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A Russian victory in World War I was not outside the realm of possibility; had the early stages of the war gone better, the tsar might have been in a position to dictate terms to the Central Powers. Russia and France would have dominated Europe, the Central Powers would be reduced to rump states, and Britain would return to splendid isolation from continental affairs.

According to the memoirs of Maurice Paleogue, the French ambassador to Russia, Nicholas II wanted to end Hohenzollern hegemony within Germany; he was open to leaving Germany united, but Prussia had to be reduced to the status of a kingdom only, and the dynasty would be deprived of its imperial title. Furthermore, he supported French interests west of the Rhine, and wanted to annex Posen and possibly parts of Silesia to a restored Poland, along with parts of East Prussia directly to the Russian Empire. As for Austria-Hungary, Nicholas expected that the union of the two countries would dissolve or at least lose importance after Hungary lost Transylvania, and that the Czechs and Croats would demand autonomy; similarly, Russian foreign minister Sergei Sazonov had called for the reorganization of the Dual Monarchy into a Triple Monarchy (including a Czech/Bohemian kingdom) at the start of the war, though Russia also supported Czech pan-Slavists hoping to include their nation in a greater Romanov empire. Galicia would be split between Russia and Poland, and according to the 1916 Treaty of Bucharest, the portion of Bukovina east of the Pruth would also go to Russia.

I have already made maps of this scenario regarding the Balkans and the Middle East (www.deviantart.com/mapboi/art/… ) and France's plans regarding the Rhineland (www.deviantart.com/mapboi/art/… ). Here I have a broader map of Europe, one that incorporates Russian designs on central Europe. These are a bit more speculative, but I went with the idea of Germany as a loose confederation (with Hanover restored, and maybe Hesse-Kassel, Nassau and Frankfurt too) and reorganizing Austria-Hungary as a Triple Monarchy; there was talk of breaking up Germany, and also a possibility of a Romanov Czechoslovakia, but these seemed a bit fanciful to me, and weren't core war aims anyway. I also gave Schlesswig (but not Holstein) to Denmark, and I chose to interpret Russia's aims in Poland as including the territories of the former Duchy of Warsaw plus Upper Silesia; for Galicia, I partitioned it along the San River between Russia and Poland.

I did not figure out all the internal subdivisions, just the major external borders, and even here it could use some polishing up perhaps, but overall, this is the basic idea for this scenario. Enjoy!

Description

A Russian victory in World War I was not outside the realm of possibility; had the early stages of the war gone better, the tsar might have been in a position to dictate terms to the Central Powers. Russia and France would have dominated Europe, the Central Powers would be reduced to rump states, and Britain would return to splendid isolation from continental affairs.

According to the memoirs of Maurice Paleogue, the French ambassador to Russia, Nicholas II wanted to end Hohenzollern hegemony within Germany; he was open to leaving Germany united, but Prussia had to be reduced to the status of a kingdom only, and the dynasty would be deprived of its imperial title. Furthermore, he supported French interests west of the Rhine, and wanted to annex Posen and possibly parts of Silesia to a restored Poland, along with parts of East Prussia directly to the Russian Empire. As for Austria-Hungary, Nicholas expected that the union of the two countries would dissolve or at least lose importance after Hungary lost Transylvania, and that the Czechs and Croats would demand autonomy; similarly, Russian foreign minister Sergei Sazonov had called for the reorganization of the Dual Monarchy into a Triple Monarchy (including a Czech/Bohemian kingdom) at the start of the war, though Russia also supported Czech pan-Slavists hoping to include their nation in a greater Romanov empire. Galicia would be split between Russia and Poland, and according to the 1916 Treaty of Bucharest, the portion of Bukovina east of the Pruth would also go to Russia.

I have already made maps of this scenario regarding the Balkans and the Middle East (www.deviantart.com/mapboi/art/… ) and France's plans regarding the Rhineland (www.deviantart.com/mapboi/art/… ). Here I have a broader map of Europe, one that incorporates Russian designs on central Europe. These are a bit more speculative, but I went with the idea of Germany as a loose confederation (with Hanover restored, and maybe Hesse-Kassel, Nassau and Frankfurt too) and reorganizing Austria-Hungary as a Triple Monarchy; there was talk of breaking up Germany, and also a possibility of a Romanov Czechoslovakia, but these seemed a bit fanciful to me, and weren't core war aims anyway. I also gave Schlesswig (but not Holstein) to Denmark, and I chose to interpret Russia's aims in Poland as including the territories of the former Duchy of Warsaw plus Upper Silesia; for Galicia, I partitioned it along the San River between Russia and Poland.

I did not figure out all the internal subdivisions, just the major external borders, and even here it could use some polishing up perhaps, but overall, this is the basic idea for this scenario. Enjoy!