Stormbringer
The Brick and The Rose
Prologue
Mikhail Vorontsov shrugged as he walked outside into the snow. After three hours of waiting for the second day in a row he was informed that the Tsar would not see him, military parades are more important than whatever Vorontsov has to say. Damn the Tsar, he muttered to himself as he made his way across the piles of snow, but then quickly added, may God protect him. Red in the face and covered in snow he arrived at the Chancellery building in the corner of the Kremlin. When he walked and was greeted by the Directors of the Second and Third Departments of the Chancellery the first words to come out of his mouth were, This has got to change!
The Chancellery is a peculiar institution in Russian political life. It originated as a body that was to advise the Tsar on different issues, but as the country grew, so did the need for regulation and enforcement, the need for a government that responded to every day needs. The Chancellery fulfilled that need and slowly warped into the entity that enforced the laws of the land. During the reign of competent and active Tsars the Chancellery had limited influence. On the other hand, when a weaker Tsar, who paid little attention to the country, ruled, the Chancellery played a major role. The current situation was the latter.
Tsar Vladimir IV, a tall, handsome man with blond hair, was a brilliant speaker and a bright individual, but he cared only about the military, and did not want to hear a word about diplomacy, economics, politics, or anything else. Thankfully for the country he appointed a strong-willed man to be his Chancellor, Aleksey Bestuzhev. While the Tsar was off on his expeditions, first to Turkey and now to Sweden, Bestuzhev did everything he could to keep the country running smoothly, and to prevent any crisis that could undermine the country from developing. His policies were rarely popular, and over three years he has won quite a few enemies in the Russian court.
This was the person Vorontsov had come to see with his problems. If the Tsar would not do anything, then perhaps the Chancellor would. The two directors who were talking to each other in the hall before Vorontsov came in calmed him down a bit and asked what had happened. Apparently Vorontsov, a prominent nobleman in Moscow, has deposited some of his money in a bank, and now the bank would not pay him back. Yuri Sokolov whistled out loud and said, Thats your department Mikhail, good luck dealing with it. Mikhail Sedov frowned, but invited Vorontsov in for a talk. In fact the problem was much greater than just a single bank, and the Chancellery was already aware of the fact that somewhere along the way a number of creditors defaulted, and now the whole system was stopped, because people were afraid to pay their loans, unsure if the people who owed them money would pay.
As Sedov and Vorontsov talked about the problem Chancellor Bestuzhev appeared in Sedovs office. Mikhail, he said, getting Sedovs attention, and when he had it he gestured with his head to the door. Sedov got up and left the office without further discussion. Bestuzhev set down on the corner of a desk and begun to talk, Well, Vorontsov, you see we have a problem on our hands, and I was wondering if you would be willing to help us
What a Little Inspiration and a Little Vodka Can Accomplish
Vornotsov and Aleksey Denisov finished their drink. Now, I must say, begun Denisov, this is a pretty good idea. Yeah pretty good I think we will do it. Vorontsov clapped his hands together and let out a cry of approval, and then poured another drink for each of them. No, not now. It is almost two, and we start soon. Afterwards though, we can continue. Denisov got up and proceeded to the door in his curious wobbly walk. Vorontsov looked at his back, then at the table, and then drank both of the shots and followed Denisov outside.
On his way to the Sobor Vorontsov saw Sergey Smirnov and ran to catch up with him. Smirnov was a very old, tall and skinny noble, with a very stern gaze, but he came from one of the most respected families in Russia and his word carried a lot of weight in the Sobor. Vorontsov came up to him and begun to talk very actively, gesticulating a lot, and losing his hat twice. Smirnov didnt say a word throughout the emotional presentation, and just nodded at the end of it. Right before entering to Sobor the two noblemen met Boris Asimov, a banker and a shopkeeper in Moscow. He greeted them and begun talking to Smirnov. Vorontsov, distrustful of bankers at the very least, quickly left to take a seat.
We will now leave our heroes again for a little while in order to learn more about the Zemsky Sobor. This parliamentary assembly was created a long time ago, when Russia was a young country, and it still functioned the same way. The commoners, the nobility, and the church held equal representation in the Sobor, and met every other week to discuss what is going on in the country. Officially the Sobor was charged with passing laws and creating the legal workings of the country. In reality, everything could be done with a decree by the Tsar, so laws were not necessary. In general the Sobor occupied itself with trivial matters and anything that allowed its members to feel important, while the Tsar made the decisions that mattered.
Today, however, Denisov was inspired by Vorontsov, and by a few glasses of vodka, to do something important. He started banging his gavel and called out, I call this meeting to order! and kept banging the gavel a few times even after everyone settled down, just to make a point. It has been brought to my attention that the country is in trouble! He banged his gavel again. In danger! Gavel again. In peril! Again. While we have been sitting here our country has been falling apart! Our Tsar goes off to war and we have no one to run this place. We need to do something! What do they need to do? Well, Denisov didnt know, and neither did Vorontsov, but they were convinced that they needed to do something. Well it is somewhat hard to argue against doing something, although a few people did try. In the end the Sobor voted that something had to be done, and even gave it a name Reform. What would this Reform be? There are lots of smart people around, someone would come up with something, Vorontsov thought. The important thing is that they did something. For the first time he felt extraordinarily proud to be in the Sobor. He almost wanted to continue to discuss the Reform, but it was not to be. While almost everyone was in favor of doing something, some noblemen were getting worried that with this whole doing something business they would have to stay longer than two hours, and in that case it was better to do nothing. The meeting was adjourned for two weeks.
Having done their jobs Vorontsov and Denisov met up again and continued their party well into the night.
Tug of War
Sergey Smirnov was hurrying across the Kremlin courtyard to a small, old building on the side. Few people knew what is inside, and fewer yet ever came in. When Smirnov came in he was greeted by Yuri Orlov, a retired military man who now advised the Tsar. Slutsky, where is Slutsky? asked Smirnov, visibly frustrated. Orlov just pointed to a door at his left.
The door flew open and Smirnov started yelling before he even made it all the way inside. What do you think you are doing? You trying to play me with this reform? Slutsky was taken by surprise, something that does not generally happen to him, and it took him well over half an hour to convince Smirnov that he had nothing to do with the proposed reform. After two drinks and much explaining Smirnov stopped shouting.
At that point Slutsky was able to get some reasonable information out of him. Apparantly Denisov and Vorontsov moved to create a Reform in the Sobor, and almost all were in favor. Now Smirnov, a prominent member of the Sobor, wanted to know exactly what this Reform would do. Slutsky listened to his account of what happened, and at the end muttered to himself, God damn Bestuzhev
Slutsky hated Bestuzhev. He served as the Tsars chancellor before the charming, young, brilliant Bestuzhev swept in and displaced him. Slutsky remained very close with the Tsar and now served as his main advisor, but the Sobor was in love with Bestuzhev and officially Slutsky was nothing more than a lowly noble because of Bestuzhevs rise. And now it seemed Bestuzhev wanted to take even more of the pie for himself. Well, Slutsky thought, we will see what the Tsar has to say about that.
On the other side of the Kremlin Bestuzhev had gathered a meeting of the High Council. This was a semi-official institution that was in charge of the Chancellery. The Chancellor was appointed by the Tsar with the understood approval from the Sobor. There was never a vote, but the appointment was never challenged. Six Magistrates were chosen by the Sobor and served until they were removed or resigned. Five out of twelve regional governors also served on the Council, and rotated every year. But having set up this complex organization for the Council the Sobor forgot to officially designate what the Council was in charge of, and so currently the meetings were rare and never amounted to much.
Bestuzhev managed to find all eleven other members and gather them in the building that housed the Chancellery. Gentlemen, he started, the Sobor has finally realized that this country needs a serious change. They have accepted a call for a reform, and will deliberate within the next two weeks. I have here a plan for a reform I wish them to adopt, and I would like this Council to recommend it. He passes out a few pages with writing scribbled on them.
The proposed reform would create a much more centralized and organized system than the one that currently existed. Much of the power would also be transferred from the Tsar to the Chancellery and the High Council. The economic power, the diplomacy, the internal development, they would all be taken care of by the Chancellery. The Tsar would become simply the head for the state and retain his military commanding position. Within the Chancellery the Chancellor himself would gain quite a bit more power than he had now, a proposal that was probably the most controversial for this group of people.
Traditionally the Chancellery has been controlled by the Russian Aristocracy. All of the Governors came from Aristocratic families, and it was rare for a non-Aristocrat to be appointed Magistrate. The Chancellor himself was in alignment with the goals of the Aristocracy, but not to the point that the Aristocracy would willingly give him the power they now wielded. One by one the Governors rejected the notion of a strongly centralized state with so much being controlled from Moscow. The Magistrates spoke one after another, almost all of them rejected the transfer of power to the Chancellor. A notable exception in this trend was Magistrate Lavr Lazorev, who spoke strongly in support of the centralization reforms, and tentatively in support of the proposal as a whole. It was clear, however, that he was in the minority. Bestuzhev adjourned the meeting without taking a vote.
While this was going on Slutsky and the other advisor to the Tsar, Orlov, were working hard. Bestuzhev was playing a game and they had to beat him. If they lost, not only would the Tsar lose some of his power (at this point they had no idea of the extent of the reforms proposed by Bestuzhev) but with the Tsar Slutsky and Orlov themselves would lose power. But what to do? Slutsky proposed that they begin working on a counter-reform, one that would grant them more power instead of Bestuzhev. The Tsar could be easily persuaded to support it, and then, in effect, his advisors would run the country while he attended military parades. A quick outline was drawn up by the end of the night.
But Slutsky didnt go to sleep. And when Orlov tried to Slutsky dumped a bucket of water on him. They needed to outplay Bestuzhev and Slutsky had a plan. There was no doubt in his mind that Bestuzhev would try to use his High Council to support his proposal. That must not be. If, for some reason, a Magistrate was needed and the Sobor was not in session the Tsar could possibly appoint his own. Orlov looked at Slutsky for a minute, not sure of what the top advisor meant by that, but then the concept sunk in. Orlov was put in charge of that part of the plan, while Slutsky would convince the Patriarch of the Church to go along with their proposal. Slutsky went to sleep happy while Orlov tried to dry his cloths by the fire.
The Hammer and the Anvil
After the Sunday service at the Cathedral Patriarch Sergii met the leading leaders of Moscow the way he usually did. Slutsky stood in a back corner, and allowed the Patriarch to take charge. Sergii talked in his booming voice about the degrading authority of the Tsar, the loss of traditional values and the threat of decentralization to the country and its society. The Patriarch was not unknown to meddle in political affairs, but the message this time was much stronger than usual the Patriarch was supporting the Tsar and Slutskys centralization reform.
Half way through the meeting Bestuzhev got up and walked out. The idiot Patriarch, he thought, what does he know about politics? In reality, the Patriarch has been navigating the currents of Moscows political life for two decades now, and was a rather experiences intrigue player. He single handedly controlled one third of the Sobor, since there was not a single representative from the Church who would vote against him. Many thought that such a huge influence of the Church was folly, but to speak out against the Patriarch was suicide, and not only in the political sense.
Bestuzhev lost the Aristocracy and the Church. The most he could hope for was a one third vote in favor of his reform. The only thing that seemed to save him was the fact that Slutskys reform would not be popular with the Aristocracy either. By aligning the Church with the Tsar Slutsky implicitly alienated the Aristocracy which wanted decentralization. And since the enemy of my enemy is my friend in Moscow, Bestuzhev once again went to the Aristocratic leaders.
Denisov and Vorontsov, more sober now than they were during the meeting of the Sobor, assured him that the last thing they want to see is a strong Tsar and Patriarch. That was at least something. They sat down and begun to modify the Chancellors reform proposal to be acceptable to the Aristocratic leaders. If he had to compromise it would be with the Nobles, not with the Tsar. They settled on a balanced system of centralization where the local governors maintained quite a bit of power, but still reported to Moscow. And, for the Chancellor, they included the transfer of economic control to the High Council.
Bestuzhev, having done some damage control on the Patriarchs statement, returned to his office where even worse news awaited him. Pyotr Valuev, one of the Magistrates that spoke in favor of his reform program at the High Council meeting, was killed by someone earlier today. Another Magistrate who supported him, Georgy Lvov, resigned without giving a reason for the resignation and left the city. The Tsars advisors have already named two new Magistrates, Evgeny Psov and Mikhail Ilyn, both loyal to the Tsar and to Slutsky. Those were two guaranteed votes against the reform.
To make things worse the Patriarch was at it again. He claimed, in the public, that Magistrate Valuev who was killed was punished by God for opposing the Tsar and the Church and Magistrate Lvov had the good reason to repent and leave. He finished with a thinly veiled threat that those who continue to oppose the Tsar will meet a similar fate.
Bestuzhev was furious. The old, corrupt idiot was going to scare everyone from supporting the reform. He needed quickly to come up with something before he lost this battle or worse.
Boris Asimov was a banker. He always calculated profits and losses, and applied the same thinking to politics. If the profits were higher than the losses it was a good deal otherwise, he was not involved. What would it take for him to support Bestuzhevs plan of reform? Decentralized government, freedom to operate without restrictions. Government support for business ventures. Slowly but surely Bestuzhev and Asimov came to a deal. The banker and his friends would support the reform if it came to a vote, as long as Bestuzhev promised government support for business ventures.
The High (and the Low) Council
Fyodor Trepov caught up with Bestuzhev outside the Kremlin. The Governor was an open, straight forward person, who wanted to know if Bestuzhev would push his reform at the meeting of the High Council he called tonight. Bestuzhev talked with him for a few minutes and assured him that he would seek input from all members of the Council. After all, he didnt run the Council, it was a body where all had equal say. The reassured Trepov left to spend the rest of the afternoon with some friends.
Bestuzhev, on the other hand, had one more errand he had to run. He met Denisov, the chairman of the Sobor, once more, and talked for almost two hours about the type of reform the Sobor would discuss. After a prolonged discussion Bestuzhev convinced Denisov that only the Tsar and the High Council had the power to recommend a reform to the Sobor. When Denisov accepted this vision Bestuzhev smiled broadly, and went off to his meeting of the Council feeling victorious. The Tsar was in Sweden, and he would not come back in time for the Sobor meeting.
The members of the High Council took their seats and Bestuzhev begun to re-cap what happened in the last few days. He emphasized once again that the Council had a duty to recommend a reform to the Sobor, since the Tsar was away. Advisor Slutsky and the Patriarch have pushed very strongly over the last few days for a centralized reform that would grant extensive control over the regions to the Tsar, and would severely weaken the power of the noble families Bestuzhev summarized. He knew that it all depended on his presentation of the two alternatives. On the other hand we have a reform that is backed by the leaders of the Aristocratic and Commoner circles, and would strengthen the power of local governors and protect the nobility from attempts by the Church and the Tsar to infringe on their autonomy Not completely true, but close enough, Bestuzhev thought. He needed to make sure that the members of the Council felt threatened.
The two new appointees to the Council spoke out in favor of Slutskys reforms. Nether one of them was bright, as Bestuzhev quickly learned, and the argument said that all were required to follow the Tsars wishes. Bestuzhev did not stop them as they agitated more and more of the members on the Council. And then he begun his counter-offensive.
Lavr Lazorev rebutted the arguments made by the two new appointees. He was a strong supporter of the country and believed that only through regional development the country could grow strong. Moscow does not know what goes on in the West and the South, and those regions must maintain Autonomy. Then Governor Balabanov spoke and attacked Slutskys reforms for granting too much power to the Tsar and taking away the Democratic principles of the country. Magistrate Markov, a respected noble, argues next that the aristocracy must become independent. We will never accept the fact that the Tsar and the Church want to curb our power. We will stay strong. When Bestuzhevs allies were done, it appeared that he would triumph.
Magistrate Psov, one of Slutskys appointments, attempted to rebuff and cite the Church, we must respect the Church, we must listen to the Patriarch or- Bestuzhev interrupted him, -or we will end up dead, like our good friend who sat in that chair before you. Neither of Slutskys appointments spoke up after that. The Council voted 10-1-1 to recommend the new reform proposed by Bestuzhev to the Sobor.
Two days later, notwithstanding the passionate attack Slutsky led against it, the Reform recommended by the Council passed, as the Aristocrats and the Commoners backed it, feeling threatened by the Church and the power of the Tsar. When the Tsar heard about the reform he shrugged and allegedly said, As long as our plans for the Great War remain unchanged, who cares about economics?
Mikhail Vorontsov shrugged as he walked outside into the snow. After three hours of waiting for the second day in a row he was informed that the Tsar would not see him, military parades are more important than whatever Vorontsov has to say. Damn the Tsar, he muttered to himself as he made his way across the piles of snow, but then quickly added, may God protect him. Red in the face and covered in snow he arrived at the Chancellery building in the corner of the Kremlin. When he walked and was greeted by the Directors of the Second and Third Departments of the Chancellery the first words to come out of his mouth were, This has got to change!
The Chancellery is a peculiar institution in Russian political life. It originated as a body that was to advise the Tsar on different issues, but as the country grew, so did the need for regulation and enforcement, the need for a government that responded to every day needs. The Chancellery fulfilled that need and slowly warped into the entity that enforced the laws of the land. During the reign of competent and active Tsars the Chancellery had limited influence. On the other hand, when a weaker Tsar, who paid little attention to the country, ruled, the Chancellery played a major role. The current situation was the latter.
Tsar Vladimir IV, a tall, handsome man with blond hair, was a brilliant speaker and a bright individual, but he cared only about the military, and did not want to hear a word about diplomacy, economics, politics, or anything else. Thankfully for the country he appointed a strong-willed man to be his Chancellor, Aleksey Bestuzhev. While the Tsar was off on his expeditions, first to Turkey and now to Sweden, Bestuzhev did everything he could to keep the country running smoothly, and to prevent any crisis that could undermine the country from developing. His policies were rarely popular, and over three years he has won quite a few enemies in the Russian court.
This was the person Vorontsov had come to see with his problems. If the Tsar would not do anything, then perhaps the Chancellor would. The two directors who were talking to each other in the hall before Vorontsov came in calmed him down a bit and asked what had happened. Apparently Vorontsov, a prominent nobleman in Moscow, has deposited some of his money in a bank, and now the bank would not pay him back. Yuri Sokolov whistled out loud and said, Thats your department Mikhail, good luck dealing with it. Mikhail Sedov frowned, but invited Vorontsov in for a talk. In fact the problem was much greater than just a single bank, and the Chancellery was already aware of the fact that somewhere along the way a number of creditors defaulted, and now the whole system was stopped, because people were afraid to pay their loans, unsure if the people who owed them money would pay.
As Sedov and Vorontsov talked about the problem Chancellor Bestuzhev appeared in Sedovs office. Mikhail, he said, getting Sedovs attention, and when he had it he gestured with his head to the door. Sedov got up and left the office without further discussion. Bestuzhev set down on the corner of a desk and begun to talk, Well, Vorontsov, you see we have a problem on our hands, and I was wondering if you would be willing to help us
What a Little Inspiration and a Little Vodka Can Accomplish
Vornotsov and Aleksey Denisov finished their drink. Now, I must say, begun Denisov, this is a pretty good idea. Yeah pretty good I think we will do it. Vorontsov clapped his hands together and let out a cry of approval, and then poured another drink for each of them. No, not now. It is almost two, and we start soon. Afterwards though, we can continue. Denisov got up and proceeded to the door in his curious wobbly walk. Vorontsov looked at his back, then at the table, and then drank both of the shots and followed Denisov outside.
On his way to the Sobor Vorontsov saw Sergey Smirnov and ran to catch up with him. Smirnov was a very old, tall and skinny noble, with a very stern gaze, but he came from one of the most respected families in Russia and his word carried a lot of weight in the Sobor. Vorontsov came up to him and begun to talk very actively, gesticulating a lot, and losing his hat twice. Smirnov didnt say a word throughout the emotional presentation, and just nodded at the end of it. Right before entering to Sobor the two noblemen met Boris Asimov, a banker and a shopkeeper in Moscow. He greeted them and begun talking to Smirnov. Vorontsov, distrustful of bankers at the very least, quickly left to take a seat.
We will now leave our heroes again for a little while in order to learn more about the Zemsky Sobor. This parliamentary assembly was created a long time ago, when Russia was a young country, and it still functioned the same way. The commoners, the nobility, and the church held equal representation in the Sobor, and met every other week to discuss what is going on in the country. Officially the Sobor was charged with passing laws and creating the legal workings of the country. In reality, everything could be done with a decree by the Tsar, so laws were not necessary. In general the Sobor occupied itself with trivial matters and anything that allowed its members to feel important, while the Tsar made the decisions that mattered.
Today, however, Denisov was inspired by Vorontsov, and by a few glasses of vodka, to do something important. He started banging his gavel and called out, I call this meeting to order! and kept banging the gavel a few times even after everyone settled down, just to make a point. It has been brought to my attention that the country is in trouble! He banged his gavel again. In danger! Gavel again. In peril! Again. While we have been sitting here our country has been falling apart! Our Tsar goes off to war and we have no one to run this place. We need to do something! What do they need to do? Well, Denisov didnt know, and neither did Vorontsov, but they were convinced that they needed to do something. Well it is somewhat hard to argue against doing something, although a few people did try. In the end the Sobor voted that something had to be done, and even gave it a name Reform. What would this Reform be? There are lots of smart people around, someone would come up with something, Vorontsov thought. The important thing is that they did something. For the first time he felt extraordinarily proud to be in the Sobor. He almost wanted to continue to discuss the Reform, but it was not to be. While almost everyone was in favor of doing something, some noblemen were getting worried that with this whole doing something business they would have to stay longer than two hours, and in that case it was better to do nothing. The meeting was adjourned for two weeks.
Having done their jobs Vorontsov and Denisov met up again and continued their party well into the night.
Tug of War
Sergey Smirnov was hurrying across the Kremlin courtyard to a small, old building on the side. Few people knew what is inside, and fewer yet ever came in. When Smirnov came in he was greeted by Yuri Orlov, a retired military man who now advised the Tsar. Slutsky, where is Slutsky? asked Smirnov, visibly frustrated. Orlov just pointed to a door at his left.
The door flew open and Smirnov started yelling before he even made it all the way inside. What do you think you are doing? You trying to play me with this reform? Slutsky was taken by surprise, something that does not generally happen to him, and it took him well over half an hour to convince Smirnov that he had nothing to do with the proposed reform. After two drinks and much explaining Smirnov stopped shouting.
At that point Slutsky was able to get some reasonable information out of him. Apparantly Denisov and Vorontsov moved to create a Reform in the Sobor, and almost all were in favor. Now Smirnov, a prominent member of the Sobor, wanted to know exactly what this Reform would do. Slutsky listened to his account of what happened, and at the end muttered to himself, God damn Bestuzhev
Slutsky hated Bestuzhev. He served as the Tsars chancellor before the charming, young, brilliant Bestuzhev swept in and displaced him. Slutsky remained very close with the Tsar and now served as his main advisor, but the Sobor was in love with Bestuzhev and officially Slutsky was nothing more than a lowly noble because of Bestuzhevs rise. And now it seemed Bestuzhev wanted to take even more of the pie for himself. Well, Slutsky thought, we will see what the Tsar has to say about that.
On the other side of the Kremlin Bestuzhev had gathered a meeting of the High Council. This was a semi-official institution that was in charge of the Chancellery. The Chancellor was appointed by the Tsar with the understood approval from the Sobor. There was never a vote, but the appointment was never challenged. Six Magistrates were chosen by the Sobor and served until they were removed or resigned. Five out of twelve regional governors also served on the Council, and rotated every year. But having set up this complex organization for the Council the Sobor forgot to officially designate what the Council was in charge of, and so currently the meetings were rare and never amounted to much.
Bestuzhev managed to find all eleven other members and gather them in the building that housed the Chancellery. Gentlemen, he started, the Sobor has finally realized that this country needs a serious change. They have accepted a call for a reform, and will deliberate within the next two weeks. I have here a plan for a reform I wish them to adopt, and I would like this Council to recommend it. He passes out a few pages with writing scribbled on them.
The proposed reform would create a much more centralized and organized system than the one that currently existed. Much of the power would also be transferred from the Tsar to the Chancellery and the High Council. The economic power, the diplomacy, the internal development, they would all be taken care of by the Chancellery. The Tsar would become simply the head for the state and retain his military commanding position. Within the Chancellery the Chancellor himself would gain quite a bit more power than he had now, a proposal that was probably the most controversial for this group of people.
Traditionally the Chancellery has been controlled by the Russian Aristocracy. All of the Governors came from Aristocratic families, and it was rare for a non-Aristocrat to be appointed Magistrate. The Chancellor himself was in alignment with the goals of the Aristocracy, but not to the point that the Aristocracy would willingly give him the power they now wielded. One by one the Governors rejected the notion of a strongly centralized state with so much being controlled from Moscow. The Magistrates spoke one after another, almost all of them rejected the transfer of power to the Chancellor. A notable exception in this trend was Magistrate Lavr Lazorev, who spoke strongly in support of the centralization reforms, and tentatively in support of the proposal as a whole. It was clear, however, that he was in the minority. Bestuzhev adjourned the meeting without taking a vote.
While this was going on Slutsky and the other advisor to the Tsar, Orlov, were working hard. Bestuzhev was playing a game and they had to beat him. If they lost, not only would the Tsar lose some of his power (at this point they had no idea of the extent of the reforms proposed by Bestuzhev) but with the Tsar Slutsky and Orlov themselves would lose power. But what to do? Slutsky proposed that they begin working on a counter-reform, one that would grant them more power instead of Bestuzhev. The Tsar could be easily persuaded to support it, and then, in effect, his advisors would run the country while he attended military parades. A quick outline was drawn up by the end of the night.
But Slutsky didnt go to sleep. And when Orlov tried to Slutsky dumped a bucket of water on him. They needed to outplay Bestuzhev and Slutsky had a plan. There was no doubt in his mind that Bestuzhev would try to use his High Council to support his proposal. That must not be. If, for some reason, a Magistrate was needed and the Sobor was not in session the Tsar could possibly appoint his own. Orlov looked at Slutsky for a minute, not sure of what the top advisor meant by that, but then the concept sunk in. Orlov was put in charge of that part of the plan, while Slutsky would convince the Patriarch of the Church to go along with their proposal. Slutsky went to sleep happy while Orlov tried to dry his cloths by the fire.
The Hammer and the Anvil
After the Sunday service at the Cathedral Patriarch Sergii met the leading leaders of Moscow the way he usually did. Slutsky stood in a back corner, and allowed the Patriarch to take charge. Sergii talked in his booming voice about the degrading authority of the Tsar, the loss of traditional values and the threat of decentralization to the country and its society. The Patriarch was not unknown to meddle in political affairs, but the message this time was much stronger than usual the Patriarch was supporting the Tsar and Slutskys centralization reform.
Half way through the meeting Bestuzhev got up and walked out. The idiot Patriarch, he thought, what does he know about politics? In reality, the Patriarch has been navigating the currents of Moscows political life for two decades now, and was a rather experiences intrigue player. He single handedly controlled one third of the Sobor, since there was not a single representative from the Church who would vote against him. Many thought that such a huge influence of the Church was folly, but to speak out against the Patriarch was suicide, and not only in the political sense.
Bestuzhev lost the Aristocracy and the Church. The most he could hope for was a one third vote in favor of his reform. The only thing that seemed to save him was the fact that Slutskys reform would not be popular with the Aristocracy either. By aligning the Church with the Tsar Slutsky implicitly alienated the Aristocracy which wanted decentralization. And since the enemy of my enemy is my friend in Moscow, Bestuzhev once again went to the Aristocratic leaders.
Denisov and Vorontsov, more sober now than they were during the meeting of the Sobor, assured him that the last thing they want to see is a strong Tsar and Patriarch. That was at least something. They sat down and begun to modify the Chancellors reform proposal to be acceptable to the Aristocratic leaders. If he had to compromise it would be with the Nobles, not with the Tsar. They settled on a balanced system of centralization where the local governors maintained quite a bit of power, but still reported to Moscow. And, for the Chancellor, they included the transfer of economic control to the High Council.
Bestuzhev, having done some damage control on the Patriarchs statement, returned to his office where even worse news awaited him. Pyotr Valuev, one of the Magistrates that spoke in favor of his reform program at the High Council meeting, was killed by someone earlier today. Another Magistrate who supported him, Georgy Lvov, resigned without giving a reason for the resignation and left the city. The Tsars advisors have already named two new Magistrates, Evgeny Psov and Mikhail Ilyn, both loyal to the Tsar and to Slutsky. Those were two guaranteed votes against the reform.
To make things worse the Patriarch was at it again. He claimed, in the public, that Magistrate Valuev who was killed was punished by God for opposing the Tsar and the Church and Magistrate Lvov had the good reason to repent and leave. He finished with a thinly veiled threat that those who continue to oppose the Tsar will meet a similar fate.
Bestuzhev was furious. The old, corrupt idiot was going to scare everyone from supporting the reform. He needed quickly to come up with something before he lost this battle or worse.
Boris Asimov was a banker. He always calculated profits and losses, and applied the same thinking to politics. If the profits were higher than the losses it was a good deal otherwise, he was not involved. What would it take for him to support Bestuzhevs plan of reform? Decentralized government, freedom to operate without restrictions. Government support for business ventures. Slowly but surely Bestuzhev and Asimov came to a deal. The banker and his friends would support the reform if it came to a vote, as long as Bestuzhev promised government support for business ventures.
The High (and the Low) Council
Fyodor Trepov caught up with Bestuzhev outside the Kremlin. The Governor was an open, straight forward person, who wanted to know if Bestuzhev would push his reform at the meeting of the High Council he called tonight. Bestuzhev talked with him for a few minutes and assured him that he would seek input from all members of the Council. After all, he didnt run the Council, it was a body where all had equal say. The reassured Trepov left to spend the rest of the afternoon with some friends.
Bestuzhev, on the other hand, had one more errand he had to run. He met Denisov, the chairman of the Sobor, once more, and talked for almost two hours about the type of reform the Sobor would discuss. After a prolonged discussion Bestuzhev convinced Denisov that only the Tsar and the High Council had the power to recommend a reform to the Sobor. When Denisov accepted this vision Bestuzhev smiled broadly, and went off to his meeting of the Council feeling victorious. The Tsar was in Sweden, and he would not come back in time for the Sobor meeting.
The members of the High Council took their seats and Bestuzhev begun to re-cap what happened in the last few days. He emphasized once again that the Council had a duty to recommend a reform to the Sobor, since the Tsar was away. Advisor Slutsky and the Patriarch have pushed very strongly over the last few days for a centralized reform that would grant extensive control over the regions to the Tsar, and would severely weaken the power of the noble families Bestuzhev summarized. He knew that it all depended on his presentation of the two alternatives. On the other hand we have a reform that is backed by the leaders of the Aristocratic and Commoner circles, and would strengthen the power of local governors and protect the nobility from attempts by the Church and the Tsar to infringe on their autonomy Not completely true, but close enough, Bestuzhev thought. He needed to make sure that the members of the Council felt threatened.
The two new appointees to the Council spoke out in favor of Slutskys reforms. Nether one of them was bright, as Bestuzhev quickly learned, and the argument said that all were required to follow the Tsars wishes. Bestuzhev did not stop them as they agitated more and more of the members on the Council. And then he begun his counter-offensive.
Lavr Lazorev rebutted the arguments made by the two new appointees. He was a strong supporter of the country and believed that only through regional development the country could grow strong. Moscow does not know what goes on in the West and the South, and those regions must maintain Autonomy. Then Governor Balabanov spoke and attacked Slutskys reforms for granting too much power to the Tsar and taking away the Democratic principles of the country. Magistrate Markov, a respected noble, argues next that the aristocracy must become independent. We will never accept the fact that the Tsar and the Church want to curb our power. We will stay strong. When Bestuzhevs allies were done, it appeared that he would triumph.
Magistrate Psov, one of Slutskys appointments, attempted to rebuff and cite the Church, we must respect the Church, we must listen to the Patriarch or- Bestuzhev interrupted him, -or we will end up dead, like our good friend who sat in that chair before you. Neither of Slutskys appointments spoke up after that. The Council voted 10-1-1 to recommend the new reform proposed by Bestuzhev to the Sobor.
Two days later, notwithstanding the passionate attack Slutsky led against it, the Reform recommended by the Council passed, as the Aristocrats and the Commoners backed it, feeling threatened by the Church and the power of the Tsar. When the Tsar heard about the reform he shrugged and allegedly said, As long as our plans for the Great War remain unchanged, who cares about economics?
.
Political intrigue, how i love thee...
)
