Chapter 76: Enraging a True Man of Culture
Throughout all of human history, few rulers received as bad as a reputation as Tsar Nicholas II had. Not because he was particularly brutal, ruthless, and despotic. But rather due to the sheer incompetency he displayed during his reign over the Russian Empire.
To call the Tsar horrifically misunderstood would be the understatement of a lifetime. The sad truth of the matter is he had been thrust into power long before he was fit, or capable of ruling over a small town, let alone one of the world's largest empires and pre-eminent powers.
And this was the fault of his father, a man who had simply performed his role as a monarch poorly, who appeared to be more interested in repressing his people than actually grooming his heir to take over the throne after he had died.
Which was rather sudden at that due to a bad case of kidney inflammation. Which at the time was often fatal. Furthermore, Nicholas was deeply paranoid about the people after having been forced to witness the gruesome assassination of his grandfather at a young age.
Whose last words were essentially a warning that he, too, would be killed by the very peasants he ruled over. These words were almost prophetic in a way as Nicholas and his entire family were eventually murdered in cold blood by the Bolsheviks after losing the Russian Civil War during Bruno's past life.
It was because of this that Bruno particularly pitied the Tsar and the House of Romanov, even if they were bound to eventually become enemies of the German Reich in the forthcoming
Great War.
It was because of this that the Tsar who was currently hiding in Siberia as his generals, or more specifically, Bruno, fought the Bolsheviks on his behalf. He was, for the most part, left entirely out of military affairs.
That is, except for the parts he took particular interest in. Such as the design of a new steel helmet for the Russian Army. Tsar Nicholas II was perhaps what one might facetiously refer to as a "man of culture."
So much so that the man had during Bruno's past life chosen to neglect properly
manufacturing and distributing steel helmets to his soldiers because they did not match his sense of aesthetics.
Even with the French offering 15,000 Model 1915 Adrian Helmets during the Great War as material aid, the Tsar was hesitant to have his soldiers make use of them. This stubbornness to put appearance over protection had prevented the Russian Army from addressing the issue of severe head trauma until very late in the war.