Sverdlovsk

Ural Military District Уральский Военный Округ - Ural'skiy Voyennyy Okrug
Flag of Sverdlovsk TAG = SVR
Politics
Capital	Sverdlovsk
Ruling Party	Ural Committee of State Salvation
Head of State	Konstantin Rokossovsky
Head of Government	Pavel Batov
Diplomacy
Sphere	N/A
Foreign Alignment	N/A
Economy
GDP	$0.60B
Credit Rating	Poor
Market Type	Military Directed

Sverdlovsk, officially the Ural Military District, is a Russian warlord state located in West Siberia. It borders Yugra and the Free Aviators to the north, Tomsk to the east, Tyumen to the south and Zlatoust to the west.

The state itself is a Red Army military government led by Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky that broke away from the West Siberia People's Republic in the 1950s. Despite their use of Soviet symbolism, they no longer follow communist ideology.

In-Game Description

Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky and his 3rd Army defended the Soviet Union from the fascist invader until there was no longer a union to defend. Bloodied but not defeated, Rokossovsky withdrew eastward, where he found himself part of the West Siberian People's Republic. However, seeing the corruption, incompetence and callousness of the Republic's leadership, Rokossovsky quickly became disillusioned, and when the opportunity arose, he broke away and declared a rival military government in Sverdlovsk, seizing much of the Republic's northern territories along with it.

Now, Sverdlovsk stands alone against the approaching storm, the bearer of the shining light of liberty in a land of oppression and death. Rokossovsky, as old as he is, remains steadfast in his desire to reunite the Motherland with the military at the helm, serving the worker and peasant above the bureaucrat, aristocrat or apparatchik.

History

A State with an Army

The Road East

Sverdlovsk, like so many other statelets in the Russian wilderness, is not a nation. it is an armed camp, manned and made up of those who survived the German onslaught. In Sverdlovsk's case, it was the last refuge of the Soviet Third Army. Together with Lazar Kaganovich and his own circle of survivors, they formed the West Siberian People's Republic, in order to maintain the semblance of government in the rapidly-collapsing USSR. Alas, the last attempt to keep the Communist flame alive in Russia was snuffed out in the most brutal fashion possible.

Not content with their conquests, the Nazi forces commenced the deadliest aerial bombing campaign in history. In a vain attempt to quash the Russian spirit, the Luftwaffe flew sorties over the Russian wilderness, looking for any sign of civilization. Eventually, enough was enough.

Their Own Path

Thousands were killed. Refugee columns became impromptu mass burial sites. Cities became charnel houses, and entire town were flattened under the Iron Storm enforced by the Luftwaffe. With total anarchy unleashed on West Siberia, the Third Army took matters into their own hands. Breaking away from Kaganovich's fiefdom, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky formed his own authority centered in the industrial powerhouse of Sverdlovsk. A provisional government was set up, with what military equipment they still possessed being used to fend off the worst of the calamities brought upon by the Teuton.

While the Germans continue to hammer down upon them, there will come a time where Russia's skies will be free once more. And once that happens, Sverdlovsk will rise from the ruins along with a free, disciplined Russia.

When that happens, the Germans will never see them coming.

The Marshal's Rule

Sverdlovsk is less of an actual government with an ideology and a method of ruling, and more of a de-facto military dictatorship. It possesses no ideological inclinations, at least any major ones, and is more sustained by two things. The first is the omnipresence of the Third Army in life and in politics. There is no civilian administration, and what resources there are go towards maintaining the military garrison at all costs.

The second is the fact that Sverdlovsk's industry is still mostly untouched from the terror bombings. Due to their hardness, this has meant that Sverdlovsk is a beacon of civilization and living standards in an otherwise devastated West Siberia. With these two factors in place, the populace is more than willing to overlook their decidedly un-Communist situation and place their support within the rule of the Marshal.

The Wind Blows West in Siberia

The Hardest Choice

It is an open secret by now. Marshal Rokossovsky is ill, and his age does him no benefits in fighting said illness. While we dare not say it out loud, there will eventually come a time where Sverdlovsk is ruled by a new Marshal. While the choice is almost certainly going to be the (relatively) young commander Pavel Batov, keeping said rule in place will be another thing altogether. Putting aside the threat posed by the other warlords, there are whispers of dissidents against the regime that seek nothing less than total democratisation.

Under the loose leadership of Boris Yeltsin, they seek a strong, but free Russia that operates for the people and is owned by the people. For now, they remain in the shadows. But they will rear their head eventually; when they do, the nation must decide what path it will go down.

The Deepest Black

To our southwest, there is a plague ravaging our people. It spreads silently and it kills without signal or sign. It is the Black League of Omsk. Hatred and revenge has seeped into their existence to the point that their entire state has become a near-fascistic abomination dedicated to delivering their calculated revenge against every German man, woman and child. While the annihilation of the Nazi is our goal, our quarrel is not with the women and children of Germany but the ideology they spout.

Moreover, we have caught the plague. Omsk infiltrators continue to act unabated inside our Army, and report directly to Karbyshev and Yazov on every movement. Unless we curtail their influence, we too will become just another footnote in Russia's mournful history.

Gameplay

Sverdlovsk starts with the following national spirits:

Name	In-Game Description	Effects
Luftwaffe Terror Bombing	With depressing regularity, Luftwaffe bombers from the airfields of Reichskommissariat Moskowien fly over the warlord states of western Russia, bombing everything they can see and affecting nearly every aspect of Russian life as a result. The only salvation comes in the form of the Free Aviators, who strive to intercept them at every opportunity. If not for them, the situation in Russia would be far more dire.	Monthly Population: -5.0% Constructuon Speed: -40.0% Production Efficiency Cap: -10.0% Production Efficiency Growth: -7.0% Free Repair: -70.0% Needed Consumer Goods: +7.0%
Not so Red Army	In spite of being led by Marshal Rokossovsky, our Red Army begins to show signs of faltering in purpose; rumors of Black League infiltration and Revisionist sympathies reach the Marshal's ears more and more; the last tenets of Communism having been cast aside in favor of regular military leadership. The task of figuring out a unifying direction will probably fall on the Marshal's successor however; the old lion cannot fight death off forever.	Division Organization: -10.0% Recruitable Population Factor: -10% Planning Speed: -10.0%
Low Black League Influence	Through careful inspection and constant vigilance, the influence of the Black League within the District has been largely curtailed. Though some minor infiltrators have been uncovered, they are of limited influence, and in no way threaten any of the integrated governmental or military organs relied upon for continuity.	The Siberian Black League - Defense Bonus Against Country: -5.0%
Medium Revisionist Influence	A concerning degree of revisionist sympathy has been uncovered among a number of junior officers. Though not yet at a point where fundamental aspects of the District's administration would be at threat, it has led to the compromise of several low-level facilities and operations, and should therefore be presently addressed.	Stability: -5.0% The West Siberian People's Republic - Defense Bonus Against Country: -5.0%

Quotes

Capitulation quote

"Old soldiers never die - they just fade away."

Origins: This quote is taken from the lyrics of the soldiers' folk song "Old Soliders Never Die".

Trivia

• Should Sverdlovsk be defeated by Omsk, Pavel Batov will start an armed insurgency in West Siberia, and if left unchecked, he can assassinate Yazov in an event titled "Terminus Est", which will cause the Black League to collapse.
• Sverdlovsk is one of the few warlord unifiers that can peacefully reunify with most unifiers in their regional and superregional states.