Reincarnated as Nikolai II

Constantinople.

An oxygen respirator for the gasping empire.

A ray of light after long hardship for all industrial zone capitalists between Moscow and Donbas.

A city that makes frontline soldiers feel they're writing new history alongside General Brusilov.

Though Ottoman forces' resistance continues and complete occupation still needs several more months, perhaps it's not strange that one city resonates more than Poland.

"The, the Constantinople Patriarch has come into our Orthodox Church's hands?"

"Rome? Pope? Get lost! Now only our Eastern Orthodox Church is truth!"

"The Western Church without tradition and full of division? We'll show them religious unification led by Orthodoxy!"

First, the Orthodox believers and church making up 70% of the empire went into uproar.

Poland's farmland, railways spreading to Central Europe, ports extending to the North Sea - there's much to gain but...

"Ah forget all that, now we can expand from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean!"

"The Tsar is truly the protector of Orthodoxy! By occupying Constantinople, he's created a path to expand to North Africa, Arabia, and the Dead Sea like the Ottoman Empire of the past!"

Yet the common people couldn't give clear answers to "So what's immediately good about Poland?"

They couldn't relate to causing German food shortages thousands of kilometers away in the rear or being able to solidify the Baltic Sea after the war.

Even hearing such explanations might inspire patriotism and applaud national prestige, but there was nothing tangibly felt.

However, Constantinople was different.

"...We really get to access the Mediterranean? The island nation folks will just sit and watch this?"

"The Far East and Ottoman. Our empire has taken both ends of Asia?"

"Um... If we go down a bit more from here, isn't that Jerusalem?"

Taking this place doesn't simply mean increased territory like Poland.

They thought the Great Game was a draw, but this makes it Russia's victory.

With Patriarch dioceses increasing and continuous victories in the Great War appearing like Orthodox Church victories, its status rises to rival Catholicism.

Originally there was no expansion direction possible except the Far East, but Constantinople could become a foothold for tremendous expansion.

With both Baltic and Black Seas frozen and railways half monopolized by the military, imperial logistics had stopped, but with the Black Sea opened, the empire's war-making ability and economic stability naturally follow.

What all these facts point to - isn't it proof that light shines on Russia?

[Moscow, Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg. All 4 Major Stock Exchanges Rise Together!]

[From Berlin to Byzantium? From Blagoveshchensk to Byzantium!]

[Now an era where women too must plow fields and take up tools.]

Population rapidly increasing since Nikolai's reign and young people flooding to cities after agricultural reform.

The government had made persistent efforts over many years to address unemployment and create stable employment opportunities for the population through various economic initiatives and reforms. The outbreak of war unexpectedly helped resolve this longstanding challenge by creating an unprecedented demand for workers across multiple sectors of the economy.

The economic impact went beyond simply resolving unemployment - household earnings saw significant increases as the wartime economy drew women into the industrial workforce in large numbers. Women took up positions in factories, transportation, and other vital industries that had traditionally been male-dominated, leading to dual-income households becoming more common.

Though public sentiment toward the monarchy had already been clearly demonstrated during the lavish tercentenary celebrations of the Romanov dynasty in 1913, when millions of citizens across the empire participated in parades, church services, and festivities marking 300 years of Romanov rule. The widespread participation and enthusiasm during these events served as a powerful testament to the popular support enjoyed by Tsar Nicholas II and the imperial family at that time.

"God protect the Tsar!"

"Long live His Majesty Nikolai! Long live the Romanovs!"

"We support the Emperor's war!"

The war that gained Constantinople after Poland once again elevated the Tsar to a superhuman position.

War sentiment grows strong within the empire.

Everyone shouts with one heart and mind to now bring down Berlin too.

And as if responding to this will, the government...

<Volunteer Enlistment Recruitment>

Requirements: Not firstborn son or head of household, No physical disabilities, Has wife's relatives, 19 years or older-

For the first time, they accepted volunteer enlistments.

Young men gathered friends to submit enlistment applications together.

Unlike before, recruiters this time purely accepted their documents.

Lovers and families proudly celebrated their sons' enlistments.

Everyone is happy.

Everyone agrees with the war.

Russia still didn't know the horror of war.

==

June.

Witte died.

It hadn't even been a year since he stepped down as Senator, and judging by the various articles and documents still piled in his room, he seemed to have worked for the empire until his dying moment.

The Tsar wanted to commemorate the great reformer's death with a state funeral, but it was canceled due to Kokovtsov's own opposition.

They couldn't hold a grand state funeral in the rear when they couldn't even collect allied corpses on the front lines.

Still, with the news printed in newspapers, an overall atmosphere of mourning did form.

Kokovtsov hoped he departed somewhat comforted by the tears of many.

"...Even after retirement, the giant's absence is felt."

Stolypin, who started his career under Witte, seemed to feel quite empty at his death.

"With the one who occasionally guided me by letter even during the war gone, it feels even more so. Though he opposed the war itself."

As Stolypin said, Witte shouted anti-war stance until the moment war broke out.

Though it couldn't have been easy opposing war while being the one who formed the alliance with France decades ago, he did so.

"That's just like Witte."

But rather, him shouting anti-war even while denying his own achievements was true to Prime Minister Witte's convictions.

Moderate, pacifist, anti-war advocate, progressive reformer, bureaucracy believer.

All words describing Witte as a person.

Before completely covering the coffin, the gathered mourners approach one by one, each taking their solemn turn to speak softly or offer personal prayers while gazing upon his peaceful, closed eyes. After their private moment of farewell, they quietly return to their wooden seats in the chapel, heads bowed in reflection.