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Makhno’s suicide seems to be known only to our army, so this could be manipulated.

“Even such a person might cultivate followers later. Let’s keep Makhno’s suicide a secret and choose criminals resembling him among those who can die. We’ll disguise them as Makhno and send them to trial, then execute them along with other Makhno’s associates. Just to avoid suspicion, I, the Tsar, will add that the Reds want to avoid seeing their faces.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

“Let’s do that.”

But you know, that Makhno guy is really infuriating.

Think about it.

Why did he commit suicide in his own office?

He wanted to package it as dying unfulfilled due to the Russian invaders, didn’t he?

Again, this has variables.

In reality, the committee system was properly established. Despite some struggle from peasant resistance to the collective farm policy, if it had just been implemented, there would have been results. It could be casually evaluated that way.

After all, great figures are often re-evaluated.

It’s a bit much to call Makhno a great figure, but still, he’ll be labeled a Red.

Not in the distant future, but right now.

There are Communist Germany propagating communism and anarchists around the world.

Even Benito Mussolini ended up at a gas station, but in later generations, he’s being hailed by the Italian right.

Who knows, in the future, based on Ukraine’s situation, Makhno might be hailed again. Well, that’s a possibility.

We need to prevent that in advance.

Then we should reconsider.

How about dressing Makhno in women’s lingerie?

The discovered Makhno would be found in women’s clothing and lingerie. Let’s do it that way.

We can just instruct the Cheka agents to testify on it.

I raised my hand and said.

“How about we even dress the fake Makhno in women’s lingerie? When discovered, let’s say he was embracing women in his office wearing lingerie on his head.”

“““What?”””

The members of the Duma were all flustered.

Right, they didn’t expect to hear about women’s lingerie all of a sudden.

But if they listen to my whole proposal, it would be entertaining.

“The future might not know, but in this era, aside from Makhno, there are anarchists and Communist Germany. Let’s brand them as perverts so they can’t spout nonsense.”

If we do that, the Communist Germany or the anarchists won’t be able to say anything about Makhno.

Wearing women’s underwear and even taking pictures.

If that gets out, how could Karl Liebknecht or Mussolini say anything?

The anarchists would also point fingers at the dead Makhno.

“That way, Makhno will become just a pervert with no chance for future re-evaluation.”

A pervert wearing women’s underwear can’t possibly do his job well.

If he’s branded a pervert without any re-evaluation, that will be that.

“I think it would be amusing.”

“If that happens, then even Communist Germany or Italy won’t be able to defend Makhno or consider him a martyr.”

“No parent, no matter how absurd, would support a perverted communist.”

In this reality, nobody would back him up.

I don’t know how it compares to actual history, but it feels like he’s going to get a lot of hate even after death.

“Ukrainians are okay, right? Isn’t there anyone calling us invaders?”

“Aside from Makhno’s associates, no.”

Even Makhno’s associates would die if caught.

If they’re going to die anyway, they’d rather resist than submit.

“For now, let’s grant tax reductions or benefits to Ukrainians under the pretext of rebuilding eastern Ukraine. We need to show clearly that we are different from Makhno.”

“Yes, understood.”

“What about the reactions from neighboring countries?”

I asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Reactions from the surroundings matter in these circumstances.

Look at Russia. They attacked Ukraine and got all kinds of hate.

Only the scummy thug nations from the Red Team sided with them.

Given that the Ukraine we consumed is anarchist, it should be okay, right?

“Britain sent Austin Chamberlain to express some slight concerns, but they plan to respond soon citing Communist Germany.”

“That makes sense.”

From Britain’s perspective, since it involves Southwestern Ukraine, they could spit out discontent, but that’s it.

In fact, the establishment of Makhno’s Free Territory was like tacit approval from Britain for Russian lands.

Britain isn’t foolish, so isn’t it obvious they didn’t mind ‘anarchy’?

They won’t say anything since they’ve already raised an issue regarding Southwestern Ukraine before.

“Communist Germany is vigorously protesting, declaring that the imperialist Tsar has crushed the seeds of Ukrainian communism.”

“Hmm.”

Well, I expected that, so whatever.

Let the Reds play among themselves.

Now it’s about merging at least half of Ukraine.

If we can gain some population or industry from that, it wouldn’t be bad.

Thinking about it, what Russia is doing right now would be good to sway the hearts of angry Ukrainian peasants over the collective farm.

Let’s set aside existing benefits for now.

What if we return the land rights taken by Makhno’s Supreme Labor Committee to the landowners?

Next, regarding the Minister of Land Management.

“Have the landowners gotten their land back?”

“Yes. They’ve recovered everything taken by the Supreme Labor Committee, so self-farming has increased quite a bit.”

“Then let’s establish the Autonomous Republic of Ukraine in Russian territory and set up Zemstvo there to recognize the landowners’ rights.”

The Zemstvo is meant for landowners, peasant communities, and urban dwellers to elect representatives for three-year terms.

In a nutshell, this is the complete opposite of Makhno’s policies that oppressed the peasants.

Despite the title of collective farming, the tyrant Makhno arbitrarily stripped the peasants’ rights.

In this process, the peasants’ loyalty plummeted, and it’s about liberating them as well.

They would likely accept the rule of the Russian Republic.

Moreover, the current republic’s Zemstvo has been thoroughly established in necessary regions and can even engage in national matters.

The existing shackles of nobles have been broken due to resistance and limitations from the imperial era.

“Yes, Your Majesty. The governor and regional ministers to be dispatched there are already prepared.”

“They aren’t nobility, right?”

The Ukrainian Free Territory has just been incorporated into us.

As the Zemstvo is reformed more broadly, city Dumas have been established in republics within the Union, and if nobles enter, it’s obvious they’ll put restrictions on the local commoners.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“They’ll probably welcome Russian governance in return, so even if we don’t aim for Southwestern Ukraine, we must promote it properly.”

“Even if we don’t target Southwestern Ukraine, we need to show that Russia governs well.

This needs to be demonstrated.

With that, even the pro-English puppet state of Southwestern Ukraine might see Ukrainians rallying to this side. Later, the Southwestern Ukrainians might end up supporting Russia, who knows.”

“Your Majesty, there are some disturbances from the Baltic States.”

Prime Minister Krivoshein spoke with a worried expression.

Baltic States refer to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, right?

“Is there a problem with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania?”

“Even if Belarus fell to the Bolsheviks for nothing, the Ukrainians were taken via the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, so it seems the Baltic nations are afraid of a Russian invasion.”

“Really?”

Thinking about it, that makes sense.

While we’re beating down the Free Territory, how would the Baltic nations, once part of Russia, perceive this?

If the neighborhood bully catches a cold and the school life is comfortable, but then that bully starts beating up another little minion and growing stronger, that’s not good.

“The British Foreign Secretary also expressed concerns on that point.”

Well, is it necessary to care too much about that?

No matter how anxious they are, we’re not planning to do anything, are we?

Considering the stature of the Baltic nations, it’s understandable they are anxious. Russia doesn’t genuinely think about it.

It’s because they don’t think.

Certainly, it’s a bit disappointing regarding the Baltic coast, but the Baltic States aren’t strictly necessary for forming the Russian Republic.

It would be nice to have them geographically, but it’s regrettable.

Honestly, if Vermont had performed well, they could have easily seized the Baltics. But that would only work if the situation were ripe for negotiations. Right now, it’s a bit challenging.

I think the Pontic Greeks and Constantinople we stripped from Turkey might be far more profitable.

After all, the Pontic Greeks are all joining Russia now.

“Hmm, we’ve already recovered the Eastern Roman territories. So there’s really no need to expand into the Baltics, right?”

“Yes, there’s no need to clash with Britain if we don’t have to.”

Then we shouldn’t worry about it.

We shouldn’t say, “We definitely won’t head to the Baltics!” but rather just stay quiet.

Silence speaks volumes after all.

We have no interest in the Baltics whatsoever.

“Let’s just respond with a vague no.”

“A vague no?”

“What can we do if they can’t believe us regardless of our assurances? We need to show it through action. Basically, Eastern Ukraine is an anarchist zone and we’ve taken over—this alone should suffice. Moreover, the White Army of South Russia, who were stirring up conflicts in the Baltics, are also in East Prussia, right?”

There aren’t many troops stationed along the Baltic border.

Anyway, they are also pro-English nations. Provoking the Baltics would mean declaring we want to fight the British.

But the Baltics should have the sense to realize Britain is odd right now.

They just surrendered and fell to Germany, which has been beaten down.

Seeing this kind of outcome, the Baltic nations may fear losing their independence thinking Russia might ignore the British and target them instead.

“Indeed, Your Majesty. If they remain anxious, what should we do?”

Since we’ve consumed Ukraine, the British as stakeholders must feel a bit uneasy.

To put it bluntly, if we were to say, “Oh, in order to block the expansion of Communist Germany, we’ve got to seize the Baltics!” and send troops over, what would Britain do?

We could potentially take them by force, but that would split our air defense cooperation and only serve to delight the Reds in Germany.

Our partner in spirit, Mussolini of Communist Italy, would, as a communist, ride along with Germany for a while.

“Since no matter what we say, if they can’t trust it, then showing action might be best. Right. Let’s say recovering the Eastern Roman territories is our priority, not the Baltics.”

After the victory of the White Russian Army in the Civil War, recovering Constantinople, and the scars of later conflicts, the Russians united with pride as descendants of Rome.

– Therefore, the Russian Republic is also referred to as the Third Roman Empire.

In other words, just as Goryeo sought to recover Goguryeo’s homeland by advancing north, they are called the Third Empire for aiming to recover the territory of Rome.

This can be cited as a reason.

“Indeed, recovering Constantinople should put Britain at ease.”

Isn’t it true?

We won’t be directly moving our troops to the Baltics.

It’s regrettable to lose the Baltics, but there’s no reason to intentionally clash with Britain or to make it appear that Russia is expanding again.

On top of that, we’ve just regained some territory in Anatolia, the lands of the Eastern Roman Empire.

As the successor to the Eastern Roman Empire, we are paying attention to the Mediterranean nations, not the Baltics.

“Your Majesty, are you thinking of targeting Turkey or Greece later? Especially since the British Mediterranean fleet might keep an eye on us.”

Ah, this is going to connect like that.

Well, that’s not it.

“Greece is in a worse position than us, so they might be hit by Turkey or Bulgaria instead. And it’s difficult for us to conquer Turkey anyway. There’s really no reason to use force to recover the territories of the Eastern Roman Empire.”

The Ottomans have ruled Anatolia for hundreds of years.

How long would it take for Russia to conquer Anatolia completely and assimilate it again?

It would be better to peacefully maintain the same sphere of influence.

“What method then—”

“The war with Germany will reshape the landscape of Europe. If we lead the charge and crush Germany, wouldn’t the countries included in the Eastern Roman territories follow us? At that point, we can create a new power. The Rome Treaty Organization. Wouldn’t that be nice? This way, we’d integrate the economy.”

This can be called a new Rome.

It could be seen as a Roman order led by Russia.

 

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