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The Russian Republic, more commonly known as Russia, is a constitutional democracy located in Eurasia, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In Europe, it borders Finland, Norway, the United Baltic Duchy, White Ruthenia, Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan. While In Central Asia, it borders the Alash Autonomy, the Xinjiang Clique, and Mongolia. In the Far East, it borders the Fengtian Government, Transamur Republic, and shares a maritime boundary with the United States of America through the Bering Strait.
History[]
The Weltkrieg[]
- Main article: Weltkrieg
Russia entered the Weltkrieg to protect its ally, Serbia, from Austro-Hungarian annexation in 1914 and subsequently fought a war across three fronts while isolated from its allies in the Entente for three years. Neither the people nor the Tsar wanted any sort of war, but both also felt that the only alternative to the intervention was the total domination of Europe by Germany. Although the Imperial Army was far from defeated in 1916, the already existing public distrust of the autocratic regime was deepened by the mounting casualties, war debts, and accusations of corruption and treasonous acts in high places - which would lead to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution in 1917.
The Revolutions[]
Disillusioned by the grinding attrition of war and now facing near-starvation conditions in the cities, 1917 began with massive anti-government and anti-war demonstrations in many of Russia's urban centers. Morale in the army had likewise plummeted in the face of rising casualties and diminishing territory, and desertion had become an epidemic. The final spark was a strike by the workers of the Putilov factory in Petrograd, which soon rapidly escalated into demonstrations that paralyzed the capital. Tsar Nicholas II ultimately relented and abdicated the throne, but only after strong urging from his desperate generals.
The February Revolution overthrew the Russian Monarchy, which was soon replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared the "Provisional Government." However, with defeats at the front and economic collapse not abating, the Provisional Government's shaky legitimacy was soon seriously challenged by its "partner" in government, the Petrograd Soviet. Frequent street fighting and an (alleged) attempted coup by General Lavr Kornilov only proved to be preludes for the Bolshevik Party's eventual coup d'état in October/November. With the Soviets soon seizing control of much of Russia, anti-Bolshevik forces dispersed to regroup. The stage was set for civil war.
The Russian Civil War[]
- Main article: Russian Civil War
Though the Bolsheviks controlled much of Russia, their enemies were far from defeated completely in 1917. The "White Movement" which arose to oppose them was a loose coalition of conservatives, liberals, ardent tsarists, far-right radicals and anti-Bolshevik socialists. Nevertheless, White opposition soon arose across much of Russia's periphery. The signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk proved to be the catalyst for an immense outpouring of anti-Bolshevik outrage, and not only were the Whites' ranks soon swelled, but many of the newly-created, German-backed states were themselves far from friendly towards Soviet power.
Disaster struck the Bolsheviks in the summer of 1918, for not only did many Socialist Revolutionaries abandon the Bolsheviks after Brest-Litovsk, but Lenin himself was assassinated by a disgruntled SR. This catastrophe was compounded by the fact that, by late 1918, White armies had established themselves across much of southern Russia, Ukraine, Siberia, the Baltics, and the Far East. These disparate factions had nominally united under the Provisional All-Russian Government. However, it would not be until the spring of 1919 that the White armies began defeating Bolshevik forces in earnest. Successive White campaigns continued into the summer, culminating with the capture of Ufa. The Congress of Ufa unified the White Movement in fact as well as in name with Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak named Supreme Commander on the condition that all White factions repudiate any remaining ties with the Entente.
The end of 1919 saw the most decisive period of the Civil War, with the White armies capturing Petrograd, then seizing much of the Russian heartland, before finally capturing Moscow and accepting the Bolshevik surrender on January 22nd, 1920. Though victorious against the Reds, the Whites had little choice but ratify the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. The onerous task was ultimately left to the returned Alexander Kerensky, who assumed the presidency of the fledgling Republic legitimized by his status as the last pre-Civil War Head of State.
Republican Russia[]
Although the new Russian Republic had to face many threats after its establishment, it managed to survive. Thanks to German mediation, the East Karelian national revolt was quelled with the signing of the Treaty of Tartu, which awarded the Parishes of Repola and Porajärvi to the Kingdom of Finland, prevented a full-scale war, and kept East Karelia under Russian rule. Thanks to Kerensky's diplomatic efforts, Russia managed to establish good relations with most of the new countries which had emerged from the Civil War. However, they were unable to wrest back the Far Eastern territory which had been occupied by Japan and placed under the command of the former White General Semyonov.
In 1924, the shadows of another civil war threatened the country when a coalition of capitalists, disgruntled officers, Cossacks, and the remnants of the Czechoslovak Legion tried to overthrow the government and seize power in the Kolchak Putsch. However, the coup failed and the majority of conspirators were either killed or arrested. Despite this a few plotters, including their figurehead Kolchak, managed to escape to Transamur. Since then, the government has enforced its grip on the country and struggled to improve the economy, devastated by the Civil War. For the past fifteen years the leading parties, the Socialist Revolutionaries and Kadets, have governed in an uneasy coalition under Kerensky maintaining their power through electoral manipulation and a lack of serious political opposition or awareness from the populace. However, the worsening of the global economy has yet again eroded the trust of the people and, in the case of a resuming of internal conflict, unknown forces could attempt to remove Kerensky from power and seize control of Russia.
Politics[]
President: Boris Savinkov (People's Republican Party of Russia, born 31 January 1879)
Prime Minister: Boris Vysheslavtsev (WIP, born WIP)
Minister of Foreign Affairs: Pyotr Berngardovich Struve (Kadet, born 26 January 1870)
Minister of Finance: Nikolai Alexeyevich Maklakov (independent monarchist, born 9 September 1871)
Minister of Interior: Andrei Ivanovich Shingarev (Kadet, born 30 August 1869)
Director of the Okhrana: Sergey Fyodorovich Oldenburg (Kadet, born 26 September 1863)
Chief of the General Staff: Field Marshal Anton Ivanovich Denikin (born 16 December 1872)
Chief of the Armed Forces: Field Marshal Lavr Georgiyevich Kornilov (born 30 August 1870)
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy: Grand Admiral Vasily Alexandrovich Kanin (born 11 June 1862)
Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force: Major General Anton Vasilevich Turkul (born 24 December 1892)
Governmental Structure[]
President[]
The President of the Russian Republic, being the head of state, is elected by a 3/5th majority vote in the Senate, being elected for a term lasting 6 years. The President has the power to appoint a Supreme Commander-in-Chief, has legislative initiative, represents the country internationally, and works with the Minister for Foreign Affairs to decide Russian foreign policy. The President also has the right to veto the Duma and Senate, although that veto can be overruled by the Duma. The President has the power to appoint the Chairman and Council of Ministers, selected by the Duma, and the ministers, chosen by the Chairman. The President may also announce the initiation of referenda with the support of the Senate and Duma and has the ability to issue decrees and independently appoint a government in the event of an emergency.
Senate[]
The Senate of the Russian Republic, formerly known as the State Council of the Russian Republic from 1919-1926, is the upper house of the Russian Parliament. The Senate contains 150 seats; 50 senators are chosen by regional legislatures, 50 senators are appointed by the President, while the last 50 senators are elected by people aged 30 years or older with higher education, social status, and wealth for terms lasting 6 years. The Senate is in charge of electing a president, being able to trigger a new election if the President loses their support in the State Duma. The Senate also can propose changes to bills passed by the State Duma. To elect a Speaker of the Senate, 76 of the 150 senators need to vote in favor of one of their fellow senators if a Speaker is to be chosen.
Speaker of the Senate[]
The Speaker of the Senate, who serves as the de facto Vice President of the Russian Republic, is the Presiding Officer of the Senate and is chosen by and from the 150 total senators in the upper house. The Speaker would become acting president in the event that the President is unable to carry out their duties for any reason, or in the event that the Senate is unable to elect a new President. In the event of the former, the Speaker would carry out their term until the President is able to resume their duties. In the event of the latter, the Speaker would carry out their term until the Senate is able to elect a new President or elections are called. The Speaker may also represent the President in various ceremonial duties and be the spokesman for the interests of the Senate. The current Speaker of the Senate is Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich Romanov.
State Duma[]
The State Duma is the lower house of parliament. The Duma contains 550 Seats elected through a system of proportional representation. Members of the Duma are elected through universal suffrage for all Russian citizens aged 20 or older for terms lasting 5 years in total. The Duma chooses the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and has the power to authorize or veto the proposed cabinet also possessing the ability to pass a vote of no confidence and dismiss the Chairman from office. The Duma also supervises government and may initiate a national referendum with the consent of the Senate. In cooperation with the Senate, the Duma may also amend the constitution through a 2/3rd majority vote in the Duma.
Political Parties[]
Politics in Russia are highly unstable at the present, and there are signs that Kerensky's shaky unified coalition is beginning to fall apart. This has resulted in a largely dichotomous "left/right" divide within the nation.
The Socialist Revolutionaries were one of the most powerful factions of the Civil War and continue to exert influence in the State Duma. Due to differences over economic matters, the party is often divided into left-wing and right-wing factions headed by Victor Chernov and Alexander Kerensky respectively.
Boris Savinkov leads one of the most powerful opposition groups in the Duma, the National Republican Party of Russia. Despite former membership of Kerensky's party, Savinkov advocates for revolutionary violence in the name of Russian nationalism and personal fulfillment while drawing on apocalyptic Christian imagery. Their commitment to democracy appears weak and the prominent military leader Lavr Kornilov has been known to cooperate with them at arm's length.
The Mensheviks are the most radical group in the Duma, and consist of members of a splinter faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party who opposed Lenin's deposed Bolsheviks and didn't flee to Georgia or elsewhere after the October Revolution failed. They currently maintain ties with the left-wing factions of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and advocate for a more gradual approach to socialism than their counterparts.
There are Bolsheviks who remained in Russia after the Civil War who hope for a return to the socialist government of the Russian RSFSR but hold little power. Notable among these is Nikolai Bukharin.
The Constitutional Democrats, or Kadets as they are more commonly known, are a liberal party who favour a mixed economy and constitutional republicanism as a form of government. They are led by Pavel Milyukov and have been considered one of the weakest of the parties vying for power both in and out of the Duma.
There is also a coalition of conservative aristocrats and wealthy landowners who favour a return to the monarchy under the banner of the Union of 17 October or "Octobrists". They are supported by the Russian Orthodox Church and members of the old Russian aristocracy. They do not possess much power in the Duma but retain control of much of the Senate, which observers speculate might let them name a President in the event of a vacancy of the position.
Eurasianist thinkers led by Prince Nikolai Trubetskoy, who believe in multiethnic Russian exceptionalism, have a small presense in the Duma as Russian Union. Unlike their right-wing rivals of the Octobrists and National Republicans, the Russian Union remain fully committed to parliamentarianism and democracy.
Military[]
The Russian military is extraordinarily obsolete. While it maintains a steady presence along the entire border, the military lacks competent commanders and discipline, and there are significant disagreements in the General Staff on how the military should be developed.
Army[]
The current political situation in Russia reflects heavily onto the military, and particularly the Army, with former Red and White Army soldiers beginning to raise their voices once again. The equipment of the Army is obsolete, of practically Weltkrieg-era age or even older, lacking the most basic of modern equipment such as mobile tanks and transport vehicles. The Russian Army consists of 85 Infantry Divisions and 2 Calvary DIvisions.
[]
The Russian Navy maintains substantial force in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, and nominal presences in the Arctic and Pacific.
Air Force[]
The small Russian Flying Corps is the aerial arm of the Russian Military and has a small presence in Western Russia where it fields three wings of aircraft, as well as one wing in the Far East.
Foreign Relations[]
Russia shares friendly ties with the Ungern-Sternberg's regime in Mongolia.
Russia is a member of the Legation Cities Council, which gives them a window of influence in Chinese affairs despite Japan's strong positions in Northeastern China and the Western Pacific.
The country has poor ties with Germany and Mitteleuropa in general, believing they wish to encircle the country. The reasons for this vary, stemming largely from the Weltkrieg and the Treaty of Brest Litovsk. However, two issues cause some contention with specific members of Germany's sphere: Russian speakers in Ukraine and the Dvinsk autonomous region, a majority Latvian province given autonomy in 1922. The region has become a safe haven for Latvians who oppose Baltic German rule and the inhabitants are mostly sympathetic to the Forest Brothers movement. Politically Latvians in the autonomy are split between the idea of an independent state and an autonomous area, dubbed "a Free Latvia within a Free Russia". Regardless, even the most liberal and progressive factions of Russia view their territorial losses as an embarassement to be avenged. Ukrainian and White Ruthenian leaders and citizens also frequently believe that reapproachment with Russia would mean the loss of national sovereignty due to revanchist claims from across the political spectrum even among those opposed to restoration of the former Empire.
Their relationship with the Japanese is also strained, with Japan having intervened in the Russian Civil War and annexed the northern half of Sakhalin while establishing the rival government of Transamur.
While they see the Third Internationale as mutual enemies of Germany, all non-socialist parties remain mistrustful of their goals to bring about a socialist international order while the Internationale who are in turn mistrustful of Russia's own ambitions.
Russian relations with the Ottoman Empire remain strained. Russia claims comradeship with Christians in the region of Armenia facing a poor position in the Empire, and remain resentful of territory lost in the Weltkrieg.
the Alash nation to their south claims semi-independence but Russia retains status of an effective suzerain and enjoys considerable rights in it.
Culture[]
The culture of Russia is an old one, in existence in its present form for at least a thousand years, traditionally said to have “started” with the settling of today's north western Russia by the Viking King Rurik in the 9th century. Over the centuries, it has developed and spread its heritage over half of a continent. While the majority of Russians live in the current Russian state, there are numerous Russians living as minority populations in most former areas of the Russian Empire, particularly among Germany's Eastern European allies. There are also numerous and diverse populations of other ethnicities across Russia which can be referred to using a term for "Russian" as a nationality rather than an ethnicity in the Russian language.