Chapter Summaries

Mikhail persuaded the empire's senior officials that Japan could threaten the Far East while Russia lacked reliable ways to reinforce it, making rapid railway construction vital. The empire committed new funding and prisoner labor to accelerate the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Chinese Eastern Railway, and the South Manchurian Branch Line, with a five-year deadline for opening them.

• Mikhail warned that Japan's military buildup and Britain's support could lead to war in the Far East while Russia's forces and supplies could not reach the region quickly.
• Prime Minister Plehve and the other senior officials agreed that the Trans-Siberian Railway needed to be completed as soon as possible.
• Mikhail pledged increased treasury and imperial-family funding through a railway company, and Duke Khilkov noted that construction could then accelerate.
• Mikhail ordered that most of the more than three hundred thousand civil-war prisoners be assigned to railway and road work for ten years before release.
• Mikhail demanded that the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Chinese Eastern Railway, and the South Manchurian Branch Line open within five years, and Duke Khilkov promised to make every effort to meet the deadline.

Mikhail accelerated plans for railways, roads, and military preparations, then announced sweeping agricultural reforms to relieve the peasants’ burdens and redistribute surplus land. The reforms provoked opposition from landowners but won Mikhail overwhelming support among impoverished peasants, who called him their “Little Father.”

• Mikhail called for faster construction of railways and roads and ordered advance preparations to strengthen the empire’s position in the Far East and any future war.
• On June 29, Mikhail summoned Plehve, Rostovsky, Stolypin, and Plesk to discuss the empire’s agricultural situation.
• Mikhail announced lower agricultural taxes, forgiveness of peasants’ land debts, and the redistribution of surplus land, including land bought from its owners at one-tenth of market value.
• Plehve and the other ministers warned that the reforms would face fierce resistance, but Mikhail insisted on carrying them through and threatened opponents with punishment.
• Nobles, landlords, bureaucrats, and other landowners opposed the reforms, while impoverished peasants celebrated Mikhail and called him their “Little Father.”

Mikhail pushed through radical agricultural reforms that transferred land to peasants and seized property from those who resisted, while directing imperial resources toward education and healthcare. The reforms gained popular support and were intended to strengthen the empire’s economy, population, and ability to wage war.

• Mikhail distributed land to peasants, reduced agricultural taxes, and canceled their debts, while donating the imperial family's land at Tsarskoye Selo to the government.
• Stolypin supported Mikhail's agricultural reforms, and senior officials and military leaders followed the Tsar's example by surrendering land.
• Mikhail branded stubborn opponents as Bolshevik Party members, confiscated their property, and sent their families to hard labor, prompting other landowners to cooperate.
• Mikhail expected former landowners to invest their remaining wealth in industry and commerce, which could grow as peasants gained purchasing power and rural workers moved into jobs.
• Mikhail ordered increased investment in education and healthcare, setting a goal of universal primary education within ten years and seeking to reduce infant mortality.
• Mikhail pledged the imperial family's wealth to developing the country so the Tsarist Russian Empire could grow stronger.

On July 2, 1898, Mikhail began reforming the Tsarist Russian Empire Army, using his command of the strongest forces in the country to push through changes. He separated military command from the War Ministry and reorganized the empire’s eleven military districts into seven, each with defined responsibilities.

• Mikhail summoned Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich and General Brusilov and announced that he would reform the imperial army.
• Mikhail assigned troop movements and operational command to the Imperial General Staff, while the War Ministry handled administration and the military districts trained their troops.
• Mikhail placed weapons research, development, and procurement under the Equipment Department and Logistics Department beneath the General Staff.
• Mikhail merged the eleven military districts into seven: Mosk, Northwestern, Western, Southwestern, Caucasus, Siberia-Central Asia, and Far East.
• Mikhail assigned each district its own regional security responsibilities and established that the General Staff would command their troops during wartime.

Mikhail reorganized the Tsarist Russian Army into seven military districts and expanded its forces to prepare for wars against the Ottoman Empire, Japan, and future enemies. He appointed loyal or neutral generals to command the districts and planned to transfer trusted troops and officers across the army, leaving him poised to secure complete control.

• Mikhail divided the army into seven military districts, assigning them to face threats in Europe, the Middle East, and the Far East.
• Mikhail proposed that each district command ten infantry divisions, four cavalry brigades, and a heavy artillery brigade, with extra mountain infantry brigades for the Caucasus and Far East.
• Mikhail ordered each district to build a mobilization system capable of doubling its forces within one month and required reservists to attend annual refresher training.
• Mikhail appointed himself commander of the Mosk Military District and named General Brusilov its chief of staff, then appointed commanders for the other districts.
• Mikhail planned to transfer trusted officers and soldiers from the Caucasus Military District to other districts and replace retiring generals with younger officers.

Mikhail ordered a sweeping overhaul of the Tsarist Russian Empire Navy, halting most warship construction so the fleet could be rebuilt around modern designs. The navy’s existing ships were revealed to be outdated, while Mikhail planned new dreadnoughts, standardized armored cruisers, and continued construction of the Rostov-class protected cruisers.

• Mikhail summoned Navy Minister Admiral Pavel Tyrtov and Chief of the General Staff Admiral Brusilov to discuss naval development.
• Mikhail ordered all warship construction stopped except for ships already half completed, and scrapped plans for ships not yet under construction.
• Admiral Pavel Tyrtov listed the navy’s battleships, ironclads, cruisers, and destroyers for Mikhail.
• Mikhail judged most of the fleet obsolete and planned to keep building the Rostov-class protected cruisers while replacing other ship designs.
• Mikhail aimed to build all-big-gun dreadnoughts, a mass-produced armored cruiser, and larger ocean-going destroyers to strengthen the navy.

Mikhail reassured the navy leadership that naval development would continue and ordered assessments of new warship designs, including an all-big-gun battleship called the Mikhail I class. He directed the empire to import technologies it lacked while accelerating domestic research and development.

• Mikhail told Admiral Pavel Tyrtov and Admiral Brusilov that a powerful navy remained essential to the empire's expansion and future wars.
• Mikhail explained that existing and planned warships were outdated, so their construction would stop and shipyards would shift to newer designs.
• Mikhail handed Admiral Pavel Tyrtov blueprints and ordered experts to assess their feasibility and pursue any necessary technology.
• Mikhail presented the Mikhail I-class dreadnought, describing its all-big-gun layout, armor, speed, and armament.
• Admiral Paval Tyrtov warned that the empire lacked the engines and optical equipment needed to build the battleship.
• Mikhail ordered the empire to import foreign technology where necessary and invest in domestic military research and development.

Mikhail planned a major expansion of the Tsarist Russian Navy, including battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, and ordered the fleets to prepare for the new ships. He also directed older warships to reinforce the Pacific Fleet before a war with Japan.

• Mikhail planned six Mikhail I-class battleships, six Moscow-class armored cruisers, and twelve A-class destroyers, while expanding Rostov-class protected cruiser construction.
• Admiral Pavel Tyrtov welcomed the navy's plans and left their implementation to the Navy Ministry after Mikhail outlined the coming years of development.
• Mikhail ordered Vice Admiral Makarov and Vice Admiral Nikolai Kopytov to intensify fleet training and prepare sailors to receive new warships.
• Mikhail ordered the Baltic Sea Fleet and Black Sea Fleet to transfer aging warships to the Far East to strengthen the Pacific Fleet and deter Japan.
• Mikhail aimed to assemble a Pacific Fleet of eleven ironclads, eight pre-dreadnoughts, six armored cruisers, nine protected cruisers, and many destroyers.

Mikhail assessed the Tsarist Russian Empire’s foreign threats and planned a decisive counterattack against the Ottoman Empire to establish his authority. The chapter left the Empire preparing to exploit its post-civil-war strength while Japan faced the prospect of a heavily reinforced Russian Pacific Fleet.

• The Japanese Empire built up its military with war indemnities but still had too few modern warships to match the Tsarist Russian Empire Navy.
• The Tsarist Russian Empire planned to transfer older warships to the Far East, which Mikhail expected would pressure Japan into further costly naval spending.
• Lieutenant General Paul von Plehwe began suppressing Polish and Baltic resisters, while agricultural reforms helped win over ordinary people.
• Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire backed away from confronting the Tsarist Russian Empire after it ended its civil war and showed its military strength.
• Mikhail planned to counterattack the Ottoman Empire and use a major victory to rally his people and deter hostile powers.

Mikhail planned to use the war with the Ottoman Empire to seize territory and secure passage through the straits, while the Caucasus Military District assembled a massive force for a counteroffensive. After repeated Ottoman attacks failed, Kör Ahmed Pasha told Abdul Hamid II that the empire had little chance of winning.

• Mikhail ordered preparations to teach the Ottoman Empire a harsh lesson and pursue territorial gains and passage rights through the Dardanelles and Bosporus.
• Lieutenant General Belyayev assembled twenty-five infantry divisions and four mountain infantry brigades in the Caucasus Military District.
• Ottoman forces remained stalled inside Tsarist Russian territory after advancing only a short distance beyond the border.
• On July 4, 1898, Abdul Hamid II summoned Kör Ahmed Pasha and demanded to know how the stalled front could be turned around.
• Kör Ahmed Pasha reported that repeated attacks had failed, Ottoman casualties were heavy, and the Russians were too strong for the Ottomans to expect victory.