Das (Russian) Kapital (October-December, 1893)
Ministry of Interior]
Tsar Alexander III was reviewing the Moscow governance together with Sergei Witte, in part because of the considerations of the next Grand Meeting of April, when the Tsar went through the records of Dmitry Sergeyevich Sipyagin, the governor.
In the absence of a minister of the interior, Tsar Alexander III began to promote Sipyagin within the ministry to the post of minister of the interior in 1894 when Sipyagin's term as governor ended.
Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve would be secretary of state and councilor during this period, although he did not become deputy minister.
Sipyagin would be an honest and attentive worker, not the smartest but extremely dedicated, he was a decent addition to the interior ministry in search of a new minister as long as there was no prominent statesman or politician for the position.
Sipyagin and Witte were certainly political allies, not something very abnormal, considering that both wanted to defend certain reform positions, especially in economic matters. In addition, Alexander III thus allowed his minister (Witte) to have more internal support within the government, due to Witte's deteriorated relations with various members of high society).
What Tsar Alexander III worried about were the possible consequences of Sipyagin's work, so he held onto him with a strong bond or with a lot of security.
He had to make sure to prevent the emergence of more terrorism, or to make sure that terrorists could not kill public officials with impunity.
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[Religion]
"Orthodoxy is important but he considered that we need a dialogue between the religions of the Russian Empire, the problem is precisely that this idea is too scandalous." Tsar Alexander III argues along with Witte and Mikhail Skobelev.
Witte knew it very well, he was married to an Jewish convert to Orthodoxy (Matilda Isaakovna Nurok), but even when she is a convert, that marriage was scandalous (the aspect of divorces with previous partners on the part of Witte and her also had a lot to do with it).
"Recently in America someone hold a ... parliament of world religions, right?" Skobelev asks, a somewhat strange idea for him.
"Yes, I planned a similar reunion at the first grand meeting, but I scrapped it." Tsar Alexander III explains.
"How much of our population is Muslim? More than 10% from what I know. We also have the largest Jewish community in the world. We have Buddhists and Christians, among many others. Such a gathering would be colossal." Skobelev exclaims, not against but emphasizes some of the problems of this idea.
"Yes, quite a headache." Witte and Tsar Alexander III mention.
"At the moment I think it is better to focus on cultural aspects and education rather than religious aspects." Tsar Alexander III exclaims.
"Orthodoxy is important, it is the religion of our state and part of the Russian heart, but it is more important that non-Orthodox populations feel Russian."
-Writings of Mikhail Skobelev, whose focal point in ideology was a "dictatorship with a heart" (the Russian soul, as citizenship over a culture).
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[Pacific Territories]
* Bali.
The kingdom of Bali, Russian protectorate, began to experience a time of peace since the Russian influence was implemented in the region, actually composed of the minor Balinese kingdoms of Klungkung, Buleleng, Karangasem, Mengwi, Badung, Tabanan, Gianyar, Bangli and Jembrana, with their respective dynasties and institutions.
Among which Klungkung was the first among equals, and therefore received the privilege of titles of King of Bali (but it was mainly nominal), and also the main residence of the main administrators was in the Klungkung territory.
Now the various kingdoms had abandoned the successor wars, there were still matters to be resolved. The Russians were the main military and financial advisers, but many of the royal traditions of Bali were still upheld, and this meant that issues had to be resolved regarding the dynasties and their respective rulers.
This is why the Russian Empire in Bali established an "elective temporary monarchy" and a federal model.
Each kingdom was a state of Bali, with a monarch with powers and a civil authority. The de-facto "King of Bali" (authority in charge of explaining the affairs of Bali to the Russian Empire, which dominated foreign policy, economy and the kingdom's defenses), was elected among the 9 monarchs of Bali for a period of 5 years. among hereditary dynasties.
This allowed monarchs to rotate positions for a bit of prestige and temporary titles, in exchange for remaining loyal to Russia and all that this entailed.
The establishment of a more effective civil authority, a modern army, the Russian protectorate over the island, and the defense of the Russian Pacific fleet allowed Bali to maintain its culture and relative isolation in international diplomatic affairs.
But Bali was not isolated, because it was opened to international trade and modernization, now Russian products (technology, medicine, food and processed products, etc.) passed through the island, and products from the island passed through the Russian New Silk Road, they had new schools based on European models, some factories, modern agricultural equipment and boats, new infrastructure, etc.
Economically speaking Bali was dependent on Russia for most of its manufactured goods, weapons, and so forth, as the kingdom's economy was based primarily on fishing and agriculture, but Tsar Alexander III did a little to help the Balinese economy through Commerce.
And the Tsar's own projects expanded to the island, such as projects for the preservation of the Bali Myna, the unique bird on the island of Bali.
Bali was a curious kingdom, it was the only federation within the official Russian protectorates, and the only one with a Hindu majority.
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* Lanfang.
The Republic of Lanfang was a tributary state of the Russian Empire, this meant that the Russian fleet was stationed in the republic and also some military detachments, while economic and political ties were deepening.
Lanfang depended on Russia for tools and weapons, the Lanfang militia began to be advised and armed by Russians in collaboration with the Lanfang Republic defense ministry.
Economically speaking like other protectorates, Lanfang established itself on the New Silk Road as the only Russian position in Borneo.
This allowed for more markets for the Chinese Lanfang merchants, this meant more commercial industries and sales possibilities, plus the republic's mineral resources could be invested in local infrastructure or used by the Russians (who often invested in this too) .
Ports and roads had been expanded, cities and their vital infrastructures expanded, for the Bornean Chinese there were now modern schools (by the 1893 standard).
The republic still elected a president, but that president answered to Russia, which decided matters of foreign policy, national defense, and the vast majority of economic affairs.
In short, the President of the Lanfang Republic was more of a sort of colonial governor elected by the natives and not by the Russians.
The Russians obviously allowed religious and cultural freedom in exchange for obtaining preferences for resources and markets in the region, in addition to the security of their investments in Lanfang, while Lanfang obtained security and weapons, vital to the survival of the Lanfang democracy.
The Russian presence in Lanfang brought more stability than under Qing, and there was no fear of invasions, economic growth on the other hand allowed not only the existence of the Chinese state in Borneo, but also secured some ... Lanfang oligarchs.
Oligarchs who did not hesitate to bring all their money to Russia, in case things ever got tough.
The educated class (merchants, bourgeois, businessmen and rich craftsmen), knew mainly Russian and adopted many Russian customs (except Orthodoxy).
The lower and middle class, mainly the labor force, were influenced by the Russians, but not in the same way as the upper class.
The lower class, although they sometimes adopted orthodoxy, also maintained their traditional beliefs, the theme was the creation of a Russian-Chinese dialect in southern Borneo, influenced by the presence of Russian sailors in the area, much more "brusque" than the Russian of the upper class.
Also the miners greatly adopted some Russian customs or products, such as vodka.
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[Economic situations: Europe]
It is necessary to have something in clear of the decade of the 1890s, while the United States passed its financial crisis of 93, the European countries were in their ample expenses, which prevented many from acting outside their comfort zone, this included the mercantile British Empire, facing more problems as more civilian or even army strikes loomed on the horizon.
The more a country will move away from its nucleus, the less likely it is to carry out its plans in a simple way. For example we have Germany, spending its money not only on a marina without reducing costs, but also on the construction of two mega canals at the same time (Tehuantepec and Kiel), in addition to administrative tasks in the German Colonial Empire, and the situations in home.
Italy on the other hand was still quite dependent on Germany, much of its population was going to Tunisia for work and farms, but it was not helping Italian industrialization or economic success on the Italian peninsula as much as the Italian imperialists liked to pretend. There were still many problems with socialist and rebel movements in southern Italy, opposed to King Umberto I.
Austria-Hungary was a disaster.
There is not much to say about this (Austria-Hungary), since the death of Kaiser Rudolf I poverty increased even more and trade ties with Russia were slowly but steadily declining.
To make matters worse, the Austrian elites and the Hungarian elites were still quite at odds, the Austrians were directed against the Italians and Germans, focusing on free trade and the colonies, but the Hungarians had no interest, they wanted to see other sides (anti-political policies). Ottoman or anti-Romanian, more trade with Russia, etc).
France was succeeding in its colonial exploitations, basically building on the blood, sweat and tears of the natives but the projects still cost money. Agriculture had industrialized but the population did not grow much (and many farmers were still being transported to the colonies), industry was what grew rapidly but even so there was an increasingly strong military spending and secret services (against the Marxists , socialists and other anti-government groups).
France was independent and had returned to a certain extent to its stage of power, but there were many assets in English hands, internal problems, volatile foreign diplomacy, weak bases for the power of the regime, etc.
Russia on the other hand, although it was a colossus, it was also an empire largely based on neutrality (regarding foreign policy), Russian interference was quite calculated and limited regarding the interests of the Russosphere.
In addition, Russia spent money in these colonies and within the Russian empire itself, not counting certain places or exceptions such as Novo Alexandria in the Empire of Brazil or northern Persia.
As Russia's largest partners, economically, Germany and the United Kingdom, Russia had little interest or motive for particular interventions or large movements outside its comfort zone when major international problems erupted (the Berlin-Rome axis against Paris-Vienna-London).
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[Scandinavian policies]
*Denmark.
The commercial relations between Russia and Denmark were growing steadily since Russia began to be an industrial exporter of agricultural products, resources and comforts (before it was but with mechanization and industry, even more so).
Danish investments could not compete with German or English investments, but if we take into account the size of Denmark, their investments were comparable to the nation's budgets.
In short, Denmark was getting very close to Russia, but maintaining friendly and commercial ties with the UK, and at least trading them with Germany.
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* Sweden-Norway.
The dual Swedish-Norwegian monarchy had problems, not as many as the Austro-Hungarians, but they had problems. Economic and political interests were seriously damaging the union of both Scandinavian nations.
On the one hand there was Norway, with an ever-growing Norwegian merchant marine leading several Norwegians to claims of a separate foreign or consular service to the Swedish consulates.
In Sweden things were not going well either, the liberal and conservative governments caused serious problems for the government cabinets, cabinet crisis so to speak.
Reforms for consular separatism had been initiated, but conservatives were against it, and liberals were still unable to establish a stable cabinet or government for too long.
Economically speaking in the Swedish-Norwegian dual economy, there was a free trade agreement that formed a widely promising common market for trade across the Swedish-Norwegian borders. The problem was that it expired in 1897, and the Norwegians were not sure they wanted to renew the treaty again.
There were also the affairs of the colonial empire, the Kongo was officially controlled by both parties, but the Norwegians were not very interested in the Kongo.
Norway was heading towards the English countryside, economically speaking, while on the other hand Sweden was targeting more continental Europe and not the British Isles, more specifically the ultra-conservatives, conservatives and Swedish nationalists were targeting the German Empire (whose businesses and businessmen they had more and more shares and economic importance in Sweden).
Between this economic-diplomatic crossroads, was Russia, which due to its geographical position, was a growing economic partner for both parties.
Russia could sell its products to Sweden through its land border in Finland or through maritime trade in the Baltic, furthermore some Swedes were quite happy about the good Russian treatment of Swedish-speakers from the Aland Islands and the territories of the former Swedish Empire. Russia and Norway on the other hand could also negotiate through their short border, or the sea that was much simpler, be it the Baltic or even the Arctic Sea.
The problem was some kind of 'discrimination', Russia was Slavic and Sweden-Norway were Scandinavian (Germanic), so at this time the Scandinavian-Germanic (normal nationalists) were closer to each other than to Russia.
The pan-Germanicists proposed a type of confederation, federation or union between Scandinavia and Germany, normally Sweden was neutral but Germany was more and more important in Swedish economy with the time. The Norwegian separatists also already had a clear decision on what they wanted and what their foreign policy aimed at.
Russia was a good partner, but it was not the partner Sweden-Norway was looking for.
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[Five Arrows: From Mombasa to New Moscow]
While the Russian Empire was building ports and naval-military bases along the coasts of the Horn of Africa and expanding into Somali lands, they also had to undertake other notable infrastructure projects by land.
In Keniya, for example, the construction of a railway to the interior of the region began, the first railway in Keniya and therefore an extremely important one, it would allow the transfer of resources from the interior to the port of Mombasa, with a higher population density and useful infrastructure.
The problem with all overland infrastructure projects was geography, be it the desert or the mountains, but there were territories where it was possible (and others where the Russians would simply have to work hard ...).
For example, there were the road projects in Russian Somaliland, there was desert and a lot of heat, there were mountains, and many other types of eco-regions (montane forests, coastal forest mosaic, Acacia-Commiphora bushlands and thickets, xeric grasslands and shrublands, grasslands , montane xeric woodlands, and East African mangroves).
For this reason, the Russians in Somaliland depended initially on the rivers while they built basic infrastructure (ports, churches, military bases and fortresses, schools and hospitals, etc.) to continue creating roads that connected their positions.
This involved the hiring of many native Somalis in exchange for food, clothing, medicine or education (mainly for children of tribal leaders).
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Economically there was now a "Mombasa-New Moscow" route, mostly by sea transport, but some Russians dreamed of something similar to the British Cape to Cairo project.
A much smaller but still massive project ... but more possible at the moment (1893), even the Mombasa railway could connect to the Addis Ababa-New Moscow, then connecting two completely different ends of the Horn of Africa under Russia, which it would be very useful for trade, infrastructure and logistics.
While the Russians did their thing in their portions of Africa, the Germans did the same in Tanzania and Uganda (or Buganda), where in particular Hamburg businessmen and Jewish merchants began to create the first notable German colony settlements.
These projects included the first railways of Uganda and Tanzania (as well as the Russian railways, dedicated to bringing resources to German ports for the German market).
Unfortunately some Germans were angry at the growth of Jews in the Ugandan colony and to a lesser extent Tanzania.
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* Kongo.
Russian businessmen were increasing in numbers, they were also increasing with regard to the interests of resources in Africa, in essence Russia had almost all the resources it could wish for but human greed and capitalist desire for profit were enough.
And Tsar Alexander III along with his allies "realized" that there was a huge Swedish-Norwegian Congolese region where there was almost nothing for lack of investment and interest.
This is how Russian investments in Katang began, applying the particular Russian model to the region to search for resources in the region.
The exploitation of minerals from Katanga at the hands of the Russians would shape the history of the region a lot over time, but by 1893 few realized or did not care (after all, almost all the European powers that could were looting the Kongo ).
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[International]
October 1 to October 10, the first car license plates appear in Europe, more specifically Paris, United Kingdom, Russia and Germany.
October 14, a strong typhoon hits Japan, more specifically Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu, causing flash floods, landslides and several levee collapses.
As a result, there have been more than 2,000 deaths.
October 23, leftists of Bulgarian and Macedonian origin (generally Bulgarians, although Russian historiography popularizes the politically correct term, 'Slavic Macedonians') found the Revolutionary Republican Organization of Macedonia (Bulgarian, Революционна републиканска Мргаяниканска Мргаянизания Republic, Organizational Republic of Macedonia оргаянизания Револиционна Macedonian, Револуционерна републиканска организација на Македонија, Revolucionerna Republikanska Organizacija na Makedonija) or RROM.
* The RROM is founded on the understanding that Macedonia is a multi-ethnic entity, which has the right to possess autonomy within a Balkan federation.
* The revolutionary organization should be established within Macedonia and should act only here so that the Greeks and Serbs could not label it as a tool of the Bulgarian government.
* Its founders should be local and live in Macedonia.
* The political motto of the organization should be Macedonia's independence and autonomy from other Balkan states (no political ties from neighboring states).
* From other Bulgarian-Macedonians (and Russia) only material and moral support should be received for the revolutionary struggle.
The RROM and its interest in Macedonian independence would soon lead to attempts by the Bulgarian government to seize control of the movement to fail, and the group turned into a manifestation of Macedonianism (and Macedonian separation from a Macedonian-Bulgarian or Bulgarian identity).
Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky conducts the presentation of his sixth symphony, Pathétique, on October 28. About nine days later (November 6), Tchaikovsky dies (generally accepted a death due to cholera from contaminated restaurant water).
October 30, the Chicago World's Fair closes.
November 7, the women of Colorado, United States, receive the right to vote.
November 12, President Adlai Stevenson I and his cabinet begin to set out the path for free silver reform through an announcement.
Supporters of the gold standard are opposed, mainly industrialists and workers from the northeastern United States, but populists and farmers are very supportive of the initiative.
November 26, "The Adventure of the Final Problem" by Arthur Conan Doyle is published, surprising the public by the death of the character ... Something that after Doyle changes, largely influenced by his mother and public protests from him.
December 4, the Matabele war begins, where the Shangani patrol (37-man unit) of the British South Africa Company, led by Allan Wilson, is ambushed by 3,000 Matabele soldiers.
Obviously it ends with the death of British soldiers, news that is transmitted from Rhodesia to South Africa in a short time and becomes a cultural symbol of Rhodesia (for better or for worse).
Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, had tried to avoid open warfare with the company's pioneers because he and his advisers were aware of the destructive power of weapons produced in Europe, but when attempting to extract tribute from a Mashona chief at Fort Victoria, the The English and the natives of Ndbele found themselves in conflict.
In total, 750 British soldiers plus 700 native allies against 100,000 Matabele (mostly spearmen, with 20,000 riflemen).
December 5, the plural vote is abolished in New South Wales.
The premiere of the ninth symphony, From the New World, by Anthony Devorak, is given in New York.
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[Safety]
After the examination of Tchaikovsky's death, Tsar Alexander III decided to take advantage of the event, not for propaganda, but to establish certain laws of control, health and safety regarding food and drink (minimum by modern standards, but quite remarkable for the epoch).
This obviously includes laws regarding the purity of water, care of meat (red and white meat), and fruits and vegetables, among some other products.
It was applied first and foremost in large cities, although over time the measures could be applied more and more to smaller settlements and the rural environment.
The important thing was also to establish a presedent regarding public health.
Health concerns not only led to laws that could save or fix people's lives, but also led to new endeavors in Russian medical research, something that was triggered in the 1890s.
The first similar laws of this type would still take a few years to reach Europe, but Russia was still preparing for possible cases of pandemics, famines and other natural disasters (something that constantly affected Russian territory, the famines mainly before the economic reforms, but earthquakes were still a problem and pandemics a possibility).