Aleksei II of the Slavic Union
| Aleksei II | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Imperator of the Slavic Union | |||||
| Reign | August 21 1888 – July 1 1912 | ||||
| Coronation | January 17, 1890 | ||||
| Predecessor | Vladimir III | ||||
| Successor | Peter II | ||||
| Born | October 12, 1863 Adrikagorod, Slavic Union | ||||
| Died | July 1, 1912 Adrikagorod, Slavic Union | ||||
| Spouse | Imperatritsa Svetlana | ||||
| Issue | |||||
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| House | Lvov | ||||
| Father | Vladimir III of the Slavic Union | ||||
| Mother | Imperatritsa Maria Lvov | ||||
| Religion | Slavic Orthodox | ||||
Aleksei II (Slavic: Алексей II Владимирович, Aleksey II Vladimirovich; October 12 1863 – April 28 1912) was the Imperator of the Slavic Union from August 21, 1888 until his death on April 28, 1912. The first half of his reign saw economic growth after decades of stagnation, but the second was marred by the brutal Ledyanaya War and massive instability.
He was highly reactionary and resisted calls to liberalize the country. His economic policies benefited a circle of allies and foreign investors, helping wealthy landowners consolidate large estates, often through violent means and legal abuse. These policies grew increasingly unpopular, resulting in civil repression and regional conflicts, as well as strikes and uprisings from labor and the peasants, which ultimately lead to his assassination in 1912, and a revolution against the monarchy a few years later.
Early Life
Grand Duke Aleksei Vladimirovich of the Slavic Union was born on August 21, 1863 in Adrika Palace in Adrikagorod. He was the second child of Imperator Vladimir III and his wife Imperatritsa Maria Lvov. Aleksei had three other siblings: Andrei (1859-1885), Elena (1867-1935), and Boris (1868-1933). Aleksei had little prospect of succeeding to the throne during the first two decades of his life, as his older brother Andrei was the heir apparent.
As Prince of Kodna
Aleksei became the Prince of Kodna on March 8, 1885 after the sudden death of his brother. He had been very close to his older brother, and he was devastated by Andrei's death. As Prince of Adrika, Aleksei began to study the principles of law and administration under Konstantin Pobedonostsev, then a professor of civil law at Adrikagorod State University and later (from 1900) chief procurator of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church in the Slavic Union.
Reign
Aleksei made a visit to Zamastan in 1882, where he observed Congressional Hall in debate and was seemingly impressed with the machinery of democracy, including expressing admiration for President William Castovia, specifically for his handling of the Parabocan War. Despite this Aleksei turned his back on any notion of giving away any power to elected representatives in the Slavic Union.
On August 21, 1888 he ascended to the Slavic throne after the death of his father from kidney disease. Before he was even coronated the Slavic famine of 1889 began, causing 100,000 deaths and intense anger against the monarchy over the government's mishandling of the crisis. Once the situation was resolved however the Slavic economy began growing at rates not seen in decades, under Finance Minister Yaropolk Gusev the nation adopted the gold standard and a state capitalist model. By 1900 the economy was growing 8 percent annually and was on pace to be one of the strongest economies in Euronia. However, much of this economic growth was in the form of large estates owned by foreigners. Rural communities and small-scale farmers lost their holdings and forced to be agricultural wage laborers or move. Things were little better in the cities, as the rapidly industrializing nations factories offered low wages and poor working conditions.
His regime became famous for suppression of civil society and public revolts. One of the catch phrases of his was the choice between "khleb ili pulya", ("bread or the bullet")—that is, "benevolence or repression".
Ledyanaya War
Paraboca launched a surprise invasion of the Slavic Union on June 21st, 1901, catching the nation off guard. Aleksei appealed to his subjects to fight to the end against an enemy that until a few decades ago had been a great empire, vowing not to make peace as long as a "single enemy soldier" remained on Slavic soil. Early on Paraboca quickly overran the nations southwest, but as the winter set it in they were forced to stop, both sides digging elaborate trench systems.
During the war ethnic Parabocans that lived in the Slavic Union were mistreated, with Yaropolk Gusev, who was of Parabocan descent, resigning from his post as Finance Minister out of protest of Aleskei's hesitancy to condemn these actions.
In early 1903, the heavily outmatched Slavic military finally broke, with it's line shattering and the Parabocan army making a rapid advance towards the city of Adrikagorod, the Battle of Adrikagorod would last 3 months with heavy casualties on both sides, eventually the Parabocan army would be forced to retreat.
The Slavic army managed to strengthen defenses while Paraboca recovered, and eventually it was virtually impossible for Paraboca to push any further north into the Union. In 1907, with Paraboca needing a victory quickly if they wanted to keep things on the homefront from collapsing into chaos they launched the Phoenix Offensive, where an army of 100,000 would go around Slavic defenses through through Ledanaya.
Parabocan high command heavily overestimated their ability to navigate the mountainous and icy terrain of Lenadaya, they also didn't account for the Okhotnik, special forces units made of natives of the Ledanaya region, specially trained in guerilla tactics. Tales of the Okhotnik quickly spread through the ranks of the Parabocan, causing hits to morale, there were exaggerated stories of them eating human flesh and removing organs. This caused thousands to desert, terrified of the okhotnik.
Parabocan forces were severely weakened, and by the time they reached Noyalensk they had no choice but to surrender. The war would officially end on on September 22 1908 with the signing of the Treaty of Khizny, forcing Paraboca to pay massive reparations and eventually causing their collapse in 1910.
Final Years and Assassination
The Ledyanaya War crippled the Slavic economy, and even after it's end the it struggled to recover. Food prices soared, an egg cost four times what it had in 1901, butter five times as much. The severe winter dealt the railways, overburdened by emergency shipments of coal and supplies, a crippling blow. War-time prohibition of alcohol was enacted by Aleksei to boost patriotism and productivity, but instead damaged the funding of the war, due to the treasury now being deprived of alcohol taxes.
The Slavic Union by 1912 was a powder keg waiting for a match to be lit, the economy showed no signs of recovery and frequent showdowns between protestors and the army threatened to tear the country apart. During a July 1st parade celebrating Ivan the Great's establishing the title of Imperator a young member of the Socialist Revolutionary party, Aleks Korolev, threw a bomb under Aleksei's car. Aleksei was quickly rushed to the Adrika Palace where he was given Communion and Last Rites. At 3:30 that day, the standard of Aleksei II (his personal flag) was lowered for the last time. Aleksei's two year old son Peter was not allowed to see Aleksei in his final moments as it was worried his condition would scare the child. Aleksei's last words are reported to have been: "To leave a young boy in command of a nation as angry as this one is such a great cruelty"
Aftermath
Aleksei's only son Peter was too young to rule, and as such Aleksei's brother Boris was left in charge as regent. Boris was a notorious playboy and womanizer whose continued exploits despite his military command in the Ledyanaya War drew widespread condemnation. He was ill fit to serve as a regent and largely used the role to continue partying, only exacerbating the populace's anger.
By 1915 the country had fallen into chaos, and on July 28th, 1915, Boris announced Peter's abdication on his behalf, marking the end of the Slavic monarchy after 1,400 years and the beginning of a shaky 25 year period of democracy.
Popular culture depictions
- Aleksei was portrayed by Vladimir Morozov in the film The Last Tyrant (1933)
- He was portrayed by Isai Egorov in the TV series Slavic Union: The Story of a Nation (2022)
- He is to be portrayed by Kirill Mikhaylov in the upcoming film God Save the Vozhd (2023)