"Where will the money come from?"
Finance Minister Pavel Lisitsian posed a soul-searching question.
Just how poor the Tsarist Government was—probably no one could give an exact answer. In any case, it certainly had no money to build the Siberian Railway.
As early as 1891, the Tsarist Government had assembled transportation experts and launched a survey plan for the Siberian Railway. That was right—the plan set in motion after Nicholas II was assassinated in Japan that year.
Although Alexander III was among the peace-minded tsars, he was also a good father. If not for the constraints of transportation, the Russo-Japanese War would probably have begun early after the Anglo-Russian War ended.
Whether out of a momentary fit of rage or long-standing preparation, the Siberian Railway plan had been launched regardless.
The survey results were terrifying. Starting from Moscow, the route had to pass through vast pine forests, cross the Ural Mountains, traverse Siberia's boundless permafrost belt, and only then reach the Pacific Ocean.
The distance alone would have been manageable—no matter how far it was, it could not compare to the Holy Roman Empire's Ring Railway. The real problem was the harsh natural conditions.
For the same railway construction, if a railway across flat plains cost 1, then the Siberian Railway might cost 2, 3, 4...
When your pockets were empty, you could not speak with much backbone. Just as the Tsarist Government was hesitating over whether to begin construction on the Siberian Railway, the Vienna Government made its move.
The equally tempting "Central Asian Railway Plan" emerged, making the Tsarist Government even more hesitant. But before the Russians could deliberate for long, the Vienna Government helped them make up their minds—"assistance with construction"!
One only needed to look at a map to know that whether it was the Siberian