Revolution!: A 1917 Russia Game (Gameplay Thread)

[Dereich]

A Message From the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government

The Russian People have issued their clear and decisive judgement. Tsar Nicholas, having ignored the verdict of 1905 and continued his destructive ways, is gone. The people demand an end to autocracy and oppression, an end to incompetent and cruel imperial sycophants leading the country to ruin, and for reform to the feudal structures and ancient maladies that have plagued the Empire for generations. The Provisional Government has been comprised to answer these demands. This Government speaks for the only two elected bodies that can speak for the whole of the Empire: the provincial Zemstva and the Duma. It is to the representatives of the People that this government will answer and the People's representatives that this government will serve to empower.

The Empire is still in crisis. Hundreds of thousands of Russian men have perished due to the incompetence of the former Tsar's regime. That same incompetency has led to famine and destitution in a land of plenty. This government will do anything necessary to correct the errors of the past and ensure order, liberty, and prosperity for all the peoples of this Empire. We will work with any group, from Monarchist to Marxist, who will walk together towards that common good. To that end, we will accept petitions for redress for local issues from the Zemstva and call on relevant parties who wish to address pressing issues such as land reform to present their proposals for immediate action.

[Dereich]

A Response from the Minister-Chairman on the Subject of Peace

I feel it necessary to make remarks on the subject of peace. The people of the Empire have an earnest and legitimate wish for peace, as does this government. However, in response to recent  comments, I feel it is important to clarify my government's position on peace. My government will never pursue something as foolish as "peace at any cost." I would advise those who advocate for such a position to seriously consider what it would mean. Most obviously, it would mean turning millions of souls back into autocracy, to the tyranny of the Kaiser and the Sultan. Peace at any cost means agreeing to provide the Kaiser millions of bushels of wheat and tons of iron immediately to feed the war machine of the Huns and to help them establish their victory over our allies. And yet the demand persists: end the war and feed the people. How is the government to provide the people food when it is demanded that we turn over the breadbasket of the Empire to be yet another Hapsburg Satrapy? How is the government to keep the population warm when the Kaiser demands four fifths of the Empire's coal mines? How is Russia to ever stand up to anything the Kaiser demands, even re-imposition of Tsarist tyranny, when having abandoned its allies it will be untrusted and alone in the world?

No, my government will not be agreeing to anything so short-sighted. As Minister Milyukov has laid out, this government is pursuing a path of peace without the Tsar's foolish demands for more foreign annexations. We intend to pursue peace on the guiding principles of liberty and the interests of the people of this Empire. We will have peace, but peace with honor. To do any less would be to disrespect those who have already died and to permanently consign Russia to the role of the Kaiser's obedient lapdog.