I naturally approve

I know what you mean about fighting in Russia and campaign seasons. Definitely added something to the game that is not present playing most nations. Of course, I cannot count how many times General Winter whittled down a Polish/Swedish/Danish/Lithuanian/Mongol/Ottoman army down to manageable size.

This is making me want to dig out MonAARsteries. Oh well, if wishes were £s I'd be rich.

 

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[coz1: Thank you.
stnylan: Actually haven't had that happen too much. Probably comes from not fighting defensive wars, as I prefer the offensive kind ]

Music: Adriano Banchieri: Fantasia "Eco"

Unstable Stability

Feodor Stnylan was a hero upon his return to Novgorod at the front of the Imperial army. In a grand ceremony on 25 March, the Duma honored him with the title of "Defender of Novgorod" and gave him extensive lands in Tula. He was elected to the Duma the next year and quickly rose to become Prince of Novgorod and thus head of the Duma.

Czar Mikhail quickly saw him as a competitor. Since the Czar was elected and not hereditary (although the one elected was often chosen for kinship to the last Czar), the young Stnylan had become a threat to whomever Mikhail chose for the next Czar. Mikhail needed some sort of excuse for exiling Stnylan.

At this point, the Muslims in Sibir were still a problem for the Czar, as well as Catholic rebels in Welikia. Mikhail first sent Stnylan after the Welikians. The battle was supposed to be a slaughter for the Russians, as many of the soldiers had been paid by Mikhail to fight half-heartedly. But Stnylan's brilliant leadership crushed the rebels. Mikhail made him "Prince of Tula" for his victory and then sent him to Sibir.

Mikhail made sure the odds were against Stnylan. Supplies became slow, reinforcements were small and ill-equipped, and Mikhail even anonymously contacted the rebels with news of Stnylan's movements. On 1 March 1630 Stnylan was ambused by the rebels in Tenghiz. He managed to fight his way out and back to Russian territory. This was followed by several more rebel victories. Mikhail immediately recalled him and accused him of secretly helping the rebels (when it was actually Mikhail doing so). Stnylan was banished to Poland-Lithuania for life.

The Poles, sensing a possibility to cause unrest in Russia, excused Stnylan for fighting against them in the war, and uncovered the plot against him. They made every attempt to cause a scandal in Russia, but it was slow going at first. Russia was in an interesting position: stability was high, but there were underlying problems that could explode at any moment.

Explorations continued. A brave captain named Ivan Rebrov sailed across the Atlantic to the new world that the western Europeans had discovered a while ago. But it was soon obvious that Russia couldn't support colonies there and any exploration in the area was useless. Rebrov was recalled in 1634. Meanwhile, Cossacks tried making their way up the Pacific coast, but cold winters made it difficult to get very far. The last of the Siberian rebels were crushed around this time as well, and the area converted to the Christian faith.

[OOC: This next part is a series of events I wrote up to make things more interesting.]

In October of 1637 groups of Mongols began moving into Siberia from the south, escaping the expanding Chinese and Manchu. Likely they didn't know they were even in Russian territory. They settled near Lake Baikal and the Selenga river. Mikhail was obviously nervous at this development. He was more than nervous when, after he sent officials telling the Mongols that they were now Russian subjects, they formed a league and insisted on some autonomy. The officials resisted, and on 5 March 1638 one of the Mongol leaders, named Subadi Jasaghtu, led all the tribes in armed rebellion against Russia.

 

[Amric]

I wonder if Mikhail realizes that shorting stnylan is a good way to lose territory if he is not careful. Still great stuff, Judas!

 

[stnylan]

Hehe.

actually my wars, either offensive or defensive, have tended around the strategy of wasting the enemy armies (and therefore emptying their treasury) for several years in the spring, and then launching myself over all their lands one summer.

 

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[Amric: Oh, he'll lose more than land, or at least his children will...
stnylan: I like quick and decisive victories. Unfortuately, it doesn't always work out that way; and sometimes, I'm the one doing the emptying. Case in point...]

Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Requiem: Lacrimosa

"Our tears freeze on the ground"

The Mongol styled himself Subadi Jasaghtu Khan and formed the Buriat Horde. Russian response was quick, with two Cossack leaders bringing their armies into the area: Peter Beketov in the west, and Ivan Amrikov in the east. Amrikov was the first to strike, quickly bringing large areas under control and forcing Subadi to go on the defensive. Beketov then arrived and sent the Mongols into flight. After the first summer had gone, Subadi was in hiding and Amrikov waited to see what he would do come the next year.

Subadi reappeared in March of 1639 at the head of an army in the Selenga region. But although the rebels were easily captured, Subadi himself escaped. This set the tone for much of the next year, with Amrikov hunting Subadi while the Mongol did whatever possible to make Amrikov's life miserable. 1640-1643 were more of the same. Amrikov was becoming more incensed as he lost, little by little, more men than he could replace out in the forbidding wilderness of Siberia.

Finally, in April of 1644 Subadi was able to pull enough support from the surrounding tribes that he could convene a council in the city of Buryat on Lake Baikal. There, they organized a real army--15,000 strong against Amrikov and Beketov's five thousand. They rode out on April 28. Amrikov immediately began harrying Subadi's force, but managed to cause only minor damage. During the summer, both sides circled each other, trying to find the perfect place to strike.

In October, Beketov took the city of Buryat. Unfortunately, this left him exposed to Subadi's force. He was surrounded in a nearby camp with three thousand men, half the Russian army in the area. Subadi set the camp on fire with arrows and let the Russians either burn or die attempting to break out of Subadi's lines.

The winter of 1644-5 was a terrible one to Russian troops. Subadi cut off supplies, and destroyed any Russian soldiers seperated from the main army (another five thousand had arrived in November). One Russian soldier gave his account of the time:

"We melt snow for our water; the Mongols hold all water sources, at least the ones they haven't poisoned. Our food consists of whatever we can find; we subsist on grasses when nothing else can be found. When even the grass is not enough, we eat the remains of our own dead. Oh, God! would that it were not so; then I would not need to report it. But it is thus.

"All that keeps us warm is our meager fires and the anger in our hearts. Our tears, shed for those whom weather, hunger, or Mongols had claimed, fall and freeze as they strike the ground. There, they mingle with the snow and ice, and are lost forevermore."

Subadi prepared to finish off whatever was left of the Russian army. But he would not need to do so. Amrikov approached him and begged for mercy. Subadi chose to give it to him. Amrikov surrendered his army to the Mongols, who lodged them for the winter as prisoners. After Czar Mikhail granted the Buriat Khanate full independence, Amrikov and his men were released and returned to Chumikan.

Mikhail, already old, was struck hard with the news of Russia's defeat. His health failed, and on 25 July 1645 he died in Novgorod. The people decided that Mikhail's family was suspect, especially once the Poles finally brought evidence of Mikhail's plots to light. The people wanted Feodor Stnylan as Czar, but he had died in Poland. Thus, they elected his son, Sergei Stnylan; and he became Czar Sergei I, crowned in Novgorod on 2 August.

[OOC: Yep, not just tampering with the events and countries, but the monarch files as well. ]

 

[stnylan]

OK, I am now regally embarrassed

A very evocative account in the middle there.

 

[coz1]

From hero to traitor to Tsar...that family really has it all! Well done chapter. Very gruesome, having to eat the bodies of the dead...ugh!

 

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[stnylan & coz: Looks like I succeeded in the mood I was trying to set.]

Music: Peter Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake: Act I Finale

Three Kings from the East (Part I)

Sergei found himself at the head of a mess. Russia had suffered the humiliation of defeat on what it considered its own soil, and to an untrained rabble at that. Even more dangerous was the large section of the population who blamed the government for all the problems recently. The most vocal were the Cossacks in Far Siberia. Ivan Amrikov gathered them in Chumikan and, in December of 1645 he put to them a petition calling for a seperate Principality of Amur, consisting of all Russian lands past the new Buriat Khanate. The head of every Cossack family in the area (at least those who were able to attend) signed the petition without exception.

Sergei hardly wished to see Russia destroyed further, and even less wished to look weak to the Duma and the Russian people. But he knew that if he didn't, the Cossacks would break off anyway and Sergei had no way of getting an army there--the Buriat blocked off the only route. Thus, he granted the Principality, and on 8 January 1646 Amrikov became Prince Ivan I of Amur.

Figure 4-2: Far Siberia in 1646​

Sergei needed some way of directing the people's attention elsewhere. He noticed that the Khanate of Sibir had been left alone for nearly a century. Saying that Sibir should have been destroyed some time ago, he declared war upon the Khanate. The Siberian fortifications were difficult to destroy, but in August of 1647 the Khanate was finally conquered.

For the next two years Sergei encouraged several of the still-loyal Cossacks to look for a route around the Buriat. But the only good routes went to the north, where it was too cold to send any sort of army. Sergei realized that he would need to conquer the Buriat to have a route.

Before he could organize any war against the Buriat, though, a near-disaster struck. The remaining Boyars (and several rich merchants) put before the Czar a new constitution called the Sobornoye Ulozheniye. It weakened the power of the Duma and increased the power of the Czar, the nobles, and the rich landowners, while making several of the lowest classes virtual serfs. It was tempting to the young and inexperienced Sergei, especially when he realized that refusal meant rebellion. But he went with his conscience and refused, siding with the people.

Revolts spread across the country starting in 1648. Not only in the outlying areas of Ufa and Tobolsk, but for the first time in two centuries there was rebellion in the Russian heartland itself. Karelia, Pskov, and Saratov were three of the main cities where rebellion occured. But Sergei had the people on his side. Large armies came to Sergei's side when he called them. The civil war ended up being a relatively minor affair, as by the end in 1652 there had been only five revolts in the Russian areas. Other civil wars at the time, most notably that in England, were longer and far more severe.

Despite the loss of Far Siberia, the beginning of Sergei's reign was the best he could have hoped for. The period of 1637-1652 was the Second Civil War, though if the Time of Troubles is counted in it is the third. Now Sergei and the Duma were firmly in control. The reconquest of Siberia would be a difficult undertaking, but it could be done now that Russia was stable again.

 

[Amric]

Wow! Releasing a vassal...Interesting. This is just getting better and better, Judas! I had to catch up, and boy was it worth it!

 

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Wow! Releasing a vassal...Interesting. This is just getting better and better, Judas! I had to catch up, and boy was it worth it!

Not a vassal, technically. I got rid of the vassalization, because the Russian government would have no control at all over the Principality.

Once (or if...) I get rid of the Buriat, though, things might change.

 

[coz1]

Very interesting. Don't you miss all the gold from Buriat and Amur? Never seen the Siberian corridor quite like that. I prefer it blood red, or at least two-toned if I am playing someone else.

 

[stnylan]

A move I hope was only rooted in expediency. Siberia is quite simply Russian by right - manifest destiny and all that

 

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[coz: Yes, I do.
stnylan: Don't worry, all shall eventually be put to right.]

Three Kings from the East (Part II)

Czar Sergei looked once again to Siberia. During 1652-6 he focused on increasing the Russian presence along the border with the Buriat. Those Cossacks still loyal to the Czar flocked along the river and built their settlements. An ambassador named Fyodor Baikov was sent to China in order to possibly secure a southern front.

Baikov turned out to be a bad choice. Things began well; Baikov introduced the nation of Russia and set forth the circumstances. Unfortunately for him, the Chinese were at the time fighting southern rebels* and would not offer aid immediately. What happened next is not clear. Either Baikov offered to become a tributary in exchange for help, or he merely mistranslated. In any case, the Chinese sent an ambassador back with Baikov to organize the first tribute.

*TR. NOTE: Indicating that these were the Manchu invaders rather than the Ming dynasty fighting for its life in the south.

Czar Sergei was furious when Baikov returned on 6 January 1656. Russian funds were running low at the time; the fact that he had just come out of an argumentative budgetary meeting with the Prince of Novgorod probably contributed to his decision to recommend Baikov's execution for his idiotic behavior. The Chinese ambassador was sent home empty-handed. Baikov was spared by the Duma but his career as a diplomat had ended. Unfounded jokes went around the European capitals that Russia could be hired as a "vassal for the week."

Before Russian diplomacy could recover from the Baikov incident, Poland declared war upon Courland on 13 September 1657, restarting the old Eastern rivalry. Russian armies took their place along the border with Poland, ready to prevent any invasion, and to attack if Courland began to have problems. The armies sat in place for three years, until the war ended without result on 29 May 1660.

Sergei looked again to the east. The intermission in Siberia that had begun after Baikov's fiasco was ending. The curtain would rise on the third, final, and bloodiest act. In October of 1660, Czar Sergei sent messages to Wangshugh Khan of Buriat and Prince Mikhail of Amur: "God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; you have been weighted on the balances and found wanting." Both trembled, for twenty-seven thousand Russian soldiers were on the Buriat border, prepared to enforce the claim.

 

[stnylan]

Did Poland actually prosecute the war against Courland at all? You almost make it sound as is nothing at all happened.

As for Baikov, well, that's what happens when one exceeds one's remit