Ancestors and descendents (January-March, 1924).

Russian Armed Forces: Medved' update]

Essentially the first armored vehicles or "medved'" of the Russian Empire can be divided into two types according to their war purpose, the primitive Medved were divided into "infantry" and "cavalry" vehicles.

The infantry Medved were slow and heavy, designed to keep up with the infantry.

On the other hand the Medved cavalry were faster and lighter, designed to fight against other armored vehicles (although not necessarily against enemy infantry).

Both types of vehicle had thin armor to more advanced standards.

The change in the design and philosophy of Russian armored vehicles was due, unsurprisingly, to the experience from the Second Great War and the Russian Civil War.

Both conflicts allowed the Russians to understand the weaknesses and strengths of their vehicles, prompting them to seek better replacements and greater innovation.

In particular, the Russian Empire would increase the production, armor and firepower of its vehicles, although these characteristics would also depend on the model and other issues.

The result of the Russian Empire's research and development was the Medved' T-24, according to some, the most 'successful' tank of the 1920s and early 1930s (or even the entire interwar period, although this is debatable).

The T-24 sought to balance the firepower, mobility and armor technologies developed at the time, and to solve several of the problems of old generations (such as the vulnerability or problems posed by traps and anti-tank weapons).

Essentially, while the T-24 had its problems, it was able to fill all its gaps over time, thanks to its versatility and development of Russian logistics.

What do we mean by this?

Although in its beginnings the T-24 had its problems, it was quite revolutionary.

From a strategic-tactical point of view, the T-24 was the armored vehicle that gave rise to the concept or doctrine of 'Main Combat Vehicle' or 'Universal Combat Vehicle'.

Essentially, armored vehicles whose role is the direct offensive and maneuvering of many modern armies (specially during the later World War Three and Great Cold War period).

In terms of engineering and logistics, the invention of the T-24 allowed advances in efficiency and cost reduction in the development of armored vehicles.

Which led to some pretty positive results:

* The T-24 became the most widely produced armored vehicle of its time, later being exported and used in various conflicts throughout the world, even decades after the 30s.

* Russia became one of the largest producers of armored vehicles in the world, supporting Russian industry and numerous developments.

While some argue that Russia has always been a country of more quantity than quality, this would also be a wrong view of how the country and its development work (even if some of the former were of poor quality, eventually various changes and advancements would allow for the development of much better products while maintaining mass production).

Is it true that Russia's ability to produce or replace lost material has always been one of its greatest assets in warfare terms.

But it is an advantage that can only be used well accompanied by proper command, strategy, logistics and quality in several key aspects.

The T-24 allowed an incredible technological leap in the development of armored vehicles, technologies that were being shared and improving their capacity within the research-development of the armed forces of the Russian Empire.

Although many T-24s were manufactured, more impressive is the number of varieties of the same vehicle that Russia made based in it, and how these gave rise to other types of vehicles.

The T-24 is in fact the ancestor of various flamethrower vehicle, armoured recovery vehicle (also called 'engineer vehicles' or armoured repair and recovery vehicle), self-propelled artillery, or artillery tractors.

With more than 23 models or versions produced in series being 'descendants' of the T-24 (and with 30 being only experimental models, but precisely because experimentation is something necessary in all kind of fields).

The T-24 became the main armored vehicle of the Russian army of the time, as it was replacing the old Medved 'models, in another armament modernization of the armed forces.

Another vital part of the development and experimentation of this type of vehicle, which led to vehicles such as the T-26 and the aforementioned T-34/85.

A chain of events that would be key in the historical development of several particular points, such as the Third World War.

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Russian T-34/85 in World War Three, the grandchildren of Suvorov and the mechanical descendents of the T-24 attack the enemy.​

*Foreign Diplomacy.

Another important aspect of the T-24 is that it was part of the cooperation projects between the Russian Empire and the countries of the European Socialist Union.

And therefore, it was also a vehicle that had several journeys around the world (some wanted by Russia, others not so much).

Russia was the first country to fully exploit the vehicle and its potential, but the T-24 (or at least similar models) also began to be tested in Western European countries.

Mainly by West Germany, the small army of Flanders and part of the French armies in the Ruhr.

The rest of socialist France, Iberia, Switzerland and Italy were not so lucky due to numerous problems, although is true that they had German help there were numerous other economic-material and geographical problems that made it difficult to use it in Western Europe.

At least in some part, Switzerland, Iberia and Italy had more difficult terrain than expected for the use of such a vehicle (which for various reasons would be more successful on relatively flat terrain).

France on the other hand was in a process of military re-organization that caused various problems in its armed forces for years (avoiding to some extent the effectiveness of its motorized forces).

And these countries also encountered problems in their capabilities to mass develop such vehicles, as could West Germany or Russia.

For example, the T-24 was considerably superior to existing armored vehicles in socialist Italy, but at the time of its invention, the country did not yet have the capabilities to fully introduce it into its armed forces.

And even the Germans had some problems, mainly because the Russians and Germans did not share the same production philosophy.

The Germans took a long time to look at small details and craftsmanship, in some sense they followed 'quality' over quantity, but in turn their ability to replace the T-24 or other versions of the vehicle in time, left much to be desired.

Which was sometimes close to being one of the reasons for the end of West Germany, even if the country had more resources than its neighbors.

In any case, this philosophy of cooperation was also useful for Russia, in particular for the evolution in other internal parts of its vehicles (chassis, engine and various parts) or in its functionality in other terrains.

Particularly later on from Western Europe and the experience of the Ural Offensive, come various armored vehicles/Medved' that would aid in campaigns in mountainous terrain.

However, the philosophy of cooperation and mass production also has other 'defects' or results, mainly that in years the T-24 left the influence or allies of Russia.

In various ways, the T-24 and its different versions would be found legally or illegally in various conflicts and armed forces, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Asia such as India.

But this is history for another day.

Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately according to some, the European Socialist Union and the Russian Empire were unable to collaborate in more depth during the inter-war period for numerous reasons (mainly internal factors).

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Russian medved'-crew making friend in Asia.

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Three Russian light-medved' travel through a field during a battle in North Africa.​

*[Curiosity]

As mentioned, the Russian Medved 'was probably the most produced and arguably the most successful armored vehicle of the interwar period.

Which resulted in the nickname 'bear' definitely sticking to various armored vehicles from other parts of the world.

くま or Kuma in the Japanese Armed Forces.

يتحمل or 'Yatahamal' for the armored vehicles of the Emirate of Ha'il.

мечка or Mechka in Bulgaria.

熊 or Xióng in the Republic of China and Northern Chinese states.

หมี or H̄mī in Thailand.

Dayanmak in the region of Anatolia (Ionia, Cilicia and Socialist Turkey)

Bär in various German-speaking lands and Björn in Nordic countries.

The areas where this is most common are those close to Russia or most affected by the T-24, therefore in English-speaking countries and most-Romance speaking ones (except Romania and some parts of France) it does not occur.

But if it is a phenomenon within the Russosphere and some other countries close to it.

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Indian (Pakistani) and Afghan troops greet a Russian medved crew, second half of the XX centuryt. ​

*******

[Olympic Games of Chicago, 1924]

The Chicago Olympic Games of 1924 (started on January 25) were an important event in the history of the sport, re-organizing the first modern Olympics and recovering the idea of cooperation, solidarity and sportsmanship in a more peaceful or controlled World during the Interwar Period.

Of course, the great world powers continued to have conflicting interests and ideological-political or economic conflicts of all kinds, but at least they were not at war at the international stage.

So the great powers could take the time and spend part of their resources, fighting in sports, with various objectives.

Some saw this as the promotion of peace or international cooperation through sport (maybe better the international relationships a bit), others as a competition to bring national pride or simply another arena of conflict between the great powers (who might also want to demonstrate the superiority of their country, political system, or 'race').

There was a bit of everything actually.

The 1924 Olympic Games would include 142 events, with 32 disciplines and 22 sports.

Bobsleigh (1 event)

Curling (1 event)

Ice hockey (1 event)

Skating, divided into:

Figure skating (3 events)

Speed skating (5)

Nordic skiing, divided into:

Military patrol (1 event)

Cross-country skiing (2 events)

Nordic combined (1 event)

Ski jumping (1 event)

Aquatics, divided into:

Diving (5 events)

Swimming (11 events)

Water polo (1 event)

Athletics (27 events)

Boxing (8 events)

Cycling, divided into:

Road (2 events)

Track (4 events)

Equestrian, divided into:

Dressage (1 event)

Eventing (2 events)

Show jumping (2 events)

Fencing (7 events)

Football (1 event)

Gymnastics (9 events)

Modern pentathlon (1 event)

Polo (1 event)

Rowing (7 events)

Rugby union (1 event)

Sailing (3 events)

Shooting (10 events)

Tennis (5 events)

Weightlifting (5 events)

Wrestling, divided into:

Freestyle (7 events)

Greco-Roman (6)

Demonstration sports did include:

Basque pelota

Canoeing

Jeu de paume

Savate

Volleyball

Baseball

And if we talk about the participating Athletes in the Olympic Committees, there was also a great variety:

European Socialist Union Committees - Total athletes: 949

Germany (West Germany): 274

Flanders: 9

France: 133

Switzerland: 105

Italy: 230

Iberia: 159

Ireland: 39

Socialist Turkey (11)

Russian Empire Committees - Total athletes : 208

"Russia" : 173

Finland : 107

Russosphere - Total athletes: 330

Northern Chinese states: 4 (all tennis playes...).

Czechoslovakia: 97

Hungary: 93

Serbia + Montenegro: 41

Bulgaria: 24

Romania: 51

Ionia + Cilicia: 20

Host - United States/American Committees (474 national athletes + 1 athlete from Panama) - Total: 483.

Associated territory - Hispaniola: 8

Imperial Federation Committees - Total athletes: 465

Canada: 77

Home Islands (United Kingdom): 311

Australia: 36

India: 7

New Zealand: 4

South Africa: 30

British Allies - Total athletes: 379

Netherlands: 153

Sweden: 139

Norway: 76

Chile: 11

Argentina (77 athletes)

Empire of Brazil (12 athletes)

Second Mexican Empire - Cuba (9 athletes)

Kingdom of Denmark (89 athletes)

Gran Colombia (3 athletes)

Emirate of Ha'il (33 athletes)

Uruguay (31 athletes)

If we divide the Committees into 'blocks' (according to alliances or diplomatic spheres):

* The United States had only 483 athletes (474 nationals + 1 Panamanian athlete, in addition to 8 athletes from the associated territory of Hispaniola).

* The British Empire had 844 athletes.

* The Russosphere had 'just' 538 athletes.

* The Socialist World had 960 athletes (11 from Turkey and the rest from the ESU).

But this would not reflect the realities of the event, since in reality each committee or athlete of each 'block' acted rather separately, leading to a more balanced competition than it might appear.

There were also committees not aligned with any of the blocks presented, such as the Emirate of Ha'il (the first international sporting event of this magnitude to which they are present), several Latin American countries and Denmark.

* Japan and East Germany were invited to participate, but due to numerous issues or problems, none of the athletes or sports committees from these countries attended.

More than 45,000 people were able to see the events directly in the city of Chicago, and of course newspapers and radio communications from all over the world spoke of the developments that took place over several days.

These games were the first Olympics widely covered by the media and diplomatic services of various countries, also supporting the establishment of standards for future Olympics.

An example is the 'standardization' of the marathon distance, the modern pentathlon, the creation of standard pools for the games and the creation of the first 'Villa Olimpica' (accommodation center for the Olympic Games).

The Chicago games are also honored to be the first to feature the so-called 'Olympic motto' or "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (Faster, Higher, Stronger).

There were also other interesting events:

* The Chicago games were the beginning of the Flying Finn (Lentävä suomalainen), Finnish medium and long distance runners who came from the Russian Empire and stood out for their speed (athletes from the Grand Duchy of Finland were considered Russian athletes, although the committees Olympics were somewhat different).

Paavo Nurmi and Ville Ritola were perhaps the most prominent Flying Finns of the 20s, with Volmari Iso-Hollo standing out years later at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics.

The Flying Finn moniker would later be used in various Finnish runners-racers of all kinds, but that's for another story.

* Anglo-Saxon (British, Canadian and American) runners would dominate shorter events.

* Uruguay took home the gold medal for football, unexpectedly for the observers of the time.

* The teams from France and Italy stood out for fencing.

* Norwegian athletes excelled quite a bit in their competition against Russians-Finns and Americans.

* First international games of Ha'il and Gran Colombia, although they went a bit unnoticed.

If we talk about final results, the result is quite interesting:

1-United States and Russia tie in number of gold medals, but the United States has more medals than Russia in total (United States ends with 6 more medals).

Therefore we could say that Russia and the United States tie for first place in gold medals, but that in total of medals, the United States is first and Russia ends second.

2-The third most successful country (total medals) and second country with the most gold medals is Norway.

3- In fourth place (total medals) and third place (gold medals), West Germany / Free Republic of Germany is positioned.

Several countries associated with this top 3 / top 4 are quite close, occupying other positions in the top 10. In no specific order, other notable winners are France, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Canada.

In short, quite a positive and remarkable event on the international stage, which turned out to be satisfactory ... for most of the people involved.

The next candidates to hold the Olympic games in 1928 were Switzerland (ESU), Flanders (ESU), the Netherlands and Denmark. Of which, finally won Switzerland (capital of the ESU).

(OOC: Most of this is based to some extent in OTL Olympic Games, the next ones in 1928 probably will have some more RNG-involved results, just for fun).

*******

[Sibling competition]

The changes in the succession laws of the Russian Empire would mark the beginning of the competition between different branches of the Romanov family, mainly between the sons of Nicholas II (known as Nikolaevichi / Николаевичи).

Which would give rise to the branches Nikolayevna-Nikolaevichi / Николаевна-Николаевичи (composed of the descendants of Grand Duchess Maria), Kirillovichi / Кирилловичи (composed of the descendants of Grand Duke Cyril) and Sergeivichi/Сергеевичи (composed of the descendants of Grand Duke Sergei).

What was obviously to be expected was how such reform and division would cause competition in almost all spheres of Russian society and even beyond (like other Covenant of Nations countries).

It is difficult to say who fired the first shot, but we already see the beginning of the problems in 1924-1925, when finally the three descendants of Nicholas II begin various maneuvers and we see the beginnings of their different fields.

In part 1924-1925 represent important years for many reasons:

* On March 7, 1924, Grand Duke Sergei turned 18, which begins his period of political apprenticeship, where he begins to align himself with the Russian left and the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.

* Romania-Russia relations and succession is agreed upon by Grand Duchess Maria and Crown Prince Nicholas of Romania.

* The Russian Empire in the post-civil war period was a very fertile and useful political breeding ground for the children of Nicholas II.

* The election period in the Russian Empire was approaching (1925 elections).

The most interesting matters would undoubtedly be the matter of the Romanian succession and the beginnings of Grand Duke Sergei, so it would be better to go in order.

On February 28, 1924, Grand Duchess Maria and Prince Nicholas of Romania, heir to Ferdinand I, created an agreement that would solve the apparent problems that existed between the Romanian succession and the Russian succession.

This was motivated by the fact that the Grand Duchess was pregnant, and the couple's possible son or daughter would be born in June 1924 (if all went well).

Which would lead to further discussion on the matters discussed below.

The problem in the Russian-Romanian succession, was mainly the laws and people related to it.

After his older brother was disinherited, Nicholas of Romania became the heir apparent to his father (Ferdinand I of Romania). The "problem" was that Nicholas of Romania was married to Grand Duchess Maria, who under the laws of the House of Romanov was a possible heir to her father.

In case Nicholas II chose Maria as his heir, Nicholas of Romania (crown prince or possibly king of Romania, depending on when Nicholas II died) had to adopt the Romanov surname if the couple wanted to take the throne of the Romanovs.

Which could cause problems with the Romanian succession and monarchy, which did not foresee such a change.

The agreement between Nicholas of Romania and Maria of Russia established that in the event that such a situation occurred, a satisfactory division could occur (if another agreement such as a dynastic union did not result).

The division would be that the couple's oldest surviving child (son or daughter) would inherit Maria's assets and rights within the House of Romanov, while the couple's second surviving oldest son would inherit Nicholas of Romania's possessions as a member of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

The agreement was seen as acceptable by Nicholas II of Russia and Ferdinand I of Romania, so it was soon accepted by the royal houses of both countries.

But at the same time this agreement catapulted the battle of the Romanov children for influence in the Russian succession to settle definitively in other countries.

Romania in particular opted for Maria and Nicholas (due to the couple being the most likely heirs of Ferdinand I), although once Cyril of Russia and Maria of Romania were married the situation was more evenly divided.

United by economic, cultural and social issues, this conflict also occurred in Montenegro (with all of Nicholas II's children being grandchildren of the Montenegrin monarchy), Serbia (Pan-Slavic relationship), Bulgaria (relationship of the House of Romanovsky and Romanov) and other Covenant countries. That for various reasons they could favor one or another heir and its allies (without it developing into a war for various reasons, like the long life of Nicholas II and the stability of Russia).

A particular result of the relationships between the sons and daughters of Nicholas II and Ferdinand I, was that in particular Grand Duchess Maria and Nicholas of Romania (and to some extent Grand Duke Cyril), promoted particular ideological groups on the Romanian scene (while it is true that Romanians were in the influence race of the Romanov children, they too, were affected as a result).

Mainly the idea of a 'Nou Romanismul/Nou Românism' (New Romanism) was promoted.

The New Romanism is essentially a proposition that, after Romania was de-facto shattered (launching several bloody socio-political crises in Romania in the early 20th century), the Eastern Romance-speaking peoples of Romania and Moldova should unite under the Romanov banner (New Rome).

The idea was for Romania to peacefully unite with Moldova/Bessarabia within what was the gigantic Russian Empire, which probably in many situations would not have been attractive for the Romanian people, had it not been that Romania was very screwed up in various points or inclined to take important action:

* Its economy was highly dependent on Russia's, continually unifying itself through the Covenant of Nations and obviously outnumbered in number and importance.

* Romania was facing a considerable demographic crisis after its various troubles, a important decline that affected the entire nation.

* Moldovan-Russian noble families were beginning to have considerable influence in the country, whose own nobility and monarchy faced various crises (depending on the stability of the Covenant, which was the Russosphere in steroids).

* The aforementioned bilateral relations between the Romanovs and Russia with Romania, which affected both countries as we see.

* Moldovan growth meant that the idea of unification was only supported by them on their terms.

There were also other effects to take into account, such as the growing power of Russian Orthodoxy in all Orthodox countries after the liberation of Tsargrad, the aforementioned competition between the Romanov children (which also led to the creation of pressure groups to favor of one or the other in Bessarabia-Moldavia and Romania) and the increase of Moldoveniștii or Moldavism.

Due to the demographic boom of the Russian Empire and its industrial revolution, the Bessarabia region underwent major changes. One was that while it spoke romance, unlike the rest of the Russian Empire, it still considered itself a part of 'Russia' (with all the benefits this brought).

Why would a Moldovan-Bessarabian citizen (be it ethnic Russian, Ukrainian, Gaugazian, or Moldovan-Romanian) choose to unify with Romania, losing all its benefits and shared interest in the Russian Empire? Simply the identity of a Moldovan people or Moldovan language was greatly magnified by economic and geo-political factors, plus other major cultural popular and intellectual changes.

Essentially this idea of Moldavism affected the idea of New Romanism, Moldovans that while could support the unification between Moldova-Bessarabia and Romania, they would only do so if Moldovans (from Moldova or Bessarabia) and Romanians were accepted as brotherly peoples - branches of the same tree, not exactly 'one single and united Romanian nation' - and under the banner of the Romanov and Russia.

For various religious, geopolitical, or ideological reasons.

An idea that some persons at the time understand was very close to the idea of the Third Rome (a third Roman empire that would never fall).

It started softly, but the New Romanism and all its consequences is something quite remarkable in the history of Romanian-Russian relations.

*[Perspective]

Grand Duke Sergei was born on March 7, 1906, normally in Russia at this time he would have been considered an adult at 16, when he swore allegiance to the Emperor of all Russia.

But de-facto, the mind of a human being does not develop until 18-21 years of age, so it is not surprising that Grand Duke Sergei was not truly involved in state affairs until he was 18 years old.

And it's not so much that Sergei was interested, as that he was to some extent 'forced' when the competition from his siblings deepened. If the situation were otherwise, the Grand Duke would probably have preferred to be a family man or a man of the arts.

However, perhaps the comment that most marked Sergei was one of his own sister: "Well, no cowards are allowed in this competition."

Sergei was not a coward! And he would show them!

The question was where to start ...

At first the Grand Duke thought of going with some of his relatives, but his siblings had gone ahead (like Alexander Alexandrovich and his family supporting Maria, or the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich supporting Cyril) and the rest could be more interested in themselves or in getting the favor his siblings.

The Grand Duke looked for a few moments at an old family photo, in which Nicholas and Mikhail were still present, it was this that finally gave Sergei an idea.

One of Tsesarevich Nicholas's old friends was a very important figure in Sergei Nikolaevich's life, Konstantin Rokossovsky.

Rokossovsky was not exactly a mentor to Sergei, but he did help him at several important moments as a kind of brotherly figure.

Rokossovsky took Sergei to the 'center' of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, where he himself would partially find his way.

"It is a pleasure." Grand Duke Sergei mentions shaking hands with Sergei M. Kirov.

"Same feeling." Kirov responds in a pleasant way, both Sergei started walking through one of the Moscow train stations. "Tell me, what do you prefer me to call you?"

"Uh ... Sergei is fine?" The Grand Duke mentions.

"Very well Seryozha, I will explain to you a little the work we must have. You cannot lead, if you do not grow among the people, you are a seed and they are the soil, you must germinate among the ground, among the people." Kirov initiates the Grand Duke.

Sergei was surprised by Kirov, a nice and charismatic person, very attached to the RSLDP and its principles, as well as very popular in regions like the city of Petrograd.

Kirov was essentially the first mentor to Grand Duke Sergei, who when he was ready would begin to climb the ladder among Russian personalities (unlike his brothers, who would seek more top-to-bottom solutions).

Because of Kirov, Sergei Nikolaevich was nicknamed Seryozha/Серёжа, a usual nickname for Sergei's name. Essentially this differentiated Sergei 'the Young' from other Sergei (like Kirov himself).

"And what do you think of the young Seryozha?" Molotov and Kaganovich asked Premier Stalin.

"I have no favorites at the moment, he still has a lot to learn. But he is much more promising than his brother and sister." Premier Stalin admits.

"We will keep him under surveillance." Kaganovich assures.

*******

[International]

January 2, flooding of the river Seine caused the closure of the main train stations in Paris, République Populaire Démocratique de France (Democratic People's Republic of France, DPRF).

January 3, the Emirate of Ha'il reforms several of its laws related to the field of archeology, indicating that now any historical object found legally on Emirate lands is the property of the country (which precisely allows bureaucratically to carry out such tasks and archaeological procedures).

Essentially one of the first measures against the archaeological malpractices of the time, which had taken from various lands of the country (most famous example, Egypt) numerous ancient artifacts.

The archeology of the time was sometimes not very different from grave robbing or war looting, so this was probably a step in the right direction.

Decades later, the citizens of the Emirate of Ha'il (as well as other groups) have called for the re-establishment of their historical legacy, calling for the return of various objects in foreign possession to Egypt (or other lands).

January 6, the Paramount Leader of Socialist Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, suffers an assassination attempt when an assailant visits Atatürk's home and drops a bomb on him.

The socialist leader survives the attack, his wife is the one who is partially injured by the attack.

January 10, rail trade and food supply in the European Socialist Union continues to recover satisfactorily after the first phase of Troubled Times, which briefly disrupted the ESU economy.

January 12, Bengali Indian independence activist Gopinath Saha shoots a man he thought was the Calcutta police commissioner.

Instead Gopinath Saha murdered a different Englishman. After capturing him Saha would be sentenced to death for the crime.

January 13, the American communist newspaper 'The Worker' changes its name to 'Daily Worker'.

January 15th, the economy of the Free Republic of Germany (West Germany) continues on its way to outperform the French economy.

January 16, the 2F helicopter of the Argentine engineer Raúl Pateras Pescara broke its own flight record, when the vehicle stayed in the air for 8 minutes and 13.8 seconds at a height of 4.57 meters by 1.2 kilometers (about 3/4 mile).

The vehicle was tested in the United States, where Pescara's invention would be considerably popular.

Of course helicopters at that time still had a long way to go in their development, but this is undoubtedly a considerable advance.

January 21, major railway reconstruction throughout the Imperial Federation, supporting new economic growth after the civil war in the Home Islands.

Death of the Minister, leader and communist ideologist Vladimir Lenin, after a stroke.

Lenin's death is a bigger turning point than one might expect within the European Socialist Union.

The Free Republic of Germany prepares the funeral and the events after Lenin's death, with the retired People's Chancellor Karl Liebknecht as head of these preparations.

2 days later the construction of Lenin's tomb begins, which would later become the Monument of the Revolution (where several West German heroes such as Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and others would later be buried).

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Lenin's tomb, converted in the 30s into the Monument of the Revolution by the German government (mainly for ideological reasons).​

January 25, start of the 1924 Olympic Games in Chicago, United States.

January 26, President Henry Ford of the United States announced that he would appoint special advisers to secure various matters at the Olympic Games.

The wedding of Princess Nagako (Empress Kōjun) with Prince Hirohito (Emperor Shōwa) takes place in Tokyo, an event used as a propaganda event by the Japanese government due to the unstable situation in the country.

January 31, the private oil companies began to amass considerable influence in the Fordist government of the time, after the progressive destruction of competitive bidding, commercial rates and anti-monopoly methods (capital amazed in the hands of fewer and fewer groups or private personalities).

Mammoth Oil Company and Pan American Petroleum Company become known for their various ties to successive American Secretaries of State, although companies like Standard Oil and the like are not far behind.

February 3, death of lawyer and political activist Woodrow Wilson.

February 8, Gee Jon, a Chinese citizen and member of the Hip Sing Tong criminal society (located in California) is sentenced to death for the murder of a member of another gang in Nevada.

Gee Jon has the 'honor' of being the first person to be executed by lethal gas in the United States.

February 13, members of the Red-Black Front in East Germany go on strike with more than 30,000 participants in Berlin (capital of the Prussian Republic of Germany).

This launches 'snap elections' (or maybe a coup with other name) with an unsurprisingly result, the Front's victory in the East German government, making Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen leader of East Germany (that essentially he and his allies would rule as a dictatorship until the Third War World).

Otto Strasser and Gregor Strasser, will de-facto become the left and right hand of Baron von Richthofen.

With Otto as minister of economy (managing finance, industry, banks and the like) and the main ideologist of the government, while Gregor would manage the Ministry of the Interior (police forces, paramilitaries, intelligence services, etc.) and to some extent would have influence on the German armed forces.

Richthofen and the Strasser brothers' Red-Black Front platform was "straightforward":

* Close ties with the Imperial Federation and other British allies (who supported the new government of Richthofen).

* Various economic, legislative and military reforms (mainly to solve the problems of post-imperial Germany and prepare for the next great war).

* Expulsion of the 'Jewish influence' from All of Germany.

* Expulsion of the Communists from West Germany (and possibly all of Europe).

* Expulsion of the Russians from German lands belonging to the old German Empire (and potentially, from all of Eastern Europe).

* Restoration of a 'Greater Germany' (restore pride and national territory lost after the fall of the German Empire).

Actually the Red-Black Front program is much more extensive, but it can all be summed up in racism, German nationalism and restoration of a powerful Germany.

One could also delve into what was the vision of Manfred von Richthofen, the Strasser Brothers or other East German figures for the future of Germany and Europe, since they did not always coincide with each other or with their allies ... But perhaps that is a matter, for another time.

On the same day Oswald Mosley starts a big meeting at the Hotel Cecil, which in the near future will essentially become his favorite base of operations.

To meet Mosley (a rising star as he is a protégé of Prime Minister Churchill) he meets numerous 'Young Imperial civil servants' who will become an important part of Mosley's political movements, organizing political and paramilitary movements in the Imperial Federation before his final rise to power.

The most famous is the future Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns or simply Alan Burns, a great ally of Mosley who in the future is known infamously as "The Last Imperialist".

February 14, the American company Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).

One of the largest American companies related to computer hardware, middleware and software (and also a major research organization).

February 16, German artist George Grosz (born as Georg Ehrenfried Groß) defected from East Germany when he began to be persecuted for his 'obscene' drawings of the decline of Berlin society (and also for government research on his person, that revealed his associations with socialist-communist organizations).

Grosz manages to escape to West Germany, but he is not exactly welcomed there either. Although initially the reception was favorable as defector of East Germany, Grosz soon collided with the reality of the proletarian revolutions that were taking place in the European Socialist Union.

Grosz criticized the 'proletarian culture' promoted in Western Europe, as something that made little impression on him, since Grosz argued that 'proletarian' meant uneducated and uncultured, as opposed to the artistic talent that was a "gift of the muses" with which a person was lucky to be born or not. This criticism was obviously anti-proletarian and ideologically frowned upon in the ESU.

The German artist would eventually emigrate/defect out of socialist Germany in the 1930s.

February 19, Huey Long of the Socialist-Communist Party of the United States of America is elected as Governor of Louisiana, definitively marking the end of the Democratic Party's Solid South and initiating a 'Red Solid South'.

Long was one of the most successful governors of the S-CPUSA, characterized in particular by his campaigns and successes in dealing with various state issues.

He was loved by 'populist' and radical factions of the S-CPUSA and, of course, viewed very negatively by opponents (Democrats in particular, although the National Republicans didn't like him either).

The figure of Long is controversial today, and it is not denied that he played a key role in future events in the United States, since his election (which established a strong position for the S-CPUSA) was also a major point of polarization within the United States of America, in particular when he promoted his campaigns for greater regulation of Capitalism and a redistribution of wealth.

February 22, great celebration in the United States under Henry Ford to celebrate the birth anniversary of George Washington.

February 23, extensive reform in the Second Mexican Empire (actually in the time, made up solely of Cuba).

Under Emperor Agustín de Iturbide y Green (adopted son of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg / Mexico), Cuba underwent drastic changes.

Essentially, the military and political forces of Cuba are reorganized by the Emperor (who promises a more democratic form of government, with the reform and formation of a Prime Minister position and new Parliament), reviewing the legacy of Spanish colonialism in the island and the 'authoritarianism' of Mexican personalities such as Porfirio Diaz.

In favor of promoting more liberal and 'humanitarian' tendencies similar to those of Maximilian I, such as promoting economic, political and judicial equality of different citizens, charity work, infrastructure expansion, promotion of the arts and more.

Unfortunately this puts Agustin de Iturbide and Green in trouble against the upper economic classes, part of the new nobility (expelled from socialist Mexico) and some military officers.

It even puts Cuba in some tension with Puerto Rico (in the British sphere) or the United States (with potential interests in the region), since Cuba wants to pursue an independent-neutral policy that at the same time, would block part of the economic interests of the Anglo-Saxons spheres in the Caribbean.

*Also the 'review' of Spanish history in the region, damages the image of the Spanish-Carlist government in exile in Puerto Rico.

March 1, Alice's Day at Sea becomes the first short of Alice Comedies by Walt Disney, released theatrically.

The entertainment industry between the 20s and 30s will take giant leaps, especially with the future release of several films and the first series of animated shorts or cartoons.

In the Americas, Disney is one of the pioneers or most important personalities related to this phenomenon.

March 3, the first parties whose main ideology is 'restorationism' (so to speak) in the Emirate of Ha'il are formed.

With this we speak of parties that try to restore the Islamic Caliphate that existed in the past, going from an Islamic state to Islamic state (in some form of succession that ended with the end of the Ottoman Empire). Mainly these groups and parties were center-right or right in the political spectrum, with ties to the movements founded by Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashimi and his son Ali bin Hussein.

As is known, the position of the Ha'il government on this issue was actually quite neutral due to numerous factors.

But the restorationist idea was gaining popularity among some political-intellectual circles in the Emirate, who see it as an important step in shaping Ha'il as a country and possibly as a superpower (both in the international scene and in the Islamic world).

* The founding of Restorationism as a movement could currently have been more devastating than most think, since it marked an important division between part of the Banū Hāshim clan (a clan of the Quraysh tribe, to which the Prophet Muhammad himself belonged) or the Hashemites.

As mentioned, the movement is inspired by the thought and influence of Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashimi and his son Ali bin Hussein.

But precisely this idea was opposed by other important thinkers and figures from the Middle East related to them, such as Abdullah bin Al-Hussein (great politician of the Emirate and another son of Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashimi, with influence in Emir Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Rashid and the region of Jordan) and Faisal bin Al-Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi (statesman and Syrian politician belonging to the Russosphere, and another son of Huseein bin Ali Al-Hashimi).

The division was mainly for political interests, since Abdullah and Faisal understood that the Caliphate could be dangerous for their own positions within Ha'il and Syria (Russosphere), and that their father lost a lot of political power, popularity and influence after the conquest of the Mecca by the House of Rasheed.

March 4, earthquake of magnitude 7.0 in the south of the Federation of Central America ends in the death of 70 people.

Shefqet Vërlaci and other Albanian personalities in exile came into contact with the British Empire, forming the first anti-Russian organizations of Albanian origin.

At first these groups were of little importance, as they are mostly in 'exile', but despite being under surveillance of the Russian KGB even during this period, they would turn out to be a bigger problem than expected.

March 7, the internal struggle in the Free Republic of Mexico intensifies, with the radical alliance of Francisco José Múgica (finance minister), Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (minister of war) and Amador Salazar Jiménez, making their first public attempts to expel Álbaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles from the Communist Party.

The future decisions of Felipe Carrillo Puerto regarding this internal struggle will have great consequences.

March 8, the Covenant of Nations electrification enhancements continue to make great strides in increasing the quality of life for its citizens.

March 11, the worst Atlantic gale in years occurs, hitting the east coast of the United States (resulting in the demolition of several telephone-telegraph lines, and at least nine deaths).

March 12, the Mexican government of Felipe Carrillo Puerto finally decides to favor Francisco José Múgica, Lázaro Cárdenas and Amador Salazar Jiménez.

This causes the expulsion of Álbaro Obregón and Plutarco Elías Calles from the Communist Party of Mexico, who end up retreating far from the center of power (after a brief stay in central Mexico, they end up living mainly in southern Veracruz).

Later in 1928 Obregón would be assassinated, with Plutarco Elías Calles living in the south of the country until his disappearance between the 30s-40s.

March 15, England defeats Canada 19-0 in Rugby, in the final of the Imperial Rugby Championship (which faces teams from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom and some colonial possessions).

March 20, under the Fordist government, in states dominated by the National Republicans and/or conservative Democrats, the one drop rule (a social and legal principle of racial classification according to which anyone with a single ancestor of black / African descent is considered black / African-American) begins to become more popular and even legislatively enforced.

Many progressive people or simply people opposed to racism, are naturally quite upset about this change, but the Fordist government insists that it is actually a principle for maintaining American 'racial integrity'.

In part this is the result of the classification of people as white or Caucasian, all those people "who have no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian". A concept promoted and popularized at the time by "scientific" racism and pro-eugenics groups.

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The results of 'Racial Integrity' (another form of racial hierarchy between 'White' and 'Colored') in the United States of America.

Although during the Great Cold War the Americans were characterized by their anti-Russian positions, many were also characterized by anti-leftist positions (specially against Latin American, African and Asian Communist groups or countries that were not part of the Anti-Russian american sphere).​

March 25, the Greek communists continue to make progress towards the unification of communist groups in the southern Balkans.

March 29, at night riots occur in Bucharest (Romania), causing several assaults against the Jewish population of the city.

This attack continues until the morning of March 30.

March 31, the national company Imperial Airways is founded, part of the important Keynesian reforms that the Imperial Federation goes through during this time.