Legacy of the Magnanimous

[Merovingian]

From “A Modern History of Russia” by Pyotr Ivanovsky

The Russian and Habsburg troops were able to overrun the Austrian-Hungarian, who were largely unpopular with the Danubian populace, republicans relatively quickly. However, in late 1925, the German Empire intervened on the side of the Austro-Hungarian Republic. Another blow to the Russian war effort came in March of 1926, with the death of Emperor Nicholas II. Despite the initial setback, the war would ultimately result in a Russian victory. A successor state to the United States of Greater Austria, the Danubian Federation, was installed with Karl I as its Emperor.

In the aftermath of the Russo-royalist victory, the German Empire began making plans to prevent the further spread of Russia’s influence in Europe. Equally importantly, the war was of great interest to one Mirkhan Ghazi. The Compact supported Consortist groups in Danubia, who after Emperor Karl’s victory, became the main resistance against him. This would eventually lead up to the Second Danubian War.

 

[Merovingian]

Constantinople, Compact of Revolutionary Nations, 1925

“Grand Marshal Ghazi!” shouted General Ali Torsün “pro-Consortist revolutionaries in the Danubian state have captured significant territorie. We wait for further orders.” “Proceed liberation when the enemy is distracted” responded Mirkhan Ghazi “our revolution must expand, lest it be extinguished by external forces. The consortist idea‘s leadership of the socialist stage of civilization will not be secure until the ENTIRE WORLD has been LIBERATED from the COUNTERREVOLUTIONARY FORCES that CONTINUE to OPPRESS the nations outside of our Compact. THE BLOOD THAT IS SPILT TODAY WILL FERTILIZE THE SOIL FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO LIVE UNDER A POSTREVOLUTIONARY CIVILIZATION[1]!” Ghazi’s speech was met with thunderous applause.

Ghazi thought to himself. Of course the Danubians would fall, he thought. By 1920, he had unified the former Ottoman Empire. By 1923, most of the Balkans had fallen, and he took Egypt in 1924. Surely, Danubia would fall as well. He had almost started to actually believe in the inevitable world revolution that featured so much in his propoganda. It seemed that the spread of consortism was unstoppable. Maybe once Danubia had fallen, he could expand even further. Danubia by today, Germany by tomorrow, Russia by the end of the week, and who knew how long it would be until the entire world was under a consortist society.




[1]”Postrevolutionary civilization“ is consortist-speak for a utopian stateless society after the world revolution has been completed

 

[Merovingian]

Map of the Compact in 1925

 

[Merovingian]

From “Independência ou Morte: A History of the Empire of Brazil” by Paulo Branco

Emperor Pedro III has a controversial place in history. On one hand, he rebuilt Brazil after the Great War and turned it into the “empire of the future[1]” that state propoganda of the time loved to brag about. On the other hand, he did so by one of the most authoritarian regimes in the history of Brazil. Pedro imagined Brazil as the leader of the “oppressed peoples of the world” against Western colonialism. In Pedro’s mind, Europe and the United States were the first to industrialize, and exploited other nations that were later to industrialize either through direct colonial rule or through economic imperialism. Pedro imagined a “global struggle for liberation” of the world’s ”colonized peoples” that would take three phases; first in Brazil, then in Latin America, and finally the world.

In Brazil, Pedro’s regime embraced a massive redistribution of wealth. Ever since the when Brazil was a Portuguese colony, Brazil’s economy had been largely controlled by by a small elite class. This elite made their money growing coffee with slave labor, and once slavery was abolished, they switched from slaves to immigrant wage-labor and from growing coffee to owning factories. In 1927, Pedro began his wealth redistribution program. The old coffee barons’ money was redistributed to the Brazilian people. Those who resisted had a tendency to mysteriously disappear following a short meeting with an agent of MIDSI.

The Emperor’s wealth redistribution program was a part of a much larger program that he called the “Imperial Revolution of Brazilian National Sovereignty and Prosperity”, often shortened to simply the “Imperial Revolution.” The Imperial Revolution included programs to build infrastructure, create jobs, promote the arts, fully integrate Brazil’s different ethnic and racial groups, and give women the right to vote[2]. On the other hand, minority cultures and languages were forcibly assimilated, with the dialect of Portuguese spoken in Rio de Janeiro[3] being the only accepted language to publicly speak under Brazilian law. As part of the Imperial Revolution, Pedro promoted a strong sense of civic nationalism.

Pedro’s attitude towards religion varied throughout his reign. On one hand, he portrayed himself as a devout Christian in his propaganda and built several new churches as part of the Imperial Revolution. On the other hand, he brutally suppressed the political influence of the Catholic Church and promoted several Jews and Protestants to important positions. The Emperor’s regime created a strong separation of church and state and encouraged freedom of religion, but also promoted religion as a cultural institution.

Enforcing the Emperor’s regime was the Imperial Ministry of Internal Security, MIDSI. MIDSI was a brutal secret police infamous for its use of torture. MIDSI was incredibly powerful, and was adept at both surveillance and getting information out of people. MIDSI’s primary goal was to eliminate any anti-monarchist mass movement. Particularly, the imperial regime targeted consortism. Although Pedro was certainly anti-liberal[4], he also staunchly opposed consortism for both its revolutionary nature and its focus on ethnic anti-statism directly contradicting the strong civil nationalism of the imperial regime. In the end, the regime would become so obsessed with rooting out the Mironovist threat that they ignored other radical movements. We all know what would happen next.




[1]Ever notice how authoritarian regimes always call themselves “the country of the future” or some variation thereof?

[2]That is, the right to vote for His Imperial Majesty Dear Leader Pedro III’s prefered candidate. Déus, Pátria, Imperador! All glory to Brazil! 😛

[3]Thankfully, the hideous monstrosity that is Brasilia is butterflied and Rio de Janeiro remains the capital

[4]Since the word “capitalism” was coined by Karl Marx, who’s just an obscure German intellectual ITTL, capitalism is called “liberalism.” Hence, ”anti-liberal” in this context means “anti-capitalist.”

 

[Merovingian]

Photo of Emperor Pedro III, circa 1928

 

[Merovingian]

From “A Modern History of Russia” by Pyotr Ivanovsky

After the Great War and the First Danubian War, it was clear that Russia was the power of the future. In 1922, Russia became the world’s largest economy[1]. Whereas London, Paris, and Berlin had once been the cultural centers of Europe, Saint-Petersburg and Moscow now enjoyed that prestige. Once a backwater at the far-eastern corner of Europe, Russia was now emerging as a vibrant and thriving superpower. Despite its vast potential, Russia turned inward after the First Danubian War.

The city of Moscow emerged as the center of Russia’s cultural scene[2]. In 1929, Emperor Nicholas II died and was succeeded by his son, Alexei II[3]. With the economy booming, it seemed that things would only get better for the Russian Empire. They would not. If the Nineteenth Century was the British century, then the Twentieth would be the Russian century, but they still had their struggles to overcome.

[1]Germany became the world’s largest economy after the Great War, but was surpassed by Russia

[2]Saint-Petersburg is still the capital ITTL, but since Moscow is the largest city it still has considerable influence

[3]Not OTL’s Tsarevich Alexei, he has a different mother and avoided the hemophilia