I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 672 Who will represent Russia?

Different countries have different definitions of democracy. France is fine, but even a semi-feudal country like Britain can boast of being democracy. Their shamelessness makes little Nicholas feel ashamed.

After the Tsar abdicated, the two provisional governments were worse than the previous ones, which completely disappointed the Russians.

Not only did the nobles of St. Petersburg and Constantinople demand that George ascend the throne, but the calls for George to ascend the throne were even louder in the vast rural areas of Russia.

The Second Provisional Government's system of requisitioning surplus grain has caused huge losses to Russian farmers, and many people will starve to death this winter.

Workers also have a hard time. Compared with farmers, they have lower ability to resist risks and are more dependent on order.

Compared with the workers and peasants, the bourgeoisie suffered the heaviest losses in the past year. The economy of the entire Russian and European region has completely collapsed. It is easy to rebuild a city, but it takes a long process to rebuild people's trust.

The London Conference had only one topic: how to distribute the fruits of post-war victory.

This is somewhat a misrepresentation. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire were already on the brink of collapse, and Germany was also at the end of its rope, so there was really not much oil to be squeezed out of it.

There is still controversy within the Allied Powers as to whether the current Russia is qualified to inherit the Russian Empire.

All documents within the Allied Powers were signed with Nicholas' name, except for the humiliating Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which was signed in the name of the Provisional Government.

When Churchill asked under what name young Nicholas was attending the meeting.

Little Nicholas blurted out: "Of course it's the Russian Empire!"

Then Churchill and little Nicholas looked at a loss.

Now that the Tsar is gone, is Russia still an empire?
If it's not an empire, then what is it?
George gave his answer at the first plenary session of the State Duma.

Russia is no longer an empire, but a republic.

The biggest difference between the Constantinople State Duma and the St. Petersburg Duma is the addition of military representatives.

The St. Petersburg State Duma was ruined by the aristocracy and the bureaucracy. It failed to play its due role and became a hunting ground for different interest groups.

The army, as the state's organ of violence, has no representation in the State Duma. This is totally inconsistent with the true meaning of democracy.

Witt reminded George that a soldier's duty is to follow orders and not to have personal will.

George thinks this is complete nonsense. Soldiers are also human beings and are fully qualified to make their voices heard.

Because Russia is still in a state of war, the State Duma was formed extremely hastily, with a total number of only 137 members, more than half of whom are military representatives. The Duma Speaker is Igor, the former Speaker of the Amur Duma.

Igor had just celebrated his 70th birthday two months ago, and was then summoned to Constantinople by George.

Igor worked as an engineer and owned 100 acres of land in Amur. It is reasonable to say that Igor was a worker or a farmer.

The most interesting thing is that Igor came from a ruined small noble family in St. Petersburg and had held public office in Amur, so Igor had all the buffs and was destined to be the best.

Igor, who is over 70 years old, is in good health and spirits. He still maintains the habit of running 3 kilometers every day and can eat a pound of meat in one meal.

Although Witt has had more contact with George in recent years, Igor obviously knows George better than Witt.

"The peasants were the Tsar's base, but there were no peasant representatives in the St. Petersburg State Duma, so the Tsar abdicated; the military was the Grand Duke's base, so how could there be no military representatives in the Constantinople Duma?"

Igor's words made Witt blush.

Witte is indeed not suitable for political operations, but only for execution work.

In addition to military representatives, the largest group in the Constantinople Duma was the nobility, and the most prominent one was Felix the Younger, the only son of Prince Yusupov.

Little Felix was still enjoying the impact of killing Rasputin and was successfully elected as Deputy Speaker of the Duma.

Felix thought that little Felix was too young to take on this important position and asked George to choose someone else.

George told Felix that this was the State Duma's choice and had nothing to do with George.

"Don't fool me, I'm not a fool like Witt—"

Felix is ​​direct, and Witt would be sad if he knew that Felix evaluated him like this.

"The Duma has a mature and steady speaker like Igor, but it should also have energetic young people like Fili. The Duma needs fresh blood and cannot be stagnant."

Duma is very important in George's plan. George still attaches great importance to Duma and is not joking.

If George wants to satisfy more people, he must find a way to expand the size of the vested interest group. He cannot treat everyone equally, but he must also reflect the advantages of democracy.

The essence of democracy is not respect for individuals, but a minority of people using the name of democracy to commit violence against the majority.

The Russian Empire is essentially no different from the French Empire, both are rule by the minority over the majority.

However, after being packaged as a democratic country, France suddenly became a pioneer in Europe, while the Russian Empire became a representative of feudal ignorance.

It’s the French who know how to play it.

In the short term, George has only one task for the Duma: legislation!

Before Yaji was assassinated, he worked hard to promote the imperial constitution, but his efforts were thwarted due to the assassination.

It was not until Nicholas came to power that the empire actually introduced its first "Fundamental Law".

This Fundamental Law is the product of a compromise, highlighting the need to both safeguard the interests of the ruling group and meet the needs of all sectors of Russian society.
The consequence of having both is that no one is satisfied. The fundamental law George needs is not to safeguard the interests of a certain group, but to safeguard Russia's national interests.

The Fundamental Law of the Nicholas era listed the welfare benefits of each class one by one, under the euphemism of protecting them in the name of law.

The Grand Duke enjoyed an annual salary of one million rubles, which he had received since birth.

Workers’ pensions are pitifully small, not enough to support their lives in their later years. They can work hard all their lives but still not earn a million.

In the past, there was no intersection between the different classes, and the workers did not know how much money the Duke made every year, so they turned a blind eye to it.

Nicholas's "Fundamental Law" openly exposed the injustice of the empire to the public, and anyone who read it would ask: Why?
Why is the Grand Duke born into a life of luxury and superiority?
Why should the lower-class people struggle in the quagmire of life, with no hope in sight for their entire lives?
The Tsar was everyone’s “little daddy”.

They are all sons of "young daddy", but their treatment is so unfair.

It's okay for you to eat meat while I'm eating steamed bread, but could you please stop smacking your lips so loudly?

George wants to build an upward channel so that people who work hard have the opportunity to get the rewards they deserve.

In this process, the Yusupov family should shoulder greater responsibility.

George had communicated with Felix before, hoping that the Yusupov family could improve the treatment of workers, ease class contradictions, and assume greater social responsibilities.

When the old matter was brought up again, Felix looked helpless.

"The Yusupov family owns too many companies, and there is competition among these companies. In order to earn more profits, managers can only exploit the bottom-level employees. Profits are the best reflection of ability."

George smiled and looked at Felix without saying anything.

This may fool others, but it cannot fool George, who is also the largest capitalist in Russia.

Although the Yuriev family's business has not fully implemented the 8-hour work system, the main principle is "the more you work, the more you pay."

In a quantifiable enterprise, workers can get more rewards if their output efficiency per unit time is high.

For enterprises that cannot quantify, overtime pay will definitely be paid for overtime work of more than 8 hours, which is stipulated by Amur law.

George owns many companies. In order to cultivate his business, he established several companies in the same industry to allow them to fully compete with each other, thus promoting the healthy development of the market.

Unlike the Yusupov family business, the Yuriev family business must compete fully while ensuring employee welfare benefits.

Under George's gentle gaze, Felix finally gave in.

"Okay, from now on, the Yusupov family's companies will also implement an eight-hour work system, overtime pay, benefits during festivals, and pensions for retired employees—"

Felix was a little angry and decided to go for broke.

"Feili, I said before that things will turn into their opposites when they reach their extremes. You thought I was trying to scare you - what about now?"

George convinced people with reason.

George had once warned Felix that if they did not treat workers well, capitalists like George and Felix would be buried by the anger of the whole society.

Felix believed that appeasing the workers was the Tsar's business and had nothing to do with the Yusupov family.

During the period of the Provisional Government, the Yusupov family's property was protected and suffered little loss.

After the establishment of the Second Provisional Government, in order to make up for the fiscal deficit, the Yusupov family’s assets were confiscated, resulting in heavy losses.

"Yes, you are right, we all need to learn a lesson--"

Felix was bitter, the price of this lesson was too high.

George didn't think it was a bad thing, at least now there was a chance to correct it.

Little Felix is ​​not very obsessed with the family business.

The Yusupov family has enough wealth to buy Russia, and money doesn't mean much to little Felix.

Igor came from a working class family and had no objection to the eight-hour workday.

However, even though the Speaker and Deputy Speaker both agreed, the eight-hour workday still encountered resistance in the Duma.

"The eight-hour workday fully protects the interests of workers, but who will protect the interests of business owners?"

Guchkov, the steel tycoon who once served as the Minister of Military Affairs in the Provisional Government, now has a new identity as a member of the Constantinople Duma.

Little Felix was curious, it was amazing that this person had not been liquidated!
This involves the issue of standards.

Nicholas the Younger's purge was concentrated on the Provisional Executive Committee, and he was relatively tolerant of the people in the Provisional Government.

After the fall of the Provisional Government, Guchkov fled to Constantinople and immediately donated 500 million rubles to Witte.

Werther is really not a money-hungry person.

But Guchkov gave too much.

(End of this chapter)