The Russian Empire

[Nentsia]

The Russian Empire



Official name: Russian Empire
Capital: St. Petersburg
Demonym: Russian
Languages: Various
Ethnic Groups: Many

Government: Autocratic Monarchy
State Religion: Russian Orthodox Church
Head of State: Empress Catherine II (born as Sophie Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst)
Head of Government: Prince Grigory Potemkin
Legislature: None
Established: 900 AD (as Kievan Rus')

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History

Since 1762, Russia has been ruled by Empress Catherine II who had her pathetic husband, Tsar Peter III, deposed, kidnapped and murdered with a gang of followers and lovers. Peter III's mother, Elizabeth, had also come to power after a palace coup - and she imported Catherine from Germany. Naturally, Empress Catherine spends a lot of her time thinking up ways to isolate and belittle her own son and heir, Paul Petrovich, at the court.

When she isn't keeping a watchful eye on Paul or her lovers at the court, Catherine is keeping an even closer eye on the Russian peasantry and the many Asiatic tribes that inhabit the empire, and who wrecked much of the countryside during a rebellion in the 1770's under Yemelyan Pugachev - a Populist who spread the fake news that he was the missing Tsar Peter III.

After the brutal execution of Pugachev, everything quickly returned to normal in Russia, although Catherine will never admit how scared she truly was. Eyeing her incompetent, ''foolish'', and according to courtiers unbearable son Paul, Catherine is deeply worried about the future of the Empire. Her greatest fear is that when she dies, Paul will come to the throne, a new barbarian invasion of Russian peasants, Cossacks and Bashkir Asiatics will overrun not only St. Petersburg - but all of European civilization. Peter the Great however, established a new law that enables the autocrat to skip his heir and pick someone else...