Since I started reading about history - not too long ago - I have noticed that a big driving factor in nearly all Russian foreign politics has been to find access to a warm water sea port.
They fought with the Ottomans in order to have full access to the Black Sea. Arguably a reason for there invasion of Afghanistan may have been to prepare for a future war to gain access to the Atlantic.
So, my proposition is; what if during the Russo-Persian Wars Russia had pushed through the Caucus and gone all the way down (claiming a strip of land) to the Shatt Al-Arab. This is an area where a lot of Iran's oil comes from.
-Would there have ever been a Russian Revolution, with all the potential oil?
-Would there have been the Russian Japanese wars?
etc..
They fought with the Ottomans in order to have full access to the Black Sea. Arguably a reason for there invasion of Afghanistan may have been to prepare for a future war to gain access to the Atlantic.
So, my proposition is; what if during the Russo-Persian Wars Russia had pushed through the Caucus and gone all the way down (claiming a strip of land) to the Shatt Al-Arab. This is an area where a lot of Iran's oil comes from.
-Would there have ever been a Russian Revolution, with all the potential oil?
-Would there have been the Russian Japanese wars?
etc..