March 1917 - September 1917
One thing was proven during the Great War of 1914-1917; Russia’s economy wasn’t able to sustain a long all-out war against a major opponent. On the economical level Russia was far behind, technologically, on Western Europe. A solution to rapid industrialization was found within the army, it was backwards compared to Germany, but the sheer number of Russian troops defeated them. Industries had to be expanded to produce a big surplus of much need materials, such as steel, glass, ammunition, lumber and ships.
The rapid expansion of nearly 30 heavy factory complexes across Russia would hit Russia’s treasury hard, as by the end of the first phase, a small debt of 50,000 rubles had been acquired. The first phase, lasting from March, 1917, to the end of September, 1917 would be completed by mid 1919 at the latest. In the mean time stockpiles would be stored for the second phase of expansion and upgrading the railway system in Russia, connecting all economical and strategical areas with each other.
By October 1917 foreign diplomacy was surging again and alliances were forged again. Italy’s aggressive stand in the Balkan did not easy tension in Western Europe. With the invasion of Italian troops in Albania, fears of a new war started to rise again. Although Britain initially condemned the actions in Albania, they did try to seek an alliance with the Russians, who in turn rebuffed the British offer. In Paris fears were growing of an Italian invasion of Tunisia and diplomatic overtures were made towards Russia. Unlike the British offer, the Russians did accept the French offer.
During this time the Imperial Navy ordered the construction of 1 dreadnought, 1 pre-dreadnought and 2 light cruisers to be constructed. The Great War had damaged the Imperial Navy and now it had to regain her losses. In September, 1917, the navy was reformed and divided into fiver separate groups. The first, the Baltic Fleet, was to operate in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea and would consist of 20-25 ships. The Arctic fleet, based in Murmansk, would count 5 lighter ships and patrol the Arctic waters and along the Norwegian coast. The Black Sea fleet would be expanded to a total of 15 ships and would mainly see service in the Black Sea, but also see action in the Mediterranean, where it would assist the newly found Mediterranean Fleet. The new fleet would consist of 25-30 ships and based in Constantinople. Last, but not least, was the Pacific Fleet, which had to be build from scratch and received priority over all the other fleets. The Pacific Fleet would only be provided with the most modern ships and the amount of ships in the fleet would be at least 25. Construction of the new ships would commence immediately and estimations on the completion varied from 1925 to 1935, but once it was finished, the Russian Imperial Navy could challenge the Royal Navy.
