State of the World: 1938
Russia
The assassination of Kerensky proved to be defining moment of the decade for Russia, which for the last fourteen years had been struggling with a divided, ineffective government that had let the nation run down; half the industrial strength of Germany, an army half that of France. Many hoped that the unnamed gunman had done Mother Russia a favour, but unfortunately this was not to be the case.
It was inevitable that power would flow into the hands of whichever group moved the fastest; this proved to be the radical left wing coalition of Left Socialist Revolutionaries and Menscheviks, who quickly acted to propel Nikolai Bukharin to power, as the new President of Russia, albeit with only a large minority of support, rather than a majority. The instability of this government was apparent very rapidly, and Pavel Milyukov was approached to resume his post as Prime Minister as part of a compromise minister, bringing the Kadets back into the government. The coalition was unstable, to say the least, and the government fell in September 1936.
A week of arguing erupted in the Duma; finally an alliance of the Kadets and the Orthodox Church invited Marshal Denikin to assume the Presidency, with Patriarch Polsk'ii as Prime Minister. Neither had any previous experience of government, and both were headstrong men; within two weeks, Denikin had alienated most of his supporters, and was contemplating a declaration of marshal law. The Patriarch introduced a bill in the Duma calling for the restoration of the old Tsarist privileges of the Orthodox Church, and this was a step too far; with the help of loyal Naval officers, Denikin was 'invited' to resign, and left the country in exile, eventually setting up residence in Paris.
During the collapse of the Bukharin Government, Milyukov had been denounced by the Kadets; this left Viktor Chernov, a former Socialist-Revolutionary leader, to become President of another coalition government, this time with Social-Democrat Irakli Tsereteli as Prime Minister. This government, at last, had majority support, but the treatment of Marshal Denikin had lost them the support of the Army. Newly-appointed Marshal Andrey Vlasov made it clear that the Army would accept the Government, but would tolerate no interference from it, and that the Army would essentially dictate foreign policy on its borders.
Due to growing tension in the Caucasus, the Don-Kuban Union began looking for allies; with the encouragement of the Army, they entered into a treaty of 'Perpetual Friendship and Allegiance' in September 1937. The Cossacks would once again serve Russia, and their example would spur the Army to greater deeds; throughout 1938 their agents stirred up trouble in the Kazakh Republic, and in October vast swathes of territory elected to secede, and the local cities and warlords swore loyalty to Mother Russia. Little by little, the Empire was coming back together again.
Russia
The assassination of Kerensky proved to be defining moment of the decade for Russia, which for the last fourteen years had been struggling with a divided, ineffective government that had let the nation run down; half the industrial strength of Germany, an army half that of France. Many hoped that the unnamed gunman had done Mother Russia a favour, but unfortunately this was not to be the case.
It was inevitable that power would flow into the hands of whichever group moved the fastest; this proved to be the radical left wing coalition of Left Socialist Revolutionaries and Menscheviks, who quickly acted to propel Nikolai Bukharin to power, as the new President of Russia, albeit with only a large minority of support, rather than a majority. The instability of this government was apparent very rapidly, and Pavel Milyukov was approached to resume his post as Prime Minister as part of a compromise minister, bringing the Kadets back into the government. The coalition was unstable, to say the least, and the government fell in September 1936.
Marshal Denikin, temporary saviour of Mother Russia
A week of arguing erupted in the Duma; finally an alliance of the Kadets and the Orthodox Church invited Marshal Denikin to assume the Presidency, with Patriarch Polsk'ii as Prime Minister. Neither had any previous experience of government, and both were headstrong men; within two weeks, Denikin had alienated most of his supporters, and was contemplating a declaration of marshal law. The Patriarch introduced a bill in the Duma calling for the restoration of the old Tsarist privileges of the Orthodox Church, and this was a step too far; with the help of loyal Naval officers, Denikin was 'invited' to resign, and left the country in exile, eventually setting up residence in Paris.
During the collapse of the Bukharin Government, Milyukov had been denounced by the Kadets; this left Viktor Chernov, a former Socialist-Revolutionary leader, to become President of another coalition government, this time with Social-Democrat Irakli Tsereteli as Prime Minister. This government, at last, had majority support, but the treatment of Marshal Denikin had lost them the support of the Army. Newly-appointed Marshal Andrey Vlasov made it clear that the Army would accept the Government, but would tolerate no interference from it, and that the Army would essentially dictate foreign policy on its borders.
Russian cavalry patrolling the new southern frontier, November 1938
Due to growing tension in the Caucasus, the Don-Kuban Union began looking for allies; with the encouragement of the Army, they entered into a treaty of 'Perpetual Friendship and Allegiance' in September 1937. The Cossacks would once again serve Russia, and their example would spur the Army to greater deeds; throughout 1938 their agents stirred up trouble in the Kazakh Republic, and in October vast swathes of territory elected to secede, and the local cities and warlords swore loyalty to Mother Russia. Little by little, the Empire was coming back together again.
