Montoffsky was a senior engineer at a certain machinery factory in Saint Petersburg, earning twice the sry of ordinary factory workers and enjoying various subsidies and vacations. Before the war, he was undoubtedly part of the middle-upper ss.


    But the good times were only before the war. After the outbreak of the war, the prices in Russia rose at an astonishing rate, and Montoffsky''s proud sry could barely maintain the livelihood of himself and his family.


    Keep in mind, this was only possible because Montoffsky''s wife also worked at the machinery factory.


    If there was only one ie in the family, Montoffsky''s living standard would probably fall further down another level.


    On a not-so-sunny morning, Montoffsky arrived early at the factory and went to his workstation.


    As a senior engineer of the machinery factory, Montoffsky''s status was a bit higher than that of ordinary workers, but only slightly higher.


    His status would only be higher in situations when factory machinery had problems or when new equipment was being installed. In other situations, there was not much difference between him and ordinary workers.


    Lasticens were still required to continuallywork overtime, still had to work on the production line, and were subject to wage deductions for a variety of reasons, even major ones.


    However, Montoffsky needed to make a living. He could not give up a job that paid several times the average sry.


    Just after arriving at his workstation, factory management issued a notice: the factory would need to work two more hours tonight.


    Overtime in this era was different fromter generations. There was no overtimepensation, and overtime itself was unpaid.


    But there was no choice. No one dared to refuse the overtime proposed by factory management unless they wanted to lose their job.


    What''s even worse is that these capitalists who run factories had some power and connections in local governments.


    If they seriously offended their bosses, they would not only be unable to find work in the entire region, but they would also be targeted by capitalists. The consequences could range from their families breaking apart to their entire family dying without a ce to be buried, bing another lost soul in Russia''s chaos.


    In this cannibalistic era, money and power were the most important things. With money came power, and with power came money.


    Whether they were capitalists or high-ranking aristocrats, they wielded unparalleled power in Russia. Ordinary people were likembs waiting to be ughtered. Aside from enduring the exploitation of the government and capitalists, they faced constant danger to their lives.


    Chapter Read:


    Particrly when capitalists colluded with local officials during wartime, they could easily frame anyone for deliberately sabotaging the production of wartime supplies.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    For ordinary people, this charge was a death sentence, and their fate depended on the mood of the capitalists.


    Montoffsky let out a quiet sigh, but he was still helpless in the face of the factory management''s demands.


    Ironically, Russia officially implemented an eight-hour work system, which was far different from the actual working hours at Montoffsky''s factory.


    Montoffsky''s normal working time was about 12 to 14 hours, and the total working hours were at least 14 hours, including overtime.


    This was nearly double the Russian working time regtions.


    This meant that, afterpleting their standard eight-hour work shift, most Russian workers had to "voluntarily" work unpaid overtime for at least six additional hours.


    Actually, this was not unheard of. Most European countries participating in the war had high intensity overtime, with an average working time of more than eleven hours.


    But the problem was that overtime in European countries at least provided some symbolic overtime pay, rather than Russia''s forced unpaid overtime.


    Even if they distributed some supplies or food, it would be enough to pacify the restless workers. Unfortunately, Russian capitalists either couldn''t see the workers'' predicaments or simply didn''t care if they did.


    "Hey! Montoffsky, are you going to participate in the race the day after tomorrow?" The middle-aged man next to Montoffsky cautiously asked after the factory management had walked away.


    "Running? What is that?" Montoffsky looked puzzled. What kind of time is it now, and who still has the mood to run?


    "It''s a big strike organized by the Workers'''' Alliance. This is highly confidential information, buddy, don''t reveal it to anyone," the middle-aged man once again cautiously looked around and whispered.


    Althoughrge-scale strikes and demonstrations weremon in Russia, it didn''t mean they were legal.


    As the Tsarist government had previously cracked down on several demonstrations, now participants, especially organizers, would face the death penalty.


    Even ordinary workers who participated in such demonstrations risked imprisonment. If discovered by factory management, they could lose not only their jobs but also endanger their lives and the lives of their families.


    "Workers'' Alliance? Is that a new political party?" Montoffsky asked curiously.


    Although Russia was an autocratic country under Tsar Nichs II, there were no shortage of political parties within the nation, with a diverse range of ideologies.


    Of course, a considerable number of these parties were illegal, and their members would be targeted by the government.


    "It''s actually the Bolshevik Party, as you know." The man exined with a smile.


    Even though Arthur had already ordered the Royal Security Intelligence Agency to clear some of the political parties in Russia, it was impossible topletely eradicate these revolutionaries.


    These parties assumed that the Tsarist government was cracking down on them, so they chose to go underground and use new party names to conduct their activities.


    The Bolshevik Party, along with other workers'' parties, still held some influence among Russian factory workers.


    Not only Montoffsky but also arge number of Russian workers were secretly recruited for the uingrge-scale protest, which had even spread to other regions outside Saint Petersburg.


    Meanwhile, amidst the undercurrents stirring within Saint Petersburg, Nichs II was also plotting his own schemes.


    Since he became Commander-in-Chief of Russia, the military''s offensive had not achieved any noteworthy results, and both the frontlines and the domestic situation in Russia were deteriorating.


    The military and the people all pointed their fingers at Nichs II, as he was the highest leader of the army and the rightful scapegoat.


    While Nichs II''s military prowess was not impressive, his political abilities were definitely that of a qualified monarch.


    In order to minimize his own responsibility, finding someone to me was necessary.


    On October 19, 1916, Nichs II convened a military meeting in Saint Petersburg, ostensibly to discuss Russia''s offensive ns for the following year.


    The meeting attracted many high-ranking Russian military officials, including the Commanders-in-Chief of the Southwest and Northwest Armies.


    As the top levels of the Russian military imagined, the discussions about next year''s battle ns never took ce. Instead, at the very beginning of the conference, Nichs II loudly questioned the two frontline Commanders-in-Chief for the Russian army''sck of significant achievements thus far.


    The twomanders broke out in cold sweat, realizing that Nichs II was looking to ce the me on them.


    Before they could offer any defense, Nichs II turned his gaze to the other military higher-ups and asked meaningfully: "Gentlemen, are you willing to stand up for the fallen soldiers, your brothers, subordinates, andrades-in-arms, and investigate the real reason behind the failure of the war?"


    "Yes!"


    The response from the military higher-ups was fast, albeit somewhat disjointed.


    This was the time for the military higher-ups to choose sides. Nichs II''s intentions were clear: he wanted the two frontlinemanders to take the me for the failures of the war, thus shifting responsibility onto his predecessor Archduke Nichs and the two frontlinemanders.


    The others had two options: either be Nichs II''s aplices, helping him to pin the guilt on the two frontlinemanders, or unite the military against Nichs II''s scapegoating but likely face dismissal.


    They quickly decided between preserving their own positions and the lives of their colleagues.


    Soon enough, various borate reasons were thought up by the military higher-ups, not only cing the me for theck of military progress on the two frontlinemanders but also implicating the already-cleared logistics department in the withholding of supplies and collusion with domestic and foreign capitalists.


    The following day, the announcement by the Russian government made it clear that Nichs II and the government had shifted the majority of me for the war''s failures onto the frontlinemanders and the logistics department.


    Due to the government''s announcement using the logistics department of colluding with domestic and foreign capitalists, numerous Russian factories were investigated. The owners of these factories were well-known Russian capitalists and the masterminds behind the collusion with the logistics department.


    However, this caused suffering for the factory workers. As the factories were being investigated, they were temporarily out of work.


    Greedy capitalists would not pay the workers'' sries when they couldn''t work, resulting in about ten thousand workers being temporarily deprived of their ie.


    Although the government''s announcement stated that the investigation of these factories and capitalists would only take a short time and the factories would reopen soon, the temporary loss of ie still caused panic among many Russian workers. They knew that each day without work meant their wives and children would go hungry.


    At this critical moment, the Workers'' Alliance took the opportunity to announce a rule that all workers participating in the protests would receive free grain.


    This was a great relief to those workers and, in a very short time, managed to attract even more participants to therge-scale protest that was about to erupt.


    Enticed by the prospect of free grain, many workers eagerly signed up, and the estimated number of participants in the protest quickly exceeded one hundred thousand.