1 thought on “Conspiracy in the Shadows – Russian Alt History Pt. 6”
Script used:
In 1756, an epidemic of Tuberculosis in Europe, and of Influenza in the Far-East did not help the Empress' situation in regards to her reputation among the people, increasing discontent. Two peasant revolts occurred that year: one on the islands of Estonia, and one in the small town of Chagoda. Both were put down. However, the following year, two more uprisings sparked: the Third Greater Baltic Rebellion in Estonia itself, and the Rostov Peasant Revolt. Both were eventually supressed.
While Russia continued focusing on its internal conflicts, Spain was now projecting its power into Central Europe, sparking the Great Catholic War against their major rival, Austria. Initially, the Austrian armies were very successful, beating the Spanish out of their Italian holdings. In the meantime, the Ottomans have been able to hold on and even completely centralize the Balkans. Further in the Middle-East, the Persians were rapidly falling to a foreign invasion. Meanwhile in the Far-East, Korea began expanding into Manchurian lands.
In 1758, a rebellion sparked in Crimea, encompassing the entire peninsula. However, it was swiftly put down. In 1759, the Fourth Greater Baltic Rebellion began, but by mid-1759, the rebellion was crushed yet again. In 1760, another Crimean rebellion was crushed. Later the same year, the Second Penza Rebellion was put down, along with a revolt of Russian settlers in formerly Kazakh lands. The Plague continued devastating the population in Russia and Central Asia.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Spanish have managed to turn the tide against the Austrians, taking Vienna. This, however, resulted in a tug-of-war, with the Austrians managing to take back Vienna. While the Spanish have been fighting the Austrian Hapsburgs, they lost their dominion over the Spanish Netherlands, which fractured into smaller kingdoms, allowing for France to once more influence local affairs. In 1762, the Peruvian so-called "Nativists" were still in a war against the original republican government. While that was happening, the Portuguese and English have began a war over colonial disputed in the Guyanas and Brazil.
In January 1762, Elizabeth the Second has passed away of natural causes in the Winter Palace. This meant that the new monarch was the sickly, and mentally unhinged Peter the Third, her nephew, was now Tzar. He was hated by anyone who had the misfortune of coming into contact with him. Always giggling during important ceremonies, and handed petty punishments. The Russian nobility quickly began looking at Peter's wife, Catherine,
originally Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, with hope, that she will be able to bring sanity back to the royal court. To do so, they began plotting.
As for Catherine herself, she too did not appreciate her husband's eccentric stunts. They had nothing in common since their teenage years. Not interests, not hobbies. In adult life, this translated into not even sharing the same bed together, not that either of them was faithful to the other. With time, Peter's mental state continued to degrade, that being reflected in his actions and the nature of the decisions he made. He tried to model the Russian army after the Prussian army, despite the fact that the drills that introduced were long outdated, even by Prussian standards. One time, Catherine walked into Peter's cabinet only to see the following: Peter is hunched over table, overlooking a gallow, with a rat hanging on it. "What is the meaning of this?" Catherine asked.
"This criminal has been found guilty of murder of two soldiers! And by the law of war time, had been sentenced to death by hanging!"
Peter then proceeded to present two toy soldiers, which were half eaten by the rat.
While Peter was staying in Oranianbaum, at 5 AM of June ninth, Alexey Orlov, a Russian nobleman, rushed into Catherine's bedroom, and tells her to go with him to Saint Petersburg. There, the city garrison joins the conspiracy against the Tzar. Peter himself was oblivious to news of the events in the capital. Later the same day, Catherine is proclaimed as the monarch of all Russias. They moved to the Winter Palace, where Catherine voiced her intentions to save Russia from the hands of an idiotic Tzar. Meanwhile, Peter arrived at Peterhoff, only to see that not a single one of the servants was there. After putting 2 and 2 together, Peter decided to send a delegation to negotiate with Catherine. But none of the delegates he sent have ever returned to him. After some consideration, he made the decision to leave for the naval base of Kronstadt, believing the fleet is still loyal to him. After discovering the opposite to be the truth, he sailed back to Peterhoff, writing a letter to Catherine, announcing the abdication the following day.
A few days later, Peter would be found dead while under house arrest. However, this did not completely untie Catherine's hands in the business of ruling. In the time-span between the death of Anna Ionnavna, and the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, there was one dethroned Tzar, the infant Ivan the Sixth. Upon becoming Empress, Elizabeth imprisoned both him and his family. In prison, he was deprived of all human contact, being simply known as 'the nameless one', the officer in charge of the prison being under orders to execute him if anyone tried to free him. Luckily for Catherine, when the Fourth Greater Baltic Rebellion sparked, The Nameless One was executed, as this time, the rebels wanted to proclaim him the quote-on-quote 'rightful' king of the Baltic Realm.
In the meantime, news arrived from the New World that the Central American provinces of the Mexican Empire have proclaimed independence, announcing the Kingdom of Itza, also under the doctrine of Nativism. Meanwhile further north, the State of Mahican went to war with the Empire of Quebec, getting utterly trounced.
Nevertheless, Catherine's first geopolitical move was to continue colonizing Manchuria in order to continue being Korea's rival for dominance in the region. So, Russia went to war with the Khanate of Yeren in 1765, defeating them later the same year, giving Russia a common border with Korea. While the war with Yeren was still ongoing, a Cossack rebellion occurred not too far away from Kiev. The rebels were no challenge for the experienced Russian army. In 1766, what become known as the Great Southern Rebellion began. This rebellion put down the same year.
The following year, interesting news came from Peru: the Peruvian Nativist Republic has signed a truce with the republican government, as they themselves have been experiencing major separatist rebellions and uprisings due to the constant state of war. In 1767, the outcome of the Great Catholic War became clear: the Spanish will dominate the Catholic world, making Spain the main European hegemon. As a result of this war, leaderless, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved. This allowed the numerous German states to become major players in Central Europe, now that there was no more independent Austria, dictating their policies. Those who wanted the preservation of the decentralized nature of the Holy Roman
Empire, sided with the so-called Holy Federation. Those who wanted a centralized state sided with either the Prussia or Saxony, with the latter succumbing to a Federal invasion.
In March of the following year, the Second Sino-Korean War broke out, with Korea absolutely dominating the Qing, who turned out to have had no willing subjects willing to die for their Manchu overlords. Not to be outdone by the Koreans, Russia went to war with another Khanate in August of the same year, ending the conquest of the vast majority of Mongolian territories by 1769.
In 1770, the Swedes and Danes went to war with each-other, giving Russia the perfect opportunity to rid itself of the threat of a Swedish invasion from Finland. So, in 1771, Catherine declared war on Sweden, invading Swedish-held Finland. Although Finland itself was easy prey, the Russian army had failed one of its objectives: securing the naval base of Mariehamn. Twice did the Russians try to take it by force, twice the Swedish garrison repelled the attack. Despite all Swedish efforts, they knew their position in Finland was lost, compelling them to conclude a piece treaty, giving Russia away all of Finland.
While Russia was beginning to recover from its last few decades of constant disease and rebellions that characterized the bulk of Elizabeth's reign, chaos still reigned in Peru, where territory after territory began to secede the Peruvian Nativist Republic, leaving its peoples
impoverished. Under Catherine, Russia was in a powerful position once more: Sweden was no longer a threat, the Mongol raiders from the vast Steppe were, for the most part, subdued. The path for what was called the Great Thrust South was now open, with the collapse of the Mughal Empire and Persia. The path to invading Eastern Asia was also open, as the Qing were no longer in a position to provide oversight to the Gobi Desert region. There were rivals remaining though. The Ottomans have managed to centralize their control over the Balkans, and Korea still having prospects to become the most powerful state in all of Asia, which would block Russia out of the entire region.
Script used:
In 1756, an epidemic of Tuberculosis in Europe, and of Influenza in the Far-East did not help the Empress' situation in regards to her reputation among the people, increasing discontent. Two peasant revolts occurred that year: one on the islands of Estonia, and one in the small town of Chagoda. Both were put down. However, the following year, two more uprisings sparked: the Third Greater Baltic Rebellion in Estonia itself, and the Rostov Peasant Revolt. Both were eventually supressed.
While Russia continued focusing on its internal conflicts, Spain was now projecting its power into Central Europe, sparking the Great Catholic War against their major rival, Austria. Initially, the Austrian armies were very successful, beating the Spanish out of their Italian holdings. In the meantime, the Ottomans have been able to hold on and even completely centralize the Balkans. Further in the Middle-East, the Persians were rapidly falling to a foreign invasion. Meanwhile in the Far-East, Korea began expanding into Manchurian lands.
In 1758, a rebellion sparked in Crimea, encompassing the entire peninsula. However, it was swiftly put down. In 1759, the Fourth Greater Baltic Rebellion began, but by mid-1759, the rebellion was crushed yet again. In 1760, another Crimean rebellion was crushed. Later the same year, the Second Penza Rebellion was put down, along with a revolt of Russian settlers in formerly Kazakh lands. The Plague continued devastating the population in Russia and Central Asia.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Spanish have managed to turn the tide against the Austrians, taking Vienna. This, however, resulted in a tug-of-war, with the Austrians managing to take back Vienna. While the Spanish have been fighting the Austrian Hapsburgs, they lost their dominion over the Spanish Netherlands, which fractured into smaller kingdoms, allowing for France to once more influence local affairs. In 1762, the Peruvian so-called "Nativists" were still in a war against the original republican government. While that was happening, the Portuguese and English have began a war over colonial disputed in the Guyanas and Brazil.
In January 1762, Elizabeth the Second has passed away of natural causes in the Winter Palace. This meant that the new monarch was the sickly, and mentally unhinged Peter the Third, her nephew, was now Tzar. He was hated by anyone who had the misfortune of coming into contact with him. Always giggling during important ceremonies, and handed petty punishments. The Russian nobility quickly began looking at Peter's wife, Catherine,
originally Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, with hope, that she will be able to bring sanity back to the royal court. To do so, they began plotting.
As for Catherine herself, she too did not appreciate her husband's eccentric stunts. They had nothing in common since their teenage years. Not interests, not hobbies. In adult life, this translated into not even sharing the same bed together, not that either of them was faithful to the other. With time, Peter's mental state continued to degrade, that being reflected in his actions and the nature of the decisions he made. He tried to model the Russian army after the Prussian army, despite the fact that the drills that introduced were long outdated, even by Prussian standards. One time, Catherine walked into Peter's cabinet only to see the following: Peter is hunched over table, overlooking a gallow, with a rat hanging on it.
"What is the meaning of this?" Catherine asked.
"This criminal has been found guilty of murder of two soldiers! And by the law of war time, had been sentenced to death by hanging!"
Peter then proceeded to present two toy soldiers, which were half eaten by the rat.
While Peter was staying in Oranianbaum, at 5 AM of June ninth, Alexey Orlov, a Russian nobleman, rushed into Catherine's bedroom, and tells her to go with him to Saint Petersburg. There, the city garrison joins the conspiracy against the Tzar. Peter himself was oblivious to news of the events in the capital. Later the same day, Catherine is proclaimed as the monarch of all Russias. They moved to the Winter Palace, where Catherine voiced her intentions to save Russia from the hands of an idiotic Tzar. Meanwhile, Peter arrived at Peterhoff, only to see that not a single one of the servants was there. After putting 2 and 2 together, Peter decided to send a delegation to negotiate with Catherine. But none of the delegates he sent have ever returned to him. After some consideration, he made the decision to leave for the naval base of Kronstadt, believing the fleet is still loyal to him. After discovering the opposite to be the truth, he sailed back to Peterhoff, writing a letter to Catherine, announcing the abdication the following day.
A few days later, Peter would be found dead while under house arrest. However, this did not completely untie Catherine's hands in the business of ruling. In the time-span between the death of Anna Ionnavna, and the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth, there was one dethroned Tzar, the infant Ivan the Sixth. Upon becoming Empress, Elizabeth imprisoned both him and his family. In prison, he was deprived of all human contact, being simply known as 'the nameless one', the officer in charge of the prison being under orders to execute him if anyone tried to free him. Luckily for Catherine, when the Fourth Greater Baltic Rebellion sparked, The Nameless One was executed, as this time, the rebels wanted to proclaim him the quote-on-quote 'rightful' king of the Baltic Realm.
In the meantime, news arrived from the New World that the Central American provinces of the Mexican Empire have proclaimed independence, announcing the Kingdom of Itza, also under the doctrine of Nativism. Meanwhile further north, the State of Mahican went to war with the Empire of Quebec, getting utterly trounced.
Nevertheless, Catherine's first geopolitical move was to continue colonizing Manchuria in order to continue being Korea's rival for dominance in the region. So, Russia went to war with the Khanate of Yeren in 1765, defeating them later the same year, giving Russia a common border with Korea. While the war with Yeren was still ongoing, a Cossack rebellion occurred not too far away from Kiev. The rebels were no challenge for the experienced Russian army. In 1766, what become known as the Great Southern Rebellion began. This rebellion put down the same year.
The following year, interesting news came from Peru: the Peruvian Nativist Republic has signed a truce with the republican government, as they themselves have been experiencing major separatist rebellions and uprisings due to the constant state of war. In 1767, the outcome of the Great Catholic War became clear: the Spanish will dominate the Catholic world, making Spain the main European hegemon. As a result of this war, leaderless, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved. This allowed the numerous German states to become major players in Central Europe, now that there was no more independent Austria, dictating their policies. Those who wanted the preservation of the decentralized nature of the Holy Roman
Empire, sided with the so-called Holy Federation. Those who wanted a centralized state sided with either the Prussia or Saxony, with the latter succumbing to a Federal invasion.
In March of the following year, the Second Sino-Korean War broke out, with Korea absolutely dominating the Qing, who turned out to have had no willing subjects willing to die for their Manchu overlords. Not to be outdone by the Koreans, Russia went to war with another Khanate in August of the same year, ending the conquest of the vast majority of Mongolian territories by 1769.
In 1770, the Swedes and Danes went to war with each-other, giving Russia the perfect opportunity to rid itself of the threat of a Swedish invasion from Finland. So, in 1771, Catherine declared war on Sweden, invading Swedish-held Finland. Although Finland itself was easy prey, the Russian army had failed one of its objectives: securing the naval base of Mariehamn. Twice did the Russians try to take it by force, twice the Swedish garrison repelled the attack. Despite all Swedish efforts, they knew their position in Finland was lost, compelling them to conclude a piece treaty, giving Russia away all of Finland.
While Russia was beginning to recover from its last few decades of constant disease and rebellions that characterized the bulk of Elizabeth's reign, chaos still reigned in Peru, where territory after territory began to secede the Peruvian Nativist Republic, leaving its peoples
impoverished. Under Catherine, Russia was in a powerful position once more: Sweden was no longer a threat, the Mongol raiders from the vast Steppe were, for the most part, subdued. The path for what was called the Great Thrust South was now open, with the collapse of the Mughal Empire and Persia. The path to invading Eastern Asia was also open, as the Qing were no longer in a position to provide oversight to the Gobi Desert region. There were rivals remaining though. The Ottomans have managed to centralize their control over the Balkans, and Korea still having prospects to become the most powerful state in all of Asia, which would block Russia out of the entire region.