Characters / TNO Central Siberia

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Central Siberian Unifiers

Tomsk

^{Flag of the Commonwealth of Siberia (Humanist)}

^{Flag of the Central Siberian Republic (Modernist)}

^{Flag of the Central Siberian Republic (Bastillard)}

^{Flag of the Central Siberian Republic (Decembrist)}

Official Name: Central Siberian Republic, Commonwealth of Siberia (Humanist superregional unification), Republic of Russia (National unification), Commonwealth of Russia (Humanist national unification)

Ruling Party: Dekabristy^note Decembrists

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

The remnants of the Central Siberian Republic, a democratic republic founded by Soviet intelligentsia after the Soviet collapse. Formerly ruling most of Central Siberia, the Republic collapsed during the bloody Siberian War with the Far Eastern Soviet rump. Notable for its salon system of democracy, the Republic's leaders have idealistic visions of a prosperous democratic Russia, but it will have to contend with its many secessionists first.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Boris Khodorkovsky, the father of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a prominent Russian oligarch who at one point was the richest man in Russia before falling out with Vladimir Putin, appears as one of the richest people in Tomsk in a flavor event.
• Back from the Dead: When it was created, the Central Siberian Republic promoted itself as a revival of the provisional democratic government created from the February Revolution and killed by Lenin's October Revolution.
• Balkanize Me: The Central Siberian Republic used to rule all of Central Siberia, before it was invaded by Yagoda's Far Eastern Soviet. What followed was the Siberian War, an absolutely horrific meat grinder of a war that caused both countries to eventually explode into pieces. In the Central Siberian Republic, the huge human cost of the war led to an anarchist revolution coming out of Kansk, creating the Siberian Black Army, and some officers seized Novosibirsk and declared its independence. General Krylov launched an operation to crush the SBA, only to fail and get mutinied by Andreev's clique and go nuts as a result, creating Kemerovo and Krasnoyarsk.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Tomsk is one of the most benevolent warlord states in the Russian Anarchy, but they also radically reform the Republican Army into a deadly fighting force, showing that they're not to be trifled with.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The Duma in Tomsk's legislature are color-coded based on which salon is in control: white for the Decembrists, violet for the Humanists, blue for the Modernists, and grey for the Bastillards.
• Condescending Compassion: The Humanists are one of the most charitable of the Salons, but their wealthy and elitist backgrounds can occasionally make them out-of-touch with the interests of the common Russian living in the countryside. In one event, an Altay politician asks a fellow Humanist why they should prioritize city improvement over the rural areas, and his concern is shrugged off with a patronizing smile and a plain reassurance that improving the urban areas would also improve the countryside.
• Defeat Means Friendship:
  • If defeated by Kemerovo, Yuriy will recruit their police force to his side and show the people that they are not tyrants.
  • Subverted when Rurik tries to persuade former Tomsk salon members to help his cause. When they're approached, the Tomsk politicians denounce Rurik as a deluded tyrant and disagree with Rurik's emphasis on social welfare, arguing that education is the greater priority.
  • If defeated by Novosibirsk and fair democratic elections are permitted, the Bastillards will be allowed to come into power, and form a friendship with Shukshin out of their shared liberal sympathies.
• Despair Event Horizon: If defeated by Novosibirsk, the people of Tomsk become disenchanted with their hopes of an egalitarian republic, wondering to themselves if their past idealism was an illusion that could never survive in practice.
• Disaster Democracy: Tomsk has a strong and functional democratic system, built by former Soviet intelligentsia who desire total freedom of expression, which was suppressed under Soviet rule.
• Foil:
  • Tomsk serves as one to Komi, in more ways than one. The democratic system in place is comparatively much more stable (as opposed to glorified civil wars with elections), while all the "parties" are generally functional, competent and sane.
  • It also serves as this to Novosibirsk. The latter in particular is a dark mirror of Tomsk: where realism and pragmatism are taken to their logical conclusion, devoid of any higher hopes or dreams.
  • Tomsk, an intelligentsia democracy with uniquely politically syncretic "parties" that borrow Enlightenment ideals from the 17th Century to build a new society in Russia, is a contrast to Kemerovo, a neo-feudal monarchy that blends aesthetics and cultural mores from Russia's medieval period together with Soviet progressivism (worker's rights, gender equality, etc.) to form a new culture that is uniquely Russian.
• Genocide Backfire: The German response to reunification by the particularly idealistic Humanists, led by a Jewish-Pole composer.
  Let just one Jew escape...
• Good Versus Good: All of Tomsk's political parties are presented in a (mostly) benevolent light, with their only "conflict" being what is the best method of social development to be taken. This becomes a bit more muddled after Tomsk unifies Central Siberia, where the salon-based model of government is criticized for being elitist by independent politicians. If the player isn't careful at managing their policies regarding these criticisms, Tomsk may actually end up being defeated by the Siberian Workers' Federation.
• Hypocrite:
  • For all their talk of guaranteeing the freedom of speech and the right to vote, the Republic can go against their ideals during the Cynicism Crisis, where they may deem independents too extreme to ever take power.
  • The League for Expanded Democratic Rights, a special interests group by independents, accuse the Republic of undemocratic practices by restricting the number of voters based on those who can pass an entrance exam, claiming that everyone deserves a fair vote, regardless of education.
    A democracy for the elite or a democracy for the people?
• New Media Are Evil: In the regional stage, some avant-garde musicians pioneer the techno music genre, which the Humanists and Decembrists dismiss as "nothing but bleeps and blorps" and "hardly music at all".
• Non-Indicative Name: The conservative, environmentalist Decembrists of Tomsk seem to have very little in common with the historical Russian Decembrists (who were a group of 19th century pro-democratic nobles who advocated either for a French-style republic or a British-style constitutional monarchy, and whose main objective was the abolition of serfdom). The names of the Humanist and the Modernist salons, at least, correlate somewhat with their actual ideologies, and those who used such terms prior, while the term "Bastillard" is fully fictional and has no political or philosophical connotations.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: The Bastillards' official name is called Trinity Group, but everyone calls them the Bastillards.
• The Philosopher King: Tomsk is a very idealistic, philosophical democracy centred on intellectualism, art, and science; its parties (more accurately Salons and political movements) are named Bastillards, Decembrists, Humanists and Modernists, and are not organized around political power but instead the pure pursuit of political philosophy, and it can't follow any non-democratic path.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: The Humanist and Decembrist Salons are wary of independent parties allowing demagogues and radicals to take power, but they do compromise on the issue. While the constitution is rewritten so the four great salons can dictate who can run for president, they do give room for independents to have a full political career and thereby restore some confidence in the Republic's ability to hear the people.
• The Republic: The Central Siberian Republic is a democratic republic with a strong constitution, and is easily one of the most morally upstanding factions in Russia.
• Romanticism Versus Enlightenment: The central divide of Tomsk's political spectrum is this, rather than left versus right (as all of Tomsk's salons are somewhat syncretic in political thought).
  • The Decembrists (Romanticism) are Tomsk's historians and medievalists. They are paternalistic conservative, traditionalist and proto-environmentalist, seeing themselves as the true heirs of 1917 and believing that the key to Russia's future lies in celebrating Russia's past and preserving the national spirit of the Russian people. To the Decembrists, the health and prosperity of the Russian people is tied to the Russian land and Russian history, and so any government that harms the land will also harm the people. They try to balance the needs of the people, state, army and economy. However their agrarianism is criticized by those who see developmental focus on the cities and quick social reform as necessary to help Russia out of its current rut.
  • The Humanists (Romanticism) are Tomsk's musicians. They are described as utopian socialists, who prioritize preserving the human rights and freedoms of the Russian people while also promoting development of infrastructure and welfare programs as well as Russian art and culture, particularly Russian music. The Humanists are the salon most dedicated to reinterpreting communism by taking the mandate to save the working people and ditching the more unsavory elements of the ideology. They are deeply idealistic and charitable, if a bit condescending to the common man in the countryside.
  • The Bastillards (Enlightenment) are Tomsk's writers, poets and avant-garde artists. Pragmatic Hobbesian-minded conservatives, the Bastillards' focus is on fortifying Russia militarily and economically, promoting state stability and free market economics, and insulating the democratic system from radical politics. To the Bastillards, Russia is a country on the verge of death and saving it will only be possible once it is militarily and economically strong enough to be able to deter Germany - art, technology and the environment will always be secondary concerns as long as the threat of them all being trampled under the German jackboot again remains. They are skeptical of any short-sighted populism and, depending on who you ask, indifferent to the common Russian man and proud of it. They are committed to universal healthcare and literacy programs but only as a calculated choice to strengthen the country.
  • The Modernists (Enlightenment) are Tomsk's scientists and engineers. The opposite of the Decembrists, the Modernists want to drag Russia into the future, kicking and screaming if necessary. Socially liberal and technocratic, they believe that communism failed in Russia because it was a backwater lagging behind the rest of the world, and that accelerating technological development and modernization in Russia will solve most of Russia's problems and directly lift the living standards of the people too. They decriminalize homosexuality (being the only salon to do so) and provide free education to the people... but in practice may be even more elitist than the Bastillards, as they restrict the right to vote only to those with college education. They also invent techno music.
• Shout-Out: One Tomsk event sees the creation of a radio serial named Welcome to Dolina Nochi.
• Scienceville: Widely known as an idealistic democracy ruled by a clique of scientists and scholars. This is especially true if the Modernists take over, in which case Andrey Sakharov will pursue a campaign of scientific development and greatly advance the local standard of living.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: After Tomsk unifies Central Siberia, they face the so-called "Cynicism Crisis", which sees rising cynicism against the idealistic salon-based democracy. New independent parties and politicians are coming out and questioning the salon system, criticizing it for its apparent elitist nature.
• Turn the Other Cheek: For some of the more sympathetic warlords, Tomsk is willing to give them lighter sentences, despite the fact that they betrayed and seceded from the old Republic years ago. In particular, some take pity on Rurik's insanity and can have him sent to a mental hospital rather than prosecute him like a traitor.
• Vestigial Empire: Tomsk was the center of the Central Siberian Republic, the only non-Communist state founded in the immediate collapse of the Soviet Union, but it was shattered by generals who had their own far-reaching ambitions for unifying Russia.
• We ARE Struggling Together: All of Salons have conflicting visions for Russia and their discord is exacerbated when they reunify Central Siberia and open questions on how to govern their new territories.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: The free thinkers who ruled the Central Siberian Republic have wonderful ideas about creating a fair and democratic nation, but they have very little experience with actual political intrigue. This resulted in the collapse of the Central Siberian Republic, as their ambitious generals defied their idealism and seceded.

Boris Pasternak

Role: Head of State

Party: Dekabristy^note Decembrists

Ideology: Paternalistic Conservatism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Boris Leonidovich Pasternak is not a politician by trade, but rather a poet and a scholar. A Muscovite of Jewish ancestry, he quickly became renowned in the early days of the Soviet Union for his collections of poetry and translations of English and German classics. However, his early admiration for Lenin soon wore out, and he found himself scrambling to try and get friends and colleagues off of blacklists and out of prisons. Pasternak, despite his reputation suffering, never saw official censure or persecution himself, as many within the Politburo and NKVD viewed him as too passive and detached from reality to pose a political threat. As the Germans marched closer to Moscow, Pasternak and the remnants of the Soviet intelligentsia fled to the east, with many taking refuge in the city of Tomsk. There, they decided to draft a liberal constitution inspired by the undying Russian democratic thought and pledged to restore the freedom of expression that they craved under Soviet rule. Their cause gave a birth to the Central Siberian Republic, which proved itself to be a worthy foe to the declining dictatorship of the Far Eastern Soviet state, but soon collapsed under its own weight, unable to cope with ambitions of their own generals. Pasternak now rules a state dominated by intellectuals and artists, full of thinkers and poets. Although he and his colleagues give wonderful speeches, draft laws that are fascinating to read, and compose beautiful anthems, their only previous experience in holding office has been on university faculties. Whether Pasternak and his nation of dreamers will achieve anything or be content to sit in their ivory towers is a question that has yet to be fully determined.

Poet, novelist, and presently the founder and president of the Central Siberian Republic, who also leads the traditionalist and environmentalist-minded Decembrist salon. Pasternak has contracted Lung Cancer and is not expected to live long, and must prepare the next elections to decide the next president.

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• Beneath Notice: During the Soviet Union's reign, Pasternak helped his friends escape from the NKVD prisons. Nothing was done against him because everyone viewed him as too passive and detached from reality to be a real threat.
• Cincinnatus: As more states began seceding following the disastrous Siberian War, Pasternak temporarily suspended the democratic government and established a temporary provisional system which only his closest allies could participate in. With Pasternak's health declining, he's decided to restore the old democratic system back and allow other salons to potentially take over.
• Minor Major Character: Pasternak dies not long after the game's start, but he's the most important character in Tomsk's background, having founded the Republic in the first place.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Boris Pasternak in real life was a poet, novelist, and literary translator. In TNO, he took up politics and decided to unify Central Siberia under the Central Siberian Republic, with him as its first president.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: The real Pasternak died in 1960, at the age of 70. In this timeline, he is still alive by 1962, but will die shortly after the game begins.

Dmitry Likhachyov

Role: Foreign Minister (Pasternak cabinet), Head of State (Election)

Party: Dekabristy^note Decembrists

Ideology: Agrarianism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Of all Russia's cultural heroes, the Decembrists could ask for none better than Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachyov. A true child of European Russia, Likhachyov's passion for literature became his career at the tender age of 16, when he entered Leningrad State University. Arrested by the secret police in 1928 for nothing more than alleged involvement in a literary group for students, he was exiled without trial to the Solovetsky Islands, where he would spend five years in a gulag. He narrowly avoided execution, and then nearly a decade later lived through the siege of Leningrad, being one of the lucky few to slip through German lines along with his family. Resurfacing in Tomsk some time after the war, Likhachyov became a devoted friend and follower of Pasternak, and soon joined the Decembrists. With the old poet's passing, Likhachyov has become their de-facto leader. Espousing a truly European vision of Russia, proud of its heritage, history and diversity, he would see Tomsk lead the Motherland into a golden age of peace, cultural growth and friendship with the West.

Linguist, medievalist, and presently a top aide to President Pasternak. He succees Pasternak as the leader of the Decembrists following the latter's passing.

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• All-Loving Hero: Likhachyov is one of the most personable and affable politicians in Tomsk. More uniquely, his focus on the Russian land makes him less elitist compared to the other Salons, even to the Humanists at times.
• Boring, but Practical: While the other salons pursue radical agendas through their megaprojects, the Decembrists focus on resolving the Great Discord, restoring trust to Tomsk's political system by smoothly integrating their newly acquired territories to the political system. This mundane approach helps combat the cynicism and separatist movements that would drag Tomsk down, stabilizing it in preparation for its future unification wars.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: As part of his campaign rally, Likhachyov comes up with the odd idea of hosting it in the woods, but this strategy works because it brings Russians of all classes and professions together to find solidarity with and support the Decembrist's campaign of uniting the Russian people in one spirit.
• Good Old Ways: He is critical of the other salons for their hasty reforms, believing that Russia should turn back to its old traditions and culture.
• In Harmony with Nature: Likhachyov and the Decembrists are conservationists and proto-environmentalists. They strongly believe that the Russian people are closely tied to the Russian land, and that development which destroys that land will harm the people as well.
• Internal Reformist:
  • Likhachyov's agenda is a three-pronged plan intended to reform the prison system, improve the living conditions of the average Russian, and impelement environmental protections.
  • After the Siberian Worker's revolt, Likhachyov immediately recognizes that the exploitative nature of the Siberian Plan kickstarted the whole conflict and sets out to introduce reforms that will improve the standing of the common Russian.
• Luxury Prison Suite: Downplayed, but the Decembrists under Likhachyov aggressively pursue prison reform, hoping to accomplish true rehabilitation rather than punitive imprisonment.
• Mellow Fellow: Zig-Zagged. Likhachyov promotes calmness and prudence in the face of distress, which is how he tackles the Cynicism Crisis. However, it's mentioned that he gets extremely temperamental whenever anyone disagrees with his focus on the farmers' interests.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Likhachyov is an Old Russian medievalist and linguist who in TNO becomes the new leader of the conservative Decembrists in Tomsk after Pasternak's resignation and passing, and can be elected to lead the country. He did have some Soviet dissident activities in real life though.
• Take a Third Option: Stuck between redeveloping Tomsk's industry or accelerating the release of prisoners who were unjustly jailed, Likhachyov takes the unorthodox approach of releasing the prisoners and hiring them to improve the nation's infrastructure, effectively solving both issues at once.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Under his guidance, the Decembrists inherit the legacy of Pasternak's vision, where intellectualism, empathy, and tradition are enshrined as cultural values.
• You Can't Go Home Again: He grew up in Saint Petersburg, which he laments, knowing that he can never return there so long as the Germans continue to occupy the city. He swears that he will liberate the city before he dies so that he can be buried there.

Dmitry Shostakovich

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Gumanisty^note Humanists

Ideology: Utopian Socialism^note Progressivism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}As with all symphonies, the new life of Dmitry Dmitriyevich Shostakovich started with a single sound: the chime of a telegram. Punctuated with sudden stops, the little piece of paper brought to him brief but grim news: Leningrad had fallen to the hands of the Nazis. He was attending a recital in Tomsk, in honor of an old friend. With his home lost and with no transport westwards, Shostakovich became stuck in the city, earning his living as a composer of eccentric repute in the Central Siberian Republic. Thus began the Larghissimo of Shostakovich's life. A slow and ponderous walk across the years of the Republic, with almost nothing notable occurring in-between. He turned to his work, composing pieces that subtly criticized the Republic, and integrated himself into the artistic scene of Tomsk. When he found himself at the forefront of the Humanist Association, he had reached the Andante of his movement: a stable, forward pace. However, such a steady tempo would not last forever. Rebellions shattered the old Republic, with Novosibirsk tearing itself away over the issue of conscription. It opened to a chaotic second act: the anarchists rose in Kansk, and the generals mutinied in Krasnoyarsk. The denouement rested in Tomsk, where the ideals of the Republic survived and thrived. The artistic movements of the city, now Salons, thrived. The lands of Central Siberia are to witness a new play fold out. With his triumph in the elections of the Republic, Shostakovich now stands to conduct it. The world awaits to see if his victory is merely an overture or the end of a beautiful coda.

Composer, pianist, and presently the founder and leader of Tomsk's humanitarian-minded Humanist Association salon.

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• The Alcoholic: Depressed by the injustices Germany inflicted on his homeland, Shostakovich has taken to drinking as a coping mechanism, which doesn't help his already failing health. Veinberg has long given up on trying to get him to quit. He falls even steeper into this vice if the Black Army conquer's Tomsk and Stepanov's men begin marching into the city.
• All-Loving Hero: Shostakovich emphasizes the need for compassion towards all, and his reforms are the most humanitarian of Tomsk's leaders. He also averts the typical elitist attitudes of the common Tomsk politician and specifically removes the upper house in the Republic to allow more direct representation from the masses.
• Arc Words: The starting focus tree for Shostakovich has three foci titled "The Rights of Man", "The Rights of Humanity", and "The Rights for Living", highlighting his humanitarian policies dedicated to fighting poverty and illiteracy.
• Boring, but Practical: One of his less ambitious reforms is fixing the railway systems of Siberia, which actually proves to be a massive boon to industrial development and a discouragement to regional separatism.
• Crazy Enough to Work: Many dismissed Shostakovich's humanist vision for Russia as a pipe dream that would never come to be. However, if given the chance to enact his radical reforms, Shostakovich proves all his doubters wrong and creates a near-utopian incarnation of Russia where the common folk will no longer have to fear poverty or oppression.
• Doomed Moral Victor: Even if Tomsk gets conquered by the Black Army, Shostakovich will not submit to the new occupiers and continue organizing protests against them. This costs his life in the power struggle between Siuda and Stepanov, where the latter will order a lockdown of Tomsk and a successive break up of the ensuing protests.
• Heroes Gone Fishing: One event is just about Shostakovich casually relaxing and listening to a recording of the latest composition from his pupil, Edison Denisov.
• Internal Reformist: Shostakovich blames the Republic's past failures on its apathy to the common worker, in which he aims to fix this by advocating policies in favor of them.
• Morality Pet: Shostakovich is one of the few people who doesn't share Tukhachevsky's militarist ideology, yet is still treated well by him as a personal friend.
• Necessarily Evil: He laments the need for the Republic to go to war with the other warlords in their reunification conquests, but deems it necessary, since they will never submit peacefully.
• Odd Friendship: Despite the two having very different ideologies, Shostakovich still exchanges correspondence with the WRRF's Mikhail Tukhachevsky. Truth in Television surprisingly enough, as both Shostakovich and Tukhachevsky actually were close friends in reality, maintaining a friendship all the way until Tukhachevsky's execution during the Great Purge in 1937.
• Passing the Torch: In 1967, due to his ailing health, Shostakovich steps down as leader of the Humanists and lets his protégé Moisey Weinberg succeed him.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Shostakovich makes an honest effort to reach out and negotiate with trade unions so that they can be offered protections and guarantees from further abuse.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Dmitry Shostakovich in real life was a famous composer and pianist who (after being the target of a few political accusations from high-ranking Soviet politicians during Stalin's regime) joined the Communist Party as a delegate for the Supreme Soviet during the 1960s. However, since the Nazi victory destroyed the USSR before this point in TNO's timeline, and since Tomsk's democracy is led entirely by the intelligentsia, Shostakovich has formed the Humanist Association, to focus on protecting the people's freedom of artistic expression.
• What's Up, King Dude?: To build support for the Humanists, Shostakovich goes to directly meet with the masses to hear their concerns, using his personal charisma to win them over.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Shostakovich is present in Tomsk because he was attending a recital there for an old friend. When he received the news that Leningrad fell to the Germans, Shostakovich was horrified, knowing he could never return to his home again.^note This could be considered as an Artistic License – History since Shostakovich was actually in Leningrad when the city was sieged.

Moisey Veinberg

Role: Head of Government (Shostakovich cabinet), Head of State (Shostakovich succession)

Party: Gumanisty^note Humanists

Ideology: Utopian Socialism^note Progressivism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}When Moisey Veinberg began his rise in the CSR's politics, many surmised that the Jewish composer from Warsaw would struggle to step out from his mentor Shostakovich's shadow. After all, the talented musician's work, too, had thus far failed to earn their own place, independent of Shostakovich's orbit. However, just as his works had acquired fans of their own, Vainberg's political ambitions earned the rising star of the Humanist Salon his own place in the limelight. A patient, detail oriented introspective man, Vainberg excelled in negotiating with other Salons, as well as in coordinating the Humanist's famously decentralized political organization. Now president of the Republic, Moisey Vainberg brings his own influences and impact on the Humanist Project. His family consumed by the anti-Semitism of the century, his homeland of Poland fallen to the fascist threat, Weinberg knows the stakes of his presidency all too well; Tomsk's dream of a free Russia, a shining light of freedom and progress, cannot be allowed to wither. A better future must be built for all, and defended vigorously. From investing in infrastructure to connect the people better, to continuing Shostakovich's drive to educate the workers, to expanding Tomsk's direct democratic traditions, President Vainberg seeks to teach the lessons of a century marred by sorrow, that have shown again and again the importance of hope and courage.

Polish-born Soviet composer, and presently the co-leader of the Humanists and mentee of Shostakovich. He succeeds Shostakovich as president after he steps down due to his ailing health.

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• All-Loving Hero: Just like his mentor, Weinberg has a deep concern for the people and even discourages the rise of demagogues by urging the people to consider which politicians would be the most charitable.
• Body Motifs: His TomSiBar megaproject uses body parts as a metaphor of the Republic's infrastructure. Specifically, the local infrastructure are the capillaries, the transporation routes are the arteries, and the cities are the main organs.
• Commonality Connection: Weinberg is sympathetic to the plights of sexual minorities, being a victim of discrimination himself as a Jew and a Pole. Unfortunately, he can't immediately pass legislation to protect them because of how deeply unpopular it is outside of Tomsk, much to Weinberg's dismay.
• Good Is Not Soft: Weinberg seeks to build a Russia freed from tyrants and extremism, a Russia kind to its workers, and ruthless against its enemies. Notably, the Humanist army is actually one of the more terrifying ones the salons can build, since they take a letter out of the Swiss's handbook and enact universal conscription of the population.
• Home Guard: Further developing the Republican army in the superregional stage, Weinberg can organize a massive civilian army as reserves, giving them adequate training to prepare them for future conflicts.
• Number Two: Weinberg is the protégé of Dmitry Shostakovich, before succeeding him as the Humanists' leader when Shostakovich steps down.
• Reconcile the Bitter Foes: Weinberg and the Humanist's megaproject is the TomSiBar plan, which aims to ease separatist sentiments in Tomsk, Novosibirsk, and Barnaul by connecting their infrastructure via railways and fostering unity between all of the regions.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: The real Weinberg was a composer who had very little involvement in politics. In TNO, he is the leader of the Humanist political salon after Shostakovich's resignation.
• Spell My Name With An S: Befitting his status as an Ashkenazi Jew living in Russia, his surname is variously spelt as Weinberg (the original German spelling) and Veinberg (the same word transliterated to Russian Cyrillic and back to English).
• Taking Up the Mantle:
  • Weinberg is the protégé of Shostakovich, sharing his humanistic and egalitarian views. When Shostakovich retires due to poor health, Weinberg is his natural choice for a successor.
  • Weinberg and the Humanists take up the legacy of the 1917 and 1918 revolutions. However, whereas those revolutions fell short of their lofty ideals, Weinberg sticks to his principles and creates a truly free and prosperous Russia.
• Team Switzerland: On the road to becoming a regional power after conquering the Far East, Weinberg pursues a neutral foreign policy with the OFN and the Sphere, only pursuing trade relations with them.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Weinberg's native Poland fell to the Nazis long ago, and he was forced to flee to Minsk and then Tashkent, before settling in Tomsk.

Andrey Sakharov

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Modernisty^note Modernists

Ideology: Liberal Technocracy^note Liberalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A learned man once said: "The truth is never simple." That man, of course, was Andrey Dmitryevich Sakharov, a complex man for complicated times. Born into the intelligentsia, Sakharov found shelter from politics in the gilded cage of Soviet science. Keeping his head down and immersing himself in his chosen field, Sakharov survived, despite occasionally drawing the unwelcome attention of the authorities for outspoken remarks against Party-approved academia. Sakharov managed to find his way eastwards after the collapse of Bolshevik authority, taking up residence in Tomsk. His technocratic, idealistic views brought him into the clique that would become known as the Modernists. Espousing a sincere belief in the power of science and technology to create the foundations of a better society, Andrey Sakharov embodies the idealism of Tomsk like no other.

Soviet nuclear physicist, and currently the leader of the liberal and technocratic-minded Modernist salon at Tomsk.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: Unlike Tomsk's other leaders, Sakharov was an actual outspoken Soviet dissident and a liberal democrat in real life. He also developed thermonuclear weapons, including the Tsar Bomba, for the Soviet Union and in TNO, personally heads the Tomsk nuclear program.
• Emperor Scientist: Sakharov is a nuclear physicist and the presidential candidate for the Modernists. Tomsk under Sakharov's leadership will accelerate its scientific developments and modernize its society to greatly improve its people's living standards. Their superproject turns Kemerovo into a "Russian Silicon Valley," a global bastion of technological advancement.
• The Idealist: Even compared to the other politicians of Tomsk, Sakharov is singled out as the most idealistic one of them, advocating revolutionary scientific progress and pushing the boundaries of human knowledge. As such, his megaproject, the New Siberian Plan, is meant to build Tomsk's computer sciences industry, the most impressive of all the other projects undertaken by the salons.
• Not Quite the Right Thing: It's noted that while free education is a good idea in principle, in practice the average poor worker doesn't necessarily have the appropriate social safety net to take time off and engage with it.
• Preserve Your Gays: The Modernists are the only salon to decriminalize homosexuality.
• The Proud Elite: Downplayed, compared to the Bastillards, but the Modernists seek to restrict the vote to those with a college education, though they also push for free college education for all Russians.
• Sheltered Aristocrat: Sakharov means well and his reforms sound exceptional on paper, but he can occasionally loses sight of what the common Russian wants, failing to tailor his social policies to their lifestyles. For example, his benefit of free education may not be enjoyed by all Russians because they are too busy with their jobs to bother learning in the first place. This results in Modernist Tomsk being in practice much more elitist than Sakharov intends it to be.
• The Spock: Notably, Sakharov's strategy to stop extremist parties from taking power is to think critically of who can be integrated and who is too dangerous to take power.

Daniil Kharms

Role: Head of State (Election)

Party: Bastilyary^note Bastillards

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Daniil Kharms - originally Daniil Ivanovich Yuvachev, before embracing his pen name - is not the kind of man anyone envisioned leading a nation. A stalwart of the Leningrad avant-garde movement, Kharms achieved only limited local recognition in the interbellum years. Known primarily for his children's literature, Kharms also wrote an extensive corpus of absurdist work that found favor with dissidents and irritated the revolutionary establishment to no end. His career was cut short in 1941 by his arrest and commitment to a psychiatric institute in Leningrad. He might have died in the following siege, if not for a sympathetic guard's kindness. An absurd miracle, for a writer of the absurd. That Kharms has fallen in with the Bastillards is a surprise only to those unfamiliar with his work. Through metaphor and various other literary devices, he has made clear his ideological peculiarities: the sublimation of coarse, unbidden desires, and the importance of remaining human in a world fallen to animalistic barbarity. Not the most orthodox of men to lead a law-and-order party, but who's to say what's 'orthodox' these days?

Poet, writer, dramatist, and currently the head of Tomsk's pragmatic and Hobbesian-minded Trinity Group salon, a.k.a. the Bastillards.

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• Anti-Hero: Of the Unscrupulous kind. The Bastillards take many authoritarian and anti-populist measures should they win the election while continually separating the government from the masses and forcing all the workers inside a single state-run union. Their actions in the Far East while fighting fascism aren't any better, which include jailing them in concentration camps. Despite all this, they enact universal literacy programs and implement universal healthcare (albeit at the cost of minimum wage) when they could've just kept the population illiterate. Kharms himself doesn't take pleasure in oppressing the workers and sees it as a necessary evil to ensure Russia's survival.
• At Least I Admit It: He considers himself above the usual politician because he's openly honest about the Bastillards' indifference to the common worker.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Downplayed, but the Bastillards are one of the more free-market salons, and they can potentially abolish the minimum wage and put all workers in a single state-run union if they side with the industrial giants against them.
• Creepy Good: Downplayed. Kharms is described as a gaunt and skeletal individual, and is the most morally ambiguous of Tomsk's leaders, but is still relatively good by the standards of Russia as a whole.
• Foil: Kharms and the Bastillards are this to Pokryshkin and Novosibirsk's siloviki. While the Bastillards aren't soft in their approach to governance, taking many authoritarian and anti-populist measures, they still genuinely care about their countrymen and believe that such measures are necessary to restore order in Russia. This stands in sharp contrast to the lack of any real ideals among the siloviki other than a cynical drive for power.
• I Did What I Had to Do: As their After Midnight characterization shows, the Bastillards don't enjoy the authoritarian measures they undertake to stabilize and rebuild Russia... but they feel that being too soft will lead to disastrous long-term consequences.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Once they reach the superregional stage and take over the Far East, the Bastillards will enact "de-harbinization" programs to try to clean out fascist influence. These measures include Secret Police and concentration camps, which are very repressive, but at least the victims are some of the least sympathetic people in Siberia.
• Pet the Dog: Their government isn't all authoritarian oppression; the Bastillards do enact universal literacy campaigns and universal healthcare, though the latter comes at the expense of minimum wage.
• The Proud Elite: The Bastillard salon is suspicious of excess populism in such an emergency situation, and pushes to insulate government from short-sighted voters. They actually reform the government such that only the unelected cabinet is allowed to draft laws while the assembly can only vote "yes or no" on them.
• The Purge: The Bastillards will try to "de-harbinize" the Far East if they reach the superregional stage, using government lists of subversives, secret police, concentration camps, and other repressive measures to limit fascist influence on their nascent democracy.
• Realpolitik: Even though Japan's puppet Manchuria occupies some Russian Far East territory, Kharms' megaproject, the National Redoubt, aims to pragmatically improve trade relations with them, developing their ports to access the foreign markets of Manchuria.
• Refuge in Audacity: At a campaign event, he acknowledges claims that the Bastillards don't care much for the average worker, and embraces them, saying that the defense and maintenance of the Republic must come first and that the Bastillards admit this rather than hiding it.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: In real life, Kharms was a poet, writer and dramatist notable for his avant-garde absurdist works and humorous children's stories (he also died during the Siege of Leningrad, which he survived in TNO thanks to the help of a kind guard). In this timeline, he has found himself a place in Tomsk's intelligentsia-guided democracy as leader of the Bastillard political salon.
• Serendipitous Survival: Under arrest by the NKVD, Kharms was imprisoned in Leningrad, which the Nazis invaded during World War II. However, while he perished there in OTL, a kind guard in this timeline took pity on Kharms and released him, allowing him to escape to Tomsk.

Viktor Nekrasov

Role: Head of State (SBA collapse)

Party: Gumanisty^note Humanists

Ideology: Utopian Socialism^note Progressivism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers)}Disillusioned with the tyranny of Chairman Yagoda and at odds with the corporate capitalists of Novosibirsk, Viktor Platonovich Nekrasov found himself most closely aligned with Shostakovich and the Humanist Salon in Tomsk. Despite this, Nekrasov could never find his footing with the more radical social democrats and moderate socialists. Nekrasov felt lost. His ideology was much to the left of prominent humanists yet still to the right of the anarchist movement cultivating to the south. Without a movement to call home, Nekrasov resigned himself to a life of writing, a passion he had picked up after settling in the intellectual heart of Russia. Nekrasov took an interest in journalism. His lack of ideological alignment may have left him isolated but granted him an exceptional career as a war correspondent, covering the movements of warlords across Central Siberia and to the east. It was the Black Army that garnered the most attention from him.

If his attention was not captured by the expansion of the Free Territory, its leaders marching down the streets of Tomsk most certainly did. While his views didn't line up with Siudaist thought one to one, he had little complaints in the following the liberation of the city. The abolishment of the salon system offered him more say than previously, and the Territory's aversion to authoritarianism was certainly appreciated. As days and weeks went by, however, it seemed as though the conflict in Tomsk never ceased. Anarchist splinter groups loyal to different factions and philosophies battled openly in the streets prompting larger quantities of Black Army detachments to police the city.

As the conflict swelled, Nekrasov felt a divide grow in him as well. If history were to continue, if scholars and scribes could still find work in a cutthroat era of utilitarianism, the march on Tomsk would go down as the most significant workers strike of a generation and Viktor Nekrasov wouldn't be where he was. However, fate is often unkind, and those with the best intentions often find themselves on the wrong side of history.

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• Defector from Decadence: If the Siberian Black Army unifies Central Siberia, Nekrasov is content to work with them, until Stepanov's men begin patrolling the streets of Tomsk and vandalizing their city, which motivates him to secede when the Free Territory collapses altogether.
• The Remnant: Taking control of Tomsk in the event of the Siberian Black Army's collapse, Nekrasov represents the remnant Humanist faction.

Novosibirsk

^{Flag of the Russian Federation}

Official Name: Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay, Central Siberian Federation (regional unification), Siberian Federation (superregional unification), Russian Federation (national unification)

Ruling Party: Novosibirskiye Siloviki^note Strongmen of Novosibirsk

Ideology: Oligarchy^note Paternalism

A secessionist Siberian republic created after the Siberian War, governed by a clique of ex-military powerholders (siloviki) from the Central Siberian Republic. Ostensibly democratic, the country is in fact a cynical capitalist oligarchy, whose leaders prioritize power and stability over ideology, creating an untouchable class of government-backed local megacorporations.

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• Ace Pilot: Appropriately for a regime run by a retired ace, a sizable portion of Novosibirsk's general staff consists of Soviet aces during the Second World War, including Field Marshal Alexander Novikov, head of the Soviet Air Force for much of the war.
• Agent Provocateur: Domestic Communist resistance fighters eventually begin trying to plant their numbers into the army and spread weapons around agitated workforces to incite further rebellion.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Novosibirsk has the most villainous of the starting governments in Central Siberia, being a corrupt, authoritarian republic under the command of a strongman overseeing vast cyberpunk Mega Corps whose ideas of human rights and workplace safety are halfway between that of the Soviet Union and the Victorian Era. On its merits and for its neighborhood, this would make it a horrible entity. In TNO, it is right across the border from Omsk and counts as mid-tier at worst in a world full of totalitarian dictatorships of left, right, and center, mass murder, and the threat of nuclear war. It pales in comparison to other Corpocracies such as that of Guangdong and the Nazi Cartels, and Pokryshkin is driven a sense of patriotic duty.
• All Are Equal in Death: As some soldiers crack dark jokes about what happens when a communist or fascist is shot, the jokester finishes his routine in a more somber mood about how five men (a communist, two anarchists, a fascist, and a Cossack) don't discuss political theory when they die, but rather cry out for their mothers.
• Allohistorical Allusion: Novosibirsk can enact the Virgin Lands Campaign in its starting focus tree.
• Animal Motifs:
  • As the name implies, Feniks is represented by the phoenix bird, symbolizing their extreme aggressiveness and focus on producing military equipment.
  • Sibir's logo is a bear, representing their focus on agriculture and closeness to nature.
• Appeal to Force: After combining economic pressure, flaunting of its military power and careful negotiations, the Federation can convince its rivals to submit to its order by promising that its cynical political machine will be far more practical than any philosophical and political inclinations.
• Arch-Enemy: They have the most problems with Tomsk, with whom they ideologically oppose and anticipate conflict with the most. Titan, one of their mega-corporations, was even The Rival to one of the Salons under the Republic.
• Asshole Victim: If the SBA defeats Novosibirsk, most of the military strongmen and chief officers of the mega corporations are either imprisoned or executed. Can’t say we feel bad for them.
• The Assimilator: Novosibirsk intends to strip warlords of their grander ambitions and previous allegiances so they may serve the bitterly pragmatic and centralized order the Federation provides.
• Black Market: With a large population and a developed economy, Novosibirsk's government has faced many problems with combatting the illegal trade of drugs. As the problem continues to spiral out of control, this is beginning to have a greater effect on the community, and addiction is becoming increasingly common in Novosibirsk.
• Body Motifs: In Titan's description, Feniks is referred to as the Federation's muscle, Sibir as the beating heart, and Titan itself as the brain.
• Boring, but Practical:
  • Novosibirsk isn't as colorful as the other Central Siberian warlords, but their greater industrial base and support from the megacorporations makes them one of the most powerful and efficient places in the region. Many of these advantages are even carried over and multiplied in the regional stage.
  • The Silovik regime has a unique mechanic where the megacorporations can infiltrate other warlord states and use their vast resources to buy out their assets, putting economic pressure on them to peacefully unite with Novosibirsk. It's not as flashy as going to war, but it is an effective means of reunifying Russia without spending much manpower.
• Bread and Circuses: Nearly said verbatim in the focus "Bread and Games", where the Silovik junta gives easy access to food and entertainment so the people don't get any funny ideas about rebelling.
• But Not Too Foreign: An ace pilot in Novosibirsk is Amet-khan Sultan, who is a Crimean Tatar who wants revenge on the Nazis for desecrating his homeland and helps Shukshin in his electoral campaign.
• Capitalism Is Bad: Befitting its Cyberpunk nature. Workers are made to toil under the rule of the oppressive siloviki and struggle for their rights, corporate powers remain only concerned with flooding their own pockets and boast enough influence to sway government officials with ease, the system is usually unable to properly address the rise of harmful Black Market trades, the industrial advancements constantly pollute the environment, and negotiating the annexation of other states renders the most dedicated ideologues into miserable slaves to the dreary and pragmatic order. No matter how many resorts to direct action there are, the elites stamp out every threat of resistance in the name of securing profit. This especially sticks out for their corporatist options.
• Choosing Neutrality:
  • During the Siberian War, Alexander Pokryshkin and Vasily Shukshin, unwilling to see the young men from their hometowns die pointlessly on the battlefield, seized Novosibirsk and formed a new government free from any influence, truly neutral amidst the chaos in Russia.
  • In the regional stage, Sibir and Feniks desire an alliance with the Sphere and OFN, respectively, forcing the government to manage its trade influence with both factions. If the influence numbers are equal, the government will be unable to pick a partner.
• Cincinnatus: As Novosibirsk expands throughout Central Siberia, military governors are appointed to manage the newly conquered territories, but this is a temporary measure until the entire region is unified and control can be passed down to new officials.
• Control Freak: The government swears that it only has the interests of its people as a priority to justify its increasing reach and centralization.
• Corporate Warfare: The various mega-corps often send well-armed representatives to attack organized popular demonstrations or one another, and they usually get away with it.
• Corrupt Politician: Vasily Shukshin laments that many of his supposedly-trusted aides are in the pocket of the corporate fatcats preying upon Barnaul's prosperity.
• The Corrupter: The government has no grander, virtuous morality behind its system, being merely concerned with progress under a jaded lens and steady development. As an apolitical entity, the state can convince any warlord to join its cause if they have the right influence and factors to tempt them.
• Cyberpunk: invokedWord of God states that Novosibirsk was explicitly influenced by the genre, and it's especially obvious in its corporatist path.
• Cyberpunk Is Techno: Unlike many of the other Russian warlords whose unification themes are orchestral or vocal, Novosibirsk's are electronic synth pieces by Novosibirsk native Eduard Artemyev.
• Death from Above: They have access to most of the former Central Siberian Republic's air force and will want to improve what they have. So much of the former air force's officials make up their government that even the President is an Ace Pilot. In the regional stage, there are six projects about developing new aviation technology.
• Defeat Means Friendship: To counter the rise of dissidents in the Far East, the Silovik regime recruits defeated military officers, blackshirts, and NKVD agents to administer the newly conquered territories as Volkomats (military commissariats).
• Defector from Decadence: Novosibirsk seceded from the Central Siberian Republic, refusing to see more soldiers put their lives at risk from the Siberian War. They especially make this known regarding Tomsk, with them finding great distaste at the seemingly overly-optimistic ideologues of the Salons that they believe to have failed them.
• Defiant to the End: After conquering the Siberian Anarchists, the Black Army would remain the most resistant to annexation. Though their numbers dwindled as members abandoned their cause or gave up, the All-Siberian Army admits that the remnants will never truly go away, but can at least remain nothing more than sparse nuisances.
• Desk Jockey: One soldier is volunteered to visit Australia on a diplomacy trip. To him, it's not only completely boring, it's awfully dangerous having to withstand the heat and dangerous animals that are seemingly everywhere. It doesn't help either that the Australian envoys are incomprehensible due to their thick accents.
• Despair Event Horizon: Diplomatically annexing their neighbors involves convincing the populations to give up on their more optimistic and ambitious endeavors, allowing the Federation to buy them all out. Shukshin opposes this and will make an effort to bring idealism back to the people under his guidance.
• Didn't Think This Through: After conquering Oyrotia, the governor sent to manage the territory expects it to be an easy job of educating a bunch of "backwards peasants". Unfortunately, by the time he arrives, he realizes that he has virtually no legitimacy among the people he's supposed to rule, making his job a lot harder and stressful than he anticipated.
• Divide and Conquer: The Silovik maintain their control by turning the radical left- and right-wing movements against each other, letting them tear each other apart so that they are both reduced to irrelevancy.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: The drill sergeants in Novosibirsk are some of the strictest in Central Siberia, owing to their greater focus on militarism.
• Elite Army: The All-Siberian Army of Novosibirsk is amongst the best military forces in the region with lots of experience from years of conflict.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Downplayed. The Silovik are astounded by the more eccentric governments in Central Siberia, openly wondering how they even survived as long as they did. However, they do understand enough of their appeal to emulate some of their policies in "Special Administrative Zones" designed to win favor from the people.
• Evil Counterpart: The Titan Corporation shares many parallels with the Modernists in Tomsk, both comprising of visionary scientists that promote free-market policies. However, whereas the Modernists are concerned about helping the common folk, Titan has no problems subjecting the workers to horrid conditions for the sake of progress and efficiency.
• A Father to His Men: General Vasily Margelov is beloved by his own soldiers, where he's been affectionately nicknamed "Uncle Vasya".
• Foil: Novosibirsk, which emerged as a reaction to the failed idealism of the intelligentsia in Tomsk, is a dark mirror of the state it split from. While ostensibly democratic, it is apolitical and grounded in cynicism to a fault. Apart from the acquisition of power, and sustaining the state's survival (and/or that of the megacorporations), it stands for nothing and is coldly pragmatic.
• Fascist, but Inefficient: Initially, when it comes to addressing the Communist resistance movements. During the first phases of centralization, the guerrillas still managed to get away, official forces ended up taking each other out, or both. Further restrictive measures give them better chances later on.
• The Federation: The Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay, as Novosibirsk is officially known, was formed by an uneasy alliance between the municipal governments of Novosibirsk and Barnaul, and prefers to peacefully unite other warlords under their federation, instead of building a unitary state.
• First-World Problems: Subverted. Pro-Federation citizens dismiss the worker strikes that pop up in Novosibirsk, considering them ungrateful for the stability and comforts that the state gives to the people. However, this is largely ignorant of the wider abuses that occur under the Silovik and events show that the strikers have very justifiable reasons to protest them.
• Frame-Up: When an anarchist writer is caught nearly publishing a damning article against the Silovik, he is arrested on the false grounds of having underage sex.
• Greed: Corporations' only concern themselves with making sure that the flow of profits remain directed to them, and nobody else. Even if it means challenging parts of the government.
• Industrialized Evil: Part of their antagonistic behavior is from how they manage to completely strip away any and all idealism and ambition from their opposition, persuading its population into stifling their creative spirits so they may spend time churning out plain results and data. The centralized militant government makes sure to pass several policies to break even the most dedicated partisans into downtrodden factory workers almost en masse.
• The Infiltration: To dismantle the Narodniks, SB agents are sent undercover to spy and sabotage their plans from within.
• Invading Refugees: Numerous Russians have fled to Novosibirsk, seeing it as a beacon of stability in the Russian anarchy. Unfortunately, this has created internal issues that will need to be cleared up before Novosibirsk can think of expansion.
• It's All About Me: The megacorporations encourage an overtly myopic attitude, its executives caring only for their financial bottom line and their company's continued existence over things like workers' rights or national interests. The Siloviki, meanwhile, see themselves as the only ones able to rein them in to care even marginally about something other than themselves.
• Know When to Fold 'Em:
  • When the SB raid a Narodnik base, with help from a spy, they order the terrorists to stand down. The Narodnik commander tries to get his comrades to open fire, but his men see the futility in further resistance and drop their weapons in surrender.
  • After a brief and intense firefight, the last Narodnik holdout surrenders themselves to stop the killing, officially putting an end to their rebellion with a whimper.
• Large Ham Radio: Radio Free Siberia hammily broadcasts propaganda in support of the government.
• Like Father, Unlike Son: Despite being anti-communist himself, one soldier of the Siberian army has parents who were members of the Communist party, which makes him a natural target of the high command's suspicion when they begin cracking down on Marxist infiltrators.
• MegaCorp: Novosibirsk's unique mechanic is centered around managing the influence and approval of three megacorporations, nicknamed the National Champions, that control large portions of the country's economy and industry. The three major ones are the military-industrial Feniks, the banking and farming organization of Sibir, and the technocratic research institute of Titan. Each of the three pulls Novosibirsk in different, opposing directions over time, in addition to offering buffs for higher power and loyalty, with Feniks making the Federation more centralized, Sibir more federal, and Titan more corporatist. The people represent a fourth category with its own power and loyalty meters, they make the Federation more collectivist.
• Merchant City: In the superregional stage, Magadan becomes a major point of focus by the Silovik, who industrialize it even further to encourage greater trade from the Pacific.
• No Sympathy: The companies in Novisibirsk only care about profit and, if a union strike crops up, they send the police to have it violently shut down with tear gas and bullets.
• Obliviously Evil: As "The Daily Broadsheet" shows, at least some of the corporate elite are so out of touch with the common citizens that they remain unaware of the struggles and turmoil that the lower classes face. Some believe that their own success had to mean their workers were just as happy and successful as them.
• An Offer You Can't Refuse: Though outright death usually isn't the alternative, the Federation loves sending propositions to its neighboring states' officials and giving them the chance to escape to better conditions.
• Old Soldier: Plenty of the siloviki are battle-hardened veterans with a long history of battle under their belts.
• One Nation Under Copyright: Novosibirsk by 1962 is on the verge of becoming this, with the three megacorporations already wielding considerable influence under the siloviki's relative oversight. Depending on who assumes control, this could either be reinforced or, under Shushkin, be averted.
• Operation: [Blank]: Novosibirsk's focuses to declare war on and conquer other Central Siberian warlords are all named Operation: X.
• Order Is Not Good: Everything runs like a well-oiled machine in Novosibirsk, but this economic stability comes at the cost of any economic mobility or liberalization, which is seen as dangerous by Pokryshkin and the Silovik.
• Overpopulation Crisis: Due to overpopulation in the cities, a famine will need to be averted by acquiring food from Barnaul's farmland and resettling the people to uncultivated territories.
• Persecuted Intellectuals: Downplayed, but the government has very little tolerance for the intelligentsia of Tomsk and anything not geared towards the cynical standards of the system's demands. Policies are often passed and enforced to stamp out anything that could divert them from bitter pragmatism. However, they do encourage scientific study and innovation under the Central Design Bureau, provided that they are useful to the regime.
• Police State:
  • To deal with the rise of unruly workers, protestors and resistance fighters, more militant demands for police are called for to eliminate the crowds by bloody means. Once the Nardoniks become further audacious with their operations, government forces begin to ramp up in security measures and enact a purge of its people. Some citizens even accept this gross expansion of power because they prefer security over a life of uncertain freedom.
  • Concerned with total security, territories are ordered to be filled with soldiers and armored vehicles, as seen after Novosibirsk annexes Tomsk.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: The regime is unfriendly to sexual minorities, with one gay playwriter forbidden from publishing his works on the basis of his sexuality.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Novosibirsk's entire MO under its starting leadership.
  • The Silovik might give token democratic concessions in the regional stage, but only to give the illusion that they are scaling back their tyranny and thus win good publicity.
  • Rather than pass the Sovereign Security Act to crack down on remaining socialist dissidents, the Silovik can reach out to labor unions and compromise with them, but more to protect their industrial interests than genuine concern for them.
  • A major economic focus of the Silovik is the development of a civilian industry that raises the living standards of the average Russian and thus making them less motivated to launch a popular revolt.
• The Promised Land: Downplayed. Many Russians have immigrated to Novosibirsk because its one of the most industrialized and stable cities in Russia, even if it can't be called "free".
• Propaganda Machine: Radio Free Siberia peddles pro-Silovik propaganda that justifies all of their atrocities as a necessary step to strengthening the state for its future conflict with Germany. It's so effective that people who know its propaganda hear it anyways from eavesdropping other people and internalizing the information.
• Pyrrhic Victory: When a unit of soldiers are sent to quash remnant NKVD forces in Irkutsk, they manage to take over their major holdout, but they take so many losses in the firefight that it's an empty victory at best.
• Red Scare: The operations of the domestic Communist resistance fighters drive the government into pursuing a purge of anyone even merely suspected of having socialist ties.
• Repressive, but Efficient: While being the Cyberpunk dystopia that it is, the Federation is not only described as being capable of survival, but also outright prosperity. The state emphasizes building big factories and making the trains run on time, all at the cost of submitting to its cold pragmatism and the snuffing of idealistic movements and adherents.
• La Résistance: At the start of their playthrough, it's established that a group of Communist insurgents known as the Narodniks have taken it upon themselves to fight the Federation's government by sabotaging their factories and rail lines for a few years.
• The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The Narodniks are willing to resort to bloodier conflicts if it means securing the safety and rights of the workers.
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: The government is initially so inefficient at addressing the Narodniks that officials begin accusing one another of treason due to paranoia, poor communication, and inadequate instructions.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Neighboring warlords can be convinced into accepting annexation, should enough supporters from Novosibirsk worm their way into their order. Said support must be aided by how closely a MegaCorp resembles the opposition's political ideology.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: One of Novosibirsk's unique mechanics is its ability to annex other states with enough negotiation, starting with the application of economic pressure and integration of its supporters into the opposing state's government.
• Secret Police: The police are given free reign to spy on the people and root out Narodnik spies or thieves. While many are aware of the ongoing repression, they choose to ignore it for their own safety's sake.
• Sell-Out: The unification events with other parts of central Siberia emphasize this to the point of sorrow and tragedy, with fervent anarchists forced to betray their principles to survive and become miserable cogs in the megacorp machine, or the brilliant scientists and thinkers of Tomsk made to instead churn out mass-produced goods or beg for entry-level jobs.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: The intelligenstia of the former Central Republic did nothing for Novosibirsk's leadership, and upon adopting its crueler and apolitical oligarchy, Pokryshkin came to accept pragmatism and neutrality to be the way of life.
• Start My Own: The municipalities of Novosibirsk and Altay used to be part of the Central Siberian Republic, but following the collapse of the latter during the Siberian War, they seceded from it, in order to create their own federation.
• Starter Villain: The Narodnik terrorists are the first threat that must be dealt with by Novosibirsk before they can think of expanding outward.
• State Sec: To deal with the socialist and anarchist terrorists, Novosibirsk authorizes the Sluzhba Bezopasnosti to deal with these dissidents harshly and without government interference. After a failed assassination attempt on Pokryshkin, their powers are expanded even further to crack down on the terrorists.
• The Stool Pigeon: Some infiltrators in the Narodink cells are forced to rat out old comrades who they previously didn't know were left-wing dissidents, choosing their country over their friendship.
• Strike Episode: Especially early on, workers try to strike against the appalling conditions in the factories and are beaten down by corporate mercenaries for their troubles. Only one is successful, aided by Alexander on his journey across Russia, and then only because two rival corporate squads start fighting each other first, letting the strikers pick off the survivors.
• Tank Goodness: To match German arms, the Federation begins developing their own battle tanks, such as the Siberian MBT.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork:
  • As Shukshin's agitation over the Silovik's corrupt rule grows, the working relationship between him and Pokryshkin grows increasingly tumultuous. By the superregional stage, both are competitors in the election for president.
  • The megacorporations, despite working together, have different visions of how Novosibirsk should be run. These tensions come to a head when the matter of foreign overtures is raised. In particular, Feniks wants to align with the OFN to acquire their military technology, while Sibir wishes to align with the Sphere so they leverage the zaibatsu's influence.
• To Win Without Fighting: While Novosibirsk actually does have a very strong military, it can go even further, annexing other post-Russian nations outright using economic and military pressure to force them into conceding and merging into the Federation without firing a shot. This is easier the stronger a given faction within Novosibirsk is, in relation to the government style of the rival in question.
• Token Good Teammate: Sibir is the least repressive of the three megacorporations, owed to their vague alignment with Shukshin since they deal in agricultural tools and financial experts, specialties that are common in Barnaul.
• Took a Level in Badass: An overarching subplot in Novosibirsk concerns Vasily Margelov's efforts to train airborne soldiers, who start out very disorganized and weak, much to their commander's chagrin. However, as time passes, these troops become more competent and physically fit for whatever may threaten Russia, with Margelov expressing greater pride about their prowess.
• Toxic, Inc.: As more and more companies move into Barnaul, the River Ob has gotten increasingly more filthy as factories are erected next to its bank. This concerns Shukshin, who used to enjoy spending time on the banks relaxing, but, at least at the start of the game, he doesn't think it would be right to put his private desires over the good of the Federation.
• War Hero: The Army has several revered veterans form the Siberian War, one who even destroyed a tank singlehandedly.
• War Is Hell:
  • Much of the government is ruled by ex-military that faced both the triumph of the Jackboots and the civil war as part of the Central Siberian Republic. The trauma from all the conflict acts as a driving motivation for them to keep the current system and Necessary Evils as a preferable alternative to the struggles of battle.
  • Clashes between government forces and the guerrilla fighters describe the horrifying experiences that both sides face.
• We ARE Struggling Together:
  • Most large-scale opposition protests fall flat because of their disunity. Extreme left- and right-wing protestors are completely incompatible with each other, while those in the center refuse to cooperate with radicals on either spectrum. By the time the police arrive to break up a demonstration, they don't need to do anything because the protestors are fighting each other and taking themselves out.
  • When the Far East is conquered, the Federation is plagued with all sorts of terrorist organizations who resist their rule, in which the only reason they aren't a bigger threat is because they spend as much time fighting each other.
• We Used to Be Friends: Alexander Pokryshkin and Vasily Shukshin had been friends once, comrades in arms during the final days of the Central Siberian Republic. Those days were gone, a friendship strained and broken amidst the rise of the Federation.
• Western Terrorists: Novosibirsk starts out by dealing with domestic Marxist agitators, the largest of which is the Narodniks.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: The Narodniks, known for their sabotage of government operations and guerrilla warfare tactics, hold at least some support from common workers. As far as Pokryshkin and his supporters are concerned, they're terrorists that threaten everyone's safety and the Federation's chance to thrive.

Alexander Pokryshkin

Role: Head of State, Vice President^note Head of Government (Shukshin cabinet)

Party: Novosibirskiye Siloviki^note Strongmen of Novosibirsk

Ideology: Oligarchy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}A legendary ace pilot in the Second World War and a Hero of the Soviet Union, Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin would return to his home town of Novosibirsk after the end of the war. Hoping to live a relatively peaceful life, little did he know where fate would lead him. Pokryshkin was content with the rule of the Central Siberian Republic, and eventually found his way into government. Managing the city of Novosibirsk under the Republic was a relatively simple affair. That was, until the Siberian War. Soon, he would be forced to put the entire city on a war footing to face against Yagoda's powerful Supreme Soviet in the east. Rationing was introduced, conscription increased dramatically, and the young men of Novosibirsk were sent to die on the battlefields of Siberia. At one point, Pokryshkin reached his limit. After making a backroom deal with Mayor of Barnaul Vasily Shukshin, the plan was set into motion. The two men and their subordinates would seize Novosibirsk swiftly, organizing a new government. A government free from any influence, and truly sovereign amidst the chaos that unfolded in Russia. Now, ruling through an uneasy alliance with Barnaul, Pokryshkin needs to ensure his state remains stable. Even though it boasts a large population, industry and functional agriculture, Novosibirsk still has problems it needs to face, both internal and external, and it is up to Pokryshkin to solve them.

Alexander Ivanovich Pokryshkin is a Soviet ace pilot turned presidential dictator of Novosibirsk. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Pokryshkin settled in his hometown of Novosibirsk, and the Central Siberian Republic appointed him as the city's governor. Hoping to live out his life in peace, the Siberian War crushed that dream, and motivated Pokryshkin to secede from the Republic with the like-minded mayor of Barnaul, Vasily Shukshin. War and sorrow had dulled Pokryshkin's worldview into one of utter pragmatism, and Pokryshkin is determined to maintain Novosibirsk's stability and sovereignity, no matter the cost.

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• Ace Custom: He has a personal fighter plane that was a gift from the Free Aviators.
• Ace Pilot: Pokryshkin is an ace pilot who earned the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his heroism in the Second World War. Even in the present, he occasionally flies in a plane whenever he needs a break from ruling.
• Affably Evil: Despite leading a corporate state full of work abuses, Pokryshkin is polite on a personal level, particularly exchanging a friendly drink with Shukshin when they convene.
• Allohistorical Allusion:
  • Pokryshkin's rule is reminiscent of Vladimir Putin's in many ways, being under the influence of strongmen with military background (also called Silovik in Russian), as well as powerful corporations; a Russia (re)united under his banner is even called the Russian Federation.
  • There are also more than a few parallels with Lee Kuan Yew's tenure over Singapore in Pokryshkin's efforts to maximize economic prosperity and social harmony, albeit at the cost of certain liberties and any sense of idealism.
• Anti-Villain: He's the face of Novosibirsk's darker path, ruling a bitter and repressive government under his brutal military clique and greedy mega-corporations. However, he's not deliberately causing the citizens' suffering, but instead reluctantly making compromises since he thinks more idealistic inclinations to be ineffectual compared to his status quo, and he only reached this line of thinking after his experiences in war.
• Assassin Outclassin': Before expanding to the rest of Central Siberia, a Narodnik attempts an assassination of Pokryshkin. Luckily for him, Pokryshkin is escorted to safety by his men, while the would-be assassin kills himself before he can be interrogated.
• Brutal Honesty: Pokryshkin is known for being completely blunt, always honest when he needs to skip pleasantries with other politicians to get work done.
• Cincinnatus: In regards to his tyrannical rule, Pokryshkin vows to reinstate a more genuine democracy when Russia has no need for a strongman dictator to protect them.
• The Cynic: His experiences have hardened Pokryshkin and convinced him that any kind of idealism is foolish at best and fodder for madness at worst. His Federation is thus a place of almost total pragmatism, and disdains anything better.
• Defiant to the End: If defeated and brought to trial by Kemerovo, Pokryshkin is not the least bit intimidated about the prospect of being imprisoned or exiled, defiantly telling his accusers to get the trial over with.
• Dismotivation: As crushing as the Federation might often be, Pokryshkin believes it to simply be the best and most effective approach for his state and people, while anything more daring will only provide insanity or hollow promises that inevitably lead to failure.
• Enemy Mine: If Sverdlovsk goes on the offensive against the Black League in West Siberia, Pokryshkin may receive a request from Konstantin Rokossovsky to harass the borders of Omsk in order to distract them from Sverdlovsk's advance. If he agrees, he will personally guarantee Novosibirsk's support against Omsk.
  "Yazov is a threat to all of Russia. We stand with Rokossovsky."
• Fallen Hero: He used to believe in the optimistic principles of the Federation before the Silovik's corruption and cynicism got to him. At one point, Shukshin earnestly asks him when he stopped caring about those ideals, but Pokryshkin answers that he doesn't know.
• A Father to His Men: The event "Evening Tides" makes it clear that Pokryshkin values his comrades dearly, and he laments seeing some of his fellow soldiers suffer from too much shellshock to be able to partake in festivities.
• Have We Met?: During a dinner party honoring the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, a bombastic man introduces himself as a fellow pilot supposedly from the same flight school. Pokryshkin then struggles to identify him despite the clear respect the stranger has for him, though he doesn't mind not being recognized.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: While Alexander Pokryshkin was historically a heroic ace pilot and air force general, he had relatively little interest in politics. Here, he can reunify Russia under his banner.
• Horsemen of the Apocalypse: A literary piece circulating in Tomsk depicts him as one of four "Horsemen" alongisde other figures in Central Siberia. Helping bring ruin to the former Republic with his "betrayal", the story ends with him facing punishment for bringing the end of the chances for the ideal "People's Realm". This dent to his reputation decreases political power.
• I Did What I Had to Do: Despite being the closest thing to a villain in Central Siberia, Pokryshkin doesn't enjoy crushing personal freedoms or the various compromises he's had to make with the siloviki and megacorporations to keep Novosibirsk prosperous and independent. But he does them anyway, because he thinks that anything else is opening his country up to dangerous ideas and ideals and might weaken the Federation.
• Necessarily Evil: Pokryshkin is shown not to really savor the questionable things he does in order to make the Federation work, but sees them as a necessity to avoid the perceived failures of Tomsk and the old Soviet Union.
• Nostalgia Filter: Subverted. After a brief moment of reminiscing his idealistic, younger days as an ace pilot, Pokryshkin then remembers the tragedies that had befallen Russia and pushes away any romantic thoughts of his past so that he can focus on building a strong Russia for the future.
• Old Friend:
  • He keeps a close friendship with Shukshin, the mayor of Barnaul. Their friendship has history that reaches all the way back to the final days of the old Republic and the establishment of the neutral Federation. As the story progresses, it doesn't last.
  • Amet-khan Sultan is another old friend of his. A traveling official with business across the area, he meets with Pokryshkin for dinner after years of going down their own paths, and unfortunately, they find themselves disagreeing with the Federation's current approach. Before they could enter a proper argument, Amet-khan makes his leave while expressing his sorrow at what his friend is doing and facing as President.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Despite receiving a report on increasing protests to food shortages, Pokryshkin nonetheless encourages the messenger to keep up the good work.
  • After defeating the People's Revolutionary Council, Shukshin offers the more merciful idea of establishing a more autonomous republic in place of the previous order, as opposed to pure annexation. Though it will still be under the jurisdiction of the Federation, the idea of Pokryshkin forgoing his usual routine of assimilation and considering his old friend's advice is always an option for the player.
  • Pokryshkin can pardon the prisoners of war from his Central Siberian conquests, despite the many consequences that could arise, such as the Nardoniks claiming legal precedent to get pardoned themselves.
  • After reunifying the Far East, he will spearhead the recovery effort by kickstarting National Priority Projects, intended to improve public health, education, housing, and agriculture.
• Playing Both Sides: Pokryshkin has to keep both the siloviki and megacorporations satisfied, even if their interests don't always align.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • In the first focus tree, Pokryshkin can alleviate restrictions on the press, labor unions, and middle-class, but only to make them more pliable to the junta regime.
  • Under the persuasion of Shukshin, Pokryshkin can integrate the Zemsky Sobor in their political system and create a Federal Republic of Tuva because it'd be a smoother integration of Kemerovo and the People's Revolutionary Council, respectively, into the Federation.
• President for Life: Though Novosibirsk technically has elections, Pokryshkin's "Silovik" policies have prevented many civilian bureaucrats from running for office and kept himself in power, until he decides to step down. If he remains in power by election, he introduces even tighter limits, like stricter voter ID laws, to cement his authority.
• Realpolitik: Pokryshkin blames the Japanese for contributing to the Soviet Union's downfall, but he nonetheless borrows their jet designs and can potentially pursue diplomatic ties with them by trading resources through a Mongolian pipeline.
• Red Baron: He is known as the Siberian Falcon due to his old plane and talents as an Ace Pilot.
• Reluctant Ruler: Pokryshkin doesn't enjoy leading other men in an air wing, let alone a Federation. But there isn't really anyone else willing and able to shoulder the burden.
• Stopped Caring: The old passion he felt about helping the people is long gone, having been disillusioned by the Soviet Union and Central Siberian Republic's failures. At this point, he only cares about Russia's survival and safety above any ideals.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: If Pokryshkin is elected over Shukshin, he'll deny all accusations that he tampered with the votes and claim that it was "mostly" fair.
• Try to Fit That on a Business Card: Downplayed. He is officially known as the President of the Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay, a title that he acknowledges as cumbersome to use.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Pokryshkin upholds the corrupt and exploitative Silovik regime because their lucrative benefits are needed to forge a strong Russia that can stand up to the Germans when they go to war for Moscow.

Vasily Shukshin

Role: Vice President^note Head of Government (Pokryshkin cabinet), Head of State (Superregional election or SBA collapse)

Party: Rossiyskaya Promyshlemnaya Partiya^note Russian Industrial Party

Ideology: Agrarianism^note Conservatism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born in 1929 in Altai Krai, Vasily Makarovich Shukshin was an aspiring author prior to his dabbling in politics and his election as mayor of Barnaul. Shukshin has trekked a long road so far, one which seems endless: a prior ally of Pokryshkin when the Federation had just seceded from the Central Siberian Republic, Vasily quickly came to head with his former ally and his corporate associates, their creeping corruption clashing with Shukshin's ideals of democracy and federalism, ideals keeping his head afloat as he arranged backroom deals and negotiations necessary for his candidacy as president of the Federation to stand a chance. Now newly elected and having wrestled control away of the country from the Siloviks, Vasily isn't in a position to sit back and relax: though the Siloviks aren't in control anymore, the president has to deal with the still very present corporations and the damages their corruption has caused and is still causing to the Republic. If he wants to see this budding democracy bloom in the desert that is Russia, he will have to face troubles caused undoubtedly by corporations during his tenure as president.

In-Game Biography (SBA collapse) ^{Click to Show (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers)} What place does a conservative businessman have in Russia? In the days of the empire, he would find his virgining enterprise quashed by the backwardness of the Tsar. In the days of the Union, he would find his owings confiscated at best and his life too at worst. Now, in the days of the Russian anarchy, more than ever, what place is there for a conservative businessman?

Despite his grievances with Pokryshkin and the unapologetic kleptocrats of the federation, the fall of Novosibirsk and, more importantly to him, Barnaul, left Shukshin in a severe state of depression. The chaos and confusion of the days and weeks following the capitulation of the federation scattered many of Russia's best and brightest into the wind. Pokryshkin; missing and presumed dead. The chief officers of the mega corporations; executed or imprisoned. Vasily Makarovich Shukshin was all that remained of the capitalist establishment. Forced into a life of reclusion after his popularity with the citizenry spared him from punishment, Shukshin spent his days drinking in the solitude of his home. Truly, people reach their lowest points when excluded from the majority and under the tyranny of the General Assembly, the majority was never so powerful and Shukshin was never so weak..That was, until one day, Shukshin received a letter.

A former high ranking member of the Barnaul city council expressed the raising discontent in the city. The letter was clear in goal, even if the language hid the fact, the cracks in the anarchist foundation had begun to show and the people yearned for the promise of the federation. Shukshin became a man rejuvenated, his optimism and sense of purpose restored. The schism in the anarchist movement proves only one thing, anarchism doesn't work. Unlike the splintered anarchist movement, Shukshin has a job to do, and he'll be damned if the anarchists get the better of him twice.

The Vice-President of the Federation, Vasily Makarovich Shukshin is Pokryshkin's trusted friend and colleague. As the former mayor of Barnaul, he too detested the Siberian War, and joined Pokryshkin in establishing the secessionist Federation. Since then however, Shukshin has diverged from Pokryshkin due to his pandering to military and corporate factions in the name of pragmatism, uncaring of their cruelties and corruptions. Shukshin, once an aspiring author, has strong ideals in creating a democratic federation, but is willing to put them aside for the good of the Federation... for now.

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• Book Ends: In an early event, Shukshin laments the polluted state of the Ob River and the back-breaking labor that the nearby workers are subjected to. If Shukshin ends up elected in the late-game, Shukshin pays another visit to the Ob, now seeing a cleaner river and families enjoying picnics along the coastline, a sign of better things to come.
• The Bus Came Back: He reappears in Central Siberia if the Siberian Black Army collapses after their reunification of the region, leading a remnant of the Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay, which now only encompasses the area around his home city of Barnaul.
• Cultured Badass: Shukshin is a writer, poet, and one of the few good-hearted politicians left in Novosibirsk who can stand up to the Silovik's corruption.
• Despair Event Horizon: If Pokryshkin is elected over Shukshin, the latter will be kicked out of the government and replaced with a yes-man, while he can do nothing but continue to witness the Silovik's abuse of power. The culmination of these tragedies leaves Shukshin in a broken and depressed state, only able to drink as a coping mechanism.
• Drowning My Sorrows:
  • Should Shukshin fail to wrestle power from Pokryshkin and the siloviki, he'll be removed from his position and replaced by one of Pokryshkin's yes-men. Realising that everything he had done throughout his career, for the good of his people, had been for naught, Shukshin slips into alcoholism, with no little indication that he will sober up anytime soon.
  • The same thing happens if the federation is conquered by the Siberian Black Army... until the Black Army collapses that is. After receiving a letter expressing Barnaul's rising discontent with the anarchists, Shukshin returns as mayor of Barnaul, with the implication that he sobered up.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: His continued empathy for the people has made him disliked by the Silovik-dominated government, who begin to view him as a loose cannon by the regional stage.
• Good Old Ways: Shukshin protests the corruption of the Silovik, urging the people to remember the old democratic ideals of the Federation.
• Heel Realization: Seeing the ecological devastation caused by the megacorps, and the tragedy of what happened to Tomsk when Novosibirsk took over, Shukshin realizes that a total lack of any higher-minded ideals is a bad thing and hopes to restore a bit of (measured) idealism to the Federation.
• Humble Hero: His office is rather small, unfitting for a man who is running against Pokrykshin and his military clique.
• The Idealist: Unlike many in Novosibirsk, Shukshin has not given up his dream of a liberal democratic Russia and will instill a measure of this idealism back to the populace when he is elected.
• Internal Reformist: After the warlord stage, Shukshin seeks to turn the Federation into a truly democratic entity, enact environmentalism, and weaken the power of the siloviki and the megacorps. Upon his election, he starts an initiative of Demokratizatsiya (Democratization) to begin the process.
• Post-Cyberpunk: Should he seize control, Novosibirsk democratizes, reworks its system to tame the Siloviki and the mega-corporations, and comes to accept idealism, all while keeping the elements of the Cyberpunk genre.
• Pyrrhic Victory:
  • Shukshin has successfully staved off numerous attempts to centralize Barnaul under the corrupt Silovik government, but even he recognizes that such victories will be short-lived, unless he takes more radical action.
  • When Novosibirsk reunifies Central Siberia, Shukshin tries to conform with the rest of the Federation's celebratory mood, but he can't because there's still a degree of apprehension towards the Silovik's corruption, ultimately motivating his eventual split with Pokryshkin.
• Rags to Riches: Shukshin was born to a family of peasants in Altay before working his way up to become the second most powerful person in Novosibirsk and its potential leader.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: The real Vasily Shukshin was an actor, director, and writer from Altai Krai. In TNO, Shukshin became mayor of Barnaul, Altai Krai's capital city, and Vice-President of the Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay.
• Silly Rabbit, Cynicism Is for Losers!: He wishes to reform the government to better serve a dreaming people instead of accepting and upholding a corrupt oligarchy to be the best Russia can offer.
• Straw Civilian: Inverted. Shukshin is noted to be the rare civilian without a military background who has found success in a government dominated by the siloviki, and is the reform candidate within a Federation troubled by many problems.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Shukshin eventually tries to rekindle, albeit in more measured form, the idealism of Tomsk.
• Token Good Teammate: The only high-ranking official and businessman in the Federation that genuinely cares for the people and will reform the Republic should he take charge. This gets him spared by the Siberian Black Army if they defeat Novosibirsk as he is popular with the people.
• Took a Level in Idealism:
  • Unlike Pokryshkin, Shukshin still clings to the notions of creativity and abiding by one's principles. Even after all the horrors Russia and its people have gone through, he strives to see the Federation shed its cynicism and accept more hopeful ambitions, at least to a certain and tempered degree.
  • On a more individual level, Shukshin's low spirits will soar if the Siberian Black Army reunifies Central Siberia and then collapses. After spending months drinking and living in seclusion after Novosibirsk's downfall, Shukshin will receive a letter, inviting him to lead Barnaul, which he'll happily accept so that the Black Army won't retake the city for a second time and thereby mend his past failure.

Principality of Kemerovo

Official Name: Principality of Kemerovo, Grand Principality of Central Siberia (Regional unification), Kingdom of Siberia (Superregional unification), Kingdom of Rus' (National unification)

Ruling Party: Zemsky Sobor^note Assembly of the Land

Ideology: Absolute Monarchy^note Despotism

An odd Kingdom founded by General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov, who had crowned himself Rurik II, the second coming of the ancient Varangian prince Rurik. General Krylov had been a desperate, nervous wreck since the end of WWII, but he remade himself as Rurik II after a night locked inside his room with cigarettes, vodka, and a book on Orthodox mysticism. Promising power and glory, Rurik II intends to reunite Russia under his peculiar kingdom, one that mixes Tsarist traditionalism with Soviet modernism.

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• Action Girl: In preparation for expansion, Kemerovo recruits an all-women regiment called the Shieldmaidens, led by Anna Kotsur.
• Awesome Anachronistic Apparel: Rurikid fashion becomes popular in Kemerovo, with the people wearing clothes that would be more fitting for the Middle Ages than the 20th century.
• Badass Crew: Out of all the Russian warlords, Kemerovo is notable for being able to have generals from numerous other warlords serve the Neo-Rurikid crown, no matter their previous ideological alignment:
  • After uniting Central Siberia, Kemerovo has the option to pardon all of the generals and field marshals captured during the wars against the region's other unifiers (barring the Black Army), at the cost of only a minor stability deduction.
  • Thanks to being able to peacefully unite with a number of warlords based in either West Russia or West Siberia, Kemerovo can get really lucky in who they recruit, as they can either get an all star cast of generals and even other unifiers or recruit almost every available Russian general in the game.
• Bait-and-Switch: At one point, a radar from Kemerovo detects something flying in the sky, which leads to brief worries that a German bomber is headed there way. However, once they take a closer look, they found it's actually just a bird.
• Crazy Enough to Work: Kemerovo ranks as one of Russia's more bizarre and esoteric warlord states, with their medieval Kievan Rus aesthetic looking out of place in a Cold War setting. In spite of this, they can potentially reunify Russia and stand a fair chance of retaking Moscow from Germany.
• Creator's Culture Carryover: Krylov refers to himself as a king and his country as a kingdom. This wouldn't be an issue if he was from an English-speaking country, but this actually causes a bit of confusion when you take into account that the word "king" has no single direct translation into Russian. One can only wonder if his actual title is the more Western korol, the more Russian tsar (which can mean "king" in some situations), or something more exotic like gosudar or gospodar.
• Days of Future Past: Kemerovo invokes this in attempt to emulate the aesthetics and customs of Kievan Rus' and the Muscovite Tsardom while being a state with a strong industrial base and comparatively modernized army.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: The drill sergeants of the Royal Army are incredibly strict, with one in particular insulting the cadets as "godforsaken dogs" to motivate them to train harder.
  Hard times create strong men.
• Dysfunctional Family: The ruling Kyrlov family is fractured by Yuriy and Lydie's conflicting vision of where to take Kemerovo. Yuriy wants to rule with a lighter hand in favor of worker's rights and diplomacy, while Lydia argues for autocracy and militarism. Their constant arguing gives their father a headache and the last sibling, Boris, rarely intervenes to stop the arguing.
• The Good Kingdom: Despite the batshit insane circumstances that led to the creation of the monarchy in Kemerovo, Rurik II's rule is actually quite populist: he maintains the best parts of the old Soviet Union (like the trade unions) and synthesizes them with Kievan Rus' aesthetics. Matters can get even better under Yuriy who empowers the Zemsky Sobor to give more power the people and create a representative parliamentary monarchy.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Downplayed. While relatively accepted by most places in Russia, they are not welcomed in the Black Army's old territories, who have been used to the anarchic life once given to them and now chafe under the kingdom's taxation policies. When one elected official drives through the area, the residents sling mud and manure at the vehicle, and one former Black Army member even tries to attack him with a knife.
• Heroic Lineage: Rurik II dies of old age a short time after Russia is unified. However, he leaves behind three children who all have experience in governing and commanding troops by the time he passes and can become good leaders in their own way should they step up to the plate.
  • Rurik II's heir apparant Prince Yuriy is a reasonable prince who turns the Kingdom into a democracy in addition to being far closer to the common man than his sister Lydia. In fact his connection to Kemerovo's commoners is so strong, that he's the only one of the Neo-Rurikids allowed by the Siberian Black Army to walk free and potentially becoming leader again should the SBA collapse.
  • While Lydia is more autocratic in comparison to her brother, she focuses on enhancing the Kingdom's military to take back Moskowien from the Germans in addition to investing heavily in a robust national healthcare service.
  • Boris is normally only The Creon and cannot be the heir to the Neo-Rurikid crown until he's left with no choice following the collapse of Taboritsky's Holy Russian Empire. While Boris at first focuses more on the survival of Altay at the cost of morale, the final event in his chain implies he'll become more than up to the task of inheriting his family's legacy.
• Hitler Ate Sugar: As the rivalry between Yuriy and Lydia intensifies, their support bases begin to fling insults to each other, with the former's side denouncing the others as "fascist pigs" and the latter's faction calling them "communist scum".
• Knighting: After uniting Central Siberia, Rurik forms an aristocracy from his loyal servants. Commanders are given fiefdoms in the form of villages and camps, so that they can muster levies for upcoming campaigns. Mayors and advisors receive large settlements to foster economic growth and development.
• Long-Lost Relative: In an interesting bit of trivia, Rurik II's economy minister, Lev Voznesensky, is the nephew of Komi's president Nikolai Voznesensky. He apparently picked up his uncle's talent for economics... or Rurik just thought his name sounded familiar.
• Necessarily Evil:
  • The aristocratic class of advisors and land owners is decried by their critics as a corrupt bunch, but they are ultimately needed to organize the population and bring some semblance of order to the kingdom.
  • Upon reunifying Central Siberia, churches across the region are seized by the military to serve as new outposts, forcefully kicking the priests out in the process. While the army argues that it's needed for the good of the state and remains as respectful as they can about the evacuation, it doesn't soften the blow for many.
• Old Retainer: The Veche formed in the regional stage is a council of those who have long served Rurik in the past and answer to him over his bickering heirs. Though they have no legal power, they nonetheless have a lot of influence to enact the Tsar's will, namely in war planning, infrastructure, and politicking.
• The Pardon: After uniting Central Siberia, Rurik II can pardon a number of generals from the defeated warlords to have them fight under his banner, although pardoning all of them only costs a minor amount of Stability. Notably, while the mass pardons can even see People's Revolutionary Council generals incorporated into Kemerovo's army without issue (said recruits include both Vasilevsky and Leonid Brezhnev who are otherwise loyal Red Army officers), the Siberian Black Army are the only faction to get no pardons, no doubt stemming from Rurik II's grudge against them.
• Praetorian Guard: Shortly after proclaiming himself the reincarnation of Rurik, Rurik II formed the Kingsguard as his personal honour guard. However, they can be disbanded by Yuriy if he becomes the new monarch, viewing them as too loyal to Lydia to be kept around.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Because of his... unconventional beliefs, Rurik's support base is a wide and varied one, including traditionalist peasants, political reactionaries, Red Army veterans, opportunist mercenaries, and other weird folks. Taken even further as noted under Badass Crew, where a Kemerovo that either plays their cards right or gets rather lucky can recruit a lot more generals from other defeated warlords.
• Religion Is Wrong: Zig-zagged. Despite his personal mystic experiences and his vague language that implies his belief in higher forces, Rurik imposes state atheism and believes that clergymen are merely charlatans and useless wizards. Further complicating matters, he can peacefully integrate Oyrotia and invite their clergy to court as advisors... while still maintaining his general state atheist policies. On the whole, Rurik’s attitudes towards religion are... interesting, to say the least.
• Resurgent Empire: Exaggerated. The Kingdom of Rus is a spiritual continuation of the ancient civilizations of Novgorod (if Prince Yuriy takes power) and Muscovy (if Princess Lydia takes power). These are two countries that have been culturally extinct for centuries.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Subverted with Pyotr Baranovsky. Starting as an architect just as in real life, Pyotr only becomes Kemerovo's first Foreign Minister because of a decision made by a drunken Rurik II.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Rurik II, Prince Yuriy and Prince Boris are all long-time officers of the Red Army and the Central Siberian Republic forces, and do not shy away from leading their warriors by themselves if needed. Rurik is an available Field Marshal of Kemerovo, and both of his sons are generals, by game start.
• Sibling Rivalry: Since their father proclaimed himself Rurik II, Prince Yuriy and Princess Lydia have been fighting each other for years, competing to see who would be chosen as heir to the throne, who would be given the chance to shape the future of Russia.
• Sigil Spam: The Grand Palace of Kemerovo (converted from an old Soviet government building) is plastered with the Rurikid trident, often replacing the hammer and sickle sigil spam that came before.
• Standard Royal Court: Fitting their monarchical flair, Kemerovo is governed by Rurik II and its royal court, dominated by the personalities of Yuriy and Lydia. Until Rurik passes, he will need to manage their influence in the court and determine who will succeed him.
• Start My Own: Kemerovo used to be part of the Central Siberian Republic, but following the latter's collapse during the Siberian war, and the mutiny of Krasnoyarsk's officers, Krylov decided to stop taking orders from Tomsk to establish his own kingdom of weirdness.
• Success Through Insanity: Rurik II believes he is the reincarnation of the ancient Varangian prince who united the Rus in medieval times, and his kingdom is a highly unusual fusion of populist constitutional monarchism, Soviet-style workers' protections and trade unionism, and Kievan and Muscovite aesthetics ands customs. Despite his eccentric delusions, he still commands a modern army and industrial base (having fairly powerful bonuses in both military and industry thanks to being Red Army remnants and having access to leftover factories helps). "Rurik II" ultimately proves to be a highly competent statesman and military commander, and The Good King. As he lies dying in his bed shortly after unifying all of Russia, he admits to his children that he was just pretending to be insane ("Perhaps this whole charade was worth it in the end") and passes away peacefully as Nikolai Krylov.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Subverted. In the regional stage, Yuriy's and Lydia's supporters begin clashing with each other and almost threaten to tear the country apart into civil war, until Rurik II names a successor.
• Weird Currency: To inhibit the dominating influence of foreign currency, Kemerovo introduces the grivna as a new currency, which was previously used in the Kievan Rus and are irregularly shaped ingots of precious metals.

Rurik II

Role: Military Comamnder, Head of State

Party: Zemsky Sobor^note Assembly of the Land

Ideology: Absolute Monarchy^note Despotism, Social Nationalism^note Paternalism (Yuriy is designated heir)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Major General Nikolay Ivanovich Krylov was once an officer of the Red Army, serving as Chief of Staff for the 62nd Army in battles like Sevastopol and Voroshilovgrad. But as the Great Patriotic War became nothing but great defeats for the Soviets, Krylov was wounded both inside and out, and the stress of constant retreats led to a nervous breakdown. However, the 62nd was unaffected by his affliction, since it had already disintegrated. He and his small band of officers without an army joined the eastward wave of refugees pouring over the Urals, eventually finding his superiors in the Central Siberian Republic. Sent by the Republic to deal with the Anarchist insurgency of the Siberian Black Army, Krylov suffered a humiliating defeat and later faced betrayal by one of his trusted subordinates, General Andreev in Krasnoyarsk, and was forced to retreat his forces in Kemerovo. There, he fell deeper into his stupor, drinking or smoking whatever he could get his hands on to dull his pain and guilt. But one day, it suddenly changed. After an evening locked naked in his room with nothing but a carton of cigarettes, three bottles of vodka, and a book on Orthodox mysticism, he walked out proclaiming that he had been ordered to reunite Russia. By whom? He declines to say. His officer comrades were worried for his mental state, a fear exacerbated when Krylov crowned himself as 'Rurik II, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Rus.' However, their concerns were drowned out by a wave of support from soldiers and mercenaries, drawn by promises of conquest and glory. Rurik preaches an eclectic mix of Russian traditionalism and Soviet militarism. He claims to be the heir to the Tsarist tradition, yet despises the Romanovs; he talks about the virtue of Vladimir the Great, but is atheist and dismisses priests as "charlatans and wizards". His motley ideology is represented by his supporters, a mix of reactionaries, Soviet veterans, and soldiers of fortune. Some in his officer corps suspect that the whole "Rurik" act is simply a charade to rally the peasants' support; if it is, he is doing an exceptionally good job at staying in character.

General Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov, once an officer of the Red Army and the Central Siberian Republic, transformed into Rurik II after years of arduous existence and one revelatory night. Though many had questioned his sanity, some believe that "Rurik II" is an act maintained by Krylov to attract popular support. Whatever the case may be, Rurik's rule is as peculiar as it is popular, and he stands a good chance to reunite Russia.

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• Ambiguous Situation: Has General Krylov gone off the deep end? Or is he playing the long game and pretending to be insane? If he manages to unite Russia, on his deathbed he reveals to his children that this was a charade all along, though one worth it in the end, yet not even his children are sure that he's speaking the truth, or if this is just the final episode of his madness. The event for his nation being conquered by the Black Army also even suggests the Rurik and Krylov personalities are dissociating to some extent.
• Anachronism Stew: Rurik II's ideology is an odd mix of traditionalism and modernism. He wears an archaic crown with a modern suit, and Kemerovo's flag has the old Rurikid trident in Soviet-like red and yellow colors.
• Beware the Silly Ones: His inane persona belies his long military experience and the various reforms he passes to kickstart Kemerovo's army, creating a large standing army out of conscription.
• Big Ol' Eyebrows: Big enough for his men to compare them to the armor plating of a tank he helped design, calling it "His Majesty's Eyebrows".
• Bigger Is Better: A firm believer in this. When he sees some tank designs, Rurik is not impress and states that it needs more bigger armor and weapons, ignoring the designer's protest otherwise.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Krylov remains a competent military commander with a long history of service to the Soviet Union and the Central Siberian Republic, even if he has more than a few quirks. He has also proven himself as a capable statesman who knows how to pick the right sort of people for each job, not without his inherent eccentricity.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: He's gone a bit nuts, as shown by his Napoleon Delusion, but he's otherwise not a bad guy.
• Cowardice Callout: Rurik II, if you're playing as him, can call out the Third Reich's Fuhrer on how their genocidal campaign against Russia is motivated by fear despite the Nazis' pretence of superiority.
• Culture Clash: If Rurik visits Japan to forge closer ties, he meets a delegation of Japanese diplomats, who greet him as "Rurik-sama". At first, Rurik doesn't get that it's an honorific and tries telling them that it's just "Rurik", creating a misunderstanding between the two parties, until one of Rurik's entourage informs of the title's meaning. Once informed, Rurik's face goes red with embarrassment.
• Despair Event Horizon: Seeing his homeland get torn apart and getting betrayed by General Andreev, Krylov's psyche completely snapped and now believes himself to be the inheritor to the long-gone Rurik dynasty. Except that he reveals on his deathbed that his depression-induced insanity was all a lie.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Unable to cope with the Soviet defeat, General Krylov tried to find comfort in alcohol, cigarettes and mystical books after the war.
• Dying as Yourself: Implied. In his final moments, upon being reassured that Russia is in safe hands, Rurik II finally drops the charade, dying as Nikolay Krylov.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: In contrast to his otherwise graceful personality, Rurik still resents Andreev for his betrayal, which started his downward spiral into depression and insanity. If Krasnoyarsk is defeated, Rurik must either exile or execute him for his treason.
• Face Death with Dignity: When defeated by the Black Army, Rurik is imprisoned in Yugra, where he can get caught in the blast radius of the anarchists' nuke, if it malfunctions during its transport. However, Rurik feels no fear at all upon seeing the growing mushroom cloud, bowing before the explosion consumes him and considering himself freed from his squalid living conditions.
• Friendly Enemy: Upon taking over Tomsk, Rurik has tea with Matvey Shaposhnikov◊, Tomsk's security minister and Field Marshal, and the two remain on good terms while swapping old war stories. At the regional stage, Rurik also has the option to pardon the generals of Novosibirsk, Tomsk, the People's Revolutionary Council, or all three at the cost of some stability, making them available to fight for Kemerovo.
• Good Counterpart: To Sergey Taboritsky. Both of them are despotic rulers who suffer some manner of insanity, with many of their actions and policies stemming from their madness and they have some of the most unique and radical unifiers available for Russia:
  • Both leaders lay claim to a royal position and model their societies after their... unique interpretation of Russia's pre-communist past: Rurik II uses the ancient Rus kingdoms of Muscovy and Novgorod as his model, while Taboritsky uses Tsarist Russia.
  • The main difference between them is that Rurik II remains a pragmatic and wise leader despite being insane, while Taboritsky is a horrible ruler precisely because he is completely batshit insane.
  • Rurik II takes Kemerovo from a tiny eccentric principality to a proud and powerful unified Russia he can safely entrust to his chosen successors, while Taboritsky takes Komi from a small democratic republic to a reactionary and dysfunctional Tsarist nightmare that collapses soon after his death because his claimant for the Russian throne is the same Tsarevich Alexi who died in 1917 and because of the massive repression and murder that came with the Regeant's clerical-Nazi regime, the trauma and damage of his regime (possibly) forever buries the idea of a unified Russia.
  • Rurik II ultimately dies peacefully in a bed, surrounded by his children, with his final words implying his insanity may have been just an act all along, one he saw as necessary to live under so he could rebuild his country and give his people something to live for besides basic survival. Taboritsky dies wailing alone in his office, undergoing a Villainous BSoD as he finally realizes that Alexei is dead and all his efforts are for naught.
• The Good King: Despite his apparent insanity, Rurik II/Krylov's rule is quite pragmatic and reasonable, as he listens to his advisors and develops his country in a rational manner.
• Humble Hero: He's okay with his friends calling him by his first name rather than his title.
• Language Barrier: Played for Laughs. During Rurik II's official visit to Japan◊, the Japanese diplomats address him as Rurik-sama, which visibly confuses him, and he keeps trying to explain that his name is just Rurik until one of his assistants pulls him to the side and whispers that the diplomat is merely using a Japanese honorific.
• King Bob the Nth: Rurik II - and the first king to be named "Rurik" in a long time.
• King on His Deathbed: His old age finally begins to catch up to him in the regional stage, where he dreads the inevitable choice of who to succeed him, which will upset someone, no matter who he chooses.
• Meaningful Rename: Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov took the regnal name Rurik II when he proclaimed himself the reincarnation of the ancient Rus' chieftain Rurik.
• Mood Whiplash: During a lighthearted celebration, Rurik wears an impressive suit of iron armor, bearing a cape with the crest of the royal family. However, just as he begins parading on horseback with an army, Rurik suddenly stops, mumbles something to his men, and rides off, with the armor never to be seen again. It marks the first sign of Rurik's declining health and the need for a successor.
• Morality Pet: Rurik II is one of the few people to be unconditionally respected by Lydia and his presence is what stops her from acting against Yuriy. As soon as he leaves his throne room for a short break, Lydia immediately gets into another argument with her brother.
• Napoleon Delusion: General Nikolay Krylov claims to be a reincarnation of Rurik, the founder of the Rurik dynasty and ruler of Kievan Rus'. It is uncertain to everyone if he is really insane or just acting insane. Should he reunify Russia, he admits to his children on his deathbed that his insanity was all an act.
• Outliving One's Offspring: If Kemerovo is defeated by the Siberian Black Army, he is put on trial and swiftly sentenced. As he is led away◊, Rurik screams as he sees his daughter Lydia in a pool of blood, surrounded by three enemy soldiers.
• Passing the Torch: As his health begins to fail, Rurik is tasked with naming a successor before he goes, ensuring that someone will take the reins of power and achieve his dream of liberating Moscow.
• Pyrrhic Victory: Even if he reunifies Central Siberia, Rurik can't feel any satisfaction from his victory because Yuriy and Lydia's disputes become increasingly fierce every day, paining him to see his own children fight amongst themselves.
• Rags to Royalty: A truly bizarre version; General Nikolai Krylov became royalty by declaring himself the reincarnation of a medieval king, and this self-declared royalty stuck because people supported him.
• Realpolitik: Despite Russia's past enmities with Japan and his own efforts to improve relations with the OFN, Rurik makes some diplomatic overtures to the Sphere because their economic potential would be a massive boon that can't simply be ignored. However, if Yuriy is the chosen successor, Rurik realizes that Japan only intends to turn them into a Puppet State and thus rejects any continued friendship with them.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a SCATHING one in a letter to the Führer of Germany◊, in which he lambasts the supposed "Master Race" as a horde of uncivilized barbarians, says the Reich's Cult of Personality is simply desiring validation for their insecurities, claims that their attempts of scapegoating Jews and other "subhumans" will inevitably fail when the people realize their real enemy is "the ugly man whose face is plastered all over their walls", and that the reason their terror bombing of Russia is born out of fear that a resurgent Russia would wipe their Reich from the face of the Earth.^note This event is meant as an allusion to a legendary expletive-laden letter penned by the Cossacks to the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV, which is available for reading here. Seriously, it makes Rurik II's letter look positively restrained.
• Reconcile the Bitter Foes: Subverted.
  • Rurik tries to get Yuriy and Lydia to stop arguing by talking about the unification of Central Siberia, something that everyone wants. Unfortunately, the matter of how to achieve this is broached, with the two siblings quarreling once more over whose strategy is right.
  • When Central Siberia is reunified, Rurik tries to reconcile the siblings again with the help of Boris, urging them to cease their arguing for the sake of his health and the state's stability. Lydia practically laughs at the suggestion and another argument breaks out between the two, leaving the two mediators to sigh in bitter disappointment.
• Reincarnation: Nikolai Krylov declares himself the ancient Rus' chieftain Rurik, reborn.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Nikolai Krylov in OTL is known for being a post-war Soviet Marshal and the commander of the Strategic Missile Forces from 1963-1972, and most definitely never proclaimed himself royalty like he did in this timeline.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: His governance of the kingdom is incredibly mindful of what the people would want. He's particularly concerned about not oppressing the peasantry, enacting lighter taxes on them and establishing minor welfare programs.
• Sanity Slippage: If the Black Army unifies Central Siberia, Rurik's already questionable sanity breaks even further in his prison, as isolation has reduced him to keeping some of the fish he's given as a food and using them as imaginary friends.
• Shocking Defeat Legacy: His defeat at the hands of the Siberian Black Army, as well as the betrayal of his trusted aide, General Andreev in Krasnoyarsk, left a deep impact on Krylov's mental state and became a catalyst to his supposed fall into madness.
• Shout-Out: The crown of Krylov is worn by the eponymous character◊ of the Macbeth 2015 movie adaptation while his fur coat has a very strong Game of Thrones vibe.
• Technologically Blind Elders: Regularly mystified (genuinely or not) by military tech as he invests in their research, despite his background as a Red Army general. He makes unrealistic suggestions to his tank designer (which end up being feasible if expensive) and refers to airplanes as "flying machines".
• The Unfettered: When asked by a reporter if his strange character would make him hard to take seriously, Rurik responds that he couldn't care less about what the world thinks about him, as his only priority is to reunify Russia and return it to the world stage as a powerful force in its own right.
• Wham Line: After unifying Russia, as he lays dying◊, Rurik II's final words perhaps gives some insight into Krylov's Rurik persona.
  Rurik II: "Good, good. Then perhaps this whole charade was worth it in the end."
• What the Hell, Hero?: If Lydia is allowed to break up the trade unions, one striking worker internally criticizes Rurik's complacency in the repression, particularly when he witnesses a strike broken up by police officers and tear gas.

Yuriy Krylov

Role: Military Commander, Crown Prince^note Head of Government (Rurik II succession), Head of State (Rurik II succession)

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}If you had told Yuriy Nikolayevich Krylov two decades ago that he would one day stand at the helm of a rejuvenated Russian monarchy, he would've no doubt been in a state of sheer disbelief. Yet, in a truly bizarre series of events, Yuriy has risen to become the undisputed successor to his father's almost heroic legacy. As a young man, Yuriy took after his father and joined the army of the Central Siberian Republic as an officer, where he distinguished himself as an energetic and capable leader. During his time on the front, he saw firsthand the devastating effects of war upon the poor and disadvantaged of Russia. Although he continued to rise through the ranks, Yuriy became frustrated with his inability to make a real difference in the name of the people. Yuriy's life would soon become even more hectic when his father suffered what appeared to be a severe mental break. When he emerged again as Rurik II, he was quick to establish his progeny as nobility in his self-proclaimed kingdom. After a short period of confusion and concern for his father, Prince Yuriy eventually came to see the kingdom as a chance to make his ideals a reality. The path towards the crown was fraught with political intrigue, but despite these challenges Yuriy would eventually be named as Rurik II's rightful successor. Now christened as Rurik III in honor of his late father, the King intends to make good on his lofty goals. Under his reign, Rurik III intends to lay the foundations of a more fair and just kingdom, one which looks to the rights of its people first and foremost.

In-Game Biography (SBA collapse) ^{Click to Show (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers)}Yuriy Nikolayevich Krylov is a man trapped in a storybook. At least, it's been easier for him to view his life as a story being told rather than a life being lived. The author of the tragedy has seen fit that Yuriy be a protagonist, a prince presiding over a troubled land.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a young boy. He was a noble, but lived as one amongst the citizens of the flourishing kingdom. One day, while the young boy read by the river, an evil wizard came to his kingdom, hexing all those around him to be slaves, unrelenting in service to their master. The wizard's tricks did not affect the royal family. The king and his guard fought gallantly to repel the wizard, but the wizard and his knight overwhelmed the kingdom, taking the king prisoner and leaving the hero's sister slain in battle.

Spared by the forces of the wizard under the protection of his subjects, Yuriy assumed a new identity, renouncing his titles. Still, the hero worked tirelessly to enhance the lives of his people, subverting the wizard's puppet administration. For a time, it seemed as though the wizard's empire was invincible, until a rift opened up between the wizard and the knight. The knight began to assert himself as the hegemon of the region, using whatever means necessary to secure a kingdom of his own. The brutal methods of the knight and the waning influence of the wizard provided an opportunity to strike, as the prophecy had foretold.

The hero, having assumed the name and title of King Rurik III, rallied his most loyal supporters to break free of the wizard's brainwashing and to live in freedom once more. While the hero of prophecy recuperates his forces, the mad general of the south continues his raids. The story of King Rurik III is far from over. The battle of prophecy will soon commence and the people can finally live...

...Happily ever after.

Yuriy Nikolayevich Krylov is the middle son of Nikolai Krylov's three children. An army officer in the Central Siberian Republic like his father, Yuriy saw firsthand the devastating effects of war on Russia's poor commoners, and he was frustrated with his inability to help them. Like others, he was initially confused by his father's Rurikid restoration and his designation as a Rurikid prince, but Yuriy later came to see the kingdom as a chance to realize his populist ideals, a chance to bring justice to Russia.

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• All-Loving Hero: Yuriy is a compassionate and reasonable ruler to all of his people, where he tries everything in his power to protect and benefit him. He also tries seeing the best in his sister Lydia, despite the fact that she opposes and intends on exiling him.
• The Alliance: Disdaining any friendship with Japan, Yuriy advocates closer ties to the OFN instead.
• Berserk Button: Disregarding the rights of the trade unions is a big one for Yuriy. When Lydia insults them, Yuriy is furious and comments that he would have her imprisoned, if she wasn't his sister.
• Beware the Nice Ones: While less hawkish than Lydia, Yuriy still advocates numerous militaristic measures to mobilize the kingdom in case of war, demonstrating that he's still a ruler not to be trifled with.
• The Bus Came Back: If the Siberian Black Army balkanizes after their reunification of Central Siberia, Rurik III will return to Kemerovo.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Yuriy's deep concern for the workers can occasionally lead him to jumping the gun on their behalf. Even Rurik II thinks that he can be too proactive at times.
• Chummy Commies: Downplayed. Although Rurik III keeps the monarchy and a fair amount of executive power, his economic policies actually lean towards the socialist, with coop-led markets and strong labor unions. Yuriy also advocates for a welfare state, though his sister is ironically a bit better equipped to set up nationalized healthcare through practical experience with the Russian medical system.
• Democracy Is Flawed: His democratization of the Zemsky Sobor isn't flawless, as the assemblies more frequently devolve into chaotic debates between its bureaucrats, with Yuriy unable to bring the council under control, no matter how many times he strikes his gavel. In one session, Yuriy gets so fed up that he yells "Shut the fuck up all of you! Sit down and shut the fuck up!" Everyone, including Yuriy himself, is shocked by this outrage, with the monarch shamefully thinking about how badly this incident will reflect on him.
• Enemy Mine: Disgusted by the abuses committed by the Japanese Empire, Yuriy undermines their authority by smuggling weapons to Chinese rebels and aiding their efforts towards independence.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Downplayed. Yuriy is frustrated by Lydia' autocratic views and she's one of the few people to really get him enraged and argumentative. However, if Yuriy wins the throne over her, he does give her a relatively comfortable post in Magadan and bids her a loving goodbye, showing that he still loves her as a sister.
• Fictional Currency: In response to the grivna's popularity as a new currency, Yuriy introduces a new set of coinage that bear the image of Rurik II.
• The Good King: Like his father, Rurik III is a reasonable monarch who retains the best parts of Rurik II's rule, while further turning Russia towards democracy and creating a nation that genuinely cares for its people.
• Hope Bringer: His concern for the common worker makes him beloved by them, as he gives them the hope that their work will get easier and safer soon.
• The Idealist: In contrast to his sister, Yuriy is an idealist who advocates for greater political rights and equality for the Russian populace.
• Internal Reformist: Yuriy is even more reformist than his own father, believing that they should do more to help their people and arguing in favor of support for the unions.
• Meaningful Rename: Prince Yuriy takes the name Rurik III after he succeeds his father.
• Pragmatic Hero: Even when he's nominated as Rurik's successor, Lydia's support base refuse to accept the decision. This forces Yuriy to compromise on his principles by reaching out to some of her supporters, bargaining reassurances to win them to his side.
• The Purge: Growing suspicious that the Kingsguard will betray him to bring Lydia to the throne, Yuriy has the organization dismantled to replace them with a more conventional and trustworthy security force.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: If Rurik II names his daughter Lydia his heir, she'll task her brother with governing the sparsely-populated Chukotka region, in a move which might as well be exile.
• Rebel Leader: If the Black Army conquers Kemerovo, Yuriy will begin covertly working to restore his kingdom, resisting Stepanov's attempts to stamp out the monarchist remnants.
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Yuriy Nikolayevich Krylov in OTL was an officer who had a brief service as a commander in WWII (when he was still a teenager), served in the Soviet Strategic Missile Forces like his father, and later became a Major General. In TNO, due to the... "events" his father had experienced, he went along and became a "Rurikid" prince.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Concerned for the plights of his people, Yuriy enacts humanistic policies in favor of their protection and equality. As stated in his revival of the Russkaya Pravda, Yuriy guarantees worker's rights, the abolition of slavery, gender equality, and so much more to create an amazingly free kingdom.
• Sore Loser: If Lydia is named Rurik's heir, Yuriy will abstain from applauding the announcement and leaves in a fury when his sister shoots him a smug grin, slamming the door on his way out.
• Surprisingly Sudden Death: In the superregional stage of the Black Army, Stepanov can try building a support base by quashing the whispers of a monarchist rebellion in Kemerovo, but when his men raid one of their warehouses, they get caught in a standoff with Yuriy's own forces. Optionally, one of Stepanov's men can open fire and unceremoniously kill the Prince in an instant, which shocks everyone and starts a bloody firefight.
• Take a Third Option: Neither the guild system or trade unions are ideal for Yuriy, as the former is harmful to worker rights and the latter isn't as efficient. Rather than prioritize either, Yuriy chooses a compromise between the two, where the unions are allowed to exist as watchdogs against working abuses, while the guilds will be kept to meet a bottom line of production.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Yuriy's style of governance is inspired by the Republic of Novgorod, blending their economic policies with modern views to create an economically powerful Russia.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: His kingdom is fractured with factionalism between the elected officials, the regional Posadniks, and the nobility. All of them disagree on how the state should be run and gets so bad that Yuriy eventually has to intervene and force a compromise.
• Thicker Than Water: Yuriy exiles Lydia to Magadan if he becomes king, and while she is (understandably) angry about it, Yuriy admits that he still dearly loves her and hopes she can work with him.
• What's Up, King Dude?: Not only does Yuriy democratize Kemerovo to be closer to the common citizen, but he also takes casual walks through towns whenever he needs to take a break from working.
• The Wise Prince: Prince Yuriy Krylov supports a more populist and democratic approach to governance.
• Worthy Opponent: Even though Lydia hates his guts when she's exiled to Magadan, she acknowledges that he was a good political opponent, enough to outmanuever her.

Lydia Krylova

Role: Crown Princess^note Head of Government (Rurik II succession), Head of State (Rurik II succession)

Ideology: Aristocratic Conservatism^note Despotism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}From the chaos and confusion of the Russian warlord era arises Rogneda I, the Wolf Queen of Rus'. The woman formerly known as Lydia Krylova's rise to power was nothing short of meteoric, and she now stands tall as the most powerful authority of the resurrected Russian nation. It was not always destined to be like this. Once upon a time, Lydia was a volunteer nurse helping with the rear echelon of the Central Siberian Republic's military. What she witnessed during her time shaped her character dramatically: countless men and women putting their lives on the line for causes they did not fully understand, without any indication that their sacrifices were making a difference. Russia was dying, and this could not be more tangible to Lydia, who was able to witness the effects of these death throes with her own eyes. When her father emerged from his mental lapse as Rurik II, Lydia immediately saw this as her opportunity to turn the tide. As the Kingdom's power continued to grow, so too did the Wolf Princess'. Eventually, she was forced to compete with her own brother for the throne, but her passionate and ruthless drive saw Lydia through to take his place as Rurik II's rightful heir. Newly reborn as Queen Rogneda, she intends to restore strength and honor to the wounded Russia nation, no matter what the cost may be.

Lydia Nikolaevna Krylova is the daughter of Nikolai Krylov and the eldest of his three children. She was a volunteer nurse in the Central Siberian Republic's military, where she saw men and women dying in droves, serving goals they didn't understand, and accomplishing little as they died. These sights shaped Lydia's ideals much like her brother, but she concluded that the dying Russian nation must be rebirthed to bring justice and meaning to her people. Lydia seized her father's Rurikid restoration as a chance to realize her vision, and aims to restore Russia's pride, no matter the cost.

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• Alas, Poor Villain: Lydia's the most tyrannical of her family, but her execution by the SBA when they are defeated by them is a terrible fate, especially with her father's anguished screams.
• Amazon Brigade: Princess Lydia forms a unit of elite warrior women called Shieldmaidens.
• Animal Motifs: Wolves. While one of Kemerovo's national spirits is "The Two Wolves", referencing the proverb and the siblings' ideological differences, Lydia leans into this more than her brother, being referred to as the "Wolf Princess" for her political ruthlessness. Her beta portrait even has her wearing a wolf pelt.
• Anti-Villain: While Lydia is the more dictatorial of Rurik's successors, she at least compensates it with the promise of stability and a genuine intention to safeguard the people from both internal and external threats.
• Aristocrats Are Evil: Lydia's Russia is one of the more repressive of the Central Siberian unifiers, and one manifestation of this is the strict class stratification she creates, with a new upper crust of wealthy sycophants, businesspeople, landowners, and military officers oppressing poor masses who enjoy few protections.
• Bait the Dog: At first, she seems to take her exile to Magadan by Yuriy relatively well, even hugging him goodbye. Unfortunately, the good sentiments don't last, as Lydia plans to turn Magadan into an economic powerhouse that will keep herself relevant and able to act against Yuriy whenever he makes a fatal blunder.
• Benevolent Conspiracy: Seen in the event "Nightingale, Come Again". As Governor of Tomsk, she works with a network of medical professionals to fabricate a legendary nurse figure who helps those most in need. While she does genuinely invest in medical infrastructure, this seems to be for the sake of morale and/or propaganda.
• Boring, but Practical: In contrast to Yuriy's proposal of giving total freedom to the Royal Unions' guarantee of labor rights, Lydia intends to convert the worker's councils into Royal Guilds that will focus more on increasing productivity rather than protecting the workers. While far more mundane than the alternative, it offers greater benefits at a lower risk of backfiring on the kingdom.
• Capitalism Is Bad: Zig-Zagged. Her economic views lean in favor of free-market reforms, which comes at the cost of cracking down on the labor unions and antagonizing the working class. However, it's also shown that these policies jumpstart Kemerovo's economy by empowering trade and commerce, leading some to believe that it's worth it in the end.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Downplayed. While Lydia's belief in a market economy is not portrayed as evil in and of itself, it takes the form of using harsh measures to dissolve unions and democratic institutions in favor of Royal Guilds under her tight, centralized control, leading to waves of unemployment and poverty.
• The Cynic: Compared to Yuriy, Lydia is the more pragmatic sibling, advocating militarism and a stricter hierarchy to secure Kemerovo's stability.
• Equal-Opportunity Evil: While a bit of a homophobe (especially compared to Sablin, Men, and the Black Army), Lydia will tolerate homosexuals in the military so long as they're as useful and capable as their comrades.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones:
  • Whether or not Lydia is evil is in the eye of the beholder, considering the setting, but she's certainly a lot more brutal than her brother. This does nothing to change that she loves and frets for her father just as much as Yuriy does.
  • In a more downplayed case, Lydia does have a little affection for Yuriy and feels sorry about having to betray her own sibling to take the throne. When he's sidelined to govern Chukotka, Lydia doesn't take much enjoyment from it.
• The Evil Princess: Princess Lydia is relatively militaristic and autocratic compared to her populist brother. She even advocates a revival of the Oprichina system, which will establish a secret police and limit civil liberties.
• Evil Reactionary: She speaks out against Yuriy's reformist policies, advocating reactionary policies that will serve the greater good.
• Hero-Worshipper: Lydia admires the accomplishments of Catherine the Great and intends to leave a similar legacy behind when she succeeds her father.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: Unlike her father and brothers, all of whom were actual Soviet generals, Lydia was only a nurse during World War II and became a housewife in her later life. Here, she is a ruthless political manipulator and leader of her own Amazon Brigade who can become Queen of Russia.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: The real Lydia was most certainly not an autocratic monarch.
• Iron Lady: Princess Lydia is an autocratic, manipulative ruler who seeks to create a strong Russia through militaristic pragmatism, even rendering the Zemsky Sobor powerless so that she could rule with absolute authority.
• Irony: She's not blind to the irony of once being a nurse, yet the more militaristic of Rurik II's possible successors.
• Last Stand: If Kemerovo falls to the Siberian Black Army, it is implied that while Rurik II and Yuriy were captured, Lydia managed to take down three enemies with her.
• Meaningful Rename: Upon ascending to the throne, Princess Lydia takes the regal name Rogneda, after a Rus' princess.
• Order Is Not Good: Her repressive policies are intended to enforce order in the kingdom, but these laws often come at the cost of personal liberties and create a hierarchy in favor of the nobility and military over the civilians.
• Pet the Dog:
  • During the reunification campaign, Lydia pays a visit to a hospital and engages in some friendly small talk with an old friend of hers.
  • She actually puts her medical experience to good use if declared heir and sets up a robust national healthcare service, in part because she isn't spending as much on other forms of social welfare as her brother. She is also, naturally, an advocate for women's rights.
  • Though outraged when Yuriy exiles her to govern Magadan, Lydia does, somewhat, take his speech on reconciling in the future to heart before the two hug each other.
  • As Rurik lays in his deathbed, Lydia sets aside her grudge against Yuriy to comfort her dying father.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Downplayed. When she receives a report of a homosexual relationship between two of her Queensguard, Lydia has some rather unsavory thoughts on the affair, considering it a disorder. However, she does consider them loyal and competent enough to simply just be dismissed, so she orders her captain to have them reassigned separately instead.
• Praetorian Guard: If chosen as Rurik's successor, Lydia will replace the Kingsguard with the Queensguard, her own personal honor guard and commanded by Anna Kotsur.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • Rather than deploy the Oprichniki to spy and purge disloyal businesses, Lydia can instead reach out to them and compromise with them because because repressing them would hurt the economy.
  • After two of her Queensguard are outed as homosexual, Lydia has them reassigned separately rather than dismissed because they've loyally served Rurik since the 50's and they're too useful to be let go.
• Realpolitik: Unlike her brother, Lydia has no problem forging ties with the Sphere and negotiating lucrative trade deals from them.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: If Rurik II names his son Yuriy his heir, he'll task his sister with governing Magadan, a place that Lydia feels calls "a frozen wasteland" and so sparsely populated "the place practically runs itself!". Having said that, it's still a much nicer station than Lydia gives her brother in her own route, given that the Port of Magadan operates as the gateway between Siberia and America.
• Red Scare: She considers all trade unions as communist agitators that threaten to destabilize the realm. When she receives word of upcoming strikes, she sends the Kingsguard to quietly dismantle them.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Lydia promotes oppressive practices that trample over civilian liberties, but nonetheless increase the state's efficiency and security.
• Secret Police: Lydia requests her father to reorganise police units into 'Oprichniki', named after the personal death brigades of Ivan the Terrible and modeled after the Romanov Okhrana and Soviet NKVD.
• Sore Loser: If Yuriy is named Rurik's heir, Lydia will not be pleased at all, being the only one in the Zemsky Sobor to not clap in congratulations and storm off in a fuming rage.
• Token Evil Teammate: The most repressive member of her family line, even if her goals are well-intentioned in concept.
• Ungrateful Bitch: When Yuriy removes her as a rival to his throne, he still tries showing her mercy and love by assigning her to the relatively comfortable position of governing Magadan, even expressing his hopes that they'll one day reconcile. Unfortunately, Lydia does not reciprocate the positivity, as the superregional stage reveals that she's trying to rebuild her influence so as to challenge Yuriy one day.
• Warhawk: She enshrines the military as a key institution of the state, urging her father to give them more influence and stratifying the hierarchy with the army on top.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: She sincerely wants to uphold the legacy of her father, even if it means employing authoritarian and militaristic measures to live out that dream.

Boris Krylov

Role: Military Commander

Party: Zemsky Sobor^note Assembly of the Land (Kemerovo), Ryurikovy Loyalisty^note Rurik's Loyalists (After Midnight)

Ideology: Absolute Monarchy^note Despotism

Yuriy and Lydia's younger brother and a general in the Kemerovo army. Unlike his siblings, he has no ambitions of royalty and refused a title. For tropes pertaining to his expanded role in post-Midnight Russia, see his entry on After Midnight subpage under the Kingdom of Altay folder. Will contain unmarked spoilers!

Krasnoyarsk

Official Name: Provisional Government of Krasnoyarsk, Republic of Krasnoyarsk (SBA Collapse)

Ruling Party: Partiya Sotsial'noy Reformy^note Party of Social Reform

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

A clique of officers headed by Nikolai Andreev, who mutinied against the Central Siberian Republic. The clique plans for the reunification of Russia under their leadership, and made wild promises for liberal democratic reforms, though they're quite a long way away from both.

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• Action Girl: One of Krasnoyarsk's generals is Aleksandra Samusenko, who historically was the only female tank commander in the First Guards Tank Army.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The clique formed itself by abandoning the Red Army and later mutinying against the Central Siberian Republic (which drove Krylov crazy and turned him into Rurik II). As a result of this history of mutineering, the officers of Krasnoyarsk have developed a tendency to act against rulers that threaten their interests, laying down the possibility of a military coup in the future.
• Defeat Means Friendship: If Novosibirsk defeats Krasnoyarsk, Pokryshkin will personally recruit General Alexey Pesterev to his side, since he would know how to govern Krasnoyarsk.
• Emergency Authority: Part of how the clique justifies its martial rule over Krasnoyarsk, reasoning that the liberal democracy it plans to establish would come eventually. Whether Andreev actually intends to follow through with those promises, is left open.
• Empty Promise: To keep the regime stable, President Andreev has made wild promises of liberty and democracy. While these promises have kept the people quiet for now, the country is in reality facing a lot of trouble within and without, and it will take a lot of work to actually deliver on these promises.
• Foil:
  • Krasnoyarsk is one to Sverdlovsk, especially should Pavel Batov take over. While both are military juntas that broke off from the Red Army, Andreev and his clique are far more self-serving, prioritizing the consolidation of their own power and prestige over serving the people.
  • To a degree, it also serves as one to the Siberian Black Army should the military emerge victorious. While the SBA's officers may still pay lip service to anarchism, Andreev barely makes any effort to conceal how Krasnoyarsk's democracy is anything other than a sham.
• Know When to Fold 'Em: If defeated by the Black Army, a small detachment of guards fortify themselves at a prison, but surrender when they see the massive invading force about to lay siege and realize how pointless further resistance is.
• Military Coup: Should Krasnoyarsk's military find their interests threatened, they will waste no time in overthrowing the civilian government in favor of one that could serve them better.
• Our Presidents Are Different: Krasnoyarsk is a military-guided democracy, and as such the Chief of the Army serves as the President, who is appointed by the General Staff. The Prime Minister and the National Assembly are both elected, but they are subordinate to the President, and thus the military.
• Reassigned to Antarctica: When the Central Siberian Republic was established, the government was concerned about any pre-existing groups that would threaten the democratic institutions, broke up the future Krasnoyarsk clique, and assigned them to remote corners of the Republic.
• Start My Own: Krasnoyarsk used to be part of the Central Siberian Republic, before a clique of officers led a mutiny during the Siberian War and seceded, forming their own military dictatorship.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: The Krasnoyarsk Clique has aspirations for uniting Russia under liberal democracy. Unfortunately, the path they take to get there involves lots of military authoritarianism.

Nikolay Andreev

Role: Military Commander, Head of State

Party: Partiya Sotsial'noy Reformy^note Party of Social Reform

Ideology: Controlled Democracy^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Born 1905, Nikolai Trofimovich Andreev was called up from the reserves to fully rejoin the Red Army in 1935, initially a political commissar in Siberia. Hoping to fight on the frontline against the Germans, he was instead enrolled in officers' school. But as the war became more and more desperate, he continued taking more and more classes - not to become more skilled, but to hopefully delay being sent to fight for what he saw as a lost cause. As the Soviet Union collapsed, he and a clique of fellow officers' school graduates began to consolidate their power in the Krasnoyarsk region. Yet when the Central Siberian Republic was established, they were justifiably concerned about any pre-existing groups that would threaten the democratic institutions and so the government broke up the clique and assigned them to the far-reaching corners of the Republic. Andreev was placed under the command of Nikolay Krylov, secretly remaining in contact with his clique. As the Republic began to lose its grip on power and crumble apart, the clique reunited in Krasnoyarsk and mutinied against General Krylov during his doomed campaign against the Siberian Black Army. Now in order to convince the people of the city that they were not just another flavor of junta, Andreev and his officers have promised new and sweeping reforms. Free trade! Private property! Foreign allies! Open elections! Liberty! Democracy! With the collapse of the previous order, the clique is considering that the matter of the Siberian reunification rests in their hands. Following that it will be a mad dash to the sea, and with it foreign recognition, before consolidating and preparing a push to liberate all of Russia. But whether Andreev will actually be able to deliver on these promises is another matter entirely.

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• Cincinnatus. Andreev promises to end the military rule and step down in favor of democratization, but it's still undecided if he will actually fulfill that promise.
• Defector from Decadence: As the Second World War became increasingly hopeless for the Soviet Union, Andreev and his clique defected and seized power in Krasnoyarsk before they submitted to the Central Siberian Republic.
• Historical Badass Upgrade: Nikolay Andreev was historically a Red Army Colonel with little interest in politics. In the world of TNO, he is the strongman ruling Krasnoyarsk with an iron fist and a potential leader of a reunited Russia.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: The real Nikolay Andreev was a minor Russian Colonel and Hero of the Soviet Union recipient, and had a quite unnotable military and civilian career. He definitely wasn't a military dictator and nor was he a coup plotter.
• Let No Crisis Go to Waste: When the Central Siberian Republic's collapse was imminent, Andreev contacted his old clique to take power once more in Krasnoyarsk and rule as a junta government masquerading as a provisional one.

Viktor Astafyev

Role: Foreign Minister (Andreev cabinet), Head of State (SBA collapse)

Party: Sotsial-Demokraticheskaya Partiya Krasnoyarska^note Social Democratic Party of Krasnoyarsk

Ideology: Left-Wing Populism^note Progressivism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show (Warning: Unmarked Spoilers)}Krasnoyarsk was a state founded on promises. Promises of freedom, promises of greatness, promises of prosperity for decades to come. Where are all those promises now?

Comrade Siuda made many promises upon the Black Army's entry into Krasnoyarsk as well. Promises of liberation, promises of emancipation, and promises of equality for all. For a time, in the days and weeks following the collapse of Andreev's fiefdom, these promises were made good upon. The Black Army expelled the city's oppressors while representatives of the General Assembly established a local assembly in conjunction with the Social Democratic Party. It was in the overcrowded, unkept, and musty cafeteria of the Siberian Technical Institute of Forest that Viktor Petrovich Astafyev first got a taste for anarchism. Those sent to aid in the reorganization of structure in the city did well at adjusting a moderate democrat such as Astafyev to the new lifestyle awaiting him and the other inhabitants of the city. Emerging as a communal leader, Astafyev met with Siuda and Taratuta on multiple occasions. Viktor's close association with Siuda and high-ranking members of the General Assembly made his betrayal all the worse.

Astafyev pondered if this was truly anarchism as his city became home to the headquarters of the Black Army. Astafyev's requests for increased civilian governance fell on deaf ears as quotas were delivered from Kilchichakov, Mishurenko established a permanent residence in the city alongside his large following of soldiers, and Stepanov cast down veto after veto on local motions.

Siuda truly is no different than Andreev, and Astafyev and the people of Russia are far past empty promises. Though Siuda and the General Assembly have made multiple requests for Krasynoarsk to return to the fold, Siuda is not free of sin. In the mind of Viktor Nekrasov, associating with tyrants makes one no better, and tyrants have no place in a free Russia.

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• Hope Spot: For Astafyev, the Siberian Black Army was the best chance for Krasnoyarsk to finally liberalize, but its growing corruption and subsequent collapse have driven him from the faction and he's taken the responsibility of fulfilling Andreev's empty promises.
• Took a Level in Cynic: After Krasnoyark's integration into the Siberian Black Army, Astafyev cooperated closely with them, hoping that they would fulfill Andreev's promises of emancipation and freedom. However, Stepanov's increasingly corrupt nature and Siuda's failures to answer his complaints have disillusioned Astafyev, whom now perceives Siuda to be no better than Andreev and splits from him when the Siberian Black Army collapses.

Siberian Black Army

Official Name: Siberian Black Army

Ruling Party: Sibirsky Anarkhichesky Sovet^note Siberian Anarchist Council

Ideology: Anarcho-Communism^note Socialism

For its tropes, see the dedicated Siberian Black Army subpage.

Non-Unifiers

People's Revolutionary Council

Official Name: People's Revolutionary Council

Ruling Party: Krasnaya Armiya^note Red Army

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

A Soviet and Mongolian successor state headed by Marshal Aleksander Vasilevsky, located in Western Mongolia and Tannu Tuva. During the final days of the World War, Vasilevsky organized a retreat of the Red Army towards the Mongolian People's Republic, where he planned to help stop the invasion from Japanese aligned forces, regroup and eventually strike back at Germany. Unfortunately, the Japanese had already taken over Ulaanbaatar and forced the Mongolian Army into retreat, so Vasilevsky formed a weak alliance with the Mongolians and agreed to help them take back their homes.

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• Death from Above: The People's Revolutionary Council is one of a few factions in the world that starts with Air Cavalry divisions, and much of their focus tree is devoted to improving their helicopters.
• Fighting for a Homeland: Having marched east past the Urals during the fall of Moscow, the soldiers of the PRC are now determined to fight their way back home. If the PRC is defeated by another warlord, the ensuing text displays:
  Their last thoughts were of home, and the people they had loved.
• Multi National Team: The People's Revolutionary Council is a coalition of Russian, Mongol, and Tuvan people who are united behind their common wishes for survival and adherence to socialism.
• The Remnant: The People's Revolutionary Council is made up of remnants of both the Red Army and the Mongolian Army who did not align with any powerful player in the region.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: The People's Revolutionary Council is divided between two factions, the Russians and the Mongols. The Russians are Red Army soldiers who fled during the Great Patriotic War to seek refuge in Mongolia, now trapped with no way to return home, and seek to restore the Soviet Union under the Red Army. The Mongols would much rather stay in Mongolia and preserve a Mongol nation, opposing Russian hegemony.
• Unfit for Greatness: While the People's Revolutionary Council allows the common soldiers to elect their military officers, this comes with the adverse side effect of promoting men who are merely popular with their subordinates and have them hold ranks that they don't deserve.

Aleksander Vasilevsky

Role: Military Commander, Head of State

Party: Krasnaya Armiya^note Red Army

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Aleksandr Mikhailovich Vasilevsky was the son of a Russian Orthodox priest and was expected to follow in his father's footsteps, but he was drawn to a military life and traded his seminarian's robes for a soldier's uniform. He fought in the Imperial Russian Army and rose through the ranks, but resigned his post during the October Revolution and spent much of the Russian Civil War commanding soldiers well behind the front lines. In the interwar years, he distinguished himself as a skilled organizer, and befriended other notable officers such as Kliment Voroshilov, Mikhail Tukhachevsky, and Georgy Zhukov. When the Germans invaded, Vasilevsky was serving in Bukharin's general staff, and his ability to work well under pressure helped him rise through the ranks. But not even his skills could he stop the evacuation of Moscow from degenerating into a mad stampede as soldiers, bureaucrats, and millions of civilians desperately fought each other for coveted safe passage out of the city. Determined to help as much of the Red Army to survive as possible, Vasilevsky organized a semi-orderly retreat of the forces that escaped the Mozhaisk defense line and marched east, over the Urals. Their goal: the Mongolian People's Republic, where they could regroup and resume the offensive. But the opportunity never came, for the Japanese and their puppet state of Mengjiang had already invaded Ulaanbaatar and forced the remnants of the Mongolian Army into the steppes. Vasilevsky formed a tenuous alliance with the Mongolians, and the two armies set up a domain in western Mongolia and the former Tuvan People's Republic. They were isolated from the West Russian War, the Siberian War and the fall of the People's Republic of Western Siberia. They gladly avoided Yagoda's government in Irkutsk, fearful that he would label their retreat as cowardice and have them shot for treason. But despite having no allies, Vasilevsky is still determined to rally his men, draft the battle plans, and fight their way back home.

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• Chummy Commies: As a military man working for a Communist government, Vasilevsky permits democratic elections of their officers to keep them accountable.
• The Determinator: Though abandoned by Yagoda and the West Russian Revolutionary Front, Vasilevsky is still determined to fight off the other Central Siberian warlords and return his men home.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: He may be a military man, but Vasilevsky is concerned about the civilians he rules over and will try satisfying their interests to win their loyalty.

Oyrotia

Official Name: Karakorum Government of Oyrotia

Ruling Party: Karakorumskaya Uprava^note Karakorum Council

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

An Altaic state led by an Old Believer.

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• Chummy Commies: Their sympathies for the old Soviet system have led them to blend Christian doctrine and socialist ideals together, implementing partial nationalization and planned economic laws to increase Oyrotia's efficiency.
• Medieval Stasis: In contrast to the rest of Russia, Oyrotia has maintained an agrarian economy with little to no industrialization, which most are content with.
• The Migration: According to Zavoloko's bio, a number of Old Believers that made their new home in Oyrotia are from communities that were forced to trek out to Siberia following the Nazi conquest of the USSR.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Oyrotia is divided between the Old Believers and the Burkhanists, who initially had a peaceful co-existance, but are growing increasingly divided over Oyrotia's future. Any potential conflict between the two groups is rendered moot when Oyrotia is inevitably annexed.

Ivan Zavoloko

Role: Head of State

Party: Karakorumskaya Uprava^note Karakorum Council

Ideology: Social Nationalism^note Paternalism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The people of Ivan Nikiforovich Zavoloko have long been derided as provincial rubes obsessed with a long discarded past. Schismatics, was the common insult for members of the old faith. This offended the Old Believers, for after it all they had merely saw fit to continue their forefather's religion without meaning harm to anyone. In Riga, Zavoloko sought to guide his community and continue his own research in the past, as a collector of old Russian antiquities. When the Empire fell, the old faithfuls thought perhaps a new golden age of worship could begin. Instead, the Soviet Union and then Nazi Germany brought oppression and savagery to the Old Believer communities. Following the Nazi invasion, Zavoloko followed many of his kindred on a long exile overland, fleeing the ruins of a destroyed future. In Oyrotia, Zavoloko's first meeting with the native people not get off to a good start. The Altaic residents of the area had long disdained outsiders, especially once the rising Burkhanist religion became seen as a threat to the Tsar and then the Soviets. The adherents of this new religion found little pity for the exiles of a very old one. In a land ravaged by war and banditry, sharing limited living space with outsiders was seen by many as a suicidal move. From such an inauspicious beginning, to a leading role as president of this young nation with a dual religious and ethnic heritage, Zavoloko's rise has surprised many warlords in the region. His patient attention to detail, and his great empathy with citizens small and great has made him the one leader both population groups in Oyrotia will follow. However, a single man cannot be the foundation for an entire state. President Zavoloko and his supporters must succeed in tying the fate of both Old Believers and Burkhanists together on a deeper level, lest the young nation's future will die with its future still unrealized.

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• Horsemen of the Apocalypse: In a Novosibirsk playthrough, a literary piece begins circulating in Tomsk, depicting him as one of four "Horsemen" alongisde other figures in Central Siberia. He is accused of "poisoning" the people's minds with his religious teachings, and the story ends with him facing punishment for helping end the chances for the ideal "People's Realm".
• Richard Nixon, the Used Car Salesman: Zavoloko was a Latvian Old Believer and a historian in real life. In TNO, he's a long way from home and leads a warlord state in the middle of Siberia.
• Universally Beloved Leader: Zavoloko's patient attention to detail and great empathy with citizens small and great has made him the one leader both Bolsheviks and Old Believers will follow.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: While rarely if ever getting killed off, Oyrotia is often the first warlord to be annexed by one of the playable factions, with Zavoloko only making an appearence in a few early events before dissapearing from the plot entirely.

No Authority

The Isolated Settlements of Northern Siberia

In-Game Description ^{Click to Show}When the Siberian Plan was drafted by the economists of the Soviet Union, there were great plans for the northern parts of central Siberia. Roads would connect the desolate wastelands with the rest of Russia, industries were to be built atop the region's bountiful mineral deposits and cities would be built where once there was nothing. All those lofty plans quickly turned into ash as the thirties went on. Shovels could barely pierce the permafrost and the use of forced labor became commonplace. Instead of being integrated into the industrial cities to the south, a rough patchwork of improvised roads barely connected a few towns and Gulag complexes. Once the Great Patriotic War began, the development plans for the region were largely abandoned except for the rapid exploitation of the mines in the far north by forced labor. When the Great Patriotic War was lost, the region fell into abject disrepair and isolation.

Today, only the decayed metal husks of great projects remind the few people who venture here from the southern portions of Siberia of the great projects of the Siberian Plan. The gulags are deserted, the mines are long since derelict, and the few roads built into the region have largely been consumed by the harsh elements of Siberia itself. What little life exists in this edge of the world now more closely resembles that of centuries ago with isolated hunting and subsistence farming communities scraping by as they have for hundreds of years before industrialization briefly reached this part of the world. And as long as the anarchy persists in the rest of Russia, things are unlikely to change for a hundred more years.

Northern Siberia was planned to be the site of industrialization under the Siberian Plan, but the Great Patriotic War put the plans to a halt, and the Soviet collapse led to their total abandonment. Now Northern Siberia is inhabited by nothing but ghost towns and empty work camps, with the steel beasts that once heralded modernity fading into relics of a shattered past.

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• Abandoned Area: During World War II, much of the population in Northern Siberia fled elsewhere, with the only major ongoing activity being the continued exploitation of the mines via forced labor. Once the Soviet Union collapsed, the entire area was abandoned, with many gulags, mines, and roads overtaken by the natural elements.
• Anachronism Stew: The banner used for this anarchy is the most glaring example of this trope among anarchies. The photo is clearly taken from the 21st century, given the modern-style buildings, lampposts and signboards.^note The image is a real image taken from the Russia city of Norlisk, which would lie within the region of this anarchy.
• Ghost City: There are a number of these in the Northern Siberia, albeit with more incomplete buildings and decaying roads owing to the failure of the Siberian Plan.
• Hidden Elf Village: With no official state controlling the region, the remaining settlements in this region have been forced into isolation, with most surviving the harsh conditions by adopting the old hunting and farming techniques used hundreds of years ago. Until someone unifies Central Siberia, no authority will ever emerge here.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: During Bukharin's reign, the Soviet Union attempted to industrialize Northern Siberia through the Siberian Plan, connecting the region to the rest of Russia. However, the plan quickly fell apart, as the shovels could barely dig through the thick snow and the region was simply too uninhabitable for many major settlements to grow there. As a result, Northern Siberia just became a rough patchwork of roads and gulags where forced laborers worked themselves to death.
• Urban Ruins: Even in the 1960's, the legacy of the Siberian Plan can be seen in this region, as many of the plan's megaprojects still exist, albeit abandoned and in great disrepair.

Siberian Workers Deunification (Spoilers)

Siberian Workers' Federation

Official Name: Siberian Workers' Federation, Novosibirsk Union (SBA Collapse)

Ruling Party: Kostintsy^note Kostinists, Novosibirsky Profsoyuz^note Novosibirsk Trade Union (SBA collapse)

Ideology: Syndicalism^note Socialism

The Siberian Workers' Federation is a revolt that occurs after Central Siberia is unified.

Due to its unique government system, the revolt against the Siberian Black Army is different compared to other unifiers, and the events that relate to it are spoilered below.

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• Balkanize Me: After the SWF emerges victorious in Central Siberia, infighting among its leadership will cause it to fracture into three more socialist countries: the Siberian Workers' and Peasants' Union in Barnaul, the Reformed Siberian Socialist Workers' Republic in Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, and Tannu Tuva (and Western Mongolia if Mengjiang hasn't taken it from the PRC), and the Free Workers' Republic of Siberia in Kansk. None of these countries can unify Russia, and do nothing but sit there until the unifier of another region comes knocking.
• Chummy Commies: The SWF's members come from the working class, and took up arms against their perceived oppressors.
• Dark Horse Victory: It is very unlikely for the Siberian Workers' Federation to overthrow whoever unified Central Siberia, and the event which they do◊ emphasizes this, claiming the Central Siberian unifier was potentially the strongest warlord state in all of Russia.
• The Federation: The Siberian Workers' Federation is made up of a conglomerate of unions, councils, and independent rebel cells.
• Good vs. Good: Most of the Central Siberian unifiers are at least well-intentioned, and even the bad ones like Lydia, Pokryshkin, and Stepanov are merely pragmatists that are not comparable to the monsters from other Russian regions, but the only one that does not have to face the rebellious workers is the Black Army.
• Video Game Cruelty Punishment: The Federation takes on this role. Prior to regional unification, the Central Siberian warlords, sans the SBA can abuse and force their people to work harder to develop the Siberian Plan left behind by Bukharin. The highter the workers' discontent is, the stronger the Siberian Worker's revolt will be.

Vitaly Kostin

Role: Head of State (Worker's revolt and SBA collapse)

Party: Kostintsy^note Kostinists, Novosibirsky Profsoyuz^note Novosibirsk Trade Union (SBA collapse)

Ideology: Syndicalism^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Vitaly Semenovich Kostin was, until recently, a nobody. He was born in 1938, in a small settlement in the Altai, and from a young age quickly became involved in mining. After a brief period of serving in the Central Siberian Republic's army, where he was a first-hand witness of its unravelling and final collapse, he found himself in Novosibirsk, poised to continue his career. Kostin lacked the adhesion others had to the regime's beliefs, and despite the rumours of connections with the underground socialist-populist "Narodnik" group, he became an exemplary worker. The miner was of no particular relevance to the politics of the Russian warlords - until the revolt begun.

Determined to make a last stand against the resurgent authorities in Central Siberia, the working class of its cities and villages took up arms against their perceived oppressors. News of checkpoint after checkpoint being taken over by ragtag militias arrived to the rulers of the region, and it seemed as effective control of it seemed to be slipping away once again. At the head of this grand uprising was Kostin, who did not lose the chance to guide the proletariat to victory.

Yet, as much as the once normal citizen has become the figurehead of this liberation movement, he is not its King, President or Supreme Leader. A form of libertarian socialism has emerged in liberated communities, and there is no sole leader in such a system. All Vitaly Kostin wants is for his people to be free and equal, and if all out revolution is what it will take, all out revolution it shall be.

In-Game Biography (SBA collapse) ^{Click to Show} "Can one person change the world? Sure. A Romanov, a businessman, a scholar, people of class, all can bend the world to their whims. But can a slave? Can a simple worker take the reins of oppression and break them without a Lenin? Vitaly Semyonovich Kostin doesn't really know, and, in all honesty, he hoped he would never have to find out.

Nothing more than a construction engineer in Novosibirsk, Kostin quickly became one of the most ardent supporters of the Free Territory and their liberationist message. Present at the liberation of the city, Kostin proved an effective organizer and orator, with his simple populist message resonating with his fellow workers. The strike fostered by Kostin proved instrumental in the Free Territory's campaign against the Siberian Falcon. Following the establishment of an assembly in Novosibirsk, Kostin, a man of humble origins, sought to return to his modest life of work, content to leave the fate of Russia to the capable hands of Comrade Siuda. But it was not Siuda who laid claim to the city first.

In the weeks following the campaign, one name became more common than that of Pokryshkin; Ivan Stepanov. They began as whispers, rumors of a powerful lackey to Siuda who formed the muscle of their duo. Word spread quickly, but it was the seemingly unendingly increasing number of Black Army soldiers present at factories and demonstrations that made it clear something was amiss. Strict quotas, political repression, and rampant corruption left many residents of the city scratching their heads, wondering what changed. The blatant repression of the working people became so severe it forced one man out of retirement.

Betrayed by the capitalists of Novosibirsk and once more by the anarchists of Kansk, Kostin embodies the heart and soul of the Russian people; tired. How many revolts must occur? How many times must the people be lied to? Kostin doesn't know all the answers, he doesn't know much at all, but he does know that oppression in any form must be stamped out, no matter if it hides behind the skull and crossbones or not.

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• Chummy Commies: He's a syndicalist who will protest any form of worker exploitation, whether it be the capitalists in Novosibirsk or even the rowdier members in the Siberian Black Army.
• Cool Helmet: Wears a hardhat, which is certainly up there with Rurik's crown in terms of headgear uniqueness.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Kostin first appears in Novosibirsk, hearing news of the Narodniks' dismantlement. He's less than pleased to hear of the capitalists trampling over the common folk, but his spirits are lifted again when he begins plotting a second worker's revolt, foreshadowing the Federation's uprising..
• Irony: He's a devoted socialist who is fighting for worker's rights, but if the Siberian Black Army unifies Central Siberia and then collapses, Kostin will take control of the Novosibirsk splinter state, which used to be hub for worker exploitation before they were conquered.
• Just the First Citizen: Despite being the closest thing the Siberian Workers' Federation has to a leader, it's pointed out that Kostin is "not its King, President, or Supreme Leader".
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: If the SWF is victorious, Kostin holds a "Worker's Congress" shortly after winning. It goes horribly as everybody interprets Kostin's speech as him wanting to establish a "worker's aristocracy". This results in three different nations breaking away from the federation just because of an unfortunate speech.
• Rebel Leader: Is the closest thing to a leader the Siberian Workers' Federation has, and is implied to have prepared the SWF's uprising for some time through being a member of the underground socialist-populist Narodniks.
• That Came Out Wrong: If the SWF defeats the Central Siberian unifier, Kostin will hold a victory speech, proclaiming the ultimate goal of an equal, syndicalist nation and offhandedly mentioning that merit, not birth, will determine one's status. Unfortunately, the second part is misconstrued as him advocating yet another aristocracy to disempower the common workers, which spells doom for the Federation.
• What Were You Thinking?: The event text almost says this verbatim when Kostin offhandedly mentions about how status will be determined by merit, which is interpreted as a contradiction to the Federation's equalist principles and sparks its collapse.
• Working-Class Hero: Kostin started out as a miner in a small town in the Altai, leads a revolution formed mostly of labor unions, and is still wearing his hardhat and mining uniform in his leader portrait.

Reformed Siberian Socialist Workers' Republic

Official Name: Reformed Siberian Socialist Workers' Republic

Party: Partiya Sotsial'noy Reformy - Left^note Party of Social Reform

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

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• History Repeats: With the Worker's Federation's collapse after conquering Central Siberia, Sevatsyanov restores power to the Soviets in his splinter territory and centralizes a stronger government with himself as its head. In the end, Sevatsyanov's state signals a repeat of the old Bukharinist government before the Soviet Union's downfall.
• Industrial World: The Reformed Siberian Socialist Worker's Republic seizes the Kuznetsk Basin, one of the largest deposits of coal in the world, and the Krasnoyarsk Railway Junction, setting the stage for massive industrial growth.

Ivan Sevastyanov

Role: Head of State

Party: Partiya Sotsial'noy Reformy - Left^note Party of Social Reform

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Ivan Pavlovich Sevastyanov first became known in Central Siberia for his important work in the late stages of the Siberian Plan. As a young engineer and former CPSU official, he helped steer the project in the right direction, and ensured that it was successful and had the long-term effects it had.

His sympathy to Bolshevik ideals was known, but due to his usefulness and skill, was largely ignored until the Workers' Federation swept through the region, and Sevastyanov grabbed the chance to declare a reformed socialist republic covering territories he knew all too well. Contrarily to his allies, he has taken a different approach to his rule, giving power to the Soviets and forming a strong executive authority around him.

It has been effective, as tremendous economic growth was soon noticed, and more focus is put on the industry than ever. Of all the new states founded between Omsk and Irkutsk, Sevastyanov's one could be said to be the one closest to the old USSR.

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• Defector from Decadence: Unlike his fellow anarchists, Sevastyanov is sympathetic to Marxism and brings some measure of it back when the Workers' Federation falls apart.
• Hypocrite: When Sevastyanov secedes from the Siberian Workers' Federation, he denounces Kostin as a traitor to the SWF's syndicalist principles, even though his own Reformed Siberian Socialist Workers' Republic adheres to orthodox Bolshevism and is definitely not syndicalist in any way either.

Free Workers' Republic of Siberia

Official Name: Free Workers' Republic of Siberia

Ruling Party: Bol'shevistkiye Sovety^note Bolshevik Council

Ideology: Maoism^note Communism

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• La Résistance: The Free Worker's Republic frames itself as a rural armed struggle against its external enemies, borrowing much of the same rhetoric advocated by Mao Zedong. Enchanted by this, the population has bought their propaganda.
• The Remnant: The remnants of the Black Army coalesce around the Free Workers' Republic, dropping their Vanguard Anarchist rhetoric for a Maoist one.

Stepan Valenteev

Role: Military Commander, Director of Internal Security^note Security Minister (Siberian Soviet cabinet), Head of State (Federation dissolution)

Party: Sibirsky Anarkhichesky Sovet^note Siberian Anarchist Council, Bol'shevistkiye Sovety^note Bolshevik Council (Federation dissolution)

Ideology: Anarcho-Communism^note Socialism, Maoism^note Communism (Federation dissolution)

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}The fascinating experiment of the Siberian Black Army has left a long-lasting impact on Central Siberia, and this is made clear by the existence of the Free Workers' Republic of Siberia. Headed by the most senior member of the Black Army, Stepan Yeliseyevich Valenteyev, it has taken much inspiration from the former Army whose territory the Republic now occupies.

After the recent events, the remnants of the Black Army reformed their theory of militarized anarchy, and now claim to practice the doctrine of the People's Fight, the protracted armed struggle of a rural population against its enemies for the maintenance of the "free territory".

Valenteev is left as an unwilling leader of this movement, as it diverges further and further away from the anarchist vision he had fought for. Yet with or without his support, the ideas have definitely embedded themselves in the hearts and minds of the local population.

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• Assassin Outclassin':
  • One of Stepanov's options to build domestic support for his power struggle against Siuda is to order an assassination on Valenteev, one of his allies. However, the attempt will always fail, as Valenteev fights off their attacker with little more than a few scrapes.
  • He nearly falls for another assassination by an RFP infiltrator in the Black Army, but his would-be assassin, despite having the perfect opportunity to stab him, bails out of the plan out of a guilty conscience.
• The Bus Came Back: Valenteev is a supporting character in the Siberian Black Army, but he can return after they're defeated, if the Worker's Federation defeats the Central Siberian unifier.
• The Last Dj: Even when Stepanov assassinates Siuda, Valenteev does not give up his loyalty to the late ideologue and refuses to cow to the new dictator. Stepanov will need to have him eliminated in a "friendly fire incident" to cement his newfound power.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: After Stepanov overthrows Siuda, Valenteev hears a woman's cry for help while he's driving to Russia's border with China. He rushes to the Gorno-Altaysk church, where he hears the scream, only for the building to suddenly explode and take him with it. It turns out to have been trap by Stepanov to eliminate him and the "woman" crying for help was just a recording, meaning Valenteev died for nothing.
• Not So Stoic: Valenteev is a typically stoic man, but when he's drinking with Siuda to discuss joining forces against Stepanov, he laughs out loud when his leader tells an absurd story of seeing an ugly doll created in his likeness.
• Reluctant Ruler: Valenteev recognizes how far the Black Army movement has shifted from anarchism and become disillusioned by it, but he doesn't really have a choice to leave it.
• You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Seeing a Black Army recruit trying to flirt with a secretary by bragging about his accomplishments, Valenteev interjects and hands the recruit a pistol, daring him to shoot him if he's so tough. When the recruit is unable to, Valenteev verbally berates him for thinking war is a chance for him to pick up girls and that he needs to be absolutely committed to the Black Army's cause.

Siberian Workers' and Peasants' Union

Official Name: Siberian Workers' and Peasants' Union

Ruling Party: Soyuz Svobodnykh Obshchin^note Union of Free Communes

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

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• Rage Within the Machine: Downplayed. The Worker's Federation is a relatively equal syndicalist movement through and through, but the people of Altai perceive them as too authoritarian following a slipup by Kostin and thus rebel against them.

Maria Borchenko

Role: Head of State

Party: Soyuz Svobodnykh Obshchin^note Union of Free Communes

Ideology: Revolutionary Front^note Socialism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show}Maria Yakovlevna Borchenko may have become the honorary leader of the Siberian Workers' and Peasants' Union, but only a few years ago no one would have guessed that a humble farmer could have become a rising star in the socialist sphere in Central Siberia.

She was born in a village of the Altai plateau, and worked in farms throughout the rule of Bukharin, the CSR and the Federation. It did not take long until her admiration of socialism drew her close to Narodnik circles, where she argued for the rights of the neglected peasants.

Her time to shine came, later, though, as with the region in open revolt, she rallied the people of Altai into a separate rebellion. Thus, the Workers' and Peasants' Union was created: a peaceful state formed by the lower class, for the lower class. Maria may be its leader, but in her eyes the true control rests in the people, those working hard in the factories and farms.

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• Chummy Commies: Borchenko is a socialist who emphasizes the fundamental rights of the peasants before all.
• Defector from Decadence: In the first event after winning the Independence war, Borchenko's faction accuses the Siberian Worker's Federation of capitulating to labor aristocracy, and splits to form their own state.
• Just the First Citizen: Borchenko is the honorary leader of the Siberian Workers' and Peasants' Union, but in her eyes the true control rests in the people.

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