So, working on my 1848 TL recently, I started wondering - what if the Russo-Japanese war of the early 20th century had been... bigger? Say, what if there was an invasion of Hokkaido involved, or if a stronger/more unitary China became an important third party? What if the other great powers, like Britain, France and Germany started taking sides for whatever reason?
And, most importantly - what would be the implications of a Russian victory in the Russo-Japanese war?