Introduction Part 3 - 1936 August to 1937 May
1936 August
By August, the government of president Denikin, or Marshal Denikin as he was still known to most people, had been in power for six months. The new bureaucracy was still being implemented and the change of capital, while beneficiating in the long run, had caused disturbances and some unrest in the short. All in all, the marshal did not have an easy time of ruling the republic. He needed something, which would swing the public opinion in his favor.
The aid came from a source, he had not previously considered, but when it was revealed to him, he knew it to be the right one: Faith. The people of Russia has always been deeply devout followers of the Orthodox Church and when Mikhail Pol’Skii, Patriarch of the Orthodox Church and religious leader of all members of the Orthodox faith approached the government, demanding a clarification on the role of the Church and its legal status in the republic, the president was not slow to act. He immediately called in his ministers and demanded to know if there were any legal hindrances to declare Orthodoxy the state religion and when informed that there were none, he proceeded to have it maid law that the Orthodox faith was the state religion of all Russia. The people did not disappoint Denikin in their approval of this move and for a time, much needed by the president, he had the satisfaction of the people and could concentrate on implementing the new bureaucracy.
Mikhail Pol'skii, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
1936 September
All seemed well within the republic and the president worked feverishly to make any day of calm count, as he implemented the new bureaucracy and the laws needed to govern Russia in the future. Outside the nation however, all was not well. Ukraine, an ally of Germany’s and one of the nations created according to the Brest-Litovsk Pact, which Alexander Kerensky had agreed to, in return for the support of the Germans against the Bolshevik revolution, had had a few years of drought, which had severally hampered her economy. Still, the government did not implement drastic measures to recover and finally in September after another year with a dangerously low harvest, the people of Ukraine had enough. Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the People’s Socialist Party, in fact a former Russian Bolshevik, as were many members of his party, declared the government unfit to rule and under cover of a major demonstration in the capital Kiev, he lead armed men into the palace and overthrew the government.
Nikita Khrushchev, syndicalist leader of Ukraine.
Suddenly, Russia found a syndicalist neighbor on her border, an unbearable situation, to say the least. Luckily for Russia, Khrushchev and his lackeys annulled the alliance between Germany and Ukraine as one of their first moves, opening up the possibility for Russia to intervene without unduly angering the Kaiser. Still, Denikin considered it best to send his foreign minister Boris Sturmer to Germany, to meet with Franz Von Papen, Wilhelm II’s chancellor, to obtain permission from the Kaiser to enter Ukraine. Initially, Franz Von Papen refused any such plans, stating that Ukraine was to be considered in the German area of interest, not the Russian. However, during a later meeting, the Kaiser personally gave his permission, stating that, “…if the Ukraine wishes to withdraw from German protection, why should we care who attacks her?” Likewise, it was well known that the Kaiser was and is an ardent enemy of syndicalism and is, himself, highly concerned over France. Thus, it might be considered not too far from the truth, to say that he was secretly pleased, if Russia would relieve him of the headache of a syndicalist power to the east of his realm. No matter what is the case however, it is known that there was no lessening of the diplomatic relations between Russia and Germany, or indeed Russia or Austria-Hungary over the Russian declaration of war and later annexation of Ukraine. Indeed it may be speculated that many a minister in Austria-Hungary and perhaps even the emperor himself relaxed quite a bit, when their syndicalist neighbor was eliminated.
Sturmer and Von Papen, the two foreign ministers of Russia and Germany.
The result being satisfactory, Marshal Denikin put his forces on high alert and on September 16th, a mere two weeks after Khrushchev had taken power, Russia declared war on the Ukraine.
Historians have later speculated whether the Russia-Ukraine War was actually a blessing in disguise for the president, as the war kept the people occupied with foreign affairs instead of internal ones and thus gave Denikin that much more time to work on his reforms.
No matter the reason though, the Reformation Acts of November 15th passed by with little comment from the citizens of the republic. This may, of course, also be due to the fact that the Reformation Acts only strengthened the industrialism of the nation, among other things by creating the Central Factory Committee in St. Petersburg, to oversee the continued development of the industrial base and the future productions of said industry. This had been part of Alexander Kerensky’s famed 10-year Plan and in a way marked its successful end, not thereby to say that much more work wasn’t needed. But still, maybe the population simply considered Kerensky’s Plan akin to holy, at least that much has been seriously discussed by other historians, and would not dream of commenting on any part of it, as that might be seen as criticizing the revered national hero.
1936 December
It had taken three months, in which thousands upon thousands of Russian and Ukrainian lives had been wasted on the battlefield, in a stark reminder of the revolutionary years and how much they had cost Russia. But on December 4th at 11 pm, Russian forces finally entered Kiev after an agonizing struggle, in which the weaknesses of the republican army was lead bare for all to see. Only by stripping almost all other frontiers to the bone had the Russian republic been able to defeat its minor neighbor and the lesson would not be forgotten by the government or Marshal Denikin.
But for now, at least, it was over, Russia had won.
Kiev, capital of Ukraine, as it had looked in better times.
On December 5th at 8 o’clock in the morning, the government of Nikita Khrushchev, faced with the bitter realities of the situation, with nowhere left to flee and with few if any supplies left for the army, accepted the inevitable and formally signed the unconditional surrender of all Ukrainian armed forces, accepting the full annexation of Ukraine by the Republic of Russia. Nikita Khrushchev himself was not able to sign the surrender, as he had only days before fled the country to live in exile in France, where he was bid welcome by the syndicalist government. In his stead, Vlas Chubar, the Foreign minister, Oleg Yefimov, the Chief of Staff and Vladimir Strelnikov, Chief of the Army, signed their names on the document that revoked the independence of Ukraine, as formerly guaranteed by Germany and the Agreement of Brest-Litovsk and had the nation reenter the Republic of Russia.
Vlas Chubar, foreign minister of Ukraine and principal signer of the Ukrainian surrender
At first, the Ukrainian people responded with mass-demonstrations and riots in the streets, but when the next wave of Russian troops arrived, this time leading massive food-caravans to the starved Ukrainian peoples, the cries of anger turned to cheers and tears of joy. Ukraine might not have its independence anymore, but there were at least some advantages to be had, in being part of the largest nation on earth. One of these, the uncountable fields and unlimited cattle herds seemed to immediately bring the realization of the situation to the Ukrainians and somehow satisfy a very deep and all-dominating need of the people: Their hunger.
In Russia, news of the surrender was greeted with happiness by the population and the government alike. But even then, all was not bliss, for in October, Mongolia had annexed Xibei San Ma after an eight months long war. Now, instead of having a troublesome neighbor in the Far East, Russia had a potentially very dangerous one. At once, thirty divisions, roughly 400.000 troops, only just being done fighting the Ukrainians, were being rushed to the other end of Russia, far from their homes and families, which they had all hoped to soon be rejoined with, to guard the vulnerable Far East borders against Mongolia. This of course, did not sit well with the people and once more, Marshal Denikin and his government was in turbulent waters, something they were getting rather used to.
Part of a heavy infantry division in the victory parade in St. Petersburg, days before they were hurriedly sent to the Mongolian frontier.
Likewise, news from the American continents worried Denikin immensely, although their importance, were of course, rather small in any immediate sense.
On November 4th, one John Nance Garner had won the presidential election in the United States and although this in itself had no importance whatsoever, what happened afterwards did. On November 12th The Combined Syndicalists of America or CSA for short, protested the results of the election, whereupon Huey Long, leader of yet another political faction in the States, known as the America First, responded by organizing a paramilitary force called the Minute Men after their rebellious ancestors in the American War of Independence, centuries past. Nor did it take the America First long to protest the results either.
John Nance Garner, American president during very turbulent times.
In themselves these were things, which did not concern president Denikin in the least. However, he could not shake the feeling that these incidents harbored ill news for the future stability of the States, especially since the syndicalist nation of Mexico might support the CSA and thus create the very frightening possibility of a syndicalist United States. And that thought did not sit well with Anton Denikin. To support his worries even more, Brazil erupted in rebellion in mid-December, when the Brazilian government tried to arrest one Astrojildo Pereira, so-called ‘Voice of the Gueto’ for treason, due to some speeches he had made against the government politics. In response to his arrest, more than a million of the poor rose in rebellion and marched on the presidential palace. To protect themselves, the government immediately resigned and Astrojildo Pereira became the new president. Another American nation fallen to syndicalism and the second in South America, Bolivia being the first, to do so. A very worrying picture was slowly being drawn on the political position in the American hemisphere.
Astrojildo Pereira and his new government in Brazil. Another threat to peace?
To outline it all, the New Years day marked the beginning of a strike of immense proportions in the States, lead by Jack Read, leader of the CSA.
1937 January
In Russia, the New Year celebration was a marvelous thing indeed. Not only because it marked the beginning of a two week holiday, ending in the celebration of the Orthodox New Year on January 13/14th. For most of Russia this was a time of relaxation and love, spending time with your family and friends, and reflecting on the year gone and the one to come.
But not so for everybody. Oh yes, reflections on the past year, the government did aplenty, but relaxation they had very little time for indeed. The war against Ukraine had shown some very, very big flaws in the Russian military, a lack of training, troops and equipment, which made Russia virtually the laughingstock of Europe. If there ever was a major conflict, Russia, as it stood, could do nothing but watch and worry, as her armed forces were worthless in any kind of modern war. That at least, was the gist of what Marshal Denikin told his ministers and his chief commanders. Something was to be done and it had to be done now.
Three major plans would be presented to the president at a subsequent meeting. Although at first, Denikin himself had considered the idea of a mass-conscripted army, he soon realized that not only did Russia simply not have the manpower for that anymore, after the industrial reformation and the mass employment of workers, but it was most likely the worst idea of all, when it came to the future and so, he didn’t even air the idea at his following meeting with the commanders.
The first idea was presented by a general Andrey Vlasov, who considered the idea of individual command paramount and suggested that the commanders in the field should decide for themselves, how to conduct the battle. For this, Vlasov was laughed out of the room by Denikin and his career was all but over.
Secondly, Markov, another general, suggested the implementation of a new form of warfare, using armored vehicles and speed. While Denikin considered the idea very interesting, he foresaw a number of potential weaknesses in such a scheme, among them the immense frontier of Russia. The republic simply
had to have a large infantry army, or the very defense of the nation would be impossible. But the idea had merit none the same and later Anton Denikin would make plans for several corps of motorized divisions and tanks to give Russia a large mobile strike force to break through and surround any enemy forces, which could then be smashed against the oncoming infantry. Denikin called this his “Hammer and Anvil” plan and that was the name it would gain, when it was later reconsidered.
Markov in his dress uniform. Although he didn’t know it himself, he was technically the father of the Russian Hammer and Anvil doctrine.
Finally, Petr Wrangel, Field Marshal and commander of the Republican Guard suggested a plan, where the entire army was modernized, while some would be altered to more specific uses, such as mountaineering corps, while the command structure of the army would be streamlined under a centralized High Command, down through regional Head Quarters and then to the commanders in the field, who would, while being given more freedom to conduct tactical operations, them being the officers for a reason, would depend on the centralized command structure for their strategic orders.
The more he explained his idea, the more interested Denikin became. More freedom for the commanders were perhaps not the best option in his own mind, but he needed the continued support of the officers and if confined to tactical freedom, they might be satisfied and yet still kept in line. And a streamlined command structure would certainly speed up the process of command, which in Russia was a problem of immense proportions. Finally, the idea of a centralized High Command under the eye of Denikin, would ensure him a far greater control of the armed forces, than previously possible. All in all, an excellent suggestion and Denikin gave Wrangel the go-ahead for the 'streamlining of the army' and at the same time appointed him Chief of Staff.
Wrangel, chief engineer of the modern Russian military.
1937 February
Things seemed quiet for a while, as they often do in the winter, but then, in February, bad news once more flooded the president’s desk. First, Norway had succumbed to the syndicalist disease, in the form of the leading party being the Scandinavian people’s party, although at the same time retaining the monarchy and I some ways even strengthening it. Among the ministers it was jokingly mentioned that only the Scandinavians knew the secret of making that kind of a mess and henceforth truly incomprehensible things began to be referred to, as “a true piece of Scandinavian art”.
Meanwhile in America there was nothing humorous about the political development.
In South America, Brazil entered an alliance with La Plata and Chile, strengthening the Syndicalist hold on that continent, while in the United States, the governor of Missouri, had called for the help of Huey Long’s Minute men to aid in breaking up the CSA strike, after the government forces had proven inadequate for the task. To show the weakness of the government even further, they first demanded that Long withdrew his paramilitary forces and then, when he refused, simply backed down. A show of weakness of a magnitude that caused great concern with Denikin, whose fears for the future of the States seemed to be proven true.
And then, as if the previous government acts had not been bad enough, the president then decided to support Long against the strikers, whereupon the CSA called up paramilitary forces of their own to attack the Minute Men of the America First. This however was only the first move and on February 20th Jack Reed declared the Worker’s State and thus, the Combined Syndicalists of America declared independence from the USA. Only two days later, Long responded by declaring the American Union State independent from the USA. What Marshal Denikin had feared all along, had now become a reality: The Second American Civil War had begun. And of course, nations all over the world escalated the crisis even further by sending volunteers and equipment to their favorite faction, making the Civil War into an international theater of mixed alliances and confusing sympathies. One could only hope the war would at least be kept to the States and not spread any further. A second Great War would devastate Europe beyond any hope of restoration.
Huey Long, leader of the America Union State, third major participant in the new civil war.
On the positive side, if there indeed was such a one, Austria-Hungary had begun a redrawing of the internal maps of their empire, strengthening the bonds of imperial control in some areas and loosening them in others. The result, although mixed, was received well in St. Petersburg, as a sign that at least for now, Central Europe was stable.
1937 March
Now that civil war was a reality in America, Denikin could do little but wait and thus turned his eyes back to matters closer to home. For some time there was peace and tranquility in Russia, save the usual unrest and dissent, which was more or less becoming common day practice for the government. In March, the president’s eyes turned once more briefly outside the national borders, as the Arab Congress, a congress of Egypt, Libya, Hejaz and the Oman was conducted in Alexandria. Although little was accomplished, it might in the future be used by Russia to destabilize the Ottoman Empire, if ever there would come a conflict between the empire and the Russian republic.
On matters of internal politics, a monarchist faction had slowly begun to gain popularity among the officers in the army, many of whom were old tsarist officers, at least among the higher ranks. Among these officers, it seemed that the best way to ensure the continued stability, or indeed achieve stability in Russia, would be to return to the Imperial era and restore the monarchy. The heir apparent for the officers and in fact also a large part of the population was Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich Romanov, who although an old man of sixty by now, remained the nominal head of the imperial family and was, by most people, considered the legitimate heir to the throne, if ever that would come to be.
Cyril Vladimirovich, in his younger days.
At first, Denikin simply laughed, when he heard of the proposition, but later, when he was in private, he gave the idea a considerable amount of thought. First and foremost, the grand duke had the support of many people, including high ranking officers and secondly, a new Tsar might very well settle the unrest of Russia, once and for all. At least with the right Tsar and to Denikin’s mind, grand Duke Cyril was anything
but the right Tsar. However, he did have a son and the Grand Duke was an old man and had led a hard life. He might not survive for long.
The more he considered the idea, the more focused Denikin became on the positive sides of it. If the young son of Cyril was a suitably pliable man, Denikin could retire as president and continue to control the nation through the Tsar, as prime minister. That would satisfy both the resurgent monarchists and those who favored the government led by Denikin. Liking the idea, Denikin sent for Nikolai Kharlamov, head of the Okhrana, the Russian Secret Service and ordered them to begin an immediate investigation into the background and personality of the son of Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich, a report on their findings to be delivered to him no later than two months hence.
1937 April
Counter to the beliefs of Denikin, all was not quiet in Central Europe, at least not in the Balkans, where the three nations of Serbia, Greece and Iron Guard Romania held a congress in Belgrade, resulting in the so-called Belgrade Pact. Ensuring that neither Hungary, Germany nor the Ottoman Empire would interfere in the Balkan politics, the three allies then continued to form a plan, in which Bulgaria, located between all three nations, would be parted between them. The fact that none of the three powers, not even Rumania which had a border with Russia deigned it necessary to ask for Russian permission to the plan, made it all the more abundantly clear, just how the state of the Russian military was viewed by the world. On May 2nd, Greece, Serbia and Iron Guard Rumania declared war on both Bulgaria and Albania. The Third Balkan War had begun.
1937 May
In another part of Europe, namely Spain, violence flared up as well, in a sad miniature copy of the American Civil War, when the syndicalist Federation Anarchista Iberica or CNT-FAI declared independence from the Kingdom of Spain, following the heart attack of King Alfonso XIII, which had send the monarch into a deep coma.
Only a month later, another faction, known as the Carlists declared independence as well and a three way civil war, once more supported by most European nations, begun in Spain.
To make matters even worse, the crown prince of Spain, who had governed in his father’s stead since the heart attack was assassinated on July 2nd, supposedly as the result of a Carlist plot. Things looked dire indeed for the kingdom, but once again, the hands of Russia were tied effectively behind her back, due to the poor state of her military forces.
At least in this war, it seemed as if the syndicalists would not win, as on July 19th, the Carlist forces entered Madrid. In the States, where yet another faction, the so-called pacific States of America had declared independence, the syndicalists seemed to be the stronger of the now four factions fighting for dominance, a fact which from time to time gave Denikin nightmares, when he dreamt of the future.