Chapter 993: Chapter 744: The Aging Nicholas II
As soon as the Russian Civil War broke out, Dmitry immediately sent a telegram to Arthur, inquiring whether to support Russia.
Arthur’s response to Dmitry indicated that Australasia, due to major domestic construction, did not currently have much energy to focus on foreign affairs.
Arthur suggested that Dmitry should act according to circumstances, prioritizing the development of Finland and its interests.
Clearly, Dmitry took Arthur’s advice to heart. Although he was the Grand Duke of Finland, Dmitry wasn’t the sole decision-maker of the Finnish government.
ressed concern over the civil war in Russia.
While the British hoped for a no-winner scenario, the Frenchmen preferred a Tsarist Russian victory with a real unification of Russia, making it a steadfast ally of theirs.
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At the very least, they wished for the unification of Russia under the Soviets, as a powerful Russia could give the British a headache, unlike the current situation.
For many Central European countries, such as Germany, Poland, Italy, the Austrian Empire, and Hungary, they naturally hoped that the Russian war would last as long as possible.
Firstly, with the outbreak of the war in Russia, they could export more supplies to Russia and earn substantial profits.
Secondly, for these Central European nations, a neighbor in a constant state of civil war was certainly more reassuring than one that was unified and powerful.
It was precisely because the powers of both Tsarist Russia and Soviet Russia were formidable that Poland, recently independent but always looking for trouble, didn’t think of reclaiming the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In fact, they had thought about it and even acted on it. Regrettably, Poland was clearly no match for Tsarist Russia or Soviet Russia and was soundly defeated in previous conflicts.
History had shown that there was a reason for Poland’s earlier partitioning between Germany and Russia. The current state of Poland had weakened, and with three Powers on its east, west, and south sides, it left ambitious Poland extremely irritated yet helpless.
Meanwhile, in Russia, Saint Petersburg.
Time flies, and Nicholas II was no longer the confident and ambitious emperor in his prime.
Born in 1968, Nicholas II was now 62 years old—an advanced age, considered as having one foot in the grave.
the little one’s hands only for the child to succumb to an accident due to hemophilia.
The current Nicholas II no longer coveted the inheritance of power. He would accept it even if Russia became a constitutional monarchy, as long as the royal succession could be ensured.
However, the issue was that a previous attempt at a capitalist coup had made Nicholas II somewhat distrustful of certain political parties.
This also left the current Nicholas II quite confused. He wanted to reform Russia by delegating power, yet he feared that doing so might lead to another coup and the ultimate downfall of the monarchy.
It must be acknowledged that the prosperity of a dynasty greatly determines the stability of a kingdom.
The scantiness of the Romanov Family was one of the significant reasons for the instability in Russia.
Nicholas II had only one son, Crown Prince Aleksei, who suffered from hemophilia.
Although Nicholas II had three brothers, two had died young due to various illnesses, leaving only the youngest brother, Mikhail, alive.
This Grand Duke Mikhail was historically the person whom Nicholas II had considered to abdicate the throne to.
Even though Grand Duke Mikhail was Nicholas II’s own brother, his marrying a commoner resulted in his descendants losing the right to ascend to the throne.
Simply put, Grand Duke Mikhail was listed in the line of succession to the Russian throne. But his descendants from a Morganatic marriage would have no right to inherit the Russian Empire whatsoever.
This was a tradition and regulation among European nobility, where the progeny of noble-commoner unions typically had no inheritance rights.
This regulation led to most European kingdoms intermarrying, forming rather complex familial relationships with one another.
As a result, the only ones currently eligible to inherit the Russian throne were Crown Prince Aleksei and Grand Duke Mikhail.
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But both individuals had severe issues. Crown Prince Aleksei, born with hemophilia, did not have the physical health necessary to manage such a vast empire.
If the succession fell into Grand Duke Mikhail’s hands, it would most likely signify the final swan song of the Romanov Dynasty.
Nicholas II had even suggested to his brother to annul his current marriage and remarry a woman of equal social status to produce heirs with the right of succession.
However, being the youngest brother, Grand Duke Mikhail was indeed rebellious and flatly refused his brother’s proposal.
This effectively meant that the right to the Russian throne could only fall into the hands of Crown Prince Aleksei.
on. “Unless we can receive the compensation from the Great Lakes region promptly or borrow some funds from France and Australasia.
Otherwise, our financial reserves can only last us two months at most, and then we’ll have to declare bankruptcy.”
Although Russia had been licking its wounds for several years following the civil war, the economic crisis tore the wounds open again.
The economic crisis added insult to injury to Russia’s already strained finances, and the modest savings accumulated over the years were all poured into relief efforts.
Sadly, Russia’s vast population meant that the money barely made a splash when it was distributed.
This left the Russian Government in an unenviable position. Despite having dispersed all its funds, most of the people could not benefit from the government’s relief, causing significant dissatisfaction among the populace toward the government.