Mikhail II
Mikhail II (born Michael Andreevich) is a member of the House of Romanov who currently serves as the Tsar of Chita, although he doesn't have the actual claim to the Russian Throne, because his parents' marriage was morganatic.
Biography
Prince Michael Andreevich Romanov was born in exile in Versailles, raised in Scotland, studied in London, and spent World War II in Australia serving under the Royal Navy. Although he had slight hopes of returning to a motherland he had never seen with a Nazi victory, they were soon dashed by the creation of Reichskommissariat Moskowien at the war's end. So, Prince Michael settled into a civilian life in Australia, an aeronautical engineer who mostly stayed out of the limelight.
Until he got the invitation to Harbin.
What started out as a dinner party with some White Russian émigrés escalated rapidly from there, and Michael found himself swept up a whirlwind of military escapades, factionalism, backstabbing, and steppe warfare. Next thing he knew, he was being crowned in the Siberian city of Chita by a group of White generals led by Ataman Semyonov (completely ignoring the fact that his parents' marriage was morganatic, rendering his claim to the Russian throne ineligible). The newly-minted Tsar Mikhail II is now stuck between his ally-turned-enemy Konstantin Rodzaevsky's fascist clique to the east, Red Army warlords to the north, Japanese client states to the south, and a post-Soviet dictator to the west. Needless to say, he's been dealt better hands. But he's determined to make the best of a sticky situation - assuming the generals ever let him determine anything, that is.
In-game
Prior to entering the regional stage, Mikhail will largely be a puppet Tsar, only interacting through letters. If Amur or Irkutsk defeat Chita, Mikhail will be executed. However, if Magadan, Buryatia, or the Divine Mandate of Siberia defeats Chita, he will be allowed to return home, although in the case of Magadan, he does so in return for a ransom if Mitchell WerBell III is in charge.
At the warlord stage, Mikhail is in an excellent situation to handle the fascists (aside from Amur being relatively weak, and their capital being relatively close to Chita's border with the country, unless the player or AI rushes to the focus where Chita declares war on Amur, Amur will always be at war with Magadan when Chita declares war on Amur; as for Magadan, if the player is attentive, they will go down with similar ease), but is very vulnerable to the communists (both Buryatia and Irkutsk can defeat him with little to no casualties if Chita's border with Verkhneudinsk is left unguarded). Yakutia is very easy to conquer due to it being very weak. The Divine Mandate of Siberia can pose problems, but Chita is in a good position to deal with them, especially if they were able to defeat the communists before the Father declares war on them.
Should Chita unify the Far East, Mikhail will have a chance encounter with an officer who is sympathetic to the Tsar, and is convinced that it is his destiny to unify Russia. This sets in motion a series of events that results in Mikhail getting more involved in the government and establishing a clique of officers rival to Boris Shepunov; upon hearing of Mikhail's plans, Shepunov will attempt to arrest the Tsar. However, what happens next depends on the player.
- If the player had Mikhail have more influence through focuses and decisions, Shepunov will show up, but the forces he brought to arrest Mikhail will turn on Shepunov, resulting in him being ousted from his position in the government. Like with Rurik II and Vladimir III, Mikhail will set up a semi-constitutional monarchy in the image of the German Empire.
- If Shepunov has more influence, Mikhail will be arrested and sent back home to Australia, replaced with Nikita I. While Mikhail will have gotten his wish to return home, he will feel unable to be happy about his situation.
Mikhail can unify peacefully with Novosibirsk at the regional stage. At the superregional stage, he can unify peacefully with a capitalist Komi, Samara (if not ruled by Mikhail Oktan), Sverdlovsk (if Boris Yeltsin is in charge), and Vyatka (although, he does not have a unique event should he unify with Vyatka, despite the two Tsars being related).
Quote upon unification
"However doomed a man may be, he still has the freedom of thought that can carry him over the past the future, the single attribute that can never be taken away by tyrant or circumstance."
Marriages
He married Princess Kaya Michiko in 1953, but they have no children, thus the Tsar's heir is his brother Prince Andrew Andreevich Romanov (born January 21, 1923) and his son Prince Alexis Andreievich Romanov (born 1953).