Bulgarian Empire

Chapter 154: 14) Greater Bulgaria

Having failed to get the desired result in Paris, the British turned their attention to St. Petersburg to gain the Russians' support.

The Russians still gave a face and agreed to participate in the investigation commission organized by the British. Still, their attitude on the Armenian issue differed greatly from that of the British.

Nikolai II was not interested in the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The Russian Empire had done many such things, not even a few more than the Turks did!

The main concern of the Russians was the Turkish Straits. Still, after the last Russo-Turkish War, the Russian government's strategy changed, shifting its focus eastward, which became more evident when Nikolai II came to power.

The Russian Empire could tolerate this major route in the hands of the declining Ottoman Empire or in the hands of any weak state for that matter. Even after the Bulgarian-Serbian War, there was no shortage of support for the Bulgarians to take control of the Turkish Straits! (At one point in history, Russia supported Bulgaria's capture of Constantinople)

But Ferdinand was unsure if this was a test of the Russian government to Bulgaria, in the spirit of security first, giving a refusal because the Bulgarian navy was not strong enough to play the game!

It is obvious that the British intentions, again, have fallen flat! The Russians were indeed coveting Constantinople, but after several consecutive failures, the Russian government did not trust the British and suspected them of having bad intentions again!

Moreover, Russia's Far East strategy is now at a critical moment, with the British supporting Japan in the Sino-Japanese War. Nikolai II considers the Far East strategy far more critical than the Armenian issue!

Nikolai II made the same judgment as in history. He believed that the British were trying to undermine the Russian Empire's Far East strategy and wanted to tie the hands of the Russian Empire with the Near East crisis.

Not to mention that now the Russian Empire has an extra minion and a fighter in the Balkans called Bulgaria, which is under control even in case of an accident.

The attitude of the Russian Empire has completely declared the collapse of the British Near East policy!

Due to the different attitudes of the Great Powers, intervention in Armenia's problems was almost useless. In April 1895, the British, French, and Russian ambassadors in Turkey jointly drafted the Plan for the Reform of Armenian Provinces, which was very moderate and had minimal reforms.

Still, it was opposed by the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs - Lobanov, claiming: that the Armenians would not be satisfied unless they carried out the reforms throughout the Turkish Asian region.

Ferdinand couldn't help but praise Lobanov's decision. He so well did it that the Russian Empire was on the side of the Sultan, and the British Near East policy was crumbling!

Due to the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in South Africa, the Anglo-German conflict intensified, and the Germans explicitly refused to participate in the British strategy for the Near East. Any of the Great Powers did not support Salisbury's plan to divide the country.

As for separate interventions, well! The Royal Navy of the British Empire is the best in the world! The army? The army is not so good at suppressing the vast colonies at the same time, but also able to launch attacks on the Boers, which is already a superb performance!

If you come back to fight with the Ottoman Empire, there is no guarantee will fight who. If the other Great Powers come down again, they may be unable to keep their hands-on Egypt!

It was here that Ferdinand breathed a deep sigh of relief, the biggest crisis in Bulgaria since he succeeded the throne. It passed so smoothly in the waves!

After turning his attention back to the country, late problems remain while the Bulgarian-Serbian War is over.

In 1894, because of the outbreak of war, the Bulgarian government spent hundreds of millions of resources before and after. In addition to war spending, the largest expenditure was instead spent on public relations!

The good thing is that the military made a profit in Serbia, which made up for the losses, and the late pensions were offset by land, saving tens of millions of money. Otherwise, the government would now have to consider selling real estate to survive.

What is the value of the new land? Now there are not even a few people, the so-called real estate, and how much is it worth? In addition to land, the city's real estate, it is estimated that the price is too cheap to sell, and then someone has to buy it!

Even so, the financial situation in Bulgaria now is still terrible. In order to raise money, the cabinet is worried sick!

The Second Five-Year Plan must continue to unfold and catch up with the delayed progress; the new land needs to be developed, immigrants need to be brought in, and they must extend the railroad network and road network.

These require a lot of money to invest, thankfully: Ferdinand, at the beginning of the import of immigrants, are honest farmers, there is no trouble. Otherwise, now the Bulgarian government will really break up!

The Armenian issue also scared a lot of people, including the Bulgarian government. It is lucky that the Serbs were sent back. Otherwise, it is possible to mess up again one day.

In this regard, the Bulgarians themselves are experienced, and many people in the government participated in the Bulgarian independence movement. For these operations, we all know what is going on!

Now the main priority is different, the bottom decides the head, and the Armenians are making independence in the Ottoman Empire, and everyone is sympathetic and supportive.

But if someone wants to come to Bulgaria once, they must eliminate another different attitude in the cradle!

Ferdinand's "strategy of being Bulgarianized" has been pursued more rapidly, and the government has introduced a series of supporting policies. For example:

Establish restrictions on naturalization for non-Bulgarians (except for talented persons at the highest level); preference for Bulgarians in access to education, health care, etc.; government preference for hiring ethnic Bulgarians as public officials...

What's even more bizarre is that this "Bulgarian ethnicity" is no longer "traditional Bulgarian ethnicity". It is not divided by ancestry!

As long as you consider yourself a Bulgarian and are willing to be ruled by the Bulgarian government and learn the Bulgarian language and culture, you are a Bulgarian!

Simply put, every Bulgarian can be a Bulgarian. No matter which race you are, you can be a Bulgarian! Even if you are dark-skinned or yellow-skinned, as long as you recognize everything about Bulgaria and are willing to give up your original racial identity, the Bulgarian government treats all equally and does not discriminate in any way!

Broadly speaking, the Bulgarian government is diluting the concept of ethnicity and using language, writing, and national culture to classify the broad sense of the same ethnic group, as it would perhaps be more appropriate to call Bulgarians!

Anyway, the Bulgarians are also ethnic blends, from ancient times to the present, a thousand years, who is not sure how many races of blood flowing in their bodies, and then make a "Greater Bulgaria" to, we do not have pressure!