Has it really been almost a week since I last posted an update? Wow. Time for another one! And we're now done with Europe!
The World in a New Century, Section VIII: Northern Europe
Published by the McNally Corporation in Chicago, 1901.
Scandinavia:
The two nations of Denmark lie to the north of Germany and west of the Russian Empire, and Sweden are relatively minor on the world stage. Denmark is a tiny nation occupying the peninsula and islands just to the north of Germany. Denmark is led by a constitutional monarchy with a national Parliament. The monarchy has little bearing on the laws of the country and serves for the most part as a figurehead. Denmark is a rather efficiently run country, owing this it its small size. However, despite being such a small country, Denmark does have a few colonies. The Faeroe Islands as well as the islands of Iceland and Greenland in the far north of the Atlantic Ocean are administered by Denmark. The country also has small colonies in the Caribbean, on the coast of west Africa, and in the Indian Ocean.
The kingdom of Sweden is the larger country of the two in Scandinavia, and is one of the least densely populated countries in Europe. Because of its small population and the cold climate the people endure, Sweden is not a very industrialized country. The only large manufacturing sector is centered around the capital city of Stockholm, and in the far south of the country. However, despite its lack of industry, Sweden is one of the most important producers of iron and timber in the world. Indeed, most of Sweden's industrial production comes from lumber processing.
Sweden is governed by monarchy that maintains many powers over the laws, but still does obey the whims of the Riksdag, the Swedish parliament. For the most part, however, the Riksdag has been fairly conservative in the latter half of the century and there is only a small franchise among the lower classes. What is curious about the governing of Sweden is that while the monarch is king of both Sweden and Norway, the Norwegians retain a large amount of self-governance for their domestic affairs. The Norwegians even have their own separate parliament, and in fact have a wider suffrage than in Sweden.
Russian Empire:
The Russian Empire is the second largest nation in the world by land area and the third largest by population, but it is governed by a very backward country. The Tsar maintains his absolute rule with few reforms toward a constitutional or democratic rule having taken place during the past century. The only significant reform that has been made was the abolition of serfdom by the previous Tsar, Alexander II, in 1863. However, after his son Nicholas II succeeded to the throne, the government has neglected further reforms and remains an absolute monarchy.
Diplomatically, the Russian Empire has engaged little in European affairs over the past century, instead focusing its attention on siberia and Central Asia. Expansion into Siberia has been encouraged both by the government's forceful movement of people to the Far East and by the natural attraction of gold rushes in the Pacific coast and in Alyeska. Russia has also been steadily expanding into the steppes of Central Asia east of the Caspian Sea over the past half century. After the conquest of the uncivilized tribes in the Trans-Caspian steppes, the Russians continued their expansion up to the Hindu Kush mountains. There, the Russians have so far ceased their southward expansion as part of increased cooperation with Great Britain.
The expansion of the Russian frontier into Central Asia has spurred the growth of the manufacturing sector in Russia as well as the Russian railway system. While there is a significant amount of railway mileage through European Russia, the extent of the country and its cold climate has prevented much development of a manufacturing sector. The only areas with large amounts of modern industry are Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Recently, there has been an effort to extend the railways to cities east of the Caspain Sea to bring in minerals from Asia easier, and there has been some support from the government for development of industry along the Black Sea coast. However, the Russian Empire remains backward in terms of industry and lies far behind Germany and the rest of the major European powers.
Galicia:
The Republic of Galicia is a small country between Hungary and Russia, and another country to arise out of the remnants of the Austrian Empire after the fall of the Habsburg dynasty. At first, Galicia appeared like it would embrace constitutional reforms and become a republic, but Russian meddling on the country soon led to Galicia becoming a tyrannous state. Russian interference in Galicia continues as the country is largely populated by Poles, and there is worry that an independent Polish state will give the Poles in Russia a desire for more autonomy. While the country remains largely influenced by Russia, German investment in the city of Krakow near the German border have brought some minimal industry to Galicia.
. And futhermore, as a student of nationalism I love that you took another of the three routes to Italian unification their were in OTL (liberal kingdom, secular republic and finally religious federation).
