Freedom's Rampart: The Russian Invasion of New Zealand by Katherine Foy

[james_davis_nicoll]

Freedom's Rampart: The Russian Invasion of New Zealand by Katherine Foy

Comments

[jreynolds197]

Ooh, Russia as an octopus on the cover!

(One of the maps linked shows Russia as an octopus with Tsar Nicholas II. I've seen modern cartoons with Vladimir Putin's face. The more things change....

[kedamono]

I don't know if it's coincidence or a deliberate homage to another story about Russians coming aground on a sandbar... But, in the 1966 movie The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!" the Soviet submarine belonging to aforementioned Russians is named "Спрут" or "Octopus". Interesting, no? (And far fewer deaths in this movie than this novel.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russians_Are_Coming,_the_Russians_Are_Coming

[jreynolds197]

(Channeling Janet from The Good Place): Fun fact! Alan Arkin can speak Russian in real life!

[voidampersand]

It could be Te Wheke-a-Muturangi.

V

[(Anonymous)]

I was reading the draft version at alternatehisotry.com, and Lord Salisbury is thinking the Russians won't be happy with the peace conference being held in Berlin, considering how the last one went. But that's a misconception by either the author or the character of Salisbury. He is shown as rather overconfident of his diplomatic prowess (to put it mildly). The Russians' supposed diplomatic goals were deliberately overinflated at Berlin. Just two years before that, the British themselves had offered a similar arrangement, in terms of territory, at the Constantinople conference.

typo in tags

[karlht]

I am relatively ceertain that the tag 'reveiw' on this post is meant to be 'review.'

[(Anonymous)]

How does Younghusband's death contribute to the events of this story? According to Wikipedia, he never stepped foot in New Zealand.

-Awesome Aud

[james_davis_nicoll]

By increasing tensions. Although that section could have been trimmed.

[errolwi]

The Russian Scares were a real thing, even in the far outposts of Empire. As a kid I used to run around these fortifications at the entrance to Auckland, now sadly much safer to visit!
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/auckland/places/maungauika-north-head-historic-reserve/north-head-historic-reserve-history/history-of-the-reserve/