Chapter 533: The Tsar's Choice
Saint Petersburg had become the eye of the storm after the agricultural crisis erupted in full.
European public opinion had begun accusing the Russians of deliberately creating the agricultural crisis, attempting to use it to crush Europe's agricultural production system and monopolize its food supply.
That was not entirely wrong. The Tsarist Government had indeed entertained such a plan, but before it could put it into action, the agricultural crisis had broken out.
Agriculture was the hardest industry to monopolize. There were virtually no barriers to entry; anyone could farm. These days, arable land was everywhere, and no colonial empire needed to be at another's mercy.
The Tsarist Government had the ambition to monopolize Europe's food supply, but not the ability to carry it out. Russian agricultural production costs held no advantage, and winning in the competition was almost impossible.
Faced with the overwhelming condemnation of public opinion, Alexander II decisively chose to ignore it. In any case, the Tsarist Government had always been cursed at across the European Continent. He was used to it.
Public opinion could be ignored, but Alexander II could not help worrying about the reactions of European governments.
By April 1873, several politicians had publicly stated that tariffs should be imposed on imported agricultural products to protect domestic agriculture.
Raising import tariffs on all agricultural products at once seemed fair, but beneath that fairness lay thick malice.
Among Europe's four major agricultural exporters, the Kingdom of Prussia held the smallest market share and would suffer the least impact.
The Kingdom of Poland ranked second from the bottom and had already fallen into internal strife. No matter how much the situation worsened, it could not get much worse.
Although the Russian Empire ranked second in total exports, it was unquestionably the