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Committee Name
Chair: Paul Yang Director: Paul Yang
Tsar Nicholas II PMUNC 2016
Contents
Letter from the Chair…….………………………...……………………...…..3
Introduction………..…….………………………...……………………...…..6
The Situation in the Russian Empire:……………………………..……..……8 The War…...…..………………………………….……………………….……………8 Economic and Political Uncertainty………...…...………...….…….……….…………10 Soviets, Ideologues and Revolutionaries…………………………………….……...….12 Bibliography..…...…………………………………………….……………………….13
Positions…………..…….………………………...……………………...….14
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Letter from the Chair
Dear Delegates,
I’m very excited to welcome you to PMUNC 2016! My name is Matthew Edelstein, and I am thrilled to be your chair for the Tsar Nicholas II/Russian State Council Committee. First, to give you a little bit about myself, I am currently a junior at Princeton, majoring in Classics with a particular focus on Roman history. I am from New York City (the greatest city on earth, although I am admittedly a bit biased), and I am an avid sports fan, particularly of the Brooklyn Nets. On campus, aside from Model UN, I am also currently the Director of Programming for the International Relations Council, a proud member of the Princeton Tower Club, and an active participant in various intramural sports. Feel free to ask me about campus life if you’re interested!
This year will be my third time staffing PMUNC, although I have participated in Model UN as a delegate since my freshman year of high school. In terms of staffing, I had the opportunity to work as an Assistant Chargé D’Affaires for the conference as well as a director for one of the JCCs during my freshman year, and I served as the Director-General for Regional and Specialized Committees at PMUNC last year. While I greatly enjoyed being on Secretariat last year and helping to plan and oversee several committees, I am glad to be back inside a committee working more closely with you, the delegates, as a chair this year.
As I am extremely interested in history myself, I personally considered historical crisis committees to be some of the most fun, exciting, and intellectually stimulating committees when I was a delegate, so I am thrilled that I have the chance to run a historical crisis in our committee this year. Our committee, which takes place in the Russian Empire in early 1917, will force you as delegates to immerse yourselves in a different place and time period and to try to address problems from the perspectives of individuals who were alive at around that time rather than simply from a modern perspective. I also hope that researching this topic will allow you to learn more about a period of history that you may not already know much about but that was nevertheless extremely significant in shaping the direction of international affairs in the 20th century.
Indeed, in immersing yourselves in early 20th century Russia just prior to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution, we will force you to jump straight into a society wracked with many great tensions, changes, and upheavals, not the least of which were the problems resulting from the ongoing and costly military effort against the Central Powers in World War I. Faced with political, economic, and social turmoil at home and a dangerous foreign enemy abroad, you as the Tsar’s advisors (the chair will act as Nicholas II himself during the committee) will have to make important and oftentimes difficult decisions in order to try to implement policies that will keep this society intact. You will also have to think on your feet and adjust your plans in the face of new challenges and developments that will be thrown at you. You will not necessarily all agree on the best course of action. The choices that you make will have significant (and possibly even dire) consequences.
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I am certain that our committee will be one of, if not the most, fun committee at PMUNC (albeit possibly one of the more challenging committees), and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what solutions you come up with and how our committee’s efforts turn out. I look forward to meeting you all soon, and I hope you find this experience both rewarding and engaging!
Please shoot me an email if you have any questions about the committee, the conference, or myself. I would be more than happy to hear from you!
Best,
Matthew Edelstein Chair, Tsar Nicholas II Committee
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Delegates,
Hello and welcome to PMUNC 2016, to the State Council of the Emperor and Autocrat, His Imperial Highness, Nicholas II (or whatever title my more succinct colleagues devise), and to beautiful, historic, and world-renowned East Brunswick, New Jersey. There does not exist a better location to introduce you to the Romanov family, emperors of all-Russia; autocrats of Moscow, Kiev, Vladimir, and Novgorod; and target practice for the all-union Communist Party.
My name is Elkhyn Rivas, and I have the distinct honor of foiling (or, let’s be honest, supporting) your assassination attempts upon one another as the state council’s minister of crises. Currently, I am a second year student at Princeton University, where I plan to major in god-knows-what, with a minor in Environmental Studies. I live in South Carolina (first to lead, first to secede), but I was born in Venezuela, land of gold, oil, and toilet paper shortages. When I grow up, I would say I “hope” to have an extensive Ferrari collection, but, come on, I’m way to self-assured to hope for anything. Anyways, you’ll see me on the cover of Forbes and every other mouthpiece of American capitalism some day. I’d hate to spoil much more of the story that will one day comprise my bestselling memoirs one day, so enough of me.
There has always been an indescribable allure surrounding Russia, at least for me. as one of the persons evaluating your performance on the State Council, it would certainly deign you to discover and embrace said allure. following this letter, you will find a noteworthy note, a letter from the State Council to the Emperor, and a list of characters.
I sincerely look forward to seeing how each and every one of you work to remedy (and, because this is Model UN, multiply) the maladies that have befallen our empire. I eagerly await PMUNC 2016; I have no doubt that your ingenuity, talent, and endless attempts to murder one another will not cease to surprise me.
Best Wishes,
Elkhyn R. Rivas Rodriguez, Crisis Director
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Introduction
The State Council was established in 1810. At its very core, it was comprised of the emperor’s most trusted advisors. In its final years, it was elevated to the role of upper house in the Russian Empire's nascent parliament. The State Council contained within these pages is a product of both fact and fiction. In actuality, few of the individuals who will serve on this council would have done so in 1917. The 14 nobles, politicians, and bureaucrats serving on this council were all real persons; not all of them, however, were alive or in their prescribed office on March 10, 1917.
Specifically, Vladimir Sukhomlinov, our Minister of War, was removed from that office on allegations of treason and incompetence two years prior; for the purpose of this council, he retains his office, though any real-life allegations made about him and his ties to the Tsar,
Grigori Rasputin, or the German Empire will neither be refuted nor confirmed.
Grigori Rasputin was the target of a successful assassination attempt at the conclusion of
1916. For the purposes of this council, such an assassination did not manifest itself. The sentiments and suspicions held about the royal family’s famed healer, however, will neither be refuted nor confirmed.
You will receive a letter containing your role’s objectives and tactical capabilities on the day the State Council convenes to clarify your role and update you on what has elapsed in our world. Furthermore, when preparing for committee, it would be wise to concern yourself more with the military, political, economic, and social crises facing the Russian
Empire in 1917 than with the final details of your role.
The crises facing the State Council may or may not align with reality. you will notice that this document reserves very little space to describing the All-Union Communists, better
6 Tsar Nicholas II PMUNC 2016 known as the Bolsheviks. Today, we know that the Bolsheviks were the deadly straw that broke the Imperial camel’s back. At the beginning of 1917, however, they would not have topped Imperial authorities’ list of concerns. whether they pose the same threat to this council as they did in reality will depend on the decisions made and actions undertaken by this committee.
Finally, note that March 10, 1917, is a new style (n.s.) date. for the purposes of this council, all dates used will be new style. Please make sure that your research reflects this.
With that, welcome to the State Council of the Emperor and Autocrat, his Imperial
Highness, Nicholas II.
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The Situation in the Russian Empire
Assembled in its entirety at Mariinsky Palace, Petrograd; acting under the authority of the
Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, His Imperial Highness, Nicholas II; acclaiming without any reservations of the mind or spirit; the State Council will: Propose formal solutions to address the war; resolve economic and political uncertainty; extinguish the Soviets, ideologues, and revolutionaries.
His majesty’s return from Mogilev is warmly welcomed by the State Council. His majesty’s time away has proven a most difficult one. At this extraordinary meeting of the
State Council, we resolve to provide solutions to the aforementioned crises. Before proceeding with deliberations, we offer additional context and questions to consider regarding each issue for His Majesty’s reference.
The War
Three years ago, in the summer of 1914, we heard our Serbian brothers cry for our help; years of Austro-Hungarian political and military repression had reached a head with the assassination of crown prince Franz Ferdinand and the Austrians’ subsequent declaration of war. As men of courage and honor, we could not stand idly by. When all means of political and diplomatic negotiations to placate Austrian aggression had failed, His Majesty made the only decision a man in His Majesty’s position could have: His Majesty called for the full mobilization of the imperial armies to defend Serbia from an Austrian attack.
Since that summer, the empire finds itself in state of armed conflict with the German, Austro-
Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires. Embarking on the war, our armies were some one and a half million men strong, the largest military force of any of the great powers. Within six months, that
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number had grown to more than six and a half million troops. The Russian army air service
commanded almost four hundred aircraft alone, making it the most sizable force of its kind in the
world. In addition, the Imperial Navy counted nearly one hundred vessels, ranging from
battleships to submarines, under its charge.
At the outset of conflict, generals Alexander Simonov and Paul von Rennenkampf led a rapid
and valiant advance against the German Eighth Army in East Prussia. This war, however, has been
marked by misstep after misstep. By the close of the war’s first August, thousands of men had
been killed, our offensive had stalled, and General Samsonov had taken his own life. By December
of 1914, only two out of every three soldiers carried a rifle into battle. Within one year, more than
two million Russians were dead. And by the fall of 1916, general Alexei Brusilov’s advance into
Austria-Hungary, which had come at the expense of one million troops, had been repelled.
By now, many premier corps of the both the Imperial Armies and Guard have been
decimated. Boys must fill the roles their fathers once held. Conscription has been met with discord
across the empire. Since at least 1915, riots over the policy have plagued cities like Petrograd and
Moscow. Poorly paid soldiers and conscripts regularly mutiny, further weakening our ability to
wage war. Capitalizing on this discontent, opportunists among these groups have formed so-called
soldiers’ councils, demanding we sue for peace. In addition to these councils, the masses flood the
streets almost daily with cries for food and fuel. It is only a matter of time before they search for
recourse in political assassination and dangerous ideologues like the Social Democratic Unionists.
His Majesty, the decision to conclude the war rests in His Majesty’s hands alone. Before entering
into a binding agreement with the German empire and her allies, consider the following:
1. Can the empire continue to bear the social, economic, and political costs of waging war? 2. Can the empire’s allies, namely the United Kingdom and the French Republic, force a German defeat before the empire is forced to enter into peace accords?
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3. If the empire pursues peace with Germany and her allies, will the empire be forced to pay reparations, and what will be the consequences for failure to do so?
Economic and Political Uncertainty His Majesty, no doubt, remembers the tumultuous times between 1905 and 1907. Railroad
strikes in late 1904 grew into hundreds of thousands of strikers flooding the streets by January of
the next year. After the zealot Georgy Gapon and his misguided followers marched on the Winter
Palace, our soldiers had no choice but to defend His Majesty; “Bloody Sunday,” the masses called
it. But the blood spilled on that day could not match the blood spilled over the next two years.
Following Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich’s assassination, His Majesty was forthcoming
with reforms, granting the people freedom of conscience, speech, and assembly; forming the
Duma and imbibing it with inviolate powers; proclaiming universal male suffrage; requiring the
toleration of less desirable religious minorities; and reducing the peasants’ redemption payments.
Before his murder, Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin aggressively pursued agricultural reforms in
the hopes of improving the lives of the peasantry. The prime minister worked to end the outdated
self-governing communities of peasant households, or the mir. Instead he encouraged agrarians to
pursue their own betterment by introducing private land ownership; extending affordable credit to
those who needed it; encouraging agricultural education and cooperatives; and promoting modern
methods of land improvement.
For almost ten years, these reforms subsided an anxious populace and produced economic
growth. After 1914, a systemic devaluation of the ruble, necessitated by the need to finance the
war, has increased food prices four-fold. Incomes, meanwhile, have stagnated and access to
cooking and heating oil becomes increasingly limited everyday as more railroads are damaged by or
committed to the war.
While the war demands increased industrial production, factories find themselves shuttered
with increasing frequency thanks to the growing number and intensity of strikes. For many of 10 Tsar Nicholas II PMUNC 2016
these workers, living and working conditions are difficult, at best. Their homes are cramped and
workplaces are dangerous. As more of these men find themselves the subjects of conscriptions,
they have been replaced by unskilled peasants looking for better wages. As workers strike and
factories shut down, peasants have resorted to subsistence farming and withholding harvests.
Now, as food becomes more scarce, factories lose workers not only to strikes but also to flights
back into the countryside on the hunt for food.
As stipulated by the October Manifesto, no binding law is to take effect without the express
consent of the State Duma. Though His Majesty has presided over an era of great reform and
improvement, there are some who argue that, beginning with the Fundamental Laws of 1906 and
the State Council’s elevation to a legislative body with powers equal to those of the State Duma,
His Majesty has worked to undermine the State Duma and maintain power within His Majesty’s
hands. They cite concerns over the reemergence of martial law, His Majesty’s right to veto actions
in both the State Duma and Council, His Majesty’s power and, from time to time, decision to
dissolve the State Duma, and even the empire’s outlaw of radical and extremist parties as evidence
of their allegations.
Furthermore, His Majesty’s and His Majesty’s government’s reputations have paid a great price
over public dissatisfaction. Anti-German sentiment grows every day and with it mistrust of the
Empress Consort. In the cities, crowds often denounce His Majesty and His Majesty’s family.
They question the royal family’s and nobility’s right and ability to rule; they doubt the Empress
Consort’s decisions when His Majesty is away from Petrograd. Others question if his family’s holy
man and healer, Grigori Rasputin, holds an undue influence over His Majesty’s and the empress’s
decisions. Lately, even cries for His Majesty’s removal have begun to fill the streets.
His Majesty, we recognize today that the war has placed significant economic stress on the empire
and has not quelled political unrest; if anything, the ongoing struggle has only magnified the
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masses’ anger. Without changes, society itself is liable to collapse, taking us with it. We ask His
Majesty and his trusted State Council consider the following:
1. Are more constitutional reforms necessary and prudent? 2. Is His Majesty’s government’s legitimacy substantially threatened, and, if so, what changes are needed to protect it? 3. How can the food production and distribution and manufacturing be stimulated and streamlined in the face of unrest, uncertainty, and declining infrastructure networks?
Soviets, Ideologues, And Revolutionaries In the face of military struggle and economic and political unrest, opportunists have
moved rapidly to capitalize on the people’s dissatisfaction. The empire is no stranger to
treacherous revolutionaries. They are to blame, most recently, for the violence between 1905 and
1907 and the assassinations of leading government members like Pyotr Stolypin. For nearly ten
years, we were successful in defending the empire, the people, and the government from such
individuals. Today, we fear our ability to continue doing so is growing compromised.
Even here in Petrograd, political violence has reemerged. With increasing frequency, the
very soldiers who have been sworn to defend the empire from danger have become threats
themselves. Troops, both at the front and in the cities, are susceptible to mutiny. Unseen since
1906, Soviets have begun to reemerge. These councils between soldiers and workers seem
incompatible with the very fabric of the empire.
Most disconcertingly of all, His Majesty, is the rapid growth proliferation of poisonous
ideologues and revolutionaries. The most dangerous of all aforementioned entities, they have the
power to sway the masses not though reason or logic but through emotion. Among the most
notorious of these revolutionary groups are the Social Democratic Labor Party, with its especially
dangerous All-Union Communist Faction, and the Socialist Revolutionary Party.
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His Majesty, these councils and groups are relatively small but, if left unaddressed, could fester
into significantly more dangerous problems. We ask His Majesty consider the following:
1. Can the empire continue relying on conscripted troops to fight the war or keep the peace, and, if
not, how can we restore society’s will to enlist in the imperial armies?
2. How will we address the growing sway of councils and revolutionaries?
3. Must force be used to suppress these undesirable elements?
His Majesty, we look forward to the deliberation of these issues.
Bibliography http://spartacus-educational.com/rusfww.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-romanovs-fascinating-odd-and-odious/2016/05/13/5979d084- fcc1-11e5-9140-e61d062438bb_story.html?utm_term=.7e84ea28e13b “Nicholas and Alexandra,” by Robert K. Massie “The Romanovs – the Final Chapter,” by Robert K. Massie “The Rise And Fall Of Communism,” by Archie Brown “The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went To War In 1914,” by Christopher Clark
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Positions
Empress Consort Her Imperial Highness, Alexandra Feodorovna
Commander of The Imperial Armies His Imperial Highness, Nicholas Nikolaevich
Chairman of the Council of Ministers The Honorable Boris Stürmer
Minister of Finance The Honorable Pyotr Bark
Minister of The Interior The Honorable Alexander Protopopov
Empress Dowager Her Imperial Highness, Maria Feodorovna
Commander of The Imperial Guard The Honorable Alexander Spiridovich
President of The State Duma The Honorable Alexander Guchkov
Minister of Foreign Affairs The Honorable Sergey Sazonov
Minister of War The Honorable Vladimir Sukhomlinov
State Council Emissary of The French Republic to The Russian Empire The Honorable Maurice Paléologue
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Counsel to The Emperor The Honorable Paul Alexandrovich
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