The Iron Prince

POD is Alexei is not born with Haemophilia

Alexei: The Iron Prince, William Blum, 1995.

Young Prince Alexei was one of the greatest figures of the 20th century, up there with Gandhi and Adolf Hitler. His role in World Affairs cannot be underestimated, nor his impact on Russian Society, and the World. It can be said that Alexei was the opposite of his father. He was Smart, Ruthless, and cunning. According to a recent Poll in Russia[1], Alexei was voted the Second Greatest Tsar behind Peter the Great, and that was very close. During his reign of 30 years (1922-1952), Alexei saw Russia turn from the Feudal backward nation into the Superpower it is now recognised as, with the second largest nuclear arsenal in the world [2].

[1] Russian History Society Poll, 1994.
[2] CIA report on russian Military capability, 1991.


A History of the Middle East Edward M. Kennedy, 1980.

Alexei was not only ruthless and pragmatic, but cunning as well. At Ankara where the victors carved up the Ottoman Empire's Carcass, he not only managed to secure the rest of the caucasus from Turkey, but he also gained a significant chunk of the old Ottoman Empire, which was basically much of the old Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. Afterwards, regent Alexei declared Russia had a sphere of influence and a special interest in the Middle East, which was to be its sphere of influence. With much of the world's oil reserves under its belt, Russia had made its mark on the world.

Rocky Racoon said:

An interesting beginning to what shall be a fascinating timeline Avalon. With no haemophilia no Rasputin to influence Alexandra and hence the Church and the nobility's support of the Romanov's never diminishes. With such problems never besetting the monarchy, it shall be most interesting to see how Nicky avoided brewing revolutionary tension, thus resulting in his beloved son Alexei to assume the crown in 1922.

Click to expand...

Whether or not Alexei does assume the Crown, Russia faced difficulties that had little to do with the level of support for the Tsar by the nobility.

One of the difficulties was a chasm between imported, state of the art technology from the West and the urban infrastructure needed to cope with the consequences. Such infrastructure included housing (Russian apartments had twice the occupancy of those in the West), tram networks covering entire cities, not just the rich quarters and plumbing for everyone. The problems were known, but the central government which had the power and resources did not tackle them whilst the municipal authorities which would have lack both.

There are also the Russo-Japanese and Great Wars which Russia lost both. The first was a humiliation which politically the Russian government could have done without. It also led to a revolution in 1905. The Great War is even more catastrophic in that whilst the war with Japan was on the periphery of the Russian Empire, the Germans were heading straight for the core. In addition being a coalition war it was in the interests of Britain and France to keep Russia propped up well after she would have collapsed on her own. Letting the Austro-Hungarians knock off Serbia would have be politically damaged, but it would not have been a complete disaster.

Assuming that Romanov family can survive both of these issues to the point of Alexei becoming Tsar, that does not solve them.

Avalon1 said:

Alexei was not only ruthless and pragmatic, but cunning as well. At Ankara, he not only managed to secure the Bosphoros straits from Turkey, but he also gained a significant chunk of the old Ottoman Empire, which was basically much of the old Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. Afterwards, regent Alexei declared Russia's Monroe Doctrine in the Middle East, which was to be its sphere of influence. With much of the world's oil reserves under its belt, Russia had made its mark on the world.

Click to expand...

For the Russians to be in a position to make such a grab, they have got to either avoid the Great War completely or survive to the point where they are sitting on the winners' table. I am going to presume the second because there are two many butterflies for the first.

Firstly a Monroe Doctrine in the Middle East is out of the question. Britain already has spheres of influence in Persia and Kuwait whilst France claimed durisdiction over Catholics in the region. If Russia told them to get out, they would say "Get stuffed, make us" and if Alexei tried the Allies would win the war.

Secondly the Constantinople Agreement would come into effect so there would be no need for Alexei to succour the Bosporus straits because they would already be his. In addition the British and French will also want their cuts of the Ottoman Empire.

Whilst he could make overseas gains, a more successful Alexei would be one who modernised Russia without Stalin's body count. Whilst without a Bolshevik threat Hitler may or may not still rise to power, a stronger Russia is going to be able to blunt any German invasion sooner. Moreover, if there is no threat in the west, the Russians can get revenge for the defeat of the First Russo-Japanese War converting the clashes in 1939 into a full blown war. Given the Japanese commitment in China Russia could drive her out of Manchuria and Korea.

duly noted.

There will be more to come on this. Any ideas are welcome

The Iron Prince Part II

Nicholas II was on the train to Petrograd when a telegram came in. It urged Nicholas to abdicate the crown. There were riots in Petrograd and Moscow, the two main industrial centres of Russia. Russia was performing badly in the Eastern Front with Germany. But the Military and the Church[1] still gave the Tsar their full support, and they agreed that he should abdicate in favour of Alexei. But since the Prince was only 12, Mikhail would have to act as regent until Alexei's 16th birthday. So Nicholas signed the papers of abdication, and thus a new era was born. When he heard of this, Alexei was surprised and saddened. He had a great duty ahead of him. First, Russia had to win the war. Then it had to take care of the revolutionaries.

The young regent went on train to petrograd publishing his February Theses, promising that once the war is over, a consitution shall be written up and the Land issue shall be resolved once and for all. The Peasants and workers were overjoyed at this news. They were glad for a new start and many pledged their fealty to him.[2] Alexei set to work forming a cabinet in Petrograd (all military responsibilities were those of his uncle Grand Duke Mikhail), which was a coalition of Lvov's Government, the Generals in the Army and the Menshevik party.

The News in Germany was shocking. The Generals realised that the new tsar had managed to increase morale for Russian soldiers when they heard of the recent events in Petrograd. General Von Ludendorff was worried, he had feared "That Germany will suffer worse than the Russians should they lose the war" [3]. But German propagandists played to the young monarch's inexperience, leading to ludendorff becoming more resolute, but still afraid of Invogorated Russian Morale. He knew the Americans were going to come in sooner or later.

There were still Bolsheviks eager for revolution. But their plans were put to a halt as Lenin was Intercepted by a group of soldiers who had gone stray from the battlefield [4]. This prevented any possibility of a resurgence of Communism in Russia. As a result, there were terrorist attacks well into the 20s, but nothing like a civil war.

[1] Second POD
[2] This butterflies away most of the bolsheviks' OTL support
[3] The Iron Prince, William Blum, Second Edition, 1998
[4] A History of World War 1, Sir Tony Blair

I think you might want to have a few instigators assassinate key communist leaders with evidence pointing at competing communist factions. This would cement their lack of support (no charismatic leaders to regain the support of the people) and create more factional fighting in the revolutionary side (so they further drain their own manpower).

By September, the war was picking up. Russia had performed well with the Kornilov Push forcing the Germans back west. They had also began pushing through to Turkey and have been projected to reach Cosntantinople by mid 1918. On he 13 december, the Americans had also agreed to send forces through Siberia to aid the Russians on the Second front. This meant that victory was garuanteed in the East.

However, the Germans were willing to go down fighting. But even fanaticism has its limits. Blockades by Britain were Starving the Germans, to the point of revolution. On 7th of May, 1918, There were mass mutinies by the German soldiers on the Eastern front. The Western powers were squeezing Germany from the Alsace Lorraine to Belgium. With the writing on the wall, Kaiser Wilhelm II surrendered to the Entente on the 8th of August 1918. Under the terms, the kaiser abdicated to a Republic headed by friedrich Ebert, hoping to bring about a fair and just peace under the 14 points.

The Ottomans had collapsed as well as Austria Hungary by this stage, so the Entente decided to deal with them separately. Austria will sign a peace treaty at Sarajevo, Germany in Versailles and Turkey in Ankara. Russia's spoils were to include the Bosphorous straits, which had eluded Russia for centuries.

The mood in Russia was ecstatic. As promised by the regent, Parliamentary elections were to be scheduled for August 1919 and a committee on Land reform was set up, with a report scheduled for 1920. Russia had won the war. Now began the difficult task of rebuilding. There were Jubilant ceremonies with Alexei's coronation in Petrograd in September 1920, as he had reached the age of majority. His first act was to move the russian capital to Moscow, with his palace being the Kremlin.

BTW: New Forum avaialble for ideas.

https://www.alternatehistory.com/Discussion/showthread.php?t=136839

The Three treaties.

8 August 1918

The War was over. America, Russia, Britain and France were all exuberant in celebrations. True to his word, the Tsar asked that a provisional parliament be established (Mikhail was still the one calling the shots) to draft a constitution. It was agreed that after the 1919 elections that the constitution would be established then.

Yet the price of victory was great. Nicholas II had to abdicate. The Grand autocracy was finished and Russia was in ruins. Its Industrial capacity and armies smashed. Mikhail and Alexei agreed that Germany should "be bled dry of every penny the same way we were bled".[1]

At Versailles, Russia hoped to gain a large Chunk of Eastern Germany and 56% of all reparations money from Germany. But thanks to the efforts of President Wilson, Russia only got 40% and got everything east of the Vistula. Many argued this was the reason Hitler came to power in Germany.

At Sarajevo, Russia gained all of Slovakia, but nothing more. Because Austria-Hungary was on the brink of Collapse, Repearations were to be sought from Austria and Hungary in future.

At Ankara, Russia finally had what it sought for centuries. Access to the mediterannean and Constantinople which had been Russia's war aims from since the 1800s at the very earliest. Another boon was carving up the Middle East between Russia, Britain, Italy, Greece and France. France got The Red Sea Coast and northwestern Syria . Britain got Palestine and Jordan while Russia Got southeastern Syria, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. Italy got South West anatolia while greece got the Smyrna region[2]. Many Jewish French Veterans from the war flooded into the region as part of an agreement with the Entente.

Realising the Insurgencies that would arise from this would be a problem, Regent Mikhail set about a massive infrastructure plan for a railway from Um Qasr to Petrograd, creating thousands of jobs as well as giving a massive pool of oil wealth to Russia. Within 20 years, Baghdad became an industrial city that rivalled Birmingham[3]

[1] The Iron Prince, William Blum, First edition, 1995.
[2] A History of the Middle East, Edward M. Kennedy 1980.
[3] Russia's Economic Policies since 1917, Milton Friedman 1941.

Subscribed.

This chapter will not focus on Russia, nor its middle Eastern territories this time round. Instead, it will be a summary of 1920.

USA

The Presidential elections were underway. Socialist Eugene Debs was running from a prison cell in Atlanta, the only presidential candidate to do so in history. But Smedley D Butler, the hero in the Siberian Campaign managed to wrest the GOP nomination off of Harding in a neck and neck finish. The Democrats had not managed to recover from the disaster that was Woodrow Wilson. Thus Smedley Butler won in one of America's biggest landslides.

UK

Britain was wracked by the devastation that WW1 brought. Many said it was the moment that the British Empire began its long descent. There were many attempts to bring about an Imperial Federation in the hopes that Britannia will still rule the waves. It still managed to maintain good relations with the Russians, with the young Tsar applying for Oxford University.

France

The French had suffered massive losses in the war, but had gained new territories in the Middle East. The Jewish communities were given money to settle in Israel. This led to a lot of unrest in Palestine, with terror attacks claiming many lives, including that of Charles DeGaulle.

Germany

Germany was the main loser of the war. Stripped of its Empire in Africa and the Pacific, Germany was the Pariah of the world. There were revanchist parties rising across Germany, the most prominent of which was the NSDAP, led by the charismatic Adolf Hitler.

China

Mao was killed by the KMT after a brief insurgency in his home province. As a result, the Communsits never get anyware. Due to this long era of peace, Chian Kai Shek begins modernisation porgrammes, but is stopped by the powerful landlords, leaving China more vulnerable to...

Japan

The Japanese Empire along with the USA had lost the least in blood or treasure, and planned to take advantage of this. Many say it was the rising sun in the East that dictated the world's future. They were also concerned with Russia ascending and were preparing for a second round. This paranoid about the Russians led to a greater militarism in Japanese society in general.

Italy

Even though they had won the War, Italy was still in a dire state. Its economy was faltering, it was becoming more unstable by the day with radicalism becoming the order of the day. Seizing upon this instability, Benito Mussolini starts a powerful movement called the Fascists, which seem to be on the rise.

Yugoslavia.

This was formed from the former Austro-hungarian empire. It was originally called the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, but was changed to Yugoslavia.

Czechia

Formed from the treaty of Versailles, it was the only stable post-war nation to emerge. Its large german population in the Sudetenland would be a problem for the Czechs if Germany became Revanchist.

Romania

One of the nations that gained the most proportionally from the war. It gained the Transylvania corridor from Austria Hugnary at Sarajevo. Its new oil wealth was also giving it an economic boom.

A Glimpse into the (not so distant) Future...

June 9 1932

Damascus, Syrian Provinces, Russian Empire

Alexei was givng a lecture to the Damascus University about Politics. It iwas business as usual for the Tsar. Give lectures every so often. But by now, the Prince had learned Arabic, so it was no problem for him.

After the Lecture, he headed to the canteens for lunch. The Kibbeh was very good for Damascus, which was very high standards. It was then that Alexei read the Damascus Times. The headlines shocked him immensely, as this was one thing that the Tsar had feared.

Germany, 1921-1924.

"it was His determination to destroy the people he believed stabbed Germany in The Back. That myth had been propagated ever since 8/8/1918 to assuage German shock over being defeated. Little did anybody know that this would begin the bloodiest war of the 20th century as well as the Geopolitical situation today."

A Portrait of the Abyss, William Blum Second Edition, 2002

He had walked in at the afternoon to the Party headquarters at Munich. The members had just had their lunch, which gave him a good opportunity to talk to the crowds:

"My fellow party members. We have had a problem. We had no symbol with which to gather around. Today, that problem is finished. The flag of our party will be one of a red field, symbolising the blood that has been sacrificed to get us this far. There will be a Gold circle in the Centre, symbolising the glories that await us. Finally, there will be a Black Swastika in the centre as the crux of our party. On our Banners, a Dragon shall be on the top, which shall be known as the ReichsDrache"

Hitler's speech was met with roaring applause. After this, the Nazi Party membership began to grow with political success after political success. It all came to a halt with the Nazis suffering a scandal regarding Hitler's niece. But fortunately for Hitler, the impressive propaganda machine of Goebbels managed to divert the public's attention from the truth. This led to the Nazis "Wondering through the wastelands" of German politics for the next 6 years.

Avalon1 said:

At Ankara, Russia finally had what it sought for centuries. Access to the mediterannean and Constantinople which had been Russia's war aims from since the 1800s at the very earliest. Another boon was carving up the Middle East between Russia, Britain and France. France got Palestine and Jordan. Britain got the Red Sea Coast while Russia Got Syria, Kurdistan and Mesopotamia.[2].

Click to expand...

With all due respect the Middle East would not have been carved up like this. Any starting point would be the Sykes-Picot(-Sazonov) Agreement. In addition:

1) The British wanted Palestine because holding it would protect the east bank of the Suez Canal. In addition they had done a deal with the Jews over a homeland for them.

2) The Russians had no interests in Syria (very few if any Orthodox Christians lived there) whilst the French already had so the latter would have priority over that territory.

Therefore the carve up using OTL as a guide would be

Britain: Palestine, Jordan, southern Iraq

France: Syria, Lebanon, western Iraq/southern Kurdistan

Russia: the Bosporus, Armenia, northern Kurdistan

In addition the Italians would also get south west Anatolia whilst Greeks with Russian assistance could now successfully hold on to the Smyrna region. The latter would be in the interests of the Russian government because it would weaken Turkey and thus reduce her capacity to retake Constantinople.

Duly noted. But besides Butterflies from a Tsarist Victory could lead to some revisions being made.

Intresting...

athough what will happen to the likes of Trotsky, Stalin and Molotov?

This is very interesting, but needs maps

Stalin remained in Siberia until he was executed as being aprt of an inusrgency in 1926

Trotsky was killed in a car accident

Molotov went into Politics and will play a role in future events.

Bump (filler)

Tokyo, 14 September 1924

Several Anti-militarist politicans were on their way to the diet. They have been planning for weeks to pass a bill which would restrict military funding. They were afraid of the impact this would have on the LoN. They also feared another war with Russia, which meant they may not be able to win this time. However, snipers had managed to shoot all three of them before they could get within 100 metres of the diet.

Kremlin, 15 December, 1925

Alexei was reading a book in the Kremlin's library. It was War and Peace by Tolstoy. It was during this time that the Tsar began looking for a wife to ensure the bloodline was preserved. He consulted with the Tsar Father, Nicholas and his old Regent Mikhail. Alexei wanted to continue Romanov tradition, but wanted to avoid the disasters of the habsburgs in terms of inbreeding. So he began courting Princess Giovanna of Italy, who met the approval of Alexei's family. This would lead to them marrying in 1927. Their son, and only child, Fyodor, would shape the world forever.