Russkaya Amyerika: Defense Program]
So far most of the defense of Alyáska under military governor Johan Hampus Furuhjelm has focused on the colony's naval defenses, limiting land defense to some fortifications and patrols.
However, foreign interests in Alyáska's natural resources became more problematic when an American tried to cross the border illegally before being detained.
The growth of the Russian Far East was in progress, but it was not yet large enough to support its weight in North America.
This made Alexander III lend some technical equipment to the Alyáska government of Furuhjelm to re-invest in the metallurgy area.
Investment in metallurgy focused on the iron and coal that could be extracted from Alyáska, to use these materials in weapons and defense factories. Much of the mined ore was taken to Eurasia (the Russian Empire), but enough remained in Alyáska for use and export if there was a surplus.
The formation and expansion of small arms allowed the defense of the southern settlements, essentially also converted into surveillance bases.
The difficult thing was the eastern border, much further from the population centers of the Russian Alyáska, with a much larger border.
The Russian military district of Alyáska during its early years did not have much choice but to start creating militias in the farthest corners of the region to guard the most remote border sections of fortresses or patrols.
The militias were made up of Native Americans (another step towards their integration in Russia, according to Furuhjel) and various Russian-Cossack workers (interested in furs and gold).
The border defense militias had some success in defending the weakest points on the border, their stations eventually becoming small towns.
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Politically speaking, if an American crossed the border illegally, he spent a few nights in a Russian facility (quite precarious in the early years, except for those in cities or army or navy posts) while the nearest American diplomatic station was notified.
If the illegal immigrant was British-Canadian, the situation was more difficult because notifying took much longer, consequently some illegal Englishmen had to pay quite high fines and be sent to the United States or the East (Canada).
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[Russkaya Amyerika: Demographics]
Demographically speaking, not long after the great immigration of Russians and Cossacks to Russian America, some timid minorities from the Russian Empire also arrived.
The population of these minorities would grow drop by drop in the great waves of immigration to the region. Forming minority neighborhoods in the most populated cities.
The first were some Ukrainians or little Russians, Belarusians or White Russians, some Finns, Latvians and Estonians.
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[Bessarabia]
The Russian province of Bessarabia, a curious land within the Russian Empire, the only land where they speak a Romance language. Literacy there was minimal, and the release of the serfs by Alexander II in 1861 was never exactly stipulated.
The situation in Bessarabia was different, which is why Tsar Alexander III took the reform cautiously (knowing the negative effects it had associated with it).
In Bessarabia there were the "Tsarane" (or Tsaran in singular), a Tsaran is a free peasant personally, but they were attached to their native villages (where they paid taxes or dizhma / tithe, that is, 1/10 of the products produced and / or they carried out fixed and free forced labor) since they had no land, they depended on feudal lords.
The dependence of the Tsarane (originally only peasants, but joined by the vechins or serfs, who were later liberated) on the noble landowner began in the 16th century.
Historically the Tsaran have been physically punished by Moldovan landowners and were asked for jobs beyond their nominal duties by law, order had to be re-established by Russia militarily on many occasions.
Two solutions were presented.
One was the popular solution supported by the Tsarane themselfs since 1858: To be transferred to state property, even to Siberia.
A government solution was also on the table, proposed by Nikolai von Bunge: Implement the easement release of 1861 with some improvements, such as giving them land for the permanent use of their duties.
The problem of carrying out an agrarian regulation in Bessarabia would be the Moldovan lords wanting compensation (or ransom) for said properties. This could mean, in an impoverished population, economic debt (simply replacing legal slavery with an economic one).
To avoid this, a Bessarabian Peasant Land Bank could be established, as was done in Alyáska. It would not eliminate the problems but it would reduce them a bit, until modern agriculture, education and economic progress came along.
The liberal wing (and some moderates) of the government could support Nikolai von Bunge's proposal, but conservative sections and some other moderates were against it.
Tsar Alexander III for his part took a mixed solution, following Nikolai von Bunge's advice about a modified version of the 1861 release from the servitude. But severely shortening the recovery payments (theoretically allowing the release of most of the the Tsarane).
And on the other hand he led many of the Tsarane to Siberia, Central Asia (the Kazakh steppe) and the Far East. On state properties they were allowed to do agriculture, pay taxes communally, move freely, etc.
This was in part a strategy to: Populate more eastern regions, reduce the number of Tsarane riots, and increase agricultural production in the aforementioned regions.
In Bessarabia during the period 1868-1870 there were a total of 24 Tsarane uprisings against their Moldovan overlords. 11 of which had to be militarily crushed.
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[International]
Around July the liberal government of Emperor Maximilian of Habsburg begins to strongly integrate natives of northern Mexico into local administrations. The objective of Maximilian I is to strongly motivate the socio-political and economic integration of these in Mexican life, in order to improve the quality of life of native populations.
Native Americans also become a paid and protected workforce in the construction of railroad connections in northern Mexico.
The industrialization of the Second Mexican Empire during its early years was costly and difficult, but it did exist, and that was something important in itself.
The Triple Alliance of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina launch a successful amphibious attack against a Paraguayan fortress.
The United States adopts the Expatriation Act.
A crisis in Anglo-Chinese relations occurs in the wake of the Yangzhou riots, Chinese complaints regarding the presence of Christian missionaries in the region.
The British make (in the missionaries' opinion) an unnecessary show of military force by using a British warship in the region, getting an apology from the local government for the destruction of the mission building.
The Glorious Revolution expels Queen Elizabeth II of Spain from her throne, now the liberal courts are looking for a new monarch. Some consider General Joaquín Baldomero Fernández-Espartero Álvarez de Toro as the best option for a future monarch, but that is left to the vote of the Spanish courts.
The city of Edo, the capital of Japan, is renamed Tokyo by the Meiji Emperor.
At the end of September the Hungarians and Croats agree on the role of the Croatian territories in the Hungarian crown and the regional government (more or less a kind of Croatian autonomy within the Hungarian crown).
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The biggest clash of the Franco-Prussian war occurs so far, the two main forces of the French army are to the north and south of the Prussian army, trying to surround them.
The southern army with tens of thousands of men is led by the Emperor Napoleon III himself and trusted military aides, while the northern army is commanded by various generals.
Both armies suffered from different problems, the biggest problem of Napoleon III's army was their lack of communication and joint strategy.
On the other hand, the Prussians lacked several of the advantages they had during the Austro-Prussian war.
In the battle Napoleon III commanded the infantry and cavalry trying to outpace the Prussian troops in mobility, but his attack was cut off by the Prussian artillery. The Prussians then managed a strategy to destroy the fort of the southern army.
The battle between the Prussians and the southern army was a Pyrrhic victory for the Prussians, but unfortunately their focus on the French southern army forced them to neglect the northern army.
The French northern army managed to defeat their Prussian peers, the French soldiers had learned a thing or two from their defeats to the Prussians. Unfortunately this French strategic victory was only to buy time.
The Prussians had to evacuate their lines to the east and fortify themselves with reinforcements coming from the southern states of Germany and Luxembourg, but the southern army had been practically demolished.
Napoleon III narrowly managed to escape without being captured to the south of France, near the border with Switzerland.
Paris panicked at the death of more than 10,000 young French people.
The northern army fell back a few kilometers to fortify Paris and nearby cities. The Prussians, on the other hand, licking their wounds from the defeat they suffered, planned their counter-attack.
With the southern army down, the Bavarian army was finally able to advance a little further, acquiring Alsace-Lorraine. A considerable portion of northern and eastern France was in Prussian-German hands.
Most of the French territory from Paris to the south and west was still French however.