WI: Alexandra dies giving birth to a stillborn Alexei?

For one reason or another, Alexei's birth proves too difficult for the Russian empress and both lives are lost. As a result, Nicholas goes into a deep depression and ultimately decides to abdicate and join a monastery after praying to the icon of the protectress of the Romanov family and feeling the Holy Spirit flow through him. How would this play out for the Russian Empire?
 
Grand duke Michael would be next czar, right? He was conservative but smarter than Nicholas II. He probably would manage the empire better but still needs much work to avoid revolution and saving empire. But him should marry someone suitable woman.
 
As far as I can tell, Michael II wouldn't be as despotic as Nicholas II, but still not the perfect candidate, he's overall not exceptional and not particularly charismatic. He would definitely not be as warlike as his brother, though.

But him should marry someone suitable woman.
With no Nicholas II to stop him, Michael II would likely marry his first cousin Princess Beatrice.
 
As far as I can tell, Michael II wouldn't be as despotic as Nicholas II, but still not the perfect candidate, he's overall not exceptional and not particularly charismatic. He would definitely not be as warlike as his brother, though.


With no Nicholas II to stop him, Michael II would likely marry his first cousin Princess Beatrice.

Grand duke Michael would be next czar, right? He was conservative but smarter than Nicholas II. He probably would manage the empire better but still needs much work to avoid revolution and saving empire. But him should marry someone suitable woman.

Interesting. So let's say Michael II marries Beatrice (Sima as he calls her). How do you think he would have reacted to the protests that led to Bloody Sunday in OTL?
 
He would have given the 1905 constitution, while enacting witte style reforms combined with fighting against communists and the black hundreds.
 
Interesting. So let's say Michael II marries Beatrice (Sima as he calls her). How do you think he would have reacted to the protests that led to Bloody Sunday in OTL?

He would have given the 1905 constitution, while enacting witte style reforms combined with fighting against communists and the black hundreds.

This supposes Bloody Sunday and the events leading up to it happen at all. Tsar Michael II might well not engage in the Russo-Japanese War and negotiate instead, which the Japanese wanted in the first place. If he does negotiate, Manchuria goes to the Russian sphere of influence and Korea stays in Japan's.
 
Point. I think domestic unrest was boiling anyway.

Likely but what killed the Empire in the end was its willingness to back the Serbs. Russia could easily after the killing of Franz Ferdinand have gotten away with simply saying to the Serbs; "you're on your own".
 
True but Old Nick was absolutely the worst person to deal with it. Anyone more flexible or decisive could at least have mitigated this.

Without the R-J war there would be no revolution in 1905, but there would still be huge social and political unrest that would need to be addressed urgently.
 
Likely but what killed the Empire in the end was its willingness to back the Serbs. Russia could easily after the killing of Franz Ferdinand have gotten away with simply saying to the Serbs; "you're on your own".

If Michael is smarter then his brother, he'll just call an international conference on the matter to settle it. The Serbs had already agreed to most of Austria-Hungary's demands anyway. That's of course assuming FF's assassination isn't butterflied away.
 
True but Old Nick was absolutely the worst person to deal with it. Anyone more flexible or decisive could at least have mitigated this.

Not only was there a worse person than Nicholas II, but the worse person was right after Michael in the line of succession. So the new Tsar Michael better keep himself safe, and produce a heir ASAP...
 
Likely but what killed the Empire in the end was its willingness to back the Serbs. Russia could easily after the killing of Franz Ferdinand have gotten away with simply saying to the Serbs; "you're on your own".

A very dangerous course of action. It throws like 6-7 different countries into the sphere of the Central Powers, one way or another.
And even more importantly: it places every single acre of land between Berlin and Baghdad firmly under Germany's political, economic and military sphere. For Russia, fighting the Ottomans in OTL was no fun at all. In fact, many argue that this was what what killed the Russian Empire: not the war itself, but the Ottomans closing the Straits and then managing to stay in the fight, even if by the skin of their teeth.
Now imagine if the Ottomans were stronger, even better prepared, and had a direct supply route to their German and Austrian allies from Day 1 of the war.

So if the war does break out in the next few years (and no one can guarantee that it won't): Russia is capital-s Screwed. And they knew it. Russia's decision to defend Serbia in 1914 had very little to do with sentimentality.
 
Would Russia give Serbians a blank check of support with Michael? Was he as much of a panslavic fan as his brother?
 
As far as I can tell, Michael II wouldn't be as despotic as Nicholas II, but still not the perfect candidate, he's overall not exceptional and not particularly charismatic. He would definitely not be as warlike as his brother, though.


With no Nicholas II to stop him, Michael II would likely marry his first cousin Princess Beatrice.

And more inbreeding is just what that family needs...
 
Not only was there a worse person than Nicholas II, but the worse person was right after Michael in the line of succession. So the new Tsar Michael better keep himself safe, and produce a heir ASAP...
Honestly, in my opinion Cyril wouldn't have been worse than Nicholas. Sure, he's an autocrat who had ties with pseudo-fascist groups like the Mladorossi, but he seems flexible enough to rule.
 
This supposes Bloody Sunday and the events leading up to it happen at all. Tsar Michael II might well not engage in the Russo-Japanese War and negotiate instead, which the Japanese wanted in the first place.
Uncortunately the point of divergence is six months after the Russo-Japanese War had started so it's still going to occur and go roughly the same as in our timeline since Alexei was born about three weeks before it concluded. Bloody Sunday is certainly avoidable though.
 
Uncortunately the point of divergence is six months after the Russo-Japanese War had started so it's still going to occur and go roughly the same as in our timeline since Alexei was born about three weeks before it concluded. Bloody Sunday is certainly avoidable though.
The POD is actually over a year before the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Having Michael II in charge would mean faster peace negotiations and perhaps no disasters in Mukden and Tsushima as a result, but Russia was already on a road to civil strife like what happened in 1905 with or without the defeat. The economic crisis at the turn of the century, peasant discontent due to unfair emancipation, ethnic strife (both with Jews and with the western guberniyas) and finally the state of the autocracy as a whole are all among the causes, all preceding the POD.
 
The POD is actually over a year before the end of the Russo-Japanese War.
How so? I'm using the Genocide but it has Alexei being born on the 12th of August 1904 and the Russo-Japanese War starting with Japan's declaration of war on 8th of February 1904. Unless I've missed something, certainly not impossible, the latter is six months earlier than the former.
 
How so? I'm using the Genocide but it has Alexei being born on the 12th of August 1904 and the Russo-Japanese War starting with Japan's declaration of war on 8th of February 1904. Unless I've missed something, certainly not impossible, the latter is six months earlier than the former.
The Russo-Japanese war ended in September of 1905.

You said that the war concluded three weeks after the POD.
 
The POD is actually over a year before the end of the Russo-Japanese War.

Having Michael II in charge would mean faster peace negotiations and perhaps no disasters in Mukden and Tsushima as a result, but Russia was already on a road to civil strife like what happened in 1905 with or without the defeat. The economic crisis at the turn of the century, peasant discontent due to unfair emancipation, ethnic strife (both with Jews and with the western guberniyas) and finally the state of the autocracy as a whole are all among the causes, all preceding the POD.

At least prior to Bloody Sunday many of the peasants/factory workers were conservatives who believed that the Czar was good and the boyars and bureaucracy were to blame. Before Bloody Sunday the Czars had been imposing change to working conditions according to what I read and that's why they were marching that Sunday, to get the Czar to make some more changes to working conditions. Nicky decided to go to his countryside estate despite the advice of advisors and family members who wanted him to address the protestors. Then his guards shot at them. At the very least, if a similar protest happens, Michael might actually come out and speak to them and promise them an eight hour work day and safer working conditions like the protestors wanted.
 
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