I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 783 Russian-American Alliance
Even without investing in new factories, output will gradually increase as productivity improves.

George will not forget the coming Great Depression. Compared with this economic crisis, all previous economic crises are child's play.

George hoped that Russia would be adequately prepared before the Great Depression arrived.

After the Rivne exercise, nearly 15 officers and soldiers retired, and George would send some of them to East India and Australia.

Western Austria is about to hold a referendum in October, and a local media survey shows that about 10% of Western Austrians are in favor of independence.

The remaining 50% are not all opposed. Most of them don’t care, and only a small number clearly express opposition.

What George is worried about now is that if Britain and Australia do not recognize the referendum results, there is a great possibility that war will break out in Theo.

Of course, this depends on whether Theo's attitude is firm.

In 1933, in another time and space, Theo held a referendum, and 66% of Westerners were in favor of independence.

The referendum failed because the British Parliament did not approve it.

this--

It's obviously a serious matter, but it's made to look like a joke.

On September 9, the Rovno exercise ended and the Russian Ministry of Defense held a thank-you banquet as usual, and George attended.

This year's Rovno exercise was fruitful. It not only tested the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, but also reached a series of arms purchase agreements with a total value of 1.5 million rubles.

Don't think it's too little. A new Russian Type 22 armored fighting vehicle costs only 30 rubles. Compared with battleships that cost tens of millions of rubles, it is really good value for money.

It’s not cheap actually.

If calculated by tonnage, the unit cost of an armored vehicle is about 10 times that of a battleship.

Compared with the Type 22 armored vehicle, the Type 18 light armored vehicle is cheaper, costing only 15 rubles.

The Type 18 is nominally an improvement on the old tank, but in fact there are basically no changes. It is just a refurbished and sold tank that Russia equipped during the World War.

Russia produced about 2500 tanks during the world war. Although not as many as France, its armor was thicker, its firepower was more fierce, its mobility was stronger, and it was more competitive.

After the end of World War II, Russia still had nearly 1000 tanks, but their performance was seriously outdated and they were on the verge of being eliminated.

Even second-hand goods that have been eliminated by Russia are still sufficient for other countries.

Not all countries need a strong national defense to ensure their security like Russia does.

For many countries, especially some countries around Russia, purchasing weapons and equipment from Russia is more of a political need.

For example, the Kingdom of Hungary purchased 100 Type 18 light tanks.

Even if the Kingdom of Hungary purchases 1000 vehicles, it is not enough to ensure the security of the Kingdom of Hungary. Purchasing Russian tanks at this time is actually paying protection fees.

The Kingdom of Romania also bought 100 vehicles.

Based on the relationship between Russia and the Kingdom of Romania, even if Romania does not buy it, Russia will guarantee the security of the Kingdom of Romania.

But the elder brother protects the younger brother from wind and rain, and the younger brother should also help the elder brother solve his problems, so the Kingdom of Romania paid the money very happily without considering whether it would be renovated or not.

As of the 30th, Russia has sold a total of 850 Type 18 tanks. Not only has it sold out all the second-hand goods in its warehouse, but Russia also needs to produce more than tanks to meet the order demand.

What’s amazing is that not only these Eastern European countries, but even Japan also purchased 30 Type 18 tanks from Russia for training and research purposes.

Japan--

George hasn't paid attention to news about Japan for a long time, ever since Japan paid off its reparations to Russia.

Japan is also funny. After recalling hundreds of thousands of Gao Ri Corps soldiers, Japan began to send laborers to Russia again the following year, and the scale and number of people were larger.

The most popular maids in Vladivostok now are Japanese maids.

This is not the first time that Japan has purchased weapons and equipment from Russia. Because the Japanese Army has become accustomed to Russian equipment, the current Japanese army is almost entirely equipped with Russian equipment.

In general, not only did the remittances that Japan earned through employment return to Russia in the form of military purchases, but it also included part of the loans from Britain and the United States.

The impression George gets from Japan today is that it is another Philippines.

Speaking of the Philippines——

After defeating the Spaniards, the United States did not directly administer the Philippines. Instead, it supported local autonomous governments through the so-called "decolonization" and allowed the Filipinos to manage themselves.

What Americans call "decolonization" is essentially about pursuing benefits without taking on any obligations.

In order to turn the Philippines into a source of raw materials and a dumping ground for American goods, the tariffs between the United States and the Philippines are very low, which not only facilitates the entry of American goods into the Philippine market, but also gives the green light for Philippine goods to enter the US market.

Then the problem arises.

The Filipinos, who had been colonized by the Spanish for 300 years, had very low purchasing power. Not only were the cars that the United States had high hopes for ignored, but few could even afford oil lamps. This led to very low sales of American products in the Philippine market.

On the other hand, Philippine agricultural products are more popular in the US market because of their low prices.

This has led to growing dissatisfaction among farmers in the southern United States, and calls for higher tariffs and restrictions on the entry of Philippine products into the US market have grown louder and louder.

If the United States wants to raise tariffs, it must first amend the law, which is not a task that can be accomplished in a day or two.

Not only do the Filipinos fail to realize that they are about to be abandoned by their American father, but they are complacent about their status as second-class Americans and their attitude toward neighboring countries is becoming increasingly tough.

Next to the Philippines is the Grand Principality of Yuriev.

In the past two years, there have been more and more conflicts between the two countries over fishing. In the eyes of the Filipinos, although the Grand Duchy of Yuriev has Russia as its backer, the Philippines also has the United States as its father, and their status and position are similar.

Because the United States has troops stationed in the Philippines and Russia has no troops stationed in the Grand Principality of Yuriev, the Philippines seems to have the upper hand simply in terms of the level of importance.

The observation group sent by the Grand Duchy of Yuriev was led by Deputy Defense Minister Olcott.

George ignored the dispute between the Grand Duchy of Yuriev and the Philippines, and Peter took the initiative to find Olcott and asked if he needed help.

"Of course, of course. If you can sell us two ships, Gangut or Queen, at a discount, we won't have to worry about any threats."

Alcott opened his mouth wide.

Peter turned and walked away.

After the end of World War II, Russia sold the two battleships that Japan had used as debt repayment to Japan, and sold a "Gangut" and a "Queen" to the Kingdom of Romania and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as flagships respectively. Russia itself only had three "Ganguts", three "Queens", and three "Romanovs", and no new battleships were built.

Now three "Ganguts" are in the Atlantic Fleet, three "Queens" are in the Mediterranean Fleet, and the last three "Romanovs" are in the Pacific. Peter has submitted several reports to build new battleships but has never received any response. The Grand Duchy of Yuriev actually wants to steal Russia's talents.

Also discounted——

It's really unbearable.

Although Russia did not build battleships, it built two new aircraft carriers.

The two aircraft carriers were named "Suvorov" and "Kutuzov" respectively.

Kutuzov is a legendary Russian general who is as famous as Suvorov. I will not go into details about his life's achievements. I will just say that Kutuzov died of illness while pursuing Napoleon.

Both "Kutuzov" and "Suvorov" were assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, while the Mediterranean Fleet and the Pacific Fleet were still waiting.

"Marshal, you said you would help—"

Alcott grabbed Peter and wouldn't let him go.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

Peter has a bad attitude.

"His Majesty asked me to give you his regards—"

Alcott played the family card.

Peter snorted, but he had to give face to the king's nephew.

"Two armored cruisers at most, if you want."

"% off."

Alcott sharpened his knife.

"Original price."

"Then we might as well build it ourselves."

"casual."

The Grand Duchy of Yuriev can indeed build armored cruisers, but there is no demand for them. For the Grand Duchy of Yuriev, a light cruiser with a main gun caliber not exceeding 155 mm and a displacement not exceeding 6000 tons is sufficient to meet the needs.

The conflict between the Philippines and the Grand Duchy of Yuriev has its roots in Russia and the United States.

Although Russia and the United States have broad common interests on some issues, there is also widespread competition while there is cooperation, especially on the issue of investment in Germany.

Since Russia is closer to Germany and invested in Germany earlier, Russian products are more popular than American products in Germany.

In order to compete with Russian goods, Americans had to lower the prices of their goods, which gradually led to a vicious cycle.

No matter how much the prices of American goods drop, they will never be lower than the cost of Russian goods.

If Russia starts lowering prices like the United States, neither Russia nor the United States will make money, and Germany will only reap the benefits.

While the Rovno exercises were taking place, Felix was negotiating with Frank Kellogg, hoping to reach an agreement on foreign trade.

The content of the negotiations is actually very simple. As long as the two countries unanimously decide not to engage in a price war, both Russia and the United States will make money.

It is not difficult for Russia to do this, after all, Russia's exports are dominated by the Russian government.

The United States is a bit difficult. Compared with Russia, the United States is not a loose group, but it is also a loose federation.

During the World War, the United States officially replaced Britain as the country with the highest export trade volume in the world.

Russia is a latecomer, having only begun to expand its foreign trade after the end of World War II.

Although Russia started relatively late, it has strong momentum and its current trade volume with European countries has exceeded that of the United States.

Therefore, the negotiations between Russia and the United States naturally attracted the attention of the whole of Europe.

Especially the UK.

After the Suez Canal changed hands, Britain, no matter how slow it was, finally realized the dangers of the Russian-American alliance.

Russian-American alliance!

It’s exciting to think about.

(End of this chapter)