[center][h3][i]"The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia."[/i][/h3] [i]- Otto von Bismark[/i] [hr] [/center] [hider=Application] [center] [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Flag_of_the_Russian_Empire_%28black-yellow-white%29.svg/1280px-Flag_of_the_Russian_Empire_%28black-yellow-white%29.svg.png[/img] [/center] [hr] [b][u]Government[/u][/b] [b]Name:[/b] Russian Empire [b]Head of State:[/b] Tsar Nicholas I [b]Head of Government:[/b] Same as Head of State [b]Ideology:[/b] Pan-Slavism is a political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic peoples. Russia has firmly declared itself as the protector of all Slavs, and has belligerently fought for the unity of all Slavic peoples - which has historically led them into conflict with most all of its neighbors, notably Austria and the Ottoman Empire. In spite of its world-famous avant-garde intelligentsia, Russia remains a very conservative society, reluctant to implement reforms unless necessary. [b][u]Military[/u][/b] [b]Army Numbers:[/b] The Russian Imperial Army has approximately 900,000 regular troops, in addition to 250,000 irregular troops, including the famous Cossacks. [b]Navy Numbers:[/b] The Russian Imperial Navy is large, but also divided into several constituent fleets in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Arctic Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. There's like next to zero actual info on how many ships were in each fleet, just a number that it's total navy was: "in 1853, Russia had the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, Arkhangelsk Flotilla, Caspian Flotilla and Okhotsk Flotilla (altogether, 40 battleships, 15 frigates, 24 corvettes and brigs, 16 steam frigates etc.)." [b][u]History, Expansion, and Economics[/u][/b] [b]History:[/b] As OTL, no significant changes to history. [b]Territory:[/b] Russia proper, plus the Governates of the Baltic Territories, Poland, Finland, the Caucasus, Turkestan Krai, and Russian America. [b]Economic Description:[/b] Though possessive of the largest land empire by far on Earth, Russia's economy remains in a rather under-developed state. Literacy still remains poor, and in spite of increasingly staunch liberal protest, the hesitance to abolish serfdom has resulted in immense dead-weight loss of what would otherwise be a plentiful source of industry workers. Throughout the ages the institution had undergone several reforms and changes, the first steps toward a complete abolishment were taken only in the 1810s, when the institution was abolished in Kurland, Estonia and Livonia. Industry is largely relegated to the centers of Moscow and Petrograd, while Russia's massive size means that its most bountiful deposits of ore and coal remain under-exploited. Large industrial changes are slow to implement, and Russia's immense territory and vast holdings create challenges to industrialize that few would even need to contemplate. Even so, the Breadbasket of Ukraine, the mines of the Caucasus, and the shipyards of the Baltics have brought much prosperity to the Empire. [b]Historical Claims:[/b] As the Protector of All Slavs and the Beacon of the Orthodox world, Russia has long had its eyes on the long-lost city of Istanbul to re-conquer it from the usurping Turks and manifest Russia as its rightful place as the Third Rome. Sensing weakness from Egypt's independence from the Ottomans, many believe that Russia will soon make its march. [/hider]