I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 679 Yuriev sets the stage, Yusupov performs

Nicholas established the Duma in order to deal with the growing calls for democracy in Russia at that time.

During Nicholas' reign, the Duma's performance was less than satisfactory, and this was not effectively improved after the Provisional Government came to power.

The overthrow of the Provisional Government proved that democracy was not suitable for Russia.

At least not for today's Russia.

On the 25th, Vasily Maklakov, a former Duma member who caused a sensation in St. Petersburg with "The Tragic Situation, the Crazy Driver" and "Why Are We So Harsh on Our Heroes", published an article in the Constantinople Daily: "Vanity Fair of the Ambitious".

This article, in the form of a memoir, tells some unknown stories that happened within the State Duma during Maklakov's tenure as a member of the State Duma.

One of them is about the story of the feud between the late State Duma Speaker Rodzianko and the Russian commander-in-chief on the northern front, Nicholas the Younger.

In 1915, the Russian army was fighting fiercely with the German army on the front line. The State Duma delayed the 1916 annual budget of the Russian army on the northern front for four months on the grounds that the former Russian Chief of General Staff Sukhomlinov was suspected of corruption. The budget was not passed until February of the following year.

Little Nicholas found Rodzianko, hoping that the State Duma would pass the budget as soon as possible.

Rodzianko asked Nicholas Jr. to be patient, citing the empire's financial difficulties.

Nicholas the Younger accused Rodzianko of being idle and doing nothing, and the two had a big quarrel in Rodzianko's office. The matter ended with the Tsar personally paying the gap.

As a former State Duma deputy, Maklakov's article was very convincing and caused widespread controversy in Constantinople.

Radicals and royalists demanded the abolition of the State Duma, democrats called Maklakov's article an attack on Constantinople, and neutrals suggested a review of the qualifications of State Duma deputies.

Regardless of which faction, everyone believed that George should ascend the throne.

George also has a group of "court writers" under his command.

On the 2nd, Louis, the former editor-in-chief of the Amur Daily, published an article in the Balkan Times: "Empty talk will harm the country, let's do our job well", calling on people to do more work and less politics.

Witte also published an article in the Constantinople Daily: "Our most important task at present", in which he bluntly expressed his dissatisfaction with the State Duma.

For a time, all newspapers in Constantinople opened fire on the State Duma.

Writers who wanted to defend the State Duma had their articles sent to newspapers rejected on the grounds that they were inappropriate.

In a situation where everyone is calling for the destruction of the State Duma, defending the State Duma will definitely trigger a larger-scale war of words, which is something George does not want to see.

Edel, a supporter of the State Duma and former professor at St. Petersburg University, approached Witte, hoping that Witte would come forward to change this one-sided situation.

Witt tried his best to persuade Edel not to make himself miserable.

"Constantinople is not St. Petersburg, and Grand Duke Yuriev is not the Tsar. You should be thankful that Grand Duke Yuriev is not a butcher."

"The Tsarist era has ended. If Grand Duke Yuriev ascends the throne, Russia will return to the ignorant feudal era, which will be a tragedy for Russia."

Edel prides himself on justice and often publishes articles in newspapers. He is considered a representative of the neutral faction.

"I don't have time to debate with you. Whether Grand Duke Yuriev is right or wrong, this is the choice of all Russians."

Witt doesn't quarrel, he just can't stand Russia, go ahead, no one will stop you.

"No, no, no, not all of them. At least I, a Russian, disagree."

The Russian Empire's tolerance of speech in the past few decades has made Edel a little confused about his own position.

University professors had a relatively high status in the Russian Empire. Even if they made radical remarks, the Tsar would usually just laugh it off and would not hold them accountable.

"Russia has 100 million people. If you disagree, it won't change anything."

Witt was also helpless. Aren’t you always shouting that the minority should obey the majority? You can’t be so hypocritical.

Witt has seen through it over the years. The positions of these democrats are constantly changing. When they are the majority, the minority must obey the majority; when they are the minority, they must respect the individual.

"How do you know I'm the only one who disagrees?"

Edel doesn’t see himself as alone.

"If you can gather 100,000 signatures, Grand Duke Yuriev will give you a chance to convince him."

It's not that Witt didn't give Edel a chance. This kind of thing is not enough with words, the signature is the proof.

"One hundred thousand people—are you crazy or am I?"

Edel yelled out of control, which was almost impossible to do.

It is not impossible, as long as you are willing to spend money, you can get more signatures.

The most popular way nowadays is to spend money to publish in newspapers and solicit readers' opinions on something.

Readers can cut out the content, fill in their own suggestions, and mail it to the newspaper on a cash-on-delivery basis.

It's just that this method is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly.

George doesn't have time for these so-called democrats; he has more important work to do.

The world war was coming to an end. Although Germany had not surrendered yet, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire had already surrendered. The negotiating delegations of the two countries had arrived in Constantinople. George had sent telegrams to London, Paris and Washington respectively, inviting representatives from various countries to come to Constantinople to discuss how to deal with the two defeated countries.

What George did not expect was that a huge controversy broke out over the first question. George hoped that representatives from various countries would come to Constantinople so that Russia would have the advantage of being at home and gain more benefits for Russia.

The French demanded that negotiations take place in Paris.

For the same reason, the British also requested that negotiations be held in London.

Americans don't care because it will never be Washington's turn anyway.

In addition to the negotiations, Moscow, like St. Petersburg, also began to rebuild, and George demanded that people at least move into houses before winter came, otherwise it would be difficult for them to survive the winter.

In addition to reconstruction, Moscow and St. Petersburg are in urgent need of material support, with huge gaps in both food and fuel.

Rural areas also need relief, mainly seeds and food rations. If not properly responded to, terrible famine will break out in many areas this winter.

Another critical issue is that the railways were severely damaged, especially the railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow, which was almost completely destroyed.

Witte estimates that it will cost at least 15 billion rubles to repair Russia's railway system alone.

Gold rubles, not paper rubles.

Felix Jr. said the Yusupov family was willing to invest, but on the condition that the Yusupov family would obtain the right to operate the railway for 20 years.

Fernandez, the former president of Siberia Bank who served as the finance minister, firmly disagreed and would rather pay the Yusupov family high interest than hand over the operating rights of the railway to the Yusupov family.

George called a meeting with Felix Jr. and Fernandez to discuss a solution.

"Railway operation rights must never be controlled by private individuals, including you, Grand Duke. You should also hand over the operation rights of the Siberian Railway."

Fernandez was well aware of the importance of railways.

"Hand it over to the Ministry of Transport? It would be better to hire a professional manager!"

Little Felix distrusts government officials.

During the Yasan era, the Russian Empire gradually nationalized the railways.

Yasan never expected that after the nationalization of the railways, it did not play a positive role in promoting the economic development of the Russian Empire as Yasan had imagined. On the contrary, due to the high transportation costs, the efficiency was worse than that of private operation.

"The Chita section of the Siberian Railway has always been managed by the Siberian Railway Administration, which has ensured profits without reducing efficiency."

Fernandez does not believe that officials are less ethical than professional managers.

The key to whether an official’s ethics is good or not lies in management.

Although they are all Russians, officials in the Amur region are completely different from those in the Russian-European region. Not only are they more capable, but they are also conscientious in their work and have very good personal ethics.

This is mainly because the officials in the Amur region are almost all trained by themselves, either the best of the best or recent college graduates.

The salaries of government workers, even officials, in the European region of Russia are not actually high, and their welfare benefits are not very good either, so Russian officials, including the Grand Duke, have the habit of doing business.

Although the Grand Duke's salary is high, his expenses are also very high. If he doesn't find a way to make money, he really won't be able to support his family.

The salaries of Amur staff are not high, but the benefits are very good. Moreover, prices in Amur are cheap, social security is complete, and the cost of breaking the law is very high, which makes some people not dare to commit crimes even if they have the intention to do so.

"I admit that Amur has created an incredible economic miracle, but can you guarantee that Amur officials will be as honest and upright as they were in Amur after arriving in St. Petersburg?"

Little Felix reminded Fernandez not to underestimate the temptation of the glamorous world of St. Petersburg.

"Your Highness, how long has it been since you last visited Vladivostok?"

Fernandez reminded Felix that Vladivostok was just as good as St. Petersburg, and might even be better.

Little Felix wanted to say something, but George stopped him.

"So the key issue is how to ensure the efficiency and profitability of the railway."

Fernandez and Felix Jr. nodded in unison.

“If the Yusupov family is in charge of the operation, but the financial staff is sent by Siberian Bank, can this problem be solved?”

George split into two, each responsible for what he does best.

Fernandez pondered for a long time and nodded in agreement.

Little Felix never expected that George was waiting for him here.

Even if the railway is handed over to the Yusupov family for operation, taxes still have to be paid.

After the Trans-Siberian Railway is handed over, it will definitely be under the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport.

This way we can make a comparison and discover problems in time.

"Don't worry. After the war, the Gao Ri Corps will be transformed into engineering troops. When the time comes, letting them build railways can greatly reduce costs."

George never betrays his own people.

Little Felix was delighted, this was fantastic.

(End of this chapter)