The Regency Crisis of '75: An Imperial Russian Tale
- Thread starter Greg Grant
- Start date
None at this time, as yet. Although the Tsarevich's handlers and "party" are committed to the cause of reform and do not think the Russian Empire needs any more land to be ruled directly, and see a lot of the puppet states as a drain on the Russian treasury and a sap on the Russian international reputation, there is a feeling certain areas cost too much blood and losing it would a loss of prestige. For instance, the area between the Caspian and the Black seas is not seeing a liberalization beyond what is being done to the society at large. The fear of Caucasus nationalism means troops will still be sent to Dagestan, though the police work may now be more focused and less heedlessly repressive. The border with Afghanistan is also not seeing any relaxation. When it comes to China, there is an overall feeling Russia slept at the wheel and let the Japanese get one over on them. No minister or official wants to be the one who once again screws up and somehow lets the Japanese "win" in the region, so for now the security presence is heavy and watchful. There is a feeling that if Russia lets up, the Chinese insurgency will roar forward even more, with the British situation in East Africa being cited as an example. With the serious talks of a dominion being granted to the Jewish settlements in British East Africa and parts of modern-day Uganda, the British saw more Jewish settler activity in the region, not less. The feeling is if the Russian boot eases off the throat of the natives in China, a dagger will come to the Russian ankle.
Information: 1975: Labour Front Bench
| Leader of the Labour Party | Bill Rodgers |
| Front Bench Spokesman for Financial Affairs | Anthony Crossland |
| Front Bench Spokesman for Foreign Affairs & War | Barbara Castle |
| Front Bench Spokesman for the Home Department | Peter Shore |
| Front Bench Spokesman for Housing | Neil Kinnock |
| Front Bench Spokesman for Mines & Coal | Ifor Davies |
| Labour Party Leader of the House of Commons | Anthony Crossland |
| Labour Party Leader of the House of Lords | The Lord Shepherd |
| Labour Party Chief Whip | Dickson Mabon |
Rodgers didn't go to a comp. Quarry Bank was a Grammar School when he was there.
There are very strong pockets of Labour ITTL, and Liverpool is one of them. Both Peter Shore and Bill Rodgers came up together and were influenced greatly by the politics of the city and determined to change things for the better.
Ah, but Rodgers had a wonderful teacher who singled him out and wanted him to do better in OTL and ITTL something of the kind did occur as well, with people eager for a change. Rodgers would have been 12 when the mood in the country shifts against the Tories (1940) due to the economic troubles at the end of the Roaring Thirties, and he would have been 14 when the first Liberal government in a long-long time is elected to power with Winston Churchill and its head and promising to do all things for all people. In such heady times, with education being one of the things to reform, there was a push to get people into The Universities, and ITTL as in OTL, while Rodgers could have gone to the Liverpool uni, his teacher and perhaps others pushed for one of their own to go up to Oxford. ITTL, Rodgers was essentially turned into an essay-writing machine when his teacher told him to go up to the attic of the school where previous examination papers of previous Oxford applicants were held, and he spent quite a bit of time sending out essays to Magdalen, New College and Balliol, amongst others. Sadly, heady times or not, they did not get him far ITTL, because ironically he was not radical enough (in OTL, he spoke out in favor of Greek Communist insurgents, was pro-Soviet Union and etc., which made him an interesting get for the colleges at the time). As a last resort, he was told to write an essay to Pembroke. In those days in OTL and ITTL, hard as it is to believe, the powers that be at Pembroke at Oxford did not believe in exams or essays, but rather the mighty power of the interview. The Master was ailing, and there was a power behind the throne who really ran things. Rodgers, the Liverpool Labour man, intrigued the man, so he went to Pemmy, where he rubbed shoulders and shared quarters with futured editor of The Star, the left-leaning John S. Perkin, the Liberal Minister of State for Railways Julian Critchley, and pompous, wealthy but fun to be around Arthur Archibald Primrose (descendant of the Earl of Roseberry, via Neil James Archibald Primrose, who ITTL did not die in the Great War). He just missed Heseltine, but got on reasonably well with everyone present except Jeremy Thrope, whose star shined so bright at Oxford Union during his days it blinded quite a few.
Correct. There was a creaky path for Rodgers ITTL to Oxford.
Glad you are enjoying it! Thank you for reading.
The oldest, Grand-Highness Prince Olga Nikolaevna (1895 - 1968) married the effortlessly charming Prince Kirill of Bulgaria, also called the Prince of Preslav, who took her all around the world, as he tried to deal with being the second-son. Following the death of his father Ferdinand, Kirill's brother Boris III of Bulgaria ruled until his (Boris's) death in 1944, and Boris's son Simeon II was duly named Tsar, but with Kirill being the Regent. Olga is well remembered by Bulgarians for her many charities, starting with her ensuring Russia and other nations lent money to Bulgaria during the Bad Harvests of '47 and the Horrid Winter of '47 which devastated the farmlands. There were, however, ugly politics played between her and the widow of Tsar Boris who too wanted to be seen as being the great figure of charity. However, Olga's charm, ability to get moneys from the Russian Empire and Kirill ensured Olga won that battle. Kirill and Olga had issue, and their oldest daughter is married to the heir to the Spanish throne, while their son is married to (what else) a German princess.
Grand-Highness Princess Tatiana Nikolaevna (1897 - 1956) never married, and devoted herself to education and improvement of Russia. Rumors swirled about her many alleged lovers, which the censors suppressed, but she simply laughed off. Her most important legacy today is the founding of Ermolino University and the Ermolino town, next to Novgorod, which is seen as the most liberal and happening college in the Russian Empire and the epicenter of counterculture and all things cool.
Grand-Princess Maria Nikolaevna (1899 - 1963) was said to have caused a horrific scandal when she suggested she wanted to marry a Georgian princeling of the Bagrationi clan, which caused her mother to rage and her father to be frightfully confused. The uncles of Tsar Nicholas II had a serious debate on the issue of whether the Bagrationi can be considered a royal house, as they were once the rulers of independent Georgia and treating them as mere princelings could be seen as insulting to the great heritage of Georgia and damaging to the Russian Imperial House, as after all it had absorbed Georgia. Things reached a fever pitch and sides were picked, when Maria Nikolaevna suddenly announced she had fallen out of love with the Georgian prince and instead wanted to marry Gottfried, the son of the 7th Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. Grateful parents, aunts and uncles quickly concluded that despite the Hohenlohe-Langenburg being a minor princely family of the Kingdom of Württemberg and therefore decidedly not the ruling house, that given the historic nature of the family and the fact they could (badly) trace themselves back to the times of Holy Roman Empire, the prince was a member of a royal ruling house. Afterwards, some suspected this was Maria's plan all along and she used the unfortunate and quite hopelessly in love Georgian princeling as a red herring to get her way, but such things were merely whispered. The happy couple had five children, who have married into grander German royal and princely houses. It has been said Maria's third daughter Princess Beatrix is being courted by two different claimants to the French throne (though since the Third Republic is going strong, such things would only matter to a few who pay attention to such things).
Grand-Princess Anastasia Nikolaevna (1901 - ) married Carol II of Romania (1893 - 1968) and had six healthy children. Her oldest son - Nicholas, is the current King of Romania. Her four daughters are married into the royal houses of Servia (sic), Greece, Portugal and naturally a German principality. Her youngest son is a playboy racecar driver who does not plan on settling any time soon, and Anastasia has no problems with that, at all.
Information: 1975: Shadow Cabinet and Spokesmen
| Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition | Ted Heath |
| Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer | Sir Keith Joseph, Bart. |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs | The Viscount Hailsham |
| Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department | Jim Prior |
| Shadow Secretary of State for War | The Lord Carrington |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Industry | Rupert Brabner |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland | Michael Noble |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Coal | Madron Seligman |
| Shadow Secretary of State for Housing | Ian Gilmour |
| Shadow Leader of the House of Commons | Willie Whitelaw |
| Shadow Leader of the House of Lords | The Lord Carr |
| Opposition Chief Whip | Bernard Weatherill |
| Spokesman for Foreign Affairs in the House of Commons | Anthony Barber |
| Spokesman for War in the House of Commons | George Algernon Bathurst |
| Spokesman for Dominion Affairs | Graham Page |
| Spokesman for Admiralty | Michael Hicks Beach |
| Spokesman for the Colonies | Julian Amery |
| Spokesman for India | Hugh Fraser |
| Spokesman for Pensions | Michael Allison |
| Spokesman for Public Works & Prisons | Edward Du Cann |
| Spokesman for Trade | Valentine A. Thynne |
| Spokesman for Oil | The Marquess of Lothian |
| Spokesman for Oil in the House of Commons | Timothy Raison |
| Spokesman for Agriculture | Robert Shirley |
| Spokesman for Education | Norman St John-Stevas |
| Spokesman for Energy | Peter Walker |
| Spokesman for Health | Dr. Jack Alan Glyn |
| Spokesman for Fisheries | John Eden |
| Spokesman for Transport | Michael Jopling |
| Spokesman for Ulster | The Lord O'Neill |
| Spokesman for Ulster in the House of Commons | Raymond Arthur O'Neill |
| Spokesman for Wales | M.D. David Crichton-Stuart |
There are a couple of reasons for Tory peers withdrawal from active political life. The appointment of ministers is increasingly becoming "professionalized," with expectations that one must be a junior minister for a time before becoming a minister. The notion of an earl, or even the son of an earl having to be a parliamentary under-secretary for a barrister, never mind a solicitor, with a commoner background, is not something many peers and grandees or even knights of the shires are willing to submit themselves to. So the tendency of the grandees is to serve under grandees, which limits the pool as more commoners are entering politics. The growing professionalization and greater exposure is also driving off those who wish to treat the politics as an amateur sport. Furthermore, the 1942 Liberal landslide brought in a type of politician who was not going to be deferential out of sheer class distinction and the last thing a son of a peer wants to do is joust in the chamber with the lower sorts who do not know their place. Lastly, the peers at the top have not done a great job when they had the opportunity to really govern. In fact, the two times when they really held the Cabinet led to electoral disaster for the Tories. Lord Halifax and his Cabinet of earls and barons walked into Churchill in '42, and Lord Harlech and his worthies in 1970 walked into the Harold Wilson steamroller. So if you are a titled person and have wealth, you may ask yourself is it all worth it? Do you really want to cram the night before a long session on the details of a transport bill, to hear yourself being out-argued by a shrill woman on the Liberal bench? How much do you really want it to be able to stand up to a Healey barrage? It cannot be pleasurable to watch yourself be cut to pieces by Jeremy Thorpe at his most preening. That being said, some peers do feel it is their duty and they contribute where they can.
Glad to do it! If you have more, please don't hesitate to throw in there.
Information: UK: Biographies
| Name | Date of Birth | University | College | Party | Position | Constituency, if applicable |
| Honor Balfour | August 4, 1912 | Oxford | St Anne's | Liberal | Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1974 - | MP for Smethwick, 1942 -1947, 1952 - |
| George Sinclair | November 12, 1912 | Oxford | Pembroke | Liberal | Secretary of State for Agriculture, 1970 - | MP for Cardiff West, 1957 - |
| Jo Grimond | July 29, 1913 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Minister for Oil, 1970 - | MP for Orkney and Shetland, 1952 - |
| Harold Wilson | March 11, 1916 | Oxford | Jesus | Liberal | Prime Minister, 1970 - | MP for Cleveland, 1942 - |
| Dennis Healey | July 9, 1916 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Secretary of State for Industry, 1970 - | MP for Sheffield Attercliffe, 1942 - |
| George Charles Grey | December 2, 1918 | Oxford | Herftford | Liberal | Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1970 - | MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed, 1941 - |
| John Peyton | February 19, 1919 | Oxford | Trinity | Liberal | Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, 1975 - | MP for Forest of Dean, 1952 - |
| Mark Bonham Carter | Feburary 11, 1922 | Oxford | Pembroke | Liberal | Secretary of State for Trade, 1975 - | MP for Tottenham, 1957 - |
| David Lloyd George | November 11, 1922 | Oxford | New | Liberal | Foreign Secretary, 1974 - | MP for Arfon, 1952 - |
| Reginald Prentice | July 16, 1923 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Secretary of State for Housing, 1975 - | MP for Easington, 1962 - |
| Anthony Wedgewood Benn | April 3, 1925 | Oxford | New | Liberal | Minister of Economic Affairs, 1975 - | MP for Bristol South East, 1957 - |
| Margaret Roberts | October 13, 1925 | Oxford | Somerville | Liberal | Home Secretary, 1974 - | MP for The Hartlepools, 1957 - |
| Dick Taverne | October 18, 1928 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Chief Secretary of the Treasury, 1972 - | MP for Lincoln, 1962 - |
| Jeremy Thorpe | April 29, 1929 | Oxford | Trinity | Liberal | Secretary of State for Transport, 1974 - | MP for North Devon, 1962 - |
| Cecil Parkinson | September 1, 1931 | Oxford | Magdalen | Liberal | Under-Secretary of State, Oil, 1975 - | MP for Isle of Ely, 1974 - |
| Tim Sainsbury | June 11, 1932 | Oxford | Worcester | Liberal | Parly PS to the Home Secretary, 1974 - | MP for Putney, 1970 - |
| Arthur Archibald Primrose | July 11 , 1932 | Oxford | Pembroke | Liberal | Minister without Portfolio, 1975 - | MP for Kensington, 1965 - |
| Roy Hattersley | December 28, 1932 | Oxford | Queen's | Liberal | Minister of State for the Home Office, 1972 - | MP for Sheffield Park, 1962 - |
| Michael Heseltine | March 12 , 1933 | Oxford | Pembroke | Liberal | Minister for Public Works & Prisons, 1974 - | MP for Islington West, 1962 - |
| Gwendolyne Gladstone | April 17, 1934 | Oxford | St Hugh's | Liberal | Minister for Health, 1975 - | MP for Vauxhall, 1965 - |
| David Ian Marquand | September 20, 1934 | Oxford | Magdalen | Liberal | Parly PS to Prime Minister, 1970 - | MP for Carmarthen, 1970 - |
| Robert Maclennan | June 26, 1936 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Minister of State, Economic Affairs, 1975 - | MP for Ross and Cromarty, 1971 - |
| Somers John Summers-Thorne | October 4 , 1936 | Oxford | Pembroke | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Giles Radice | October 4 , 1936 | Oxford | Magdalen | Liberal | Under-Secretary of State for Coal, 1975 - | MP for Chester-le-Street, 1970 - |
| Andrew James Grimond | March 14, 1937 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | Minister of Technology, 1975 - | MP for Western Isles, 1965 - |
| David Steel | March 31, 1938 | Oxford | Magdalen | Liberal | Minister for Aviation, 1975 - | MP for Roxburgh & Selkirk, 1965 - |
| Herbert Asquith | August 28, 1939 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | MP for Islington North, 1975 - | |
| Raven Arthur Mitford | September 7, 1940 | Oxford | Brasenose | Liberal | MP for Hammersmith, 1975 - | |
| Morgan Valkyrie Mitford | September 7, 1940 | Oxford | St Hugh's | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Arabella Grey | April 11, 1945 | Oxford | St Hugh's | Liberal | MP for Appleby, 1974 - | |
| Winston A. Churchill | May 9, 1945 | Oxford | Balliol | Liberal | MP for Hackney Central, 1975 - | |
| James J. Penfield | May 9, 1949 | Oxford | Magdalen | Unknown | Unknown |
Glad you liked it, and thank you for reading.
Sure thing. Let's start from the top.
Upon the death of the Tsar, there is an active though very disjointed "Anyone But Pavel Pavlovich" movement from different sections of the Romanov family and aristocratic clans. The way the Tsar died and the implication of Pavel's son (Nicholas Pavlovich a.k.a. Little Nikki) leaves an opening. The problem for these generally speaking liberal members of Russian society is that their goal is entirely in the negative - stop Pavel Pavlovich. They all agree on that, but they do not agree on who should be elected.
This feeling is shared by the British intelligence, or at least the chief of the Bureau, who then gets the Home Secretary's permission to proceed (and not get caught), and he then foists this request on Detective-Inspector Shepstone, who is head of the Gold Team of the Bureau's operations desk, and as such has a non-geographic specific mandate and can rove about and assemble teams as necessary. The problem is the ticking clock. The Gathering will take place in nine days and so whatever Shepstone has to compile has to be done in that time period. It's not about finding the perfect candidate, it's about finding the best acceptable and plausible candidate in the tight time available. Once again, the focus is "Who Can Stop Pavel Pavlovich?" and "How do we go about it?"
Meanwhile in Russia, untitled hereditary nobleman (and the then) Colonel Dolgorukiy is the first to bring up that if there is to be an effective stop-Pavel Pavlovich coalition, then the liberal establishment must coalesce around a given candidate. His uncle, Count Dolgorukiy, the head of the powerful Dolgorukiy clan and the grand poohbah of the Moscow based aristocratic families (though there are messy feuds there as well, due to ancient grudges that people have but cannot recall why there is a grudge in the first place) decides one must be sensible about this sort of thing and that if there is a true chance of carrying the vote of the 44 Romanov princes, one must tack center-right and not too leftwards and picks the man he feels has the best credentials and someone he (the Count) feels he can live with - Prince Gavril Ioannovich, who is after all the oldest son of the oldest son of the second son of Tsar Nicholas I, and as such is the best candidate by Romanov rules, if Pavel Pavlovich is sidelined. This candidacy does not warm the hearts of everyone and (the then) Colonel Dolgorukiy grits his teeth and tries to make it work.
One person not entirely enthused by this choice is Her Serene Highness Princess Kropotkina, who also wants to stop Pavel Pavlovich, but wants to do better than just an "acceptable choice." Her Serenity is tough, and she routinely reminds herself how tough she is, and she is tougher than her husband, but there is a romantic streak in her, which she mostly fails to acknowledge, in that she wants a good, liberal candidate, and the American educated, handsome, charming Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich of the Mikhailite branch of the Romanov family is her first choice. Now he has no chance of being elected, because there is no way a Romanov can be elected, if his father is still alive. You do not bypass the father unless the fellow is senile or bed ridden and even then it'd be awkward. So Mikhail's father, also named Mikhail, is the paper-choice of the liberal wing of society as advanced by the ambitious Kropotkina, with the son expected to rule on his father's behalf.
As this is happening, on the other side of the political spectrum, General-Major Baron May-Mayevsky is looking to advance someone much more reactionary than Pavel Pavlovich. So he aligns with the ambitious and somewhat desperate son of the brother of Tsar Nicholas II who is the black sheep of the family owing to how his papa married: Avian Mikhailovich. The Baron feels with infighting on the left, and confusion over Pavel Pavlovich, he can bring in an outside candidate and rally the conservatives and reactionaries around this prince.
So, let's level set here with the four candidate factions we know so far, using card suit symbols:
♣
The Black King of Clubs: Gavril Ioannovich: scion of Konstantinite branch of the Romanov family:Backers:
- Dolgorukiy clan
- Moscow aristocrats
- middle of the road Romanovs (presumed)
- Konstantinite family members (presumed)
Cons: seen as a lightweight, and the Kons branch has only 11 active voters among them (out of 44), and they are not all that united.
♥
The Red Jack of Hearts: Mikhail Mikhailovich: scion of Mikhailite branch of the Romanov family:Backers:
- Her Serene Highness Princess Kropotkina and her and her husband's money
- St. Pete liberal establishment
- At least some of the Mikhailite family members (presumed)
Cons: seen as too liberal, and the Mikkhailites are even less united than the Kons.
♢
The hollow Diamond King: Avian MikhailovichBackers:
- The Faith and Fatherland backers, including the Black Baron
- The Legion of Archangel Michael bully boys
- Disaffected Union of Patriotic Russians politicos, generals and industrialists
Cons: not many Romanovs think him a Romanov, his father married a Catholic and a non-royal, no one pals around with him
♠
The black King of Spades: Pavel Pavlovich Backers:
- Conservative backers of Tsar Nicholas III
- Conservative wing of the Union of Patriotic Russians
- Conservative wing of the Motherland Party
- Those who did well under Tsar Nicholas III
Cons: stiff, awkward and petty, many Romanovs consider him unpleasant to deal with, and not many want another Tsar Nicholas III
Enter Okhrana. They fear what a liberal candidate such as Mikhail Mikhailovich can do to their carefully constructed fief, but they do not fear the candidacy, because they see him as a nice distraction and a chance to muddle the left. So he is mostly left alone. Avian is a wildcard and Okhrana does not like loons such as the Baron. The Okhrana does not want more work. To them a reactionary regime of Avian would be a nightmare. They'd have to rapidly expand their numbers to meet the demand and who wants that headache? They also feel he'd be bad for the economy and overall health of the Empire. Gavril is seen as too much of a chance as well. They do not understand him. No one much paid attention to Gavril's politics, because he's a minor royal and no one really understands what he's all about, because no one bothered to understand. The Tsar is young and has a healthy younger brother. Succession was not going to be an issue. So although tabs are kept on Gavril, they are of the cursory variety. Okhrana decides they do not want to play dice and deal with whatever Gavril may be or may become. They decide to sink him and to promote Pavel Pavlovich. Now the first part is seemingly easy, the second part is difficult, because Pavel Pavlovich is not warm and fuzzy, and he's not a natural talker and he's not one to compromise and he's not one to be a dinner guest you'd want. So they have to prod Pavel Pavlovich to show he is able to make deals. They use the distant Alekhine in Okhrana (Bataev) to put the plan into motion. First, the head of the Alekhine family is told go out there and cry, beg and plead Khioniya Nikolaevna, the surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas III, to quit her villa and go and motivate Pavel Pavlovich to act as if he wants to be Regent and make deals and negotiate. They know she has an effect on the man.
Being Okhrana, they decide to do a bit of false-flag operations on Romanovs they either consider to be influential or those who would gossip the most about how they were treated. First up, Old Rotty: Rotislav Nikolaevich, the head of the tiny Nikolaite branch of the family. Now, Old Rotty is a deeply unpleasant fellow, but he has the Nikolaites in his fist and although that is only eight votes, eight votes is still eight votes and you only need 23 to win. Old Rotty is approached by an Okhrana contracted blackmailer, who feigns to be for Avian Mikhailovich, to make Old Rotty turn away from even considering Avian. This will naturally push Old Rotty towards Pavel Pavlovich, who will be prepped by Khioniya Nikolaevna into not being an utter jackass and actually make a deal with the man. This goes very well.
Next up, Prince Anton Romanovich, a Mikhailite. His father Roman is a stolid Romanov of good standing with people looking to him for the so-called moderate (though still right of center) position of the Romanov princes. Anton is approached with blackmail material on another Romanov. The hope is that Anton will use it, gleefully (he is a bit thick) and he will tell all he got the materials from fellows asking him to vote for Gavril Ioannovich. This will put a stink on Gavril and push the Romanov "moderates" to Pavel Pavlovich. This does not entirely work well. Anton boasts of this to his father, who threatens him with bodily harm if he proceeds with blackmail efforts, so the message does not spread, but Roman is disgusted enough by the approach to turn against Gavril Ioannovich, and this should naturally push him towards Pavel Pavlovich. So far, so good for Okhrana.
Okhrana then sees some happy results for their efforts on the Khioniya front. Pavel Pavlovich hammers out a deal with Old Rotty and his lot, gets four potential Mikhailites votes (Prince Yaroslav Mikhailovich and his three sons) and the big one - comes to an agreement with a senior Konstantinite, thus splitting the Kons vote, taking the shine away from Gavril Ioannovbich and building momentum.
Okhrana then gets an unexpected boost to help their cause as well when Gavril Ioannovich alienates the Dolgorukiy clan by having his cousins "talk" him into cadging for votes from a Mikhailite power-broker Vasilli Alexandrovich. Uncle Vasya, as he is known to his enemies and few allies alike, has sway on eight Mikhailites who are descendants of the fourth son of the fourth son of Tsar Nicholas I. Uncle Vasya asks to be named Guardian, and in the heat of the moment, blinded by the goal, Gavril agrees. Count Dolgorukiy cannot forgive this decision. It shows a lack of vision and rank amateurism, as far as he is concerned, and so he tells his good nephew he is ready to hear of other options. His nephew decides the best choice is the daughter of Tsar Boris II: Katerina Borisovna and approaches her particular friend, who just happens to be his friend as well. (The then) Colonel Dolgorukiy also sways Kropotkina into joining his coalition. To further cut Gavril at the knees, the Dolgorukiy clan then engineer Katerina to ask the brother of Uncle Vasya to be the Regent to her Guardian. The fellow (Alexander Alexandrovich) agrees, and thereby splits Uncle Vasya's eight-vote offering, rendering Vasya largely pointless for Gavril in the process as well. Dolgorukiy working with Kropotkina nullified Gavril's get and made him look like an idiot in the process as well. So, we now have a different sort of candidacies left standing:
♣
The Black King of Clubs: Gavril Ioannovich: scion of Konstantinite branch of the Romanov familyGavril Ioannovich for Regent, Vasili Alexandrovich for Guardian
Backers:
Dolgorukiy clan- Moscow aristocrats
- middle of the road Romanovs (presumed)
- A few Mikhailites
- Konstantinite family members (presumed)
♠
The (Green) Queen of Spades: Katerina Borisovna: only daughter of Tsar Boris IIKaterina Borisovna for Guardian and Alexander Alexandrovich for Regent
Backers:
- Her Serene Highness Princess Kropotkina and her and her husband's money
- Most of St. Pete liberal establishment
- Dolgorukiy clan
- Moscow establishment
- Moderate Romanovs
♢
The hollow Diamond King: Avian MikhailovichBackers:
- The Faith and Fatherland backers, including the Black Baron
- The Legion of Archangel Michael bully boys
- Disaffected Union of Patriotic Russians politicos, generals and industrialists
♠
The black King of Spades: Pavel Pavlovich Backers:
- Khioniya Nikolaevna (surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas III)
- Okhrana
- Some Mikhailites
- All Nikolaites
- Some Konstantinites
- Conservative backers of Tsar Nicholas III
- Conservative wing of the Union of Patriotic Russians
- Conservative wing of the Motherland Party
- Those who did well under Tsar Nicholas III
Enter the Bureau. Surveying the landscape, they are not entirely sold on Gavril Ioannovich, but they want to hurt Pavel Pavlovich. Thus Dagestan. A potentially horrific attack is false-flagged into inaction and the attackers are tied directly not to the Black Baron and his lot, as all would assume, but tied to Pavel Pavlovich front groups among the Union of Patriotic Russia, which forces him to renegotiate with all of his would-be-backers. Pavel Pavlovich does this with the grace of a pissed off hardware store owner having to open his store early on the weekend.
As Pavel Pavlovich reassembles his coalition, Mikhail Mikhailovich, after pledging his eternal loyalty to the cause of Katerina Borisovna to Her Serene Highness Kropotkina sees an opportunity. With the right divided, and Gavril floundering, Katerina is getting a lot of the benefit of the doubt and default votes. Perhaps if the Mikhailites were to coalesce around his father and "draft" him into running for the position, he could siphon off the voters who fell into Katerina's lap? That this endangers the moderate-liberal coalition and leaves potential for a Pavel Pavlovich come back does occur to Mikhail, but power is a dangerous narcotic and he can taste it. He dragoons his easily manipulated cousin Sergei to go around and campaign for him, on a unity ticket: Gavril Ioannovich for Regent and Mikhail Nikolaevich for Guardian. Since Uncle Vasya no longer controls eight votes, Gavril lets it be known that he is very ready to dump his would be Guardian partner by the side of the road and embrace Mikhail Nikolaevich, if the latter can bring in the votes, and so Sergei and Mikhail get to work, rounding up Mikhailites.
Word of this reaches Kropotkina, and Her Serene Highness decides to join the Gavril-Mikhail unity ticket as well, belatedly, after her pals already do it. Dolgorukiy learn of this late in the game, but cannot bring themselves to back Gavril, so they decide to stick to their guns. This leaves us with:
♣
The Black King of Clubs: Gavril Ioannovich: scion of Konstantinite branch of the Romanov familyGavril Ioannovich for Regent, Vasili Alexandrovich for Guardian
Gavril Ioannovich for Regent, Mikhail Nikolaevich for Guardian
Gavril is double-dipping, using Vasili just long enough to get his vote and then abandoning him for Mikhail
Backers:
Dolgorukiy clan- Moscow aristocrats
Middle of the road Romanovs (presumed)A few Mikhailites- Mikhailites loyal to Mikhail Nikolaevich
- Moderate and Liberal Romanovs
Konstantinite family members (presumed)- Most of the Kons family branch
- Kropotkina, belatedly
- St. Pete establishment
♠
The (Green) Queen of Spades: Katerina Borisovna: only daughter of Tsar Boris IIKaterina Borisovna for Guardian and Alexander Alexandrovich for Regent
Backers:
Her Serene Highness Princess Kropotkina and her and her husband's moneyMost of St. Pete liberal establishment- Dolgorukiy clan
- Moscow establishment
Moderate Romanovs
♢
The hollow Diamond King: Avian MikhailovichBackers:
- The Faith and Fatherland backers, including the Black Baron
- The Legion of Archangel Michael bully boys
- Disaffected Union of Patriotic Russians politicos, generals and industrialists
♠
The black King of Spades: Pavel Pavlovich Backers:
- Khioniya Nikolaevna (surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas III)
- Okhrana
- Some Mikhailites
- All Nikolaites
- Some Konstantinites
- Conservative backers of Tsar Nicholas III
- Conservative wing of the Union of Patriotic Russians
- Conservative wing of the Motherland Party
- Those who did well under Tsar Nicholas III
During this process, as hard electoral math is done on what is a very, very limited franchise of 44 princes, a hereto irrelevant figure of Mikhail Feodorovich emerges as somewhat important by virtue of his date of birth and placement in the roll-call of the princes. Both the Bureau and Okhrana realize Mikhail Feodorovich can sway votes. Okhrana decides to false-flag him into voting for Pavel Pavlovich by trying to faux-scare him with blackmail and demand he vote for Gavril Ioannovich. However, the Bureau gets there first. They explain to him many things he will then repeat at the Gathering and as proof, they tell him should he order an escort for the night, his choice - whatever it is - will suddenly not be available and instead his under-footman will direct to him to someone else, who will be an Okhrana stringer who will try to faux-blackmail him. Now, to get him to play along, the Bureau has to blackmail Mikhail Fedorovich to do this. Once the nervous princeling follows through, lo and behold all that Kitty warned him would happen does happen and for the first time in his adult life, Mikhail Feodorivich feels important and he is in command over the events around him.
Before the Gathering there is one last move to be made, by Kitty and the Bureau: use Avian Mikhailovich to publicly smear Katerina Borisovna by embracing her. Avian's standing is very low among the moderate-conservative Romanovs, so by speaking out favorably for Katerina, Avian is in effect damaging her. This is done,so that Mikhail Feodorovich can then bring up this bizarre Avian speech during his own speech at the Gathering, to show how Okhrana used false-flag operations to push good, decent Romanovs into unwitting doing their bidding, and bring the Bureau preferred candidates of Gavril Ioannovich and Katerina Borisovna together, by making both the victims of Okhrana. In reality, Okhrana rated Katerina's chances as so low they never bothered to attack her in any way and concentrated their fire on Gavril.
Now comes the Gathering.
First up, Mikhail Nikolaevich, who signals to Gavril that he is indeed backing the Gavril-Mikhail unity ticket by voting for Gavril. However, being a gentlemen of the decidedly old school, Mikhail Nikolaevich does not nominate himself as Guardian. This is also done to ensure Uncle Vasya still votes for Gavril, before the poor man (Uncle Vasya) realizes he is being dumped by the side of the road.
Kirill K. votes for Pavel Pavlovich, per their deal. As does Yaroslav M. Then Uncle Vasya votes Gavril and himself as Guardian. And now the first kink in the road. Alexander Alexandrovich, brother to Vasya, is supposed to be the Regent to Katerina's Guardian, but he has done the math and thinks Katerina has no chance. The Avian embrace of Katerina was the final straw, for him. And if he is going to turn on his brother Vasya, then he wants to actually get something out of it. If he turns on the man just to ally himself with a losing candidate, then why bother? So Alexander abandons hope of being Regent and backs Vasya and Gavril.
Next up, Necktariy Sergeyvich, father to Katerina's best friend. He votes his conscience, but since the Katerina-Alexander ticket has collapsed, he simply votes for Katerina for both Regent and Guardian. He thinks he has no chance in Hell, but he wants to say he voted as he pleased. And his son is watching, so there is that.
Old Rotty votes for Pavel. Next, Pavel cannot bring himself to vote for himself, thinking it too vulgar, passing until the end, and signaling to more than a few present, he will not fight and claw for the power. He does not want it badly enough, and some are ready to pounce. Now, without the Dagestan attack, without having to re-negotiate with his backers, he likely would have voted for himself. But he is worn out. He is not used to campaigning. He finds the whole procedure distasteful. He has the best claim, so the idea of defending the obvious is disgusting to him. And it shows, and it is perceived as a weakness.
Roman, father of Anton, bites the bullet and goes with Pavel. He sees momentum building. Kons, Mikhailite and Nikolaite branches have all voted for the man, so here we are.
Gavril naturally votes for himself for Regent and dumps Uncle Vasya for Mikhail Nikolaevich as his Guardian. Vasya is betrayed and although some feel Gavril is doing an ugly thing, not many like Vasya and plenty of people like Mikhail Nikolaevich and his charming son, so there goes that. Next up, momentum with Kons family members all backing Gavril, with a Nikolaite in there doing the family thing and backing Pavel Pavlovich.
And now comes Mikhail Feodorovich, speaker and voter 15. Kitty came to him a few days prior and told him of the Okhrana plot, showed him evidence of it, and then he himself saw confirmation in it when poor doomed Okhrana stringer came to him to threaten him into voting for Gavril Ioannovich and lo and behold the day of the vote, just as Kitty predicted, Avian backed Katerina to smear her in his toxic embrace. Mikhail's feet are barely touching the ground. The man who could not get a ballerina to look at him at the lesser ballets of Moscow and has to hire escorts cut up to look like the women his cousins date, chef of the regiment of musketeers who are famous for wearing red gaiters, the most pathetically minor of minor royals whose vote was dictated by Uncle Vasya prior to the happenings, finally can shine. It's his moment. He (thinks he) understands everything that has happened, once it was explained to him, and he will now turn the proceedings, derailing Pavel Pavlovich, stopping the unity ticket of Gavril and Mikhail, and he will singlehandedly make Gavril and Katerina. It is a wonder he can speak and his mouth is not flooded with drool in anticipation of greatness. Thus he makes a speech he rehearsed in the mirror, with florid arm movements and asides. Man meets moment. And by the time he is done showing Old Rotty how he was bamboozled, and how Okhrana was messing with their proceedings, he implores the decent and the grand to vote for Gavril and Katerina.
After that, there is one more minor tragedy to play out. Mikhail Nikolaevich's son Mikhail, the handsome, charming young man with an American college education must realize his father's candidacy is finished, and all the hard work he and his cousin Sergei did was undone by one grandiose speech. He could try to fight, but now the specter of splitting the vote and allow Pavel to slither into power is really strong and so Mikhail, at the urging of his father, tells his cousin to switch flags once more and vote for the new unity ticket of Gavril and Katerina.
The pockets of Pavel Pavlovich support (mostly) hang on, due to obligation and family ties, and one poor man actually votes for Uncle Vasya, to show his loyalty to a deal long dead. But once it gets to the younger Romanovs, they vote overwhelmingly for Gavril and Katerina, and it's all over.
All of that makes sense though I will point out throughout the 19th century you had peers or heirs to peerages serve under (gentlemen) commoners* in junior ministerial offices. Even in OTL the 11th Duke of Devonshire held office, topping out as a Minister of State under Sandys despite having other things to do. More broadly I would assume that the culture of politics would change more slowly than OTL with the death of deference being considerably delayed and that would keep levels of aristocratic involvement higher, longer. Perhaps interwar levels at this point in the story.
*Because non-gentlemen commoners couldn't get seats never mind ministerial offices
This feels like it wood make for a really good HBO miniseries.
Thanks!
And five years ago, maybe. But these days, with the Discovery execs running things...
Ah, a different time for TV eras. My best bet is a mid-major streaming service in need of a prestige series or a production company with tax credits looking to burn some money on a costume drama and giving some producer a chance to cast their pals and have some fun. ("Can we film this in Georgia? Fantastic. Greg, let's change the setting. Also, throw in some scenes in Toronto. We got some Canadian tax credits, too.")