Editing Aleksandr Kerensky

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{{Update Needed|[[Handbook: Major Periphery States]], [[Historical: Operation Klondike]], [[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]], [[Destiny's Call]], [[Way of the Champion]], [[Field Manual: Warden Clans]], [[First Succession War (Source Book)]]}}
{{InfoBoxCharacter
| image               = General-kerensky.jpg
| caption             = Aleksandr Kerensky - Regent and Protector of the Star League
| name                = Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky
| birthdate           = 16 December [[2700]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58">''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1'', p. 58-59, "Aleksandr Kerensky"</ref>
| died                = 11 June [[2801]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/>
| othernames          = 
| affiliation         = [[Star League]]
| profession          = [[Commanding General]] of the [[Star League Defense Force]]
| parents             = [[Nikolai Maksimovich Kerensky]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/><br />[[Anna Tronchina Kerensky]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/>
| spouse              = [[Katyusha Kerensky]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/>
| children            = ''
*[[Nicholas Kerensky]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/>
*[[Andery Kerensky]]<ref name="HLOTV1p58"/>
}}
[[File:Aleksandr Kerensky 1.jpg|right|thumb|Aleksandr Kerensky]]
[[Image:General-kerensky.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Aleksandr Kerensky - Regent and Protector of the Star League]]
'''Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kerensky'''<ref>One of many linguistic blunders in the BattleTech world. "Sergeyevich" is not a second name but a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patronymic patronymic] meaning "Son of Sergey". In the Star League Sourcebook the name of Aleksandr Kerensky's father is stated as Nikolai Maksimovich Kerensky, so the correct name of Aleksandr Kerensky would be Aleksandr Nikolaevich Kerensky (or, as alternative, his father's name must be Sergey, not Nikolai). The patronymic of Aleksandr Kerensky's mother - Tronchina - is actually a surname and not a patronymic. Another linguistic error about patronymics is the name of [[Christian Mansdottir]].</ref> (December 16, [[2700]] &ndash; June 11, [[2801]], aged 100 years) was the foremost [[General]] of the [[Star League]] who later liberated [[Terra]] from the rule of the usurper [[Stefan Amaris]]. Later, after the collapse of the Star League he led the vast majority of the survivors of the [[Star League Defense Force]] (SLDF) on an [[Operation Exodus|Exodus]] into the [[Deep Periphery]].

==History==
===Life and career===
Born in 2700, Aleksandr Kerensky studied at Tharkad University, where his achievements eventually earned him a place in the [[Nagelring]], which he graduated in the class of [[2723]]<ref name=WOK6>''Warriors of Kerensky'', p. 6</ref>. He later enlisted in the military of the [[Star League]]. His rapid progression through the ranks coupled with his own personal charisma and integrity earned him the respect of his troops and made him famous throughout the Star League. He eventually became the highest military officer of the Star League Defense Force. Of this phase of his career it is known that Aleksandr Kerensky himself gave the specifications of the new ''[[Atlas (BattleMech)|Atlas]]'' [[BattleMech]]: "a Mech as powerful as possible, as impenetrable as possible, and as ugly and foreboding as conceivable, so that fear itself will be our ally."

In [[2751]], the [[First Lord]] [[Simon Cameron]] died, and his eight year old son, [[Richard Cameron II]], became First Lord of the Star League. The five House Lords gathered on [[Terra]] and appointed General Aleksandr Kerensky as Commander-in-Chief of the SLDF, and as ''Regent and Protector of the Star League''  for the remainder of Richard's childhood.

[[File:Aleksandr Kerensky.jpg|right|thumb|Image of Kerensky from Star League (sourcebook)]]
===Amaris coup===
While Aleksandr Kerensky was away commanding SLDF forces deployed in the [[Periphery]] suppressing rebellions, revolts, and movements of secession, the [[Terran Hegemony]] was usurped by [[Stefan Amaris]] of the [[Rim Worlds Republic]]. Amaris had masterfully deceived and  manipulated Richard Cameron II, and had carried out the [[Amaris coup]] in [[2766]]. Amaris gained control of the throne and murdered Richard and all remaining Camerons.

[[File:Aleskandr-Kerensky.png|right|thumb|Portrait of Aleksandr Kerensky]]
===Amaris-Kerensky Civil War===
Amaris tried to gain Kerensky's loyalty but in [[2767]] the [[Amaris-Kerensky Civil War]] began. In response to the usurpation, the SLDF conquered and destroyed Amaris' native Rim Worlds Republic in [[2769]]. 

After regrouping and consolidating all available forces, Kerensky launched [[Operation Terran Hegemony]], a campaign intended to reconquer the entire [[Terran Hegemony]]. He divided his forces up into three groups, one to travel through each of the accommodating houses toward the Hegemony.

In the early stages of the campaign Kerensky's forces reclaimed some of the Hegemony worlds, but paid a very high price in lives, military equipment, and resources. As Amaris' forces withdrew to regroup, Kerensky's army advanced further, finally capturing the worlds closest to Terra. 

On the 23rd of January [[2777]], [[Operation Liberation]], the final phase of Operation Terran Hegemony began, and SLDF soldiers staging from eight worlds advanced towards Terra. On the September of [[2779]] the SLDF finally re-captured Humanity's homeplanet after a costly battle with over 100 million total dead. After discovering the fate of [[Richard Cameron II|Richard Cameron]] and his family, Kerensky ordered the execution of Stefan Amaris and also of the usurper's family. 

However the Hegemony was devastated and largely in ruins and, worst of all, there was no rightful successor for the position of First Lord. With increasing disappointment he saw that the feuding House Lords were simply unable to choose a new leader of the Star League. 

A year later, on the 10th of October [[2780]], the Council Lords gathered and stripped Kerensky of his title of "Protector". Ten months later, the Lords still had not chosen a new First Lord, each claiming the title and position for him or herself, and the Council was dissolved by the Lords on the 12 of August [[2781]].

Kerensky refused a proposal by General [[Aaron DeChavilier]] to overthrow the House Lords. The reasons for his refusal are unknown.

===Operation Exodus===
In late [[2783]], Kerensky attended the ceremony to commemorate the official completion of the [[Hilton Head]] [[HPG]] complex, meeting privately with [[Jerome Blake]] afterwards and confiding to the Minister of Communications his intentions to leave the Inner Sphere. Though angered and confused at this course of action, as a token of his respect and friendship with the general, Blake agreed not to reveal the Exodus plan to the Great Houses. Blake would also request Kerensky to speak to any of his troops who declined to join the Exodus and ask them to support his reconstruction efforts in the Hegemony. <ref name=MM-205>''Masters and Minions: The StarCorps Dossiers'', p. 205 "ComStar - Network Online"</ref> <ref name=CS-11>''ComStar (sourcebook)'', pp. 11-13 "History - Birth of ComStar - Operation Exodus - The First Circuit - Operation Silver Shield"</ref> <ref name=FMCS-11>''Field Manual: ComStar'', p. 11 "Shadow Games"</ref> <ref name=HLoTV2-115>''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', p. 115 "Aftermath - Crisis in the SLDF - Planning for Exile - Disposing of the Usurper"</ref>

On February 14 [[2784]], Kerensky summoned more than 200 commanders of the surviving SLDF to a secret meeting on Terra, formally outlining to them his plan for [[Operation Exodus]]. While the audience wholeheartedly approved of his intentions and many vowed to follow him, a small group disapproved, refusing to abandon the Hegemony and the Inner Sphere. Kerensky responded by instituting a poll in late February of every remaining member of the SLDF and giving them the option to join the mission or stay behind. By mid-March more than 80% of the SLDF had agreed to Kerensky's proposal. <ref name=CS-11/> <ref name=HLoTV2-115/>

Those who refused had a variety of reasons, but the bulk began to coalesce around the [[151st Royal BattleMech Division]] and its outspoken CO [[Lauren Hayes]]. Concerned at leaving Hayes and her sizable SLDF forces without direction and recalling Jerome Blake's pleas for aid, Kerensky brokered a deal where by Hayes could remain but had to obey Blake and the Ministry of Communications as the last vestige of the Star League. <ref name=MM-205/> <ref name=CS-11/> <ref name=FMCS-11/> <ref name=HLoTV2-115/>

One of the general's last acts in the Inner Sphere was the final fate of the Usurper's body, following the suggestion of one of his command staff and donating it to the [[University of New Samarkand]]'s medical school, a very public and unglamorous end for the foe who had caused him and Star League such grief. <ref name=HDTFS-59a>''House Davion (The Federated Suns)'', p. 59 "History - Under the Star League - Dissolution - Amaris's Grave"</ref> <ref name=HLoTV2-115b>''Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2'', p. 115 "Aftermath - Crisis in the SLDF - Planning for Exile - Disposing of the Usurper"</ref>

In [[Operation Exodus]] six million men, women, and children followed General Aleksandr Kerensky into the [[Deep Periphery]] towards an unknown destination and future. This act effectively completed the collapse of the dying Star League. It was his dream that he and his followers, or most likely their children, would eventually return to rescue a devastated [[Inner Sphere]] and reunite it under a new Star League.

===Pentagon Worlds and Death===
It is unknown if Aleksandr had any clear destination, and after a year of travel morale suffered greatly, and the crews of a small number of ships [[Prinz Eugen Mutiny|rebelled]] and announced their intention to turn back. With few alternatives, General Kerensky ordered the mutineers executed and issued [[General Order 137]] insisting on the need for discipline but serving to bolster the fleet's flagging morale.

After another year of travel, with discontent again increasing, the massive flotilla of Star League refugees came upon five marginally habitable worlds, the so-called [[Pentagon Worlds]], which they chose to settle on. Upon arrival, Kerensky transmitted a personal message back to the Inner Sphere. This message was called the "[[Voice of Kerensky]]". After that, Kerensky and his followers tried to re-create a new [[Star League in Exile]] as best as possible. However within a year, cracks were beginning to form along cultural lines and soon the Pentagon Worlds were entering what would be later called the [[Exodus Civil War]], a state of anarchy and wide spread devastation eerily similar to the early [[Succession Wars (History)|Succession Wars]] affecting the Inner Sphere. Increasingly frail after the death of his wife Katyusha and friend [[Aaron DeChavilier]] during what would become known as the [[DeChavilier Massacre]], Kerensky prepared to gather the few troops still loyal to him as he suffered a massive heart attack. 

In 2801 General Aleksandr Kerensky died at the age of 100 years, and as his dying wish left the remnants of the exiled Star League in the hands of his son, [[Nicholas Kerensky]].

General Kerensky was laid to rest by his son Nicholas in a specially made glass coffin aboard the [[McKenna (WarShip)#Named Vessels|McKenna's Pride]] in a geosynchronous orbit above [[Katyusha City]], [[Strana Mechty]], allowing the population to look up and see the '''"Great Father"'''. A star of troops from each Clan rotates monthly to guard the body.

===Legacy===
Upon Aleksandr's death his son Nicholas Kerensky led a [[Second Exodus]] to escape the fighting, eventually reforming his loyal followers into the basis of the [[Clans]]. The Clans revere General Aleksandr Kerensky as the '''Great Father''', a messianic leader who led his chosen people to safety, while promising their return to the Inner Sphere to rebuild the Star League. The Inner Sphere holds much more mixed views of the General, where previously he was seen as a protector of the Star League of old and a man who chose the honorable option of exile instead of becoming mired in the Great Houses' political squabbles, the actions of his descendants has tainted his memory to the point some view him as bad as Amaris himself.

==Notes==
* Kerensky originally piloted an ''[[Orion]]'' BattleMech, which was abandoned in the Periphery just prior to the Exodus. This same ''Orion'' was later piloted by [[Theodore Kurita]] and was eventually destroyed at the battle of [[Marfik]] during the [[Fourth Succession War]]. Kerensky also briefly piloted an ''[[Atlas II]]'' in combat during the Periphery uprising.
* In addition to playing a key role in the design of the ''Atlas'', Kerensky was also responsible for the design of the ''[[King Crab]]''.
* Kerensky was likely named for the Russian revolutionary leader [[w:Alexander_Kerensky|of the same name]].  Some sourcebooks, in fact, have intimated that he was a descendant of the original Kerensky.{{cn|July 2011}} 
His method of entombment, and general deification by the populace, was likely inspired by the historical Kerensky's rival, usurper and successor in power, [[w:Vladimir_Lenin|Lenin]].
*The novel [[Destiny's Call]] has other characters referring to Aleksandr Kerensky as "Alek". In Russian, the nickname for Aleksandr is actually "Sascha" or "Sasha", or, much more rarely, "Alik";<ref>[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RussianNamingConvention TV Tropes Article on Russian Naming Conventions]</ref> it hasn't been commented on if the use of "Alek" as a nickname instead is an intentional plot point or an error.

==Quotes==
{{quote|Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close semblance to the first.}}

{{quote|Return to the Inner Sphere is impossible for us. Our heritage and our convictions are different from those we left behind. The greed of the five Great Houses and the Council Lords is a disease that can only be burned away by the passing of decades, even centuries. And though the fighting may seem to slow, or even cease, it will erupt again as long as there are powerful men to covet one another's wealth. We shall live apart, conserving all the good of the Star League and ridding ourselves of the bad, so that when we return, and return we shall, our shining moral character will be as much our shield as our BattleMechs and fighters.}}

:-The [[Hidden Hope Doctrine]] of '''General Order 137'''


'''"To all citizens of the Inner Sphere do I, Aleksandr Kerensky, send greetings.''' 

{{quote|''"Know that I have taken the remnant of the Star League Defense Force which has remained true to its purpose beyond the boundaries of the Inner Sphere, beyond the Periphery. I have done this, neither out of disappointment with those whom we leave behind, nor out of spite or disdain, as some will say. No, we have left the Inner Sphere because we love it too much to see it destroyed. In the wake of the Usurper's coup, and the long, bitter fighting that came with it, I fear that my forces would do incalculable, possibly irreparable, harm to our society. We are sworn to ward the Star League and its subjects, not destroy it.''

''"Thus, we have left the only homes we have ever known to place the destructive capability of this armada beyond the reach of those who would use it, not for defense, but for conquest. Perhaps, with the might of our 'Mechs and ships out of reach, the leaders who now grapple with one another will relinquish their dreams of subjugating their neighbors and learn to live in peace with them.''

''"Perhaps, one day, should mankind step back from the brink of the abyss, we, our children, or our children's children will return, to once more serve and protect and guide the Star League in mankind's quest for the stars.''}}

'''"Farewell."'''

:-The "[[Voice of Kerensky]]", September 9, [[2786]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rebecca Fetladral]]}}
{{s-title|title=Commander-in-Chief of the [[Star League Defense Force]]|years=[[2738]] &ndash; [[2801]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Victor Steiner-Davion]]}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-title|title=Regent of the [[Star League]]|years=[[2751]]-[[2762]]}}
{{s-aft|after=None}}
{{s-bef|before=None}}
{{s-title|title=Protector of the [[Star League]]|years=[[2751]]-[[2780]]}}
{{s-aft|after=None}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Nikolai Kerensky]]}}
{{s-title|title=[[Defender of the First Lord]]|years=[[2700]]-[[2781]]}}
{{s-aft|after=None}}
{{s-end}}

==References==
<references/>

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 1]]''

[[Category:Star League Characters|Kerensky, Aleksandr]]

{{wikipedia|69680190|List_of_BattleTech_characters}}