The Pride of the Germanic People

The Soviet Union was in turmoil. In Moscow, leftists took to the streets in protest. The Bolsheviks had banned private property and herded peasants into collective farms. They ruled with an iron fist, treating the people with brutal authoritarianism. The demonstrators could endure it no longer.

It was a far cry from the young princess who was carrying out sweeping reforms. The Soviets demanded absolute obedience from the peasants, crushed them with violence, and governed through terror. If the White Army had been as hopeless as in the original history, perhaps things would have been different. But astonishingly, the Soviet people now had another option: the princess’s White Russia.

Even if that weren’t the case, the fact that the Bolsheviks they had trusted and followed were proving far worse than the princess was enough to drive leftist workers to strike and demonstrate.

Strikes followed by protests. The Soviet people believed the current regime was worse than the Tsar’s time. No—in fact, the princess’s Russia, which seemed to carry on the legacy of the old empire, treated workers far better than the Soviets ever had. That only deepened their sense of betrayal.

At this rate, it really did look like the Bolsheviks had only stirred up the workers to seize power for themselves, just as the rumors from White Russia claimed. The protests grew fiercer, and in the midst of this vicious cycle, the Soviet leadership had to make a decision.

The problem was that the man in the position to make that decision was none other than Trotsky.

Trotsky grew more radical with each passing day. Crush them all and make an example. This was nothing short of a second Bloody Sunday. Even the Tsar had not gone this far. His inner circle thought the same.

Of course, Trotsky had his excuses. If they let this continue, reactionaries would surely intervene from behind the scenes. In the worst case, the people might rise up in a new revolution—just as Lenin and Trotsky had once done—and that revolution would bear the princess’s influence. Russia would slide back into that cursed imperialist era.

Trotsky was desperate. Once the people had tasted revolution, they would not sit quietly. There was only one answer.

Naturally, the Bolsheviks took up arms to prevent any revolution from breaking out. They would rule through terror for a while, even if it meant spilling blood. Once the workers submitted, they would push through their own reforms first, topple the princess who only sowed chaos with her half-baked changes, and establish a true workers’ state. That was the plan.

“Comrade Trotsky seems overly impatient.”

“What can we do? The princess knows our weaknesses too well.”

The princess, born into privilege, understood the fundamental flaw of the Soviet system that had begun by luring the people with sweet words. She had even taken policies that should have belonged to the Soviets, explained them directly to the people, and implemented them herself. Of course, carrying out reforms in the middle of a civil war could only go so far. Whether those reforms would truly reach every corner of vast Russia remained to be seen.

Stalin, who observed the current Russian situation with cold precision, knew this all too well.

She’s a terrifying woman.

Those reforms were partly meant to win the people’s hearts for the imperial family, but they were also clearly aimed at the Soviets. The Soviets had promised reforms to the people several times and tried to refine their plans. Yet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠princess seemed to take those very plans, tweak them to be more palatable, and implement them first.

Unlike the Soviets, who had earned resentment by banning private property, the princess recognized it and based her reforms upon it. It was as if she were taunting them: I’ll do it first—what can you possibly do now?

Whatever the Soviets did from now on, they would find it hard to shake the label of merely copying the princess. This struck at the very foundation of the Soviet system. For Stalin, who aspired one day to become its supreme leader, it was an ominous sign.

They had to capture the princess somehow before that happened. Sweep away the reactionaries so the people would follow the Soviets instead. Of course, the road ahead was long, and for now he needed to gauge Lenin’s intentions.

“Then does Comrade Lenin share Trotsky’s views?”

“For now, he intends to recapture Ukraine.”

“Ukraine?”

“We must redirect internal discontent outward, mustn’t we?”

So that was it. Even Comrade Lenin was crumbling. He was desperate to hold onto power. Well, it was only natural. The very survival of the Soviet Union was now in jeopardy. Losing power here would mean not only Lenin but the entire Communist Party would face the people’s judgment. In other words, losing power now meant death. They could suffer the same fate they had inflicted on the Tsar.

Even so, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Stalin considered it fortunate. If Lenin and Trotsky absorbed all the people’s grievances and played the role of meat shields properly, the princess would essentially be helping him.

An opportunity is coming my way.

The princess’s pressure was, paradoxically, creating an opening for Stalin. And it seemed that opportunity would arrive sooner than expected. In that case, he first needed to bring the party’s cadres onto his side.

“Stalin. Doesn’t it seem that Comrade Lenin has become rather impatient as well?”

On his way back after observing Lenin and Trotsky’s movements, Voroshilov spoke to Stalin. Yes, they must have seen it too. Lenin and Trotsky had grown far too radical. This was the moment Stalin needed to set the stage. He had to gather those suitable to stand with him and clearly identify those who would need to be purged later. Preparation had to begin now.

“Hmm. It is radical, but recapturing Ukraine is indeed necessary.”

“So you agree, then?”

“I’m not sure. This may be the right time to recapture it, and redirecting the people’s discontent outward rather than letting it fall on the party does require striking somewhere else. But that would mean the people bleeding, wouldn’t it? So I remain undecided.”

“Comrade Lenin should have kept you at his side instead of Trotsky.”

The party cadres, including Voroshilov, smiled bitterly at Stalin’s lament. This was not what they had carried out the revolution for. They understood it was necessary to protect the Bolshevik regime, but this was not the revolution they had wanted. At this rate, how were they any different from the Tsar?

Stalin hid a faint, cold smile that no one noticed. For now, he would continue playing the good-natured follower. And when Lenin and Trotsky had done their part and the people’s unbearable resentment caused their power to collapse like a sandcastle—that would be the moment he stepped forward. He would launch a new revolution and purge both Lenin and Trotsky.

The Soviet Union was suffering from a serious fever. According to intelligence brought by the Ohrana that had joined our side, Trotsky’s military reform was being obstructed by Stalin, just as expected. In the original timeline, while the White Army was busy fighting over leadership, the Reds would have finished rebuilding their forces and driven the Whites back with a five-million-strong army. That momentum had now been halted.

Whether Stalin judged that we were too busy building our own strength to attack them or not, he was clearly opposing Trotsky’s plans. He had sufficient justification: the failed attack on Yekaterinburg, the joining of southern Russian forces with the Yekaterinburg provisional government, the sluggish pace of reform, and the growing number of mid-sized cities sick of the Communist Party’s incompetent tyranny that only expanded its army without delivering results. They were defecting to the White Army one after another.

Stalin’s faction reportedly advocated carrying out reforms first and building the military afterward. This might mean we could afford to take a little more time.

Unlike the original history, our White Army—except for the Baltic and Finnish sectors—had successfully unified its forces. With support from the great powers, White Russia was growing rapidly. We had appointed Pyotr Wrangel as Commander-in-Chief of the Liberation Army, integrating the forces of southern Russia, the Cossacks, and part of the Siberian Whites. He was slowly beginning his westward advance.

Of course, I had given him strict instructions not to engage in battle. Cities seeking liberation from Bolshevik oppression were welcoming Wrangel’s army of their own accord. With almost no significant fighting, only Trotsky grew more frantic.

In contrast, the White Army under Pyotr Wrangel saw its numbers swell daily as more cities joined White Russia. Meanwhile, Anton Denikin’s forces remained stationary for now. They had to guard against Ukraine. German support, which had effectively turned them into Britain’s second team, was truly remarkable.

They acted as if the so-called pride of the Germanic people had never existed, pouring enormous amounts of aid into our hands exactly as the British, French, and Americans demanded. They even provided technical personnel. Thanks to them, if the reality I was facing had been a typical story about a grand duchess’s territory, it would have felt like I was using cheat keys. Honestly, it was downright suspicious.

Why would Germany—neither an ally nor even a former enemy in the conventional sense—do this much for us? It defied common sense. They should have begged Britain to let them handle the Reds themselves. What on earth were they thinking?

“A new railway network centered on Yekaterinburg is being constructed.”

Recently, Kolchak—who had become a representative in the Duma—delivered his report. Yes, Yekaterinburg was now functioning as the capital.

The terrorists who had cried “We hate the Bolsheviks, but we hate you too!” and carried out attacks across White Russia had also disappeared. In the original history, the White Army had never properly unified. Even at the height of their momentum, they failed to recapture Tsaritsyn, and both Bolsheviks and non-Bolshevik leftists constantly harassed them with terrorism from behind.

Whether it was because they liked what I was doing, because White Russia had grown large enough to cure the terrorists’ anger-management ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠issues, or because the Reds were currently committing half-mindless idiocy while we beat down the communists in the Far East, I wasn’t sure.

“The railway network is like blood vessels circulating through the vast body of Russia. Its center must become the heart. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠This Yekaterinburg must absolutely serve as that heart.”

It couldn’t be helped during a civil war, but wasn’t it about time for some decent talent to appear? It was exhausting trying to drag this half-dead Russia forward by the collar all by myself. The reforming nobles and citizen representatives of Yekaterinburg were currently doubling as ministers, but once the provisional government was properly established, we would need to recruit real talent. Hopefully they wouldn’t all be dead by then.

“Still, far too many German-made weapons and goods are flowing in.”

“Isn’t that a good thing for us?”

What did the German Empire hope to gain by doing this? They had even built entire factories in Yekaterinburg, southern Russia, and Central Asia. Military factories, no less. Had the Germans always been this generous? Were they trying to offset some reparations? No matter how you looked at it, handing over this much went against all notions of Germanic pride. And why go to such lengths after losing the war?

“Your Highness. Germany has offered to assist with tank production on site.”

This time Mikhail Drozdovsky spoke with visible excitement. The man had been obsessed with tanks for a long time now—wait, what? They were helping with tank production?

“Pardon?”

Those people? Tanks? No, wait a minute. The Germans wouldn’t give away something like this out of pure goodwill. Why would they help us build tanks? Their own tank production had been pathetic and they still lost the war. Or had they?

“Do you know why they’re helping?”

“The reason given is that when His Majesty the Kaiser sees Your Highness, he is reminded of Princess Louise and wishes to support you without reservation. However, because of British and French eyes, he will do so in secret.”

That was blatantly suspicious.