The Story of How Russia Unleashed World War I and Why

The fact that Germany unleashed the War, taking advantage of Austria-Hungary's difficult position in connection with the assassination of the heir to the throne, has become so commonplace and generally accepted that no one dares to reconsider the true causes of the war. It's simply uninteresting to anyone to understand that the First World War was unleashed not at all by Germany and Austria-Hungary, but by Russia, taking advantage of the national hysteria that it had been fanning in Serbia for a long time, and of course the boastful chivalry of the noble European monarchs.

As sad as it is, due to many reasons, it is not profitable for anyone to sort out this story, as too many skeletons would have to be extracted from the dusty archives of history.

Nevertheless, we will sort out this story, at least for ourselves.

The key event, after which it was impossible to stop the machine of war, was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The Assassination

This terrorist act was carried out by the Bosnian organization Young Bosnia (Mlada Bosna), which was created, trained, armed and directed onto the true path by Serbia's foreign intelligence.

Serbia's intelligence was headed by the notorious Apis, Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević.

A completely stunning personality who fits excellently into the general picture of Russia's favorites, for which it is enough to recall one episode of his career, namely the murder of the royal couple of the then-ruling Obrenović dynasty in 1903, when Serbia's Prime Minister Dimitrije Cincar-Marković and Defense Minister Milovan Pavlović were also killed.

This patriotic act of Apis was excellently described by Russian journalist V. Teplov:

"The Serbs covered themselves not only with the shame of regicide, which in itself admits no two opinions, but also with their truly bestial manner of action toward the corpses of the Royal Couple they had killed.

After Alexander and Draga fell, the murderers continued to shoot at them and hack their corpses with sabers: they struck the King with six revolver shots and 40 saber blows, and the Queen with 63 saber blows and two revolver bullets. The Queen was almost entirely hacked to pieces, her breast cut off, her belly opened, her cheeks and hands also cut, especially large cuts between her fingers - probably the Queen grabbed the saber with her hands when they were killing her, which apparently refutes the doctors' opinion that she was killed immediately.

In addition, her body was covered with numerous bruises from kicks by the officers who trampled on her.

About other outrages against Draga's corpse I prefer not to speak, they are so monstrous and disgusting.

When the murderers had had their fill of fun with the defenseless corpses, they threw them through the window into the palace garden, with Draga's corpse being completely naked" (Teplov unambiguously hints that the conspirators raped the dead Queen!)

The bodies of the king and queen lay under the palace windows for several more days.

Thus tragically ended the many years of rule of the House of Obrenović, who were not very sympathetic to Russia, and in place of the former dynasty came the Karađorđević family to power, in the person of King Peter I, who was actually a great friend of Russia.

The Network of Terror

Dragutin Dimitrijević headed not only Serbia's intelligence, but was also the curator, founder and ideological inspiration of the terrorist organization Black Hand, and he also supervised the terrorists from Young Bosnia.

The Black Hand, which Dimitrijević headed, Young Bosnia, and other nationalist organizations were supervised and financed by Russia's military intelligence, and personally by the Russian ambassador in Belgrade, Nikolai Genrikhovich Hartwig.

It is understandable that financing Serbian terrorists and many other terrorist organizations was profitable only for Russia, since it was precisely through the hands of local nationalists that she cleared the road for her army to occupy the region, while remaining as if uninvolved.

That the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the work of Colonel Dimitrijević is clear at least because:

• Immediately before the assassination attempt, Colonel Dimitrijević met with Hartwig, from whom he received the final instructions for conducting the terrorist act
• The Archduke's intentions to reform the Austro-Hungarian Empire toward expanding the rights of the Slavs living in it represented a certain threat to pan-Slavism and Yugoslav nationalism; actually, after his reforms, Russia would have had no chances left to gain power over the region.

That is precisely why, as soon as the order came from Russia to kill the Archduke, the colonel moved to active measures.

Why the Assassination Benefited Dimitrijević

It must be understood that Russia, after numerous fiascoes in military conflicts, understood perfectly well that to achieve set goals it was not always worth resorting to direct intervention, but it was much more profitable to undermine a country from within. Especially since the pretext chosen for this purpose appeared outwardly more than respectable.

So the goal of both Young Bosnia and the Black Hand was to unite all South Slavic peoples: Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, Bosnians, Montenegrins into a single state - Greater Serbia.

Whether other representatives of these peoples wanted this was of little interest to the nationalists themselves; the goal they set was, in their understanding, sacred, and each of them was prepared in advance to die for it.

Their enterprise was also of little interest to the Austro-Hungarian Empire itself, since Greater Serbia laid claim to most of its lands. Giving up lands was not part of the Empire's plans, and therefore the only possibility of obtaining them was war.

A war that the Serbs would nobly call a War for Independence, and would bring an unthinkable number of victims in the course of it. A war that would begin at Russia's initiative and would be entirely and completely financed by her.

A war as a result of which no new Independent Serbia would appear, but a war as a result of which Greater Serbia would become Russia's new colony. But none of the Serbian nationalists wanted to understand this, for the confidence that Russia was financing their anti-government activities from a pure heart never left them.

Why Russia Needed War

1. Constantinople (Second Rome)

Russia wanted to obtain through war the Constantinople so coveted by her!

To obtain or "return Tsargrad" was that very idea on which the star of Muscovy-Russia arose. Long before the founding of Russia, from the day the concept of Moscow-Third Rome appeared, Muscovy-Russia's most important task was, as she believed, to restore control over the New Rome, which supposedly became hers after the Moscow prince married the daughter of the Despot of Morea - Zoe Paleologus. And then to restore (more precisely, establish) control over the entire Christian world.

In the last Russo-Turkish war, Russia almost achieved this goal of hers, but due to an absurd coincidence of circumstances, she could not establish control over the liberated (occupied) Bulgaria and Serbia.

2. Pan-Slavism

The political elite of the Russian Empire, headed by the then Foreign Minister Sergei Dmitrievich Sazonov, like Dragutin Dimitrijević and Nicholas II, was concerned about the future of Slavic peoples who suffered under the yoke of Germans and Ottomans and could not somehow reunite with the mother of all Slavs - Russia.

Although the idea of Pan-Slavism, namely the unification of all Slavic peoples under the rule of the Russian tsar, seemed sacred in itself, at least to its bearers, it ended exactly where the idea of the Third Rome began. Since after reunification with Russia, the Slavs would share the fate of all other peoples enslaved by the Empire of the Third Rome - to spare no effort to do everything to enthrone the king of kings, the ruling Russian monarch, at that time Nicholas II, on the throne of the world.

That is precisely why one of the most important roles was assigned to Serbia, since it was the outpost of Orthodoxy and Russian influence in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole.

At the same time, the entry of a unified Greater Serbia into Russia's composition served the interests of both all future rulers of Serbia and Russia itself.

3. Expanding the Empire's Borders Westward

Russia laid claim to:

• Eastern Galicia, which was part of the Habsburg Empire
• East Prussia

If we recall that Russia received both Eastern Galicia and East Prussia, though as a result of the next world war, it becomes clear that the West understood all this time that the USSR differed in nothing from its progenitor and was nothing other than a Bolshevik reincarnation of the Russian Empire, with all the same paranoid maniacal idea of ruling the world.

4. Establishing Control Over the Straits

Russia wanted to obtain Constantinople not only as the Second Rome, so necessary to them for ideological and religious considerations.

Russia pursued a quite commercially profitable goal - she wanted to establish control over the straits: the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, winning them from the dying Ottoman Empire. This would give her, from a practical point of view, the opportunity to ensure control over supplies to Europe, including oil to Germany. And since Germany urgently needed access to reserves of cheap Eastern oil, Russia would be able to become the sole supplier of resources so necessary to the growing industrial machine.

Moreover, after occupying the Ottoman Empire, Russia would have obtained an almost ready railway line that Germany was already building in Turkey.

It is clear that in addition to laying hands on oil supplies, Russia could significantly increase agricultural exports that went through Black Sea ports and straits, but compared to control over oil supplies, this was nothing.

The War for the Straits

Russia's huge problem was the fact that in 1914, capturing the straits required conducting such an amphibious operation, and since Russia had no naval forces, this plan was obviously impossible. But France and Great Britain had them, with whom Russia concluded an alliance in 1907.

Since an alliance with the Ottoman Empire was not in Russia's sphere of interests, it was necessary to do everything so that after Russia unleashed war in Europe, Turkey would find itself on one side, and Russia, Great Britain and France on the other.

The implementation of this diabolical plan is excellently described in the magnificent book by British historian Sean McMeekin "The Russian Origins of the First World War," where Sergei Sazonov's brilliant operation is described step by step - how he managed to form the Entente and skillfully unleash war in Europe, drawing into it Germany, Turkey and Austria-Hungary.

Not only did Russia manage to unleash war and draw the world's strongest powers into it, but she also managed to convince her allies to begin an amphibious operation to capture the straits!

This is exactly what English and French troops and fleet occupied themselves with for almost a whole year: from February 1915 to January 1916, vainly trying to seize the straits in order to then transfer them to Russia under a special treaty!

The genius of the plan was that not a single Russian soldier or ship participated in the operation!

Russia achieved having her allies do all the dirty work for her!

Russia most cynically used both France and Great Britain to achieve her so necessary goals.

As she also used the Armenians as a fifth column in Turkey, essentially provoking the 1915 genocide!

Why the War Began Precisely in Summer 1914

There were many reasons. But the main one was the fact that in 1910, Turkey, reasonably fearing the Russian threat, began a radical renewal of her navy. For this purpose, three dreadnoughts were ordered in Great Britain: Reşad V, Sultan Osman, and Fatih Sultan Mehmed.

Each of which carried ten 340mm and sixteen 150mm guns, and exceeded in firepower the Russian dreadnoughts of the Imperatritsa Mariya class under construction, the first of which could not be launched before autumn 1915.

Since Reşad V was to be delivered to the Ottoman Empire already in autumn 1914, a plan was adopted according to which the operation to unleash war and involve Great Britain in it should begin in summer 1914, which was actually accomplished.

Since after the terrorist attack in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary had no other choice but to present Serbia with an ultimatum.

And since Serbia was tasked with rejecting the ultimatum in any case, Austria-Hungary, acting according to etiquette, had no other choice but to declare war on Serbia.

Russia played on the chivalry of the House of Habsburg, for whom fair retribution became a matter of honor.

And since according to a pre-developed plan, France and Russia unambiguously declared that in case of war they would act on Serbia's side, Germany had no other choice but to act on the side of its ally. Again, for Germany this was a matter of honor.

The fact that Russia knew how events would develop further is evidenced by the fact that she began hidden mobilization deliberately, several days before the official declaration of war.

There remained the Ottoman Empire, which had already established very close ties with Germany and understood that if the latter fell in this war, she would have to fight Russia one-on-one at best, and at worst with the entire Entente! That is precisely why she entered the war on November 1, 1914.

Great Britain was drawn into the war by Germany's violation of Belgium's neutrality, which was part of the plan known as the Schlieffen Plan.

Conclusion

The flywheel of war spun up, and if not for Nicholas II's abdication, which destroyed all foundations of the Moscow-Third Rome concept by his act, Russia would certainly have obtained what she wanted.

But everything went differently.

One gets the sincere impression that an unknown higher power mocks Russia, initially showing her the path leading to world domination, creating for her all the prerequisites for confidence in her own invincibility and permissiveness.

But each time when, it would seem, victory is already inevitable, everything ends for her in terrible catastrophe.

So it was, so it will be...

War is catastrophe, and no one in the history of mankind will succeed in building a world on the ashes of war.

Whatever it might be called: Russian world, Third Reich, Islamic State.

And when you read the headlines of Russian media that proclaim that the Third World War is about to be unleashed by the same forces that unleashed both the First and Second, you understand that you cannot argue with that.