The great advisor (July-September, 1890).
Diplomacy: Korea]
After his visit to Japan, Tsar Alexander III decided to stop by the Kingdom of Korea (after all, it is "independent" thanks to him) to meet with King Gojong.
As a courtesy King Gojong and Emperor Alexander III observed some of the traditional Korean culture (mask dances and Korean theater, mainly folk dramas or dances that include imitation, speaking and singing, such as the Talchum of some of the northern regions and the sandae noli of Seoul and nearby regions).
This at the Russian embassy near King Gojong's palace.
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"That over there, it's a Yeongno. It eats bad Yangban." One of the Korean officers explains to Tsar Alexander III at the function, which was ending.
"Interesting." Tsar Alexander III calmly responds, and after the event is over, the artists leave. "Well, we can start talking about what's important here."
The Korean military and administrators were quick to present both monarchs with the Korean administration's accounting records for the past 4 years (almost 5), since Korean independence.
"We have mechanized the production of silk, we still have a little work to do to improve agriculture but is almost finished, and our iron and steel industry is taking giant steps. The railways are in good condition, we wait for the moment to connect them to the Transmanchurian and the Trans-Siberian in an official way. " One of the Korean officers responds.
"Is there a problem with the nobles? Any problems with the peasants?" Tsar Alexander III questions while he reviews the economic evolution of his investments in Korea.
"No sir. The peasants are fed and the nobility ... well, we have weapons and power, they don't, they're pretty quiet." The officers answer to Tsar Alexander III.
"Very well, King Gojong, I think we have to continue discussing some treaties between the Joseon dynasty and Russia" Tsar Alexander III exclaims.
"Of course." King Gojong responds, although in reality the discussions were still mainly between the Emperor of Russia and civil-military officials.
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The Kingdom of Korea was officially but nominally, an absolute monarchy with a series of laws but no constitution, however unofficially but de-facto, Korea was a civil-military dictatorship.
The industrialization and modernization of the army, trained and under the influence of Russia, had dominated since 1882 after the Imo incident, and between 1882 and the Sino-Japanese War in 1886, the army "gave birth" to a civil administration (deeply tied to to the army) who was in charge of other matters.
This after the Yangban nobles and administrators were purged (indirectly ... or indirectly speaking) through the military forces.
Although the king was the head of state, he ruled absolutely nothing. Queen Min and the various factions of the court lost all their power, those who attempted violent opposition were punished as traitors, those who tried to gain foreign support were silenced or failed due to the civil service and Russia's control of foreign policy.
And Korea's traditional upper classes simply lost the support of the lower classes, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Why would the traditional upper classes have kept it?
The government of the new army, the new administration, and the new bourgeois working under Russia had brought order, progress, and economic well-being.
The army was well armed and fed, corruption-nepotism decreased dramatically (it cannot be eliminated of course, but without noble families the main cases of corruption decreased), there were railroads, new industries and money.
With this clear, Tsar Alexander III and King Gojong (or rather the king's administration) signed agreements that made the Russian influence in Korea still perpetuate and progress. More officers would be trained in Russian academies, Russian instructors in Korea, civilian scholarship students in Russian schools, etc.
There were also obviously joint infrastructure projects, such as linking the Korean rail network to the Transmanchurian, thus allowing one to go from Moscow to Vladivostok, Port Arthur or even South Korea.
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[A Georgian boy]
* Perspective of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili.
One day, July 13, 1890, a single day, the Georgian boy had been forced to work in a factory in Tbilisi where his father worked, something illegal according to Russian law and which had been unknown to the factory authorities. .
However Besarion Ivanes dze Jughashvili had not listened to reasons, nor from his most sensible companions, Besarion insisted that his son had to work.
The experience of industrial work during the times of the nineteenth century were very harmful for a child, repetitive and mechanical work, among other bad conducts, could have been one of those responsible for the increase in alcoholism in subsequent generations, among other mental problems.
But while young Iosif worked, his father had lost some of his attention. "What the hell is happening there?" Besarion and other Georgian workers asked confused, leaving there, the young Iosif tried to leave the factory but in doing so he was caught by his father, forced to watch.
From other nearby parts of Tbilisi industries, Armenian workers and merchants were shouting on the one hand, against Georgian merchants and workers.
"What's going on?". Young Iosif had asked.
"Do you see those over there?" The boy's father, Besarion, exclaims. "They are Armenians, they come here to steal our jobs Soso, they are a plague of Tbilisi ." The shovel increases when suddenly both sides begin to throw stones and fight, Besarion is also part of this conflict.
Not long after the police appeared to end the violence between Russian citizens, with Georgians and Armenians captured alike.
The young Iosif was taken by the police and returned to his mother, while Besarion received a prison sentence, not only for acts of violence against other citizens, but also kidnapping a minor and forcing him to work in a factory.
Iosif was undoubtedly marked by this event, which led to later decisions in 1897 and onward.
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To understand something of the context of the Tbilisi incident in 1890, with the increase of the Russian economy and its population of Armenians, a capitalist bourgeoisie-entrepreneurs of Armenian origin was formed who were commonly much more educated (more studies) and developed (more economic tradition) than Georgians and Azeris.
This at first would not cause problems, but the Armenians as a people and capitalists, moved. Armenian workers through the Russian railways, went to other regions to find work. This grew small businesses and Armenian working-class neighborhoods in areas where traditionally there were not so many.
The capitalists on the other hand, went to other regions to expand their businesses, this meant that the Armenian capitalists on many occasions, crushed the much less developed local bourgeoisies to make a profit.
This made Georgians and Azeris sometimes very upset with the Armenian population of Russia, but the police and the state, who had a monopoly on force and coercion, prevented conflict from developing, due to the threat of a sanction for violating the laws.
The incident in Tbilisi was an exception due to the speed of events and the number of people involved.
With these new developments there were complaints from Armenian and Georgian capitalists, so after order was re-established, Tsar Alexander III launched a new Ukaz.
This new Ukaz were Russia's first private antitrust laws (obviously the state had the right and obligation to support certain monopolies ...), which allowed continued competition from private enterprise.
These laws prevented many businesses from being crushed by the monopoly attempts of some capitalists or companiess. But obviously there were still businesses that could be bought or sold, the difference was the protection of businesses, some restrictions and incentives for competition.
Peace promptly returned, some minor incidents would occur from time to time but that's the human being sometimes. After all, the Russian economy was in considerable growth and there was plenty of room for business without resorting to violence.
There was a large Armenian region, a Georgian region, Azerbaijani region, Kurdish regions, etc., where everyone could do business.
After all there was a network of railways and infrastructure that motivated integration and cooperation, different ethno-cultural groups united by a citizenry went together on the same railroad and lived in the same cities.
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[Russian Carriage Works]
Tsar Alexander III met again with Fyodor Abramovich Blinov and other members of the Rossiyskiy Vagonostroitel'nyy Zavod (Российский вагоностроительный завод), to discuss further developments regarding the Russian automobile production industry and related.
The first model of the Romanov was a success, and it would be a decade in the 1890s (1896), so for the years 1897-1900 and the decade of the 1900s, it was better to prepare the next model and the new innovations to continue with making a profit, etc.
Tsar Alexander III guided many of the ideas of the next generation of automobiles, comforts (glove compartment for example), safety, and other design improvements (although all would develop over time).
Engine and performance improvements (speed, fuel consumption, etc.) were more of a concern to the RVZ engineers.
In addition, Tsar Alexander III met particularly with Blinov and the RVZ to present the idea of a new type of vehicle that would facilitate movement (and therefore logistics, services, etc.) through the snowy lands of the Russian Empire.
Discussions regarding this led to a general idea that would establish all the basic criteria of a modern snowmobile.
A front-mounted motor, slide rail guides, wooden cleats, steering skis, two-person seats located above the track, and running boards.
Of course Russia's first snowmobile would take years to produce, but the RVZ was already discussing and planning such a vehicle in 1890 due to the needs of the Russian Empire.
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[The Flying Dutchman]
A Dutchman, Vincent van Gogh, who left his country after economic problems, German repression and other mental problems, had moved to Saint Petersburg a few months ago.
However, on July 27, van Gogh tried to jump from the apartment where he was staying to commit suicide, however the Dutch failed in his attempt and he was detained by the authorities while he recovered.
Tsar Alexander III himself became interested in the case when it was mentioned that the artist was going to be placed in an asylum, partly at the request of the artist himself.
Tsar Alexander III bought some of van Gogh's paintings, but his interest in the case went beyond that, as Tsar Alexander III decided to undertake the training of improvements in the asylums and mental institutions of Russia.
Professional help not only to help people get rid of harmful addictions, but the Russian authorities also began to study the mind proper, mental problems and psychology.
Although psychoanalysis and modern psychology is not strictly speaking a Russian invention, the interest and theoretical development that developed during Alexandrian Russia is curious.
Cases of problems, delusions, disorders and other psychological realities are known throughout history, for example cases of depression or post-traumatic stress in ancient Greece.
In the Middle Ages the power of the mind was already recognized, and books about the manipulation of the mind, which we can understand as early psychology, were prohibited as black magic and texts related to the occult, ritualism and Satanism.
Not surprisingly, Alexandrian Russia, constantly expanding in soft power, also expanded its knowledge and resources regarding other ways to help, control, or guide the behavior of its citizens through early psychology.
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*Perspective of Vincent van Gogh.
"We received news that your brother is very worried, he wants to visit you." One of the doctors report in one of the open-air spaces of the Russian nursing homes.
"It's fine." Vincent reports with a small cough as he answers some questions, they were examining him to see if any meeting was safe or if Vincent himself wanted to see his brother.
With professional help Vincent gave up alcohol, in most of him, but there were still consequences of his smoking habits. Curiously, the czar's purchases, his prolific stage as a painter within the asylum (where they gave him material to continue with psychological help) and partly the curiosity of the population made a painter locked up in an asylum, made him someone with more success in Russia than in France or the Netherlands.
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[Diplomacy: Nicholas]
* Perspective of Nicholas.
The Tsesarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov visited Egypt on his birthday after having made a stop in India, the next destination was Greece and after that went Austria-Hungary and Germany.
The Tsesarevich's meetings were currently more with English officials than with Ottoman-Egyptian officials, but this was obviously because Egypt was just another English colony and not an independent state or vassal of the Ottomans.
Actually Tsesarevich himself was more interested in seeing some things like the Nile, art and other cultural-geographical wonders of the region.
"It is very hot.
Talking with the English is a bit boring, they seem very interested in asking me about my meetings in India and Siam, I think they want to know if I have not participated in any diplomatic movement outside of having officially started relations with Siam.
The old man is right that I lack experience, I have to be more cautious with the English and other diplomats.
Changing the subject, perhaps I should plan with the old man to obtain Tutankhamun's tomb before the English do. "
-Tsesarevich Nicholas writes some notes that are kept (and later destroyed) after having returned to Russia.
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"The Tsesarevich seems like a distant figure ... we have tried to check some of his rooms where he has been, ask about him and ask his escort a few questions.
We have not obtained much, it seems that his men (Cossacks) respect him a lot, they say that he is a good horseman and archer, he does not seem to have scandals in Inner Manchuria.
Regarding the policies of Russia, we have not discovered any new policy or plan of Alexander III towards abroad, perhaps the plan of Russia is based on Greece, the next destination of the Tsesarevich. "
-Some British notes in Egypt.
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[International]
On July 1, the results of the first general elections of Japan under the Meiji constitution are presented, approximately 5% of the male population of the country votes.
It mainly wins the Jiyūtō (Liberal Party) with 130 seats, but currently does not participate in the government. Then there is the Taiseikai (Great Achievement Society) with 79 seats, actually pragmatic civil servants and not a party with ideology and values, they are simply pro-government. Then there are the independents with 45 seats. In second place with 40 seats is Rikken Kaishintō (Constitutional Reform Party) who are moderates in favor of a British-style constitutional monarchy and lastly with 5 seats, the ultra-nationalists of the Kokumin Jiyutō (National Liberal Party), who will not survive the following year due to the dissolution of the party.
It doesn't seem like it, but Japanese policies remain somewhat radical due to the military (army and navy) vying for budgets, plans, diplomacy, etc.
On July 2, the government of the United States under president Benjamin Harrison tries to pass the Sherman Antitrust Act, a law to guarantee a competitive market where businesses obtain legitimate profits from consumers (prohibit anti-competitive agreements, unilateral conduct that monopolizes or tries to monopolize a market and protocols for the Department of Justice to make demands on violations of the law), however without protecting minor competitors harmed by businesses that attempt to make monopolies or pre-existing monopolies (nor does it protect the harm of medium-small businesses by "larger successful businesses").
However, there is an important problem when it was precisely the great industrialists of the North and Midwest who supported Benjamin Harrison in his rise to power, and these conglomerates (mainly industrial and railways) oppose the Sherman Act.
The law don't pass (narrowly) and is quietly thrown under the rug as John Sherman and other politicians now debate whether the coin should be backed by gold and silver, or just gold.
For this reason, if the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was approved, the law did not authorize the free and unlimited minting of silver (a measure desired by the so-called Free Silver, Western Republicans and Southern Democrats) but it did increase the amount of silver that the government had to buy monthly to 4.5 million ounces and the expense of the gold of the United States.
Passing a antitrust law in the Russia of 1890 was easier than in the United States of 1890 because the United States was a republic, and Russia was not.
On July 26, the Revolucion del Parque (Revolution of the Park) takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
A national civic-military uprising led by the Unión Cívica (Civic Union) of Leandro Alem, Bartolomé Miter, Aristóbulo del Valle, Bernardo de Irigoyen and Francisco Barroetaveña with the support of members of the army and the Argentine navy against the national government of the President Miguel Juárez Celman (member of the PAN, Partido Autonomista Nacional, or National Autonomist Party).
Caused by electoral fraud and the economic crisis, which erupts in armed conflicts in Buenos Aires.
Finally, although the government wins, maintained by the PAN, President Miguel Celman finally resigns from his position, the rebels are granted admiration and the Civic Union comes out politically strengthened.
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*Brazil.
Regarding the war in Brazil, interesting developments occur throughout July and August, among the most important we can mention how in July, Minister Gaspar da Silveira Martins escaped from the north but did not go to the Republican side, but to the south, Rio Grande do Sul (nominally under Republican control, but not actually).
Gaspar da Silveira Martins was born in present-day Uruguay, at a time when the Brazilian-Uruguayan borders were not very well defined, and due to how society works, the north of Uruguay and the south of Brazil were very interconnected.
On August 23, Gaspar da Silveira Martins founded the Maragatos (federalists also called Gasparistas), officially the Federalist Party of Rio Grande do Sul. Believers that although the monarchy must be maintained over the republic, it must be adopted a federal and parliamentary system, revising the imperial constitution (thus moving to a federal empire with fewer powers for the monarch).
With this, the republican government in Rio Grande do Sul falls, but it is not the only important thing, from Uruguay crosses the Brazilian-Uruguayan, Gumersindo Saravia (also called Gumercindo Saraiva, born in Uruguay but of a Brazilian father), with about 500 volunteers from the National Party (Partido Nacional or the Blancos/Whites) of Uruguay to support Gaspar da Silveira Martins.
Gumersindo soon became the main military leader of the revolt, with white ribbons and the slogan "Defensor da lei" or "Defender of the Law", with Gaspar da Silveira Martins as the elected leader and main politician.
This August-September revolt takes control of other parts of the south.
The civil war of the Empire of Brazil then turns into a tripartite war, where mainly the coasts and large cities are controlled (with some exceptions), while the jungle, rural and interior areas remain almost totally beyond the control of a government or the civil War.
Some politicians in the south-central part of the country are joining the Republicans because they are unaware of the army's plans for a dictatorial republic (these politicians believe in a parliamentary or presidential republic).
In the north, politicians and the navy remain loyal to Empress Isabel I of Brazil.
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August 6, Auburn Prison becomes the first person to be executed by an electric chair.
September 16, the Ertuğrul frigate of the Ottoman Empire sinks near Japan, leaving more than 500 dead.
September 25, Mormon religious leader Wilford Woodruff (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) launches the 1890 manifesto, officially ending polygamy ...
Although years later in the early twentieth century this manifesto still has to be reaffirmed among Mormons themselves, so it goes without saying that there were problems with its being applied or universally accepted in the community.