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* * *

Contrary to Anastasia’s concerns, her broadcasts were received positively within Russia.

Especially among the general populace.

Daringly, this was a broadcast filled with the support of Anastasia Tsarina, the idol of the United States, vastly different from the bald idol Lenin of the Bolsheviks.

Unlike the Tsar from the past, who oppressed those who protested, claiming they were not subjects of the Empire, this Tsar was directly using the radio to encourage the people.

The public sentiment had shifted, and amidst the revolutionary factions stretching their claws, the Tsar’s support, backed by victories in the Civil War and social welfare reforms for workers, significantly boosted the morale of the nation.

“The Tsarina has descended from her car!”

“Oh wow. The Saint voluntarily gives up her wealth for the people.”

“His Majesty is correct! The enemy, Communist Germany, is watching us! We must work for national strength!”

“I’ll help with the road construction!”

“Well, this is quite a challenging task, so I was thinking of hiring experienced workers. We need to be careful of Rasputitsa as well.”

“As long as you tell me how to do it, I can manage!”

Even those who had never set foot on a construction site participated, especially soldiers from the White Army who had fought alongside Anastasia during the war.

However, there was a fundamental issue.

“What about Rasputitsa? It might be better to operate tanks rather than cars.”

“Well, if the higher-ups say to do it, we have no choice. For now, we just have to cover the roads. We can deal with the less severe areas appropriately. Ultimately, it’s all about the manpower, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think we can afford the wages at this rate.”

With the overwhelming number of people, wages might become unmanageable.

The Ministry of Transport was in trouble due to labor shortages.

There were plenty of eager workers, but paving the roads in preparation for Rasputitsa was quite a daunting task.

Naturally, that meant it would be tough.

Of course, even the nobles from the imperial days, who had been dragged around by Anastasia post-Civil War, were spending their fortunes, so it shouldn’t be excessively difficult. Still, at this point, they were looking for somewhat gullible laborers who could work comfortably.

“Since we have Rasputitsa, we need some manpower that can handle rough work.”

In any case, if you have paid workers and unpaid laborers, it’s clear which should take priority.

Moreover, one couldn’t treat the paid workers carelessly.

It wasn’t because they felt guilty about their bad habits of exploiting the subjects as they had in the past just because it had become a bit easier.

After all, most of the local government officials were dedicated bureaucrats following the Tsar’s will; would they engage in uncivilized actions?

But in this changed Russia, the thought of having practical slaves to exploit allowed for such considerations.

What would be the slaves that no one would point fingers at in the United States?

“By the way, can’t we just use the Bolshevik scum?”

That’s right. There are the Bolsheviks.

Hated by the United States, the Bolsheviks, who had grown up on the blood of the Bolsheviks, were ‘legally’ exploitable slaves.

“This is quite a good idea!”

As the local Dumas of each city proposed to the regional government and again to the National Duma in Moscow, the National Duma positively approved this.

“Counter-revolutionaries! Where are you dragging us?”

“Let go of this!”

That day, hundreds of thousands of Bolsheviks who had been imprisoned in Siberian concentration camps were all dragged out.

“It’s so satisfying to see you cursed at me from behind.”

Except for Stalin, who effectively had become a castrated priest in a grotesque position in the concentration camp.

The dragged-out Bolsheviks, in disheveled appearances, resisted the White Army soldiers.

“Why should we work for you bastards!”

“Weren’t you the ones wanting to turn the country upside down for the workers? Then naturally, you should lend a hand for the workers, right? Or was it just to seize power?”

The authorities from the Ministry of Transport and the White Army soldiers leveraged the Bolshevik’s cause against them.

“What a ridiculous argument!”

“If you truly rose against injustice for the workers, then you must help them!”

Countless Bolsheviks, who had been wasting time in Siberia, were directed to the construction site.

They had no choice.

With the Tsar’s bureaucrats hanging the ‘workers’ over their heads, they couldn’t argue back.

If they refused to help the ‘workers,’ then the Bolshevik revolution would truly be driven by a thirst for power.

Even if this was the Tsar’s cunning plan. The banners of the Bolshevik revolution. Given their cause, they couldn’t refuse.

To prove that the Bolsheviks were right, they had to labor for the suffering workers.

Even if they didn’t want to, they couldn’t escape the watchful eyes of the workers who came to see the Bolsheviks.

“In your logic, we are also workers! Acknowledge our rights!”

“The Bolsheviks are cockroaches. Where do cockroaches have the right to talk back?”

Bang!

They put up a bit of resistance, but ultimately, there’s no bargaining in front of a rifle.

They shot the Bolsheviks who were resisting as examples.

Most of those trapped in the concentration camp would have long since committed suicide if they could throw their lives away like straw, but here they were still alive.

They were afraid of dying.

“Do the Bolsheviks get paid?”

“Why would we pay you? It’s actually better. We can make you work for free.”

“Understood.”

But there was no such thing as wages for the Bolsheviks.

From the central government in Moscow to the local governments.

Officials were all vehemently anti-Bolshevik and anti-communist. They might monitor the assigned Bolsheviks but had no intention of paying them.

Wouldn’t there be no reason to give money to those who would be locked back in the concentration camp afterwards?

What need would they have for money in the camp?

After all, they subsisted on the taxpayers’ money in the concentration camp.

Thus, the deployed Bolsheviks were made to work hard without pay.

“They say they are treating the Bolsheviks harshly!”

“Comrade Secretary, shouldn’t we vigorously protest this as comrades of the revolution?”

Communist Germany protested against the Bolsheviks being harshly exploited by imperialists, but naturally, the Russian United States turned a blind eye.

Of course, there were those in the U.S. who claimed human rights.

“Communists are bugs. Shouldn’t they be grateful just to be kept alive?”

To Russians who had once fought against the Bolsheviks, even if they were fellow Russians, anyone labeled a Bolshevik was no more than a bug.

Moreover, outwardly, it was just ‘Red Workers’ being ‘employed,’ so it meant nothing.

Therefore, the news that Bolsheviks were working openly led Russians to laugh at them from afar or jump in, determined to work even harder than they did.

“For our Mother Tsarina!”

“Let’s make the Tsarina happy!”

“The people of Russia are all children of His Majesty the Tsar! We must follow our Mother!”

“Off the Reds! We shall not be beaten!”

Forced to jump into work under the pretext of helping the workers, the Bolsheviks were treated with contempt by the Russian workers and regarded as competitors.

“Why should we work for those imperialist bastards!”

“What kind of brainwashing did they undergo to end up like this?”

The almost forcibly laboring Bolsheviks faced an unwanted competition against the White Army.

Yet, this scene seemed very abnormal overseas.

“Russia, having regained its senses, is trying to grow stronger!”

Britain was wary of Russia growing stronger but also felt significant cognitive dissonance after supporting Communist Germany.

“Isn’t that a theocracy? It doesn’t look different from Communists.”

After the Ruhr occupation, France, plagued by the internal Commune, worried that the Commune might draw inspiration from Russia and kept a certain distance.

“O children of the Empire! Let us not fall behind Russia!”

The Japanese subjects, excessively proud to be subjects of His Imperial Majesty, were also stimulated.

Actually, it was aimed not so much at the prosperous mainland after the Great War, but rather at the still underdeveloped outside territories—particularly Korea.

“Things had seemed quiet recently, but why are those Japanese oppressing us again!”

“Those bastards!”

Naturally, the reactions were far from positive.

* * *

Time passed further.

We were approaching 1928.

It had been ten years since I had been possessed by Anastasia.

My age here. And indeed, Anastasia herself was nearing her late 20s now. I haven’t noticed any change in appearance regarding the aura of a saint.

Someone once said that while Westerners were beautiful, they aged quickly. Yet this face didn’t seem to have any intention of changing.

Of course, that’s a generalized notion, but there hasn’t been much change in appearance.

As if to promise to maintain her prime, I don’t feel any change in my body.

Take Maria, for example; even though she’s younger than me, she already carries quite a mature vibe.

It seems my stamina is recovering too.

I had a hunch that perhaps I might maintain this way until the era I originally lived in.

Perhaps it’s immortality.

If that strange old man were in the equation, it might be possible. It’s quite fun to see the history changing.

Since I was possessed by Anastasia to change things, it wouldn’t be too strange for time to have passed until the era to which I was sent back.

“Russian-style modified capitalism was hastily concocted to win over the hearts of workers during the Civil War. Of course, for Russia, this alone could be heralded as significant progress, but even as a Brit, I mean to add a bit of flesh to Russia’s capitalism.”

Recently, Keynes came over and added some substance to our capitalism.

Of course, even if they claim to be modified capitalism on the surface, this country has sprouted various forms of facilitative policies, accelerationism, and Anastasia-ism.

Having stirred up a frenzy, Keynes must be dining with Churchill in England now.

“The road construction is progressing well.”

The road construction took longer than the railway construction.

It was a large-scale project spanning several years.

This was understandable, as the railway construction benefited from Germany’s help, and with a mere connection of railway lines, unlike roads that needed to be prepared for Rasputitsa, it had to be paved.

Fortunately, in the 1920s, they had asphalt concrete, so paving the roads wasn’t too difficult.

It required quite a lot of concrete, but Britain provided support.

“Now that we’ve supported Communist Germany, if we don’t assist the anti-air nations, it will be a disgrace for us. One way or another, we have to help Russia!”

Churchill got involved in this.

At first glance, he seems a pro-Russian figure, but given Britain’s poor state, he likely believed that as long as he held sway over the cabinet, Russia should attract Communist Germany’s attention.

Indeed, Churchill could make such choices.

France wasn’t stable either, and Poland, being not a fool, would recognize Russia as a second-rate power. Oheng was a fragmented puzzle, which left only Russia to turn to.

And across the Atlantic, there was no need to discuss America, as if the only choice was Russia, even Churchill had no option but to offer assistance.

The issue was the manpower for road construction.

Wages were being paid accordingly, but the Ministry of Transport, responsible for the road construction, declared, “We’ll make those cockroach Bolsheviks work until they drop!” This helped reduce the problem of labor.

There were instances when Bolsheviks died in the process, but frankly, that wasn’t our concern.

After all, for many Russians, the deaths of Bolsheviks were a wish come true.

In such circumstances, dying while working would be beneficial for Russia.

They were merely keeping it under wraps for the sake of foreign perception regarding the struggling laborers.

Still, I was astonished at the fact that they were using these legally enslaved workers.

“Wow, they’re utilizing them like this.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Indeed, the White Russians didn’t stray far from their roots, using the Bolsheviks like this. While honestly impressed, I still thought it was an ingenious idea.

It would also allow for the possibility of exploiting not just the Bolsheviks but other communists too.

It was perfectly legitimate to make them work for free, which was splendid.

After all, those Bolsheviks, who had risen for the sake of workers, had no grounds to object to working for them.

The Bolsheviks, appropriately exploited, often ended up looking like corpses while working.

Reports indicated that several Bolsheviks had even suggested deflecting midway.

“I didn’t think anyone would shift sides this time.”

Maria marveled while reading a report from the National Duma.

“Indeed, people must be treated harshly to come to their senses.”

Originally, when people are treated harshly, the beliefs they had held onto are bound to crumble.

How would it be if something that claimed to ‘liberate the workers’ ended up being treated like leftovers by those very workers?

It could be akin to a heroic figure of justice witnessing people who should be villains, and being told to consider their rights.

If they did change sides, they would, after that, become paid workers.

Among them, however, some might falsely claim to shift sides; hence extra checks on ideological compliance were put in place.

What could they even accomplish in the United States, where workers’ rights were recognized, and welfare had been established?

“Is that so?”

“Normally, people change in dramatic situations. They must have seen Bolsheviks at the construction site. It would be hard for a revolution in Russia.”

Indeed, due to the changes in history, Lenin emerged as an authoritarian dictator, oppressing the populace.

It must have been impossible not to draw comparisons with that time.

In any case, compared to the Soviet Russia under Lenin, the differences were vast.

Of course, one had to consider the Civil War factor, but that was that.

The Bolsheviks still in Siberian camps held onto the idea that they were revolutionaries right till the end, but they’d have to acknowledge the changed reality of Russia.

They couldn’t help but realize that revolution has no meaning in Russia.

“Could it be that they still want to stage a revolution?”

Maria doesn’t realize the essence of the Reds yet.

Reds are those kinds of people.

 

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