Tomb of empires? (October-December, 1878

Weapons in Russia]

Gun control in a territory as large as Russia is simply impossible in the long run, and in reality the government actively allows gun ownership to some extent.

Due to the presence of wild animals in regions such as Alyáska, Papua New Guinea, Siberia or Kholadya (in a range that goes from wolves to bears to snakes, etc.) it was allowed and enforced in fact that men or families had at least one weapon (rifle, pistol, etc).

Arms are also an important part of certain businesses such as hunting (regulated in some regions more than others).

In certain places, however, the possession of weapons ranges from unusual to prohibited for various reasons, for example in European Russia the largest urban centers do not need such protection of a firearm (or to a lesser extent), since there is the police , the army, etc.

On certain occasions, the population's weapons were withdrawn as a pacification measure, one only has to see the conquest of Turkmenistan (where the weapons of 20,000 men were withdrawn).

In an autocratic state, weapons mean power, Russia is no exception, but the possession of weapons is inevitable. Of course this is sometimes a problem with unwanted elements of society (murderers, terrorists, domestic and city violence, etc).

For this reason in European Russia the government of Alexander III would admit only in the European regions of the Empire (Poland, Triune Russia, Finland, Bessarabia, the North Caucasus and parts of the South Caucasus) low caliber or one-shot weapons (it depends of the region).

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[Russian-British relations]

Obviously Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli had his eye on Alexander III's Russian Empire now that the Ottoman Empire was facing a rebellion in the Albanian territories, under the conditions of the Constantinople conference Russia had obtained the ability to intervene in Ottoman territories if something similar was happening to the Batak massacres.

Obviously this put pressure on the Ottoman state and military apparatus (as well as the British).

At first it seemed that Russia was not going to force its hand, but in reality the British Empire made the first mistake. Between the Russian Turkestan and the British Raj is the Emirate of Afghanistan, with its capital Kabul.

Worried about a possible Russian invasion of the British Raj, the Indian viceroy Lord Lytton demanded an English mission in Kabul, which Emir Sher Ali Khan denied, but anyway the English tried to force their presence there.

Neville Bowles Chamberlain advanced on Kabul as Lord Lytton ordered. And in the Khyber Pass a British force was stopped by the Afghan forces.

Abdur Rahman Khan nephew of Sher Ali Khan who lives in Russian Turkestan, observed the situation. Even Sher Ali Khan requested the assistance of Tsar Alexander III in aid of Afghanistan against the British.

In the beginning 50,000 English men, mainly Indians actually, mobilized towards Afghanistan when Russia interceded asking for diplomatic discussions with Lord Lytton or Prime Minister Disraeli.

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"If the British Raj insists on the permanence of a British delegate in the city of Kabul, the Russian Empire diplomatically requests the presence of a Russian mission in the Emirate of Afghanistan." Councilor Nikolai de Girs explains the Russian message to Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood Dufferin, ambassador of the British Empire to Russia.

Lord Dufferin obviously conveyed this as quickly as possible to Benjamin Disraeli, in particular Dufferin had been interested in the position of Viceroy of India for some time, and Lord Lytton seemed to have proven himself diplomatically incompetent.

So Dufferin decided to collaborate with the Russians.

It was implied by Dufferin that if the British continued their interference in Afghanistan, a Russian intervention in the current Albanian revolt in the Ottoman Empire was very possible. Disraeli could not afford another failure in the Balkans.

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* British perspective.

The Afghanistan crisis turned into a diplomatic crossroads, if Disraeli allowed a Russian mission in Afghanistan, the Great Game could tip in Russia's favor.

If he didn't and pushed, the Russians could intervene in the Ottoman Empire in response.

There were no guarantees that Russia would not interfere in Afghanistan if Disraeli did not push and abandon plans for an English mission in Kabul.

But Lord Lytton had violated the Afghan border and razed some villages in his path when ordered to stop. That in essence condemns the diplomatic attempts between Russia and the British Empire since the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Empire have already gone to war.

The Afghans had to withdraw from the south of the Kurram Valley and the Khyber Pass, essentially leaving the road open for the British pass to Kabul in late November.

However the terms of peace between Sher Ali Khan and the British would never come, while Neville Bowles Chamberlain intended to take a stay in Kabul without the Emir's permission.

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In the chaos produced by the British campaign the Emir retreated to the mountains, but in turn Abdur Rahman Khan received modern weapons from the Russians and left for Afghanistan to 're-establish' a neutral Afghanistan.

With Russia obviously offended by British interference in southern Afghanistan, Emir Sher Ali Khan does not seek terms of surrender, and despite his old age he tries to form a resistance with his son Mohammad Yaqub and Afghan general Ghazi Mohammad Ayub.

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[Situation in Georgia]

Russian Georgia is a producer of rye, millet, tobacco, peas, potatoes, cotton, hemp, corn, flax, rice, sesame, beans, oats, buckwheat, sunflower, tea, etc. Agriculture had begun to seriously industrialize and improve considerably since the time of Alexander II.

The mining industry has also grown considerably, leading to the development of the wool and craft industries (silver work, clothing, some industrial materials, etc).

The Georgian economy grows through the South Transcaucasus Train that allows Baku oil to go from the shores of the Caspian to the Black Sea, among other emerging economic activities, etc.

However within Georgia and the Caucasus in general, interesting developments were emerging, the growth of the Armenian population (which brought with it a considerable educated population, merchants, etc.) due to the Russian expansion also led to the expansion of the Armenian bourgeoisie.

Said bourgeoisie with intentions to integrate into the Russian economy growing in the Caucasus, obviously clashing with the native bourgeoisie of Georgian origin.

This competition marked much of the development of Georgian and Armenian private companies, it also prevented Georgians from becoming so fixated on ideas of independence and nationalism as they competed with other new migrants and economic elites from the Caucasus.

As would be explained in 1910s, the Armenian bourgeoisie was trying to expand and surpass the Georgian bourgeoisie, while the Georgian bourgeoisie tried to counteract this expansion and surpass the Armenian bourgeoisie.

In the midst of all this, the son of an industrial worker in a shoe factory, Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili, better known in Russian as Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili 'Stalin', is born.

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[Plague in Persia]

The plague, as a virus, was considered 'eradicated' in Europe, not that a cure or similar had been discovered, but with the industrial revolution and the improvement of sanitary cities, Europeans thought that the plague had become a problem exclusively for Asian races and states, more 'uncivilized' than Europe.

A thought of the time, but of course a virus does not distinguish race, gender, social position, culture or country.

In the Qajar dynasty of Persia a plague pandemic broke out, which could obviously spread to nearby countries and territories, in the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, and the British Raj.

In the Russian Empire, Tsar Alexander III ordered the borders around Persia to be protected, this of course was left to the responsibility of Mikhail Loris-Melikov and his administration to avoid the possibility of contagion.

The border between Russian Turkestan and Persia was relatively secure, the administration was military, and the Persians did not travel there long due to the recent history of Turkmens attacking the Persians for slaves.

However, the South-North Caucasus was considered a potentially weak area for the spread of a plague originating from Persia (the Qajar dynasty).

Embargoes were introduced on Persian products, Persian migrants to the region were examined and medical examinations were carried out on these migrants, and the disinfection of Persian products is also carried out.

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But, the incompetence of certain members of the administration, who underestimated the cordon measures initiated by Loris-Melikov, caused a strain of plague to move towards the Volga River.

Samara, Astrakhan and Saratov became endangered areas, the first case would occur in 1879 in Vetlyanskaya, Astrakhan province, a city with a population of 16,000 after the enormous growth of Russia.

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[International]

On November 17, King Umberto I of Italy suffered his first assassination attempt when the Italian anarchist Giovanni Passannante attacked him with a dagger. Fortunately Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli was present to block the attacker.

But Umberto I's dagger wound turned out to be deeper than expected, and he became infected, forcing doctors to cut off the Italian king's arm.

The Prime Minister had a much minor injury to his leg.

On December 2, the north from west to east of the Second Mexican Empire is connected through a railroad, mainly in foreign hands (economically speaking).

December 18, 1878, Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili was born.