I reckon he still gets a vote, but socially he is ostracised by Romanovs and polite society in general, so he is most likely to claim illness, unless his vote is crucial.
Correct.I think Pavel Pavlovich should have listened to his son over whose horse killed the Tzar as if it was someone connected with one of the other candidates that would be a boon to him. Neglecting to find out this denial is going to cost him latter.
He misses the cutoff, due to age. Only Romanov males in good standing over the age of 30 can vote at the Gathering. Little Nikki is 25 years old.Out of curiosity does Pavel's son get a vote?
Pavel Pavlovich is massively overreacting here, but for about 17 minutes he felt the power he never expected to have in his life. Boris II and his health was a constant parlor game among the Romanovs. But once Boris II re-legitimized Nicholas, Pavel Pavlovich's window to any meaningful power narrowed. Once Nicholas fathered two healthy sons, he was cutoff. Now, through a freak accident, he had a momentary change to be the undisputed Regent and shape the mind of the future Tsar and then... poof... all gone. He is still a jackass, of course, but also a bundle of nerves. He has no idea how to act in this situation because he never dreamed of this situation. And while the other Romanovs are playing politics because they never dreamed of this either, but are taking full advantage, he finds the whole things to be unseemly. The idea that power can be gained through votes, or deals, disgusts him. If not for Khioniya, he'd not even have bothered to reach out to anyone.As while the son made a mistake with the horse race Pavel seems to be excessively harsh to the point where I think I could see his son voting for someone else.
He gets to sit out due to age restrictions. He is not yet 30 and as such, excluded from having a say at the Gathering. But Romanovs gossip, and so do servants, so the weird state of affairs at the Pavel Pavlovich household is not helping his reputation at all.I reckon he still gets a vote, but socially he is ostracised by Romanovs and polite society in general, so he is most likely to claim illness, unless his vote is crucial.
He married well. His daughter Olivia was on £25k pa pocket money in 1982, at the age of 18. She died in 1986, heroin and general hedonism, in the aftermath of a post-Finals party. The death occurred in the rooms of Gottfried von Bismarck, possibly even more debauched - he was a member of the Piers Gaveston. Given the POD, she might have to find somewhere else to expire....the multimillionaire Paul Channon...
IOTL Bron was rusticated after failing his First Year PPE exams. He never returned to resit. His "diary" in Private Eye was one of the funniest things I've ever read....Aubron Waugh, a fellow Christ Church Tory alumni...
Such as Our Thing? Of course, no WW2 to assist Luciano & Co. in this TL."Sicilian. And the Sicilian Republic is dependent on the United States for a lot of things."
Stay tuned!Still curious to see whose horse actually killed the Tsar.
Ah, stay tuned!Seems time is running out for any last minute plays. Also very curious about Kitty's targeting of Katerina Borisovna, as I would've thought the UK would not care if Russia favoured the US or France as long as it was one of them since they would help normalise Russia.
This makes me wonder if the play is for a failed attempted at discrediting Katerina Borisovna which on anti foreign interference reflex might carry her to the top.
Stay tuned.I reckon they don't want the votes to be split on the anti-Pavel Pavlovich side, thus wanting all the horse trading to conclude in his disfavor before the votes are cast, thus reducing the chance of last minute surprise by eliminating the weaker candidates.
Well, since as you suggested we took care of a certain Bismarck, some fates thankfully can be spared. There are naturally German princelings all over the place (Princess Anne is about to marry one), a few accidents and horrors can be avoided.He married well. His daughter Olivia was on £25k pa pocket money in 1982, at the age of 18. She died in 1986, heroin and general hedonism, in the aftermath of a post-Finals party. The death occurred in the rooms of Gottfried von Bismarck, possibly even more debauched - he was a member of the Piers Gaveston. Given the POD, she might have to find somewhere else to expire.
I probably was a bit loose with my use of the word "alumni," but let's just say he was there long enough to form some connections, and Norman is if nothing very good at using connections. I tried to be careful about looking at certain individuals and figuring out what part the big events I have avoided (the Great War, WWII) played in their live and how much it was their "character."IOTL Bron was rusticated after failing his First Year PPE exams. He never returned to resit. His "diary" in Private Eye was one of the funniest things I've ever read.
United States got into the serious world-politics very late ITTL. Without the Great War to make people curious or disgusted with the thing, most American politicians were happy to avoid the strange world. But nations opposed to the British Empire were quite aggressive in courting the Americans to enter the stage and help them counter-balance the mightiest empire on Earth. The Russians were at first hesitant, thinking they could block the British "where it mattered," and the British were concerned about the Russian might (as in OTL, with some wildly inaccurate in hindsight reports on the might of the Russians in the 1910s), but the French took the lead in wanting Americans to get into Europe, encouraging them to pick up the slack where the French money and prestige was not enough. The plight of the Sicilians, who established a republic and representative democracy proved an easy rallying point for American politicians. After all, here was something easily explained and paralleled back home - the monarchy overthrown and responsible government establishment. The largely moribund State Department in US was quick to offer formal recognition of the Sicilian Republic and politicians had easy talking points. That the Sicilian Republic had some significant issues, due to corruption and This Thing of Ours having more clout in the countryside than anything the Sicilian government did was brushed aside.Such as Our Thing? Of course, no WW2 to assist Luciano & Co. in this TL.
Name | Line | DOB | Vote - Regent | Vote - Guardian | |
1 | Mikhail Nikolaevich | Mikhailite | 1894 | Gavril Ioannovich | Gavril Ioannovich |
2 | Kirill Konstaninovich | Konstantinite | 1899 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
3 | Yaroslav Mikhailovich | Mikhailite | 1900 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
4 | Vasili Alexandrovich | Mikhailite | 1901 | Gavril Ioannovich | Vasili Alexandrovich |
5 | Alexander Alexandrovich | Mikhailite | 1902 | Gavril Ioannovich | Vasili Alexandrovich |
6 | Necktariy Sergeyvich | Mikhailite | 1905 | Katerina Borisovna | Katerina Borisovna |
7 | Rostislav Nikolaevich | Nikolaite | 1908 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
Pavel Pavlovich | Vladimirite | 1910 | pass | pass | |
9 | Roman Georgovich | Mikhailite | 1912 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
10 | Gavril Ioannovich | Konstantinite | 1916 | Gavril Ioannovich | Mikhail Nikolaevich |
11 | Konstantin Ioannovich | Konstantinite | 1917 | Gavril Ioannovich | Mikhail Nikolaevich |
12 | Konstantin Alexandrovich | Konstantinite | 1919 | Gavril Ioannovich | Mikhail Nikolaevich |
13 | Petr Alexandrovich | Nikolaite | 1922 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
14 | Konstantin Olegovich | Konstantinite | 1923 | Gavril Ioannovich | Mikhail Nikolaevich |
15 | Mikhail Feodorovich | Mikhailite | 1924 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
16 | Nikolai Alexandrovich | Nikolaite | 1924 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
17 | Sergei Alexievich | Mikhailite | 1931 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
18 | Elisei Tihomirovich | Mikhailite | 1932 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
19 | Nicholas Alexievich | Konstantinite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
20 | Mikhail Mikhailovich | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
21 | Nikita Yaroslavich | Mikhailite | 1933 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
22 | Alexander Sergeyvich | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
23 | Alexander Mikhailovich | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
24 | Anton Romanovich | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
25 | Nikita Nikitch | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Vasili Alexandrovich |
26 | Alexander Nikitch | Mikhailite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Vasili Alexandrovich |
27 | Konstantin Konstaninovich | Konstantinite | 1933 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
28 | Oleg Kirillovich | Konstantinite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
29 | Vladimir Nikolaevich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
30 | Nicholas Sergeyvich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
31 | Boris Rotislavovich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
32 | Nicholas Alexievich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
33 | Vladimir Alexievich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
34 | Ilarion Alexievich | Nikolaite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
35 | Sergey Yaroslavich | Mikhailite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
36 | Tikhon Yaroslavich | Mikhailite | 1934 | Pavel Pavlovich | Pavel Pavlovich |
37 | Nikita Necktareyevich | Mikhailite | 1934 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
38 | Yuri Kirillovich | Mikhailite | 1934 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
39 | Vladimir Alexandrovich | Mikhailite | 1938 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
40 | Sergey Konstaninovich | Konstantinite | 1939 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
41 | Alexander Vladimirovich | Mikhailite | 1939 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
42 | Sergey Alexandrovich | Mikhailite | 1939 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
43 | Vladimir Konstaninovich | Konstantinite | 1941 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
44 | Ioann Gavrilovich | Konstantinite | 1944 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
8 | Pavel Pavlovich | Vladimirite | 1910 | Gavril Ioannovich | Katerina Borisovna |
This is a really novel take on US diplomacy that seems quite realistic, IMOStay tuned!
Ah, stay tuned!
Some things shall be revealed in the next chapter.
Stay tuned.
Well, since as you suggested we took care of a certain Bismarck, some fates thankfully can be spared. There are naturally German princelings all over the place (Princess Anne is about to marry one), a few accidents and horrors can be avoided.
I probably was a bit loose with my use of the word "alumni," but let's just say he was there long enough to form some connections, and Norman is if nothing very good at using connections. I tried to be careful about looking at certain individuals and figuring out what part the big events I have avoided (the Great War, WWII) played in their live and how much it was their "character."
United States got into the serious world-politics very late ITTL. Without the Great War to make people curious or disgusted with the thing, most American politicians were happy to avoid the strange world. But nations opposed to the British Empire were quite aggressive in courting the Americans to enter the stage and help them counter-balance the mightiest empire on Earth. The Russians were at first hesitant, thinking they could block the British "where it mattered," and the British were concerned about the Russian might (as in OTL, with some wildly inaccurate in hindsight reports on the might of the Russians in the 1910s), but the French took the lead in wanting Americans to get into Europe, encouraging them to pick up the slack where the French money and prestige was not enough. The plight of the Sicilians, who established a republic and representative democracy proved an easy rallying point for American politicians. After all, here was something easily explained and paralleled back home - the monarchy overthrown and responsible government establishment. The largely moribund State Department in US was quick to offer formal recognition of the Sicilian Republic and politicians had easy talking points. That the Sicilian Republic had some significant issues, due to corruption and This Thing of Ours having more clout in the countryside than anything the Sicilian government did was brushed aside.
The Sicilian Republic was one of the first big forays into the European theater of the United States, and some US politicos found they rather liked the taste of it. Here was a chance to play liberator. Here were fawning French diplomats telling them how good it was to see them get involved. And the notion of some obscure American politician getting off a plane in Palermo to cheering throngs waving flags had a lot of appeal as well. Sicily and US have a special relationship. They are the effective US toehold in Europe. Over the years, the French opinion on US presence there has shifted, the French do not want to substitute British domination for American. But the Russians are largely pleased the Americans are there, because it gives them one more ally to utilize in the region. Naturally, the Austrian response is gritted teeth and hard-stares. Austria still hangs on to portions of its Italian holdings and the notion of a fully formed republic in Italy, supported by US is not a pleasant thought. US also secured/guaranteed Sicilian independence from the half-assed assembled United Provinces of Italy, which are much more Federal in nature than modern Italy in OTL, with dual currencies and confused structures. Sicilians for their part are grateful for American support and dollars, and since a generation of US diplomats learned they have no clue how to handle Italian politics, US largely leaves Sicily alone, with only a few requests here and there to try to keep corruption to at least something manageable and keep things out of the international papers. For their part, the Sicilian government loves the arrangement. A benign distant patron is a blessing.
How does the phrase go, once is bad luck, twice is carelessness?In Odesa, at the Okhrana facility, a single gunshot rang through the third underground floor. A heavily armed and armored response squad quickly appeared on the scene, to find Collegiate-Councilor Zahar Alexandrovich Bataev in his office, alone.
Something tells me there are going to be some accidents, retirements due to health issues, deaths due to illness and people reassigned to remote bases and offices.How does the phrase go, once is bad luck, twice is carelessness?
When your electorate is just 44 royal princes, things can get weird and awkward in a hurry.Russian democracy in action.
Ah, that will not be covered in this story. But an excellent idea for a future notion. The Tsarevich will come of age in a mere 3 to 4 year once he is 16, and then he shall become the Tsar, and we shall see how it all came out.So the (relative) liberals have it. The one thing to be discovered, though possibly not in this story but perhaps in a future story, is what sort of person the young Tsar is. Just because people expect that his Guardian will be able to shape his views didn't mean that Katerina will be able to shape them and any attempt might trigger an equal and opposite reaction. Or perhaps she'll be pushing at an open door, who knows.
Some reckonings are coming.Dude's been building up to this the entire story
So it begins
Thank you. As always in writing AH, there is a question based on the POD, of what changed, what should have changed, what would not have changed and how different it all becomes. For my stories, I do a mix of plausible and story-driven. I forget who said it, but deep down you can make the case all AH stories are to some extent implausible. And I realize the fact Harold, Margaret, Enoch and company all exist despite big changes is already knocking on the door of implausibility. But I wanted to have fun. My litmus test is: do I have Richard Nixon selling used steamcars? If not, then I can proceed.This is a really novel take on US diplomacy that seems quite realistic, IMO
Glad you're enjoying it.Have to admit since her introduction I have been rooting for Katerina Borisovna so I am very happy to see her win as guardian.
There are a few left. Some loose ends. Some consequences. There are two additional chapters left, with some charts as well: election, newspaper coverage, select election-day BBC declarations, a by-election due to a resignation, and some quick bios (similar to what I posted in the previous entries of the timeline).Looking forward to the remaining revelations.
Part of Okhrana's problem is that they have never had a really big test. Their last truly big test were the Troubles of '12, which they flunked. Since then, they have clawed back powers, and used the penal system to their advantage. But this is really their first attempt at playing big politics, and they really have no experience in it. Nicholas II allowed them to survive. Boris II let them thrive in the shadows. And Tsar Nicholas III used them to bludgeon his many, many enemies. When Queen Alexandra became Regent and Tsar Alexander IV came of age, it was the first time in multiple generations they have had to actually face someone who was not blindly supportive of all their policies. So here is their big opportunity to play kingmaker and turns out they are a bit crap at it, and given they live in a world of false-flags, honey-traps and assassinations, the fact they did not think the British would be bold enough to start interfering in internal Russian politics shows a lack of imagination. They were never really tested in the Big Game. For the last 40 years, they have been doing whatever they want under the aegis of the Ministry of Justice, and this is really their first big chance to play on the grand stage.Will add it did seem the Okhrana was getting a bit too big for its breaches with the heavy handed nature of its intervention in the regency and guardian 'election'.
Correct. The Bureau false-flagged the approach to get Avian to discredit Katerina, so that Mikhail Feodorovich would have more ammunition. Okhrana was training all of its guns on Gavril Ioannovich, and so the triggered backlash would help Gavril and Gavril alone, allowing for some openings on the Guardian front. The Bureau read the room and decided they preferred Katerina Borisovna as Guardian. So if there is going to be a backlash, then Katerina needs to be bad-mouthed the same way Gavril was being bad-mouthed prior to it, so that the backlash would propel both Gavril and Katerina, rather than just Gavril alone.Finally with that description of the dynamic of US foreign policy ITTL my view would be that the British would prefer Russia be aligned to France than the US so I think I stand by my position of the British not wanting to actually discredit Katerina.
Correct. Okhrana is given a lot of power, and people look the other way, but the trade-off is that results are expected. When you're in Okhrana and you have the big stars on your shoulder straps or lapels, carelessness is not tolerated.How does the phrase go, once is bad luck, twice is carelessness?
Correct. Not every purge will be show in the timeline, but there will be consequences.Something tells me there are going to be some accidents, retirements due to health issues, deaths due to illness and people reassigned to remote bases and offices.
Correct. The Bureau directed the backlash, and gave the ammunition to Mikhail Feodorovich.It's worth pointing out that the Okhrana isn't entirely the author is it's own misfortunes, Kitty has been "helping".
Correct.As has been the long handed clan.
Stay tuned.If Pavel finds out the horse that trampled the Tsar was that of someone linked to the winning ticket i think he may drink himself into a premature grave
Ah, that will not be covered in this story. But an excellent idea for a future notion. The Tsarevich will come of age in a mere 3 to 4 year once he is 16, and then he shall become the Tsar, and we shall see how it all came out.