Out of consideration for Lev, Nicholas II quickly approved the transaction, and the handover between the two sides proceeded smoothly.
The locals had two choices: either return to the Russian Empire, with the Bulgarian Government funding the purchase of all their local assets; or stay and apply for Bulgarian citizenship.
It was an easy choice to make. Most ordinary people chose to stay. By this point in the civil war, the Russian Empire's young and middle-aged men had suffered devastating losses, and everyone avoided military service whenever they could.
According to incomplete statistics, before the outbreak of World War I, the Russian Empire had a population of roughly 160 million. After the war ended, it fell to 146 million, and now that figure had dropped again to 124 million.
Beyond war casualties, the greater population losses came from the chaotic situation and the terrible economy, which caused the birth rate to plummet. Hunger and migration had also led to massive losses of people.
According to estimates by the Bulgarian Population Bureau, even if the Russian Empire ended the war, its population would still fall into negative growth over the next decade. Vast numbers of young men had been consumed by the war, shattering the balance between the sexes. At present, there were at least six million more young women than young men in the Russian Empire!
Thanks to this, Bulgaria's domestic gender imbalance was easily resolved, and the skewed male-to-female ratio among European immigrants improved.
The ruble's credibility had collapsed long ago. Now, the most widely circulated currency in the Russian Empire was the lev, followed by pounds sterling and francs.
Facing this situation, the Tsarist Government had not remained idle. They reissued gold rubles, but they were swiftly brought down by a run from the public.
Without sufficient credibility,