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I’m not sure if the Bolshevik medal system is a good idea.

Now that we’ve killed enough, we can treat the remaining ones gently since they won’t cause much trouble. Just like that.

As long as I clearly draw the line that the enemies of modified capitalism are the German Communists and the enemies of Anastasia’s principles are the same—

“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad. But are you really being too merciful towards those Reds?”

“No matter how wide we spread our information network, Russia is vast. There are still plenty of communists left.”

To put it frankly, we’re stuck in a situation where we can’t ignore the workers’ concerns.

Naturally, the ones closest to the workers are the communists, and by awarding medals to those communists, we can unite the remaining communists under Anastasia’s banner.

“Hmm, will they accept it in the Duma?”

“When calling for Makhno, we’ll need to resolve that too.”

But still, I’m a bit worried.

This time it’s me calling the shots, so won’t the National Duma be a bit surprised?

* * *

As expected, the National Duma was in an uproar.

Why? It was just because I called for a meeting.

I took the initiative in case someone might express dissatisfaction.

“Um, I apologize for calling you all, especially the Prime Minister, during such a busy time, but this is urgent.”

“If Your Majesty is saying that, then what could possibly be the matter?”

Well, everyone must be busy, so I can’t just say I called casually.

But then again, I can’t make this too heavy either.

“Well, it’s nothing serious — it’s just that a Cheka agent who tried to bury me in Yekaterinburg has dropped by for a visit.”

I casually scratched the back of my head while saying that.

In that moment, the Duma fell silent and the atmosphere became icy.

“What? Isn’t that the kind of person who wouldn’t be out of place in a witch hunt?”

“Aren’t they in cahoots with the ones who assassinated the late Tsar?”

“No, they came to me to confess that my family was executed without trial by the Bolsheviks, and informed me of the Bolsheviks’ revolutionary plans, so we agreed to let the matter slide.”

“How dare they try to bury the Emperor of Rome! Get rid of this brat!”

No, can you believe the main culprit is already dead?

Before I had a chance to respond, the White Army generals from the Roman Nationalist Party were in an uproar.

Especially Ungern was more so.

I barely managed to raise my hand to put a stop to Ungern’s rampaging.

“That’s enough, General Ungern. That’s plenty. It’s fine as they executed the Bolshevik in charge of the Tsar’s execution last. I let it slide back then, so let’s overlook that, and what this Cheka agent brought us is what’s important.”

“What kind of information could that scoundrel possibly have brought?”

“The Chairman of the Supreme Labor Commissions in the Ukrainian Free Territory, Makhno, received a letter from the German Secretary and plans to hide it from us.”

“Can we trust the Cheka agent’s words?”

“He wouldn’t lie. There’s proof.”

I had the Duma members pass around the love letter that Lefknehit sent to Makhno.

“How dare he act behind our backs like this! He is definitely someone who deserves to be torn apart! Who do you think established the Free Territory? Lefknehit. Can you believe he’s colluding with that scoundrel?”

While it’s uncertain if Makhno will eventually affiliate with Communist Germany, it’s true.

“What is the current situation in Ukraine? It would be a problem if we push in without any justification and end up in a troublesome situation.”

At least we need to gather some justification before proceeding.

Look at the 21st-century Ukrainian war.

In the special military operation to wipe out Ukraine’s neo-Nazis, Ukraine fought back.

Even if people support Ukraine, it’s still an invasion war from this Putin character.

Makhno’s Free Territory is a place that can be disposed of without remorse.

Still, even such people wouldn’t resist if we don’t have any justification for attacking.

That would be undesirable.

So, at the very least, we should establish that the Ukrainians would rather be a part of Russia than fight against us. That’s a justification we need.

“Makhno is completely ruining the collective farms.”

“Collective farms?”

Could it be that things still aren’t improving over there?

I guess they can go ahead and ruin it.

As Ukraine goes downhill, the Ukrainians will compare themselves to their neighboring countries.

When it comes to neighboring countries, there’s Southwestern Ukraine aligned with Britain and the Russian Republic, but the British probably wouldn’t even look our way and would rather compare themselves to Russia, which implements slightly red-tinged labor welfare policies.

Then the support for the Free Territory will drop too.

It’s already in a state of “anarchy” and there doesn’t seem to be proper control internally. If that’s the case, that’s good news for us.

“Yes. We’re continuously exporting grain on our side. Seems like they want to show they’re doing fine!”

That’s right. Actual history shows that the same happened in the Soviet Union.

They had collective farming that terribly backfired, but instead of receiving aid from other countries, they would export the plunder they had gathered from Ukraine to display that they were doing alright and strong.

They didn’t care that millions of Ukrainians were dying from the famine.

Isn’t this leading to a great famine in Ukraine too?

These so-called collective farms are really just a joke.

In the end, the landlords disappear, but the party monopolizes the farms instead.

You could say that the Supreme Labor Commission of the Free Territory has that monopoly as well. The farmers won’t just blindly follow the new regime either.

Even Stalin said he was more afraid of war with the peasants than with Germany.

There are bound to be those who resist that too, and since it’s a committee just beginning to experiment with collective farming, it’s no surprise that their production is pitiful.

What happens if they take everything away though?

If the farmers truly support Makhno and aren’t just being forced into collective farming, then such a disaster wouldn’t have occurred.

But if Makhno is looking to turn Ukraine into hell itself, then that’s a different story.

While the Soviet Union only saw Ukraine as a part of it, if Makhno carries out thorough plunder policies to kill the farmers who go against him in Ukraine itself—

Hmm.

That’s pretty much like suicide.

To avoid giving the Russian Republic an excuse, he sells off the grains.

That could be seen as mere bravado.

Somehow, the operation of the Free Territory is ongoing.

They may present this as proof, but truth be told, the reality is different.

The farmers resist the collective farms, and Makhno continues to plunder them, creating a vicious cycle.

Then production drops and what little remains is taken away again and sold off.

In the end, the Ukrainian Free Territory will be left with nothing but a bunch of ragtag homeless folks.

Right now, the Russian Republic is trading for grains with other countries.

Unlike the Soviets, we lack things to discuss for trade.

Southwestern Ukraine is selling grains this way too.

Come World War II, we’ll plan to have Ukrainian resources fuel the White Army’s supplies.

For now, we need to depend on Ukrainian agriculture for any produce coming from Europe.

On the surface, Russia appears to be progressing, but there’s still a long way to go. To be honest, only the railroads that Germany laid down to maintain an advantage in the civil war are completed around Yekaterinburg.

Across Russia as a whole, the railroads are still being built.

Once everything is complete, that’s when Russia will improve even more.

“But if Ukraine keeps ruining like this, isn’t it going to be a problem for grain imports in the near future?”

There are limits to how much you can squeeze out of them.

Right now it feels like we’re barely holding on, so eventually, this will all run dry, right?

If that happens, Russia will become bothersome as well.

Before that, I need to swallow Makhno whole.

“Yes, it will be. After all, being human, if that Supreme Labor Committee suppresses the farmers and pushes for collective farming, it will be the end.”

That really is lacking.

In the end, they’re all just human.

Why did the Bolshevik scum, who aimed to create a country for the workers, end up blowing it with collective farming?

It’s because the incompetent bureaucrats took the landlord’s place, and they were eating up those profits behind the scenes.

Whether going sideways or straight, if they only mess up more, it’s better just to acknowledge the farmers’ rights.

For communism to be realized perfectly, it must continuously develop from now and give rise to a monumental AI that directly manages humans for an ideal paradise on earth.

No matter if it’s a revolution or communist policy; as long as humans are involved, decay is inevitable.

Just look at China and North Korea.

Even North Korea’s Kim Il-sung was brought over by the Soviets, a fundamental rogue.

As a result, both China and North Korea have rotted away.

If you analyze it, Mao Zedong committed a number of blunders too.

Anyway, Makhno talks a big game about anarchism, but he too will follow the tracks laid down.

“Then let’s slowly set the stage.”

“I’ll create justifications.”

“Justifications, indeed. Let’s incite the Ukrainian farmers. Is that possible?”

“I’ve been laying the groundwork for a long time.”

That’s right. If that’s the case, it’s a relief.

Even if Makhno stirs things up behind the scenes, it won’t matter.

Wait, hold on a sec.

Thinking it over, those anarchists are literally those without a government, right? So isn’t the justification itself crucial?

As long as the Ukrainian farmers in the land of anarchy desire Russian governance, that’s all that matters.

The Ukrainian Free Territory can’t even be called a nation.

If we do this, we’ll be justified.

Not only that, the Ukrainian farmers are quite discontent, so apart from Makhno’s confidants, there shouldn’t be too many guerillas.

“No, that’s not it. Since it’s anarchy from the start, is justification even necessary? After all, anarchy means there is no government, right? It translates to a state of primitive communism, and if the Ukrainians in that land want Russian governance, the justification lies with us.”

The justification is perfect.

Even if Britain doesn’t initially recognize the establishment of the Ukrainian Free Territory, they’ll stay quiet.

Much like how they turned a blind eye to Communist Germany.

In that case, we can outright take over the Free Territory without anyone saying a word.

As long as we aren’t gunning for Southwestern Ukraine directly, that is.

Oh, that’s a little disappointing.

“Encourage the Ukrainian farmers to revolt. At the very least, we need to ensure that this time we fully annex Eastern Ukraine.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Okay, then. Hmm.”

It’s quite unfortunate that we have to limit ourselves to Eastern Ukraine. The circumstances are rather messy, huh?

With Southwestern Ukraine stuck between Bessarabia and Eastern Ukraine.

Hmm, if only we could quickly ‘Anschluss’ Ukraine by World War II. Maybe if we pushed a bit, we could snatch up Southwestern Ukraine too?

At the end of the day, if they’re a British puppet state, they could very well come over to us.

“Why do you say that?”

“How about making a move on Southwestern Ukraine now while we have the chance? Considering how Britain’s situation is, it’s worth throwing out a bait.”

Honestly, it doesn’t seem bad at all to take Southwestern Ukraine with this opportunity. Look at Britain. Isn’t this akin to ensuring peace in our time?

Even if it’s a bit greedy, we might as well go for it now.

Right now, they’re underestimating us enough for us to take Ukraine, right?

If it’s a British puppet state, it could come under our control without a hitch.

We should gradually assert our influence and slowly merge with them.

“That might be difficult. The British will object. They’ve already conceded so much to Germany; if they give up ground to Russia too, it wouldn’t be good for their prestige.”

“It can’t be helped.”

What a shame. What a pity.

In history, this might not matter, but here and now, Russia certainly needs Ukraine.

As long as I’m Anastasia’s ally, Russia must become stronger.

If we acquire Ukraine, Russia will progress even more.

After all, the Soviet Union had Ukraine in the first place.

Northern Manchuria and Ponto’s Greece can’t even match Ukrainian industrial strength.

But since Makhno is ruining half of Ukraine, we need to surely expel him from Eastern Ukraine this time.

So we’ll eat up Eastern Ukraine now and take a piece of Southwestern Ukraine later.

“Given Britain’s condition, when it’s time to fight Communist Germany later, it will be good to demand they hand over Ukraine.”

“Considering Britain’s situation, it feels like they’ll be cornered again after fighting Germany, by that point we could easily take Ukraine, and they wouldn’t be able to complain.”

The Duma is in agreement for later. That’s good.

“Then let’s do that.”

I was sure of it, but it doesn’t hurt to have hope.

 

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