Nashiist Russia - The Enemy bleeds itself White against the Forces of Our Rodina!

abc123

Banned
Alexei is a Tsar, but he has no power and neither does his mother. The government doesn't want anything to change. They're afraid of what might happen if the Czarina starts making mistakes, so they're going to just sit in for the dead Nicholas until things are back in order. Which, by the way, is NOT going to happen.

Military? Bureaucracy? Orthodox Church? Nobility?

You need support of all of them for something like that...
 
Military? Bureaucracy? Orthodox Church? Nobility?

You need support of all of them for something like that...

The Bureaucracy is overwhelming for the idea, the military less so, and the clergy is quite annoyed by it frankly. I'll cover this next update in more detail. :rolleyes:
 
PART 1 - THE MANIFESTATION OF NATIONALISM (1911-17)

SECTION 1.2 - THE MEN BEHIND THE STORM

While pushed by a wide range of bureaucrats and nobles, the acting government's decision to suspend rule of the royal family in hopes of continuing the status quo was by no means universally accepted among any level of society. In public, the Tsarina herself protested the robbery of what should of been her throne, and an overwhelming majority of the Orthodox clergymen stood behind her even after her complaints faded from the news. The nobility was sharply divided on the matter; some conservative aristocrats saw the suspension as as sign of moral decay and disrespect for tradition while others considered it a wise move in this time of chaos*. The Imperial Army for its part also produced mixed opinions, but more or less accepted the situation for the time being. This fact, however, was obscured by radical and other fringe elements of the armed forces, whose rebellious deeds in the early post-tsarist era overshadowed the otherwise relatively moderate outlook of the bulk of the military.

Indeed, among those with clout in 1911-12, in fact only a minority was absolutely opposed to the suspension of the throne. However, where they lacked in cold, hard numbers was supplemented by the sheer popularity of the issue. Noble and peasant alike gossiped about the the legitimacy of the deputies, how Russia would fare without a Tsar, and how the will of the Lord Almighty factored into it all. On the left, socialist, anarchists, and communists, facing incredible backlash from all conservative groups (since Bogrov was a leftist Jew), made numerous statements and proclamations in hopes of instigating the proletariat; common claims included citing the "nakedness" of the acting government's illegitimacy, a reactionary grip onto the broken system, and the looming inevitability of people's revolution. A number of major riots and agrarian revolts broke out, and though as usual these were put down by police and soldiers, such were signs that change was forcing its way into the world's largest continuous empire.

The consortium meanwhile, is known to have declared the pursuit of a "Slavic nationalist" agenda and begun the clandestine recruitment of suitable radicals from those groups opposed to the throne's suspension (obviously excluding leftists), and by March 1912 is estimated by modern historians to have numbered anywhere between one and five thousand, and in these early days of its existence, included influential figures such as Pyotr Stolypin (who witnessed the Tsar's murder), Aleksandr Kolchak, and Alexander Krivoshein, to name a few. From the very beginning, the clergy, rightist radicals, and the Tsarina herself were considered among those most receptive to the men calling themselves "Slavic patriots", and indeed these groups would remain staunchly supportive of the consortium well into the next decade and beyond.

By 1913, it was apparent that the status quo as it existed at the time of Nicholas II's death could not be preserved. Though the military still supported the bureaucrats and their acting government, the volume of forces recognized to be working against them** proved to be an unexpected strain on leadership. Vladimir Kokovtsov, the Minister of Finance, called for a series of reforms, and while the majority of officials reluctantly paid lip service, little was actually done to implement them in any meaningful fashion. By the next year, Kokovtsov was publicly disgraced for failing to produce results and pressured into resignation.

Despite the amount of menacing back-and-forth rhetoric, almost nothing was accomplished by the deputy government in the post-tsarist years, and as a whole Russia had stopped moving forward. The military slowly drifted from the reins of the deputies, the aristocracy was increasingly critical of the bureaucracy's ineptitude, and riots and general social disturbances were found to be on an alarming pattern of exponential rise.

In mid-1914, a large-scale revolt in Poland shook the whole empire. The highest general in the region had been an anti-deputy, and had just been sacked while protesting in Moscow. His replacement, an inept, hedonist toady, brought humiliation to his army and nation when the rebels struck at his headquarters in Warsaw, expelling the badly-organized Imperial troops and their administration. A free Polish Republic was declared and soon began attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters. They scored several victories against the unprepared Russians***, and succeeded in recreating the events of Warsaw in several other towns.
In August 1914, amid the tension created by the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, the deputy government, with a rare universal backing from the nobles and army, called for a full mobilization to put down the Polish Uprising, reunite the country, and, perhaps most fatefully, present a stern warning to Austro-Hungary and her northern ally, the Empire of Germany.



*: It was universally accepted that Alexei would be given the throne upon coming of age.

**: The consortium of "Slavic Patriots" (the proto-Nashiists for clarity) was upon several occasions discovered by operatives of the Okhrana, but the deputy government never realized the scope of the conspiracy, and was wrongly convinced, sometimes by deliberate misinformation from proto-Nashiists in the service itself, that the nationalists were simply another marginalized group posing no threat on its own.

***: The Russian Empire claimed that the Polish Uprising had been aided by German backers. The truth of this is debated, but most agree that Germany was all too pleased to see their eastern rival in turmoil.


TO BE CONTINUED IN
SECTION 1.3 - A SPARK NEGLECTED
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Comments? Please tell me if my writing is hard to read, since I sort of get that feeling myself.
 
A quick note...

The next update is going to be rather detailed and descriptive, so I'll need some time to do sufficient research. In the meantime, if anyone could show me some good sites on late Tsarist and Revolutionary Russia that would be most helpful, since Wikipedia is a little too vague sometimes and not always very helpful contextually.
 
PART 1 - THE MANIFESTATION OF NATIONALISM (1911-17)

SECTION 1.3 - A SPARK NEGLECTED

The Russian buildup of troops along the border with Germany and Austro-Hungary was meant as a deferent to both further aggression by these two empires and as a means of physically controlling dissidence, most immediately speaking, in Poland. With the arrival of massed Imperial armies, the Free Republic of Poland stood no chance. Even with captured arms and covert German advisors, it was clear that their insurgency could not last. The deputy government made a point of ordering martial law in the region, allowing officers to summarily execute partisan fighters and utilize torture to gather intelligence from the foe. In the eyes of the self-conscious Russian bureaucracy, decisive victory in Poland was the last chance to hold onto whatever scraps of legitimacy they still thought themselves to possess.

By New Year 1915, all resistance in the city of Warsaw had been crushed and the government claimed victory. Russian soldiers paraded menacingly in empty streets, snow falling as if to conceal the scars of war and oppression.

For a short time, a patriotic fervor resounded in the hearts of Russians everywhere, and the deputies regarded this to be a result of their mobilization order. A whole host of propaganda works against rebels, against the Central Powers, against Japan, against socialism and other possible enemies bloomed in the newspapers and spread their fragrance across the empire. In the months of January and February, it was as though all Russia had put aside her differences to march along the beat of drums and marching. Tens of thousands of young men, having spent the last four years living through political chaos as living standards worsened, threw in their lot with the army for a chance to both win bread and fight for their motherland.

Indeed, the army was something of a last hope for stability, from the young recruit wishing to feed his family to the doomed policymakers occupying the offices of St. Petersburg. Some even wished for war with Germany, war with Austro-Hungary, to validate the might of Russia against the foes of the West.

Yet when war finally came, what arose was nothing other than pure despair.


As with many events during the 1911-23 period in Russian history, the declaration of war upon Austro-Hungary is subject to heavy debate by historians. Some claim that the deputies discovered the German hand in the Polish uprising and had resolved to punish the Central Powers for such a brazen act, in addition to the earlier invasion of Serbia. Others maintain that the deputies had been meaning to attack Austro-Hungary all along and were just looking for the opportune time to carry it out. Yet another theory states that the "Slavic Patriots", having insiders within the army and deputy government, had undertaken a successful conspiracy to push the nation to war*. In any case, it is agreed upon by modern historians that beyond forcing Austro-Hungary to release it's conquered Balkan territories, the Russian Army and most in the deputy government had no concrete war aims. As one Western observer put it, the Russian army, people, and government were "just itching for conflict."

The start of the war on February 28th broke the silence of peace with heavy artillery pounding the Austro-Hungarian positions in Galicia and Bukovina, followed by enthusiastic infantry charges. The front advanced some tens of kilometers in the first two weeks, with the opposing armies apparently in retreat. A common slogan among the Russia troops was "We'll march across all Hungary to liberate our Serb brothers." However Russian casualties were very high; in some battles the Austro-Hungarian forces managed a 1:3 kill ratio even while retreating, a foreboding omen that STAVKA accepted as "reasonable losses during an advance."

The German front, in the meantime, was doomed from its initiation. Hardly had the war begun did German forces begin to cross into Russian Poland instead of the reverse. After several weeks, the slow but steady German advance had all but destroyed any hope for offensive maneuvers, and Russian generals were forced to draw up plans for a defensive perimeter about Warsaw. German machine guns mowed down squad after squad of charging Russian men and horses, their early armored cars flanked the cumbersome Imperial formations, and the terrible poison gas floated over the unprotected soldiers, many of them dying painfully or going blind. Nevertheless, the dead were replaced by fresh recruits and conscripts, few of these young men aware of the hell about to smother their futures.

With Russia's declaration of war on the Central Powers, her ally France was obligated to enter. The German Army, under the von Schlieffen Plan, went on the offensive, smashing through Belgium with the aim of taking Paris. This attempt failed and ultimately devolved into the static trench warfare that would persist until 1919.

By October 1915, it was clear that even with Russian entry into the war, Serbia would not hold. Even after the small nation had been swallowed by the Austro-Hungarian hordes, however, the greater powers paid no heed and continued with the slaughter. Though by this point it was already becoming dubious as to whether Mother Russia could indeed walk away with any spoils from the conflict, but the deputy government had already placed their bet with the gods of war, a bet from which there was no turning back.


*= This opposes another school of thought claiming that the Slavic Patriots were concerned with peacetime expansion rather than driving the deputy government to war and reaping the benefits. However this view does not account for differencing opinions within the group itself.

TO BE CONTINUED IN
SECTION 1.4 - SMOKE IN THE HOUSE, FIRE AT THE DOOR
 
To clear up any confusion as to the various competing groups in post-Nicholas Russia, here is a rudimentary list:

- The Deputy Government: Also called the Acting Government or referred to as simply "the deputies." They are composed of the tsarist bureaucracy, and are trying to keep the status quo, although now they are going for war with the CP...

- "Slavic Patriots": These are the proto-Nashiists. They are a secret consortium including mostly highly-motivated individuals from the army, clergy, nobles, and bureaucracy. They formed soon after the Tsar's murder with the aim of guiding Russia from the sidelines and eventually taking it over.

- Army: A passive actor in the whole affair, it does the bidding of those who control it. Explained in Section 1.2.

- Clergy: The Orthodox Church. They want the Tsarina in power and many of the Slavic Patriots are clergymen. They do whatever they can to undermine the deputies, who are in their eyes illegitimate rulers.

- Nobles: These are pretty much just some rich guys who sit around complaining. They have some influence but are not united.

- Bolsheviks: Are growing in influence, particularly in the south and among peasants.

- Rebels and Anarchists: Most of these are waiting for the right moment to spring up...
 
Another note...

Because of some complications with mapmaking, research, and motivational/RL issues, the next update will be further delayed. I will try to finish it in a week or two, but I can't promise anything.

In the meantime, it'd be great to get some feedback, especially suggestions.
 
Alexei is a Tsar, but he has no power and neither does his mother. The government doesn't want anything to change. They're afraid of what might happen if the Czarina starts making mistakes, so they're going to just sit in for the dead Nicholas until things are back in order. Which, by the way, is NOT going to happen.

Don't forget Rasputin. With the Tsar dead, he's going to be the single most influential person in the Tsarina's circle.
 
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