Chita

Chita, officially the Transbaikal Principality, is a Russian warlord state located in the Far East. It borders Yakutia to the north, Amur to the east, Manchukuo and Mengjiang to the south, and Buryatia to the east.

Transbaikal Principality Забайкальское Княжество - Zabaykal'skoye Knyazhestvo
Flag of Chita TAG = CHT
Politics
Capital	Chita
Ruling Party	Russian Royal League
Head of State	Mikhail II
Head of Government	Grigory Semyonov
Diplomacy
Sphere	No Sphere
Foreign Alignment	Non-Aligned
Economy
GDP	$0.17B
Credit Rating	Mediocre
Market Type	Planned Economy

The statelet is one of the three "Heirs of Habin", a group of three warlord states led by former White Army officers. In Chita's case they are led by Grigory Semyonov, who wishes to restore the Russian Empire. They have abducted a Romanov prince, Michael Andreevich Romanov, from Australia and have crowned him as Tsar Mikhail II, and plan to "guide" him to the restoration of the Empire.

In-Game Description

For many of the Russian exiles in Harbin, the rise of the Russian Fascist Party was a godsend. For the officers of the White Army in the city it was a nuisance. They had spent years fighting to restore the Romanov dynasty to their rightful throne, only to see the exile community abandon the monarchy for this distasteful new ideology. The old generals, led by Ataman Semyonov, reluctantly agreed to work with Rodzaevsky and the RFP more out of mutual hatred for the Bolsheviks than anything else. When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union and it became clear Hitler was not waging war against communism, but against the Russian people, the generals were appalled by Rodzaevsky's refusal to denounce Nazism. It was decided that the partnership could not last, but the generals would wait to split until the time was right.

That time came shortly after Rodzaevsky launched his invasion of the Russian Far East. The White officers invited Prince Michael Romanov to a dinner party in Harbin. Once there they involved him in all of their schemes, declaring that they would crown him as the new Tsar and retake his empire. Both Prince Michael's reluctance to join their cause and ineligibility for the throne failed to dissuade them. Soon Semyonov's clique had seized the city of Chita, denounced the RFP and declared their loyalty to the newly crowned Tsar. Free of Rodzaevsky's control and back on Russian soil, the officers are now preparing to destroy the fascist remnants and reunite Russia in the name of Tsar Mikhail II, whether he wants it or not.

History

The Ataman

From the Days of Kolchak

During the height of the civil war, Ataman Grigory Semyonov rallied the Transbaikal Cossack Host and fought alongside Aleksandr Kolchak's provisional government in the Russian Far East.

After several years of brutal guerrilla warfare, however, Ataman Semyonov was eventually defeated and forced to flee the country with his army in tow.

Oh, the Harbin!

The Ataman, along with thousands of other Russian émigrés fleeing the Bolshevik regime, settled in the Manchurian city of Harbin.

Here, the remnants of the White Army plotted and prepared for the eventual day they would triumphantly cross the Amur and continue the fight against communism once again.

As years went on, their dream seemed to slip further out of reach, but with the miraculous collapse of the Soviet Union, their chance finally came.

The White Stronghold

Banquet

Now, the remnants of the White Army and the Transbaikal Cossack Host find themselves based in their old stronghold of Chita. Nominally, the statelet is ruled by Mikhail II, also known as Michael Andreevich Romanov.

Invited to Harbin under the pretense of a formal banquet, he instead found himself roped into a daring scheme by the old Whites to place a Romanov on the throne of Russia, despite his lack of a claim.

Military's Toy

Nowadays Mikhail II is nothing more than a puppet, with Grigory Semyonov and his second-in-command Boris Shepunov holding the true reins of power. The Tsar, despite being the new face of the White movement, has little desire to remain in Russia, and hopes that one day he'll be able to go home again.

Trapped in a foreign land far from home, Mikhail's situation seems hopeless indeed...

Crown's Old Warriors

The task that lies before the White Army is great indeed. From this frozen stronghold, they seek to continue the conflict that began so long ago and restore the long lost monarchy.

The Ataman grows old, and it is unclear what kind of direction his movement would take in his absence...

Gameplay

Chita starts with the following national spirits:

Name	In-Game Description	Effects
Heirs of Harbin	In the aftermath of the Russian Civil War, the remainder of the White Army retreated into Harbin as exiles, nursing their wounds and plotting the overthrow of the Soviet Union. Before long, however, fascism coalesced within the city. Under the leadership of Rodzaevsky and Matkovsky, the Russian Fascist Party (RFP) soon became the premier party of the Russian émigrés. As the Union collapsed, the Whites and the RFP formed a united front against the Bolsheviks and for a time, they were successful - until infighting split them apart. Now the three splinters vie for power, each claiming to be the rightful heir of Harbin.	Stability: -10.0% Factory Output: +20.0%
Uneasy Figurehead	All hail Tsar Mikhail II, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias by the Grace of God! Many praises ring out in Chita for the Puppet Tsar, but the reality of the situation is very different. Essentially kidnapped and forced to assume the throne amidst bickering and aging White Army officer cliques, Mikhail wishes for little more than to see his home again, far away from Russia.	Stability: -5.0% War Support: +10.0%
Sunset of White Chivalry	Much of the state's military leadership consists of aging White Army generals more concerned with past glories than addressing the situation at hand. Many of them are not long for the world, and the illiberal nature of the government makes attracting younger and more innovative replacements difficult.	Daily Political Power Gain: +0.05 Division Recovery Rate: +5.0% War Support: +5.00% Division Defense on Core Territory: +10.0%
Cheryomushi Airbase	(NOTE: This spirit will be granted to any warlord that owns the Chita state) Standing among the largest aerodromes in the Far East, Cheryomushki's long runways and extensive hangar facilities allow for the concentration of large aerial fleets. Control of the aerodrome will permit the state to more easily establish air superiority over its enemies, as well as by its very size assist in preventing accidents on takeoff and landing.	Air Accidents Chance: -15.00% Air Superiority: +10.00% Fighter: Production Cost: -10.00% Reliability: +5% Interceptor: Production Cost: -10.00% Reliability: +5%
The Flight East	Though the West Russian War ended almost a decade ago, Western Russia has never known peace with the Germans. Instead, life has been punctuated by regular bombings from the Luftwaffe, an unending campaign of terror meant to permanently hobble a one-time adversary. Though many Russians have found ways to live amid this violence, others have tried to escape it by fleeing east. This steady stream of refugees has permanently altered the distribution of Russia's population, with many migrating to the far reaches of the country the remain untouched by the Nazi war machine.	Monthly Population: +10.0%

Quotes

Capitulation quote

"There is no middle ground; the Russian Tsar should reign, or perish."

Origins: This quote is original to The New Order, but it is based on a quote by French revolutionary Louis Antoine de Saint-Juste about King Louis XVI: "As for me, I see no middle ground: this man must reign or die!"