I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 513: Comprehensive Suppression

Chapter 513: Comprehensive Suppression
Before Alexei's new article was published, the St. Petersburg Police Department and the Baltic Fleet Sailors took joint action, the Baltic News was confiscated, and Alexander and Alexei were thrown into prison.

At the same time as the Baltic News, more than 20 newspapers and magazines were closed down. Subsequently, the Ministry of the Interior established a Press Bureau to strengthen control over the news media. Within just one month, 7 percent of newspapers and magazines in St. Petersburg went bankrupt, leaving only .

The President of St. Petersburg University, Pobedonostsev, was very angry. On the pretext of strengthening management, the Press Office sent staff to the printing house of St. Petersburg University to supervise its operations.

After the establishment of the First State Duma, Pobedonostsev believed that the State Duma was a concession to liberalism, so he resigned as Prosecutor General of the Religious Conference and went to St. Petersburg University to serve as the president.

The director of the Press Agency, Tikhominov, graduated from the Law Faculty of Moscow University. When he was young, he was influenced by the Narodnaya Volya and worked as an editor of the "Bulletin of Public Opinion" in Paris.

In 1888, Tikhominov wrote a letter to Alexander III asking for forgiveness, and was able to return to Russia.

In 1907, Tikhominov joined the Publishing Affairs Management Committee, responsible for publishing the Moscow Bulletin and providing Stolypin with advice on the workers' movement.

Pobedonostsev used to be the tutor of Yasan and Nikolai. Although he has retired, he still has an independent status in St. Petersburg. Tikhominov did not dare to neglect him and personally explained to Pobedonostsev the purpose of strengthening control.

"The Petersburg University Printing House is the largest printing house in the empire. Most of the illegal printed materials that appeared in St. Petersburg are related to the Petersburg University Printing House. Grand Duke Yuriev requested to strengthen the management of the printing house—"

"What does this have to do with Grand Duke Yuriev?"

Pobedonostsev had been appointed Governor-General of the Amur and knew George very well.

"Some newspapers and magazines attacking Grand Duke Yuriev on the St. Petersburg market were printed by the St. Petersburg University Printing House."

Tikhominov put the blame on George and asked him to go to the Admiralty building if he had any questions.

"absurd!"

Pobedonostsev was angry and felt that George's hand was overreaching.

"——Newspapers and magazines attacked George, and George went to cause trouble for them. What does this have to do with the printing house of Petersburg University?"

After Yasan ascended the throne, he strengthened the management of colleges and universities, took back the management rights of most of them, and had the empire send presidents to manage them.

Due to the continuous deterioration of the empire's finances, funding for universities, including St. Petersburg University, was decreasing year by year. The universities had to be self-reliant. The St. Petersburg University Printing House was one of the few profitable projects of St. Petersburg University.

"Those newspapers and magazines that attacked Grand Duke Yuriev have now been shut down. Grand Duke Yuriev originally requested that all printing presses in St. Petersburg be brought under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Considering the special nature of St. Petersburg University, it was decided to retain them."

Tikhominov hoped that Pobedonostsev could understand the difficulties of the Press and Publication Administration, which had done its best to safeguard the interests of St. Petersburg University.

This reason was not accepted by Pobedonostsev.

So Pobedonostsev left the Press Office and went straight to the Winter Palace.

That day happened to be the birthday of the second princess Tatiana, and George and his family were invited by Nicholas to visit the Winter Palace.

Anne gave Tatiana a set of jade jewelry as a birthday gift.

Tatiana didn't know what jade was and mistook it for an emerald, causing her to be laughed at by the other princesses.

"You're jealous that I'm the only one with the presents!"

Tatiana's counterattack was sharp. Except for the eldest princess Olga, who did not take it seriously, the third princess Maria and the youngest princess Anastasius both went to complain crying and were scolded by Alex.

Anne comforted the princesses for a long time and promised to make it up to them on their birthdays, which made the princesses stop crying and smile.

Alexandra was forbidden to approach Crown Prince Alexei because of her previous misdeeds.

Alexandra found her own fun and in less than five minutes she became familiar with Nicola's Scottish shepherd dog, and then led the dog to chase Alex's cat.

Anne was furious and made Alexandra stand against the wall to reflect on her mistakes.

Alex came back and advised Anne not to be angry, and said that she liked Alexandra's personality very much.

Unlike the chaos in the harem, George and Nicholas were drinking tea and chatting happily in the study on the second floor.

Since Boris started working with George, he thought that he was no longer a child and had gotten rid of the vulgar interests of children. Even though he didn't understand, he stayed with George and Nicholas.

"Boris, when I was your age, I had already started serving in the Guards."

Nicholas showed off to his younger brother who was wearing a captain's uniform, saying that they were of the same generation.

Boris is quite tall among his peers. When Nicholas looked at Boris, there was a little trance in his eyes, as if he had returned to the spring 25 years ago.

"When I was in Kanto, I also wanted to serve as a talisman master, but Annie wouldn't let me go."

Polis regretted missing the Russo-Japanese War.

"Your mother is right. You are too young. War is too cruel for you."

Nicholas was happy to communicate with Boris.

"I also want to serve in the Guards like you and father."

Boris mustered up his courage.

"It's not up to me to say this. You have to find a way to get Annie's consent."

Nicholas' response made Polis very angry. This Tsar was nothing.

George did not participate in the fight between Anne and the children, and would never intervene until the children came of age.

Yasan originally asked Nicholas to join the army because Nicholas had begun to follow the example of other grand dukes and go to the theater to pursue actresses, so Yasan got Nicholas into the army.

Anne was very strict with her children and seldom took them to the theatre. Even when they went to the theatre, they only took them to listen to music.

After the performance, Anne would also give flowers to the artists to express her gratitude, but that was all.

When Pobedonostsev arrived at the Winter Palace, Nicholas was showing George and Boris his collection.

Nicholas loved hunting, and many of his collections were specimens of prey. One of them was a huge antler deer, which made Nicholas most proud.

Nicholas received Pobedonostsev in his study.

Pobedonostsev hoped that George would show some leniency and not interfere with the operation of the St. Petersburg University printing house.

"Ninety percent of illegal printed materials in St. Petersburg come from the St. Petersburg University printing plant. I have done great injustice to others by not holding those responsible accountable."

George disagreed. He said that the rapid deterioration of public security in St. Petersburg in recent years had a lot to do with the proliferation of illegal publications.

No matter how dissatisfied the newspaper editors were with the empire, they always had to be more restrained in their newspapers. There were some things they dared not say too clearly and could only provide implicit guidance.

Those tabloids and leaflets that are not published publicly are unscrupulous. Most of the rumors in St. Petersburg come from this.

"How do you know for sure that those illegal printed materials came from the St. Petersburg University printing house?"

Pobedonostsev disagrees with the findings of the St. Petersburg Police Department.

"My office has the complete interrogation records of the St. Petersburg Police Department. Do you want to see them?" George knew Pobedonostsev very well. Although the old man was a little stubborn, his loyalty to the empire was beyond doubt.

Pobedonostsev had a cold face and said nothing. The St. Petersburg Police Department could get any confession George wanted.

"Teacher, George is not targeting St. Petersburg University. The news media has indeed reached the point where it must be rectified."

Nicholas still had great respect for Pobedonostsev.

"Niki, colleges and universities are the future of the empire and should not be subject to too much administrative interference."

Pobedonostsev was not opposed to regulating the printing house, but was worried that George would go further and interfere administratively with the teaching work of St. Petersburg University.

Pobedonostsev served as director of the Religious Affairs Bureau for a long time and was very concerned about religious affairs.

There are many colleges and universities in Amur now, but the difference between them and those in Russia and Europe is that Amur colleges and universities never offer courses related to Orthodoxy.

There is not even a church in the Amur University.

Pobedonostsev worries that regulating printing houses is just the beginning.

"Teacher, a printing house should not be a profit-making organization."

Nicholas also had a problem with Pobedonostsev.

No matter how much the empire allocated to St. Petersburg University, the funds were never enough.

Nicholas did not object to St. Petersburg University using the printing house to make profits, but there had to be a limit to profits and they could not make money indiscriminately.

“If the funding provided by the empire to St. Petersburg University is sufficient to meet the needs of teachers and students, then we will not need to use the printing house to make a profit.”

Pobedonostsev was successfully led astray by Nikolai.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell Peter to increase funding for St. Petersburg University."

Nicholas tried to keep the matter quiet and referred the issue back to Stolypin.

After seeing Pobedonostsev off, Nikolai smiled bitterly. This was his daily routine, always trying to smooth things over.

“Not only the St. Petersburg University printing press, but all the printing presses in the empire must be under the strict control of the empire.”

George did not give any chance to the so-called democrats. The role of public opinion was too important and must be firmly controlled by the empire.

"Does it really have to be this way?"

Nicholas was worried about causing a bigger disturbance.

"Yes, it must be done, otherwise the Social Democratic Labour Party will be revived."

George will not only crack down on illegal publications in St. Petersburg, but will also not let go of those anti-Russian newspapers and magazines that have their headquarters abroad.

Just as the Press and Publication Administration sent staff to supervise the printing house of St. Petersburg University, Nicholas' brother-in-law, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, arrived in London and asked the British government to arrest all members of the Social Democratic Labour Party in London.

After the First Duma was dissolved, all members of the Social Democratic Labor Party in the State Duma were arrested. The remaining members fled to Russia and spread to Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland and other places, continuing their open anti-Russian activities.

George wanted to wipe out the Social Democratic Labour Party and make sure that its remnants had no place to stay in the whole of Europe.

"Your Excellency, these so-called rebels have not violated British law. As the British Prime Minister, I cannot satisfy your request in a way that violates British law."

Herbert Henry Asquith, who had become British Prime Minister the previous year, flatly rejected Alexander's request.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, this is not my request, this is the request of the Russian Empire."

London is Alexander's first stop, and he will then go to Paris, Berlin, and Geneva.

The Social Democratic Labour Party's activities in Europe are rampant. They use donations to raise funds and publish free publications for propaganda. Many people have become well-known social activists and have a certain influence in Europe.

Alexander was certain that the SDLP members who operated openly in London were supported to some extent by the British government.

Perhaps the money used by the Social Democratic Labour Party to print newspapers was given by the British government.

The British are certainly capable of doing this.

"The Russian Empire should also respect the laws of the British Empire. This is the basis of our mutual respect."

Asquith strongly disagreed.

"Last month the Fenian Brotherhood requested to register an office in St. Petersburg. This application has not yet been approved—"

Alexander also had a soft spot for the British.

The Fenian Brotherhood once cooperated with the Vladivostok Shipyard on submarine technology, which caused strong opposition from Britain.

"Are you threatening me?"

Asquith turned pale.

"Yes, I am threatening you. If you don't arrest those members of the Social Democratic Labour Party who are openly active in London, I will invite the Fenian Brotherhood to St. Petersburg for public activities. Believe me, the Fenian Brotherhood in St. Petersburg will definitely raise more funds than the Social Democratic Labour Party. If they don't want money, then they can convert it into weapons and ammunition!"

Alexander slammed the table and stood up, saying, "Don't be so shameless."

Asquith's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. If the Russian Empire really did this, the influence of the Fenian Brotherhood in Britain would increase sharply.

"You bastard, this is London, not St. Petersburg!"

Asquith was very angry. No one had ever dared to threaten him in person.

However, there is always a first time for everything. The Russian Grand Duke had long been notorious for his arrogance, and this was not the first day Asquith had dealt with the Russians.

"Because this is London, I came to you. Otherwise, do you think I have the ability to send them to hell?"

Alexander sneered. When the Russians became ruthless, even he was afraid of them.

"It's up to you. I can't break British law anyway."

Asquith himself was a lawyer, and the implication was that if you wanted to kill them, just go ahead and do it.

Alexander snorted coldly, didn't waste time talking to Asquith, left Downing Street and turned to Buckingham Palace.

As the Grand Duke of Russia, it was not difficult for Alexander to meet Edward VII.

That night, Buckingham Palace issued an order to arrest all members of the Social Democratic Labour Party in the UK.

(End of this chapter)

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