Chapter 1 - Adversity, The Teacher (1891 - 1894)
“The Second Patriotic War was birthed from the demise of Bismarck’s Concert of Europe, A Storm was coming, it was inevitable, and Russia needed to prepare, and the Tsar and his Union did just that, and we as a people survived because of that” - The Second Patriotic War, Grigory Anatolievich Kargin, 1953
The Storm was Coming, a Web of Alliances was growing, and hostility between those within the web as well. And with that, Bismarck’s Concert of Europe was dying, for the very way it functioned depended on all powers pushing and pulling against one another for their own interests. And in the Heart of one of these powers, Chaos was unfolding, just a few years after the concern’s revival
The Russian Empire was the world's largest empire, spanning multiple ethnicities, cultures and religions. Alexander II, the Late Tsar of Russia had transformed the backwater empire into a developing industrial power, He was about the bring about the establishment of a constitution, finalized, it was to be proposed, when the Tsar was Assassinated by Nikolai Rysakov and Ignacy Hryniewiecki, Members of the anarchistic group, Narodnaya Volya, of which Vladimir Lenin's eldest Brother, Aleksandr Ulyanov, was a member of, and was hung for being one as well.
This would leave Russia in the hands of Alexander III, an Autocrat through and through, and would dash away the dreams of any level of democracy or constitution in his Empire. This left Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, as Heir Apparent.
Nicholas had spent 23 years on this earth, and for the past decade his Father had been Tsar of All Russia, and should the eventuality arise for him to have to take helm of the nation, he would be unfit to do so. Nicholas was a gentle soul, he did not have his father’s sheer will and forcefulness. Merely a Decade prior, he would watch the Tsar, Alexander II, pass away after an assassination attempt, a bomb had hit the carriage, but the Tsar was fine. That was until he stepped out, and a second bomb landed on his feet. At that moment, Tsar Alexander II was as good as dead.
Nicholas had not yet been prepared to be a tsar, for the current reigning tsar was a mere 46, and he would have many years to teach his son how to be a Tsar effectively, this is what the Tsar, Alexander III, thought at least. Sergei Witte, the minister of finance, thought otherwise, For the Tsesarevich should be as prepared as possible. Under Witte’s Advice, The Tsar relented, and Nicholas was put on the Siberian Railway Council. His role was to administer the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Nicholas had seen the railway before, on May 19th, 1891, he had visited and laid some ceremonial stones to signify the beginning of construction. But that was all ceremonial, smoke and mirrors, no real work done. Now he was doing work, and by god’s grace, he was the Tsesarevich, and that meant he must try his damn hardest to do a good job.
Over the course of the Tsesarevich’s role in the council, Sergei would become less an advisor to the Tsar, but more a mentor to Nicholas. Nicholas would grow more accustomed to leading, since his childhood, he was always a gentle soul, more bookish, not really a willful man like his father. But now, he could lead, he learned the art of delegation, he could give firm orders, even if such forcefulness was against his personality. He had all in all, come into the role of a Leader.
With the Tsar having a personal connection to the project, more focus, funding and more were given to the project. Nicholas, having thrown himself into the work, tried to expedite production, Nicholas focused on every little detail, as Sergei described to the Tsar in 1883, a year after Nicholas joined the Council. In the end, Nicholas’ connections and focus would help the project, With the South Ussari Rail finishing in 1893, and the Northern Rail finishing in 94. This was due to a gamble Nicholas had undertaken, pushing for an earlier start of construction on the Northern Rail, that coming with increased labor and material cost. Despite this, it had paid off with an expedited project.
“Nicholas was a Studious man, focused on his work, looking in every nook and cranny of the project to find a solution, but he was not just an administrator, no, he began to act like a leader, barking orders, delegating, and all sorts of things. It seems that his involvement has been fruitful” - Diaries of the First Russian Prime Minister, Sergei Witte
Nicholas laid in bed, sleeping softly, his dreams that night were not soft however, they were chaotic, dangerous, it could only be described as a nightmare. Nicholas began to toss and turn as the dream continued. Tsar Alexander III shot, that's what the papers read in Nicholas’ dream. Nicholas than began to hear conversations he couldn’t see. “He was shot in the Kidney” he heard, “It's Inoperable” he heard the doctor say. The sounds, the chaos, the fear, it all came to a crescendo of mind numbing, unescapable noise. Nicholas just wanted it to stop, and so he shut his eyes, and it stopped, he feared opening them, fearing the idea that the noise may return. But he had to open them, and so he did, and there he sat in front of his Father, The Tsar’s Casket.
Nicholas awoke in a cold sweet. It was merely a nightmare, his Father was alive, His father was alive, the tsar was alive, he was not going to ascend to the throne, not yet at least. Nicholas walked the halls of the Palace, only to stop at a portrait of his Grandfather. As he stared into the eyes of the painting, the memory of his father clutching his fist, just after hearing his own father’s last words, came back to him.
“You have a legacy, You had plans” he thought to himself as he internally spoke to his grandfather, “They were not finished, god struck you down, not because you had betrayed him, but because Russia was not ready for you. Your Legacy is unfinished, and someone must finish it”. After this, Nicholas went back to sleep, with no nightmares to be seen, nor dreams in general for a matter of fact.
Prologue
The Storm was Coming, a Web of Alliances was growing, and hostility between those within the web as well. And with that, Bismarck’s Concert of Europe was dying, for the very way it functioned depended on all powers pushing and pulling against one another for their own interests. And in the Heart of one of these powers, Chaos was unfolding, just a few years after the concern’s revival
The Russian Empire was the world's largest empire, spanning multiple ethnicities, cultures and religions. Alexander II, the Late Tsar of Russia had transformed the backwater empire into a developing industrial power, He was about the bring about the establishment of a constitution, finalized, it was to be proposed, when the Tsar was Assassinated by Nikolai Rysakov and Ignacy Hryniewiecki, Members of the anarchistic group, Narodnaya Volya, of which Vladimir Lenin's eldest Brother, Aleksandr Ulyanov, was a member of, and was hung for being one as well.
This would leave Russia in the hands of Alexander III, an Autocrat through and through, and would dash away the dreams of any level of democracy or constitution in his Empire. This left Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, as Heir Apparent.
1891 - Chapter 1 - Adversity, The Teacher
Nicholas had spent 23 years on this earth, and for the past decade his Father had been Tsar of All Russia, and should the eventuality arise for him to have to take helm of the nation, he would be unfit to do so. Nicholas was a gentle soul, he did not have his father’s sheer will and forcefulness. Merely a Decade prior, he would watch the Tsar, Alexander II, pass away after an assassination attempt, a bomb had hit the carriage, but the Tsar was fine. That was until he stepped out, and a second bomb landed on his feet. At that moment, Tsar Alexander II was as good as dead.
Nicholas had not yet been prepared to be a tsar, for the current reigning tsar was a mere 46, and he would have many years to teach his son how to be a Tsar effectively, this is what the Tsar, Alexander III, thought at least. Sergei Witte, the minister of finance, thought otherwise, For the Tsesarevich should be as prepared as possible. Under Witte’s Advice, The Tsar relented, and Nicholas was put on the Siberian Railway Council. His role was to administer the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Nicholas had seen the railway before, on May 19th, 1891, he had visited and laid some ceremonial stones to signify the beginning of construction. But that was all ceremonial, smoke and mirrors, no real work done. Now he was doing work, and by god’s grace, he was the Tsesarevich, and that meant he must try his damn hardest to do a good job.
Over the course of the Tsesarevich’s role in the council, Sergei would become less an advisor to the Tsar, but more a mentor to Nicholas. Nicholas would grow more accustomed to leading, since his childhood, he was always a gentle soul, more bookish, not really a willful man like his father. But now, he could lead, he learned the art of delegation, he could give firm orders, even if such forcefulness was against his personality. He had all in all, come into the role of a Leader.
With the Tsar having a personal connection to the project, more focus, funding and more were given to the project. Nicholas, having thrown himself into the work, tried to expedite production, Nicholas focused on every little detail, as Sergei described to the Tsar in 1883, a year after Nicholas joined the Council. In the end, Nicholas’ connections and focus would help the project, With the South Ussari Rail finishing in 1893, and the Northern Rail finishing in 94. This was due to a gamble Nicholas had undertaken, pushing for an earlier start of construction on the Northern Rail, that coming with increased labor and material cost. Despite this, it had paid off with an expedited project.
“Nicholas was a Studious man, focused on his work, looking in every nook and cranny of the project to find a solution, but he was not just an administrator, no, he began to act like a leader, barking orders, delegating, and all sorts of things. It seems that his involvement has been fruitful” - Diaries of the First Russian Prime Minister, Sergei Witte
1894
Nicholas laid in bed, sleeping softly, his dreams that night were not soft however, they were chaotic, dangerous, it could only be described as a nightmare. Nicholas began to toss and turn as the dream continued. Tsar Alexander III shot, that's what the papers read in Nicholas’ dream. Nicholas than began to hear conversations he couldn’t see. “He was shot in the Kidney” he heard, “It's Inoperable” he heard the doctor say. The sounds, the chaos, the fear, it all came to a crescendo of mind numbing, unescapable noise. Nicholas just wanted it to stop, and so he shut his eyes, and it stopped, he feared opening them, fearing the idea that the noise may return. But he had to open them, and so he did, and there he sat in front of his Father, The Tsar’s Casket.
Nicholas awoke in a cold sweet. It was merely a nightmare, his Father was alive, His father was alive, the tsar was alive, he was not going to ascend to the throne, not yet at least. Nicholas walked the halls of the Palace, only to stop at a portrait of his Grandfather. As he stared into the eyes of the painting, the memory of his father clutching his fist, just after hearing his own father’s last words, came back to him.
“You have a legacy, You had plans” he thought to himself as he internally spoke to his grandfather, “They were not finished, god struck you down, not because you had betrayed him, but because Russia was not ready for you. Your Legacy is unfinished, and someone must finish it”. After this, Nicholas went back to sleep, with no nightmares to be seen, nor dreams in general for a matter of fact.