An execution preempted: A lethal Otsu incident, Russian empire centered TL

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(EDIT: Most of the posts for this TL, including some of the maps, are on this WIKI. http://wiki.alternatehistory.com/do..._execution_preempted_-_a_lethal_otsu_incident. Will occasionally update it)

May 11 May 1891, Otsu, Japan


Tsarevich Nicholas lay back in the rickshaw, allowing his mind to drift as he listened to the idle Banter of the two Georges behind him (1). Decorum required that he, as Tsarevich, be given the more comfortable single Rickshaw and in any event this suited both his and their preferences.

Though his brother and cousin showed him proper respect and deference it was painfully clear that their wits and temperments were better matched with each other than with him. Merely watching them discuss with equal seriousness the relative merits of the new ships of the Japanese navy and the tea-house girls who had entertained them the past evening (2).

From the banter it is quite clear that they, or some others, had offered additional "entertainment" to the two princes later in the night. He himself had not partaken of those pleasures. It was less appropriate for the Tsarevich… even if he could muster the courage and skill to make the appropriate advances. Or the interest.

He had been overtaken by a longer than usual spell of apathy ever since they had left Ceylon. Armies and palaces, after all, were the same the world over, and unlike his cousin and younger brother that was all he was permitted to see (3).

Their energy was occasionally sufficiently infectious to raise him from his sloth. But sometimes, as now, it was simply distracting.

Distracting enough for him not to notice as the police escort trotting ahad of the rickshaw broke formation and charged at him, sabre drawn. Only at the last minute did he raise his head to stare at his attacker, the movement serving only to bare his throat to the blade.

The second blow mutilated his right arm, belatedely raised to protect his face from a second blow, but his vision was already dimming from blood loss when the third blow was blocked by his cousin's cane. As the assailant wrestled with his cousin his younger brother tackled him to the ground, pounding his head into the pavement with a sickening crack.

For Nicholas, however, it was too late. The first blow had sliced his jugular, and the fountain of blood could not be stanched. Though later hagiographies of the Tsarevitch would claim he had instructed his brother to avenge him, or cursed the treacherous race of Nippon he died, in truth, in silence and feeling nothing but a mild surprise.

So did his assailant, as his outraged younger brother hacked him to death with his own saber, his cousin, police escorts and rickshaw drivers unwilling to interfere.

(1) Which is the POD. Prince George of Russia never develops TB and joins his brother on his eastern voyage. It has much more of an impact and expands his horizons much more than was the case for Nicholas OTL.

(2) By all accounts Prince George of Greece was bored senseless by the end of the voyage by the company of his rather dull cousin. It seems likely he would tend to drift together with the wittier prince George of Russia.

(3) Imagine engaging on a year long voyage through Greece, Egypt, Arabia, India, Singapore, Siam, Bali, China and Japan and being bored shitless by the experience. Imagine making no effort to go anywhere beyond the foyer of the five star Hotel you are staying at. Well, that's just the kind of guy Nicholas II was. He should have been born a Muzik in a Mir somewhwere in Tver. He would have lived his entire life within it's confines without registering or considering the effects of war, revolution and collectivization on his life.
 
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Having George kill the assassin is a nice way to damp down the fires of war. I do think that the Japanese- an "uncivilised" power- won't get away with just an apology.
There'll be an indemnity, certainly- and probably the Kurils go.
Mind you, if there's a Russo-Japanese war they might still be coming back....
 
Interesting start.

Thanks! Won;t be taking this one too far ahead (want to finish "1492") but I hope to entertain until 1914 or so.

Interesting. I wonder what kind of Tsar George will make and his Michael will factor into his reign.

A better Tsar. How much better? Well, his basic operating parameters are the same of Nicky's. He's been raised up to believe in the autocracy, is surrounded by advisers who genuinely believe in antisemitic conspiracies as the driving force of domestic disturbances, and has little to no direct contact with the people he rules.

On the other hand he won't be marrying a religously fanatic delusional dominatrix and is far more intelligent, charismatic, and assertive. Intelligent enough to look face to face with reality when it kicks him in the face and realize that the autocracy cannot continue as it is?

Michael seems to have reached that conclusion following the 1905 revolution but the circles he was moving in, and his perspective were very different than that of the Tsar.

Is George charismatic enough to feel secure in delegating authority to competent ministers and generals rather than setting them up in competion with rivals and eliminating them whenever they gain enough of a power base to get anything done?

That was the main thing which kept on tripping up Russia upon every challenge it faced OTL. Witte, Stolyptin, Kuropatkin, even Grand duke Nicholas and Brusilov were essentially competent men. Not liberals, or holding views we would view as tolerable, but sufficiently dynamic to get things done if they were given the authority and trust to do so. And they never were.

In a truely Byzantine style they were each built up, ringed with adverseries who crippled them, and then cut down. Except that unlike Belisarius, they weren't given enough time to authority to accomplish much.


As for Michael will be Tsarevitch in 1893-944 (age of 15-16), rather than 1901, and will stay that way for longer given George's presumed later marriage. So he will presumably grow accustomed to the role better than he did OTL, and marry accordingly. I imagine he will play a role in the military similiar to his uncle Grand Duke nicholas- a politicaly reliable apparatchnik who is actually competent at what he does. He won't be as liberal as OTL (which wasn't very liberal. He probably, at his most extreme shared the opinions of the octoberists), but he will have more weight in the inner councils of the state.

Having George kill the assassin is a nice way to damp down the fires of war. I do think that the Japanese- an "uncivilised" power- won't get away with just an apology.
There'll be an indemnity, certainly- and probably the Kurils go.
Mind you, if there's a Russo-Japanese war they might still be coming back....

It will actually make it harder. This way it will be harder to interrogate the assasin and prove there was no official complicity with the assasination. The Russian press, to the extent that it is not government controlled, will not have to incorporate the fact that it was the Japanese who captured the assasin and sentanced him to death, and will instead be unhindered in spewin out yellow press glorifying in the righteous retribution of prince george against the *racial expletive* assasin.

Furthermore, the Japanese will have fewer ways of proving to the Russian government and Media that they really are sorry.

Still, Russia and Japan both have good reasons to avoid war at this point. How they try to do so, while contending with factions which are prepared to fight for their respective "sacred honor" will be the subject of the next post.
 
Glad that someone's exploring this POD. Wondering where this'll go.
It's important to note that both Manchuria and Korea are under China's sphere of influence at the time - this only broke when they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The death of Russia's head of state may not only lead to some punitive expedition by Russia(and possibly including other powers), it may lead to a Russo-Chinese war later on over Korea and Manchuria, and possibly across the entirety of the Russo-Chinese border.
 
Interesting. I wonder what kind of Tsar George will make and his Michael will factor into his reign.
And would be more willing to push the Sinode to give Michael a dispensation to marry his first cousin?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Beatrice_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha
Being allowed to marry the woman he loved may affect his personality.

And who would you make a Tsarina in this TL, I saw a TL (though with different PoD - Borki accident killing BOTH Alexander III and Nicholas) where the Tsar George married Helene d'Orleans, but I think that the same obstacles towards her conversion will still be present TTL.
Maria of Greece?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Alexandra_Georgievna_of_Russia
Elena or Ana of Montenegro?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elena_of_Montenegro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Anna_of_Montenegro
Margaret of Prussia?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Margaret_of_Prussia
Victoria Melitha of Saxe-Coburg (an "incestous" marriage requiring a dispensation but the second most prestigious from the list)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Victoria_Melita_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha
 
It will actually make it harder. This way it will be harder to interrogate the assasin and prove there was no official complicity with the assasination. The Russian press, to the extent that it is not government controlled, will not have to incorporate the fact that it was the Japanese who captured the assasin and sentanced him to death, and will instead be unhindered in spewin out yellow press glorifying in the righteous retribution of prince george against the *racial expletive* assasin.

Furthermore, the Japanese will have fewer ways of proving to the Russian government and Media that they really are sorry.

Could Nicholas be injured badly enough to die a few days or weeks later but not so badly that the assassin is hacked to death on the spot? This way there is enough time for the government to take the assassin into custody and start investigating and to prove that they are sorry. Maybe with the Emperor personally attending to Nicholas
 
And would be more willing to push the Sinode to give Michael a dispensation to marry his first cousin?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Beatrice_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha
Being allowed to marry the woman he loved may affect his personality.


I think he is likely to be pushed into marriage with some suitable candidate before he even meets her. He is now the Tsarevitch after all.

And who would you make a Tsarina in this TL, I saw a TL (though with different PoD - Borki accident killing BOTH Alexander III and Nicholas) where the Tsar George married Helene d'Orleans, but I think that the same obstacles towards her conversion will still be present TTL.
Maria of Greece?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Duchess_Alexandra_Georgievna_of_Russia

Married already and dead by the time it comes up. Her younger sister is the top candidate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_of_Greece_and_Denmark.

Rather young (15 at the time of the assasination. She married aged 25) but still credible. And such a marriage would pose a significant foreign policy advantage.


They are the runner ups.


She seems to have had a mind of her own about whom she would marry and there is only a year or so between the time George will make it back to St Petersburg and end his mourning and when she historically married. In any event Alexander II won't allow it while he lives- it means basically ditching the Franco-Russian alliance. He'll die earlier than OTL, but not that early. So no, she's out, as fascinating as the possibility would be.

Victoria Melitha of Saxe-Coburg (an "incestous" marriage requiring a dispensation but the second most prestigious from the list)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Victoria_Melita_of_Saxe-Coburg_and_Gotha
[/QUOTE]

The incestous bit is too controversial- Alexander II and the church will veto it.

Of course, the possibility always exists that George will end up being matched up with Alix... But this being a (moderate and realistic) Russiawank, I'll handwave this chilling possibility away.


Frankly, this being George we are talking about, I am tempted to have him hold a royal ball/audience and announce his marriage to a Russian noblewoman or Noveau rich he will pick out of the crowd (and possibly pre-selects).

Flouts every convention and the Romanov rule of succesion and probably scandelous in the eyes of the church but once he's crowned there isn't much anyone can do to stop him. The army is hardly going to throw a coup over a marriage (especially if he marries the daughter of a top general). While Michael ended up being disinerited for doing the same, what is permissible for Jove is not permissible for an ox.

Marrying a "woman of true Russian blood" will certainly play well with the slavophiles, the common people and even much of the nobility. Some of the Balkan princes and heirs went this route.

But since I'm trying to keep this realistic I probably won't go with this option. Alexander will probably place a great deal of pressure on George to tie the knot ASAP.

Glad that someone's exploring this POD. Wondering where this'll go.
It's important to note that both Manchuria and Korea are under China's sphere of influence at the time - this only broke when they lost the First Sino-Japanese War. The death of Russia's head of state may not only lead to some punitive expedition by Russia(and possibly including other powers), it may lead to a Russo-Chinese war later on over Korea and Manchuria, and possibly across the entirety of the Russo-Chinese border.

Well, I don't see Russia invading Manchuria and Korea to get at Japan. Without a Trans-Siberian railway they simply can't get enough troops to Korea by hoof and foot power to overwhelm the Japanese army.

But browbeating Korea (with the tactict approval of the Qing) to grant them permission to use Busan as staging base for naval interdiction and raids on Japan, and using the Chinese treaty ports as supply depots seems like a possibility. Given earlier QIng-Japanese tensions over Korea, the Ryukus and Taiwan the Qing might even welcome Japan getting a spanking.

Certainly this possibility will occur to both the Russian and Japanese millitary.

Could Nicholas be injured badly enough to die a few days or weeks later but not so badly that the assassin is hacked to death on the spot? This way there is enough time for the government to take the assassin into custody and start investigating and to prove that they are sorry. Maybe with the Emperor personally attending to Nicholas

IT HAS ALREADY BEEN WRITTEN.

An interesting and more dramatic possibility- but I'm not retroconning this early in the game else I will never get started.
 
Cool start. It will be interesting to see how Japan wil spin things and how little Russia believes them.
 
That's a good beginning.

He (Nicholas II) should have been born a Muzik in a Mir somewhwere in Tver.

But I did not like this sentence. No, I did not.

And it is not because the 'exotic' word "Mir" is more appropriate to Russia of the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy.
And that's not because the word "Muzik" sounds abusive and insulting in this context (synonymous to a "retard" or something); from my mother's side all my ancestors are pure "muziks" since times immemorial. My 'muzik' grandfather was one of the most intelligent people I've ever met.

The reason is that from my point of view you are a little bit unfair to poor Nicky. He was shy, especially in his youth, he did not like being in public, that's true. But he was not dumb. No.
Being unable to rule a huge Empire in times of crisis doesn't qualify you as 'stupid'.

I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have been able to rule any world Empire going through spasms of revolutions and world war. Hell, I'd break under stress as a 'crisis manager' of a small company/business/firm with only a hundred employees or so (actually I did).
Probably you are that way as well. But that doesn't make us dull, does it? :)
 
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But I did not like this sentence. No, I did not.

And it is not because the 'exotic' word "Mir" is more appropriate to Russia of the famous novel by Leo Tolstoy.

Well, in 1891 he is still alive and prolific....

And that's not because the world "Muzik" sounds abusive and insulting in this context (synonymous to a "retard" or something); from my mother's side all my ancestors are pure "muziks" since times immemorial. My 'muzik' grandfather was one of the most intelligent people I've ever met.

Apologies. No ethnic/class slur intended. And my own Fellah Grandfather on my mother's side and his ancestors was probably even more isolated from modernity than yours were.


The reason is that from my point of view you are a little bit unfair to poor Nicky. He was shy, especially in his youth, he did not like being in public, that's true. But he was not dumb. No. Being unable to rule a huge Empire in times of crisis doesn't qualify you as 'stupid'.

No, I don't view him as being dumb. Russia would be better off if he WERE dumb and knew it- then he would simply let a dominant personality establish a power base and rule effectively while he reigned. Russia had, and survived, emperors like that. post Meiji Japan certainly did https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Taishō.

He was worse. I view him as being joe average is intellect and socially slightly more introverted and insecure than usual. That's OK is you are doing a Joe average job (aka- Muzik. or an assembly line worker). It's OK if you are king of, say, San Marino. It's even OK if you're a constitutional monarch of an empire with a functioning machinery of state running itself around you. It's even OK if you are titular Autocrat of the greatest land empire in history but don't buy into the whole Autocrat legend wholesale (or have a dominant spouse who does).

But if you believe you have a god given right and duty to rule, well, autocratically, but are simultaneously insecure with delegating authority to people who have the inteligence, social skills, and technical knowledge which you lack then you have a problem. And so does your empire.

because that means you are constantly undercutting the very people who might have an outside chance of navigating the creaking ship of state out of the greatest crisis it has ever faced. Which is what he did.

I don't think falling into this trap was ineveitable. Other monarchs (Meiji for one. Or even AbdulHamid. Or FJ. Heck, even Kaiser William) showed greater realism in spite of their hindrances. He never did. His own diaries show it.

Since this is AH, I am going to assume that his younger, brighter, brother does not, quite, fall into the same trap. He grows up in it, yes, and has the same preconceptions, but is intelligent enough to recognize reality when it hits him in the face, and confident enough to delegate to people better suited than him to troubleshoot specific issues.

I am pretty sure that I wouldn't have been able to rule any world Empire going through spasms of revolutions and world war. Hell, I'd break under stress as a 'crisis manager' of a small company/business/firm with only a hundred employees or so (actually I did).

Quite- I know I found managing considerably fewer underlings stressful! That's why I'm in research where I just manage myself and a few understudies.

But Nicky didn't break under stress. It would have been better if he had. He didn't quit, either formally, or informally, and let someone else handle the job or part of it. He didn't delegate.

Instead, he seems, at least from his diaries to have felt no stress at all! He rather, breezed through his reign on a cloud self-assured calm, or rather apathy. Instead of appointing his best generals to manage the front he assumed supreme command. Instead of selecting competent men to undertake reform, or even keep things together by repression, he repeatedly undercut them and surrounded himself with nonentities and "yes men".

Probably you are that way as well. But that doesn't make us dull, does it? :)

Well, I hope I'm not:). But I trust you will make it clear if I am:) Good to have a Russian perspective onboard.
 
#2: Montezuma



Listen to this as you read the post to get the intended vibe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_WW5M7lmv0


Kobe bay, May 15th 1891


The foghorn blows in the early morning, warning the approaching battleship of the approach of his own, diminutive vessel.

He has been advised against this gesture. But, in truth, Japan has no choice.

The emperor Meiji keeps a world map in his chambers, updated yearly. And every year, it seems, the parts of the world rules by non-Europeans shrink.

In 1853, when he was born the Europeans already held all of India, had planted two colonies flanking Guangdong, and had forced the Qing to open five treaty ports in southern China to European traders. Russia had just completed the subjugation of the fierce Kazakh hordes but had yet to advance into the civilized emirates of the TransOxus and was still struggling to subdue the fiercely independent mountaineers of the Caucasus. It's eastern boundaries were still confined north of the Stanovoy Mountains.


The fog clears, exposing the Russian flagship. It is massive, larger than anything the Japanese navy possesses. Larger even than the new Japanese ships being laid down in the shipyards of Liverpool.

By 1866, when forces "loyal" to him overthrew the Shogun and seemingly restored the imperial authority lost for over six centuries, the entirety of the Chinese coast, and it's inland waterways had been made open not only to traders but missionaries and armed gunboats as well. The Qing capital had been briefly occupied, it's palaces burned. France had seized the delta of the Mekong from Vietnam and had made Cambodia into a protectorate. Russia had subjugated and ethnically cleansed Circassia and Dagestan, annexed Tashkent, seized the TransAmur and the Ussuri from the Qing and had begun to sniff at the northernmost of the home islands as well. And the home islands… they too had been forcibly opened to the Europeans and treaty ports established.


"Their steam is up" Itō Sukeyuki remarks grimly. "they do not intend to remain at harbor long- they know our coastal batteries can harm even their sea-dragons"

"Then our arrival shall reassure them we have no intention of using this advantage against them- and by implication that we had no part in the murderous crime"


He has done his best throughout the past 25 years to hold back the tide, to modernize Japan without ceding control to the foreigner. He has fought one bloody civil war against some of his early supporters who would have dragged Japan to a war before it was ready. He had to give up Sakhalin to the Russians but by adroitly calling on British aid had kept them out of Tsunshima and had solidified control of Hokaido, Ryuku and the Kurile islands. The feudal samurai and ashigaru levies are now a modern conscription based army armed with the newest weapons and the navy is slowly being built up into a force capable of holding it's own to the European far eastern flotillas and the Qing fleet alike.


Is this, he wonders, how the rulers of the lesser states surrounding China felt when forced to pay tribute to the court of the Middle Kingdom? This ignomity is one that Japan avoided throughout it's history. Alone of the states of East Asia it had refused tributary relations with China, had even thrown back the Mongol hordes which swept all others, including the ancestors of these Russians, before them (1). Must Japan now fall prey to those who have claimed the mantle of the conqurer of Eurasia?

As his vessal lines up to dock alongside the Russian flagship he is greeted by a long line of Russian sailors arrayed in ranks at the lower deck. They do not maintain the stoic, opaque body language of their Japanese equivalents. The fists of many are clenched, others glare and a few even spit without being disciplined by their officers. A bad sign.

Or perhaps a good one. "undisplined rabble" Itō Sukeyuki dismisses his possible future foes. The emperor raises an eyebrow "Numerous rabble… with large guns".

"Hai. Ten more years…"

"We do not have ten more years. We may not have ten more days".

The Gai-Jin had not held still during his reign. The nations of Western Europe had carved the entire continent of Africa between them, leaving only Ethiopia and Morroco as quasi independent. The French had completed their conquest of Vietnam, humbling the Qing yet again, and exposing it's self-strengthening as a sham. The Russians have had their reverses, true, but they had completed their conquests of the emirates of central Asia a decade ago. For the first time in their history they found no open Steppe frontier to settle overcome, turning their energies to binding their vast Eurasian empire together with a belt of steel which threatened to end the protection granted Japan by its isolation and expose the home islands to the full might of a European power before its modernization was complete.


Their new crown prince, their Tsarevitch, greets him cordinally enough, seemingly mastering the grief which overwhelmed him at Kyoto. Slowly, he guides the emperor to the Bier where the Tsarevitch lies in state (2), surrounded by selected Marines. The emperor can only hope there is no Russian Tsuda Sanzo among them… though Nippon might actually fare better if one such should seek revenge on his own body rather than that of his nation (3).

"I have spoken with my father."

The interpreter swiftly conveys the prince's words (4) but it is their tone which Meiji seeks to interpret. He would have no trouble if he were Japanese. But he has had little dealings with the Russians. They are... subtly different than their western kin. Closer, perhaps, to the Mongols who had once ruled them (5). And for all that George seemed the perfect European a week ago he seems to have reverted since the murder of his brother and the honorable retribution he has levied on his killer.

Is the tone Ominous? Neutral? Conciliatory? He does not know.

"I trust he has had a chance to grieve and accept our heartfelt apologies and deepest expression of sorrow. I can assure you that our investigation have uncovered no conspiracy behind the actions of Tsuda Sanzo. It was the act of a madman, acting alone."

"We have yet to carry out our own investigation. Regardless, if it was the act of a madman, it was a madman fed on a steady diet of anti-Russian propaganda, some of it originating in the official press. At the very least your government is guilty of gross and dishonorable negligence"

"I have come to express my shame, Nippon's shame, at this dishonor. We are prepared to discuss any reparation not in conflict with the dignity of Nippon as a free nation"

"Reparation? What reparation can you possibly offer for the murder of my brother?"

Itō Sukeyuki is holding the Tanto necessary for one such reparation. He would already have used it if he thought the Russians would accept the gesture (6). But he has outlawed the practice for a reason. Nippon will only be accepted as a member in the family of nations, protected by international law in the same way the smaller nations of Europe are (7), if it sheds customs unacceptable to European opinion. Russia is all too likely to view, and present, his suicide as proof positive of the barbarity of his people.

"Are these the words of your father?"

He is prepared to commit seppuku if all else fails. Or he hopes he is. The Fog is beginning to clear and the shoreline of Kobe, still shrouded in its remains, seems inutterably beautiful. The ugly factories which have risen up around the traditional wooden houses and temples of the old city underscore the changes which his reign has wrought on his homeland. He has enjoyed more years than most of his subjects but with luck and good medical care could enjoy as many more years again. Is he truly greedy for these years? Is this what all the Samurai who had fallen back on Seppuku to regain honor felt before drawing the blade?

The voice of the Prince, oblivious to Meiji's inner conflict, breaks.

"My Father… My Father offers you the opportunity to express your sorrow at the funeral of my brother. Negotiators will be present to discuss... reparations"

He is young. And still wracked with grief and anger. He also clearly disagrees with his father. But his father shows every indication of being a man of moderation and cunning. Forcing him personally to travel to St.Petersburg, rather than sending his minister is the act of a suzerain towards his tributary. A humilitation, made all the worse by it's unprecedented nature. He had never, after all, left the home islands. No Japanese emperor ever had (8).

But the journey will take many months, the negotiations many more. Time to prepare, time to seek the protection of Britain and other powers. Time, too, for domestic opinion in Russia to calm down from the furious flames to which it had been fanned and to be mollified by his submission. Does the Tsar, like him, need to contend with factions seeking to maneuver the "great autocrat" in directions of their own choosing rather than his own? Is this his way of outmaneuvering them, of creating a reality which cannot be overturned? He can only join the Tsar in his dance and hope they are dancing to the same tune.

"Inform your honored father that I will make preparations to travel to St Petersburg immediately."

Is it the shadow of a gloating smile that he glances on the prince's lips?

"Not St Petersburg. Vladivostok. My brother was to drive the first spike into the Trans-Siberian railway and it is there, at its Pacific terminus that he will be buried. The Governor General of the TransAmur has been empowered to present you with our terms. The Tsar offers this vessel as a conveyance to your destination."

Burying his son at the terminus of the railway tying his empire together, and projecting it's power toward Japan is a powerful symbol of course (9). And forcing him to travel there on a Russian ship and discuss, no, receive, terms from a mere frontier official an even greater humiliation than traveling to his capital (10). And it leaves him, or rather his government, mere days to seek the intervention of the other powers.

No, this is not the tune he thought it was.

The deck of the Russian flagship shudders as its turbines slowly begin to spin.

"Of course, if you would rather not discuss terms, you may return on your vessel… once we clear the harbor. "

No, not the tune he thought it was at all.


(1) Well… not exactly. But true in essence and this is national mythology, not history.
(2) How does one keep a dead tsarevitch from going rank at sea? Don’t go there.
(3) For I am winterborn…
(4) Nicholas, George and Michael spoke fluent French, and passable German, English and Italian. Emperor Meiji did not. His childhood education did not include it and it was too late to catch up when he assumed power. Which didn’t stop him from being a kick-ass emperor. Which Nicholas was not.
(5) If I seem to be making too much of this it's because of the association of the Russians with the Mongols in Japanese popular culture and imagination at this time (and up to WWII). An association which was oddly absent with the Qing. Maybe they got it from Western European slurs.
(6) The Given Sacrifice and all that Jazz. Emperor Meiji committing Seppuku aboard the Russian flagship and spilling his intestines at the feet of Prince George which would make a killer scene, wouldn’t it? But I'm aiming at realism. Besides, this would derail the whole plot line.
(7) It's not JUST balance of power. Nothing stopped Italy from Annexing San Marino for example, or France Andorra, etc.
(8) Well, that's not clear. But this is national mythology, not history.
(9) And it also deals with the Rank prince Issue.
(10) http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HumiliationConga
 
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abc123

Banned
I'm not so sure that Alexander III would want that his heir is buried in Vladivostok, in a middle of nowhere...

Also, I don't think that Meiji would accept to go in Vladivostok on Russian ship.
 
Interesting TL ... Subbed

on the burial site, Its just said that he'll get buried in Vladivostok, argubly to humiliate Japan as much as possible ... noone have said that it would only be a symbolic burial, after which its under heavy secrecy transported to Saint Petersburg. Listed and 'disguised' as a trainload of gold paid in indemnity from Japan, made doubly hilarious if said cargo is victim of a revolutionary robbery
 
Interesting TL ... Subbed

on the burial site, Its just said that he'll get buried in Vladivostok, argubly to humiliate Japan as much as possible ... noone have said that it would only be a symbolic burial, after which its under heavy secrecy transported to Saint Petersburg. Listed and 'disguised' as a trainload of gold paid in indemnity from Japan, made doubly hilarious if said cargo is victim of a revolutionary robbery

Well, they'll need to wait for a decade or so to ship it by train given that the Transiberian railway is just getting started right now (Nicholas, as mentioned, was supposed to frive in the first rail).

But I like the Idea. Maybe George has the body shipped to St Petersburg once the Transsiberian rail is completed. It makes the body do double propaganda duty (My brother has seen the railway tying the empire together completed ... and, his duty complete can now finally come home. Sombre background music. Women breaking down in tears.

And by then revolutionary train robberies should indeed be in full swing- extra points if Stalin is the one to nab the body!
 
Loving the Russia-centric timelines on the board lately, and this one shows great promise. Eagerly awaiting more!
 
Or better yet Stalin fails trying to get the body and gets kiled. Or captured and forced to reveal where Lenin and friends are and they all get hung up from the gaslights.
 
I'm not so sure that Alexander III would want that his heir is buried in Vladivostok, in a middle of nowhere...

Well, that's the point. Vladivostok is no longer the middle of nowhere. It's Russia's window to the Pacific and one end of the belt of steel tying the country together. "Where the Russian flag was once raised it never shall be removed!"

Also, I don't think that Meiji would accept to go in Vladivostok on Russian ship.

Arguably implausible. But hey, I gave up on Meiji committing seppuku and spilling his guts over prince George's feet. Leave me some dramatic latitude:)

It doesn't really matter. One way or another negotiations start in Vladivostok.
 
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