Challenge : Russia Goes West !!

You challenge, should you accept it, is to make Russia to be generally more eager to expand to the west compared to OTL, enough so that the Russia would have at least reached Pomerania by TTL's 1800. PoD to be used must be no earlier than the OTL time of death of Ivan the Terrible, anything un-ASBish that gives Russia actual opportunity to push westward. No involvement of plagues, natural disasters or any such are allowed in the making unless it actually occurred IOTL. Bonus if you can make Russia already has Magdeburg by December 1800 !
 
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Hmmm, well damn... Russia had a real chance to be almost right next to Pomerania in the reign OF Ivan the terrible.

He was offered the throne of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (as one to be elected) TWICE during his reign. Change his attitude a bit, and instead of having the Frenchman sit on the throne of Poland-Lithuania for half a year, you get Ivan the Terrible on the throne.

Admitedly, this would actually be more of a Russian-Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth than the Russian Empire, but if you have Ivan the Terrible on the throne for a while, and then have his son Ivan (the one who he killed) take the throne of the triple Commonwealth (he was said to take after his father alot) then you could probably have them force it into being a heridetary triple Kingdom.

From there on in, the Rurik's might be alble to have ALL kinds of fun in the 30's years war.

So if you'd move the POD just back a smidgen to the reign of Ivan IV, you could have the Tsars of Russia (also kings of Poland and Dukes of Lithuania) beat the Swedes to it and make the grab for Pomerania themselves at the end of the Thirty years war. This near domination of the Southern Baltic coast could have the Ruriks clamouring to subdue Sweden in order to transform the Baltic into a "Russian" lake.
 
Or how about demanding East Prussia from Frederik in the 7YW? The Russians won so decisively Frederik could hardly refuse.

After that, partition Poland 2/3 to Russia, 1/3 to Vienna.
 
Hmmm, well damn... Russia had a real chance to be almost right next to Pomerania in the reign OF Ivan the terrible.

He was offered the throne of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (as one to be elected) TWICE during his reign. Change his attitude a bit, and instead of having the Frenchman sit on the throne of Poland-Lithuania for half a year, you get Ivan the Terrible on the throne.

Admitedly, this would actually be more of a Russian-Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth than the Russian Empire, but if you have Ivan the Terrible on the throne for a while, and then have his son Ivan (the one who he killed) take the throne of the triple Commonwealth (he was said to take after his father alot) then you could probably have them force it into being a heridetary triple Kingdom.

From there on in, the Rurik's might be alble to have ALL kinds of fun in the 30's years war.

Ooh, I like that. Presumedly, keeping control of this Triple Commonwealth will keep the Tzars too busy to expand east into Muslim Siberia.

I want to see this Commonwealth expand in Scandinavia's direction...
 

Baskilisk

Banned
So then I assume lands east of Russia would become Khazar and Turkic khanates, Mongol states, independant areas of Siberia, and part of China?
 
So then I assume lands east of Russia would become Khazar and Turkic khanates, Mongol states, independant areas of Siberia, and part of China?

Probably not: most of the Eastern expansion was performed by semi-independent bands of Cossacks.
 
Probably not: most of the Eastern expansion was performed by semi-independent bands of Cossacks.

...who were immediately followed by Russian voivodes and regular garrisons.

But fundamentally that changes nothing - Russia is still the only candidate for colonization of Siberia. With more European population it will in fact be even easier.
 
Hmmm, well damn... Russia had a real chance to be almost right next to Pomerania in the reign OF Ivan the terrible.

He was offered the throne of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth (as one to be elected) TWICE during his reign. Change his attitude a bit, and instead of having the Frenchman sit on the throne of Poland-Lithuania for half a year, you get Ivan the Terrible on the throne.

Admitedly, this would actually be more of a Russian-Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth than the Russian Empire, but if you have Ivan the Terrible on the throne for a while, and then have his son Ivan (the one who he killed) take the throne of the triple Commonwealth (he was said to take after his father alot) then you could probably have them force it into being a heridetary triple Kingdom.

From there on in, the Rurik's might be alble to have ALL kinds of fun in the 30's years war.

So if you'd move the POD just back a smidgen to the reign of Ivan IV, you could have the Tsars of Russia (also kings of Poland and Dukes of Lithuania) beat the Swedes to it and make the grab for Pomerania themselves at the end of the Thirty years war. This near domination of the Southern Baltic coast could have the Ruriks clamouring to subdue Sweden in order to transform the Baltic into a "Russian" lake.

I was leaning to post Ivan PoDs out of the thought that Polish-Lithuanian-Russian Commonwealth will not be Russian enough or even Eastern Orthodox enough. But of course the empire can be (semi-)multicultural, but nevertheless make the Orthodox Russians to be at least as dominant culturally as Castlillians in Spain (or english in Britain, if apparently they hold more dominance than the Castillians in Spain).

However, should you choose the Ivan's Triple Commonwealth scenario, than it has to be made so the Empire would've already reached the Netherlands by 1800 !
 
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The Tsar is eventually elected Holy Roman Emperor!;):p

Nor that I will object that ! ;) Nevertheless, Russian Orthodox Christianity must the main religion of the empire (>=60%), and it's not like I'm recommending giving all of Poland to Russians, too. As long as Baltic Sea will be a Russian lake, that'll be fine. I just can't help but getting more and more excited whenever imagining pre-1900 Russians getting closer and closer to the North Sea :D:cool:
 
Oh mother Russia , stretching from Califonia to the Atlantic !

I love big Russia, but swallowing up France and Britain into it is just to much. Russian Netherlands would be more than enough for an appropriate coolness ;):cool: More than that will be just a bukkakke.
 
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