The Rise of Australasia

Montoffsky was a senior engineer at a certain machinery factory in Saint Petersburg, earning twice the salary of ordinary factory workers and enjoying various subsidies and vacations. Before the war, he was undoubtedly part of the middle-upper class.

But the good times were only before the war. After the outbreak of the war, the prices in Russia rose at an astonishing rate, and Montoffsky's proud salary could barely maintain the livelihood of himself and his family.

Keep in mind, this was only possible because Montoffsky's wife also worked at the machinery factory.

If there was only one income in the family, Montoffsky's living standard would probably fall further down another level.

On a not-so-sunny morning, Montoffsky arrived early at the factory and went to his workstation.

As a senior engineer of the machinery factory, Montoffsky's status was a bit higher than that of ordinary workers, but only slightly higher.

His status would only be higher in situations when factory machinery had problems or when new equipment was being installed. In other situations, there was not much difference between him and ordinary workers.

Lasticens were still required to continuallywork overtime, still had to work on the production line, and were subject to wage deductions for a variety of reasons, even major ones.

However, Montoffsky needed to make a living. He could not give up a job that paid several times the average salary.

Just after arriving at his workstation, factory management issued a notice: the factory would need to work two more hours tonight.

Overtime in this era was different from later generations. There was no overtime compensation, and overtime itself was unpaid.

But there was no choice. No one dared to refuse the overtime proposed by factory management unless they wanted to lose their job.

What's even worse is that these capitalists who run factories had some power and connections in local governments.

If they seriously offended their bosses, they would not only be unable to find work in the entire region, but they would also be targeted by capitalists. The consequences could range from their families breaking apart to their entire family dying without a place to be buried, becoming another lost soul in Russia's chaos.

In this cannibalistic era, money and power were the most important things. With money came power, and with power came money.

Whether they were capitalists or high-ranking aristocrats, they wielded unparalleled power in Russia. Ordinary people were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Aside from enduring the exploitation of the government and capitalists, they faced constant danger to their lives.

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Particularly when capitalists colluded with local officials during wartime, they could easily frame anyone for deliberately sabotaging the production of wartime supplies.

For ordinary people, this charge was a death sentence, and their fate depended on the mood of the capitalists.

Montoffsky let out a quiet sigh, but he was still helpless in the face of the factory management's demands.

Ironically, Russia officially implemented an eight-hour work system, which was far different from the actual working hours at Montoffsky's factory.

Montoffsky's normal working time was about 12 to 14 hours, and the total working hours were at least 14 hours, including overtime.

This was nearly double the Russian working time regulations.

This meant that, after completing their standard eight-hour work shift, most Russian workers had to "voluntarily" work unpaid overtime for at least six additional hours.

Actually, this was not unheard of. Most European countries participating in the war had high intensity overtime, with an average working time of more than eleven hours.

But the problem was that overtime in European countries at least provided some symbolic overtime pay, rather than Russia's forced unpaid overtime.

Even if they distributed some supplies or food, it would be enough to pacify the restless workers. Unfortunately, Russian capitalists either couldn't see the workers' predicaments or simply didn't care if they did. ꞦÃɴőВЕś

"Hey! Montoffsky, are you going to participate in the race the day after tomorrow?" The middle-aged man next to Montoffsky cautiously asked after the factory management had walked away.

"Running? What is that?" Montoffsky looked puzzled. What kind of time is it now, and who still has the mood to run?

"It's a big strike organized by the Workers'' Alliance. This is highly confidential information, buddy, don't reveal it to anyone," the middle-aged man once again cautiously looked around and whispered.

Although large-scale strikes and demonstrations were common in Russia, it didn't mean they were legal.

As the Tsarist government had previously cracked down on several demonstrations, now participants, especially organizers, would face the death penalty.

Even ordinary workers who participated in such demonstrations risked imprisonment. If discovered by factory management, they could lose not only their jobs but also endanger their lives and the lives of their families.

"Workers' Alliance? Is that a new political party?" Montoffsky asked curiously.

Although Russia was an autocratic country under Tsar Nicholas II, there were no shortage of political parties within the nation, with a diverse range of ideologies.

Of course, a considerable number of these parties were illegal, and their members would be targeted by the government.

"It's actually the Bolshevik Party, as you know." The man explained with a smile.

Even though Arthur had already ordered the Royal Security Intelligence Agency to clear some of the political parties in Russia, it was impossible to completely eradicate these revolutionaries.

These parties assumed that the Tsarist government was cracking down on them, so they chose to go underground and use new party names to conduct their activities.

The Bolshevik Party, along with other workers' parties, still held some influence among Russian factory workers.

Not only Montoffsky but also a large number of Russian workers were secretly recruited for the upcoming large-scale protest, which had even spread to other regions outside Saint Petersburg.

Meanwhile, amidst the undercurrents stirring within Saint Petersburg, Nicholas II was also plotting his own schemes.

Since he became Commander-in-Chief of Russia, the military's offensive had not achieved any noteworthy results, and both the frontlines and the domestic situation in Russia were deteriorating.

The military and the people all pointed their fingers at Nicholas II, as he was the highest leader of the army and the rightful scapegoat.

While Nicholas II's military prowess was not impressive, his political abilities were definitely that of a qualified monarch.

In order to minimize his own responsibility, finding someone to blame was necessary.

On October 19, 1916, Nicholas II convened a military meeting in Saint Petersburg, ostensibly to discuss Russia's offensive plans for the following year.

The meeting attracted many high-ranking Russian military officials, including the Commanders-in-Chief of the Southwest and Northwest Armies.

As the top levels of the Russian military imagined, the discussions about next year's battle plans never took place. Instead, at the very beginning of the conference, Nicholas II loudly questioned the two frontline Commanders-in-Chief for the Russian army's lack of significant achievements thus far.

The two commanders broke out in cold sweat, realizing that Nicholas II was looking to place the blame on them.

Before they could offer any defense, Nicholas II turned his gaze to the other military higher-ups and asked meaningfully: "Gentlemen, are you willing to stand up for the fallen soldiers, your brothers, subordinates, and comrades-in-arms, and investigate the real reason behind the failure of the war?"

"Yes!"

The response from the military higher-ups was fast, albeit somewhat disjointed.

This was the time for the military higher-ups to choose sides. Nicholas II's intentions were clear: he wanted the two frontline commanders to take the blame for the failures of the war, thus shifting responsibility onto his predecessor Archduke Nicholas and the two frontline commanders.

The others had two options: either become Nicholas II's accomplices, helping him to pin the guilt on the two frontline commanders, or unite the military against Nicholas II's scapegoating but likely face dismissal.

They quickly decided between preserving their own positions and the lives of their colleagues.

Soon enough, various elaborate reasons were thought up by the military higher-ups, not only placing the blame for the lack of military progress on the two frontline commanders but also implicating the already-cleared logistics department in the withholding of supplies and collusion with domestic and foreign capitalists.

The following day, the announcement by the Russian government made it clear that Nicholas II and the government had shifted the majority of blame for the war's failures onto the frontline commanders and the logistics department.

Due to the government's announcement accusing the logistics department of colluding with domestic and foreign capitalists, numerous Russian factories were investigated. The owners of these factories were well-known Russian capitalists and the masterminds behind the collusion with the logistics department.

However, this caused suffering for the factory workers. As the factories were being investigated, they were temporarily out of work.

Greedy capitalists would not pay the workers' salaries when they couldn't work, resulting in about ten thousand workers being temporarily deprived of their income.

Although the government's announcement stated that the investigation of these factories and capitalists would only take a short time and the factories would reopen soon, the temporary loss of income still caused panic among many Russian workers. They knew that each day without work meant their wives and children would go hungry.

At this critical moment, the Workers' Alliance took the opportunity to announce a rule that all workers participating in the protests would receive free grain.

This was a great relief to those workers and, in a very short time, managed to attract even more participants to the large-scale protest that was about to erupt.

Enticed by the prospect of free grain, many workers eagerly signed up, and the estimated number of participants in the protest quickly exceeded one hundred thousand.

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