Russia (Emancipation Map Game)

Russian Empire Россійская Имперія Timeline: Emancipation (Map Game) OTL equivalent: Russian Empire
Tsardom of Russia 1721 - Present
Coat of arms
Location of Russia Russia in northern Eurasia
Capital		St. Petersburg
Largest city		Moscow
Other cities		Odessa, Sevastopol, Kerch, Nikolayev, Rostov
Official languages		Russian
Regional languages		Polish, Finnish
Ethnic groups		Russian, Ukrainian, Turkic-Tatar, Polish, Belarussian, Yiddish
Religion		Russian Orthodox Church
Demonym		Russian
Religion		Russian Orthodox Church
Government		Absolute monarchy with limited Parliament
-	Emperor	Nicholas II
History
-	Accession of Peter I	7 May 1682
-	Empire proclaimed	22 October 1721
-	Decembrist revolt	26 December 1825
-	Emancipation of Serfdom	3 March 1861
Population
-	1860 census	80 million
Currency		Ruble

The Russian Empire (Russian: Россійская Имперія; Transliteration: Rossiyskaya Imperiya) is a large Eurasian nation. An international power, Russia is rich in natural resources and is the world's largest nation. Russia is bordered by many other important nations, including Sweden, Prussia, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and China. Like all empires, Russia includes a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity and religion.

Government

Emperors

Portrait	Name	Reignspan	Lifespan	Notes
	Peter I	1721-1725	1672-1725	Tsar from 1682-1721
	Catherine I	1725-1727	1684-1727	Wife of Peter I
	Peter II	1727-1730	1715-1730	Grandson of Peter I
	Anna	1730-1740	1693-1740	Daughter of Ivan V
	Ivan VI	1740-1741	1740-1764	Great-grandson of Ivan V
	Elizabeth	1741-1762	1709-1762	Daughter of Peter I
	Peter III	1762-1762	1728-1762	Grandson of Peter I
	Catherine II	1762-1796	1729-1796	Wife of Peter III
	Paul I	1796-1801	1754-1801	Son of Peter III
	Alexander I	1801-1825	1777-1825	Son of Paul I
	Constantine Pavlovich	1779-1831	1825	Son of Paul I
	Nicholas I	1796-1855	1825-1855	Son of Paul I
	Alexander II	1855-1881	1818-1881	Son of Nicholas I
	Nicholas II	1881-Present	1843-Present	Son of Alexander II

Duma

The Duma is the bicameral legislature of the Russian Empire. The two houses are the Council (which is elected nonpartisanly by region) and the Congress (which is elected by party-list proportional representation across all of Russia).

There are four major political parties with representation in the Congress. Taken together, they fill the 500 seats. To govern alone, an absolute majority of 251 seats is required. As this is extremely difficult, pundits predict that few governments will rule alone. They are:

•   Russian National Congress
  Ultranationalist party
•   Russian Conservative Party
   Traditional conservative, pro-nobility party
•   Party for National Progress
  Liberal party
•   Democratic Labor Front
  Workers' rights party

Year	Seating Map	RNC	RCP	PNP	DLF
1875		56	186	214	44
1880		78	154	198	70

Economy

The Russian economy is a complex mixture of traditional peasant-based farming and modern industry. The Russian population is overwhelmingly rural, with only 15% living in urban areas and only 10% working in industry.

Agriculture remains backward by Western European standards. Many fields are still plowed by hand and only about half of the peasants have a horse to aid in their farm work. This, coupled with the difficult winters, makes agriculture typically a subsistence living for the peasant class. This is an area where Emperor Alexander II has promised to make substantial reforms in the coming years, once the emancipation of serfdom is completed.

One of the most dominant industries is mining. Among the minerals most mined in the Empire (largely in Siberia, the Urals and the Caucuses) are: iron, copper, zinc, manganese, lead, silver, gold, and platinum. Near the mining sites of these minerals are typically metalwork plants to process the ores. They are then shipped throughout the empire as needed and to St. Petersburg to be sold to the rest of Europe.

Currently, the nation is being transformed by the mass spread of rail lines throughout the nation. Connecting major cities with the outposts of the East, the decisions of where to lay train tracks and what cities are made the new depots and which are left behind, has led to much conflict between local nobles and villagers.

Military

The Russian military is comprised of the Imperial Russian Army and the Imperial Russian Navy. Also often considered a part of the military establishment is the Third Section, the secret police. 

Navy

The Naval Ensign of Russia

Naval Jack of Russia

1864 resumption of Black Sea naval presence.

Third Section

The Third Section is the semi-militaristic secret police of the Russian Empire responding directly to the Chancellor (and therefore not truly being part of the military) ...

Culture

Church of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, St Petersburg

The Russian Empire is a mixture of many different culture and ethnicities spread throughout the realm. Although most consider themselves to be culturally Russian, most speak Russian and the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest religion, there are a variety of other subcultures within the Empire.

In the western parts of the Empire some such cultures are the Poles, Finns, Latvians, Estonians, and Lithuanians. These people tend to be Latin Catholic and speak their native tongues although education in Russian is increasingly mandatory. Closer to the Russians are the Ukrainians and Belorussians, who are separated by a few centuries but were united under the Kievan Rus' period. Mixed within this area is a small Yiddish-Jewish community.

In Central Asia and the Caucasus are many subgroups. There are Georgians and Armenians, who primarily practice versions of Christianity and speak native tongues. Another potent group includes Kazakhs, Turkmen and Tatars. These people are largely Sunni Muslims and have native Turkic languages.

In the far north and east are native peoples. While small in population, some such groups are the Maris, Komis, Khants, Nenets, Yakuts, Evenks, Nivkhs, and Koryaks. These people are regularly forced to learn Russian and assimilate into Russian culture in these regions and Russian settlement in their homeland is continued.

Foreign Relations

The Russian Empire has traditionally shied from close alliances with foreign powers, largely because it has been excluded from Western European diplomatic circles. Under Peter the Great, the Empire began to focus upon its relations with other nations, starting to look outwards, but even then Russia's large size and many land borders resulted in more rivalries than partnerships.

As recently as 1856, Russia was in the Crimean War opposing the United Kingdom, France, the Ottoman Empire, and the precursors of the Italian Kingdom. Since then, Russia has made overtures towards Austria, attempted a rapprochement with France and aided a failing Ottoman Empire, seeing them as natural allies in Europe.

In Central Asia, a noted rivalry exists between Russia and Great Britain. Called  "the Great Game" or the "Tournament of Shadows," this tension is due to expansion in the region north of Persia - currently occupied by Kokand, Khiva and Bukhara. These tough tensions have spilled over to European relations as well, but it is currently thought that these tensions will not escalate to a full-scaled war.

In recent years, diplomatic relations with foreign nations have improved. There is currently a trade agreement with the Netherlands and Denmark and a non-aggression pact with Japan.

East Asian diplomacy is dominated by the Treaty of Hanseong, which binds Austria, Taiping China and Korea (a Russian satellite state) together in a mutual defensive alliance and trade agreement.

There is also a pending alliance with Saxony, provided complications over Poland can be worked out.