-
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
I imagine that Russia is somewhat behind the Third Internationale in technology and you need to catch up. I guess, you crushing Germany in 1940 was just a good opportunity. Who is the man next to the flags and the jets in your first post poster?
What is the status of the USA in your world? It survived the second ACW but lost Hawaii and Guam. Is it a democracy or under a junta? Historically, the USA and Tsarist Russia had cordial to good relations before the 1917 Revolution. Perhaps the old friendship could be restored? No version of the USA should have no love for the syndicalists.
What is the status of the USA in your world? It survived the second ACW but lost Hawaii and Guam. Is it a democracy or under a junta? Historically, the USA and Tsarist Russia had cordial to good relations before the 1917 Revolution. Perhaps the old friendship could be restored? No version of the USA should have no love for the syndicalists.
A very well written chapter, with a wonderful cliffhanger.
Thanks! Feedback is always appreciated!
Technologically speaking I was effectively lagging behind a little but as of 1950, both alliances are at parity.
His Imperial Majesty Vladimir III, By the Grace of God and the Constitution, Emperor of All the Russias.
Relations between Imperial Russia and the United States are indeed good, and yes democracy prevailed. But America isn't going to play a big role on the international stage for at least the next couple of years; the civil war raged from 1937 to 1944 and at the start date of the AAR, the country is only six years out of the most destructive conflict in its history.
Again, thank you all for following, the update should be comming at the end of the week!
Sorry for being late guys, I'm stuck with the Russian economy for now. I'm trying to figure a realistic way for Russia to develop it's economy and a suitable economist to led the economic recovery of the country*, it's a lot of research and as I gave my last to weeks to the developement of TBL mod, I didn't had time to do it before. Still, it's 3/4 done and shouldn't take more than a couple of days.
EDIT: Also, is there anything cannon about the fate of Keynes in Kaiserreich?
*If you guys know someone up to the job let me know.
EDIT: Also, is there anything cannon about the fate of Keynes in Kaiserreich?
*If you guys know someone up to the job let me know.
Last edited:
My knowledge of economic affairs is rather limited sorry to say but I will try to help what I can. I remember you said that Alexander II's Zemstvo was restored by President Romanov. Historically, the Zemstvo self-governments were quite effective at their jobs despite heavy restrictions placed on them by later tsars. The KR HOI4 Zemstvo focus tree implies the new Zemstvos are much more liberalized than their original counterparts. Did the Russian government prefer direct economic intervention or a liberalized free market? Find a reputable economist who supported your chosen choice in real life. They do not even have to be Russian. Most Russian economists in real life were communists in the 1950s. As the USSR discovered, a country needs civilian consumer goods for a healthy long term economy. A country does not survive on heavy industry alone. Was Mother Russia's heartland invaded in the Second World War? If not, Russia can achieve economic recovery and success the same way the USA did in real life as the undamaged economic engine of the free world. Russia can improve the prosperity of her alliance and create a market for her goods by doing a Marshal style plan for her reconquered lands and network of puppet states and allies. The former economic titans are in no place to challenge Russia. Germany was defeated and divided. America suffered a seven year long brutal civil war in which countless factories and millions of lives were lost. They could be excellent markets for Russia. Perhaps this time, the Americans and Germans will listen to Russian music and wear Made in Russia clothes! The Entente nations might be prosperous but the developed nations like Canada and National France lack the population to truly compete with Russia. The Dominion of India has the population but not the industry to yet challenge Russia. You could present liberal, conservative, and socialist vague takes to cover all your political bases. If all else fails, you can ignore the smaller details because nothing requires you to actually discuss them.
Other questions. Is the new Imperial Russia a secular state or it has Orthodoxy as the state religion? If it has a state religion, is Russia a de facto secular state like the United Kingdom and only the monarchy has to worry about it or is the government actively promoting the state religion like the old empire? Who are the HoS and HoG of the major powers in 1950 and the ruling ideologues of those major powers.
Other questions. Is the new Imperial Russia a secular state or it has Orthodoxy as the state religion? If it has a state religion, is Russia a de facto secular state like the United Kingdom and only the monarchy has to worry about it or is the government actively promoting the state religion like the old empire? Who are the HoS and HoG of the major powers in 1950 and the ruling ideologues of those major powers.
According to the Kaiserreich subreddit, the Kaiserreich devs still have not decided the fate of Keynes himself yet so you can decide for yourself. Considering his hatred of Marxism, he is likely a British exile in Canada. His ideas are still floating around the Kaiserreich universe and are popular with social liberals and social democrats. The German Bank President Hjalmar Schacht is the most notable proponent of Keynesian economics and his "Schachtplan" to solve the Black Monday crisis in Germany is very Keynesian in nature. The main rival of Keynesian economics in Kaisereich is use of severe austerity measures and liquidation of unprofitable estates, colonies, companies and welfare programs followed by limited and careful government intervention promoted by Wilhelm Groener. Austerity is preferred by German and Austrian social conservatives. Of course, the Laissez-faire free market economic system is still around but it is very unpopular in 1930s due to its failure to solve the American and German Great Depressions. Austerity was forced on the 1936 Russian government by the Germans and caused great unrest in the Russian people so I doubt austerity would be popular again in Russia anytime soon.
The ruling Constitutional Democratic Party or Kadets in your story's 1938 were pro-universal male and women's suffrage, supporters of the Zemstvo system, former republicans turned constitutional monarchists, and supporters of full minority rights but I found nothing on their economic views. They seem a flexible bunch so I could them supporting free market or Keynesian policies as needed.
Edit I found the 1905 Kadet Platform online. Apparently, they originally preferred progressive taxation, small aid and loans to businesses, large government aid to peasants and farmers, and a limited welfare system. But a lot can change to thirty years.
The ruling Constitutional Democratic Party or Kadets in your story's 1938 were pro-universal male and women's suffrage, supporters of the Zemstvo system, former republicans turned constitutional monarchists, and supporters of full minority rights but I found nothing on their economic views. They seem a flexible bunch so I could them supporting free market or Keynesian policies as needed.
Edit I found the 1905 Kadet Platform online. Apparently, they originally preferred progressive taxation, small aid and loans to businesses, large government aid to peasants and farmers, and a limited welfare system. But a lot can change to thirty years.
Last edited:
I have the outlines of the economic parts, what I'm tinking about is a realistic way to quickly industrialize Russia.
Orthodoxy is the state religion but officially cannot play any role in the political system. Officially.
Very well, very very very well...
This is also what I understand of the Kadets, though I cannot blame them, most people would change opinions over the course of a civil war.
Welcome aboard!
Introduction:
The birth of a superpower
Part II - Vladimir
His Imperial Majesty Vladimir III, By the Grace of God and the Constitution, Emperor of All the Russias.
Russian foreign policy under Kirill I had been timid. The Tsar –and Grand Duke Dimitri–main concern was to re-establish peace and order within the Russian State. The rebellious Central Asian tribes had been re-integrated and the Caucasus as well after a short 32 days war against Azerbaijan and Georgia –preceded by a pro-Russian coup in the Don-Kuban Republic– but not much had been achieved against Russia’s historical rivals; the territory beyond the Amur River was still under Japanese influence and Germans client states were still ruling Eastern Europe. It all changed with the death of Tsar Kirill.
The Imperial Family in the 1930s.
Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov was born in 1917 in the small town of Porvoo near Helsinki in the Grand Duchy of Finland. The newborn Prince was great gift for the family, a sign of hope in those dark time of exile when Bolsheviks ruled Petrograd. After the defeat of the Red forces in the early 20s, the family was allowed back in Russia and granted most of his property back. Vladimir’s father Kirill was now the head of the Romanov dynasty and young Vladimir understood quickly the burden he was someday to take on. The important academic background he acquired was to make him a man quite different from his father and today, he is described as a somewhat liberal figure, at least for the standards of 1940 Russia. Not fundamentally opposed to the concept of Constitutional Monarchy he failed to convince his father that accepting it would be his only chance to ascent to the throne. Indeed, when the 21 years old Tsar succeeded his father after the restoration of 1937 and the death of Kirill a year later, his belief in a new form of Russian Monarchy was going to bring Russia back on the world stage. Vladimir was nevertheless a Romanov and thus had a high opinion of himself and was usually reluctant to meddle with the populace, he didn’t despised them but considered himself superior. His manners were also often criticized by the court. The Tsar was a bon vivant and appreciated the pleasures of life, something which was not cautioned by the Russian nobility. Sometimes compared to Edward VII, his playboy status would, with the years, effectively affect his relations with his family. He was nevertheless aware that he couldn’t rule alone and during his reign would often surround himself of experts when faced with a dilemma in order to make the best decision possible. Tactful and temperate, he wasn’t the kind of man to take a decision in the heat of the moment but was still a gambler, ready to take risks to achieve his goals.
The assassination of the President of Transamur Admiral Alexander Kolchak
threw the puppet State into chaos. Combined with the Imperial restauration in
Petrograd, the idea of a reunion with Russia quickly gained large support.
His first goal was to unite the Russian people behind him and the Monarchy. To achieve that, he needed something more than just attacking Central Asia or the Caucasus. Chance struck the young Tsar when the government of Transamur collapsed and issued a formal request to the restored Russian Empire to rejoin the motherland. With Japan bogged down in the Korean uprising, the risk of a war with the Empire was minimal and after two decades of foreign rule Vladivostok was liberated. National pride swept through the country and the Kadets government saw its popularity increase. It was far from being enough to stabilize the political situation though and dissent could still be felt the capital. Something had to be done, but the German juggernaut was closely watching the resurgence of Mother Russia and Vladimir had his hands tied.
Then came the infamous shelling of Bretten.
The French tactic of Guerre Éclair took the German defensive system
by surprise. Although they would later be -temporarily- stopped at the
Rhin by an had-hoc defense, the damage was done.
During the spring of 1939, the German Army announced that a series of military maneuver would be conducted in Elsass-Lothringen between the 1st of March and the 23rd of April. In response, the Communards quickly announced that they would do the same in Franche-Compté during mostly the same timetable. On March 25th, coming from the French border, two dozen shells fell on the city of Bretten in Bade-Wurtemberg, triggering retaliation from the German side. Two days later, France officially declared war on Germany.
With the Germans now busy elsewhere and the Russian Army undergoing massive reforms since tree years, Tsar Vladimir III felt confident enough to strike a blow at one of the oldest enemy of Russia: Turkey. The Ottoman Empire had collapsed in July 1938 following the treaty of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Sublime Porte at the hands of an Arab coalition of Egypt, Hasemite Arabia and Persia and the new republic was not ready to face an invasion, the time was ripe. After a lot of meetings with the government as well as the opposition and assurance from the Army that the operation could be conducted quickly, the Tsar declared war on Turkey on May 1st 1939 in order to “restore order in Anatolia”. Sixty days later after a campaign exceeding the most optimistic estimations of the Chief of Staff Sergei Markov, the war was over and the Russian tricolor was flying over Constantinople. This time again, Russians celebrated the victory and rejoiced at the reborn military power of Russia, further consolidating the position of the Tsar.
Unionist-build Bristol Blenheim in Turkish service during the Russo-Turkish War
of 1939, the Turkish Air force was arguably the only service of the Turkish military
which caused problem to the Russian during the invasion.
The world was stunned but nobody could do anything about it, the situation in Western Europe was grave and Constantinople could wait. In seven months of war, the Franco-British Syndicalists had overrun the German defenses using a new method of warfare known as Guerre Éclair –similar to the doctrine developed by Field Marshall Markov in Russia, although on a larger scale– and were now less than 130 miles from Berlin. In October, public opinion in Russia was now firmly in favor of war against Mittleuropa and wanted to “erase the humiliation of 1918”. Tsar Vladimir was however concerned of a Communard victory over Germany and asked the government to try to negotiate an agreement with Berlin before. Foreign minister Konovalov was thus sent to Berlin to ask for concession in Eastern Europe in exchange for a benevolent neutrality of Russia. He was answered by a cold no and politely asked to return in Russia. Consequently, on October 11th 1939, Russia declared war to Germany.
Operation Ivan Grozny, the reconquest of Eastern Europe, was the first massive
operation carried out by the new Russian Army. It showed the great
improvements achieved by General Markov's reforms.
It would be the final nail in the coffin of the Kaiser, with Communards and Unionists troops as far as Bremen and Magdeburg, no troops could be spared for a second front and the Eastern European German client states were left alone against Russia. Within a month, the reformed Russian Army had defeated the Baltic States, Lithuania and White Ruthenia. Eastern Prussia was also invaded and Poland surrendered on December 8th. The Ukraine was the only nation still in the fight, but it was more due to the size of the country and the smaller forces allocated to its invasion than an actual resistance. Indeed, reports of whole brigades of the Ukrainian Army surrendering to the advancing Russians were common, especially among the Russian-speaking units in charge of the border protection. Finally, on Christmas Eve 1939, the Ukrainian government unconditionally surrendered to the Imperial Russian Army. In early January, a bridgehead across the Oder was secured and soon, Berlin was shelled by the Russian Artillery. A pincer movement was executed by Field Marshall Wrangel to the north of the city in order to deny access to the Syndicalist Armies –collaboration between Russian and French Armies had increased during the three months of the Russian campaign but already, this short-lived friendship was crumbling– and the besieged city fell on January 16th 1940. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Berlin, the Kaiserliche Marine attempted a sortie into the North Sea. As the Kiel Canal was now under Russian control, the Jutland peninsula had to be bypassed and the German force was caught by the Russian Imperial Navy on February 4th. Despite having his Army defeated, Germany proved during the following battle that her Navy was still in the fight and although losing a dozen destroyers, two heavy cruisers and two battleships, the Germans inflicted a crushing defeat to the Russian Baltic Fleet, sinking or disabling all of its capital ships. In the end, only the old battlecruiser Izmail would survive but would require 18 months of repairs before going back to sea. The Hochseeflotte abandoned the crippled ships behind and then proceeded to the North Sea where three aircraft carriers joined it. In an incredible seamanship exploit, the fleet went undetected to Africa (via stops in Ireland, the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, Kamerun, South West Africa and Madagascar) and anchored at Dar El Salem on April 2nd, carrying the Kaiser –who would die a couple of weeks later– on board.
Cossacks posing in front of the Reichstag in Berlin, 1940.
Now that Germany was defeated, relations with Russia’s informal allies of the Internationale would sour rapidly. As Winston Churchill would say it in one of his speech during a visit in Russia following the fall of Berlin, an Iron Curtain had fell on Europe. The Communards were asking for referendums in Russian-occupied Eastern Europe to let people decide the fate of their nations, something Russia said it would only agree if the Internationale did not impose Totalism to Western Europe. A deadlock in the post-war negotiations was unavoidable and when France proclaimed the German Union in May these negotiations officially ended as it was now obvious that no one would make concessions. In retaliation to the creation of the French puppet state of West Germany, Tsar Vladimir III proposed to the Duma a peace treaty with Germany which would allow the return of the Imperial Family to East Germany. Prime Minister Pavel Milyukov understood that it was the only way to secure German collaboration in the long term as the Kaiser would have more legitimacy than any puppet state Russia could set up in Prussia. Accordingly, Milyukov accepted the Tsar proposition and asked for a peace conference with Germany to take place in Brest-Litovsk. The ensuing Second Treaty of Brest-Litovsk forced Germany to acknowledge the Russians territorial gains in Eastern Europe and Poland in exchange for the authorization to re-establish the German Empire in occupied East-Germany. The victory of Russia was complete. The anger of the Communards immeasurable.
During the next years, under Tsar Vladimir guiding hand, Imperial Russia would restore Russian rule in Bessarabia and re-establish Monarchy in Romania, re-create the Grand Duchy of Finland after a short war and attack the rogue state of Baron Roman Nicolaus Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg in Mongolia. All of these news inhabitants of newly growing Russia were however not all happy with the situation. Understandingly, because much of the reconquered territories of Russia had enjoyed independence to some degree during 15 years. The people of these countries didn’t wanted to lose their freedom and thus were very hostile to the return of Russian rule. Except for Russians minorities in the Ukraine, the Baltic, Belorussia, the Caucasus and in Central Asia, the different nationalities recently conquered by Tsar Vladimir all wanted their independence back. Large uprisings occurred in Finland and Poland and the situation was worsening every day.
Although by 1945 the Second Weltkrieg had united most –if not all– ethnic Russians behind the new regime in Petrograd, the unrest in occupied territories couldn’t be sustained anymore. Accordingly, the Tsar called a Constitutional assembly to take place during the year hoping to quell the protests. Between March and July, representatives from all across the empire met in Moscow and Petrograd and with the support of the Duma and the State Council, draw up the bases of a new constitution. The result was the creation of five “States within the State”. Much like the restoration of the Romanov, it was a big compromise. Five regions of Russia were to be designated as autonomous: Finland, the Baltic States, Lithuania, Poland and Armenia. Vladimir III would be either be Grand Duke or King of these regions, and they would enjoy a proportional representation in both chambers of the Russian Parliament, officially linking them to Russia. These regions would not be allowed to raise national armies but would be granted local Parliaments and the right to legislate their laws as long as they didn’t “threaten the territorial integrity of the Russian Empire” that is, as long as they do not secede. Free elections were to be guaranteed in all autonomous regions, creating a situation where, except for Finland, the regions would enjoy more political freedom under Russia than when independent (Lithuania, Poland and the Don Kuban Republic were military dictatorship and the Baltic States had becomes an Autocracy). Internal reforms could be adopted without the consent of the central government but it was to Petrograd to decide what was of internal matters. Later on, this would create some problems when regions became more democratic than other ones.
The Russian Constitution of 1945 was nevertheless adopted and today it is generally acknowledged that it was far from perfect. In the opinion of most ethnic Russians, it gave too much autonomy to the reconquered parts of the empire and in the new autonomous regions, nationalists hadn’t got what they wanted. In practice, it worked not that bad. To intervene in internal politics of the autonomous regions, the Russian government needed the agreement of the Tsar, and Vladimir III was very reluctant to grant it. Moreover, the massive help granted by Russia to rebuild Eastern Europe and the free access to the Russian market gave a good reason to the industrialists of the autonomous regions to put pressure on their governments to stick with Russia. Indeed, the collapse of Western Europe in Syndicalism had closed it to commerce –the Capitalist and Socialist economic models being in opposition– and one of the few country left open to trade in Europe was Russia and its growing economy.
The explosion of the Russian industry in the 1940s was so
important, it was labeled as the Second Industrial Revolution.
The Russian Economic Miracle, as we know it today, allowed the poor patchwork of rural oblasts that was Russia –almost subject to warlordism– after the civil war to become in the space of a decade one of the leading industrial power of the world. The five years plan enacted in 1937, a government-funded program to increase the industrialization level of Russia, was the first step. It focused on three main aspects: light and medium industries, infrastructures and natural resources. In collaboration with private investors, new factories opened every year and the railway system was constantly expanded, mines were expanded and oil production increased. The plan was a direct consequence of the adoption by the Kadets government of an expansionary monetary policy. Accordingly, to this policy, the State lowered the interest rate in Russia and funded public infrastructures with the objective of creating new jobs and new capital in the economy. The Russian State acquired an important debt in doing so but obtained tremendous results. The end of the Kerensky austerity policies were welcomed by the population and, moreover, because of the increase in demand on the job market the unemployment started to lower and would steadily do so for the next ten years. Government intervention in the economy became an accepted fact and until the end of the reign of the Kadets in 1947, it was common to see large amounts of the budget injected into the economy. The economic recovery triggered a circle of growth: new construction sites/factories created job, which created new employees, with a guaranteed source of income new employees started to spend more on the market, the demand for goods and/or services thus increased, triggering the construction of new infrastructures/factories. The standard of living in urban areas went sky-high and soon spread to rural areas where, with the help of the government, modern agricultural equipment was issued to farmers, increasing the production and making Russia one of the greater exporter of food in the world (number one in grain). Already gifted with probably the best farmlands in the world in the Ukraine, Poland and most of Eastern Europe, Russia thus developed a major industrial heartland along the Volga and Oka Rivers.
Canadian Minister of Finances John Maynard Keynes, a British exile and a
revolutionary economist who would inspire the Russian economic model of
developement for most of the late 20th century.
The Russian economic recovery had other causes too, namely the international situation. Since the revolution in Britain and France in the 1920s, two of the main industrial powers of the world had closed their market and stopped exportation, creating a gap in the world market which was filled over the years by Germany and the United States. When in 1929 the American economic system collapsed, Germany became the main exporter of goods all around the world, being the only healthy industrial power. The Black Monday and the following defeat of Germany at the hands of the Internationale and Russia brought down the last remaining industrial powerhouse of the non-syndicalist world. It is probable that without the Second American Civil War which raged between 1937 and 1944, the United States would have filled the gap but as it stands they didn’t and Russia got the job. Thus, when the 1940 decade ended, not only was Russia producing goods for its growing internal market, the country had inherited the de facto title of the world’s workshop. Gifted with the absence of destruction on its territory during the war, Russia was selling to the entire world anything from the radio set to cargo ships and this growth wasn’t even altered by the war with Japan.
January 2nd 1947, the atomic bombing of Osaka. Between 900 000 and 1 100 000
people instantly died went the bomb detonated at 09:26. It was to be the argument
Japan needed to open negociations with Russia: the war would end exactly 30 days after.
Between August 1946 and February 1947 Russia fought its most critical war in decades. Although only six-months long, the Second Russo-Japanese War cost the lives of 750 000 Russians and 1 500 000 Japanese and ended with the experimentation of the most destructive weapon created by mankind, the Atomic bomb. Triggered by a false-flag incident at the border between Russia and Japanese Korea, the war wasn’t an easy task for Russia and the peace Treaty signed with Japan didn’t settled all the disputes between both countries. But for Russia, an invasion of Japan wasn’t feasible at this point, the Japanese Imperial Navy was defeated but not neutralized, and the campaign had already been longer than expected. Japan thus lost all of its possessions on the continent but was spared of war reparations and was allowed to keep its military. The next year, a militaristic clique led by General Tojo took power in Tokyo and it became clear to Russian leadership that the Empire of the Rising Sun was already on a path to revenge.
As the 1940s came to a close, Russia can be described in a lot of manners. But for a contemporary observer, Russia was a relatively democratic –Tsar Vladimir III still having a considerable right of veto– constitutional monarchy. The Russian society was still essentially very conservative and the economic system of the country was a mix of free market policies combined with a government which, through tax and spending policies, maintained the equilibrium of the market. Dissent elements were still very present in the political sphere –especially in Eastern Europe– but, with the rule of the law firmly established, they were essentially expressing their discontent through democratic means. Militarily, Mother Russia was very powerful, but far from unbeatable. The Armoured Spearhead doctrine of Field Marshall Markov had shaped the Army which was now heavily mechanized but still only at parity with the Internationale. The Russian Air Force was one of the most modern in the world (having in its rank the first operational jet fighter, the Yak-15, since 1943) but lacked the size of the Communard-Unionist aerial fleets. Speaking of fleets, the Russian Imperial Navy was impressive but again not the largest. With 19 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 36 cruisers, 155 destroyers and 65 submarines, the size of this force was hampered by the fact that it had to be divided between the Arctic, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Russia had nevertheless one main advantage over the other powers as the country was still the only one in possession of the A-Bomb.
But on January 1st 1950, it wasn’t anymore.
===
Darn, that was a rather long one! But at least the introduction is now officially over. As this update is a bit late, I'll try to get the next one out sooner, hope you'll all enjoy and don't be ashamed to give feedbacks!
The birth of a superpower
Part II - Vladimir
His Imperial Majesty Vladimir III, By the Grace of God and the Constitution, Emperor of All the Russias.
Russian foreign policy under Kirill I had been timid. The Tsar –and Grand Duke Dimitri–main concern was to re-establish peace and order within the Russian State. The rebellious Central Asian tribes had been re-integrated and the Caucasus as well after a short 32 days war against Azerbaijan and Georgia –preceded by a pro-Russian coup in the Don-Kuban Republic– but not much had been achieved against Russia’s historical rivals; the territory beyond the Amur River was still under Japanese influence and Germans client states were still ruling Eastern Europe. It all changed with the death of Tsar Kirill.
The Imperial Family in the 1930s.
Vladimir Kirillovich Romanov was born in 1917 in the small town of Porvoo near Helsinki in the Grand Duchy of Finland. The newborn Prince was great gift for the family, a sign of hope in those dark time of exile when Bolsheviks ruled Petrograd. After the defeat of the Red forces in the early 20s, the family was allowed back in Russia and granted most of his property back. Vladimir’s father Kirill was now the head of the Romanov dynasty and young Vladimir understood quickly the burden he was someday to take on. The important academic background he acquired was to make him a man quite different from his father and today, he is described as a somewhat liberal figure, at least for the standards of 1940 Russia. Not fundamentally opposed to the concept of Constitutional Monarchy he failed to convince his father that accepting it would be his only chance to ascent to the throne. Indeed, when the 21 years old Tsar succeeded his father after the restoration of 1937 and the death of Kirill a year later, his belief in a new form of Russian Monarchy was going to bring Russia back on the world stage. Vladimir was nevertheless a Romanov and thus had a high opinion of himself and was usually reluctant to meddle with the populace, he didn’t despised them but considered himself superior. His manners were also often criticized by the court. The Tsar was a bon vivant and appreciated the pleasures of life, something which was not cautioned by the Russian nobility. Sometimes compared to Edward VII, his playboy status would, with the years, effectively affect his relations with his family. He was nevertheless aware that he couldn’t rule alone and during his reign would often surround himself of experts when faced with a dilemma in order to make the best decision possible. Tactful and temperate, he wasn’t the kind of man to take a decision in the heat of the moment but was still a gambler, ready to take risks to achieve his goals.
The assassination of the President of Transamur Admiral Alexander Kolchak
threw the puppet State into chaos. Combined with the Imperial restauration in
Petrograd, the idea of a reunion with Russia quickly gained large support.
His first goal was to unite the Russian people behind him and the Monarchy. To achieve that, he needed something more than just attacking Central Asia or the Caucasus. Chance struck the young Tsar when the government of Transamur collapsed and issued a formal request to the restored Russian Empire to rejoin the motherland. With Japan bogged down in the Korean uprising, the risk of a war with the Empire was minimal and after two decades of foreign rule Vladivostok was liberated. National pride swept through the country and the Kadets government saw its popularity increase. It was far from being enough to stabilize the political situation though and dissent could still be felt the capital. Something had to be done, but the German juggernaut was closely watching the resurgence of Mother Russia and Vladimir had his hands tied.
Then came the infamous shelling of Bretten.
The French tactic of Guerre Éclair took the German defensive system
by surprise. Although they would later be -temporarily- stopped at the
Rhin by an had-hoc defense, the damage was done.
During the spring of 1939, the German Army announced that a series of military maneuver would be conducted in Elsass-Lothringen between the 1st of March and the 23rd of April. In response, the Communards quickly announced that they would do the same in Franche-Compté during mostly the same timetable. On March 25th, coming from the French border, two dozen shells fell on the city of Bretten in Bade-Wurtemberg, triggering retaliation from the German side. Two days later, France officially declared war on Germany.
With the Germans now busy elsewhere and the Russian Army undergoing massive reforms since tree years, Tsar Vladimir III felt confident enough to strike a blow at one of the oldest enemy of Russia: Turkey. The Ottoman Empire had collapsed in July 1938 following the treaty of Jerusalem and the defeat of the Sublime Porte at the hands of an Arab coalition of Egypt, Hasemite Arabia and Persia and the new republic was not ready to face an invasion, the time was ripe. After a lot of meetings with the government as well as the opposition and assurance from the Army that the operation could be conducted quickly, the Tsar declared war on Turkey on May 1st 1939 in order to “restore order in Anatolia”. Sixty days later after a campaign exceeding the most optimistic estimations of the Chief of Staff Sergei Markov, the war was over and the Russian tricolor was flying over Constantinople. This time again, Russians celebrated the victory and rejoiced at the reborn military power of Russia, further consolidating the position of the Tsar.
Unionist-build Bristol Blenheim in Turkish service during the Russo-Turkish War
of 1939, the Turkish Air force was arguably the only service of the Turkish military
which caused problem to the Russian during the invasion.
The world was stunned but nobody could do anything about it, the situation in Western Europe was grave and Constantinople could wait. In seven months of war, the Franco-British Syndicalists had overrun the German defenses using a new method of warfare known as Guerre Éclair –similar to the doctrine developed by Field Marshall Markov in Russia, although on a larger scale– and were now less than 130 miles from Berlin. In October, public opinion in Russia was now firmly in favor of war against Mittleuropa and wanted to “erase the humiliation of 1918”. Tsar Vladimir was however concerned of a Communard victory over Germany and asked the government to try to negotiate an agreement with Berlin before. Foreign minister Konovalov was thus sent to Berlin to ask for concession in Eastern Europe in exchange for a benevolent neutrality of Russia. He was answered by a cold no and politely asked to return in Russia. Consequently, on October 11th 1939, Russia declared war to Germany.
Operation Ivan Grozny, the reconquest of Eastern Europe, was the first massive
operation carried out by the new Russian Army. It showed the great
improvements achieved by General Markov's reforms.
It would be the final nail in the coffin of the Kaiser, with Communards and Unionists troops as far as Bremen and Magdeburg, no troops could be spared for a second front and the Eastern European German client states were left alone against Russia. Within a month, the reformed Russian Army had defeated the Baltic States, Lithuania and White Ruthenia. Eastern Prussia was also invaded and Poland surrendered on December 8th. The Ukraine was the only nation still in the fight, but it was more due to the size of the country and the smaller forces allocated to its invasion than an actual resistance. Indeed, reports of whole brigades of the Ukrainian Army surrendering to the advancing Russians were common, especially among the Russian-speaking units in charge of the border protection. Finally, on Christmas Eve 1939, the Ukrainian government unconditionally surrendered to the Imperial Russian Army. In early January, a bridgehead across the Oder was secured and soon, Berlin was shelled by the Russian Artillery. A pincer movement was executed by Field Marshall Wrangel to the north of the city in order to deny access to the Syndicalist Armies –collaboration between Russian and French Armies had increased during the three months of the Russian campaign but already, this short-lived friendship was crumbling– and the besieged city fell on January 16th 1940. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of Berlin, the Kaiserliche Marine attempted a sortie into the North Sea. As the Kiel Canal was now under Russian control, the Jutland peninsula had to be bypassed and the German force was caught by the Russian Imperial Navy on February 4th. Despite having his Army defeated, Germany proved during the following battle that her Navy was still in the fight and although losing a dozen destroyers, two heavy cruisers and two battleships, the Germans inflicted a crushing defeat to the Russian Baltic Fleet, sinking or disabling all of its capital ships. In the end, only the old battlecruiser Izmail would survive but would require 18 months of repairs before going back to sea. The Hochseeflotte abandoned the crippled ships behind and then proceeded to the North Sea where three aircraft carriers joined it. In an incredible seamanship exploit, the fleet went undetected to Africa (via stops in Ireland, the Azores, Cape Verde Islands, Kamerun, South West Africa and Madagascar) and anchored at Dar El Salem on April 2nd, carrying the Kaiser –who would die a couple of weeks later– on board.
Cossacks posing in front of the Reichstag in Berlin, 1940.
Now that Germany was defeated, relations with Russia’s informal allies of the Internationale would sour rapidly. As Winston Churchill would say it in one of his speech during a visit in Russia following the fall of Berlin, an Iron Curtain had fell on Europe. The Communards were asking for referendums in Russian-occupied Eastern Europe to let people decide the fate of their nations, something Russia said it would only agree if the Internationale did not impose Totalism to Western Europe. A deadlock in the post-war negotiations was unavoidable and when France proclaimed the German Union in May these negotiations officially ended as it was now obvious that no one would make concessions. In retaliation to the creation of the French puppet state of West Germany, Tsar Vladimir III proposed to the Duma a peace treaty with Germany which would allow the return of the Imperial Family to East Germany. Prime Minister Pavel Milyukov understood that it was the only way to secure German collaboration in the long term as the Kaiser would have more legitimacy than any puppet state Russia could set up in Prussia. Accordingly, Milyukov accepted the Tsar proposition and asked for a peace conference with Germany to take place in Brest-Litovsk. The ensuing Second Treaty of Brest-Litovsk forced Germany to acknowledge the Russians territorial gains in Eastern Europe and Poland in exchange for the authorization to re-establish the German Empire in occupied East-Germany. The victory of Russia was complete. The anger of the Communards immeasurable.
During the next years, under Tsar Vladimir guiding hand, Imperial Russia would restore Russian rule in Bessarabia and re-establish Monarchy in Romania, re-create the Grand Duchy of Finland after a short war and attack the rogue state of Baron Roman Nicolaus Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg in Mongolia. All of these news inhabitants of newly growing Russia were however not all happy with the situation. Understandingly, because much of the reconquered territories of Russia had enjoyed independence to some degree during 15 years. The people of these countries didn’t wanted to lose their freedom and thus were very hostile to the return of Russian rule. Except for Russians minorities in the Ukraine, the Baltic, Belorussia, the Caucasus and in Central Asia, the different nationalities recently conquered by Tsar Vladimir all wanted their independence back. Large uprisings occurred in Finland and Poland and the situation was worsening every day.
Although by 1945 the Second Weltkrieg had united most –if not all– ethnic Russians behind the new regime in Petrograd, the unrest in occupied territories couldn’t be sustained anymore. Accordingly, the Tsar called a Constitutional assembly to take place during the year hoping to quell the protests. Between March and July, representatives from all across the empire met in Moscow and Petrograd and with the support of the Duma and the State Council, draw up the bases of a new constitution. The result was the creation of five “States within the State”. Much like the restoration of the Romanov, it was a big compromise. Five regions of Russia were to be designated as autonomous: Finland, the Baltic States, Lithuania, Poland and Armenia. Vladimir III would be either be Grand Duke or King of these regions, and they would enjoy a proportional representation in both chambers of the Russian Parliament, officially linking them to Russia. These regions would not be allowed to raise national armies but would be granted local Parliaments and the right to legislate their laws as long as they didn’t “threaten the territorial integrity of the Russian Empire” that is, as long as they do not secede. Free elections were to be guaranteed in all autonomous regions, creating a situation where, except for Finland, the regions would enjoy more political freedom under Russia than when independent (Lithuania, Poland and the Don Kuban Republic were military dictatorship and the Baltic States had becomes an Autocracy). Internal reforms could be adopted without the consent of the central government but it was to Petrograd to decide what was of internal matters. Later on, this would create some problems when regions became more democratic than other ones.
The Russian Constitution of 1945 was nevertheless adopted and today it is generally acknowledged that it was far from perfect. In the opinion of most ethnic Russians, it gave too much autonomy to the reconquered parts of the empire and in the new autonomous regions, nationalists hadn’t got what they wanted. In practice, it worked not that bad. To intervene in internal politics of the autonomous regions, the Russian government needed the agreement of the Tsar, and Vladimir III was very reluctant to grant it. Moreover, the massive help granted by Russia to rebuild Eastern Europe and the free access to the Russian market gave a good reason to the industrialists of the autonomous regions to put pressure on their governments to stick with Russia. Indeed, the collapse of Western Europe in Syndicalism had closed it to commerce –the Capitalist and Socialist economic models being in opposition– and one of the few country left open to trade in Europe was Russia and its growing economy.
The explosion of the Russian industry in the 1940s was so
important, it was labeled as the Second Industrial Revolution.
The Russian Economic Miracle, as we know it today, allowed the poor patchwork of rural oblasts that was Russia –almost subject to warlordism– after the civil war to become in the space of a decade one of the leading industrial power of the world. The five years plan enacted in 1937, a government-funded program to increase the industrialization level of Russia, was the first step. It focused on three main aspects: light and medium industries, infrastructures and natural resources. In collaboration with private investors, new factories opened every year and the railway system was constantly expanded, mines were expanded and oil production increased. The plan was a direct consequence of the adoption by the Kadets government of an expansionary monetary policy. Accordingly, to this policy, the State lowered the interest rate in Russia and funded public infrastructures with the objective of creating new jobs and new capital in the economy. The Russian State acquired an important debt in doing so but obtained tremendous results. The end of the Kerensky austerity policies were welcomed by the population and, moreover, because of the increase in demand on the job market the unemployment started to lower and would steadily do so for the next ten years. Government intervention in the economy became an accepted fact and until the end of the reign of the Kadets in 1947, it was common to see large amounts of the budget injected into the economy. The economic recovery triggered a circle of growth: new construction sites/factories created job, which created new employees, with a guaranteed source of income new employees started to spend more on the market, the demand for goods and/or services thus increased, triggering the construction of new infrastructures/factories. The standard of living in urban areas went sky-high and soon spread to rural areas where, with the help of the government, modern agricultural equipment was issued to farmers, increasing the production and making Russia one of the greater exporter of food in the world (number one in grain). Already gifted with probably the best farmlands in the world in the Ukraine, Poland and most of Eastern Europe, Russia thus developed a major industrial heartland along the Volga and Oka Rivers.
Canadian Minister of Finances John Maynard Keynes, a British exile and a
revolutionary economist who would inspire the Russian economic model of
developement for most of the late 20th century.
The Russian economic recovery had other causes too, namely the international situation. Since the revolution in Britain and France in the 1920s, two of the main industrial powers of the world had closed their market and stopped exportation, creating a gap in the world market which was filled over the years by Germany and the United States. When in 1929 the American economic system collapsed, Germany became the main exporter of goods all around the world, being the only healthy industrial power. The Black Monday and the following defeat of Germany at the hands of the Internationale and Russia brought down the last remaining industrial powerhouse of the non-syndicalist world. It is probable that without the Second American Civil War which raged between 1937 and 1944, the United States would have filled the gap but as it stands they didn’t and Russia got the job. Thus, when the 1940 decade ended, not only was Russia producing goods for its growing internal market, the country had inherited the de facto title of the world’s workshop. Gifted with the absence of destruction on its territory during the war, Russia was selling to the entire world anything from the radio set to cargo ships and this growth wasn’t even altered by the war with Japan.
January 2nd 1947, the atomic bombing of Osaka. Between 900 000 and 1 100 000
people instantly died went the bomb detonated at 09:26. It was to be the argument
Japan needed to open negociations with Russia: the war would end exactly 30 days after.
Between August 1946 and February 1947 Russia fought its most critical war in decades. Although only six-months long, the Second Russo-Japanese War cost the lives of 750 000 Russians and 1 500 000 Japanese and ended with the experimentation of the most destructive weapon created by mankind, the Atomic bomb. Triggered by a false-flag incident at the border between Russia and Japanese Korea, the war wasn’t an easy task for Russia and the peace Treaty signed with Japan didn’t settled all the disputes between both countries. But for Russia, an invasion of Japan wasn’t feasible at this point, the Japanese Imperial Navy was defeated but not neutralized, and the campaign had already been longer than expected. Japan thus lost all of its possessions on the continent but was spared of war reparations and was allowed to keep its military. The next year, a militaristic clique led by General Tojo took power in Tokyo and it became clear to Russian leadership that the Empire of the Rising Sun was already on a path to revenge.
As the 1940s came to a close, Russia can be described in a lot of manners. But for a contemporary observer, Russia was a relatively democratic –Tsar Vladimir III still having a considerable right of veto– constitutional monarchy. The Russian society was still essentially very conservative and the economic system of the country was a mix of free market policies combined with a government which, through tax and spending policies, maintained the equilibrium of the market. Dissent elements were still very present in the political sphere –especially in Eastern Europe– but, with the rule of the law firmly established, they were essentially expressing their discontent through democratic means. Militarily, Mother Russia was very powerful, but far from unbeatable. The Armoured Spearhead doctrine of Field Marshall Markov had shaped the Army which was now heavily mechanized but still only at parity with the Internationale. The Russian Air Force was one of the most modern in the world (having in its rank the first operational jet fighter, the Yak-15, since 1943) but lacked the size of the Communard-Unionist aerial fleets. Speaking of fleets, the Russian Imperial Navy was impressive but again not the largest. With 19 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 1 battlecruiser, 36 cruisers, 155 destroyers and 65 submarines, the size of this force was hampered by the fact that it had to be divided between the Arctic, the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Pacific. Russia had nevertheless one main advantage over the other powers as the country was still the only one in possession of the A-Bomb.
But on January 1st 1950, it wasn’t anymore.
===
Darn, that was a rather long one! But at least the introduction is now officially over. As this update is a bit late, I'll try to get the next one out sooner, hope you'll all enjoy and don't be ashamed to give feedbacks!
Now, ironically, as the scene is set, the curtain went down and the action is going to start.
The new Imperial Russia seems about as democratic as the late 19th century United Kingdom. The monarchy still has great powers but rarely acts independently of the elected government. Like Queen Victoria, Tsar Vladimir III usually defers to the elected governments and acts like a figurehead publicly but wields a fair amount of behind the scenes influence. The Tsar's words are no longer unquestionable commands but any sensible elected politician should seriously consider the Tsar's requests and attempt to remain on the Tsar's good side. Like the 19th century UK, the power of the state religion over politics has been greatly reduced and non-believers are no longer actively persecuted but one should be at least a nominal follower of the state religion if you want a high office.
Imperial Russia and her alliance bloc are powerful but not as powerful as the OTL United States and its NATO alliance. It is a multipolar world here. Russia also has weaknesses that the OTL USA did not. There is a direct land connection between Paris and Petrograd and mainland Russia is at direct risk of being invaded by French tanks. There is the risk of a two-front war if Japan decides to take revenge in a WW3 situation. French and British agents might attempt to inflame the anger of the sizable ethnic minorities in the autonomous regions to undermine Russia's efforts. The Third Internationale might be more powerful than the Warsaw Pact because they control the more industrialized western Europe. Russia also has to decide if her bloc is a group of allies or a network of Russian puppet states soon.
The Entente Cordiale is the weaker third bloc of this world. They are Russia's natural allies against the Third Internationale. Are they still at war with the syndicalists? They lack the power to retake Europe without Russian help. I expect periodic naval clashes in the Atlantic. The Entente and Russia should have no real competing interests with each other. Russia should promise the restoration of the UK and the French Republic if the Third Internationale falls to appease the Entente. However, the Entente might lose their revanchist drive as the exiles grow older and they might turn inward if the exiles lose their influence. I also expect the Entente nations to join their resources into an ISAC joint nuclear program in the future.
Africa is an area of possible syndicalist expansion. With the German Empire greatly weakened and with the loss of much of their mainland territories, German control over Mittelafrika is sure to collapse due to independence and decolonization efforts. Syndicalism and communism might be very appealing to the oppressed Africans. Democracy is not likely going to flourish in Africa. Russia may need to send troops to support the new nations. Vietnam and Afghanistan like situations might happen in Africa.
The situation in the exiled Fourth French Republic (National France) will be very unstable. Even under a democratic National France, most of the native Algerians and other North Africans would not have the vote or equal rights. They will not stand for this situation much longer. Soon, the North Africans will make a violent bid for freedom which will be no doubt be supported by the syndicalists. The country will fall into severe instability. Either the French exiles will fruitlessly attempt to remain in power to the point of the collapse of the Fourth Republic and the French nationalists will end up exiled again to Canada. The other possibility is the Nationalists give in and give full rights to the whole native North African population. The French nature of the Republic would be diluted by the expanded voting franchise. Eventually the French Republic in exile might taiwanized into a giant French-flavored North African republic with little desire to reclaim the ”homeland” anymore. Same goes for the exiled Portuguese republic.
The Middle East will be a playground for syndicalist and Russian backstabbing. The Third Internationale would attempt to overthrow the monarchies of the Arab axis alliance in favor of socialist republics or at least friendly nationalistic dictatorships. Russia would do whatever it takes to maintain influence over the oil fields and keep access to the Suez canal.
The Americas were and will be again by dominated by the United States. Once America recovers from the Second American Civil War, they will reclaim their influence over Latin America. They will likely remain non-aligned or create a league of American states in the coming years. As long as Russia does not violate the Monroe Doctrine, the USA will be a valuable trade partner, an informal ally, and a vital bulwark against syndicalism in the Americas.
Of course, Kaiserreich might not have this events ingame because the devs have not developed many events for a post Second World War world yet so you may have to develop events yourself.
Imperial Russia and her alliance bloc are powerful but not as powerful as the OTL United States and its NATO alliance. It is a multipolar world here. Russia also has weaknesses that the OTL USA did not. There is a direct land connection between Paris and Petrograd and mainland Russia is at direct risk of being invaded by French tanks. There is the risk of a two-front war if Japan decides to take revenge in a WW3 situation. French and British agents might attempt to inflame the anger of the sizable ethnic minorities in the autonomous regions to undermine Russia's efforts. The Third Internationale might be more powerful than the Warsaw Pact because they control the more industrialized western Europe. Russia also has to decide if her bloc is a group of allies or a network of Russian puppet states soon.
The Entente Cordiale is the weaker third bloc of this world. They are Russia's natural allies against the Third Internationale. Are they still at war with the syndicalists? They lack the power to retake Europe without Russian help. I expect periodic naval clashes in the Atlantic. The Entente and Russia should have no real competing interests with each other. Russia should promise the restoration of the UK and the French Republic if the Third Internationale falls to appease the Entente. However, the Entente might lose their revanchist drive as the exiles grow older and they might turn inward if the exiles lose their influence. I also expect the Entente nations to join their resources into an ISAC joint nuclear program in the future.
Africa is an area of possible syndicalist expansion. With the German Empire greatly weakened and with the loss of much of their mainland territories, German control over Mittelafrika is sure to collapse due to independence and decolonization efforts. Syndicalism and communism might be very appealing to the oppressed Africans. Democracy is not likely going to flourish in Africa. Russia may need to send troops to support the new nations. Vietnam and Afghanistan like situations might happen in Africa.
The situation in the exiled Fourth French Republic (National France) will be very unstable. Even under a democratic National France, most of the native Algerians and other North Africans would not have the vote or equal rights. They will not stand for this situation much longer. Soon, the North Africans will make a violent bid for freedom which will be no doubt be supported by the syndicalists. The country will fall into severe instability. Either the French exiles will fruitlessly attempt to remain in power to the point of the collapse of the Fourth Republic and the French nationalists will end up exiled again to Canada. The other possibility is the Nationalists give in and give full rights to the whole native North African population. The French nature of the Republic would be diluted by the expanded voting franchise. Eventually the French Republic in exile might taiwanized into a giant French-flavored North African republic with little desire to reclaim the ”homeland” anymore. Same goes for the exiled Portuguese republic.
The Middle East will be a playground for syndicalist and Russian backstabbing. The Third Internationale would attempt to overthrow the monarchies of the Arab axis alliance in favor of socialist republics or at least friendly nationalistic dictatorships. Russia would do whatever it takes to maintain influence over the oil fields and keep access to the Suez canal.
The Americas were and will be again by dominated by the United States. Once America recovers from the Second American Civil War, they will reclaim their influence over Latin America. They will likely remain non-aligned or create a league of American states in the coming years. As long as Russia does not violate the Monroe Doctrine, the USA will be a valuable trade partner, an informal ally, and a vital bulwark against syndicalism in the Americas.
Of course, Kaiserreich might not have this events ingame because the devs have not developed many events for a post Second World War world yet so you may have to develop events yourself.
AFAIK Russia even without Eastern Europe (but with Transamur, Caucasus and Central Asia) is the most industrialized country in KR universe (over 200 base IC). If player decides to integrate Eastern European puppets and choose industrialization path, he'll get industrial juggernaut capable to takeover whole Europe even without nuclear weapons (huge manpower, IC, resources, one front war).
Subbed! I love these kinds of AAR and I'm invested in the story. Can't wait to see what comes next!
Thank you!
As it stand, Russia has 455 IC. To compare, the five big players of the Internationale have: France: 352, UoB: 351, West Germany: 147, Italy: 91 and Spain: 89. Though they have a larger army.
That's a good summary.
Not only a risk, almost a certainty. Japan's mainland is left almost intact (I did started a strategic bombing campaing but the resistance proved to be too strong to sustain it) and by 1950, the country is back on track. They're going to be fanatical revanchists and will build monstruous battlewagons (project A-150 anyone?) in order to defeat the Russian Navy and retake Korea. Not that it's a realistic goal to achive but hell isn't it Tojo in power?
A most excellent update there! A real joy to read!
A real joy to read!I take it this is what it's regarded inside Russia? As the Second Industrial Revolution in the West was in the late 1800s.
The explosion of the Russian industry in the 1940s was so
important, it was labeled as the Second Industrial Revolution.
A most excellent update there!
I take it this is what it's regarded inside Russia? As the Second Industrial Revolution in the West was in the late 1800s.
Thank you! Glad to ear this as I rushed it a little in the end.
The term is used today to refer to the technical revolution between the end of the 19th century and the 1920s but what I wanted to say here was that the Russian industrial emergence was populary know as the second industrial revolution in Russia when it happened.
Dunno if it's clear though...