Travelling south in the winter of 1991, Emperor Afanasiy I has arranged a summit with the nationalist leaders of Armenia's and Georgia's nationalists, Levon Ter-Petrosyan and Zviad Gumsakhurdia at Astrakhan.
The first night Afanasiy I had met with the Armenian delegation.
'Frankly Mr Ter-Petrosyan...' The Emperor began, '...our sympathies are with your nation.' Not needing to mention the assistance Russia had been giving to Armenia since 1990 as the Armenian forces slowly overran both the Karabakh region and the Naxcivan region between Armenia and Turkey.
'The only condition we attach to Armenia's independence and a future close collaboration with Russia is that you see to Armenia choosing a Bagrationi prince as king.'
Ter-Petrosyan toasts to the proposal, ideally he would have loved to make Armenia a republic, but it will still be a democracy and Russia offers the Armenians an oppurtunity to realise their territorial ambitions.
On the second night, the Emperor met with the Georgian delegation, in this case the Emperor pledged to stop assisting Ossetians and Abkhazians in their quest for independence and to acknowledge the entire former Georgian SSR as the new Georgia if they also choose a Bagrationi king. The Georgians were also ameniable to such an accomodation.
As for Azerbaijan, they would be allowed to vote for independence with no strings attached, they were kept blocaded by the Russians and had been greatly disarmed during the conflict to keep them weak.
All three nations would have voted for independence by the end of 1992, Armenia and Georgia became constitutional monarchies on the British models with their territorial designs realised while Azerbaijan would remain economically stunted, with a shaky truce with Armenia and on abysmal terms with Russia.
The first night Afanasiy I had met with the Armenian delegation.
'Frankly Mr Ter-Petrosyan...' The Emperor began, '...our sympathies are with your nation.' Not needing to mention the assistance Russia had been giving to Armenia since 1990 as the Armenian forces slowly overran both the Karabakh region and the Naxcivan region between Armenia and Turkey.
'The only condition we attach to Armenia's independence and a future close collaboration with Russia is that you see to Armenia choosing a Bagrationi prince as king.'
Ter-Petrosyan toasts to the proposal, ideally he would have loved to make Armenia a republic, but it will still be a democracy and Russia offers the Armenians an oppurtunity to realise their territorial ambitions.
On the second night, the Emperor met with the Georgian delegation, in this case the Emperor pledged to stop assisting Ossetians and Abkhazians in their quest for independence and to acknowledge the entire former Georgian SSR as the new Georgia if they also choose a Bagrationi king. The Georgians were also ameniable to such an accomodation.
As for Azerbaijan, they would be allowed to vote for independence with no strings attached, they were kept blocaded by the Russians and had been greatly disarmed during the conflict to keep them weak.
All three nations would have voted for independence by the end of 1992, Armenia and Georgia became constitutional monarchies on the British models with their territorial designs realised while Azerbaijan would remain economically stunted, with a shaky truce with Armenia and on abysmal terms with Russia.