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.