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* * *

The calm voice of Tsarina flowed through the radio, reaching the ears of the Moscow citizens blessed with its availability.

-“That day was terrible, yes. For me, it was the day the sky and earth turned upside down. Completely unaware of the chaos, I was imprisoned in a mansion alongside my family, taken captive by the Bolsheviks in the Ipatiev House.”

The story spilling from the radio shared Tsarina’s anti-communist chronicle.

At first, many listened with curiosity—“Is that really Tsarina?”—but contrary to her gentle tone, what Tsarina expressed was shocking.

-“The Bolsheviks indiscriminately shot my parents and siblings without any trial. They, who were merely claiming to be Bolsheviks, committed horrific acts against my mother and sisters. They shot young Alexei, and even the servants who had protected us were executed for the ‘crime’ of serving us.”

-“My father was incompetent as a Tsar. He failed to heed the voices of his subjects and responded with guns and knives. Yet, the execution that day wasn’t due to my father’s or our family’s sins. They simply executed my family because we could become the focal point for the White Army opposing the Bolsheviks. It was all to protect their power. Everyone knows what the Bolsheviks did to the people through their manipulation; I won’t waste breath detailing it.”

-“Seeing the execution of my family by the Bolsheviks made me realize that they were not a force capable of embracing Russia or its many Russians. Thus, I alone survived from that grave and gathered volunteers in Yekaterinburg to fight back against them.”

It hadn’t even been ten years since the Civil War ended.

The residents of Moscow, familiar with the era of the Red-White Civil War, were aware of it all.

Whether from another city, part of the White Army, or suffering under Bolshevik rule, they all belonged to the same generation that experienced the civil war.

They listened to Tsarina’s firsthand account of the horrors she endured live on the radio.

With the Bolsheviks being swept away at the end of the Civil War and moderate socialists supporting Tsarina’s policies, many praised her, even if they didn’t align with monarchism, wanting to hear more of her experiences.

“I want to listen to the radio!”

“Me too! I’m going to buy a radio!”

The saga that began in Yekaterinburg spread among Moscow citizens and those in Yekaterinburg with the newly opening radio stations, leading to an increase in people wanting to buy radios.

Certainly, even those who had blindly followed the Tsar during the period of Tsar Nicholas II, who ignored the cries of his subjects and turned a deaf ear, were now looking to buy radios.

“I can listen to the Tsar’s voice?”

“If you’re a subject of the Empire, you must!”

All they craved was to hear the voice of the dead bloodline of the Tsar.

Various reasons prompted more people to buy radios.

And despite Anastasia’s intent for the spreading propaganda opposing Bolshevism, the response was overwhelming.

“Oh. Director! Tsarina’s radio broadcast is getting an incredible reaction! They say the radio penetration rate is on the rise!”

“Of course! Of course, it’s Tsarina!”

The radio penetration rate exploded.

* * *

Siberian Concentration Camp

Anastasia’s radio broadcast reached even the soldiers guarding the Siberian concentration camp.

-“Well then, this was Tsarina Anastasia of the Russian Republic.”

Tsarina’s voice, her chronicles of the Civil War, were like an oasis in the desert for the soldiers enforcing the Siberian camp.

“Wow! Tsarina’s doing a radio broadcast.”

“But we can hear it here too.”

“The radio broadcast must be really something. I heard that Dr. Tesla and Duke Yusupov developed the radio together?”

The development of the radio was indeed innovative.

Especially for Tesla, aiming to connect the vast Russian lands through a wireless revolution, Russian radio was an ideal project, and with the capital from Duke Yusupov and the technology of Tesla, the radio’s performance improved.

“I hate to say it, but it seems like the world changes when the Tsar changes.”

“Listening to the radio, you know Tsarina does have a point. The previous Tsar met such a tragic end.”

“Looking back, even those blind executions were part of the wretched schemes of the incompetent Bolsheviks to keep an eye on the White Army. How tragic is that?”

Honestly, monarchists had divided opinions on the predecessor Tsar.

However, now that it was known that the execution was a matter of power retention, overshadowed by the incompetence and tyranny of the Bolsheviks, Nicholas II’s reign, though not praised, was sufficient to garner sympathy votes.

Meanwhile, one man listening to the soldiers’ conversation from beyond the camp wall sneered at their discussions.

“Ha. So it was indeed the death of the predecessor Tsar that triggered all this change.”

Could things change so drastically?

Thinking so felt quite ignorant.

Stalin, no matter how you viewed him, found the very notion of Anastasia suspicious.

No, perhaps not. Maybe Olga, but think of Anastasia’s age. How could that even be feasible?

A princess who wouldn’t even know a thing about politics?

Besides, Anastasia had been known as a mischievous princess since childhood.

Could someone like that change so drastically because her family was killed?

If anything, she would be consumed with a desire for revenge. The way she was acting seemed to demonstrate an understanding of everything.

Moreover, it’s incomprehensible that Anastasia was the only survivor.

Was there really a way to survive in that situation?

For whatever reason, she lived. It could be seen as someone who should’ve been dead now walking among the living.

In fact, she had reportedly survived a bombing terror even in Poland. Could she be seen more as an immortal witch at this point?

Like something wearing the skin of a princess?

The malicious woman who laughed at the impotent Stalin that day was hardly comparable to another girl from the same age group.

“Well. This really doesn’t mean anything.”

Stalin stopped his thoughts.

If indeed Anastasia was resurrected by something or if something took over her body to bring Russia to this point, well then.

Sure, whatever it was, Russia was functioning better than under the Bolsheviks. Just looking at this meant the revolution was already a failure.

Still, it was a pity that the unfinished revolution lingered, but how many would rise up with Stalin here, calling for a revolution on this bleak iceberg of a land?

Of course, the Okhrana’s gun would put a clean hole in Stalin’s head before that could happen.

Yet, even if the revolution failed, Stalin remained alive.

Although that meant double trouble for him, losing his masculinity instead of being executed felt like a taste of a different type of death.

Still displeased with much, Stalin proudly rose amidst the absurdity marred by this defeat.

Though he appeared quite different from the typical communist image.

“It’s time for the Stalin mass, Father.”

“Has it already come to that?”

Stalin brushed himself off and stood up.

How many years had passed since he became impotent?

-“True. So why is it called the Communist Party anyway?”

-“Write your name here. It’s a declaration of conversion. You’re converting.”

Now Stalin was living as a priest in the Siberian concentration camp, thanks to his mother’s urging and the conversion pressure from the Okhrana.

If Lenin or Trotsky saw this, they would probably roll over in laughter.

But, having become impotent and rejected even by the wife who was imprisoned alongside him, this was all he had left to do.

At least he hadn’t written his name on the declaration.

Stalin did not succumb to the Okhrana.

Right. If he had any grievances, all he wanted was to see the face of the damn German who made him impotent.

* * *

Was the broadcast successful?

I hope nobody is muttering “Ah~ Tsarina, doing broadcasts as she pleases, how lovely” behind my back.

I know there are many female staff at the radio station. Don’t they gossip about each other?

I’m really hoping there are no weird comments coming from behind me.

“Lately, radio purchases among the citizens of the United States have skyrocketed.”

“That should be referred to as citizens, not subjects.”

“Ahem. The purchasing power of the citizens of the United States has significantly increased.”

Radio purchasing power had risen.

This meant there were more Russians capable of buying radios now.

Or was it more accurate to say interest in radios had sparked and they were starting to buy them?

Certainly, among numerous Russians, there must have been some who could afford a radio.

I’ll need to buy a color television soon. But for now, having a radio should suffice.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Well, the radio business has been entrusted to Duke Yusupov in front of Your Majesty. To put it easily, your name is on top.”

“Meaning my name is on it?”

He seems to be taking good care of me, at least.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Duke Yusupov was working hard, considering I gave him this idea. He seems like one who can sniff out money.

“Your popularity is increasing day by day.”

“No, so why? Is it because my voice was on the radio?”

I really don’t get how that relates to my popularity.

“It’s because currently, the citizens of the United States are solely following and praising Your Majesty. Naturally, if they can listen to Your Majesty’s voice through the radio, they would be satisfied.”

“Are there really that many people who can afford radios?”

Well, they’d likely be expensive.

I thought perhaps there would be some Russians who could afford radios, considering population ratios, but what Maria’s saying makes it feel like I’m an idol with people buying radios just to hear my voice.

“Even if they go broke buying one, there are probably many citizens who find comfort only in hearing Your Majesty’s voice.”

Could there really be such people in this world?

Still, I’m a bit curious.

If my popularity is rising, it means it’s not just a manufactured authority.

“How much?”

“Perhaps anyone who has followed the Romanov family since the Imperial era would purchase one.”

So this means older individuals, who would be like my granddaughters, are buying radios to hear the voice of the Tsar?

Oh God, oh my.

Imagining it feels like I’ve committed a horrible deed.

Was this not a mistake? The radios in this era must be very expensive.

“I can’t shake the feeling that I made a terrible mistake.”

“What does it matter? It’s Your Majesty’s time anyway. European countries are distributing radios now, so we, with land extending from east to west, would have even more need for them, wouldn’t we?”

Maria seems simple-minded, but she’s making a valid point.

Right. I need to use radios to spread my voice throughout Russia, letting them know, “This is Russia!”

The problem is, for that to happen, Tesla needs to wrench his brain to achieve the wireless revolution he aims for.

“To pull that off, yeah, a wireless revolution must happen. Hmm.”

Wait a minute, after thinking, this side is good enough.

I guess in time, Tesla will resolve it.

Honestly, I know his name, but I don’t know much about him.

I’m barely scraping by, so what would I research in this ruined world? Besides, I’m from the humanities.

Then, the next question remains, of course, television.

If radio becomes widespread, wouldn’t it make sense to start working on television next?

At least it might be tough to hope for computers from the 21st century in Anastasia’s life, but getting a color television might be possible.

If we’re going to deal with televisions directly, wouldn’t we need to involve someone related to that field?

Right. That would be ideal.

**Palo Panzerworx** was the person, right?

He’s known as the inventor of the world’s first electronic television.

In the apocalypse world, I came to learn about these things while trying to study how to operate a television or computer.

In Russia, there was Vladimir Kosma Zworykin.

This guy went to the US during the Red-White Civil War and became established there.

I’m not entirely sure, but it seems he worked with the White Army; in the end, his accomplishments shone in America.

Could things be different here?

Or did he just end up in America through some snowball effect like in actual history?

* * *

 

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