New year, new Russia, new tragedies (January-March, 1923) (OOC: Sorry I am a really bad writer)

Russian Civil War: And then what happened?]

The Russian civil war was a civil conflict between different interpretations of the same Russia and personal-identity interests (class and ethno-culture mainly).

Consequently it was a period, to some extent, quite chaotic and 'experimental', where various views about what was Russia (as country and civilization) and what mean being Russian developed, with varied decisions and consequences in later moments of the Russian Empire.

Until finally a great worldview along with other 'acceptable' visions for the future of Russia (the one defended by the central government and its allies) won the conflict.

Important events during the Russian civil war include for example the first purges of the Stalinist period and the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, which removed several of the main political and socio-economic obstacles of the time.

One of the most important decisions was undoubtedly the nationalization of various commercial-industrial assets and various goods throughout parts of Russia.

We speak especially of the lands, properties and assets belonging to 'enemies and/or traitors' of the Russian state, mainly nobles and great capitalists, who had been represented by people like Felix Yusupov or Pavlo Skoropadskyi.

Not all the nobles or capitalists had followed the Directorate of course, but the central government in Moscow used the civil war as an excuse for major political maneuvers and reforms that swept away almost all short-to-medium-term obstacles to the new government of Tsar Nicholas II and the Fourth (IV) Duma, and so affected a lot of lives in Russia even if they were not directly related to the events.

Although the capitalist-bourgeois class of Russia could rebuild itself from these reforms without much problem (or new elements of this class would always emerge, see the Mao brother's), the truth is that the Russian nobility-aristocracy would never recover after the governments of Tsar Alexander III and Nicholas II.

During the times of serfdom in Russia until even the first years of the reign of Alexander III, the landed nobility and / or aristocracy had played a vital role at all levels due to the concentration of certain elements: Land ownership, economic-acquisitive power, high education, importance in the military fields, etc. And now all this was gone, and it would definitely not return.

These advantages were eliminated by various reforms such as the agrarian reform that established important improvements in various aspects of the Russian quality of life and an orientation to trade among small-medium peasants.

The educational and military reform eliminated the importance of the wealthy nobility in the bureaucracy and armed forces, due to the minuscule amount of workforce that could be obtained from the upper class.

With the emergence of the Russian industrial revolution came the strengthening of a capitalist class, with which the nobility could not compete (after all the capitalists did not depend on various requirements of the nobility, as a noble lineage, consequently, the numbers of the capitalists and their success overshadowed the majority of the nobility who still possessed wealth).

The destinations of these assets nationalized by the Russian state on the part of its enemies were varied, but relatively simple:

Most of the important industrial assets were transferred to state property, where they would join the productive forces of state companies and services (especially for this period of reconstruction, where the adequate distribution of goods was important).

Other industrial assets that were not directly managed by the state from now on were awarded as tenders to reliable companies (trusted by the central government) or to certain public-private initiatives (local cooperatives).

Large properties and other 'articles of national value' under state control would be converted into more profitable assets for the public.

Large personal gardens or mansions would be turned into parks, museums, charity shelters, or hospitals for the needy.

The goods that were not land, such as furniture, art and others, would remain or be sent to public properties (the aforementioned museums or services that help the population).

The large estates or large tracts of nationalized land considered non-productive were distributed between the state (because it was considered 'strategic property' for national development plans) and the population (the common people, a kind of agrarian reform, although it was not called in this way by the Russians or the Russian government).

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Common workers relaxing in a former garden of the nobility, turned into a public park.​

In short, the Russian civil war would be the last nail in the coffin of the noble class and its socio-economic-administrative importance, which had been taken over by groups more advantageous and useful for the power structures in Russia.

The 'nobles' supported themselves solely through titles or strategic marriages with the 'new money' of the Russian capitalist classes, but it didn't change their situation much (plus the government would target them again if they tried anything).

In some sense the only aristocracy 100% indispensable to the Russian Empire at an ideological, administrative and social level, was the Russian royal family and its most important relatives in the line of succession.

In the long scheme of things, the death of the aristocracy was useful for various developments in the Russian Empire with the reforms of Tsar Alexander III (with men like Stolypin) and Tsar Nicholas II.

Both in the aforementioned developments of infrastructure (greater use of aristocratic properties) and agricultural-industrial productivity (eliminating the legacy of serfdom and feudalism in Russia, bringing the industrial revolution and capitalism), as in the developments of such basic issues as the home ownership in the Russian Empire.

In the year 2019, the population of the Russian Empire (just under 100 years after the civil war) has an average homeownership rate of 84.5% (if we divide the Russian Empire by areas smaller than the total of the national territory, there are areas of the empire with a rate of 96.1% of home ownership, in general the areas do not fall below of 70.7%), thanks to the governments of Alexander III and Nicholas II (and in part thanks to the Russian civil war).

Other important developments in the situation of the Russian Empire were important political developments that would later affect the society and political life of the country.

* The Russian civil war is the beginning of the Russian political current known as Stalinism.

As its name indicates, it comes from the ideas and political doctrine developed by Premier Iosif V. Stalin (in which men like Kaganovich, Molotov, Shelepin, Andropov and more stand out), a trend that has left its mark on the Empire. Russian, even beyond the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.

** Associated with this, during the civil war and the rest of the 1920-1925 period, Stalin began movements to continue purges within the RSDLP (the next objective being Kamenev).

* The Russian civil war and its consequences gave rise to the ideology of Eurasianism.

* Due to the Russian civil war, political-social reforms were given such as the Constitution of the Russian Empire, designed by the central government of Tsar Nicholas II.

*******

[New industrial revolution: Transport]

The beginning of March of 1923 was an interesting period for the Russian Empire, based on previous technological developments (in particular some of the products made by companies of the old German Empire, Siemens-Halske and Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft), the SEiPK together with the Russian state (in charge of the public transport) opened the first VZD (высокоскоростная железная дорога / Vysokoskorostnaya Zheleznaya Doroga), more commonly known as high-speed rail.

A High-Speed Rail is a type of rail transport that moves faster than traditional rail traffic, which at the time had a monopoly on the long-distance transportation of goods and people (in land).

Russia's first VZD effectively exceeded 200 km per hour (more than 128.4 mph), and it was about 404 km of rail linking the Federal City of Moscow with various parts of the Moscow Oblast (Моско́вская о́бласть / Moskovskaya oblast, also known as Podmoskovye).

This achievement was known at the time as the bullet train, and it was a revolution within the Russian Empire, because the VZD represented a whole new modernization and development within the Russian Empire, being a continuation of the skeletal system of Russia (which grew especially under Alexander III with projects like the Trans-Siberian Railway).

In a place as large as the Russian Empire, which exceeded 20 million square kilometers, one needed reliable transportation to move goods-resources and most important, people (from civilian population to soldiers).

While within urban settings, cars, motorcycles and other forms of personal transportation such as bicycles are somewhat viable, the truth is that public transportation and long-distance means of transportation were the main focus of government (and an important part of life for many citizens of the empire).

Today, while public transport in various places can have problems (or there are countries that avoid it and prefer the use of personal vehicles, with its advantages and problems), it remains one of the most effective and important methods of transport, as well as one of the least polluting (especially with the proliferation of electric public transport).

Apart from a technological legacy (since of course the VZD is a technology which has been continuously improved over time), the VZD of Russia has a very important socio-economic and industrial legacy in Russia, and other parts of the World.

One of the most monumental works of the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, as the VZD caused a boom in similar infrastructure development throughout the Russian Empire.

The VZD had a number of medium-long-term advantages that pleased the Russian state:

Generation of employment due to the construction of this type of project.

Increase the development of economically less developed areas throughout the Empire.

Increase in national economic activity.

Improved quality of life in various regions of the Empire.

Improved mobility within the country, facilitating the work of many people and lowering the cost of living of citizens.

Helped to solve several of the problems of a post-civil war Russia.

It would help interconnect various regions of the Russian Empire even more deeply, fighting the possibility of separatism.

And in the (really) long term it was one of the reasons for a smoother transition from fossil fuels and other non-renewable energy resources to more environmentally friendly means of transport.

Although of course it was not without its associated problems, it was a public service and a social program that the government had to support precisely to deal with the disadvantages that existed in Russia.

Projects like these would increase the quality of life of the citizens of the Russian Empire, and the socio-economic development that came with such infrastructure-development projects.

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The Sukharev Market of Moscow in the early years of 1920s.​

In this aforementioned railway boom of the Russian Empire, 2 parallel approaches were seen, one at the 'central' level and the other at the 'regional' level, both promoted by the Russian state (and which were carried out by the state, state companies or associated private companies to the Russian state).

A- The central level of the VZD was an infrastructure development around the imperial capital, the city of Moscow.

From which it was decided that several 'branches' would spread that would connect to the surrounding cities of Moscow.

And from these cities, the VZD would expand to the rest. Eventually unifying most cities in one way or another made it the capital of the Russian Empire, like a gigantic spider web, with rings and strings as paths between all the territories of the Russian Empire.

However, this central plan would be slow, and would go from the central regions of the Empire to the periphery.

So that's what approach B was developed for.

B- At the regional level, the Russian Empire would develop more VZD lines that would unify important points at the regional level, be it the Russian Empire or even the Covenant of Nations.

The plan of this approach was to create local infrastructure that would eventually join other built railway lines (particularly those from the more developed and populated regions of the Russian Empire).

In the process increasing regional development, without necessarily promoting nationalism.

An example of central development are the VZD lines linking the federal city of Moscow with the cities of Ryazan, Tver, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Smolensk and Tula. Through which the VZD later expanded to such important cities as Petrograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Revel (Tallinn), Minsk and Tsaritsyn (among others).

An example of regional development is the VZD line from Vladivostok to Seoul (through cities like Wonsan) or the VZD line from Port Arthur to Pyongyang (through cities like Anshan). And if we talk about Covenant lines, there is the Beijing-Tianjin-Mukden VZD line (from the northern Chinese states to Inner Manchuria, Russian Empire).

All of which later join the main lines of the Russian Empire in its great projects.

Some say that time and the way the Russian Empire worked gave them a considerable advantage in the race for the construction of High-Speed Rails, later supported by the new industrial revolution that occurred in the world shortly after (beginnings of globalization) .

2 years after Russia built the first VZD (1925), other countries began to build their own, notably the British bloc and the European Socialist Union (especially Germany and France, although Italy and Spain were not far behind).

By 1936, the Russian Empire had built some 37,900 km long VZDs, effectively outpacing the rest of the world in high-speed rail mileage.

By 1950, 27 years after the construction of the first VZD, the Russian Empire was 70,000 kilometers long in VZD, unifying much of the Russian Empire.

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A little group of people close to a High-Speed Rail train in 1933.​

*[Perspective]

After the economic forum of the Imperial Federation in November 1922, Baron Keynes had successfully achieved the beginnings of an economic-bureaucratic reform planning for the reconstruction of the British Empire (and as Keynes hoped, further economic-military development).

There were several struggles within what these reforms would entail of course, the Council of State wanted a militarily strong country, which required some tinkering in the British war machine.

But of course, the interests of the British oligarchy, the aristocracy and the big industrialists who rubbed shoulders with the government also had to be taken into account.

Then more and more news would start to come in from the Russian Empire, either through British periods or diplomatic channels in the Eurasian Empire.

News that would not initially alarm or harass the British, but Keynes had to begin to open his mouth.

"When Russia was backward, the British were able to beat and plunder with impunity, we can see a clear example in the Crimean War. When Russia had to bow to the designs of Western countries.

Now the West is in decline with the rise of eastern powers and socialism.

The gap between the British Empire and the Russian Empire narrowed considerably during the times of Tsar Alexander III. Now we are in danger of that gap widening once again, but in favor of the Russians.

We have a considerable advantage in the fact that we have a broad industrial base for a much longer period of time.

But if the situation continues in this way, we are running out of time and opportunities to crush the Russian Empire.

Lost time must be made up in just over 1 decade. "

-Baron Keynes in his 1923 Speech to the Industrial Administrators of the State Council.

Keynes was one of the first economic thinkers to believe (and fail to believe) that a good economic position would mean the liberalization of a country.

His use of the anti-Russian sentiment in the British Empire backfired him eventually.

His reform intentions were taken advantage of and co-opted by personalities such as Mosley, who would use them for the repressive and militaristic machine of the British Empire, through a good bureaucratic and industrial system.

But the important thing is that he was very convincing in his 1923 speech, motivating a mixed system for the British civil-military dictatorship, which tried at all costs to stop the almost constant decline of the British Empire.

While vital parts of the British economy functioned de facto as a planned economy (especially that devoted to war), other industries would introduce a system of corporatist quotas (monopolies and markets for free enterprise by the great British oligarchs, which would support the British machine).

Sustained by a major reconstruction and mechanization.

The British reform saw considerable improvement for the British Empire until World War III, repairing some of the troubles caused in recent years.

This reform was not exactly Keynesian, it has more to do with mixed economy systems or state capitalism implemented by other countries, but it saw a control of economic problems through public spending (as Keynes proposed) and the beginnings of a kind of welfare system (which was not publicly called welfare system by the principles of the Social Aristocracy).

********

[The second son is gone]

The Tsesarevich Mikhail had survived, for his luck or misfortune.

Not only this, after the incident that cost the life of the very Empress Elena of Russia, Mikhail lost the movements of his legs (paralyzed from the waist down).

This definitely doomed him.

The death of Empress Elena meant that Mikhail was ostracized, and even parts of his family (such as Emperor Nicholas II himself) reduced interaction with the Tsesarevich to the bare minimum.

The Tsesarevich began to seclude himself progressively more in his room during January and February of 1923 ...

Tsar Nicholas II had initially continued his political work despite the death of his wife, but he was in mourning and it was really difficult for him and others around him to deal with this pain.

The situation in the imperial family was tense, and it was definitely not improving.

Both Nicholas II and Grand Duchess Maria could blame Tsesarevich Mikhail for the empress incident. Cyril and Sergei on the other hand preferred to avoid fighting and mourned in their own way, mostly in silence.

*[Perspective]

Tsar Nicholas II was eating with his daughter (Grand Duchess Maria) and son-in-law (Prince Nicholas of Romania), Grand Duke Cyril and Grand Duke Sergei (the two youngest sons of the Tsar).

It was a quiet little dinner at one of the great estates of the imperial family. The tsar did not speak much this day, more consumed with work and his own sorrows than with human interaction.

"Then my philosophy teacher said-" Sergei speaks shyly, but then the sound of a gunshot floods the hallways.

Cutlery fell on the table or on the floor.

Sergei and Maria stayed behind, while Tsar Nicholas II, Nicholas of Romania and Cyril along with several guards went to check where the shot came from (if the situation was dangerous or not).

There was not more than one shot, but there was a concerned maid ...

Cold sweat ran down the faces of several of those present, simply from being in front of the door of the Tsesarevich's room. Many thought so, but no one spoke.

Before any guards did, Nicholas II and Cyril Nikolaevich decided to open the door.

The Tsesarevich Mikhail had been in the last moments of his life, after having shot himself. It was not a clean shot.

"Mikhail!" Tsar Nicholas II shouted going to help his son, while the guards went for the doctors.

Those who stayed tried to give Tsesarevich medical help but it was too late.

"Mikhail, I'm sorry I was such a bad father ... Please no." Tsar Nicholas cries, his son's head snuggling against his body.

There was still a bit of movement.

"Sorry." The Tsesarevich mentions before dying.

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Ivan and his son...​

*******

[International]

January 3, King-Emperor Edward VIII is engaged to Principessa Margherita Milena Elisabetta Romana Maria di Savoia (Princess Margaret Milena Elizabeth Romaine Mary of Savoy), daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III and Margaret of Prussia (sister of the old Kaiser Wilhelm II) .

This was the result of the rapprochement between the Imperial Federation and the Italian government in exile for a future campaign against socialist Italy, and possibly Ha'il. Where the British plan to use Libya-Tunisia as a platform against their enemies.

Princess Margherita and Edward VIII get married on April 9 of this year.

January 5, the president of the People's Republic of France, Paul Faure, continues to damage relations with Germany, one of the two most important members of the European Socialist Union.

Faure's main reason is that Germany and other hard-line or orthodox communist members prohibit him from supporting the 'restoration of order' in the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy.

Partly because of this, the German Stasi begins to infiltrate allies into the Ruhr Red Army (a joint ESU force made up of French and Germans), hoping to further damage Faure's presidency.

However these infiltrations are not very big or important yet (Karl Liebknecht and Vladimir Lenin were still in power, things would change after 1924).

January 8, there is a great meeting between the new 'Governors Ministers' of the states of the Imperial Federation and important politicians of the United Kingdom, where the position of the new British civic-military dictatorship is reaffirmed once the rebel activity in the Home Islands he stopped. This event is now know as the Social Aristocracy Great Conference or Aristocratic Council (which repeated almost every year after this).

The most particular is Mackenzie King, Governor-Minister of Canada elected before the civil war in the Home Islands.

At the meeting the new Governor-Ministers obviously support the State Council and new reforms devised from the last economic forums, to ensure the geopolitical interests of the British Empire in the long term.

It is curious that because of King, after this meeting, the Canadian Social Aristocracy begins to have more regional, christian and pseudo-messianic overtones.

King believed that the Social Aristocracy had been elevated for a higher purpose, particularly him as Governor-Minister. This is why a spiritual and extremist Christian component developed among Canadians most fiercely followers of the Social Aristocracy.

Also King is a bit weird after meeting him with a young Oswald Mosley, which made quite an impression on him:

"The lion has appeared over and over again, it is clear that my encounter with Mosley was predestined, the pinnacle of a divine mission to bring peace to an unsettled Europe.

Finding him was the end of a spiritual journey, the day for which I was born.

As I talked with him, I could not but think of Saints of old: eminently wise, a mystic, and a deliverer of his people from Tyranny. "

-Mackenzie King on Oswald Mosley (OOC: OTL Mackenzie King was like this about Hitler after their first met).

* [March on Rome]

January 11, 1923, the president of the Federative Socialist Republic of Italy, Amadeo Bordiga, proclaims that Socialist Italy will carry out an important reform program.

Bordiga aimed for a huge economic and political liberalization of the socialist project (with the Communist Party of Italy as yet another party), allowing privatization, greater free markets inside the economy, favoring the country's industrial regions over rural ones and other anarchist-syndicalist communal experiments (to some extent, elimination of Italian workers' democracy as it was known in favor of a communal anarchism).

In addition to other measures that would particularly favor northern Italy, and the come-back of some liberal-reactionary elements...

In response to this abandonment of Italian socialism, the forces of General Benito Mussolini, supported by hard-line communists and various Italian communist leaders (especially from the south) march on Rome to Milan.

General Mussolini, accompanied by his men, is attacking the positions of the Bordiga allies, putting members of the Italian New Order in their place and annulling the parliament to put his ally Palmiro Togliatti, as President of Italy and Secretary General of the Communist Party of Italy.

The CPI would become the only party of Italy, and a process would be established to strengthen the socialist project along the lines of Marx, Lenin and Liebknecht.

Violence breaks out throughout the country, but the New Order advances smoothly, defeating the Bordiga government in February, with the capture of Bordiga at the hands of hard-line forces.

The New Order plan, consisting of Togliatti as President, Gramsci as Deputy Secretary and Prime Minister, and Mussolini as head of the armed forces, was:

* Convert Italy into a one-party state, led by the Communist Party.

* Creation of Consigli di contadini e proletari (councils of peasants and proletarians) for the administration of the socialist project in the election of officials.

* Establishment of a much stronger planned economy.

* Cancellation of various measures that made the country's administration difficult (turn the country into a centralized country with devolution of powers, instead of a federal and decentralized one).

*Among others.

*[Perspective: March on Rome]

At some point in February 1923, Mussolini's forces had effectively captured northern Italy, securing the country's borders for the establishment of the New Order government.

"Mussolini, I am asking you to reconsider." The now ex-president Amadeo Bordiga implored General Mussolini.

"Reconsider what?" Mussolini asks.

"Mussolini, I have done the numbers. Our country is doomed to failure if you continue what you are doing." Bordiga indicates with some confidence.

"What scientific method did you use? What did you calculate? Why would I trust you?" Mussolini indicates certain flaws, it is true that Bordiga was president and had seen the administration first hand, but it was obvious to Mussolini that Bordiga was not to be trusted.

"Not only that, not only that. Think about the consequences this will have in the world, in the European Socialist Union and beyond, they are ticking the clock for a great war." Bordiga indicates.

"You're just changing the subject." Mussolini exclaims, disappointed. "Take him to prison!" General Mussolini orders his men, who take President Bordiga to prison.

---Some time later...---

"... he ate lasagna and died." Mussolini indicates.

"What?". Gramsci and Togliatti ask dumbfounded.

"We fed him lasagna, it was all he asked for. And he died." Mussolini responds again, he himself seemed confused.

"... Mussolini, we're friends. If you poisoned him you can tell us-" Gramsci exclaims.

"I didn't poison him, somehow he died eating lasagna!" General Mussolini insists.

Today it is not clear how Amadeo Bordiga died (the official explanation is a cardiac arrest caused by eating too much lasagna), but it is clear that his stay in prison and possibly large amounts of lasagna were involved.

Theories that Mussolini poisoned Bordiga are popular, but still denied by modern Italian government.

*******

January 12-15, many incidents of violence occur on the borders of the People's Republic of France with other socialist countries, severely damaging the internal situation in the European Socialist Union.

French President Paul Faure intends to send French troops to Red Italy for the liberation of Bordiga, reestablishing order and the legitimate government.

However, the Free Republic of Germany recognizes Togliatti as the new president of Italy, trying to stop Faure's France (which according to many has also abandoned socialism).

January 17-18, the forces of Mussolini and the New Order in their march towards Milan begin to seize resources and industrial-military positions of the Bordiga government, establishing Consigli (councils) that progressively put an end to the various reforms of Bordiga.

Many anarchists and other libertarian communists or left communists are repressed in the process, many of them escaping out of Italy or being sent to prisons-forced labor camps.

The Union of Iberian Socialist Republics begins to lean in favor of the New Italian Order, seeing how fast the government of Amadeo Bordiga is falling.

To the frustration of France, which continues the decline of the internal situation of the People's Republic of France and the European Socialist Union as a whole.

January 19, the government of Amadeo Bordiga tries to call for a resistance against Mussolini's advance towards Milan, but it does not go well for the loyalist forces in this conflict.

Many soldiers abandon ship or side with Mussolini, who also has several partisans who support him in his march against Bordiga.

The southern Italians were much more hard-line and orthodox communists than their compatriots in the north, of anarchist-syndicalist or left communist leanings.

January 21, mines, telegraph stations, postal stations and railway stations fell at the hands of Benito Mussolini's forces on their march to Milan.

The northern syndicates tried to mobilize 600,000 partisan militiamen against Mussolini, but only 10,000 heeded the syndicates' call.

The rest of the union workers began to fall in line with the New Order and Mussolini's partisans or got captured by partisans thanks to Mussolini's second in command in the March from Rome to Milan, Luigi Longo 'Gallo'.

January 24-25, the majority of Italy is in control of the New Order of Togliatti, Gramsci and Mussolini.

January 26, the People's Republic of France warns other socialist countries that if the situation in Italy continues as it is going (with the possibility of the expulsion of Bordiga from the government), the French armed forces should mobilize without prior notice.

France does seem to believe itself to be the leader of the socialist world, and it intends to prevent the New Order from taking power or to extirpate the problem of the Italian question from the European Socialist Union.

January 29, the Secretary General of Socialist Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk marries Latife Uşşaki.

January 31, France orders the expulsion and economic sanctions against Socialist Italy, the small countries aligned with France (Flanders and Luxembourg) are in favor, but other large socialist countries are opposed.

Especially Iberia (putting the Andorran vote at a standstill) and Germany. A deep division in the European socialist camp will be perpetuated for years as a result of the Italian Question triggered by the March from Rome to Milan.

February 1, after certain successes in the development of an agrarian economy with exports of raw materials such as oil and social reforms such as the educative reform, the government of the Free Republic of Mexico (now under Felipe Carrillo Puerto) attempts an rapid industrialization program.

After the industry was destroyed in civil conflicts and with the United States as neighbors, Mexicans obviously want to recover a certain level of industrial economy that they enjoyed during the Second Mexican Empire.

Unlike the European socialist states, which preferred planned economies, the Mexicans decided to experiment with self-management by unions associated with the central government. After all, no one could tell you anything with the chaos that was in the European Socialist Union at the time.

February 2, communist groups begin to experience a resurgence in Macedonia and Albania due to the influence of communists and anarchists in northern Greece, which makes the periphery with the aforementioned regions.

February 3, a magnitude 8.3-8.5 earthquake shakes the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Far East of the Russian Empire.

As a result, tsunami caused by this earthquake hits various regions of the Pacific Ocean in the following times.

January 7, the March from Rome to Milan ends with the victory of the Italian New Order over the government of Amadeo Bordiga in the city of Milan, where the Italian revolution began.

The rest of the Italian territory soon surrenders to the forces of the New Order.

Mussolini cedes the possibility of ruling Italy (an option that was supported by some of the military of the time) but Mussolini and other hard-line communist leaders fear 'Bonapartism' in socialist revolutions (military officers seizing power in revolutionary periods), so Mussolini did continue his support to his ally and friend, Palmiro Togliatti.

Togliatti is now de-facto the new President and head of state of the socialist Italy.

Soon, Togliatti appoints Antonio Gramsci as his 'Secretary of Ideology' (Prime Minister and Deputy Secretary) and Benito Mussolini as Chief of the Armed Forces and Minister of War.

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The partisans under Mussolini march over Milan with the flags of the socialist Italy.​

February 9, after the fall of Bordiga there are several economic problems within Socialist Europe, the result of the new geo-political conflict between the different nations of the bloc.

In particular the energy and industrial-military sectors were affected as a result of the struggles, with the possibility of a war looming.

February 12, fights within the Parliament of the People's Republic of France due to the situation on the Italian peninsula, the French communists who follow President Paul Faure think about the need for a great intervention in the region, but obviously this is difficult with Germany quite possibly supporting the new socialist Italy.

February 13, troops from the People's Republic of France begin to march south, consequently troops from the Free Republic of Germany and socialist Italy are placed on their borders with France.

The situation within the European Socialist Union is quite cold right now ...

Palmiro Togliatti prohibits other parties with the exception of the Communist Party of Italy, and begins to carry out important purges against reactionary and revisionist ideas to the Communist Party.

As a result of Togliatti, Communist Italy always remained much more 'orthodox' than other European Communist countries.

February 14, the Free Republic of Germany and socialist Italy refuse to give an inch to the French demands regarding the government to reinstate the government of Amadeo Bordiga.

February 15, various members of governments throughout Socialist Europe (especially France and Italy) resign as a result of what seems like an inevitable war between the socialist countries.

February 17, troops from the People's Republic of France attempt to pass over Italian territory held by the New Order, marking the beginning of an undeclared conflict between Germany and Italy against the People's Republic of France.

This border incident is victorious for Italy, with the French soldiers finally retreating once more towards their national territory.

February 19, French soldiers in the Ruhr region join forces with German troops to launch a strike against President Paul Faure, wanting to avoid a war in Socialist Europe in order to support a more peaceful solution to the conflict.

President Faure refuses, calling for greater measures against seditious elements and the coup in Italy, but the syndicates begin to support the ideas of the French Ruhr soldiers.

This as a result of Faure having previously hurt the interests of bureaucratic-economic planners and syndicates, who were now naturally hitting Paul Faure from behind.

Notable is a young Maurice Thorez, who along with other communist youths begin to cause disturbances against the recent actions of the Faure government.

February 21, the Socialist Republic of Ireland decides to lean in favor of Germany and Italy on the Italian Question, believing that France simply cannot march troops on Milan or Rome hoping to restore Bordiga (which obviously wanted to end the Italian socialist project with its reforms).

President James Connolly of Ireland proposes that Ireland, Switzerland and other lesser socialist countries of the European Socialist Union help resolve the conflict.

February 23-24, French President Paul Faure makes a special speech where he calls to avoid a new civil war in the People's Republic of France despite the difficult situation in the country at the moment.

Sadly in diplomatic action, Faure appears in the process of dissolving French membership in the European Socialist Union, the way things are going ...

February 25, civil violence is spreading through various parts of Socialist Europe (especially France, Italy and to some extent Germany).

February 28, Paul Faure tries to enlist the support of the military to reestablish order in Paris after the failure of negotiation attempts.

The police forces are overwhelmed by the situation, so the armed forces seem to be inclined to support Faure in a kind of coup against parliament.

March 1, Paul Faure with support from the military establishes martial law in Paris, marking an attempt to eliminate the dictatorship of the proletariat by something more ... one-man (continuing Faure's 'tradition' of being a moderate-nationalist with communist aesthetic).

Throughout various regions there is a negative reaction to this threat against the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, launching a crisis as important as the Italian Question in Socialist Europe.

Where it is feared that the dictatorship of the proletariat will begin to be taken over by military junta.

The opposition of young communists begins to carry out sabotage throughout Paris against the government of Paul Faure.

March 3, due to Faure's apparent coup d'état, military outside Paris like the French in the Ruhr began to march towards France, against the president's attempted Bonapartist dictatorship.

Supporting these communist soldiers are New Order Italy, Switzerland, the Free Republic of Germany, socialist Iberia, and the Republic of Ireland.

Flanders and Luxembourg are nominally neutral, but they do not take long to lean in favor of the rest of the socialist countries, in the hope that this will save the European Socialist Union (avoiding the consequences of its dissolution).

The government of Paul Faure in Paris declares a state of emergency and a war between France with the nations that want to intervene in the country.

March 4, in the Imperial Federation and the United States several newspapers seem to announce the dissolution of European communism.

In Russia, the Imperial Gazette, Pravda and other newspapers are not so sure that this is the end of the European communists.

March 6, the Ha'il Feminist Union, the first feminist movement in the Emirate of Ha'il, is founded.

The Free Republic of Germany supports the creation of a communist 'United Front' against Faure, which is seen as the greatest threat to French socialism at the moment.

Although Blum and his followers remain with Faure, many of Faure's opponents are released or escape, joining the idea of the United Front against the attempted dictatorship in Paris.

March 7, Adolf Hitler visits the United States.

The Swedish-German activist exclaims admiration for President Ford, hoping that he will go for a third term and greater rapprochement with the British Empire and the British sphere (which includes Sweden).

There are several rumors that Hitler obtained financial support from the Fordists, although it would never be confirmed.

March 9, Vladimir Lenin suffers his third stroke, effectively ending his political involvement until his death.

Lenin's work is taken over by Joseph Goebbels, in charge of taking care of Lenin's health (medical care and preventing him from receiving political information).

This was in a sense a great promotion for Goebbels, who began to take over capabilities from the Stasi and German domestic politics even before Lenin or Karl Liebknecht left power.

With Goebbels the Stasi would become a terrorist force in Western Europe, contributing much to the downfall of Paul Faure during the Troubled Times in the European Socialist Union.

In New York (United States) the police department begins to fill with right-wing militants such as the KKK.

March 12, begins the trial against the American communist Williiam Z. Foster, accused of 'criminal syndicalism'.

March 13, Paul Faure and his military allies try to send troops to various parts of France to prevent insurrection and foreign intervention, however there are several problems in this matter.

For example, the internal sabotage and the advances that foreign troops have made on French soil, progressively approaching the heart of the country.

The numbers of Faure's forces decrease dramatically and steadily after this.

March 20, financial and food crisis occurs in various parts of Socialist Europe as a result of these troubled times.

Paris is in trouble ...

The Russian Empire sends around 70 tons of agricultural products, which help workers in Germany and Italy in particular against food problems.

March 23, various opposition groups to the Faure government begin to have considerable successes in terrorist attacks thanks to the support of the German Stasi and other socialist countries that have opposed the dictatorial attempt of the 'Bonapartist President'.

The United Front in France signs an agreement with Germany, Italy, Iberia and Ireland to deal with post-intervention France once Paul Faure, Leon Blum and their allies have been eliminated from the French government.

March 24, the military junta in France fortifies various positions around Paris due to the considerable approach of opposition forces and other socialist countries to the city.

Faure's worst enemy is actually within his attempts at strength, with the situation growing unstable every moment.

It is obvious that the attempt to establish an effective board was a failure.

The French 'Red Guards' (unofficial name men like the aforementioned Maurice Thorez, opponents of Faure who pointed out that Faure was a revisionist according to the principles of the founder, Jules Guesde) begin to achieve several successes against the Faure government in the same city of Paris.

In essence the fall and several of Faure's failures are due to the nature of the Communist Party and French Cultural Revolution that had been started by Jules Guesde years before.

These events and organisms had given rise to a relatively developed communist population capable of opposing Faure (which for various reasons and lack of time, failed to establish itself as the main ideological leader of the state and the population).

Magnitude 7.3 earthquake causes 3,500 deaths in Sichuan, (nominally) Republic of China.

March 25, opposition and German forces are getting too close to Paris, entering diplomatic contact with Paul Faure's forces for the last time.

Attempts at diplomacy fall on deaf ears.

March 26, conflict breaks out in Paris, with more than 35,000 Red Guards, anti-Faure soldiers and soldiers from the rest of the European Socialist Union marching to finally depose Paul Faure.

March 30, French anti-Faure troops along with Italians and Iberians are successfully occupying most of southern France, while the battle in Paris continues.

In this the head of the armed forces of socialist Italy, Benito Mussolini, indicates the need for greater controls within the European Socialist Union to prevent mistakes like Faure from happening again.

Mussolini begins to support the idea that it is necessary to create an equitable socialist federation to replace the European Socialist Union (effectively unifying the European countries).

(OOC: Communist Mussolini reviving the Western Roman Empire ...)

*******

* [Mini-perspective]

"What the hell is going on in Western Europe right now?" Premier Stalin asks one of his most loyal followers, Vyacheslav Molotov, in surprise.

"You see, Comrade Stalin, it seems that once again the Westerners are fighting each other once more. But this time it is simply the Socialists." Molotov indicates, passed various situation reports to Premier Stalin.

Molotov did a lot of work, usually it took time, but he did a job acceptable to Stalin.

"Those guys never learn or never get a break." Premier Stalin sighs, the beginnings of the Italian Question (a question of ideological character and interests within socialist Italy) had opened a huge Pandora's box in Western Europe ...

A void that descended and descended, as a result of many past events (the Guesde government, the Lazzari government, the Communist Schism between West and East, etc).

"We will discuss these events in more detail with the council of ministers, Tsar Nicholas II and other comrades." Premier Stalin promptly mentions.

"I will report immediately." Molotov asserts, with Stalin allowing him to leave promptly.

It was a truly complicated matter that had dealt with so many problems in such a short time.

The chaos was produced by several factors, first of all the competition for power between Germany (orthodox) and France (reformist) within the socialist bloc, which led both sides to support different factions within socialist Italy.

When one faction was victorious, this started a much more severe crisis that ultimately led to poor decisions, such as an attempt at Bonapartism by Faure (who had failed to completely eliminate the legacy of his predecessor, thus his nationalism-moderation of the Communism did not work in the medium-long term).

*Another major event in the troubled times of Socialist Europe was the weakening of Lenin and Liebknecht in government, allowing drastic decisions to be made (and personalities like Goebbels to emerge taking more reins in power)*

This series of unfortunate events would cost socialist Europe dearly in the long run ...

*Some weeks later*

"Comrade Stalin, the Tsesarevich did kill himself!" Molotov with Kaganovich inform Premier Stalin quickly of this important event, that in matter of hours will run in the Russian Empire.

"...Shit." Stalin says.