The Russian Empire
Introduction
The “Third Roman Empire” rendered a fifty headed ouroboros. Russia was at one point the greatest power North and East of Europe, and the closest ally of the Hapsburgs in their effort to hold the courts of the known world. After a series of mistakes, poor successions, and civil wars rattled the base of autocratic power, The Russian Empire emerged a leaderless collection of plutocratic city-states, loyal only to rubles and force. The corporate tangle of Russia has left it a powerful, dangerous tool that is hard to aim, but deadly to whoever stands in the way of the bottom line.
History
The Early Empire
The reign of Tsar Peter I brought the state of Russia into European prominence, drawing the attention of The Holy Roman Empire. Sweden had for a long time held a dominant role in the politics of northern Europe, thanks to its highly professional military(supported by mercenaries), as well as its hold over the Baltic Sea since the Time of Troubles. Peter spent much of his reign playing catch up with his rival, forcibly reforming the state and establishing his own formalized military. His time to assert his authority came in the Great Northern War, in which the Russian-Allied Coalition emerged victorious. The ensuing peace allowed Russia to regain access to the Baltic, and gave the Tsar the platform needed to elevate his status on the world stage, declaring himself the first Emperor of Russia. This done, he set about completely transforming the Russian state.
Vital as his accomplishments were, Peter’s reign as Emperor was short, with him dying only a few years later. His wife, Empress Regnant Catherine I, sought to continue her husband’s legacy of trying to gain notoriety among the great houses of Europe. Notably, she invested in the fledgling Ostend Trading Company, presenting an interest in the economic success of The Holy Roman Empire. It was additionally her hope this relationship would later help the growth of her own empire if the venture bore any fruit. The brief reigns of the next several Emperors would continue to be painted by the intentions of Peter and Catherine.
In the late 18th century Russia's alliance with the Austrian state resulted in their entry into the Seven Years War. Upon the death of Empress Elizabeth in 1762 Tsar Peter III immediately pursued peace with Prussia, threatening the relationship by forcing Austria to fight alone. His Prussian sensibilities were well known, and he was seen by many as “Barely Russian”. On May 1st, 1762, only days before his projected peace treaty could be signed, his wife, Catherine, launched a coup with the assistance of the military. This both allowed for her eventual coronation, and for the continued Russian support against Prussia, who would be largely crippled following peace talks in 1763. The actions of Catherine the Great before she was even crowned Empress allow for the same Imperial Alliance that persists to today.
The Empire had remained aimless until the accession of Catherine II. Her reign marked a series of monumental changes, including the expansion of the Eastern reaches of the empire, heavy industrialization taking from the example of the H.R.E., and a series of government reforms (largely to the distaste of the nobility). The long term Russian investment into the Ostend Company allowed for expedited infrastructural changes, with the nation becoming a proper industrial state almost overnight. Her reforms, while controversial, often had the best interests for the central government at heart, solidifying autocratic control.
The alliance with the HRE was shaken only once, but never broken. The two empires continued to aid each other in dominance of Europe for decades, with the two forming a symbiotic relationship of mutual support and industrial growth. This eventually led to the Russian military following its Austrian Allies into battle with France in the Napoleonic Wars. Their aid proved vital in holding against the incredibly efficient French Military, however their involvement in the conflict only resulted in tragedy.
Napoleon
In 1805, during the battle of Austerlitz, an artillery strike on the Coalition’s command tent killed Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov instantly, causing a mass rout of the coalition's Russian troops. Over the following weeks they regrouped with the Prussian remnant, who were in even greater disarray following the death of their king, Frederick Wilhelm III, who was also in the tent with Kutuzov. Austria meanwhile was seemingly in peace talks with Napoleon, who had occupied Schönbrunn Palace. This did not stop Napoleon’s subordinates from continuing the advance on Prussia and Poland. The two states would continue to clash with France for a few months, with the now weakened coalition losing significant ground.
With the signing of the Black Pact of Schönbrunn, Austrian Kaiser Francis sold out his two allies in Prussia and Russia. The Prussians faced horrible atrocities as they were forcibly “reintegrated” into the H.R.E. by a combined Franco-Austrian army. The city of Brandenburg was sacked by the invading army, though the Kaiser tried to keep this hidden from the public. The Russian Army was crushed after a battle at Friedland, forcing them to negotiate with Napoleon. As part of the treaty, Russia was forced to release the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which would, over the next couple of years, reform into Poland. Emperor Alexander I personally blamed the Kaiser’s weak will for the heavy losses against Napoleon, but insisted that their nations push past the defeat in order to maintain an alliance against future aggression. He would not allow this disappointing outcome to prevent future success.
Konstantin Grozny
At the death of Tsar Alexander in 1825, many among the Russian nobility were concerned about succession. Many desired his brother, the Grand Duke Konstantin, to be crowned emperor, as the law of primogeniture should dictate. The issue was that the Grand Duke had privately made clear to his younger brother, Nicholas, that he had no interest in ruling, and that he should instead take the Empire. Nicholas was eventually decided on for the next Emperor, but this created an opportunity for conspiracy. Under the pretext of upholding law and order, a group of liberal-leaning military officers organized a resistance against Nicholas, eventually growing into what would be later called the Decembrist Revolution.
The revolutionaries gathered around Senate Square, Saint Petersburg on December 26th, with several thousand soldiers all publicly denouncing the “usurper”. Nicholas deployed a contingent of soldiers to attempt to disperse the crowd, but they were unable to repel them. The Decembrists stormed the palace, seizing the yet to be crowned emperor. In subduing Nicholas, one of the conspirators struck him across the head with the butt of his rifle, causing significant brain damage. The blow rendered him mute for the rest of his days. Decembrist ringleaders spent the next few days establishing a rudimentary government, issuing a constitution, and imprisoning Nicholas and any of his supporters. Their hopes were to present the traitorous false-Tsar to Konstantin as a gift for their new Emperor.
When Grand Duke Konstantin heard of what happened he was furious. Not only had a popular uprising overthrown his brother, but it was all done in his name. He hurried to Saint Petersburg, only stopping to gather loyalists to escort him. When he arrived on January 18th, 1826, he was greeted by the Decembrists as a long awaited savior. They believed that he shared their liberal values, and would celebrate their reforms. As soon as he was able to gain control of the situation, he quickly turned on the revolutionary government, ordering the army to execute their leadership. He overturned the new constitution, and enforced martial law until the remaining revolutionaries were snuffed out. He freed his brother from prison, and was horrified at the state his health was now in. He realized his brother was in no state to rule anymore, and decided he needed to step up after all. While he was never properly coronated, he allowed his brother to be referred to as Nicholas I, a true Tsar of Russia. After Nicholas’ death years later, he even adopted his eldest son, named for their father.
When Konstantin I took control, he greatly increased the power of himself and his closest confidants, bolstering the control of the central government to prevent future uprisings. He established the Okhrana, a secret police which was largely inspired by Ivan IV’s Oprichniki. Their reputation for silencing enemies of the Tsar spread, causing terror among the government. Thanks to his new level of austerity, Konstantin was likened to Ivan himself. This led to many referring to him with the same unofficial title, and so Konstantin Grozny was born.
While a ruler to be feared, Konstantin was also reemarkable for the number of changes he made to Russian society. He increased industrialization in the heartland of Russia, hoping to stay at parity with the likes of France and Great Britain. He simultaneously re-implemented serfdom in the Baltics, in an effort to repress the local population. He ordered greater settlement in the eastern reaches of the empire, and militarily supported Imperial efforts in the Balkans. This increased aggression did not go unnoticed by the recently crowned King of Poland, Frederick Augustus. After reaching out for allies, the fledgling Polish state made a daring move to strike a blow to Russian hegemony in eastern Europe.
In 1830, the Kingdom of Poland declared war on Russia, citing intent to reform the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This effort was supported by liberationist movements in Belarus and Lithuania, as well as Emperor Napoleon of France. Konstantin was completely blindsided by this, as most of his troops were currently in the Balkans. He rallied what troops he could, but not before the Polish could march on Moscow. The city’s garrison held out for some time, but were unable to receive supplies, as the Polish army had already captured most of the major rail hubs across western Russia. The Balkan army was rerouted and instead ordered to reinforce St. Petersburg, which was under blockade by the French Imperial Navy. Moscow was abandoned, but not before Konstantin ordered it burned.
While he believed he could turn back the Polish army and its allies, Tsar Konstantin knew he could not win if the French were allowed to take St. Petersburg. With dwindling options, he brokered a peace deal. Poland was granted much of the land it had captured in the war. In response to this surprise lightning war carried out by Poland, he cracked down on all unnecessary military actions, calling back troops from any foreign conflicts they were assisting in. He also ordered a complete restructuring of the military on nominaly meritocratic lines, greatly angering the upper classes. The Okhrana may have stifled dissent in public, but anger was bubbling beneath the surface.
The Italian Wars provided an opportunity for Emperor Konstantin to redeem himself, though it would only result in further agitation of the upper classes within Russia. He deployed the Russian army to aid the H.R.E. in combating the French and Polish, who he was eager to get revenge on. Russia’s performance in the conflict allowed them to regain some borderlands from the P.L.C., but it also highlighted some persisting issues. Military equipment was growing out of date, and the top brass of the army was still too reliant on plutocratic leadership. He continued a crackdown on the command structure, while pouring Russia’s coffers into updating equipment. He was particularly taken by the H.R.E.'s zeppelin technology, and commanded a fleet like it should be built in service of the Tsar.
The Degradation of the Central Autocracy
Konstantin did not live to see his new fleet completed, dying in 1863. Making the same mistake as his brother, he failed to formally choose a successor. The root of the issue came from the fact that Konstantin Grozny had no legitimate children and was not technically ever made Tsar following his brother's enfeeblement. These compounding errors led to a succession crisis between a number of different actors, including his sons Konstantin, Paul, and Nicholas; as well as his nephew Alexander, who he had adopted. Nicholas attempted to stay neutral, but this did not stop the other three from attempting to force themselves onto the throne. As factions formed around the various siblings, a civil war broke out.
The brothers gathered support from various aspects of Russian society, but were weeded out as it turned to open conflict. The adopted Alexander rallied support from the commoners, promising an end to serfdom if he was made Tsar. He was eventually forced to flee the country by Konstantin, who crushed his army in a clash outside of Moscow. Konstantin drew support from the liberals and the intelligentsia, and wiped out Alexander early, in hopes that he might be able to subsume some of his common support. Nicholas was assassinated at Yekaterinburg, though it was never revealed who ordered his fratricide. This left only Paul, who was largely backed by the landed nobility. He was only able to gain their support after promising a reversal of many of his father’s reforms, as Konstantin Grozny had largely curtailed their authority. The two had a series of battles in early 1866, over the course of which Konstantin's forces were ground down to a shell of their former numbers. Having wasted effort to defeat Alexander, his quantity over quality approach had led to mass attrition in his ranks. Moreover, Paul had gathered the finally completed air fleet of his father, turning it on his brother’s army as it retreated. Paul emerged victorious, and was proclaimed Tsar Paul II on September 17th.
A consequence of Paul II’s victory was the loosened leash on the nobility of Russia. Local lords were granted minor autonomy over their fiefdoms, and the Okhrana’s gaze was turned away from the upper class. The secret police were instead focused largely on the lower classes, and the free movement of citizens was restricted to prevent the intelligentsia from fleeing. After some negotiation and renunciation of titles, Alexander was even allowed to return to Russia, and was granted the late Nicholas’ land in Yekaterinburg.
As the role of the Okhrana expanded, the targets they could feasibly surveil increased in profile. The state invested heavily in the organization’s espionage program, allowing a branch of the guard to operate undercover in other states. One of these operatives in the early 1870s was able to infiltrate the American Hidalgo Project, where they discovered the existence of jump lanes. This propelled research into Jump Gate technology years ahead, allowing them to construct the Nikolovsk gate in 1880, named for the Tsar’s late brother.
Throughout the latter half of the 19th century the Russian Empire entered a series of conflicts with diminishing returns, only adding to the blatant disregard of the boyars. Britain and Russia underwent a series of wars in central Asia, attempting to spread their already huge spheres of influence. Russia was able to seize large portions of central Asia, incorporating most of the land east of the Caspian Sea. Throughout this time the British held them off at Afghanistan, gaining assistance from the Safavids in exchange for a guarantee of their independence. The land gained was vast, but ultimately not worth the costs. In the 1880s they again fought the British after a false flag on the border, marching deep into Raj territory before colonial forces wiped them out. Even small internal struggles like local boyar revolts were proving too costly to resolve without relinquishing more power to regional governments.
The seat of Tsar became less significant as it was tossed from hand to hand. When the elderly Paul II died in 1891, he briefly passed the title to his son, who would become Tsar Konstantin II. His father had lived so long that he himself was already late in his years, and he passed only five years later. As Konstantin II had been a life-long bachelor, he had no heirs to speak of. The next reasonable choice had been Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov, the grandson of Nicholas I, however he died only a year and a half before Konstantin. As a result, the throne was passed to Alexander’s son, who became Tsar Nicholas II of the House of Romanov. Nicholas was an ill-prepared and indecisive emperor, which only added to the issues of the state as it entered the new century. This was clearly demonstrated in The Russo-Japanese War, where the fledgling Japanese Empire humiliated the ill-prepared armies of the Tsar.
The Fate of the House of Romanov
Autocracy, oppression, and rampant cruelty. These words are the ones that the Russian people associated with their state. Centuries of being trod upon and abused by the upper classes came boiling to the surface in the early 20th century. Peaceful protests taken apart with machine guns proved the final straw. Following the instability caused by the economic crash known as The Panic of 1916 Communist rebels attempted to overthrow the monarchy and establish a new government in the October Revolution of 1917. Judging that the strife made the population ready to embrace a change in government, the red flag was unfurled. The Communist movement, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, quickly burned through the capital city, seizing the seat of power before the loyalists, later referred to as the White Army, could respond. Lenin held court over the central government as it tried to force reform, while Trotsky took to the railroad. His heavily armored train allowed him to quickly transit to smaller regional holds to bust up efforts by the White Army to consolidate.
The decentralized government did eventually muster forces to respond, gaining additional support from their Habsburg allies. They first made a push for St. Petersburg, as liberating the imprisoned Tsar was a top priority. The Leninist government had trapped Nicholas II and his personal contingent of the Okhrana inside Alexander Palace. They could not break the top-quality shield around the estate, however the intense perimeter around the shield made the palace effectively a prison. The Reds could not get in, but the Whites could not get out. When news arrived that the rallied White Army was on its way to St. Petersburg, Lenin knew he could not win. He ordered a full retreat from the city. The critical members of the revolutionary government were moved to Trotsky’s train, and took the seat of power east. Lenin’s last order, which he gave to his enforcer Joseph Dzhugashvili, was to get rid of the Tsar before the loyalists arrived, by any means necessary. Utilizing heavy-duty drills, Dzhugashvili smuggled a high-yield French-made bomb inside the shield generator at Alexander Palace. He waited until the White Army was in sight, and detonated the device beneath the palace. He failed to evade capture after the explosion, but knew that his actions did more harm to the bourgeoisie than anything.
The only survivors of the destruction were the family of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, brother-in-law of the recently deceased Tsar Nicholas II. The Grand Duke, living in Crimea at the time of the assassination, began coordinating with the Habsburg forces, but refused to accept the vacant crown until the Bolshevik murders had been driven out of Russia. Over the course of a bloody three-year campaign, the Communists were roundly defeated, with many fleeing to various colonial planets and moons. By the time the danger had passed, Russia had been devastated. Massive casualties, general famine, and high social unrest eroded popular support for the remaining Romanovs, who had been forced to grant high-ranking boyars additional privileges and rights in exchange for supporting their tenuous cause. Many peoples who once were held by the Empire had broken off, never to rejoin. Notably, the Baltic States, Finland, and large parts of Ukraine broke off to join other nations.
Worse still, reliance on external Habsburg aid had cost them support at home, and when Patriarch Tikhon publicly refused to accede to the coronation of Alexander Mikhailovich as Tsar in 1921 due to his association with a powerful Catholic monarch, most of their remaining support collapsed. Under the threat of another devastating civil war, the Grand Duke abdicated his claim to the throne. He went on to form what came to be known as the Mikhailovich, or, more commonly, the Sandrovik faction, an alliance of Boyars and corporate interests within Russia to advocate for the claim of his line to the vacant throne.
Boyar-Corporate Supremacy
The Russian nobility weathered the attempted revolution quite well, gaining additional rights and privileges from the ill-fated and short-reigning Alexander Mikhailovich in exchange for their significant support against the Communists. While serfdom was not expanded as many of them petitioned for, their hold over their ancestral possessions greatly deepened. They gained the right to continue their own private militaries formed to combat the Red Army through peacetime, the ability to conduct commerce without oversight from the central government and with no regulation, and most importantly complete immunity from any and all taxation. This de-facto independence resulted in what many academics at the time called the disintegration of Russia. Boyar families came to rule massive semi-feudal estates, many of which were large enough to support well-equipped private armies. The largest of these estates is the land controlled by the combined members of the Mikhailovich faction, which includes most of the Russian territory along the Black Sea.
In this environment, Boyar families found themselves with sweeping autonomy, but much of the territory under their control was poor agricultural land with mainly uneducated rural populations. Many families turned to investment from the capital-rich corporations of their Imperial allies, especially the wealthy Ostend company, which opened dozens of subsidiaries in the territory of individual boyars. The influx of foreign capital and technical expertise allowed many estates to rapidly develop new infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, driving even greater levels of income inequality. The arrangement between the Ostend company and the Boyars was largely mutually beneficial, until their subsidiary companies began declaring total autonomy from their parent corporation with Boyar support in the early 1930s. These companies rebranded themselves under Russian names, and began working more closely with their Boyar patrons. The de-facto nationalization of these companies strained diplomatic relations with the Empire until British negotiators arbitrated an agreement in 1932, in which the Ostend company would relinquish control over all Russian corporations in exchange for a cash sum of five Billion Rubles.
The Long Regency
With the throne in Saint Petersburg left vacant for the past twenty years, the Russian bureaucratic apparatus has gone through upheaval. Most of the functions of the Tsar have been destroyed by Boyar's autonomy. Control over the “central” government is held by the Prince-Regent Felix Felixovich Yusupov, the Count of Sumarokov-Elston, who has assumed a tenuous hold on the central government and bureaucracy with the help of the nation's resurgent Boyar class. However, the Prince is still only Regent, not Tsar, and is officially tasked with appointing a suitable replacement for the Romanovs. Many outside Russia, particularly those with their own candidates to back, have become increasingly antagonistic towards the Yusupov government, who they justifiably claim are dragging their feet in the selection process to consolidate more power for themselves despite their oath not to seize the throne.
Notable candidates for the vacant throne include Prince Andrei, the current head of the Mikhailovich faction(also known as the Sandroviks), the young Count Edward Bernard Raczyński of Poland, and Archduke Ferdinand Karl of the Empire. Most unexpectedly, Ivan Petrovich Volkov, the director of the wealthiest of the newly independent subsidiary corporations, the Moskovskaya group, has also made their candidacy public, campaigning for the position as if it were a democratic institution. Many also rally behind the all too miraculous return of one Anastasia, tsarevna of the late Nicholas II. While her identity has not been proven, she is revered among the Nastyaviks of Yekaterinburg.
Other factions vie for power amongst the tumult of the Russian political sphere. The Okhotsk Techno-Union(OTU) controls the Earth side of the Nikolovsk Gate, and has cornered the market on various aether-based research topics. Russian Mongolia is currently united under the banner of Sergeltiin Khan, who has established a new Mongol Khanate under the banner of the Empire. His loyalties are seemingly to the regency, though some elder boyars remain skeptical of this “little king”. Many other groups work to overthrow the status quo in the fractured state, with their own internal battles for control.
Russian Militaries
The military of the Russian state still exists within areas that are under tight government control. As part of emergency measures during the Bolshevik revolution, then technically Tsar Alexander Mikhailovich issued an Ukaz allowing Boyars to raise their own private militaries if they would place them under the control of the state in times of “National Emergency.” However, this Ukaz specified that such an emergency could only be declared by the Tsar himself, and as no Tsar has reigned in twenty years, Boyar militaries have grown very independent. The quality of their training and equipment varies wildly according to many factors, including the danger of their immediate surroundings, guarantees of support from foreign interests such as the HRE or Poland, and the relationship between the Boyar family and their local corporation. In cases where corporations have achieved full autonomy from the regional Boyars the corporations often raise their own militaries, which are usually very small but given the very best training and top-of-the-line equipment. These forces serve as local enforcers, protecting corporate assets and participating in the increasingly vicious conflicts between rival Boyars and corporate espionage.
The freedom to act without ethical constraints being imposed on these corporations by the state has allowed for the development of some truly horrendous weapons. Chemical weapons of all kinds have become a Russian classic, with neurotoxin and acid compressed-air cannons finding their way into many Boyar and corporate militaries. Occasionally a communist cell will be uncovered, inevitably making the news and provoking an immediate response from all nearby Boyar and Corporate militaries, regardless of other circumstances, and allowing for experimental weapons testing. Vladimir Lenin has not been seen in Russia since the scouring of the Bolsheviks decades ago, and is suspected to be coordinating Communist infiltration from some unknown site off-world.
The Russian Empire- 1938
While the regency government has legally assumed what remains of the duties and responsibilities of the Tsar in his absence, its reliance on local support from lower nobility and the Orthodox Church to project control in its vast territories has resulted in a rapid decentralization which would have seemed preposterous half a century earlier. As a general rule, these local leaders hold more and more power the further they are away from the bureaucratic centers at Saint Petersburg and Moscow. The distant imperial provinces in Siberia, the Central Asian steppe, and the borderlands between Russia and her Western neighbors tend to melt into each other, as local lords maintain their on-paper allegiance to the Regency government, while either holding de facto independence or being politically dominated by nearby regional powers such as Poland and the HRE.
Internal stability and standard of living vary wildly between the domains of the petty lords. In some places, local leadership has been just and effective, resulting in islands of stable, if decentralized, government. However, for the most part, Russia is a sea of squabbling fiefdoms that have been known to extort travelers, close borders, and disrupt “internal” Russian trade. Corporate dominance has complicated this situation, as many corporations are given nearly full autonomy by their Boyar patrons in exchange for minimal taxes and the infrastructure they bring to their fiefdoms. It is not uncommon to see an indebted Boyar completely unable to control particularly powerful corporations, in effect reversing the relationship between them.
Many have pointed out that while serfdom is no longer legal in Russia, most Russians continue to work in grueling and unsafe conditions for meager pay. This often results in poor Russians ending up in debt to their employers, whose control over housing and food prices ensures that the citizens can never pay off their debt. Citizens who fall too far into debt with a corporation have been known to be abducted by corporate enforcers in the dead of night and never seen again, provoking rumors that some corporations are engaged in genetic weapons experiments that would be banned in any other country.
When war comes to Russia, how it will respond is anyone's guess. Despite its fractured nature, the once-great Empire of the North still hungers to expand its borders, and still nurses old grudges. Certainly it remembers who funded the Bolsheviks, and who once burned Moscow.
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