It's a Girl-Empress Alexandrina

IT'S A GIRL-EMPRESS ALEXANDRINA

by Youngla0450

''An epic story if the wife of Alexander III gave birth to a girl instead of a boy who in 1894 became Empress Alexandrina Romanov and would become more liberal then her male counterpart in original history. She would enact serious reforms and would never get into the War with Japan and would not fight Germany in World War I.

Introductions
''In this story, the baby born to Maria, wife of the future Alexander III, is not a boy, but is a girl, named Alexandrina Romanov in honor of her father and becomes second in line (after her father) to become empress of Russia. Her father reigns from 1881 to 1894, and the young Alexandrina becomes Empress. This will explore what she would do to save the Russian Empire from immient doom......''

Note: This is my first story, so please only give me a construstive critque on Feedback.

Chapter 1
Princess Maria of Denmark, wife of Alexander, heir to the throne and Grand Duke of all Russia, was on the bed screaming in agony. She was giving birth to their first child and was being helped by several ladies-in-waiting. Alexander held his wife's hand, praying she would survive, and also praying the baby would be a boy, a boy he wanted to name Nicholas, after his late uncle, the Emperor Nicholas. However, a suprise was awaiting.

As Mari screamed, the baby's head appared out of her vagina, Maria's bottom was wet and reddish and being wrapped under by towels. The ladies said "Push, Your Highness, he is almost out!". Marie did so, and with all of her might, the baby came out. Marie's head hit the pillow, her sweat coming off her long, silky hair.

A lady then looked to see what gender the baby was, and did not see a penis, but a vagina, so yelled and went to Alexander, saying "Your Grace, the baby is not a boy: it's a girl!".

Alexander gasped. He had wanted a boy! Then, after several seconds, he then said "May I see her?", he said.

The lady nodded and brought forth the baby to him. Alexander ticked her hands, looking at the smiling newborn baby girl, and said "I name you Alexandrina, the female equivalent of my name, of your father". The baby smiled and Alexander smiled back. He knew that she was to become the Empress, the first Empress since Catherine the Great in 1796, and hoped that she would be a strong ruler with a iron will.

Then he presented the baby to her mother, and they smilied.

Chapter 2
The baby Alexandrina bore many of Catherine the Great's traits: she had black hair and brown eyes, just like Catherine. Her look showed she had a strong heart and a powerful will. Alexandrina was related to many monarchs: from Queen Victoria of England to the king of Prussia; from the rulers of Sweeden and Norway to the Greek kings and to the Belgian and Dutch kings.

Alexander wanted to have Alexandrina to get a good education, and a sense of physical endurance. She studied (against the wishes of her father), the ideals of the French Revolution, the writings of Voltaire and Diderot, whom her great-grandmother Catherine had cultivated, and also the doings of Napoleon, the emperor of France during the Napoleonic Wars. Alex recieved her studies from French tutors and a British governess.

Unusual for a girl, she studied science independently. Apart from chemistry and physics, her lessons included astronomy, mathematics, French, Russian, English, German, Latin, history, music, geography, commerce, agriculture and constitutional law, dipping in on many books. She learned Orthodoxy in a more liberalised course.

Alexander wanted Alexandrina to become physically active. So she learned how to ride a horse, how to fish and how to hunt, how to stuff animals, how to swim, how to run, and how to dance. This was very unusual. Usually Alexandrina would ride on a horse at a speed very unsafe for her protectors assigned to her by her father (by now he had become emperor).

Alexandrina also dressed diffrently. Unlike other Russian ladies at the court who dressed in stfiling large dresses and blouses, Alexandrina prefered what was called "a bloomer", worn by some women in America. Alexandrina also challenged the supermacy of men in the court. Her father tolerated it but got torn by it.

Chapter 3
Alex at this time got into an argument with her parents. According to Russian custom, the daughters and sons of the ruling monarchs would marry whom their parents had arranged for, a "marriage for the state and not of the couple". Alex did not want to marry a German Prince, and instead wanted to marry a Russian Prince, Count James Orlov, a descandant of the Orlov brothers, the lovers of Catherine the Great during her early reign, and also a man whom she was deeply in love with, and he loved her. She told her parents without fear that to marry for love was greater then to marry for the state, or even the parents.

For months, they argued. But finally Alexander had to give in to his daughter, possessed of a strong and iron will that was his. With that, she proposed to Orlov and he accepted, and their marriage was to take place in 1895 (it was 1894).

But a bit of news was coming that would change her life for a long time to come.......

Chapter 4
One day, Alexandrina was reading a book (the first volume of her great-grandmother's memoirs), when somebody, a lady-in-waiting, knocked on the door. Alexandrina said "Come in, please,".

The lady then opened the door and bowed, saying "Your Highness, I have some horrible news. Your father Tsar Alexander is sick from a liver problem,".

Alexandrina soon closed her book and jumped up. She then headed out the door, going towards her father's sickroom. She then opened the doors to the sickroom and saw her father, moaning in pain on his sickbed. She then rushed over and said "How are you, Father?".

"My daughter, I am not well. I may not recover from this pain.....In that case, you will become the empress of all Russia..."

"Oh, Father, don't say that. You will recover, let God not take you away," Alexandrina replied, in a sad tone.

"My child. My time is done. But promise me something.....something that you will be linked to in God's eyes.."

She said "Yes Father? What is it?".

"That you will become a strong Empress, let no one boss you around, but you will preserve Russia and her value, her beliefs...", Alexander said in a dying tone.

"I will, Father, I will...", the daughter promised.

After that, her father started to drift out of consicousness. She then called in the doctors and family, and they rushed in.

Chapter 5
The doctors worked hard to save her father. Her mother, Empress Maria, was crying and weeping uncontrollably. The other members of the family had an angry and mean look, in despair and pain. Alexandrina was upset, but her will and look did not show it. She was staring in a solemn matter at her father's dying body.

Finally, after hours in a coma, the doctors came out with news:

"Your Highnesses, Members of the Russian Family, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Alexander, Ruler of all the Russias, died at 6:00 PM, and thus, his daughter, Alexandrina, is now Empress of All the Russias."

The new Empress then rose, and suddenly, all around her bowed to her and said "Your Majesty". She then walked over to the window, with shock and with full dismay. Alexandrina then asked for the Governing Senate to be summoned. The messengers said "Yes, Majesty" and went out.

In twelve minutes, the members of the Governing Senate came in and bowed to her "Our Majesty" they said. The Empress then motioned them to sit down at the Senate meeting table, and they did so.

Alexandrina then was to speak up....

Chapter 6
"My Lords, the Honorable Members of the Governing Senate. As you all know, my father, the Emperor, has died. And now I am the Empress, the first female on the Russian throne in almost a century, from Catherine the Great, my ancestor. And I intend to reign in a course that will help and nuture Russia, and not damage it...."

The members of the Senate all gasped, not wanting Russia to become liberalized. But Alexandrina had made up her mind, and she announced she was going to reform the government heavily. She stated her intentions in a educated manner of style. They were shocked: a educated and iron-willed woman was ruling them. As they left, they mumbled of what they thought would be a problem. But one day, Alexandrina would become crticially the best ruler Russia ever had, alongside Peter and Catherine the Great. Her reign would save Russia and transform it into the most powerful country Asia has ever had. Her reign would also liberalize the government and please the long suffering peasants and people.

Chapter 7
Alexandrina was going to reform the country. But first she had her wedding. On her insistence, she married James on 26 November 1894, a year ahead of schedule, in the Cathderal of Kazan. In the wedding, she wore a Romanov wedding dress, and her husband-to-be a tuxedo. Their marriage would be a loving and happy one, a long one. Empress Alexandrina would give birth to five children: Grand Duchess Olga in 1895, Duchess Tataina in 1897, Princess Maria in 1899, Princess Anastasia in 1901, and her eventual heir, Prince Alexei, in 1904.

On 14 May 1896 Alexandrina crowned herself empress, as Russian tradition dictated, and held a gracious coronation ball. About 2,000 were present at the cermonies. Each guest was served food and drink, each guest, poor and rich, recieving beer, a kaiser roll, a piece of sausage, gingerbread, and a mug. Unlike her male historical counterpart's disasterous cermony, her's was a success and helped give a boost in her popularity, which would remain considerably high throughout her reign.

And now, her reign will kick into full motion....

Chapter 8
The Empress inherited a empire that was in danger: Russia was a vast country of some 176 million people. Although Alexander II's judical and serf reforms had helped carry Russia to the 1890's, her father Alexander III had reduced many of them and issued laws that mistreated Jews, tied down pesants, and even almost destoryed the state. Alexandrina knew that in order to make Russia a modernized military and politcal power, she had to reverse the works of Alexander III and enact reforms of her own. She had studied about Catherine the Great's reforms and embarked on doing them again, but on a larger and more efficent scale.

The Empress began her reforms. When she was still the Princess, she had visited the United Kingdom, witnessing the House of Commons in debate and fully impressed on the workings of constitutional monarchy. She declared that "my people will be protected by the means of their monarch, and not by the means of blood and iron,".

Now she was going to organize the local and central government. In 1896, Empress Alexandrina issued the Statue for the Administration of the Governorates of the Russian Empire. The Statue organized Russia into "Governorates": the Governorate of Main Russia (roughly the size of real-history modern Russia), the Governorate of Russian Kazhakstan (all of the Central Asian States of real-history Russian Empire), the Governorate of Transcacuasia (Armenia, Azerbajan, and Georgia), the Governornate of Crimea (Crimea Island), the Governorate of Urkaine (most of Urkaine except Austrian Gallica), the Governorate of Belarus (Belarus), the Kingdom of Poland (Russian part of Poland), the Governorate of Lithuania (Lithuania), the Governorate of Latvia (Latvia), the Governorate of Estonia (Estonia), the Governorate of Saint Petersburg (Saint Petersburg and surronding small towns), and the Grand Duchy of Finland (all of Finland). Each Governorate would be headed by a Governor, appointed by the Empress or by one of her regional repersenatives in her name. The governor would have a executive council of thirteen secetaries and five advisors, all appointed and dismissed by him. There would be two Deputies alongside him to maintain legislative order and chair the meetings. Each Governorate was to have a Local Assembly consisting of two houses, the Local Senate, members of which appointed by the governor, and the Repersenatives, elected by all voters over the age of twenty-five through a democratic universal voting system. The Senate would be a advisory legislative body while the Repersenatives would wield full law-proposing and voting power.

The Kingdom of Poland would be headed by the Empress as the Polish Queen, who would reign as a constitutional monarch. In Poland there would be a Council of Ministers, appointed and dismissed by the Queen (Empress) at will that would run the Kingdom day to day and execute her orders. It would also be able to issue executive decrees in her name and prepare the local budgets in Poland. There would be a Polish Parilament, the upper house, the Assembly of Senators, would be appointed by the Queen through the Ministers, and the lower house, the Governing Sejm, of which would be elected by the people through a democratic private ballot. The Assembly of Senators would work with the Ministers and apporve the laws of the Sejm, which could hold the Ministers accountable and apporve the budget prepared by the Queen's ministers. The Queen would be able to call and dismiss the parilament at will, and also able to call for elections and make appointments.

The Grand Duchy of Finland would be headed by the Empress as Grand Duchess, a constitutional monarch. The Duchess would be advised by the Finnish Council of Advisors, who would run the Duchy day to day, execute her orders, issue laws in her name, and prepare the Finnish budgets. There would remain the Finnish Senate, but this time with two houses, the House of Councillors as the upper house, and the Assembly of Congressmen in the lower house. The Councillors would apporve the budget while the Congressmen would apporve and change the laws.

This law is still in effect, with many amendments, today.

Chapter 9
Then the Empress tackled the central government. In 1897, Alexandrina issued the Constitution of the Russian Empire. In it, the ideals of aboslute monarchy were upheld, but given a liberal and progressive tone. Under it, the Emperor (Empress in cases as the document also recognized) would be head of state and government, the commander of the military and autocrat of Russia. There would be a Council of Ministers that would advise the Monarch and execute it's orders at will, running the Empire day to day and issuing decrees in the monarch's name. The Monarch would appoint and dismiss the ministers at will, lay out agenda, call and dissolve their meetings, determine their discussions, and also where, when, and if they are to meet.

Then, perhaps she made a very liberal move: there would be a Parilament of the Russian Empire. The upper house would be the Imperial Senate, half of it's members appointed and dismissed by the Monarch at will, the other half appointed by the colleges, the companies, and the Governors. The Governing Senate would be dissolved and become part of this larger Senate, repersenting the noblity and the intelluctuals. The lower house would be the Russian Duma. The entire Duma would be elected by all voters over the age of twenty five, through a universal secret ballot and direct counting system. In this Parilament, the Monarch (Empress) would lead the Council, prepare it's agenda, declare when and where it meets, and also to maintain order. All laws would be proposed, debated, and passed in the name of the monarch. The Duma would be headed by a president and three deputies, elected by the repersenatives from among the assembly. They would have proper rules of procedure and discipline.

The monarch could call, dismiss, or dissolve the parilament at will, order for elections, and remake upper house appointments. The monarch would assent to all laws and seal them before they could pass. However the monarch could issue their own proclamations, decrees, laws, orders, reports, and charters. The monarch could also change or repeal parilamentary laws, procedure, or their own laws only at their will.

The Parilament would propose and pass laws, help to organize and apporve the budget, fund, discipline, and organize the military, oversee the government bureaucracy and administration, oversee the actions of the Imperial Ministers, and also advise the Monarch on legislative and domestic affairs.

The Holy Synod would remain, but under her new Constitution would drop it's Orthdoxy-supermacy policies, support freedom of the religion, and have a more efficent organization with lesser members but with greater intellect and ablity.

The Court organization of Alexander II would also remain, but the Court of the Senate would become the Russian State Court with a organization and procedure based on that of the American Supreme Court.

Alexandrina's Constitution is still the Supreme Law of Russia today, albleit with many amendments, and is the greatest law Russia has ever developed.

Chapter 10
The Empress then decided to repeal the sucession laws of Paul I. Paul, the rude son of Catherine the Great, reigned from 1796-1801, had enacted the Imperial Law of Sucession 1798. The Law said that the first born BOY of the heir to the throne or the Monarch's first son would come to the Throne over their elder sisters. This insured that rulers would always be men. Alexandrina was greatful for her father naming her his heir over the Law. But the Law of Sucession was still in place, and her son, Alexei, the youngest of her children, would overide all four other daugthers and become the Emperor after her. Alexandrina then decided to remove this unfair Sucession Law.

On June 1, 1904, about a century after Paul signed his Sucession Act into Law, the Empress issued the Imperial Laws of Sucession, 1904, which decreed that the first born child of the monarch or of the heir, either a girl or boy, would become the next in line for the throne. Thus Alexei was passed over as direct heir (as Paul's Law would have decreed) and placed fifth in line for the throne. The Law remains, with some amendments on the line of sucession, in effect today. According to the Law, first Olga, and if she had children, or the other siblings in order of their birth, ending with Alexei, would be in line to become the ruler. Thus Olga would become Empress after Alexandrina, followed by the other sisters in order of their birth and then finally, Alexei, the youngest child.

Chapter 11
Then the Empress engaged in reforming the state of the Russian peasants. She issued and implemented several laws to head towards this goal. In 1896 the Empress had issued the Cancellation of the Debts, cancelling the debts the peasants owed to the state as decreed by Alexander II in 1861. Then she issued the Decree for Finanical and Property Compensation for the Peasants in 1898. This law awarded every peasant in Russia a payment of $1,650 a month every year until 1912, plus a granting of 40 acres of land, crops, and animals to each peasant. The mir estates as Alexander II had established were abolished and replaced with the peasantry aids, organizations charged with aiding and helping peasants to develop their land and increase their self-made wealth. Community boards for the peasants were established and charitable help given.

Alexandrina also improved the condition of agriculture by developing food safety standards, granting money to nuture rural communites, insuring proper procedures of packaging and food-shipping, increasing modern methods of animal-breeding and caring, anaylzing the soil, and helping to develop better crops. Under her, Russia exported timber, hemp, flax, raw leather, furs, linen, cloth, and iron, and imported cottons, silks, tobacco, silver and tea. This, remember, is in the agricultural areas.

Chapter 12
Empress Alexandrina then began Russia's social welfare and health insurance system. She wanted to have a welfare state like Germany's, but more liberalized and heavily progressive.

In 1896, the Children's Charter was enacted by the Empress, providing children with free meals in school, reforming educational standards, and imposing punishments for neglecting children. It became illegal to sell children tobacco, alcohol and fireworks or to send children begging. Juvenile courts and borstals were created instead for young offenders so they did not have to stand in adult courts and go to adult prisons for most offenses. Free medical inspections and treatment was also provided for children.

In 1898, the Empress introduced pensions for all elderly over the age of sixty five. Two-thirds of the cost would be paid by the medical services, one-third by the government. Each elderly person would recieve free medical treatment, $1,800 a month in pensions, free state housing, and protection from mistreatment.

In 1900, the Empress issued the Workers Act, opening labor exchanges in order to help unemployed people find work, by providing centres where a large number of employers and the unemployed could post jobs and apply for them respectively. The Act also provided sick pay of $1,600 a month for hurt and sick workers. Free medical treatment and health insurance was granted to the workers. Unemployment payments and accident benefits are also insured.

Chapter 13
The Empress then embarked on industralization and development of Russia's vast resources. Geologists accessed ores from Russia's barren lands. Alexandrina established many more Mining Schools, established more mines, and developed Russia's vast natural gas reserves. She arranged for gold and silver mining and properly organized the refinement of minerals. She also improved conditions for miners and offically recognized the labor unions. Under her, the limits for working hours and also wages were guranteed for workers.

Factories were also nutured and supported. She decreed that each city was to have at least three factories. However, those factories would be in fair condition, their workers provided reasonable wages, decent houses, health, sickness, and accident benefits, plus free education for their children and monetary support if unemployed. Russia was heavily industralized but in a liberalised and socially progressive course. Unlike Britain or America, or to an extent, Germany, Russia had the world's most socially progressive industrial and welfare state. By 1904, Russia had the world's fourth largest economy, after Britain, America, and Germany. She would almost equal Germany's in 1913. She also had the fastest growing GDP at the time. The number of factories had tripled from 69,500 to over 240,000. Russian industrial and mining conditions were three times better then that of America and would overtake Germany's by 1914.

Also the Great Siberian Railway, whose construction was started by her father, was completed by 1902. It was/is the world's longest railway, streching from Saint Petersburg, the capital, all the way to Vladvistok, on the eastern seaboard of Russia. Under her father, the workers were not paid and forced to work long hours. Under her, each worker recieved $4,000 in compensation, a rent on 50 acres of land each, and also recognition by the Imperial Senate for their work in getting the Railway done.

Chapter 14
Empress Alexandrina then worked on education. Under her, free meals for the children was provided, new schools opened, existing schools supported, and college education guranteed to most children. Every person who was illerate, including peasant adults, was to recieve vocational training and also reading, writing, and basic math skills. All children would be required to go to school, and they would be provided free schoolbooks and materials. The Empress expanded Russia's existing universites and also opened up grants of studying in Germany, France, and England. By 1905, the literacy rate had rose from just slightly under 43% to an astounding 95%, the rate of education among peasants rose from 21% to 78%, and the rate of students going to college rose from 13% to over 63%.

Chapter 15
The Empress then heavily reformed the finanical state. Her Finance Minister Sergei Witte had proposed that Russia go back on the gold standard, but Alexandrina rejected this, saying that using gold to back the value of the ruble would in the end be disasterous. She was right, and despite Witte's protests, Alexandrina issued a proclamation stating that hard currency would back the ruble, and that gold would be exchanged into hard money. This policy saved Russia from finanical issues concerning gold that plagued other countries (Britain, America, Germany). She also reorganized the banking system and improved the banking insurance programs.

Chapter 16
Under Alexandrina, the armed forces were reorganized. 390 army regiments and 150 divisions were created and proper commands placed over them. Russia's peace-time army was increased from 20,000 to 1.5 million soldiers, and her war-time army increased from 900,000 to over 4 million. The reserves were set at five million. Russia's army training was improved by eliminating inefficent training methods and also by setting higher standards of organization, honor, and discpline. By 1914, Russia had the world's second most professional and organized army, after Germany's, and also the world's largest standing army in both war and peace. Alexandrina also increased and reformed military funding.

The Navy also was reformed. New warships were commissioned, submarines were started to be built, and the navy procedures of discpline and battle were reformed and upgraded to the highest standards possible. By 1914, Russia had the world's third most powerful navy, after Britain and Germany, and also the world's largest standing navy, with more then 50,000 warships, 2,000 submarines, and 5,000 battleships.

Chapter 17
And finally, she had to face the most diffcult of all her issues: foreign affairs. The Empress wanted Russia to progress as a great power while maintaining the peace. So, the Empress announced Russia would be "the broker of peace, and would remain netural in any and all wars whatsoever". Although France did not support this position, Britain and Germany did so. Under the workings of the Empress, Russia held the Hague Conventions of 1907, which laid out proper rules of war and foreign relations conduct, while all the while defining the extent of peace. Although World War I was still incoming, the Conventions helped to define international law that would fully nuture after the end of both World Wars.

Russia also solved problems with Japan. Both Japan and Russia had ambitions in Central Asia and China. However, Japan's armed forces were expanding at a faster rate then Russia's, and her society was becoming more modernized. But Alexandrina desperately wanted to keep the peace, so she proposed to Meji, the Emperor of Japan, that a convention between Japanese and Russian delegates be called in Tokyo to work out a settlement. Meji agreed, and he appointed his delegates, while Alexandrina appointed hers. Under orders from the two monarchs, the delegates met in Tokyo and over three months worked and argued over a settlement. Finally, on 4 September 1903, the Treaty of Tokyo, 1903 was signed. Under it, Russia respected Japan's ambitions in Korea and China, while Japan respected Russian ambitions in Siberia and Mongolia. A peace was also agreed to, and the two powers promised never to go to war over any Asian quarrel, and to solve ones peacefully by means of a commission that was to meet in Tokyo if nesscary. With that, Japan and Russia became effective allies.

Chapter 18
With these taken care of, and the birth of her final child, the Prince Alexei, in 1904, Alexandrina could just sit down and relax. The Empress continued to manage affairs of states, meeting with her ministers, calling the Duma as usual, but most of these duties she assigned to her progressive liberal Prime Minister Vladmir Lenin (In this version of the story, he is a honored Imperial minister). Prime Minister Lenin did well: he chaired the Ministers in her name, meet with the parilament, and ran the government with great effiency and flexablity. Now she could relax.

We are going to get into a telling of her daily life, a regular day during this time:

Every day, Alexandrina, in her night gown, would get up at six, a early time. She would pour her morning tea, look over her snoozing husband, and then head to her office. While sipping on the tea, at a steady rate, but calmly and smoothly, she would look over papers, for a monarch always has work to do. It might be a report from her Prime Minister, or just a law from the Duma needing her signature. However, she always looked over them, and was pleased she could work for the benefit of her country. After that, she might read for half a hour, a work of Voltaire, Diderot, or the famed Monstisqeu, the man who had written about the seperations of the branches of government. She might also read Julius Casear's Galic Wars, for she always loved reading about the ancient Romans and their adventures. Then, the maid would bring in her breakfeast, and she would eat it, slowly, while reading on Casear in the French Rivera or such.

After completing her breakfeast, she might continue to read in on the Gallic Wars, her hand against her long brown hair, just reading on in intrest and full longing of what is to happen, when a servant might knock on the door. She would say "Come in" and they would, saying the same thing "Your Majesty, time for affairs of state".

She would then put in a blue ribboned bookmark, close the book, and get up. Then she would meet with her ministers, who would be saying the daily matters of the country....maybe a petition from the workers, a law being debated by the Duma, or just some preprations on a Government Statement. She would listen intently and then speak. Usually she would just command on what to do, ask questions, or just debate. But she knew she had to. For the sake of the Monarchy, and for the sake of the People, and especially, of the Country.