Ch.463The Double-Headed Eagle Shall Rise Again, Treading Upon the Sickle and Hammer

* * *

The Soviet Union, with its vast territory, relied heavily on its transportation network, making it essentially a country of railways.

This fact remained unchanged during the war, with new divisions arriving daily via the railways.

Meanwhile, as if in an equivalent exchange, the Soviet government was moving to Kuybyshev through those same railways.

And finally, today Stalin was scheduled to leave for Kuybyshev.

“After reducing the country to this state, you’re running away!”

“I believed in you until the end! Comrade Secretary, you’re not even human!”

“Restore the monarchy! Only the Tsar can protect us!”

When Stalin secretly boarded the train, a crowd appeared from somewhere, surrounding him and hurling accusations.

Seeing this, Stalin tried to use the NKVD to disperse them, but surprisingly, no one obeyed.

“What’s this? You lot. Beria! Where are you? Get rid of these people!”

But no one listened, and the pent-up frustration was directed at Stalin.

Numerous projectiles rained down on Stalin, and he was subsequently beaten.

Eventually, one of the enraged individuals pulled out a gun.

“Kill the enemy of the people who brought the country to this state!”

Bang bang bang bang!

“Kuhurk!”

Stalin died with his eyes wide open.

In the original history, he didn’t evacuate, so I checked out of curiosity, but he was actually trying to flee.

Perhaps they were being pushed back much more than expected, and he saw no possibility of defending Moscow against General Winter.

Even so, the people’s anger had crossed a line I hadn’t anticipated.

I don’t care whether that bastard lives or dies, but I didn’t expect people to be angry enough to try to kill Stalin.

“The tyrant is finally gone! But now we must elect a new leader!”

Isn’t that Beria? Why is he there?

Is he trying to take the Secretary’s position? Is that why he was trying to monitor me?

I decided to watch quietly and see what he was up to.

“Russia experienced its most glorious history during the imperial era. The last Tsar of the Russian Empire, Nicholas II, lost public support due to Bloody Sunday, but that wasn’t actually the Tsar’s order. Even if it was, how many workers died under Stalin’s rule? Nicholas II even went to the front lines to take responsibility for the war, but Stalin did not! Moreover, Stalin was a fervent communist, yet he acted as a dictator worse than the Tsar. At least the Tsar was a monarch. What was this man? We must return to our glorious past! Put away the hammer and sickle and gather under the double-headed eagle! And the Romanov bloodline that can restore that glory still remains!”

Damn it. This is really dangerous.

That bastard’s behavior is suspicious.

Wait, as I’m watching quietly, that Beria bastard finally approaches me.

Being the center of attention, the citizens’ eyes follow Beria and then turn to me.

“Here is Grand Duchess Anastasia, who has worked tirelessly to save the people under Stalin out of concern for them!” Hey, you bastard. So you’re just going to go ahead with this.

That bastard’s eyes clearly say he’s started something and wants me to clean up the mess.

“Grand Duchess?”

“Is it true that the Grand Duchess is alive?”

“I know that face! She is the real Grand Duchess!”

“The Secretary tried to flee, but the double-headed eagle remains!”

“Sob! Grand Duchess. I, an unworthy subject who couldn’t save the Tsar during the civil war, beg for forgiveness.”

People of all ages either looked at me, the Grand Duchess, with emotion, or were swept up in the atmosphere wondering if this was real, or even old men who appeared to be true subjects of the Tsar who had been holding back until now. They showed various reactions. Fine, I’ll play along. We need to defend Moscow, so I’ll humor them.

I stood confidently on the hastily prepared podium and addressed the crowd looking at me.

“Yes. I am Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova. When my parents and siblings were killed by Cheka agents, I believed it was because they had lost public support, and I decided to live a life of atonement without even harboring revenge. But now the Soviet Union is also facing a national crisis under Stalin’s rule. I’m not asking to restore the Tsar’s position and give it back to me. Also, I cannot guarantee that my presence here will protect you and Moscow. But I am here, and you are here in Moscow. I would prefer to fight alongside you and win, but if we die, I will die with you!”

I won’t die anyway. I’ll do my best to defend, and if Moscow falls, I’ll get the hell out of here.

I should keep Maria nearby and be ready to leave at any time.

Even if I were the real Anastasia, how absurd would it be to kill the Tsar’s family one day, and then bring them back to put them on the Tsar’s throne?

Why should I play the role of their Tsar?

“Please accept the Tsar’s protection!”

“God save the Tsar once more!”

“Rise again, Russian Empire!”

Alright, that’s enough. Now I just need to grab that Beria bastard who’s looking away.

An interim government meeting was held in the Kremlin Palace.

I looked over these damned people in front of me one by one.

Now I see that Beria didn’t act alone. The Red Army marshals and generals must have already set things up, as none of them seemed surprised.

Aren’t there hardcore communists among them?

If they had planned a coup, they should have considered the possibility of opposition.

Now things start to make sense.

Everyone here had failed after leading their armies toward German territory in the war Stalin started.

Even if they somehow managed to win this war, these guys might be sacrificed to protect Stalin’s power.

Beria too probably couldn’t avoid responsibility for not properly reporting information.

But still, isn’t this absurd?

“I’m truly surprised that you would do something like this. What if I’m not really the Grand Duchess?”

“We’ve already completed the verification process. You don’t need to hide anymore.”

Verification process, my ass. Does this bastard really want to die?

It’s not just Beria. The others also make strange expressions, as if they have nothing to say.

“So what? Even if you bring down Stalin and put me in his place, it won’t improve this war.”

“If we can buy a little time, there’s a possibility. New divisions are still being reinforced from the rear. America also knows that we can’t fall to Germany and is actively helping us.”

“What do you want to do now?”

For now, we need to stop the German army somehow, so I’ll play along with you. But at the very least, shouldn’t there be a concrete plan?

“We need a focal point. You should ascend to the Tsar’s throne, Grand Duchess. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to hold an official coronation during wartime. But you can become Tsar with the blessing of the Red Army—no, the new Imperial Army—in front of the citizens of Moscow.”

So they want to declare that they have public support.

Moreover, the new Imperial Army. Isn’t this proving that the new Tsar has the definite support of the military?

“Isn’t a sudden regime change dangerous? Even though Stalin ruined the war and public sentiment is at rock bottom, these are still Russians who have lived under communism. There will be confusion.”

After all, it’s been a communist regime for a long time since the revolution.

With Stalin’s death, there’s a possibility of sudden chaos.

“That’s why we’re going for a ‘Russian Socialist Empire’ for now. ‘All power to the Soviets under the God-protected Tsar.’ Isn’t that fine? Officially, the country will be called the Russian Empire.”

So they want to formally maintain socialism internally while returning to an empire.

They must have prepared quite thoroughly. Beria probably prepared for several months.

“You had everything prepared in advance.”

Although the preparation period was probably short, this shows dedication.

Well, now I can’t avoid it anymore. An American escape has become difficult, but fine. I’ll be their Tsar or whatever.

“It may be called a socialist empire, but the Soviet will essentially function as the Duma. After the war, it will be a complete return to the empire.”

“Fine. Let’s try it.”

When else would I use my invincibility cheat if not now?

Due to the wartime situation, the coronation was held unofficially and impromptu in front of the Kremlin Palace.

Dressed in a marshal’s uniform, I officially ascended to the Tsar’s throne among the Russian people and the Red Army in front of the Kremlin Palace.

“From now on, the citizens of Moscow will unite to focus on fortifying Moscow! I too will join the people in building pillboxes and establishing defense lines. I will never leave!”

Waaaaaaah!

The Moscow citizens united to help build defense lines under the directive of the Soviet Central Committee of the new Tsar’s government.

They built pillboxes, dug impromptu trenches, and even buried unusable tanks to create makeshift pillboxes.

All of Russia’s capabilities were focused on Moscow.

“The Tsar is personally building pillboxes despite being a woman! Let’s all join in!”

The citizens of Moscow, seeing my actions, became energized like a beating heart. Hearts that had seemed on the verge of cardiac arrest just recently were now pulsing with life.

The fortunate thing is that Germany is proposing negotiations in front of Moscow.

The NKVD changed its sign to Okhrana and joined in preparing Moscow’s defense.

“Commander Zhukov.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“The German army lacks winter equipment. Let’s hold out until General Winter arrives. Can we do it?”

Unfortunately, we need to hold out for longer, which makes it harder.

But we must do it anyway.

We need to hold out until the Rasputitsa and aim for a counterattack.

“With our reserves, if we unite and defend, we have a good chance of success. We lost Leningrad—no, Petrograd—but we will never surrender Moscow.”

“Good. Take command of the defense line with Deputy Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Vasilevsky. Since the generals have put me on the Tsar’s throne, let’s give it a try. Let’s protect this country and drive out the Germans.”

We need to survive first.

It’s important to arrange for Maria to be able to leave.

I never thought I’d end up wearing a communist uniform.

I did wear one as a special staff member, but this is a marshal’s uniform.

They’ve roughly removed the hammer and sickle, but still, the Russian Tsar wearing the marshal uniform of the communist Red Army that overthrew the Tsarist regime.

“Can’t be helped. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll hold on tight.”

Even if I run, it’s right to do my best to defend before running.

Despite appearances, I’ve played defense games diligently, so let’s see what I can do now that the arrow has left the bowstring.

* * *

German Camp near Moscow

Heinz Guderian, commander of the 2nd Panzer Army, looked at Moscow from a distance and found it strange.

“This is truly odd. I heard Stalin’s public support had plummeted, but Moscow is as quiet as if there were no people.”

By “quiet,” he meant that Moscow was preparing to face the German army more than expected. What was going on?

Well, it doesn’t matter. The German army had captured Leningrad before General Winter arrived, and now they were targeting Moscow. Of course, Poles and Ukrainians were causing trouble from behind, but if this great battle ended in victory, things would change.

After the German-Soviet peace talks failed, the German army finally began its attack on Moscow.

And Germany experienced something unbelievable.

“You bastards! You’ll never enter Moscow!”

“Not a single fascist should be allowed into Moscow.”

“Losing to Germany in World War I was enough!”

The Soviets had been known to pick up weapons from fallen comrades due to shortages. But the Soviet Union was clearly the aggressor.

Public sentiment toward Stalin was known to be at its worst, with some even cursing him.

Even in Russian-occupied territories, there were those who criticized Stalin for initiating the invasion.

They thought Moscow would be no different.

But there were many communist monsters who fought while strangling members of the Wehrmacht to death, even as their bodies were riddled with bullets.

Why were these people fighting so fiercely for Stalin, who had ruined their country?