alternatehistory.com

Russia after the Congress of Vienna

The Napoleonic wars are now over and Russia lead the coalition to victory, basically single-handedly defeating Napoleon by sheer attrition, now the Empire of all Russias leads the anti-revolutionary Holy Alliance with the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire.

By defeating the now declining Ottoman Empire and the Swedish kingdom, the Emperor has secured the Grand Duchy of Finland and Bessarabia as buffer zones for the southern region of Novorossiya but the unrest in the Serbian and Greek areas shows that the Ottoman Empire may not be able to resist more Russian incursions and the Western countries are increasingly looking at expanding their influence in the area. The old geopolitical situation in the Balkans and Middle East might be shattered in mere years.

The current emperor, Alexander I, despite being on the forefront of the anti-revolutionary forces has been a great promulgator of modernisation and of reform as was his grandmother Catherine the Great.
On the forefront was the of the Serfdom system, in need of reform. The harsh conditions peasants faced day-to-day leads to unrest and economic backwardness compared to the western countries, now increasingly transforming their economies using recently invented engines and railroads. If he´s going to act on his ideals remains to be seen.


In this new Concert of Europe, what will the role of the Russian Empire be? Will the Old order stand in face of the new economic realities, or will the French Revolution be considered as only the beginning of a new era, dominated by revolutionary ideals?


Europe in 1815
Top