Chapter 21: The dawn and twilight of an Empire (October-December, 1906
Agrarian reform]
The agrarian reform of Premier Stolypin, in his own opinion, was not an agrarian reform properly speaking (a set of political-legislative, economic and social measures for land ownership and agricultural productivity). As it happened during the first great economic reform of the government of Tsar Alexander III (the creation of the Peasant Land Bank, legal reforms for economic activity, etc).
Instead, the objective of Premier Stolypin's proposal was that the citizens of the Russian Empire continue to participate in economic activities (of agricultural origin), promote settlement throughout the empire and other objectives.
Today, in many modern countries, agriculture is a highly subsidized sector, states allow or encourage investment, research and various agricultural practices to improve the productivity of the land.
However, in 1906, there were still many problems regarding agriculture at the world level, at the technological-scientific and social-political level.
For example in Germany itself Prussian landowners dominated large tracts of agricultural land.
The same happened in various parts of Latin America, where the landowners (few) had a land of rather low productivity, due to the lack of modern equipment and practices, human force and some other farm animals were generally used.
Russia had its first land reform in the 19th century, and this had had several results. Russia was the largest exporter of agricultural products in Europe, with a strong sector in the construction of tractors and agricultural equipment, a chemical fertilizer industry, medical research against diseases for crops, and more.
But not without problems.
Russia was a massive country full of lands that were not always good for crops, there were deserts and frozen lands. Whose profitability or success (depending on the projects carried out such as the Pleistocene Park or the green wall of Central Asia) would take a long time.
In addition, we now find the struggles of small family farmers, rural-peasant cooperatives, landowning nobility and large capitalist companies against each other.
Part of the demographic problems were resolved through the implementation of land policy measures in exchange for years of work, the annexation and integration of territories, and the Russian industrial-agricultural revolution.
But Russia could not be left behind.
On November 9, Premier Stolypin achieved the first steps of his agrarian reform. Not without first fighting of course, there were simply stupid opinions that got in the way.
* The most radical Trudoviks (left-wing populists) immediately demanded the communal nationalization of all the producing land (it was not going to happen).
* The Kadets simply insisted on continuing current policies, and allowing the state to expropriate private property in exchange for just remuneration, to later be given to the peasants without many charges. But it was more of a political statement with no real intentions.
* Some of the Black Hundreds proposed a more traditional course, oriented towards the landed nobility and not the peasants or capitalists.
* The Greens were proposing something similar to the Trudoviks, but aimed solely at ethnic Russians, possibly also reducing Jewish and other minority agricultural communities, reducing foreign immigration to Russia (abolishing land-for-work policy), etc.
This forced Stolypin to work with Tsar Alexander III and other bureaucratic officials (the Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich, Vladimir Iosifovich Romeyko-Gurko and Sergei Efimovich Kryzhanovsky), the Septembrists, liberals, non-partisans, social democrats and some rightists to review and obtain finally reform.
With this, Stolypin's agrarian reform finally came to fruition.
The measures included extensive reforms of anti-monopoly laws in the agricultural sector, agro-economic aid, support for rural societies or agricultural cooperatives, formation of settlements and population transport, and the continuation or facilitation of previous policies regarding land tenure.
Commissions for the aforementioned research, agro-economic aid and agricultural subsidy were also developed, related to the ministries and local zemstvos for agricultural activity in the various governorates of the Russian Empire.
It must be understood that with the early arrival of capitalism in Russia, there was a clash between the Russian tradition and capitalism. There were big capitalists who wanted and would get their piece of the pie of course, but the Alexandrian government was not going to allow monopolies (let the capitalists take all the pie).
There was a difference between private enterprise (generally supported by a single individual and some associates), the cooperative-rural society (associations of a communal-collective nature, oriented towards production, trade and mutual aid), the old Russian nobility (the landowners that remained) and small producers (generally family-owned).
Each of these types of groups were part of Russian agriculture, with its advantages and disadvantages. The Russian government's support for agriculture had to find some balance.
In the first land reform, the Russian government had supported the small producers and cooperatives (and the nobles who actually managed the land and demonstrated efficient agricultural productivity, but these were a minority of the old landowners).
Now a new capitalist class had emerged and cooperatives and small producers were also more oriented or integrated into the market economy. However, the capitalists accumulating as much land as possible would bring back the old problems of the nobility.
Russian agriculture had to remain competitive.
This is why the Russian government continued its previous paths in agriculture and continued to take measures against monopolies or activities that damaged the agricultural economic sector.
Some say that Russia by this time had already begun to use state capitalism and state intervention in the economy to maintain the market (without succumbing to completely socialist measures such as economic planning or total nationalization).
Speaking of results, Stolypin and the Russian government project that the greatest results would come from 1911 onwards. As usual, the Alexandrian government played a long-term game and wait.
Regarding demography and industrialization, as mentioned, the formation of settlements and population mobilization (including animals) was successfully approved, but the following industrialization plans would have to wait a little after the agrarian reform.
Modified trains were created that could transport not only people, but all their livestock to the new settlements planned by the Stolypin reform.
Russia's lower-middle class remained the main engine of many of the events in Russia.
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* Perspective of the Tsar.
Another session of the First Duma was ending, the majority of deputies were retiring unlike ministers, the Premier and the royal family present.
"... Nicholas." Tsar Alexander III calmly calls his eldest son.
"Yes?" The Tsesarevich Nicholas asks curiously.
"Tell me, who do you think guides the story?" Alexander III exclaims.
"What do you mean?". Nicholas responds, once again somewhat confused by his father (already over 60).
"I speak of the Great Man theory and its counter-arguments, without men like you or my ministers, we would achieve nothing. But we would not achieve anything either without the entire mass of Russia, peasants, merchants, capitalists, educators, artists and others. . " Tsar Alexander III indicates, explaining his point towards the Tsesarevich.
"... So you don't have to reduce everything to great men and social movements." Nicholas exclaims at the posture of his father.
"No. The movements and moments allow great men, they are an extension and leaders at the same time. In my opinion of course, I could be wrong." Alexander III responds. "This is why I have a request."
Nicholas was quite intrigued and surprised.
"Don't let people whitewash my story, and don't let the contributions of others be forgotten. But don't let them blacken my story and condemn all my actions either." Alexander III delimits. "People can criticize me of course, but don't let the state erase my entire legacy, otherwise the government loses legitimacy."
"Why give this job to me?" Nicholas exclaims.
"Because I believe that you will be a much bigger leader than me Nicholas, and I trust that you will have even more people behind you."
"The Old Man put a heavy weight on my shoulders. How do you get over the man who did it all?"
-Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich.
Later in the decades after the Alexandrian government and during various Russian governments, a 'leadership critique' developed. A government could not be completely de-legitimized, but the successors had to make certain criticisms and self-criticisms for the government to evolve and develop.
Generally the Russian governments (monarchs or premieres) have entered within the "70-30", 70% of positive works and 30% of negative works.
Although of course there are exceptions.
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[Silver Cultural Age: Theater]
* Although foreign historians-critics also attribute the Great Depression and international crises as the end of Russia's golden cultural age, the truth is that the motive among Russian historians and critics is the death of Anton Chekhov (who died in 1904).
While it is true that various languages had a process of Cyrilization in the Russian Empire, there are still other very interesting currents that occurred during the silver age of Russian culture.
On December 22, the first public presentation of professional theater in the Tatar language was given. Performed by the Sayyar theater group (itinerant, traveler).
The previous Tartar theater was mainly amateur and in private homes, which performed works of Russian (Slavic) or foreign origin, the first Tartar play was created in 1886 (Bichara kyz or unhappy girl).
Obviously in the Tatar regions of the Russian Empire, this was a great event and of cultural importance for the Tatars of Russia.
With this, Tsar Alexander III created the "Tatar Academic Theater" (later called Galiaskar Kamal Tatar Academic Theater, Tатарский Академический Театр имени Галиаскара Камала / алиәсгар Камал исемендәге татар дәүләт академия театры) located in the city of Kazan.
This to give a place to the development of the professional Tatar theater.
Figures such as actors and directors Ilyas Kudashev-Ashkazarsky, Suleiman Vale Sulva, Zain Sultanov, Bari Tarkhanov and Nuri Sakaev participated in the Tatar Academic Theater. Actress and director Sahibzhamal Gizzatullina-Volzhskaya
Playwrights such as Galiaskar Kamal, Karim Tinchurin,
And artists like Ashraf Sinyaeva, Shakir Shamilsky, Gulsum Bulgarian, Kasym Shamil and Mukhtar Mutin.
In future decades, the Tatar theater was one of the main expressions of the actors, producers and directors of Tatar origin, bringing great commercial success and production quality.
For much of the 20th century, the theater was much more popular with the Tartars than the cinema.
Other ethnic groups would also have their own cultural manifestations in huge Russia, but the Tatars are some of the most notable.
The problem was the limitation of media and audience, so although local theaters would be successful, many of the non-Russian actors generally went to the Russian cinema-media and spoke Russian if they wanted to have a national success (throughout the empire) .
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[Radio]
On November 3, like other countries, the Russian Empire adopts SOS as a distress signal (similar to the international community at that time).
But there are other important events to mention, such as the steady growth of radio in the Russian Empire. Especially in European Russia (Russia proper, White Russia and Little Russia).
Private companies in Russia and public radio transmission sites were growing considerably, at that time there were only two or three countries that seriously competed with Russia in the aspect of radio communication.
The UK and the US, and potentially Germany (although it was certainly a much less of a threat than the US and UK, in terms of the proliferation of radio).
The United Kingdom had the services mainly of Guglielmo Marconi and British developers, the United States of Thomas Edison and other Americans (and to a lesser extent of Marconi as well), while in Russia there was Nikola Tesla and other national-international talents.
Russia's advantage was that they were the first to invest in such technologies, which helped them develop radar and modernize the armed forces before the rest.
And from the armed forces, this technology went to the civil sector.
The rest of the countries had their own developments or imitated Russia, before starting to build their own models and technologies.
But Russia was already actively pursuing new technologies, partly through its bases and laboratories in Rostov-on-Don.
The Riddle Machine and the Great Firewall of Russia were still developing, but were already yielding their first major results in late 1906 and 1907.
Obviously the first to know were the war ministry, which continued to invest to fight against possible infiltration and espionage in Russia, and to develop encryption of Russian communication lines.
Technology was and still is very important, but during the post-Fashoda period and during the great depression, we saw certain precedents like never before, for a variety of reasons.
The war between the United States and Germany (motivated by geo-political factors), the Russian 'paranoia' (justified to some extent) and the militarization of groups around the world (revolutionaries or socialist, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist states and others like United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway).
Accompanied by the appearance of these technologies, it laid the basis for the growth of industrial powers, which although some did not fully understand modern warfare, if they had taken note of previous wars (the last Russo-Turkish war, Fashoda, etc.) .
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* [Tesla Tower]
At the end of 1906, the Serbo-Russian scientist and businessman Nikola Tesla, reached a new contract with the Russian government for technological developments.
Nikola Tesla's SEiPK certainly had money on technology development and electricity, things like radios, light bulbs, some motors, remote-controlled toys, and communication. Even recently (in 1906) they started selling tesla turbines.
But in Tesla's opinion, he still needed more funds for his project.
Tesla's intention was to build a wireless transmission station, but more related to new experiments (that is, something relatively far from the radio) what today we can understand as telephony and even fax images (facsimile images).
The idea for the Tesla Tower (Башня Тесла, Bashnya Tesla) was based on certain pre-radio wave ideas (based on Popov-Hertz work) and Tesla's own theories.
Tesla's theory was the existence of a worldwide wireless system, if (supposedly) enough electrical energy was injected into the Earth at the correct frequency, the Earth's own electrical charge could be used to produce "standing waves" that could be used by devices anywhere on the planet or carry a signal to another place.
Tesla believed his theory to be true because of the ability of his coils to illuminate mounted electric lights via a wireless power transmission. But he lacked important experimental-theoretical supports.
The Russian government agreed to finance Tesla, giving him some space between the Russian Far East and Alyáska for the development of the Tesla Tower.
However, despite the interest of the Alexandrian government, they put certain obstacles or guides to Tesla's experiments, since they obviously wanted to get something from all this.
Russia had accepted electromagnetic waves quite early, but Tesla's thinking, in part, was still in the thoughts of directly transmitted electricity and telegraphy. Therefore government reports thought that even the genius of Tesla lacked a certain vision.
So they tried to 'guide' him to some results.
(OOC: Personally I would say that the tower is in the far east or some island among the far east and Alyáska).
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[Slavic Africa: Katanga]
On October 28, there were important developments in the Russian colony of Katanga, the copper mining industry began to grow by leaps and bounds as the local infrastructure (supported by Russian policies and treaties towards the natives) began to allow the extraction of the large amount of mineral resources in the region.
Of course, exporting them abroad was difficult due to the lack of an outlet to the sea and less developed neighbors, but even so the money obtained from copper could be re-invested in Katanga's infrastructure (hospitals, roads, communication, aid to locals and local defense forces).
The first Katanga railways were built or expanded, and immigration programs (mainly Italian or Russian workers), radio-telegraphy, and education (for natives and whites) continued in force.
By the 1910s, Katanga produced more than 900 tons of copper.
Of course the working conditions were not always the best, especially in a colony as isolated as Katanga where certain bad attitudes sometimes did not reach the ears of the Moscow-Saint Petersburg government. This is why opinions began to emerge in Katanga about the need for more representation in Russia (similar to the deal the Namibians got).
But these were very early and underdeveloped views in 1906.
Of course with such money, Katanga and Russia made some other improvements, such as greater construction of shelters, orphanages, child-adolescent sports centers and many charity buildings designed to provide food.
* Copper was not the only resource in Katanga, there was also uranium, zinc, tin, radium and cobalt.
But this (especially uranium) is interesting for other reasons and times.
However, not everything was good or positive, in the sense that the colonial authorities and Russia would know that such mineral wealth could be of use to an enemy who invaded the Russian colony of Katanga.
This is why the Russian general staff and the local Katanga militias had to develop plans to basically destroy the major developments in Katanga in case of invasion.
An invasion would destroy years of development and investment, but there were not many other options because a war in Katanga would be a guerrilla war (asymmetric).
Plans were made to collapse or clog mines, disable railways, destroy local telecommunications, and prevent many resources from falling into enemy hands.
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[International]
October 1, finally due to Russo-British interference, the original Iranian constitutional movement suffers a major defeat on the political scene in Persia. Many of the constitutionalists are locked up or silenced.
This means that the Qajar dynasty continues to be quite absolutist, and Russo-British companies remain with extensive rights, influence, and concessions in Persia.
However, there is still another constitutional movement in the making as the Shah is fading from his old age and his heir is preparing for this with the help of Russia.
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October 6, various groups of the Punjabi rebels of the British Raj form the Communist Party of Punjab, which in its 'constitution' of 1906 was defined as "a part of the future Communist Party of all India".
The Punjabi communists were the first to centralize in such a way in India, borrowing elements from the Bengali rebellion (which was happening at the same time, though less centralized), the communists parties of Europe and other earlier party-movements of India.
The Communist Party of Punjab was a left-wing nationalism (nationalism was a tool of third world nations or colonies to fight colonialism) and Marxist-tinged socialism (Marxist literature began to reach India after the revolutions Iberia, Italy and France).
* They also took from certain socialist ideas (the weapons of the proletariat should not be withdrawn under any pretext) and from the Indian author (born in Bengal) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, a strongly militant or 'Spartan' stance.
The importance of the Punjabi communist movement and the Bengal socialist movements is that these ideas precisely opposed non-violence (they believed that violence was a legitimate way to oppose colonialism), they opposed reform (they wanted independence from the colonial rule and leaving the British monarchy) and opposed the separation of Hindus and Muslims.
This because the participants believed that religious separation was a British tactic to separate the independence movement (true to some extent).
For this reason many of the Hindu or Islamic movements trying to divide India began to suffer more and more defeats to the Indian leftists, whose revolts (in Punjab and Bengal) and terrorism were plaguing Lord Curzon's Bengal and Punjab in 1906. onwards.
Due to the early elimination of various reformers and support for the Home Rule of India, the leftists were simply gaining more popularity in northern British India (Muslim and Hindu).
Moving from the peripheries to increasingly central and important regions of the subcontinent.
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October 11, a diplomatic crisis erupts between the United States and the Empire of Japan, when the public schools of San Francisco begin to segregate Japanese students.
This is due to the growth of anti-Japanese sentiment and beliefs about yellow-peril that existed at the time (due to discrimination against Asians in countries with a white majority).
Not only did it seek to segregate Japanese and white children, but the "Japanese and Korean Exclusion League" also sought to extend anti-Chinese immigrant measures to Japanese immigrants (and other Asians such as Russian Koreans), exclude Japanese employees and companies with Japanese workers, and inform the government of the 'threat' of the Japanese to the United States.
This unleashed a diplomatic problem between Japan and the United States, including Russia to some extent (due to racism against its citizens). The Japanese wanted respect (in part that was how Russia had treated them, even after the Russo-Japanese War).
The US government of Elihu Root did not reach a compromise on this because of the American-German war and the disagreement between parties about what to do.
* This would not be resolved until the United States prohibited the majority of Asians from immigrating to the country.
What did happen was that Germany took the opportunity to carry out actions in the Pacific, using submarines and marine bombs to attack various parts of the Pacific coast of the United States.
This taking advantage of the diplomatic distraction of the United States and the destruction of San Francisco, the main western port of the United States in the Mexican campaign effort.
This unleashed panic in the United States due to the war spreading beyond the Caribbean, the problem was that it was also extremely costly economically for Germany, fortunately word of mouth magnified (a little) the German attack.
Another problem is that after this, the American oligarchs realize how much money they can make from the war in the midst of this Great Depression, which makes cheap labor and fear an easy tool.
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October 16, the impostor Wilhelm Voigt manages to impersonate a Prussian officer and steal more than 40,000 German marks from the city of Cöpenick / Copanic (modern Köpenick).
October 23, the magnate and inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont grows enormously within the government of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, essentially led by oligarchs and to some extent, by the military.
Santos-Dumont becomes economy minister and begins to fight for a certain modernization in the republican Brazilian economy, in order to avoid a revolution or defeat at the hands of the equally weak empire.
This under President Alfonso Pena, leader of the Republic of the United States of Brazil from 1906 until his death in 1909.
November 1, one more defeat for the United States in the Hippo war.
November 3, the SOS distress signal is adopted internationally.
November 22, Stolypin's agrarian reforms begin.
December 3, the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy manages to build an electric transport service in the city of Milan, restarting important urban developments after the socialist revolution.
From December 4 to 15, the United Kingdom and the white dominions of the British Empire (Canada, New Zealand and Australia) sign the Great London Treaty, which begins a series of free trade agreements and economic unity between the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Cape (South Africa).
Effectively creating a great Imperial Preference for the members, continuing economic unity, free trade and common budgets for certain projects (the navy ... and finally some infrastructure, although only for the enjoyment of whites and generally rich).
The rest of the colonies-territories do not enjoy representation and all these benefits, but diplomats and agents from Australia, New Zealand Canada and the Cape begin to have a presence in the London of Albert Victor I.
* There are also plans for more Anglo-Saxons or Anglo-Canadian Speakers to start colonizing Greenland and even Iceland if this is successful.
December 22-24, the United States lost more than 3,000 soldiers at the beginning of the invasion of the lush Mexican south, which continues to be quite slow, and also continues to have logistical problems in the north.
For this reason, the United States general staff plans to continue placing a bow rudder to try to calm Mexico, 'holding' false provisional elections in Mexico City and seeking to eliminate the northern guerrilla coalition.
From December 26 to 30, Victoriano Huerta is appointed as 'President' of Mexico ("United Mexican States") and Felix Diaz as Field Marshal of that state (the zone occupied by the United States).
Obviously that does not help much, but the professional army of the Second Mexican Empire begins to suffer serious blows in its structure after the fall of Mexico City, American action and the idea of the government to Cuba (therefore also the withdrawal of some commanders -generals).
* There are no major changes in Hispaniola or Panama for the American-German war.
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