Challenge: Extremely motivated Russia in WWI

Given the post-1905 requirement, having this happen requires a Nicholas II who can accept the fact that he must give up some of his power to the Duma: a very difficult Nicholas II to imagine.

This political shift might improve the lot of the common folk and make them more willing to fight for the Tsar, but the Russian army had many structural and material material shortcomings compared to its rivals. And social restructuring at home could weaken the system even further, rather than reinforce it.
 

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Given the post-1905 requirement, having this happen requires a Nicholas II who can accept the fact that he must give up some of his power to the Duma: a very difficult Nicholas II to imagine.

This political shift might improve the lot of the common folk and make them more willing to fight for the Tsar, but the Russian army had many structural and material material shortcomings compared to its rivals. And social restructuring at home could weaken the system even further, rather than reinforce it.


Remove Nicholas II from the cast list. Not violently, otherwise there would be a backlash similar to the assassination of Alexander II, which coloured Nicholas' views. Illness or accident will do but it must be after the birth of the Tsarevitch.

The regency comes under more moderate leaders such as Witte. A slow movement towards the inclusion of social democrats, as had started in Wilhelmine Germany.

The armed forces ae still a problem. I assume we cannot postpone the Great War until 1917?;) At least there might be a chance the troops & landing ships needed to assault the Bosphorus might actually exist by then. Alternatively reverse the course of Tsarist foreign policy for centuries & cultivate the Turks. Tsar Alexis is far better placed to help the Young Turks than the Kaiser, and you will need the flow of supplies & arms via the Black Sea. Mind you, that might alarm the English, but c'est la vie :rolleyes:

Otherwise stand on the defensive, despite the pleas of the French. Or concentrate upon crushing one enemy at a time, instead of striking both East Prussia & Galicia. The Russians do not have the artillery or ammunition to do much more, and a crash programme of rearmament prior to 1914 is unreasonable due to lack of funds (even less now thanks to social reforms) and a less militaristic government view.
 
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