Russia Will Soon Be Rome

Russia would soon be Rome.

“That makes sense. But will the State Duma support the Tsarina’s position?”

“Yes. We have already secured unanimous approval.”

I had already obtained the Duma’s permission on this matter. Since I needed to set the stage for the Second World War somehow, it had not been difficult.

“May I take the lead on the Anti-Comintern Pact?”

“Why, of course. Isn’t that only natural?”

“With foreign heads of state present, it is only right that Your Majesty preside.”

They accepted it far too readily. I had a feeling about this. The Duma was likely dumping the entire matter on me so they could blame me if anything went wrong. In that case, I needed to distribute responsibility with the heads of state participating in the pact.

In other words, if Bulgaria chose to strike Greece, I had no intention of stopping them. I would not provide military support, either. We would simply observe. That was the extent of it.

“We will join you on the Greek question as well.”

“Turkey?”

“Yes. The Greek army invoked Megali Idea, invaded our territory, and carried out massacres. Retaliation is necessary.”

It was a story I had heard before, so there was no reason to object—at least not after the Second World War. This was not a war on Russian soil, and I saw no cause to aid Greece. One might argue that, as fellow heirs of the Eastern Roman Empire, we should stand with Greece, yet the Greek side had offered no overtures.

Besides the nations the Duma had already selected to sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, proposals had been sent to several others. The Baltic states—essentially pro-British—had received them, as had Greece. The Baltic states had demanded guarantees of independence. Greece had yet to reply. Perhaps they resented Russia for obstructing Megali Idea, or perhaps the presence of Bulgaria and Turkey in the pact displeased them. It might even be because of communist-tinged Yugoslavia and Italy. Whatever the reason, Greece had not come.

The result was that a date had now been set for Bulgaria and Turkey to jointly crush Greece. Well, it was their own fault for staying away.

Now, then. We ought to receive something in return.

“Now, our Russia also requires certain promises from Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.”

“What might those be?”

Boris III and Ferdinand I had been sipping their tea; at my words their eyes widened. They clearly had not expected demands directed at Romania or Bulgaria. Ismet Inönü, however, looked as though he had anticipated this.

What did these three nations have in common? Every one of them was tied to Rome. Romania’s very name meant “land of the Romans” and openly proclaimed succession to Rome. Bulgaria, after gaining independence from the Ottomans, had fallen silent on the matter, yet had once aspired to an imperial throne modeled on Rome’s. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Turkey was the direct successor to the Ottomans, who had annexed Eastern Rome itself.

“Constantinople is the legitimate territory of our Russia, which succeeds Byzantium. You must acknowledge this.”

Turkey had already recognized it by treaty during the Turkish War of Independence. Bulgaria, for its part, now shared a border with us after seizing Constantinople. This had to be stated clearly. The successor to Rome must be recognized as such by the neighboring states on its borders.

For Russia, possessor of Constantinople, to demand foreign acknowledgment that Constantinople was legitimate Russian territory was, in essence, to demand acknowledgment that Russia was the true heir of Eastern Rome.

“Since you have taken Constantinople, it is naturally Russian soil, and Russia is indeed the successor to Eastern Rome.”

“Romania will acknowledge it as well.”

While we were here, I intended to extract renewed confirmation from Turkey. Acknowledgment of Constantinople was one thing, but this concerned the very legitimacy of Rome. In the future, nations cooperating on anti-communism would need to understand one another clearly.

Prime Minister Ismet Inönü gave a small cough, visibly displeased, yet there was no avoiding it if they wished to foster goodwill at an Anti-Comintern Pact meeting.

“Turkey also recognizes that the successor to Eastern Rome is the Russian United States.”

Even the Ottoman Empire had used the title of Rome after annexing Eastern Rome, though only to justify territorial occupation and to appease the Eastern Roman elite. But Turkey’s direct recognition of the Russian United States as the heir of Eastern Rome meant they were abandoning any claim to Roman legitimacy from the Ottoman era.

Was it not absurd to use the name of a country one had destroyed? The very name Turkey, at its root, derived from ethnic identity rather than Roman succession. In short, there could be only one successor to Eastern Rome: Russia. The present unity of Russia as a single nation drew its strength from the pride of being that heir.

Given that reality, it was only proper to gain explicit confirmation here and establish Russia not merely as the elder brother of the Slavs but as the true heart of Rome. If we received acknowledgment as Rome’s descendant at a time when every nation felt the threat of communism, the Russian people would plunge even deeper into their Roman obsession—rather than any communist one.

Come to think of it, had Greece come, they might have quarreled fiercely with us over Megali Idea, claiming to be the true heirs of Eastern Rome. When one considered the empire’s ethnic makeup, Russia held the spiritual legitimacy while Greece held the ethnic one.

“Then let us each sign the agreement.”

It had the slight flavor of exploiting international relations to force neighboring states around Constantinople to acknowledge us as Rome’s successor, but so be it.

“Have East Prussia and Poland already signed?”

“They have. Now that all have gathered for the cause of anti-communism, what a beautiful day this is. Let us take a commemorative photograph together.”

I smiled brightly and posed with the heads of state from each nation. Thus, following the German Empire and Poland, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey joined the second pact. The Balkans were now tightly bound together under the banner of anti-communism.

German Free Socialist Republic, Berlin

As the second Anti-Comintern Pact blared across newspaper front pages, the German Free Socialist Republic received the news as well.

“Damn it all. Is revolution in the Balkans now impossible?”

No matter what carrots the Tsarina had dangled or how she had seduced them, many Balkan states had aligned with Russia. In other words, launching revolutions there would be far more difficult. Moreover, with every participant except Turkey a monarchy, their internal cohesion would be formidable. As for Turkey, President Atatürk had already held a personal meeting with the Tsarina and secured recognition of the Turkish state; communist revolution there would be nearly impossible.

General Secretary Karl Liebknecht clicked his tongue in frustration as he stared at a map of the Balkans.

“In that case, we must at least secure Yugoslavia, Comrade General Secretary.”

Roza Luxemburg’s words were correct. A communist fever was already sweeping Yugoslavia. Even Croatia and Bosnia—former constituents of the Austria-Hungary Empire—were responding to the call. The Yugoslav government would have no viable response.

“What are the prospects for revolution in France? It would be best if it could occur before the war.”

The communization of France would be the decisive variable allowing communist Germany to seize hegemony over Europe.

“A French revolution appears unfeasible at present. France will not be able to endure long in the Ruhr; once they withdraw, we should first execute the colonial revolution support plan.”

Colonial revolution support. Communist Germany now boldly proclaimed the abolition of the Versailles Treaty, yet had not recovered from the wounds of war. Even now they could only grind their teeth at the French and Belgian forces occupying the Ruhr.

But the strength of the reds did not come from military power. Communism burrowed into the hearts of the weary and the desperate, dyeing them the same color. Colonial subjects were no different. If anything, those groaning beneath the cruel colonial empires, living like animals, would be even more receptive.

The German Communist Party was already preparing for the final war, exactly as Anastasia had predicted. That was the nature of communism.

The last enemy the German Communist Party had to overthrow was Russia. Russia had crushed the Bolsheviks early on, loathed Bolshevism and communism, and in the contest of systems continued to mock and obstruct communist Germany while blocking the spread of revolution.

Communist Germany knew its limits. To confront Russia, they would first have to defeat both Britain and France. Their colonial empires were also enemies of communism—and therefore targets that communism must destroy.

Yet with Germany’s current strength, hoping to achieve all of that was unrealistic. The compromise they had chosen was to infiltrate the colonies with communist parties and swell the ranks of communists. When the time came for Germany to launch its war of workers’ liberation, simultaneous uprisings in the colonies would tie down British and French forces overseas, crippling their ability to wage war on the European continent.

That was colonial revolution support.

If the colonial peoples could merely hamstring the British Empire and France, then in the meantime Germany could defeat that abominable Russian Empress—who had beguiled the workers with her ridiculous notion of Modified Capitalism—and achieve the true liberation of Europe.

“Very well. We must continue recruiting local colonial subjects. And we must keep supporting the French Commune.”

“Yes, Comrade.”

At the same time, they maintained contact with and provided aid to the Commune in France. If they could exploit the moment when Anglo-French forces were tied down in the colonies, land a decisive blow on the French front, and help the French Commune seize power, the entire balance of the war could be overturned.

In that process, the Low Countries—Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg—were nothing more than a highway for Germany to march into France.

One matter still caused slight concern.

General Secretary Karl Liebknecht’s gaze drifted from the map on his desk toward the Italian peninsula.

Yes. This Italy.

The strange general secretary who, while calling his nation communist, shouted about recreating the glory of ancient Rome. Benito Mussolini’s state.

“Is Italy unchanged?”

“Yes, Comrade. General Secretary Benito Mussolini claims it is ‘their own ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠form of communism,’ yet they continue to invoke Rome.”

“Tsk.”

A man who was supposed to be Italy’s leader had adopted communism not for the liberation of the workers but for the revival of Rome. Still, for Germany to criticize it would be difficult; on the surface, it was operating as a proper communist state. There was nothing they could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not criticize if they wished, but doing so would mean a rupture with Italy, and there was no need for that yet.

Russian North Manchuria, Harbin

Around this time, Harbin in Russian North Manchuria was bustling with the fever of development.

Development required people. Just as Russia had extended its reach to the Far East and developed all the way to Vladivostok, the places abandoned by many Han Chinese and Manchus were now being filled by White Russians and Jews arriving in waves from the Russian heartland.

The Jews in particular found the new environment unfamiliar. After losing their homeland long ago, wandering Europe, and settling in Poland, they had been unable to assimilate. In the end they suffered oppression and expulsion under Poland’s anti-Jewish policies.

The Jewish groups who reached Russia—a nation that treated Jews favorably—followed the mainland’s directive to settle in North Manchuria, where settlement subsidies would be provided.

Just then, Jews of considerable means in Poland liquidated their assets and migrated to North Manchuria in the first wave.

“Will we live here from now on?”

“Papa, it feels rather cold.”

“Still better than dying under the Polish bastards.”

The land where they had to put down roots was not entirely welcoming, but it was certainly better than living at the mercy of the Poles.

A bearded Russian White Army general who appeared to have escorted the Jews gathered those who had disembarked from the train at Harbin Square. His name was Dmitri Khorvat.

He had once seized control of the Chinese Eastern Railway, won support from the great powers, and disrupted the enemy in the Far East. After history changed and the White Army’s victory led to the establishment of the United States, he had been appointed Governor-General of Russian North Manchuria.

Standing on the podium, he addressed the Jews.

Suddenly being told to develop a distant frontier caused some grumbling among the Jews who had traveled thousands of miles by rail, yet it was still better than groaning beneath Polish oppression. Of course the buildings left by the Orientals were not to their taste, but they could change them gradually into their own.

“Ah, if any among you can assist with oil exploration, please come to the North Manchuria Governor-General’s Office. We are still recruiting many workers for that project.”

Oil exploration. Under the covert support of the Rothschilds, surveys were proceeding at full speed in North Manchuria. Experts had already confirmed the possibility of oil. Should it be discovered, it would be welcome news for the Jews of the region.

Propagandists dispatched from the Russian mainland were enthusiastically promoting the “Manchurian Dream” and encouraging settlement, so for the Jews both oil exploration and frontier development quickly became part of daily life.