NES2 VIb - Return of the Chaos.

[Lord_Iggy]

Ooh, a new chance to join... just let me read the Bt...

 

[Disenfrancised]

Wait a sec are those coal powered or oil powered airships ? And are they full of hot air or something else? "Something else" on such a large scale seems like more than just 26 years of development.

@iggy, grab a nation quickly, they'll run out soon!

 

[Cuivienen]

The current Emperor of China is the Shaoxi Emperor. I don't know what it means, but it sounds reasonable.

 

[Azale]

I think silver should have a shot at claiming India...sure his nation collapsed, but he shouldnt be screwed over by getting NOTHING.

That would leave only Paraguay, Romania, Incans, and Finland left as PC nations...

 

[Stormbringer]

Russia is here

 

[Symphony D.]

Aro? Saru. Sugee un haidoku ji bero! Wakarimas: Fettucini! H'alo! H'alo! Sugee, Picasso: Sandy Beef! [...] Noma, noma yay! Noma, noma yay! Noma, noma, noma yay!...

TO: Xin Han Chinese Empire
FROM: Japanese Empire
In the interests of continuing the regional stability that has served us so well these past years, and in accordance with the Treaty of Pusan, we would like to renew the Defensive Alliance between our two nations.

 

[Stormbringer]

The History of Russia​

1741-1755

This is the period that Vladimir IV has been Tsar. You know everything that happened during this period. Historically the most important events during this period for Russia’s history are the power struggles between Bestuzhev and his pro-democracy ideas vs. the establishment represented by the Tsar, the Church, and sometimes the Aristocracy. While before the Great War it was not clear whether Bestuzhev would emerge victorious or not the Great War changed it all and decimated the old regime that governed Russia. Tsar Vladimir IV was forced to abdicate in favor of his younger brother Mikhail II who was a known liberal and a supporter of Bestuzhev’s reforms, while Bestuzhev himself emerged virtually unscarred from the defeat in the Great War, ready to continue his reforms of Russia.

1755-1759

The years following Mikhail II ascension to the throne can be characterized in general as an explosion of liberal and democratic movements. When Tsar Vladimir IV abdicated most of the nobles who supported him fell out of favor and the political scene was virtually full with young and bright supporters of Mikhail II and Bestuzhev (the young Tsar was only in his yearly thirties). In this atmosphere of enthusiastic liberal thought Bestuzhev’s reforms found virtually no opposition and within the first two years the Chancellor finished his decentralization reforms. Now the 12 Gubernyas and their Governors had extensive local rights and local administrations became very prestigious career paths for young nobles. This prompted the exodus of the new young political generation that supported Mikhail out to the provinces where they were eagerly appointed to high positions, further empowering local administrations.
The last two years of the Bestuzhev administration were focused on rebuilding the country from the war. The young new nobles who took over the administration in the provinces were eager to build their Gubernyas up and quickly the effects of war begun to fade since war never reached Russia proper (except in a few isolated cases).

Economic recovery to the pre-war levels was relatively quick as there was little permanent damage done to Russia and Russia never depended on foreign trade heavily. Bestuzhev actively supported local investment by merchants and local nobles who were only eager to gain the Chancellor’s money and support for the purpose of improving their regions. The new liberal administrations were happy to support the merchant class and the manufacturers in their efforts to establish within their regions, and even competed between each other to offer the best conditions for the merchants and manufacturers within the country, and to attract the most economic activity to their region.

The exodus of young liberal administrators to the provinces coincided, and in part caused, the exodus of people from the rural areas to the cities. As economic development picked up more and more people were needed in the cities, and since Russia was in a state of diplomatic isolation there was nowhere to sell the surplus of agricultural products, hurting the prices. Over the last few years of the Bestuzhev regime the urban population of Russia grew as it has never before, creating both benefits and problems for the future.

By 1759 Mikhail II has established himself on the throne and begun to make his own moves for reforms. He was an even stronger liberal than Bestuzhev, and they became more and more at odds over the proposed reforms of Mikhail II. Finally their differences grew too big and in late 1759 Grand Chancellor Bestuzhev resigned from his position, but by that point Russia has already become the vision he had worked so hard towards.

1759-1763

Bestuzhev was replaced by one of the most prominent of the young nobles that supported Mikhail II – Mikhail Vorontsov. Vorontsov was a much weaker figure than Bestuzhev has been and did not oppose further reforms of Mikhail II. While the climate in the political circles remained completely supportive of Tsar Mikhail, and the country remained in a state of enthusiastic liberal euphoria (sort of like early revolutionary France, but with the Tsar leading the changes) only one institution remained an obstacle – the Church. But after five years of Mikhail’s rule most of the positions in his administration and in the local administrations have been filled by his supporters and his popularity grew by leaps. In 1760 he issued an edict banning the Church from all political activity and stripping it of all of its official power. The reforms culminated in a stand-off in Moscow when the few conservative nobles, supported by the Church, attempted to overthrow the government and restore Vladimir IV. Their efforts were crushed when General Suvorov led his Preobrazhensky Regiment into Moscow to crush the insurrection. Capitalizing on the chance to radically change the system Mikhail II disbanded the Zemsky Sobor, a legislature that was based on class, and created the Duma, a democratic institution that would encompass the people of all classes. While voting rights were still restricted to those with some amount of wealth and/or land, it was no longer dominated by the nobles and the clergy. The nobility, however, retained most of its power in the provinces, but its support for Mikhail has been undermined and this event marked the climax of Mikhail’s reforms. Following the events of 1760 he would proceed cautiously, knowing that the nobles who once supported him blindly have now grown fond of the power they have in the local provinces and would think twice before compromising it.

With the retreat of Tsar Mikhail from such active reforms Mikhail Vorontsov once again became a more important player in politics. He was a vehement supporter of Russia’s industrialization. He put state money to sponsor a railroad to the far east, and to build a number of settlements in the recourse-rich areas of Siberia. He was heavily criticized for his lack of diplomatic talent and his neglect of foreign affairs which kept Russia isolated in the world, but in back sight this isolation was probably necessary to re-structuring the Russian state from being oriented towards agriculture to being oriented towards resource extraction and industry. While in many other states it were the advances in agriculture that led the way for industrialization by allowing more people to move to the cities in Russia the process was reversed, and as the state supported more and more resource and industry-oriented projects the profits generated by industry were diverted back into resource gathering, including the agriculture. The most iconic project of Mikhail Vorontsov was the creation of a national railroad system, which in turn stimulated the iron, coal, steel industries, and allowed for easier resource extraction and transportation. Had Vorontsov been a better diplomat and had he negotiated more trade deals with the rest of the world as he was being pushed to, the development of Russian industry may have been more difficult or may have not happened at all, but in the isolation of post-Great War ear Russia found it incredibly easy to fend off foreign competition and focus on itself rather than on the world.

But the industrialization had its price. The movement of people to cities that started under Bestuzhev continued under Vorontsov and conditions in cities deteriorated fast. Health care of an average person was poor and living conditions were horrendous. It was at the expense of the poor workers that Russia achieved the economic development of these years, making industry incredibly cheap and profitable. But the suffering of the people multiplied with each year and by 1763 it has reached a boiling point and protests and riots gripped the country. In response to the protests Mikhail Vorontsov was sacked as Chancellor and Mikhail II picked the Novgorod Governor, Nikita Panin, to become his next Chancellor.

1763-1772

Panin was one of the most learned, accomplished and courteous Russians of his day. He was also of a most humane disposition and a friend of Liberal institutions. He was also a pupil of Bestuzhev, and therefore continued along with the reforms started by his mentor. Russia remained, during all of his administration a liberal constitutional monarchy and the only real change in the political sphere was the much more active foreign involvement.
Unlike his predecessor Panin proved to be a most excelent diplomat and he begun to reach out to other nations much more actively. The main goal of these negotiations was always the economy as Panin seeked to continue the economic development that Vorontsov had started. While trade remained anything but free in Russia, and the focus of the economy remained on resource extraction and industry, trade quickly became one of the major forces driving the economic development. While Russia was a nation that was effectively self-sufficient very few other nations could claim the same, and Russian resources and goods found many markets abroad. When other attempted to penetrate into Russia, however, they found a country that still distrusted foreigners. The government kept a most close watch over foreign trade and it was routed into a number of central hubs. As a result Moscow, Novgorod, and a few other cities on the Black Sea coast became major trade hubs, but outside of them foreign trade was virtually unknown.

This relative opennes to trade was the first proving ground of Russia’s new economy. The industries and resource operations that Vorontsov had invested so much effort into now had to stand up to international competition (at least limitted competition). Just like the money that was made from industry fed the resource extraction and agriculture, now the money made from the new trade would feed back into the industry and allow for further development, advances, and expantion of industry, which in turn would continue to feed into the resources and agriculture. As Panin understood well it was the job of the government to fascilitate this transition, but not to control it. He adopted Bestuzhev’s idea of local governance and allowed local merchants and industrialists to gain a lot of power. They were kept in check by the remaining noble institutions and administrations, and by the early 70’s a balance was created in Russia in which the two groups realized that coexistance was much more profitable for both than any struggle could ever be. Pannin kept tabs on the local administrations which kept tabs on the merchants and industrialists, who in turn enjoyed Panin’s support. The development continues, and there was still much room for growth until the system would have to change.

But in fact all of the policies that Panin had persued in politics and economics were continuations of previous policies. Sometimes modified, often altered just a little, but there was no drastic change in either of these sections and his contributions to Russia’s politics and economics, while significant, are often forgotten. What he is known best for is tackling Russia’s social problems.
Panin was an intellectual and a well-educated man who believed that most of Russia’s problems stem from lack of education. He chanelled throughout his administration huge amounts of money into creation of schools for children (although education remained out of reach for most of the poor, practically every middle class family had its children attend schools) and into Universities. University education became a priority for any who wanted to have a career within the government, as Panin claimed that only the best and the brightest should be allowed to meddle with the state’s affairs. For those not interrested in government work he sponsored the creation of Trade Schools in which any person could learn the skills needed to work in the new factories, mines, and shops of Russia.
Slowly, much to the dismay of the industrialists, the funding that was reserved for industrial projects under the Vorontsov years begun to be funneled into help for the workers. Panin claimed that the economy is proped up by the workers, and it is the workers who the state has to take care of. The government built cheap homes for the workers of the cities and healthcare slowly begun to make its way down to the middle and lower classes. By the end of Panin’s administration more than half of the government’s money was being funneled into social services in the efforts of solving the problems that have arisen during the economic development of the earlier decades.

Tsar Mikhail II was fond of Panin and supported his efforts. The nobles that brought Mikhail to power two decades ago did not. The causes of social justice and equality may have resonated with the firey young nobles back then, but now they looked unfavorably at the rise of the middle class and now the efforts to support the poor. Panin found more and more resistance to his efforts on the local level, and when in 1770 Mikhail fell seriously ill and died Panin was left exposed. He managed to last in his position for two years after Tsarina Sophia, Mikhail’s daugher, came to power. In 1772 he was removed from his position and Sophia appointed her friend and mentor, Alexander Suvorov, as Chancellor.

1772-1775

Suvorov was a military man who was surprised by Sophia’s offer, and was going to decline it until she confessed to him that she was lost and needed a friend to help her. Suvorov accepted the position with hesitation, as he was not sure he could help Sophia any, but Sophia insisted and he gave up.
Suvorov has navigated the currents of Russian political life for some time now, and was not a complete newcomer to the court life. Unlike most, however, he used his sence of right and wrong and always did what he perceived to be right. When some nobles objected to his appointment, he set down with with and took as much time as was needed to address their concerns. When others, however, tried to disregard Sophia’s and his laws, he crushed them without negotiations or hesitations. Where Vorontsov and Panin would often overlook local corruption and disobedience Suvorov made it clear that he would have none of it, and after setting a few examples few challanged his authority.

As economic development continues Suvorov believed that the state needed to partake in it, and should use it for its own ends. To him it was not enough to have industrialists make money and tax them, he wanted to have state inudstry where the state would make the things it needed most. To a General like him that meant guns. Slowly but surely the Russian state begun to put together its own production plants where equipment for the army and navy was to be built. The navy was of particular importance to Suvorov, and he built a number of major shipyards throughout the country to bolster the strength of the Russian navy.

But as a General, he spent most of his time with the army. Having been left alone for two decades it badly needed maintenance and Suvorov spared no money to bring the army up to par. The traditional military training continued, although Suvorov ordered it to be intensified, and set up, along side Panin’s Universities, Military Academies for Officers. As the army begun to reap fruit of Sovorov’s industrial enterprises and of the new Academies it became clear that it needed re-organization.

The last year Suvorov dedicated almost exclusively to the re-organization of the army. The restructured army, with new weapons and officers, was closely watched by Suvorov, earning it the nickname The Suvorov Army. But the time the Chancellor spent with the military took away from many of the other needed activities, and so, to compensate, in the late 1775 Tsarinia Sophia appointed Nikita Panin as Vice Chancellor. The two men got along well, Suvorov releaved that he did not bear all the responsibility of governing, and Panin glad to have the backing of Suvorov. In the last days of 1775 former Chancellor Bestuzhev died at the age of 82, bringing to a close one era of Russian history, and, simultaneously, another ear had begun.

 

[Kozmos]

Sorry old chap, but I appear to have this country already in hand! Cheerio

Or do you? *dr.evil music*

 

[Kentharu]

i switched, Inca is open

awesome story storm

 

[shortguy]

I'll take Paraguay if no one objects...

 

[andis-1]

Ahhh screw it. I take Romania.

 

[Insane_Panda]

Absolutely wonderful BT.

I shall work hard to smash these egalitists!

 

[Symphony D.]

OOC: Yes. Very nice BT and new stats... I have only one concern. Some of these sizes seem a little... off, especially if population is figured into the Size stat. Russia is 4 but the EUA is 5? Both Brazil and the Inca are 2 and so are Poland and Hungary? Japan is 4 and China is 3? HRE is only 5? Some of these just don't... make sense.

 

[Harleqin]

I'll take Paraguay if no one objects...

I object





Nah... just kidding

I agree with symph Maybe a quick review of the sizes would be in order.

 

[Cuivienen]

OOC: Yes. Very nice BT and new stats... I have only one concern. Some of these sizes seem a little... off, especially if population is figured into the Size stat. Russia is 4 but the EUA is 5? Both Brazil and the Inca are 2 and so are Poland and Hungary? Japan is 4 and China is 3? HRE is only 5? Some of these just don't... make sense.

Japan spans across a huge archipelago of islands whereas China is relatively compact. The same is true of the EUA as of Japan, though it is all located on the same continent. The Inca and Brazil are probably a size too small, however. The HRE is clearly too small, and, as they are nearly "Half the World" perhaps that should be their size.


To: Japanese Empire
From: The Shaoxi Emperor

Continuing our defensive alliance is only in the interests of both of our nations. We agree.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Japan spans across a huge archiepelago of islands, whereas China is relatively compact. The same is true of the EUA as of Japan, though it all located on the same continent. The Inca and Brazil are probably a size too small, however.

And Russia - the EUA is somewhere in the region of 15 million km2, and Russia is somewhere in the region of 22 million, I'd say that Russia should at least be the same size as the EUA (though if its easier, you can lower the EUA's stat instead )

 

[ThomAnder]

Edit: on second thought i'll lurk for a while

 

[Insane_Panda]

TO: The Japanese Empire
FROM: The Holy Roman Empire [of the French Nation]

These are troubling times, - Japan and France have always been strong allies, and it is in my view that we must continue this alliance for the betterment of both of our nations. I ask the Japanese Government to renew their alliance with the Holy Roman Empire.

Signed,
Emperor Valérien

 

[Symphony D.]

Japan spans across a huge archipelago of islands whereas China is relatively compact. The same is true of the EUA as of Japan, though it is all located on the same continent.

China has way more people. Vast population produces just as much bureaucracy as vast distance, which is why it's important if population is figured into that stat or not. Also only a relatively small part of the EUA is distended from the main body, south of the Inca, the rest is all directly connected, and on a pure size factor, maybe half Russia (ignoring Patagonia). Several of the figures just don't make sense.

TO: Holy Roman Empire
FROM: Japanese Empire
We agree wholeheartedly.

 

[Insane_Panda]

TO: The Kandid Persian Shahdom
FROM: The Holy Roman Empire [of the French Nation]

The Empire of Persia, and the Empire of Rome have always shared strong relations - indeed, we have provided you with advice and technology, and you, with this advice and technology, have forged a great Empire indeed. We believe it is time to formalize our ties, and thus, we propose to you a defensive alliance, so that we may better protect ourselves from the threats which encircle our nations.

Signed,
Emperor Valérian