The Irony of the Ruhr
The crack of gunfire echoed across the Ruhr. German workers fell bleeding in the industrial heartland of their homeland.
The German Communist Party saw its chance. They meant to turn the people of the Ruhr away from the exiled Kaiser in East Prussia and toward the German Free Socialist Republic instead. So they stirred the workers with fiery words.
The situation had twisted in the strangest way. France’s reign of terror had somehow driven the German workers of the Ruhr straight into the arms of the German Communist Party. Ironically, the very nation that feared a communist Germany most had, through its own brutality, helped create one.
International opinion was hardly favorable either.
Beyond the killing of fellow Europeans, both Britain and the United States had no desire to see a strengthened communist Germany. They denounced France loudly.
In the end, France began mining coal by hiring its own citizens in the Ruhr while secretly supporting Albert Leo Schlageter of the German Free Corps, who was active in the region. The plan was to redirect German resentment away from France and toward the Free Corps.
“Round up only the reds. If you are willing to play the villain, France will give the Free Corps its full support.”
Yet, just as in real history, it all led to a French financial crisis and only deepened German hatred toward France.
***
Looking at the situation in Europe, it seemed France had attempted to occupy the Ruhr just as in real history—only this time with even greater brutality. They spilled blood as if they were ruling a colony. Even in the original timeline, the way Europeans treated other Europeans had been horrific, but here it was worse. It reminded me of the old Russian Empire using troops to massacre protesters.
Still…
So the Ruhr occupation really did happen.
Was this what people called the irony of history? In the end, events had flowed in a strangely similar direction.
Britain and America had criticized France because they didn’t want the Germans in the vital Ruhr region to support the communists. That made sense. If you occupied the Ruhr, how was Germany supposed to pay reparations? It was one of the core industrial hearts of German power—the largest industrial zone in Europe. Occupying it would be pointless.
Or maybe not. Since communist Germany had outright refused to pay reparations, perhaps that was the logic. If France sent troops to seize the region in lieu of payment, it was understandable. And the German Communist Party would strut around claiming they were the regime that refused to bow to France.
Britain wasn’t in any position to start another war over reparations. Besides, the legitimate German government had fled to East Prussia, making the whole reparations question rather murky.
Should I criticize them too?
The Ruhr was an absolutely essential region for any German war effort. Personally, I’d love for France to simply annex the place and make sure communist Germany could never even dream of war. But that would be difficult. And we were too far away to stick our noses in and tell them what to do.
“The Free Corps has become noticeably more active in the Ruhr region,” Boris Savinkov reported, placing a document on my desk.
“So that’s how things are unfolding.”
In real history, hadn’t the Free Corps in the Ruhr been executed by the French on charges of sabotage? This had to mean France was secretly backing them from behind the scenes.
Well, whatever. It didn’t really matter.
“Shouldn’t we issue an official statement as well?”
“What kind of statement?”
“One supporting France.”
Foreign Minister Vasily Kharlamov seemed unwilling to fall behind the other great powers and immediately suggested we take France’s side.
A statement from us? Was that really necessary?
I had to speak plainly. Geographically, we were simply too far away. How many kilometers was it from Moscow to the Ruhr? Unless the Russian army had marched all the way to the Rhine, there was no reason for us to get involved. Even countries that had fits at the mere mention of communists had no justification here. Not only was it too distant, but France’s actions amounted to colonizing fellow Europeans. The result would clearly be more Germans turning to the Communist Party.
According to the reports, the Germans in the Ruhr hadn’t particularly supported the communists before. Now it was obvious what would happen.
Still, France’s occupation of the Ruhr would weaken Germany’s national strength. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. If they could hold the region longer than in the original history, even better.
But openly supporting France would damage the reputation of the “Nation of the Holy Maiden.” On the other hand, any statement supporting communist Germany was absolutely impossible for an anti-communist state. In cases like this, it was best to say nothing at all.
“Let’s just declare neutrality.”
“Pardon?”
“Neutrality. I don’t want to see communist Germany do well, but what France is doing will only turn the Ruhr’s Germans red anyway. If we must say something, we can state that if the goal is reparations, we hope France’s protection of the Ruhr will proceed peacefully. That should be enough.”
This way, it would look to France as if we supported the occupation, while domestically and internationally it wouldn’t seem like we were taking France’s side too strongly. That much was sufficient.
“Understood.”
“Now then, how are things progressing in Makhno’s Anarchist Free Territory? I imagine they’ll be affected by this as well.”
“Those people have already reached the limits of their anarchist system. They cannot intervene in the Ruhr.”
They had already hit the wall? It was absurd to expect the Free Territory to function properly in the first place. Who in their right mind would join a movement that preached no government? Only those who wanted absolute freedom in everything. A free region without a state could never be properly maintained once the so-called Free Territory was established as a country.
“Limits?”
I had expected anarchism wouldn’t last long. No matter how little external interference there was, the very reason anarchism was called anarchism was because it sought total freedom above all else. Anarchism was also often called a red ideology dangerously close to communism. In simple terms, anarchism was even more alien than communism.
“They appear to be occupying the means of production and trying all sorts of experiments under anarchism. But the Ukrainian people seem to be expressing dissatisfaction with the rapidly changing system.”
Occupying the means of production? I looked at the report and found it quite impressive. Agricultural collectivization, worker self-management… Hmm. It really was just like the reds. A little Soviet Union had been born in Ukraine. Completely red at its core, yet on the surface it claimed there was no state. That was their game.
But that was exactly why it was a problem.
“Are you saying the regime could collapse?”
“According to them, it’s the Regional Defense Council.”
Why did that make me think of the Aragon Regional Defense Council? Could it be that they were inspired by this and would end up dominating Spain too? No, never mind. The fact that even Ukraine was already reaching its limits meant the Aragon council probably wouldn’t appear. I should set that aside.
Still, I was curious. What on earth did the governance of that Free Territory actually look like?
Ah, right. It wasn’t a country—it was a council. Since I respect people’s tastes, I would treat Makhno’s nation as a council.
“So this council that rules the Free Territory… in the end, isn’t it just Nestor Makhno grabbing everyone by the collar and dragging them along?”
The report only described their policies, and even those were presented as “This is the anarchist way!” Since that was all it said, I would need to send the Ohrana to investigate properly.
When I looked at Minister of Internal Affairs Boris Savinkov, he glanced at me hesitantly, as if reluctant to speak, before finally opening his mouth with care.
“On the surface, the council leads the Free Territory. Under the Makhno Ukraine Regional Defense Council, each reorganized Ukrainian region has its own local council.”
“That’s not particularly difficult to say. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“It’s just… it feels somewhat embarrassing to treat those people seriously.”
Well, I suppose so. The Makhno Regional Defense Council. From the perspective of Russia—which had incorporated multiple republics into a federal union—it looked tiny and insignificant. It must feel strange to see me treating them with any gravity.
But if there was a council running the country, and local councils under that, then there were probably even more councils below them. That must be why the report hadn’t listed them all. Council, council, council. Writing it repeatedly would have looked ridiculous.
“Then I suppose there are village-level councils beneath those as well.”
“Yes.”
So it really was nothing but councils. I wouldn’t be surprised if families had family councils too.
“But the inconvenience of it all is causing Ukrainians to voice their complaints?”
“Correct. It seems they cannot adapt to the new system.”
Of course. This bizarre concept must be completely new to them. The whole place was plastered with committees. Under Makhno’s Regional Defense Council, countless smaller councils existed, receiving directives and operating accordingly. In the end, beneath the supreme council were many lesser councils, but despite the name, it all functioned like a Soviet system.
Some of the Green Army soldiers had been from Ukraine. They probably thought joining the federation had been the right choice.
In reality, Makhno’s Free Territory was sustained purely by Nestor Makhno’s leadership. It had been created as something meant to liberate everything, yet what they were doing was closer to the Soviets. Well, it couldn’t be helped. After all, quite a few communists who found Makhno useful had flowed into the territory. Since they were close to the reds, they could communicate well with other reds. I had deliberately allowed communists to cross over to Makhno’s Free Territory.
Even the name of their army was peculiar. They called it the Free Defense Guard, as if they wanted to show their “freedom” by making their army not quite an army.
But what benefit had we gained from all this?
“After the civil war, what conditions did we demand in exchange for allowing the establishment of their council?”
I remembered we had made certain demands in return for tolerating Makhno’s Free Territory. It had been handled entirely by the White Army command, so I wasn’t entirely clear on the details.
“The supply of food and the limitation of their military forces to fifty thousand men.”
That was right. We had left them alone for now because provoking them unnecessarily would be unwise. Letting them run their so-called Free Territory and fail spectacularly would teach them just how ridiculous the whole concept was.
“Are those conditions being properly observed?”
“Yes.”
Of course. If they failed to keep even that much, General Anton Denikin—the master of Special Military Operations—would simply march his corps straight into Ukraine. Besides, they weren’t in any position to strengthen their military right now. Even if it was the army of the Free Territory, it was still Ukraine. And as an anarchist state, it was inevitably closer to communist Germany than to us.
If we failed to integrate Makhno’s Free Territory by the time of the Second World War…
“Aside from Makhno’s personal troops, what is the quality of their army like?”
Did the Free Territory currently have the capacity to strengthen its forces? Even if it was only half of Ukraine, we could not underestimate the capabilities of the reds. After all, they were experts at agitation. Makhno was no different. Despite the name Free Territory, they were simply reds.
One thing was clear. If dissatisfaction continued to build and they reached their limit…
“If it collapses, what do you think will happen?”
“There are pro-Russian factions within Ukraine—people who wish to join the federation. They would likely rally around those groups.”
“That wouldn’t be bad at all.”
Hmm. In that case, our dear Mr. Makhno might end up begging communist Germany for help. That would be rather annoying.