Bah **** it, i think this is being totally clique so i'll forget about it. I might crop up elsewhere but i really would have enjoyed Russia.
As Contempt said, its experience. In most cases it is best if a great power is ran by an experienced NESer; still, it is between you two in the end. As a compromise variant I'd like to propose... a civil war! After all, a Decembrist uprising equivalent seems to have occured, so Nicholas' powerbase is probably still rather shaky, while there still are some secret societies out there...
mildly democratic
You mean the Senate? Its kinda powerless, you know.
You do realise that the Senate is/was the Duma renamed and cosmetically changed, right?
Don't tell me you abolished serfdom as well.
Fair enough, its alright then; I was afraid you'd go on a social reform spree like you usually do. Do the nobles get to vote for their serfs as well as for themselves?
Due to it seeming a large part of my orders were ignored and Im already playing an Argentina in another NES that has much more potential, I'll be dropping.