PROLOGUE
December 30th, 1913
Reaching a hand to his mothers left cheek, Ivan gently ran a thumb through her heavy tears of terror. He sniffled in defeat and hugged her as if it would be his last time being in her arms again.
'Не плачь, мамa.'
General Braginski, Ivan's dear father, had failed to keep his son's birthday out of public ears and it did not take long for word to get to the Army. A letter arrived at the families home that morning from the Minister of War, General Sukhomlinov.
'NOTICE PAPER to be sent to men who belong to the Imperial Russian Army under the provisions of рекрутская повинность.
Mr Ivan Braginski,
You are hereby warned that you will be required to join for service on January 25th, 1914.
You should, therefore, present yourself at the Headquarters in Mogilev on the above date at no later than 9 AM, bringing this paper with you.
Военный министр, Vladimir Sukhomlinov.'
Ivan knew it would be horrible to face conscription and leave his family for two years but he understood that it was a necessary evil that every family had to endure. His father and mother had spared him details of the gravity of his liability to the military, so Ivan had no idea that at the time, Russia was preparing for two of the greatest battles it would ever have.
Both of which, would result in the loss of over a million military lives.
His heartbroken mother had hoped that her husband would be able to keep their sons 18th birthday under wraps up until 'Plan 19' was over and done with. This was a plan developed to move Russian troops into Eastern Prussia and take over. The entire public that knew of this idea, opposed it. Everyone knew it would be disastrous due to the government being pre-occupied with matters pertaining to the also upcoming 'Great War'.
General Braginski sat Ivan down in his office on the eve of January 24th. Ivan looked down at his lap and toyed with the sleeves of his black ribbed jumper as silence filled the air between them, neither saying a word. Finally, the General spoke, 'Cын, do not be afraid.' He said sternly as he stared at his only son from across the desk. 'Father,' Ivan began to choke up, 'What makes a man good?' he asked, feigning emotion to his father in an effort to escape his voyage to Mogilev the following morning as he knew there was no way the General would allow his son who cried before he left to embarrass him in front of his colleagues in the Army. Unfortunately, Ivan's father was sympathetic to his emotions for once. As HE knew there was a high chance his son may not even make it back for him to yell at him.
'Well Иван, I have told you before, what makes a man good is his knowledge of what is wrong and what is right and his will to fight for the latter. A good man is a man who fights for the heaven he wishes to live in on earth, no matter the cost. Some say that good men are the men that don't harm their loved ones and that don't put themselves before anything else. Others say that good men are the men that go to war for their country. I do not believe so. I believe that Hell is where the men I work with will go. The men who make very fine soldiers but go home and beat their wives into the ground. The men who rape and murder the innocent during an invasion and make excuses for it being necessary. I believe that Heaven is where the men like you will go. As that is where the good men go.'
OKAY, so I know the Russians obviously didn't write official letters and notices in English but I couldn't write the whole lot in Russian cuz that's overkill to the GODS. I try to keep my fics as close to realistic and accurate as I possibly can bc while I love the fantastical stuff I also love history and I tend to prefer accuracy w/ that. All Russian and German translations will be in the notes for every chapter and I do keep the native languages to a minimum and to only places I think it suits the dialogue or text. When it comes to the Hetalia fandoms weird obsession with justifying the actions of APH Germany, unfortunately, he's the villain again. He plays a big part in the outcome of this story.
TRANSLATIONS:
'Не плачь, мамa' - Do not cry, mother.
'рекрутская повинность' - the name for the older Russian conscription system it literally translates to 'conscript obligation'
'Военный министр' - Minister Of War
'Cын' - Son
'Иван' - Ivan