It was hoped that your defiance of expansion into Korea would be respected by the Japanese Empire, but unfortunately, that would not be the case. Japan launched a sneak attack at the Battle of Port Arthur, destroying several ships and killing over 100 Russians.(cycling-link:"[7]","Japan attacked Port Arthur because they believed that by first damaging the Russian navy stationed in the Sea of Japan, they would fare much better in their offensive war.") You have no choice but to declare war on Japan.
[[War]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 0)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))A Russian diplomat arrived in Tokyo to renegotiate with Japan and to dissuade against their occupation of Korea. Knowing that forcing Japan out of Korea entirely would mean war, your diplomat proposed to grant Japan the right to occupy southern Korea as well as the southern half of Sakhalin and the leased port of Dalian as compensation. In exchange, Russia would continue its influence over Manchuria as well as northern Korea.
A telegram arrived some time later concerning Japan's acceptance of this counteroffer.(cycling-link:"[*]","This is a random decision, which tells the player agent that the Japanese decision was important but out of Nicholas's control.") (set: $roll to (random: 1,2))
(if: $roll is 1)[Japan Refuses] (if: $roll is 2)[Japan Accepts]
(if: $roll is 1)[[Renegotiate]] (if: $roll is 2)[[Proceed]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 0)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))With the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War on February 8, 1904, celebrations are erupting all across the country, as the people and your advisors are confident Russia will win the war. Despite this, the war as of now is heading in an unfavorable direction. The Japanese army is rapidly advancing up the Korean peninsula and is laying siege to Port Arthur.(cycling-link:"[7]","Port Arthur was the primary Japanese target because it was the only major port owned by Russia in the Sea of Japan, meaning its capture would prevent a prominent Russian naval presence.") To break the siege, a fleet of battleships would need to be sent to break Japanese naval dominance, which you determined could be done by sending the Russian fleet stationed in the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan. However, sending this fleet could risk a Japanese ambush, which would result in considerable damage and loss of life. Also, many of your advisors including Sergei Witte are beginning to see this war as unwinnable and implore you to seek peace with Japan. You know that ending the war in a Russian defeat would be a considerable political embarrassment that would greatly damage your already weak reputation and increase civil unrest in Russia, however, you believe that victory is still reachable.
What will you do?
[[Continue the War]]
[[Surrender to Japan]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it - 5)(if: $time is 45)(print: (45))
By granting Japan the right to occupy Korea by signing the Treaty of Korea, you have prevented a war between the two empires and have avoided, or at the very least delayed, further destabilization and civil unrest. However, this decision was not supported by your military, who feel you weakly gave in to the demands of a less powerful nation.(cycling-link:"[*]","While not historical, prevention of the Russo-Japanese War would have eliminated the risk of the Russian people being outraged at losing the war, but would have had protest from your staff because Russia would have looked weak by giving in to the smaller Japan")
[[Meanwhile in St. Petersburg]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 0)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))As of the year 1904, your citizens have become increasingly angered, as your most influential advisor, Sergei Witte, has pressured you into rapidly increase industrial development. Without regulatory laws, rapid industrialization has forced many into the urban workforce, working lengthy shifts for very meager wages. Many of these workers are demanding you give them worker's rights and many liberal politicians demand that you reform the government to be less autocratic.(cycling-link:"[11]","Most of those who were discontent were not trying to overthrow the Tsar, but demanded that he give them rights and create an elected legislative assembly.") But a small yet growing number of your working class are harboring illegal support for communism and seek to overthrow you and transform the empire into a socialist state. As Russia continues to destabilize and with your popularity waning, you desperately need to gain the support of your people.
One opportunity to raise your support among your people could be found in the Far East. Both Russia and the Japanese Empire have conflicting ambitions to bring the Korean peninsula into their sphere of influence. You fear that Japanese expansion into Korea could threaten your influence in Manchuria. Japan, trying to avoid war, offered you a compromise: Both Japan and Russia would respect each other's influence over Korea and Manchuria respectively. You do not see this proposition as a fair deal, as Japan is a presumably much weaker nation than the Russian Empire. A hypothetical war with Japan could distract your people from their misery, and if you were to win, you believe you would be seen as a hero. However, a war against Japan would be costly and an extreme logistical challenge. You have a large fleet docked in Port Arthur off the coast of northern China, but it cannot easily return to Europe, meaning a war with Japan would risk this fleet being destroyed. Also, if Japan were to somehow win a hypothetical war, this would enrage your people to a substantial extent. Preventing war with Japan while also limiting their expansion into Korea could be possible by attempting to alter the compromise in your favor, however, there is no guarantee this would be accepted by Japan.
What will you do?
[[Accept Their Proposal]]
[[Refuse Their Proposal]]
[[Try to Reach a Different Compromise]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to 50)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))
(If 'Civil Unrest' reaches 100, a revolution will occur)Japan denied your counteroffer and will not accept any renegotiation. They now stand firm with their original proposal for complete Japanese influence over Korea in exchange for Russian influence over Manchuria.(cycling-link:"[*]","Japan was an ambitious empire and was adamant about their expansion, meaning it was possible for them to be firm on their compromise")
What will you do?
[[Accept Their Proposal]]
[[Refuse Their Proposal]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 0)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))After some debate, Japan accepted your counteroffer. Both your governments sign the Treaty of Korea, and over the next few weeks, the land transfer was finalized. Avoiding a potential war with Japan has slowed further civil unrest and destabilization. However, your military believes that ceding swathes of Russian land to Japan for evacuation from only half of Korea was an unequal trade.(cycling-link:"[*]","While not historical, prevention of the Russo-Japanese War would have eliminated the risk of the Russian people being outraged at losing the war, but would have had some protest from your staff because while Russia showed strength by altering the deal, Russia overall would have looked weak by giving in to the smaller Japan")
[[Meanwhile in St. Petersburg]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 0)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))His Incompetency: Tsar Nicholas II
By: KS
[[Begin the Story]]
[[Bibliography]] You are Nicholas II of Russia, the absolute monarch of the Russian Empire. You were born into the Romanov Imperial dynasty on May 18, 1868. After the death of your father, Alexander III, you were crowned as Tsar of the Russian Empire on November 1, 1894, believing to have been chosen by God. You ascended to the throne at a time of growing tension within Russia. Entering the 20th century, Russia lags behind many other European powers in industrial development and constitutional rights, instead remaining a feudal, agricultural-based, absolute monarchy. Many citizens within your empire are becoming increasingly angered with the lack of social change and modernization in Russia, and many doubt your ability to alleviate their suffering, as you have been largely unprepared for the role of Tsar.(cycling-link:"[1]","Nicholas, unlike many of Russia's previous tsars, was unprepared to govern the empire. This ignorance of how to govern was the reason for Nicholas's many poor decisions as Tsar.") As an autocrat, you want to retain as much authority as you can without angering your people enough to overthrow you.
[[Continue]]The decision to continue the war by rushing the Baltic fleet to Japan to break the Siege of Port Arthur was met with great condemnation by your military staff and civilians, and the fleet was plagued by various disasters. By the time the Baltic fleet was stationed in Madagascar, news had reached them that on January 2, 1905, Port Arthur surrendered to Japan.(cycling-link:"[5]","The Fall of Port Athur was a major disaster for Russia, as the entire Russian fleet stationed was destroyed, giving Japan a major strategic advantage.") Admiral Zinovy Petrovich Rozhestvensky ordered the fleet to station in the Far East Russian port of Vladivostok to stage a future offensive. But while approaching the Korean coast, a large Japanese fleet led by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō, aware of the fleet's route, attacked and sunk two-thirds of the Baltic fleet during the Battle of Tsushima.(cycling-link:"[7]","Japan was aware of Russia sending its Balkan fleet to the east and knew that the fleet were going to Vladivostok because it was the largest Russian port in Asia.")
[[Meanwhile in St. Petersburg]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 25)(if: $time is 70)(print: (70))
Deciding to surrender to Japan saved much of the trapped Russian fleet in Port Arthur and prevented a harsh peace treaty but was met with outrage and protests across Russia. On August 17, 1904, during the Treaty of Norfolk, hosted by United States president, Theodore Roosevelt, you agreed to recognize Japanese influence in Korea, and ceded the southern half of Sakhalin. Japan did, however, allow you to continue your influence in Manchuria.(cycling-link:"[*]","Surrendering to Japan earlier than when it actually occurred would have costed Russia fewer lives and resources, and Japan could not press for as much land since they had not yet decisively defeated Russia.")
[[Meanwhile in St. Petersburg]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 15)(if: $time is 60)(print: (60))On January 22, 1905, thousands of peaceful protestors led by a priest named Father Gapon, held a demonstration outside the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg intending to deliver a petition to you, asking for better working conditions and government reform. In your absence, your uncle, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, ordered the guard surrounding the Winter Palace to stop the demonstrators, and over 100 people were killed after the troops opened fire. This tragedy became known as Bloody Sunday.(cycling-link:"[10]","While the massacre was not ordered by Nicholas, this heavily damaged his reputation and was the spark for the 1905 Revolution.")
(set: $time to it + 30)(if: $time is 100)(print: ([Fed up with the war with Japan, continued refusal for governmental reform, and the massacre from Bloody Sunday, thousands of people are rioting throughout the empire, thereby beginning the 1905 Russian Revolution. Many workers are organizing marches across St. Petersburg and other urban areas, demanding you give them rights; many liberal politicians are demanding you create a constitutionally bound assembly; and even many of your soldiers are expressing their discontent with you. Many of these strikes by the workers were being organized by communist revolutionaries such as Leon Trotsky, who were creating worker's councils called "soviets".(cycling-link:"[4]","Most communist revolutionaries did not form these soviets, as many prominent figures such as Vladimir Lenin were in exile.")
[[Proceed ]]]))(if: $time is not 100)(print: ([Protests are erupting across the country, as thousands of people are decrying your autocracy and calling for a constitutional monarchy, but this was not yet a revolution. Sergei Witte informs you that maintaining this oppressive autocracy would, over time, enrage your people enough to bring about your downfall, but you know if a strong constitutional monarchy were to be established in Russia, you would lose almost all your power.
In the years after Bloody Sunday, Witte pressured you to pass reforms minimally increasing worker's rights and democratization, stabilizing the empire, and calming much of the outrage by workers and liberal politicians. However, the continued calls for a constitution along with scandals involving the rumored influence Grigori Rasputin is having on you is lowering your public image.(cycling-link:"[*]","Because in this alternate history a constitution has still not been created, it would continue to be a source of conflict between Nicholas and the liberal politicians, therefore making civil unrest higher.")
[[Proceed ]]]))
Civil Unrest: (if: $time is 80)(print: (60))(if: $time is 90)(print: (60))(if: $time is 100)(print: (100))Bibliography
Click [[Here]] to go back home
1. “Research Guides: Czar Nicholas II: Topics in Chronicling America: Introduction.”
Library of Congress, Accessed 20 May 2024. https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling
america-czar-nicholas-ii
2. Britannica. "Aleksey Alekseyevich Brusilov." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 13, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksey-Alekseyevich-Brusilov.
3. Britannica. "February Revolution." Encyclopedia Britannica, March 1, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/topic/February-Revolution.
Britannica. "Russo-Japanese War." Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified March
28, 2024. Accessed May 5, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo
Japanese-War.
4. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Russian Revolution of 1905." Encyclopedia Britannica, May 8, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Revolution-of- 1905.
5. Britannica, 'Russo-Japanese War,' Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified March 28,
2024, accessed May 5, 2024, https://www.britannica.com/event/Russo-Japanese-
War.
6. Chamberlin, William Henry. "The First Russian Revolution." The Russian Review 26, no.
1 (1967): 4-12. https://doi.org/10.2307/126860.
7. Esthus, Raymond A. "Nicholas II and the Russo-Japanese War." The Russian Review
40, no. 4 (1981): 396-411. https://doi.org/10.2307/129919.
8. Gatrell, Peter. "Tsarist Russia at War: The View from Above, 1914–February 1917." The Journal of Modern History 87, no. 3 (2015): 668-700. https://doi.org/10.1086/682414.
9. Keep, John L. H. "Nicholas II." Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified November 17, 2023. Accessed March 8, 2024. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nicholas-II-
tsar-of-Russia.
10. “Short Term Cause - Bloody Sunday - Causes of the 1905 Revolution - Higher History Revision - BBC Bitesize.” BBC News, BBC, 22 Dec. 2022. www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zwxv34j/revision/6#:~:text=This%20demonstration%20of%20factory%20workers,causes%20of%20the%201905%20Revolution.
11. Wortman, Richard. "Nicholas II and the Revolution of 1905." In Russian Monarchy: Representation and Rule, edited by Gary Marker, 199-218. N.p.: Academic Studies Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt21h4wbq.14.
12. Uzefovich, Alexis M. “Russia in the World War, 1914-1918.” The Military Engineer 33,
no. 190 (1941): 324–31. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44564206.
Sergei Witte is putting a great deal of pressure on you to issue a manifesto as a prelude to a constitution to end the revolution.(cycling-link:"[11]","This declaration to create a constitution was a concession to the demands of the liberal politicians but did not address the worker's rights demanded by many of the people.") You greatly disapprove of this measure, as it would limit a large amount of your power by binding you to a future constitution, but this would also decrease civil unrest considerably. To end the revolution and maintain all your power would require you to order the military to fire upon the protestors, but the loyalty of your soldiers is not guaranteed, as an increasing amount are siding with the revolutionaries.
Incidentally, under great pressure from your advisors, including Witte, you agree to sign the Treaty of Portsmouth with Japan on September 5, 1905, thereby ending the Russo-Japanese War. Hosted by United States president, Theodore Roosevelt, you agree to recognize Japanese influence over Korea, cede the southern half of Sakhalin and the leased port of Dalian, and lose your influence over Manchuria.(cycling-link:"[5]","Japanese victory over Russia would gradually isolate them from the European powers and see them attempt to dominate East Asia over the next few decades.")
What will you do?
[[Issue the Manifesto]]
[[Crack Down on the Revolutionaries]]
Civil Unrest: (if: $time is 100)(print: (100))On July 28, 1914, The Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on your close ally, Serbia, prompting a rapid mobilization of your military. In response, Germany declared war on Russia followed shortly before declaring war against your ally, France. This sudden entry into war has taken you and your government by surprise: while the size of your army was very large, at 1.3 million men, Germany has much better equipped soldiers and many more miles of railway.(cycling-link:"[12]","Because of Russia's late industrialization, their forces generally had worse equipment and, therefore, performed worse.")
As of September, 1915, Germany has forced Russia out of Poland and is making swift advances in the Baltic region during the Great Retreat. You desperately need someone to replace your uncle, Grand Duke Nicholas, as commander-in-chief of the Russian army to repel the advances of the Central Powers. You notice that one of your generals, Aleksy Brusilov, Commander of the 8th Army, has shown himself to be one of the best generals of the war during his service in the Battle of Galicia.(cycling-link:"[2]","The Battle of Galicia had been a major success for Russia, as Austria-Hungary was forced out of much of their northeastern territory.") However, you begin to wonder if you yourself would be best suited for this role, as victories under your oversight would raise your popularity enormously. However, due to your lack of military knowledge, your advisors consider you appointing yourself to be a very unwise choice, as you are needed to govern the empire and any losses which occur under your command will directly damage your reputation among your people.
Who will you appoint as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army?
[[Aleksy Brusilov]]
[[You]]
Civil Unrest: (if: $time is 80)(print: (60))(if: $time is 90)(print: (60))(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))As your soldiers across the empire are ordered to open fire, many comply, and thousands of revolutionaries are killed within weeks, but this would receive international condemnation. However, the majority of your soldiers refused to follow through and joined the revolutionaries, as they were sympathetic of their cause and disliked your obstinacy to reform.(cycling-link:"[*]","Similar to the February Revolution, in this alternate escalation of the 1905 Russian Revolution, the soldiers would have disliked your acts of violence and severe repression of the revolutionaries, and many would have joined the protestors.")
After many workers and soldiers stormed the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, you were captured and forced to abdicate as Tsar. This new Provisional Russian Government implemented a constitution which satisfied the majority of the Russian people. In January 1906, it was decided by the legislative assembly, known as the Duma, to exile the Romanov dynasty to the German Empire and become the Republic of Russia. For the next few decades, you would be leader of the Imperial Russian government in exile within Germany until 1933 when Nazi Germany banned all other political parties. You would remain in Germany for the rest of your life, eventually dying peacefully in 1938 at the age of 70.
The End
[[Ending 3/3]]
Civil Unrest: (if: $time is 100)(print: (100))Facing immense pressure, on October 17, 1905, you begrudgingly issued the October Manifesto which created a legislative assembly, known as the Duma, and in 1906, The Fundamental Laws and a constitution were formed, transforming Russia into a less autocratic empire, and making Witte the Prime Minister of Russia.(cycling-link:"[11]","Witte would only be prime minister until April 1906, as he was forced to resign after having a falling out with Nicholas due to their continued disagreements.") This constitution satisfied the demands of the liberal politicians, and throughout the next year, your troops dismantled the soviets and put down the people still demanding for increased worker's rights, ending the 1905 Russian Revolution.
Over the next few years, unrest among the people began to subside and the empire began to stabilize, yet many of those who had revolted in the 1905 Russian Revolution were executed. The Duma which had formed after the revolution was made largely ineffective at regulating you after you created Article 87, allowing you to pass laws when the Duma was not in session.(cycling-link:"[11]","This exploitation of the Duma between 1906-1914 still allowed Nicholas to make certain absolute decisions without causing considerable unrest.") However, scandals involving the rumored influence Grigori Rasputin is having on you is continuing to lower your public image.
[[Proceed ]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it - 50)(if: $time is 50)(print: (50))
You have unlocked the ending: "Pure Tyrant"
Click [[Here]] to return to the start.Honored to be promoted to the highest office in the Russian military, General Brusilov heads out to the frontlines to manage the German offensive. While public unrest is beginning to rise due to the considerably high casualty rate of the Russian army, Brusilov has made decisive successes along the Eastern Front. After first ensuring proper supplies were sent to much of his army, Brusilov met the Central Powers at the Battle of Strypa, ending in a decisive Russian victory, forcing the Central Powers back to the Polish-Russian border, beginning trench warfare on the Eastern Front. Despite the trench warfare, in late 1916, major advancements known as the Brusilov offenses were made in Galicia and Prussia that saw Russia seize control over the important cities of Königsberg and Lwów. Russia with aid from Romania made a major offensive west in mid-1917 which saw Germany forced out of Poland and the capture of Cluj. With Allied advances in the Western Front, the Central Powers surrendered throughout the final months of 1917.(cycling-link:"[*]","Brusilov as the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army would have been far more competent than the historical command by Nicholas. Meaning that not only would more victories would have been won, but any losses would not have been directly damaging to Nicholas.") In the Treaties of Versailles and Lublin, Germany was forced to cede the Polish corridor to Russia and give Silesia independence as a close Russian ally. Austria-Hungary ceded Galicia before rapidly splitting apart.
Russia has emerged victorious from the Great War, and your popularity soars as you and Brusilov are celebrated as heroes who saved Russia. Following the war, the Communists led by Vladimir Lenin desperately launched a failed coup in Petrograd (formerly St. Peterburg) in 1919. You would lead and modernize Russia for decades, all while maintaining your autocratic monarchy. You would die peacefully in 1938 at the age of 70, with your son, Alexi succeeding you as Tsar Alexi I of Russia. Your son worked to gradually dismantle the autocratic system you had maintained throughout the past half century, eventually creating a democratic Russia in the early 1940s closely allied with the Western powers and a staunch rival of a resurgent Nazi Germany.(cycling-link:"[*]","Because of the even harsher terms that would be placed on Germany in this alternate history, Nazism would still arise in Germany, but it would take longer for Germany to rearm")
The End
[[Ending 2/3]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it - 30)(if: $time is 20)(print: (20))(if: $time is 50)(print: (20))(if: $time is 60)(print: (20))Against the advice of almost all of your advisors, you appointed yourself as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army and head to the frontlines. Your wife, Empress Alexandria was left in charge of running the country in your absence, but she was deeply unpopular due to her being first cousins with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and suspected of being seduced and manipulated by Rasputin, who was assassinated in 1916.(cycling-link:"[9]","Rasputin was murdered by a group of noblemen due to tarnishing the reputation of the Romanov dynasty and being suspected of subverting Russia") The Eastern Front would remain in a stalemate despite the mixed success that came with the Brusilov offensive in 1916. As both the Commander-in-Chief and autocratic head of state, you were seen as responsible for the failures of both the war effort and the collapsing economy. The February Revolution began on International Women's Day in February 23, 1917, when around 30% of the workers in Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) launched a general strike demanding better wages and battled with the local police. After you ordered the Imperial Guard to suppress the revolutionaries, the guard joined the protestors and began to seize the capital city. While in your residence in Pskov, a group of generals and liberal politicians confronted you and forced you to abdicate as Tsar.(cycling-link:"[3]","Nicholas was convinced by the generals and politicians who confronted him that abdicating would calm the unrest across much of the country, as he no longer possessed the loyalty of his army.")
You and your whole family were transported by the new Provisional Government to Yekaterinburg and placed under house arrest. In the year following your abdication, conditions would worsen during the Russian Civil War when the communist Red forces were in control of the city. With the loyalist White forces on their way to seizing Yekaterinburg, a group of Red Army soldiers entered your home and opened fire, killing you and your entire family. The Red forces would go on to win the Russian Civil War and in 1922 created the Soviet Union under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin.
The End
[[Ending 1/3]]
Civil Unrest: (set: $time to it + 50)(if: $time is 100)(print: (100))(if: $time is 130)(print: (100))(if: $time is 140)(print: (100))
(if: $time is 100)(print: ([Congratulations! All the choices you have made were the choices made by the real Tsar Nicholas II.]))You have unlocked the ending: "Pax Russica"
Click [[Here]] to return to the start.You have unlocked the ending: "Soviet Russia"
Click [[Here]] to return to the start.