Russian Rise is an alternative history, in which the point of divergence is that the Russian general Mikhail Skobelev does not die of a heart attack in 1882. This leads to him eventually being appointed as commander of Russian forces in East Asia, which results in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 ending with a peace agreement as in OTL, but instead on Russian terms. Skobelev's success and subsequent popularity result in him being appointed as the Imperial Minister of War in March 1909. He makes drastic changes to the Army and Navy and plays an essential role in founding the Air Service. This leads to a very different Great War, and a very, very different world.
POD
In 1882, General Mikhail Skobelev made several speeches in Paris and Moscow. In these speeches he predicted and in a way encouraged clashes between ethnic Slavs and Germans. The Tsar was not impressed and Skobelev was ordered to return to St. Petersburg. He was staying at a Moscow hotel, and on his way to his estate, when he died suddenly of a heart attack on 7 July 1882. All this happened in OTL. But the single POD in this althistory is that Skobelev never has a heart attack. Instead he suffers a mild stroke but in a few weeks he has recovered.
Territorial Differences from OTL
-Russia's western border is greatly different. The Dnepr river forms the Russian-Ukrainian border. Although Kiev is both on the Western (Ukrainian) and Eastern (Russian) sides, Kiev is part of Russia.
-The Crimean peninsula belongs to Russia.
-The most part of the Belarossian-Russian border is formed by the Dnepr river. The rest is the same as OTL.
-Due to being under Soviet occupation since 1944, East Prussia is conceded in its entirety to the Soviets. This means that the present-day Kaliningrad Oblast is almost twice its size.
-Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are much smaller. (Due to their support for the Nazi's during WWII, the Soviets decided to 'punish' them)
-Estonia has no access to the Gulf of Finland.
-Belarus has a second border with Russia via the Kaliningrad Oblast (although Belarus has lost land east of the Dnepr, it has gained equivalent land to the west).
-Since Mongolia became a Soviet Republic, the USSR's size was greater.
-Armenia and Azerbaijan are relatively equal in size, with both having a border with Russia. There is no dispute over Nagarno-Karabath (forced deportations during Kamenev's rule and the post-war reconstruction settled the problem).
-The Chinese-Russian border is undisputed because, the Soviet presence during and after WWII meant that the Soviets had controlled the entire region. (the border is based on rivers and valleys and other natural formations)
-The present-day Indian part of Kashmir that is claimed by Pakistan, belongs to Pakistan although claimed by India. The present day Chinese claimed part of both Pakistani and Indian Kashmir belongs to China. (this means that China is the worlds third largest country by the slimmest of margins over the USA)
-The present day Indian states of Arunachi Pradesh, Asssam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, along with part of West Bengal, are instead part of Bangladesh.
-The Kazakh-Russian border is the Ural river.
-The borders between Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Takijistan, Kyrgyztan and Mongolia are more natural. (all six nations are more or less equal in size than in OTL)
Ayaa 12:14, April 4, 2011 (UTC)