An Alternate Russian Civil War

Sir Chaos

Banned
The purpose of this thread is to discuss ideas for the events of the Russian Civil War in my Century of Fire timeline (https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=183712).

The short version of significant departures is this:
- World War I was narrowly averted
- Russia and Germany are on friendly terms
- Germany is ruled by Heinrich I, younger brother of OTL´s Wilheim II who ITTL died of disease in his youth
- Russia and Austria-Hungary (by now ruled by Franz Ferdinand, who survived the assassination attempt) are on somewhat strained but at worst neutral terms
- Russia and Britain are NOT on friendly terms

Two developments I would like to retain, but am willing to give up if that makes for a better timeline, are that Nicholas II has begun enacting reforms in the northern parts of Russia, especially in and around his capital St. Petersburg, and that, very early in the conflict, Lenin tries to sneak back into Russia but is captured an executed ("shot while trying to escape"); any communist faction is very probably led, or will end up being led, by Trotsky. (I am no fan of Trotsky, but with Lenin martyred, he seems to be the sanest communist leader remaining)

The minimum result I want to obtain for my timeline is that the Russian Empire is broken up (at least in two parts), with one of these parts being a rump Russia with the capital in St. Petersburg and ruled by Nicholas II (i.e. the Tsar and his family are not captured and killed); foreign intervention, mainly by Germany and Austria-Hungary, supports the Tsar and allows him to maintain a much-reduced empire.
I am open to all ideas for the immediate cause of the revolution and civil war, the nature of the main rebellion (communist? Anarchist? Ethnic/nationalist?), and how the empire splits (Imperial and communist? Imperial and anarchist? Along ethnic/national lines? A combination of any of these?) afterwards.

Any thoughts?
 
The Russian Revolution didn't occur until after 2 1/2 years of war, with great casualties, lost battles, losses of territory, and food shortages topping it all, PLUS at first it was a forced abdication and an attempt to continue the monarchy and only after Michael screwed that up did it become republican and even THEN it took the continuation of the war to make things bad in summer of 1917.

1905 followed a similar pattern, on a much less grand scale of course, and it was only after fighting and being defeated in war, with casualties, incompetence and shame etc that things exploded

Now, of course you CAN have revolutions without war, but they tend to need a combination of
1. repressive government
2. economic badness
3. something immediate that upsets the people

Now, you could avoid a world war but still have a war - but as this would most likely be against the Ottoman Empire, and would be at a time of Russia's choosing then doing really badly is ... unexepected

Of course if it DID happen, it would serve

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
Make it some kind of succession war with a modern spin. Make it a war between Reactionaries and Reformists, but both factions lead by a Romanov.
 

Sir Chaos

Banned
The Russian Revolution didn't occur until after 2 1/2 years of war, with great casualties, lost battles, losses of territory, and food shortages topping it all, PLUS at first it was a forced abdication and an attempt to continue the monarchy and only after Michael screwed that up did it become republican and even THEN it took the continuation of the war to make things bad in summer of 1917.

1905 followed a similar pattern, on a much less grand scale of course, and it was only after fighting and being defeated in war, with casualties, incompetence and shame etc that things exploded

Now, of course you CAN have revolutions without war, but they tend to need a combination of
1. repressive government
2. economic badness
3. something immediate that upsets the people

Now, you could avoid a world war but still have a war - but as this would most likely be against the Ottoman Empire, and would be at a time of Russia's choosing then doing really badly is ... unexepected

Of course if it DID happen, it would serve

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

War against the Ottoman Empire? Now that´s a good idea! Plus it would give me a good excuse to make them collapse without WW1 as well.
 
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