DIPLOMATIC EFFECTS / CH. 29:TREATIES
ST PETERSBURG AIRPORT, MONDAY 28TH APRIL, 2279
Catherine and Dan, the editorial team of the New Republican Post, accompanied by little Caroline stepped off the plane, and found themselves being greeted by a lady they recognised, wearing a full-skirted formal gown, flanked by a couple of security guards.
“Catherine, Dan, Caroline welcome to Russia,” Olga said, “As you're aware, we do some things differently here. You're getting the V.I.P. treatment.”
“Am I allowed to ask why?” Catherine asked.
“To ensure that no one makes a career-ending mistake and thinks you look like you'd give them a bribe if they try to bully you.”
“Is it really so common?” Catherine asked.
“It happened to Princess Claire of Basse-Monaco about a year ago.”
“Oh yes, I read about that.”
“And do you remember going to Atlantis, Caroline?” Olga asked.
Caroline nodded, shyly.
“And was it a nice place to visit?”
Caroline nodded, “pretty.”
“It is, isn't it? Well I hope you have nice memories of coming here, too.”
“And not just of mummy going from one meeting to another and talking talking talking,” Dan said.
“I don't think we can avoid that, Dan,” Catherine said, “Since that's why we got invited here.”
“Let's go and get your passports registered and collect your luggage,” Olga said.
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DUCHESS OF MOSCOW COURT, MONDAY 28TH APRIL
“Hi, come in, welcome,” Svetlana said, looking up from her assignment.
“That looks like a familiar graph,” Dan said. “You're taking economics?”
“Shh. Don't tell anyone,” Svetlana said. “It's a secret.”
“Really?”
“Crown Princess Svetlana of Russia is a figure who occasionally steps into the spotlight, has a tendency to turn the world upside down and seemingly has no social life,” Svetlana said. “For her safety it is important that she is not known to frequent any particular place outside the palace and this court, which is sort of a less-formal annex of the palace, unless she's accompanied by a dozen bodyguards. On the other hand, I've got to finish this assignment tonight so I can hand it in early, otherwise I won't be able to play gracious royal patroness to your lecture series. But I'm very tempted to remind the lecturer who set this about your lecture series, and suggest that setting extra homework because of cancelled lectures is entirely the wrong approach to things, when the point of cancelling the lectures was to give students time to consider what you say.”
“But you can't because...?”
“Because Tsarevna Svetlana's not taking the course, of course.”
“You're taking it under a pseudonym?” Catherine asked.
“Yes. I'm taking the course under a pseudonym, I'm involved in the Christian Union under a pseudonym, I've been in the news on numerous occasions under a pseudonym, including for my engagement. It really helps that my cousins and I look quite alike. Hopefully, needless to say, please don't think about publishing this, it's a state secret of the sort that gets people in deep deep trouble.”
“Are many of your cousins engaged?” Catherine asked.
“Just me,” Svetlana said, grinning.
“So, would I be right in saying it's a good thing we don't have a car to park in the wrong place then?”
“Absolutely correct!” Svetlana laughed.
“I must admit to wondering, when I read that Princess Claire and Prince Rudolph had met in Atlantis,” Catherine said. “I certainly noticed him spending time with you.”
“Thank you for not writing about that,” Svetlana said.
“Our readership wouldn't have been interested,” Dan said, “but I must admit they are interested in finding out if you've secretly got republican leanings, given that you're inviting Catherine to give this lecture series.”
“What I'm trying to do with these lectures is encourage people to stop hiding their ideas away from public scrutiny. I want a small government, because otherwise the bureaucracy becomes ridiculous in a country this size. I want a strong government, where people have no doubt about who's in charge, because that's a cultural expectation of our people and chaos follows when the government is seen to be weak. I want stability. We've got those things, to some extent, but corruption leads to unfairness and uncertainty that shouldn't be there. I also want an accessible government, where problems — like corruption — are not hidden away from sight.”
“You don't think that suddenly making problems visible will lead to people perceiving that the government is not in charge.”
“That would be another part of my ideal, yes. But when I say hidden from sight, I mean that those in power and able to do things about the problem, know about the problem.”
“So you don't so much want problems discussed in public, but brought to your attention privately?”
“If I'm the one who's got to solve them, yes. But there are problems everyone knows about: corruption, for example.” Svetlana paused, and said, “But please! Don't feel I'm setting you an agenda to address in your lectures, I presume you've already got a plan of what to say, and you have absolute freedom of conscience and as long as you don't go calling for armed revolt against the Tsar, you're allowed to air any political opinion you like in your lectures. Be more circumspect in other circumstances: if anyone tries to get you talking about your ideas on the street for example, you should invite them to the lectures or some pre-arranged seminar.”
“Public political debate is not allowed?” Dan asked.
“Public debate is allowed, but debate in public can lead to misunderstandings, people hearing you talking about an idea you're not actually promoting, or without hearing corollaries, that sort of thing. That's led to outbreaks of trouble in the past.”
“And publication of speeches?” Dan asked.
“Not a problem at all in respected journals, where the editors know the law, and give a right of reply, etcetera. And once you are home you are of course free to publish what your wife says in your own paper, and comment on our system of government. But on the assumption you don't want to be in the middle of a diplomatic incident, I'd both recommend and appreciate it if you let Olga or Krista have a look at anything you plan to publish while you're here, just so they can point out any problems. This isn't censorship, you understand: we're not going to stop you from publishing anything. It's making sure that if you do decide to publish something that'd be against the law or getting so close to what's permitted you'd be better to get legal advice, you do so knowingly rather than inadvertently.”
“And if Olga or Krista say it's OK, then it's OK?” Dan asked.
“Krista has a degree in law and will be able to tell you what's legal, but doesn't quite know me as well as Olga. As my chief lady-in-waiting and secretary, she has my full confidence and will be able to tell you what's going to embarrass me, or what I'm likely to grant a royal pardon for if it turns out it is technically illegal.”
“So to be extra safe we get both to check?”
“You don't need to. It's not a crime to embarrass me.”
“But it is to embarrass your father.” Catherine said.
“If it was, then my brother would not be at home with his family. But, since we are skating near the issue of absolutist rule, Catherine, I want to show you this so that you do not make a mistake and perpetuate a common misunderstanding.”
Catherine accepted the piece of paper and read it. It wasn't very long:
Clarification on corrupt practices and limits on the rights of command.
A noble of baronial rank may not accept any bribe or other incentive to perform their duties in any inequitable manner, nor may they exert influence on commoners from their own barony to give preferential treatment of any person.
Although the purpose of the baronial rank is to serve the best interests of the common people they oversee, it is recognised that in meeting this goal assistance may be needed, and at short notice. Thus a noble of baronial rank may require reasonable service from any commoner from their barony, in which case they must provide an appropriate level of pay, not less than the normal wages of the selected commoner nor less than the normal rate of pay for the task accomplished. They must also declare their motivation for selecting the commoner for the task and not advertising the post in the normal manner.
Such a declaration must be made directly to the commoner in question and to their supervising noble within 24 hours of the demand for service being made.
The commoner may protest the service demand to the supervising noble, but must comply until such protest is upheld.
Similarly, a higher noble may demand reasonable service from a lower noble within their domain. A noble of baronial rank may not demand service from any commoner outside their barony, nor may a higher noble demand service from any commoner, neither directly nor through a lower noble.
For the purpose of this law, the commoner shall be deemed to be from the barony if the barony can be demonstrated to be their usual place of abode at the time of year the demand for service is made. A noble with rank in the military shall have no greater or lesser authority over other military ranks than their military rank entitles them to. A noble without military rank may request support from military and law-enforcement personnel, as provided in the relevant laws, but may not give orders.
A higher noble may request that a lower noble identify potential candidates for a position in their service, but such service of the commoner must be voluntarily agreed to and with appropriate pay and conditions.
With the agreement of his Imperial Majesty the Tsar, a higher noble may raise a commoner to a vacant position within the nobility within their domain. A demand which would require the cancellation of a wedding or other unique event in a person's life, or prevent the fulfilment of legal responsibilities is not reasonable. The commoner or lower noble should immediately protest the request for service, and the noble seek other assistance or adjust the request so as not to interfere.
In cases where an otherwise reasonable demand for service has a detrimental effect on the commoner or lower noble or their families, for example requiring the rescheduling or cancellation of a holiday or a contract, the commoner or lower noble should make the noble aware of the situation, and if the noble persists in the demand then the noble shall be personally responsible for any consequential costs.
Such a claim may not be made if the noble has not been made aware of the issue. The claim may include elements for loss of earnings but may not contain any punitive elements. A fraudulent claim will incur the normal penalties for attempted or actual fraud.
The reasonableness of any demand for service may be tested at law, and should the service be found to be unreasonable then penalties and damages will be applied in line with the standard scale of corruption and overstepping of authority by nobles.
In cases where a reasonable request has been made in written form and it is not fulfilled, a higher noble may reduce a lower noble within their domain to a lower status, or according to the severity of the case, remove their noble status entirely. A noble so demoted may seek judicial overview or appeal to the Tsar.
Failure to obey an unwritten decree shall incur at most a fine of one day's income. A written decree shall include with it the maximum level of punishment or reference to a pre-established scale of punishments against which failure to obey shall be judged.
Failure to obey this written decree will be judged in accordance with the standard scale of corruption and overstepping of authority amongst nobles.
“This is the outline of a piece of planned law?” Catherine asked.
“It is a translation of a law my father passed just under a decade ago.”
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“And this bit about domains?”
“As duchess of Moscow, I have a certain geographical area under my authority, that's called my domain. As Tsarevna, I have no actual domain, but I have various other rights, like granting royal pardons.”
“But the domain of the Tsar is the whole empire.”
“Exactly.”
“Russia has a parliament.”
“All nobles have a seat in parliament, as do some other groupings, such as high clergy, and representatives of certain professions.”
“And the role of parliament is to suggest legislation?”
“To make recommendations, to raise issues that need attention, to act as a sounding board. Some things are put to a vote.”
“And as I'm not from anyone's barony, no one can compel me to go and work for them.”
“True.”
“Not even your father?”
“Well spotted,” Svetlana grinned, “not even I spotted that one until a few weeks ago. Dad was predictably smug.”
“Hold on... hold on.. you're saying that your father inherited an absolute monarchy, and most people on the outside think Russia is an absolute monarchy ruled by whatever the Tsar says, and your father deliberately passed this law, reducing the power of an unwritten decree enormously, but didn't tell anyone outside Russia?” Catherine was staggered.
“Not inside either. Most people don't think of royalty as part of the nobility, so they read that law as only referring to non-royal nobles.”
“And you're showing us this since we know one state secret we might as well know another?”
“No, I'm showing you this because to a large extent it defines our relationship. I can suggest, request, or warn, but I cannot command. I'm also showing you this because I expect your readers will want to know it, and you will want to know it, Catherine. You are not visiting a dictatorship.”
“Russia is a constitutional monarchy, you mean?”
“What do you think?”
“I wonder if there's a hint about the purpose of all levels of nobility in this document.”
“Oh, you noticed that did you? Mother helped draw up that law, by the way. Dad hasn't yet bowed to the King of Kings, but he likes the idea of leaders serving those they lead.”
“Russia is a servant monarchy? Wow! But I'm confused.... how come he's still able to cancel lectures, if he's not able to demand commoners do what he wants them to do?”
“Because he's got other powers, not mentioned here, including the right to interrupt or permanently cancel any course at the university.”
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NOTE TO ALL LECTURING STAFF, FROM HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY, THE TSAR OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Dear professors and lecturers,
I do hope it has been impressed upon your students that the purpose of cancelling lectures this week was so that there can be 100% attendance at the special lectures series on constitutional issues and follow-on seminars and debates. My daughter and I are looking forward to reading the reports from the discussions these lectures are intended to start and hope that the students and staff will be able to give the issues their full attention. Thus we were most distressed to learn that some of your students have been given extra homework 'to make up for the missed lectures', as though this special consultation on constitutional issues were some kind of vacation. I trust this oversight can be speedily remedied.
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NEWS REPORT, NEW REPUBLICAN POST, 29TH APRIL
Why the Tsar can't cancel a wedding
Did you think Russia was an absolute monarchy? Think again! I got shown a very interesting law dating from 2269, which says among other things that high nobles in Russia can't compel commoners to work for them. A baron can, as long as the request is reasonable and they pay a proper salary, but since the baron is the equivalent of a hereditary mayor and all the functions of a local government fall on his or her shoulders, that's not so very surprising. Nobles higher than a baron — a duke or duchess, for instance, can demand reasonable assistance from lesser nobles, but not from commoners like you and me. And demanding that someone misses a family wedding is explicitly given as an example of what's not reasonable, according to the law I read. Also, if you working for your local baron means you have to move your holiday, then as long as you tell him or her up front about that, then the baron has to reimburse you for any costs of doing that. Does this sound like unconstrained power to you? It doesn't to me. I'm not certain that the Tsar doesn't have additional powers that might let him, say, close a Church, or declare a holiday for civil servants, but he certainly signed into law that he can't directly or indirectly demand a common Russian citizen to drop what they're doing and come and serve him: no high noble can in Russia.
So, am I here on false pretenses? I thought I was entering a dictatorship to say dangerous things. His imperial majesty has done it subtly without fanfare, in a law that's otherwise about corruption and who has power to do what, but the Tsar of Russia has, by signing that law, made himself subject to the law. In his grandfather's day, Russia was a dictatorship. Now? It seems that Russia has at least one document limiting the authority of the Tsar, and holding him accountable. In other words, constitutional laws.
Her Imperial Highness the Tsarevna described herself as spending a lot of time lurking in the shadows, and sometimes coming out to turn the world upside down; she certainly has for me. She also offered the services of a couple of her employees: a law graduate and the Tsarevna's chief secretary, to make sure that if we are getting close to breaking Russian law, or upsetting her, we know about it. Not censorship, but just fair warning. As far as the Tsarevna knows, she can't compel us to do anything, let alone to write what she wants us to in a journal published at home. Russia today, it seems, is more free than most people thought, and one reason I'm here, apparently, is to help the Russian people realise the freedoms their Tsar has been slowly granting them, because it seems they don't really believe they have them.
Speaking of my lecture, I hope you'll excuse me, I've got to go an re-write some bits of it.
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GRAND LECTURE, IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, ST PETERSBURG, 29TH APRIL
“As I said when I opened this lecture, when I first met Catherine,” Svetlana said, after Catherine had finished her speech, “I was told she was a journalist and a free-thinking radical unafraid to debate serious issues with heads of state. I think we've just witnessed that. I also asked her what she'd do about corruption, and we've also just heard a refined version of what she suggested to me. In March we had a grand lecture by Pyotr Yureivich in which he warned about the problems of rule by whim without reference to law. It seems to me that many in Russia do not realise that my Imperial Father listened to his friend Pyotr and so we have not lived in a country ruled by whim for almost a decade. With my father's consent, I've invited Catherine here to spark a debate. Does this university, this collection of trained minds from many different backgrounds, agree with what Catherine is suggesting? If my Imperial Father were to sign her idea of taxing bribes into law, would it work, or would there be chaos? Is there a better solution? As she's said, she's approaching this from an outsider perspective. Debate! Discuss! You can even take votes if you like. For this week of consultation, the whole university campus has been registered as debate site, so in between the scheduled debates, feel free to take your discussions to the dining rooms, the benches or anywhere else you're allowed to gather on campus. Don't walk on protected grass, and don't take your debates into spaces off campus where they might be overheard.
A consultation such as this does not necessarily mean that the law will change, but it might. So, since I can't compel, I ask: please do take this seriously, apply your minds to it, and report back.”
“Will your Imperial Highness be joining us in the discussions?” the university's academic dean asked.
“I have noticed that when nobles get involved in a debate, let alone royalty, a lot of the other people suddenly shut up. That would be the opposite of what I want. I will be paying attention to the reports from the meetings, and I might even ask some people to to make notes in sessions for me. But I won't be joining in the discussion, and I've asked nobles among the student body to try to keep quiet as much as humanly possible, and instead listen and learn and understand.”
“Thank you for your full answer, Imperial Tsarevna. I hope that this exercise is genuinely useful.”
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NEWS REPORT, IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY REPORTER, 29TH APRIL, 8PM
Constitutional Heresy Indeed!
For those unfortunate enough to have missed tonight's grand lecture, don't miss tomorrow's. The speaker, a reporter from the Restored Kingdom, spoke about the source of the well-recognised problem of corruption: that people accept it, expect it, and don't report it. She also described it as a tax on powerlessness: that the more powerful the person, the less they were likely to be bothered by its direct effects. She spoke of the solution her home government had chosen: a special department of the internal security services, who have enormous power to invade privacy and compel testimony but are unable to prosecute anyone except civil servants. She spoke about the fact that it is still a problem in her country, but that because of the fact that almost every transaction is carried out electronically, and this department can compel banks to answer their every question, it is quite easy to prove. She suggested that if the Tsar wanted to adopt this model, there'd need to be lots of changes, and that an easier solution to corruption might be to tax it. For the full details of those plans, see the paper she's published in last month's issue of Economics and Policy Research. Once it becomes taxable income, she pointed out, there is the possibility of tax-audits, of electronic payment, and of rebates for the payer.
She also suggested that the whole concept of palaces and mansions for nobles was counter-productive, because those things are symbols of power. The nobles don't need a symbol of power. Surely, she said, all they actually need is a functioning office, and a possibly a way to go home and leave work there. She further questioned the need for all of the baronies and duchees to each have their separate funds; was it not all state money anyway? Heresy indeed! The biggest heresy, however, which caused exclamations of shock throughout her audience, was her declaration that we do not live in a Tsarist state, that His Imperial Majesty and indeed his Imperial Father before him, have weaned us away from an absolute dependence on the Tsar's word and have established laws which have a higher place.
Her Imperial Highness the Tsarevna then stood, failed to contradict the guest lecturer and instead stated that the entire university campus is, for this next week, the site of a registered debate. In case you don't realise what that means, let me remind you that in a debate, opinions may be stated which don't necessarily represent the speaker's opinion. Therefore, in a registered debate, no one may be brought before the law for an expressed opinion as long as it's not an incitement to armed revolt or murder. This week, her Imperial Highness has granted us the freedom to speak our minds without fear, anywhere on campus. She wants us to do so, and the results of our discussion may well be a change in the law, or even the constitution we didn't realise we had. She and her Imperial Father want to know what we think.
Is this the biggest heresy for most of us? The one thought beyond all that shakes the core of our beliefs most deeply? That the Tsar and his heir do actually care about what we think?
Or is it this one — that the Tsar sees the role of monarch as a servant of his people?
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NEWS ARTICLE FOR SOLAR SYSTEM-WIDE CIRCULATION, BY ALICE F.B., MARS, 19SEPT, 2280
Today, the first day after the Mer's moratorium on all treaty negotiations between the Mer and Russian empire expired, the assembly room of the Mars Council witnessed the signing of a treaty between Russia and Mars that grants Russia a permanent seat on the terraforming council in exchange for their contribution to the comet delivery operations. Although Russia has been working closely with the terraforming council for over a year, the mer moratorium meant a treaty was not possible, since all parties had to agree to any change in the make-up or goals of the council.
In a surprise move, Russia also presented a second treaty to the Mer ambassador. According to the press-release it reportedly asks for relatively little from the Mer, and grants, in recognition of the friendship and trust the Mer have shown in the past years and the Merfolk's concern for the environment, that Merfolk may come and go and carry out legitimate business on the Kamchatka peninsula with equal rights to Russian citizens, in effect making the entire environmentally sensitive peninsula a mixture of a free-trade area and eco-tourist spot for the Mer. There are, admittedly a long list of things that Russian citizens cannot do on the peninsula given it's special status — for example drive motorised vehicles or construct any permanent building — but the prospect of extra visitors is reportedly of great interest to the villages along the coast.
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EMBASSY OF ATLANTIS, MARS, 19SEPT, 2280
[Ruth? What's this in the news about us being offered a treaty by Russia?] Karella asked.
[Feel free to moan at St Petersburg about that. The press got a press release about the same time I got the treaty, but it was just before the formal signing, and I didn't even get time to read it for an hour. I did get to have a whispered conversation with Yuliya — their ambassador here — about it. Full text is on it's way, it offers us the same rights of access to Kamchatka that Russian citizens have — basically eco-tourism, camping and a very limited amount of subsistence hunting, with strict limits on what can and can't be killed and what you then have to do with the kill, which basically makes limited fur trade possible if you tan the hide and eat the meat yourselves because you'd starve otherwise. In return, we'd agree to give them at least a week's notice before we slap another moratorium on them, and attempt a negotiated settlement before it comes into force.]
[Duration?]
[Five years, but there's a clause that says they anticipate it being incorporated into another longer-lasting treaty, assuming we decide it's something we want.]
[Problems?]
[Most people who live on the Kamchatka peninsula have a few extra rights, like the right to build a permanent home in a village. We're getting the rights of people not conceived there.]
[Conceived?]
[No hospitals on the peninsula, so getting born there isn't recommended. Proving conception means you need beyond-reasonable doubt sort of evidence that the mother was in residence on the peninsula at the time — we're talking about medical tests and registered entry and exit dates.]
[Hmm. And registered entry is a requirement of the treaty?]
[Normally required of Russian citizens, but not, for instance for survivors of a ship-wreck or plane crash.]
[And what access to non-Russians get?]
[Not sure exactly, but Yuliya said they needed to have a local minders, to stop them dropping litter or killing the wildlife.]
[OK, I'll get someone to look it up from this end, but it sounds like generous treaty.]
[Yuliya was quite open about its purpose.]
[Yes?]
[They want lots of us to go and enjoy their unspoilt wonderland, maybe spend a few months there and take home a fur rug or two, fall in love with the place and then negotiate a treaty that puts a more realistic value on what those access rights mean to us.]
[Such as?]
[I'm told that a list of what they want is on its way to you via their ambassador there, as part of a draft treaty they've drawn up. They fully expect that one to take a lot of refining and re-wording, but from what hints I've had, it's a pretty wide-ranging wish-list.]
[Any for-instances?]
[Trade, friendship, crystal domes for Siberian cities, fusion-powered forcefield hulls for space exploration.]
[Oh yes? That's quite a list. I presume they're offering more than just access to Kamchatka for that.]
[Kamchatka access, wood, gold or other minerals, bits of desolate coastline if we want it, along with trade, friendship and a commitment to throw their weight behind us when the Empress of the Solar System decides to re-write the Outer Space Treaty and other such land-folk laws.]
[Why does Svetlana insist on handing me that title?]
[Because we have the technology. Plus, she trusts our people, our history of being a peace-loving nation, our laws and so on. In other words, better us than some land-folk political football like the United Nations, and she thinks it'd be better if we get it agreed to now, while the title is rather empty, rather than later when there's something contentious.]
[Hmm. Do you think she's got a point, Ruth?]
[I'm on Mars, Karella. The U.N. isn't particularly popular — it's getting some blame for making the tripartite agreement possible, and looking the other way rather than investigating MarsCorp's activities. And then of course there's the disgusting mess of LunaCorp, which is even worse.]
[Hmm. And how do you imagine the 'Empress of the Solar System' exerting any real power over the Solar System? I don't want to get into a position where I have drag people away from friends and family to start some kind of space war with another nation, or being responsible for auditing MarsCorp's books.]
[Tricky isn't it?] Ruth thought to her sovereign [I'm glad I'm not the one who's queen.]