The Princess Who Ruined the Revolution
The small flare Anastasia launched ***
The Soviet siege of Yekaterinburg had ended in defeat. A complete, utter, and humiliating defeat at the hands of the White Army counter-revolutionaries. That cursed Czech Legion had finally thrown in its lot with the enemy. According to the reports of the Red Army soldiers who had managed to crawl back alive, the princess had fought on the front lines herself, but that was laughable. The real point was that they had failed to seize Yekaterinburg—a city that should have fallen with minimal effort. It remained stubbornly in the hands of the White reactionaries. More important than any of that, however, was the fact that the princess was still alive.
“Damn it. That wretched princess, that little girl, seems hell-bent on interfering with everything we do.”
“She has begun implementing various reforms for the workers. She’s carrying out whatever can be done immediately, while promising to enact the rest after the civil war ends and wartime controls are lifted.”
“And you believe that?!”
A frantic Lenin finally exploded in fury. Why? Because the princess was already putting into motion the very reforms the Soviets had planned—before the civil war had even ended. These were the reforms Lenin himself had intended to carry out. That slippery survivor of a princess was ruining the revolution. At this rate, he was beginning to suspect that their initial failure to kill her might have involved some sort of backroom deal.
“They say the princess personally appealed to the people, persuading them while putting the nobles front and center.”
“You think that little princess came up with such a thing herself? It’s obvious the nobles are using her as a figurehead to prevent the loss of public support with some temporary patchwork measures.”
“From what I hear, she even stepped forward personally in battles against our forces.”
“Comrades, be reasonable. She’s nothing but a hothouse flower who lived her life in luxury. What could she possibly know? The rumors must be exaggerated.”
“Regardless, with more reactionaries joining them, Yekaterinburg has grown even more fortified. Our current Red Army has no way to break through.”
Looking at the casualties, one could argue they were slowly chipping away at the wall called Yekaterinburg. Yet while the Red Army bled and earned nothing but resentment, more and more counter-revolutionaries were flocking to the city. On top of that, South Russia was now attempting to link up with Anastasia. Lenin felt as if his feet were on fire.
He groaned.
“Furthermore, the news that we executed the Tsar’s family has already spread across Europe. Rumors are circulating that we raped the Empress and the princesses in front of the Tsar and even timed it. On top of that, our plan to spark successive revolutions has been wildly exaggerated and—”
“Why couldn’t you prevent this? What exactly have you been doing?”
Lenin’s face flushed as red as the banner of the Soviet Red workers. At this rate, the imperialist powers might actually pause their war.
“The people are being swayed by the princess’s policies.”
The Soviets were losing their minds. The princess was implementing the exact policies they should have carried out. Having already labeled the princess of Yekaterinburg an enemy of the revolution, they could not even copy her. She was shifting blame, claiming that certain reforms were being delayed because of the Bolsheviks, which only fueled greater resentment toward the Soviets. The situation was twisting in the most bizarre ways.
Even Kolchak’s White Army was now joining Yekaterinburg. It would have been better if the princess had fled to Vladivostok with her tail between her legs—they could have used that. Instead, she sat firmly entrenched in Yekaterinburg. Whether by choice or necessity, it was more than enough to shake the newly born workers’ state to its foundations. The Tsar’s family had been incompetent, yet the newborn Soviet Union found itself unable to easily topple the great tree that was the Romanov dynasty.
World War I had diverged dramatically from its original course. Upon learning that the Lenin they had sent into Russia had brutally murdered the Tsar’s family, Kaiser Wilhelm II of the German Empire feared his own imperial house might suffer the same fate at the hands of his military and the Junkers. After all, the Bolsheviks spoke of turning every great power red. Who would be first? Surely Germany, which had torn territory from them, would top the list.
With fire at his feet, the Kaiser even prepared for the worst—possible exile to the Netherlands or Britain—and began secret negotiations with the British.
“We will recognize British naval supremacy. We won’t go near another fleet. If your King wishes, we are even prepared to relinquish Alsace-Lorraine. So let us end this horrible war and uproot those red bastards first.”
“Even so, we have the war all but won…”
The German envoy dispatched to London met with British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and conducted the negotiations with maximum humility.
“The British Empire is a monarchy despite its parliament. Rather than that, why not transfer interests in the Baltic states and Ukraine to Britain? Our Kaiser wishes to support the provisional government in Yekaterinburg.”
“To persuade France, you will need to offer colonies as well.”
“We will. After all, where did this all begin? Wasn’t it those detestable Serbs? Must we all turn red because of them?”
“The Kaiser must be truly desperate. Very well. We have no desire to share a channel with a communist state either.”
There was considerable debate within Britain. Hardliners demanded that this was the moment to crush the German Empire, while moderates argued for accepting the interests and colonial rights Germany offered, placing proper shackles on them, rooting out the red plague first, and then observing Germany’s future behavior. In any case, seeing an ally—a nation that had once competed with them in the Great Game for global dominance—turn red left Britain deeply troubled, especially after hearing the Soviet plans spread by the “reformed” reds sent across Europe.
Above all, the terror of the red plague spreading across the continent was so great that communists in every country who had witnessed the Russian Revolution began taking genuine action.
“No, I’m telling you, those bastards would never dare try such things in the British Empire!”
“It remains within the realm of possibility! Can’t you see the growing number of socialists on the British Isles? With the German Kaiser bowing this low, we hold the advantage in any peace talks!”
“What about France?”
“We can give them some colonies. The urgent task is extinguishing the flames of revolution.”
However—
“I’m not afraid of the communists, but I do feel sorry for the one remaining Anastasia. As her cousin, I would like to help her a little.”
King George V of the British Empire, who had no desire to share the fate of his first cousin Nicholas II, sided with the moderates. Britain thus concluded a secret pact with Germany.
Naturally, when France learned that its ally had made a separate secret agreement with Germany, it foamed at the mouth in rage.
“Make peace with Germany? Have you lost your minds?!”
“So you would rather ignore those satanic bastards and focus on crushing Germany first? I understand France’s desire for revenge. But after beating Germany, if the red plague breaks out, can you handle it? Besides, we are not talking about peace. We are talking about an armistice.”
“Ha, you take us for fools. Do you think France doesn’t know that Germany has promised to hand over every interest it seized from those red bastards to Britain?”
It was called an armistice, but with America having turned the tide, what if Germany used the ceasefire to scrape together its remaining strength and attack? France, which shared a border with Germany, wanted to trample its neighbor as thoroughly as possible while the opportunity existed. There was the matter of revenge for the Franco-Prussian War, but the German army was an instrument born for war. Such a powerful force had to be crushed while the chance remained.
“Ahem, this is no longer merely a question for the belligerents. If even the Kaiser is killed by them, those satanic creatures may next target His Majesty the King of our British Empire. Your country, which has executed kings before, may not care, but please consider our position. Frankly, without us, France would have been trampled beneath German boots long ago.”
“These people! Then… what of America? What does America say?”
“Limiting their military so they can never wage aggressive war again, and establishing them as a bulwark against the red threat, would not be a bad outcome.”
America could not possibly accept the horrific, trial-less execution of the Tsar’s family, nor the barbaric ambition of these savages to turn the world red. If the war continued any longer, it was obvious that socialist sympathizers would multiply—not only in Europe but across the Atlantic. America had entered the war due to anti-German sentiment fueled by German-sponsored terrorism, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the Zimmermann Telegram. Yet leaders like President Woodrow Wilson had originally preferred neutrality. Now that Germany had been beaten sufficiently and superiority established, they could not continue the war while harboring the dangerous seed of the red plague.
Moreover, the stories of the Tsar’s family’s execution—spread by the Bolsheviks “reformed” under Anastasia’s influence—and the Soviet ambition to turn every great power red gave hope to pacifists and socialists alike, causing their ranks to swell. These forces had made the Anglo-Americans, who had nearly finished Germany, hesitate. At this point, with Germany yielding this much, it was time to end the conflict. Since Britain had already concluded a separate agreement with Germany, America had no reason to refuse if the terms included Germany’s apology and reparations.
Of course, the opinions of smaller nations like Belgium carried no weight whatsoever in the process.
“You traitors! Have you forgotten what Germany did in Belgium?”
“That’s rich coming from Belgium, which diligently collected severed hands in the Congo. Isn’t it enough that we all survived?”
“Someone must take responsibility, so let us dismantle the Austro-Hungarian Empire in moderation. Grant Hungary independence, give Bosnia to Serbia, and cede South Tyrol to Italy.”
“Since those Bolsheviks foam at the mouth at the very idea of monarchical imperialist states, even if we tear apart the Austrian Empire, the monarchy must be preserved.”
At this point, Britain’s European strategy had fundamentally shifted. The tide of war already favored them, and the German Kaiser had finally submitted, acknowledging British supremacy. The British Empire had always been the guardian of Europe’s balance of power. After this war, another threat loomed—the red plague. Therefore, Britain chose to preserve the monarchical and imperial titles of Germany, Austria, and the Ottomans, ensuring they would serve as a counterweight to the red menace. Naturally, reparations would be extracted to the fullest extent possible.
They also intended to wring as much as they could from the Ottoman Empire while preserving its state debt.
“On the Ottomans, we will not yield. Not one inch!”
France, however, continued to foam at the mouth, desperate to gain something from the Ottomans at least. The Ottomans would be dismantled as in original history, though they would be allowed to remain a sultanate.
Thus, the disposition of the Central Powers was settled. To summarize: Germany would be shackled as thoroughly as possible; the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which had triggered the war, would be moderately dismantled while its imperial debt was preserved; and the Ottoman Empire would be carved apart piece by piece.
“Then, let us now discuss ways to support Princess Anastasia. According to our intelligence sources, the princess does not trust Japan. In that case, utilizing Germany would be best.”
“Once the war ends, there will be considerable surplus matériel. We can transfer that as well. Let us send all the weapons to her side so that Germany cannot even contemplate another war.”
Naturally, these maneuvers by the great powers could not escape the attention of Japan, which had swallowed the Korean Peninsula whole and participated in the European war on equal footing with the Western powers, its nationalist fervor reaching new heights.
“As the ally of the British Empire, our Great Japanese Empire stands ready at any time to dispatch troops to Siberia—”
“Ah, that won’t be necessary. We will ensure Japan receives sufficient compensation in the peace negotiations with Germany. Japan should simply rest easy.”
Of course, unlike in original history, Anastasia had become the rallying point for the White Army and viewed Japanese support with suspicion. With Germany now declaring its intention to support the princess, events began to flow in an entirely different direction.
“Ah, it was such a good opportunity to move into Siberia!”
“Enough with the wars! Our son died in the Russo-Japanese War! We’re already entangled in a European conflict, and now this?”
“Your ideology seems suspicious. You’re a red, aren’t you? A loyal subject of the Japanese Empire would never say such things! Thanks to this war, our Japan is enjoying an unprecedented boom!”
“What nonsense!”
In Japan, many lamented the missed opportunity to intervene in Siberia. Yet Japan was, after all, an empire ruled by the Emperor. It could not help but be sensitive to news of the Tsar’s family’s execution and the Bolshevik plan to overthrow empires through red revolution. Internally, it had to guard against the red plague that was slowly spreading.
And so World War I flowed differently from the history that had once been known.