April 1, 1856

Restoring Russia's Global Dominance

A few days ago, the Crimean War officially ended. Unofficially, it was over as soon as Britain and France joined with the enemy. In 1853, a dispute over religious rights of Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire province of Crimea lead Czar Nicholas to send in a force to occupy Moldavia and Wallachia. The escalation of the conflict led the Ottoman sultan, Abdul-Medjid I, to call on France and Britain for aid. Although the Russian navy had some success against the Turkish forces, they had no chance of standing up to the fleets of Britain and France. After the British destroyed several Russian ports, the allied forces of Britain, Turkey, and France began a siege of the Russian fort of Sevastopol, and eventually succeeded in driving the Russians from their own fort. (1) When the British and French turned towards Russia's Far Eastern Fleet, the Russians had no choice but to flee. After cowardly running from their enemy for a year, the Treaty of Paris ended Britain and France's journey into Russia. (2) Througout the course, of the war, we lost about 250,000 men. (3)

Here, Russia’s true weakness was exposed. Our soldiers were massacred by troops with more advanced weapons, superior generals, and more extensive training. These deficiencies in the Russian military must be fulfilled if Russia wants to gain and retain colonies, a prerequisite to be considered a modern dominant power.

The first problem that must be solved is our military equipment. The soldiers at Sevastopol were using the muskets that Britain and France used years ago. Our army must modernize. With inferior weapons, we stand no chance of winning a war against the likes of Britain and France, and thus, we have no way to protect our territiories. The only solution is to note and copy every move that the great European powers make. We must embrace the technologies that make them dominant so we too can rule the world. However, regrettably, this is not the only change that our army must make.

The second deficiency we have is a lack of well-trained troops. The modern guns are important, but without great warriors to wield them, they are useless. Currently, our army is disorganized and untrained. We must create an army that is as skillful as Britain’s, yet as large as France’s. Without such an army, we will continued to be beaten by Britain and France. Until we can beat them, we will never be a global power. Unfortunately, our woefully inept army is not our greatest problem.

The most fundamental change that must be made is a change in the government. We are incapable because we have one man who controls the entire military, which makes fighting a war nearly impossible because there is no one to prevent the Czar from making fatal mistakes. For example, the entire Crimean War would not have happened if Czar Nicholas had not demanded a change to the entire Ottoman religious system. Such a mistake would not have been made if there were multiple people making the decision--they definitely would have seen that demanding a change in the internal laws of the Ottoman Empire was not a wise decision.

I propose that we create a group of well-qualified people to aide the Czar. The Czar does not have to be removed, but he needs advisors to warn him when he is making a grave mistake. However, these advisors must be well qualified for their post, not just friends of the Czar. Unfortunately, when appointing our generals, we still use this archaic system--we give high posts to those close to the Czar. This system is obsolete, and we must create a meritocracy, like the ones of Britain and France. This would ensure that the most qualified people will lead our armies. This will give us a greater chance to win wars. Once again, the ability to win wars is absolutely necessary in this modern age because winning wars is the only way to acquire territory, and therefore, the only way to become dominant. Until we make these changes, Russia be a weak nation.

These three areas of our military must change in order for us to contend with the great European powers, and until we do, we will lose many more wars. When the day comes when we finally modernize our army, will will be able to take over territories and have colonies like the greatest nations in the world. Fellow citizens, we must demand reform. It is up to us to make the Czar see that we are obsolete. Only when he hears us will Russia be restored to its former glory.

Footnote

Text

1. James, Duffy and Vincent, Ricci, Czars: Russia's Rulers For Over One Thousand Years (New York: Facts on File, 1995). 305-307

2. Walter, Kirchner, History of Russia (New York: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, 1948). 208

3. "Crimean War." Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Online. <http://search.eb.com/eb/article- 9027905> [Accessed December 8, 2005].

Images

1. "Black Sea Map" (image), Available from: CNN <http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9904/02/nato.attack.03/> (accessed 8 December 2005).

2. Larry, Domnitch, "One Purim; Two Hamans " (image), Available from: The Jewish Magazine <http://www.jewishmag.com/77mag/czarpurim/czarpurim.htm>