Great Mother Russia- A Russo wank TL

Note: This is my first TL so please feel free to give constructive feedbacks and tips. Also im not sure if changing someone' personality is ASB or not

The POD is that Peter III of Russia is less of a Frederick Fanboy and Prussophile and more like catherine in admiring russian strength, language and history while retaining most of his enlightenment beliefs. Also more Catherine like in politics and personality.
 
Ooooh, I read Massie's Catherine the Great book last year and this seems really fun. If I were to play the provocateur here though, it would not be to say that the idea is silly or ASB, but to say that perhaps Peter has suffered unduly from the myth-making that has grown up around Catherine. You could even be bold and argue that, if given half a chance, our Peter III, the despised Peter III, the Peter III we have been told time and time again was deposed only out of Matrushka's selfless love of her adopted people and her desire to not have them suffer under his vile yoke, might not have been half-bad.

Go on, be a devil, play the Richard III Society, Romanov Edition.
 
1744 Future Peter III reaches an understanding with his future wife catherine after her near death, they will ignore one another after catherine gives him a son and heir.
1745 Grand Duke Peter marries Catherine, beginning a rather unhappy marrige as they both start gathering supporters and making plans to bring forth their own vision for Russia.
1745-1762; Both peter and Catherine had received many supporters over the past decade and a half, with more liberal ones siding with peter allowing catherine to become the favorite of the conservative faction. However even even the birth of their son, Paul was not enough to heal the rift between husband and wife who were both too similar and too different to get along.
1762 Empress Elizabeth dies on time and Peter and Catherine Take the throne. Anyone who has eyes can see that the royal couple has completely divided the country along enlightenment and reactionary sides
 
1762 Peter does not withdraw his forces from the war as some people expected given his admiration of the prussian king, rather he orders his generals to bring prussia to heel. After another Austro-Russian campaign and a series of bloody battles during one of which frederick the Great died, Prussia surrendered.Signing an armistice on may 15 1762.

Peter Also begins a series of reforms, exempted the nobility from obligatory state and military service and giving them the freedom to travel abroad. He also took steps to establish the first state bank in Russia, ended the nobility's monopoly on trade and forbade the import of sugar and other materials that could be found in Russia to conserve gold.

1762 With the surrender of Prussia Great Britain's only continental friend was portugal which was facing its own invasion.

1762 Swedish troops occupy pomperia and russian troops are in berlin. Meanwhile After a series of successes following the withdrawal of the Prussians Hanover if captured by the french.

1763 Despite Naval superiority and colonial successes Britain has lost the war in europe as portugal informs its ally that it is withdrawing from the war. Furthermore the Dutch and other neutral european powers also begin pressuering the British to make peace.

1763 The Treaty of Berlin gives returns Swedish Pomperia, proclaims peace between Denmark and Russia who renounces any claim of danish soil. Selesia is Returned to Austria and East Prussia is ceded to Russia. Prussia also renounces claims to any new land east of berlin.

November 1763: The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the war. France accepts the loss of New France however forces the British East India Company to renounce its claim on Bengal, negating the previous peace treaty, returning India to Status Quo Antebellum.Needless to say the new bengali King, while officially neutral if heavily pro french. Meanwhile Hanover is also freed, with many englishman angry over the price they paid for it.

January 1764; Catherine, Empress of the Russians dies after falling of a balcony. Any rumors of her body being found impaled with 26 stab wounds are dismissed as rumors. While in "mourning" Peter III begins consolidating his power and appointing like minded enlightened nobles to positions of power.He also reforms the army and navy along more modern and western lines.

During this time the Austrian Netherlands are given to france as promised, however france resists building forts on the new territories.

1765 Wary of the Russo- French Alliance Britain signs a trade treaty with russia to help break it.

1768; Russian Interference in poland kicks of the Bar Wars as well the Russo Turkish war of of 1768 to 1772

1771; Russia Finally gets poland under control and as punishments takes the easternmost part of its land (OTL Partition Land)

1772; Austria is convinced to support Russia after being promised ottoman Land, invading Serbia and Bosnia. The Ottomans realising that they are going to lose sue for peace. In the Belgrade treaty the Ottoman cede Crimea and other lands to Russia as well as Bosnia to the Ottomans.

1775; Secure in his power and popular after his victories Peter III sets out a series of reforms.
Orthodox churches are now to give out lessons to all free children in order to increase the rate of literacy.
Furthermore all church, state and personal serfs of the emperor were also to be educated, with nobles having the right to request literacy for his own serfs.
The Russian American Company was also founded with the goal of creating new colonies in the americas. Unlike previous efforts to find new furs the company was instead to set up permanent agricultural communities, expanding the russian empire.
Peter also introduced new forms of agriculture into the state lands in order to improve productivity and imported the British Highland cattle, sending some of them to siberia to see if they could survive there.

1780; Peter III begins reforming the legal system in russia to make it fairer and more efficient. He also begins encouraging mining in russia. The first settlement in Novo Moscow (OTL seattle takes Place).
 
1781; Peter Reforms the Russian Bureaucracy establishing new, more efficient Ministries to administer Russia. This includes the Ministry of Internal Affairs which would become the most powerful institution in Russia.

1782; Peter Lays claim to the northwest portion of the american continent, dividing the land into two Duchies Alaska(OTL Alaska plus Yukon) and North Colombia(OTL BC Plus Oregon ). And to settle the lands he sets up the trail transferring any Serfs belonging to the tsar or the state who volunteer to the new world. As an incentive serfs who volunteer are freed and are to be given their own permanent and heredity land.

1783; The Austro-Russian Pact is signed in secret, in it austria and russia promise to defend one another against ottoman invasions and promised to balance any gains made in the balkans.

1784; The First Modern Commercial Code and Courts were established in Russia, fostering trade. Testing the Limits of his powers Peter also began lowering the many barriers of trading in russia, including internal tariffs and restrictions. While he faced a major Backlash from the Nobility he was able to push through most of his reforms.

1785; All Nobles who hold government positions and own serfs are required to make their serfs are literate. Many Traditionalist Nobles either resigned or are let go the the emperor. Meanwhile The Tsar's income is rising as his lands are seeing more productive harvests following the introduction of newer agricultural methods. Many nobles begin adopting these methods into their own lands.

1788; Another Russo-Ottoman War Begins and Austria joins in the fighting. The Ottomans Concentrate their forces fighting the Austrians who they perceive to be the more immediate threat. This Allows Russia to more easily conquer the ukrainian lands. The War could have ended sooner however the russians were distracted by an uprising in poland.

1789; The French Revolution Begins, Peter While Concerned saw it as an opportunity for if the western powers were too busy dealing with France he could take control of the east.

1790; Paul Heir to Peter III dies after a fever, making his son Alexander next in line to the throne.

1793; The Russo Ottoman War ends with an Austro-Russian Victory. Austria Gains control of Montenegro, Albania and receives many privileges in serbia, Russia in the meantime gains the territory which would ,along with other newly conquered lands, become the Grand Duchy of Ukraine.

In Poland-Lithuania the war ends with a Complete Russian Victory. Peter III now in complete control, and out of patience begins reorganising his western domains, creating the Baltic Duchies of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as well as creating the the Duchy of Belarus. The Remaining Portions of Poland are merged with East Prussia to form the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, now annexed completely into the Russian empire.

1797; The Russo Persian War was the Last war in Peter III's reign. It Lasted 4 Years and ended in Russian Victory, with the empire incorporating what would become Russian Azerbaijan

1802; Peter the Third Dies. His Grandson Alexander becomes Tsar Alexander I
 
Ooooh, I read Massie's Catherine the Great book last year and this seems really fun. If I were to play the provocateur here though, it would not be to say that the idea is silly or ASB, but to say that perhaps Peter has suffered unduly from the myth-making that has grown up around Catherine. You could even be bold and argue that, if given half a chance, our Peter III, the despised Peter III, the Peter III we have been told time and time again was deposed only out of Matrushka's selfless love of her adopted people and her desire to not have them suffer under his vile yoke, might not have been half-bad.

Massie's book is a little bit too much into her private life and the fact that Peter was not as bad as "tradition" says is well-known for quite a while: most of what we know about his personality comes either from Catherine or from her closest supporters.

During his short reign Peter issued some very important laws ("Freedom of nobility" being the best-known) and his idea of making all religions equal was quite progressive (while also being a huge political mistake). BTW, Catherine did not change anything in his peace agreement with Fritz and the people who made most of the noise about this peace being shameful had been the Guards who spent the whole war in St-Petersburg.
 
1762 Peter does not withdraw his forces from the war as some people expected given his admiration of the prussian king, rather he orders his generals to bring prussia to heel. After another Austro-Russian campaign and a series of bloody battles during one of which frederick the Great died, Prussia surrendered.Signing an armistice on may 15 1762.

The war was not pursuing any clear Russian interests and was enormously costly. The main benefactor in this scenario would be Austria, not Russia. Why continuation of this idiotic war would be in the Russian interests? BTW, AFAIK, none of the top Russian commanders involved had any objections against a speedy completion of that war and Rumiantsev was Peter's active supporter.

The best case scenario: Peter orders Ruminatsev with part of his troops to march on St-Petersburg and to deal with the Guards. Not sure if these drunken imbeciles would be able or willing to put on a meaningful resistance but, anyway, they'd have to be crushed and the regiments reformed.

Peter Also begins a series of reforms, exempted the nobility from obligatory state and military service and giving them the freedom to travel abroad. He also took steps to establish the first state bank in Russia, ended the nobility's monopoly on trade and forbade the import of sugar and other materials that could be found in Russia to conserve gold.

The meaningful part of the list was either done or planned but in the XVIII Russia there was no substitute for the imported sugar.


1762 Swedish troops occupy pomperia and russian troops are in berlin.

If "pomperia" means Pomerania, it was already occupied by the Russians during Elizabeth's life time.

January 1764; ...He also reforms the army and navy along more modern and western lines.

Meaning what exactly?
 
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