Characters / TNOWRRF

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West Russian Revolutionary Front

^{Flag at the regional stage} 

^{Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Zhukov)} 

^{Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Tukhachevsky)} 

Official Name: West Russian Revolutionary Front, Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic (superregional reunification) Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (national unification)

Ruling Party: Zapadnorusskiy Revolyutsionnyy Front^note West Russian Revolutionary Front

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

A Soviet military government headquartered in Arkhangelsk, formed after the Soviet collapse in WWII. Led by the Red Army High Command, the Front launched the famed West Russian War in the 1950s and dealt a decisive blow against the German Fascist occupation, but internal disorganization led to military defeats and the Front's subsequent collapse. Defeated but still strong, the Front still holds the dream of retaking all of Russia.

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General Tropes

• The Alliance:
  • Two of Zhukov's successors, Akhromeyev and Yakovlev, are open to collaboration with the OFN if it benefits their agenda.
  • Upon reunifying West Russia, a Tukhachevsky-led Front will reach out to fellow anti-fascist countries to stand against the Pakt and the Sphere, even if it means temporarily cooperating with the United States.
• Ambiguous Situation: Having reached the outskirts of Leningrad and Moscow on day 40 of the West Russian War, the WRRF seemed set to avenge their defeat in the Second World War. However, the tides suddenly turned against the Red Army and were pushed back nearly as quickly as they came. The exact cause of this turning point is still debated, with theories ranging from an attempted coup by Suslov or a disintegration of the Red Army's overextended command structure.
• Apocalyptic Logistics: Subverted. Logistics are a major problem the WRRF must address in their starting focus tree, doling out rations and finding supply chains to keep their population alive in the non-arable north.
• Back from the Brink: The WRRF are of the few remnants of the Red Army still left standing (if only barely), and by virtue of that, they have a claim to being an official continuation of the old Soviet government. But by the point the story starts, they have been wittled down to only formally occupying a small terrority to the far north of Russia with only few resources and an alling infrastruture that is crippled by constant German terror bombardment, meaning that just about meeting the quotas for basic survival for their civilian population is a constant uphill struggle. The chaos in the German Reich following Hitler's death, presents them with an oppotunity to regain the terrories they lost and reforge the Soviet Union of old; setting the stage for a new showdown with the Nazis, where they might finally be able to avenge their previous losses and retake the old capital of Moscow; provided they can win the armed struggle against all the other warlord states in the area of course.
• Balkanize Me: After a string of defeats in the West Russian War, the WRRF faced a series of regional secessions, as Russian collaborators and rival ideologues formed their own warlord states out of the chaos. With the Red Army too weak to respond, the WRRF was pushed back to Arkhangelsk, now a shell of their former glory.
• Boring, but Practical: One of the more mundane plans in Project INDRIK is the Izhevsk Experimental-Constructor Works, which will develop more compact rifle cartridges that can hold more of the newly produced 5.66x39 millimeter bullets. However, these bullets are far more precise than any type seen previously and it's far more feasible to complete than most of the other experimental weapons. Tellingly, the worst outcome from completing this project will be a partial success rather than a complete failure.
• Companion Cube: A Played for Laughs example when an old captain thinks about his love for the Red Navy. When he examines a Ognevoy class ship, he ponders some rather suggestive observations about it and jokes with his friends that he would marry a ship instead of a woman.
• Crazy Enough to Work: In Tukhachevsky's Front, Project TSYSKLON is largely seen as a money sink over creating heavy, unwieldy warheads, but the project can succeed and give Tukhachevsky the means to develop conventional, chemical, or even nuclear bombs.
• Dark Secret: A few events implies that the WRRF sells dissidents and criminals to Vorkuta in exchange for coal, a desperately needed in northwestern Russia.
• Deadly Gas: In Tukhachevsky's Project LESHIY, the Front develops chemical weapons using Novichok, one of the most toxic nerve agents developed at the time, far more potent than when it was used by the Germans three decades prior. Even worse, these weapons are deployed on Bakaly to put down a partisan uprising there.
• Defeat Equals Friendship:
  • Pavel Batov has the opportunity to recruit Sergei Akhromeyev and Alexander Altunin to his general staff if Sverdlovsk defeats Zhukov's WRRF. Unlike how the Black League recruits Yepishev and Ustinov, however, Akhromeyev and Altunin are somewhat more hesitant and ask Batov for more time.
    Take all the time you need so long as the final answer is yes.
  • If Tukhachevsky's WRRF unifies Western Russia and is subsequently defeated by Omsk, Dmitry Ustinov and Alexey Yepishev will be recruited into the Black League.
    Comrade, we would be proud to serve under your leadership. Let us help the Black League to restore the full glory of Russia.
• Determinator: The leadership of the Front did not give up its fight against the Reich after the Soviet Union was defeated. It still has not given up its dream of reunifying Russia, even after the failure of the West Russian War and the subsequent reduction of the Front to Arkhangelsk.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: All of the drill sergeants from the Front are strict and foul-mouthed towards their recruits in order to prepare them for combat against the Germans.
• Driven to Suicide: Upon witnessing Tukhachevsky order the destruction of Bakaly via chemical weapons, a Red Army radio operator shoots himself out of shame.
• Easy Logistics: Averted again in Tukhachevsky's path. A good portion of their regional economic tree is spent building factories and extracting resources for Tukhachevsky's grand militarist schemes.
• Elite Army: When restructuring the Red Army, Tukhachevsky has the option of turning it into a smaller, but butter equipped and trained force, akin to the Ural League.
• Failure Is the Only Option: Downplayed with one of Tukhachevsky's more ambitious experiments, Project SHCHUKA, which will construct some of the most advanced submarines in the world. The most optimal outcome is for the technology to be successfully harnessed for a test before the costs of building a fleet is deemed too high, so they can only afford five submarines. It is the only experiment in Project INDRIK to not have a complete success outcome.
• Family Business: If the NEP is approved by Tukhachevsky, a local family will reopen their carpentry business in a rare hopeful moment that they can resume their old, comfortable life.
• The Famine: The WRRF's greatest weakness is its lack of arable land, meaning that they have to acquire it through other means like trade or stealing it from civilians.
• Fell Asleep Standing Up: Given that they are working 14 hours a day under Tukhachevsky's WRRF, some workers get caught sleeping standing up during their few breaks.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: The WRRF once stretched from Arkhangelsk to Orsk, keeping the Soviet Union's ideals alive and nearly bringing the Germans to their knees during the West Russian War. Since, the WRRF has been battered and torn apart, now stuck in the frozen north and a shadow of their former power.
• It's Personal: Iona Yakir and Yan Gamarnik, the WRRF's two Jewish generals, vow to force the Nazis to pay the blood debt they owe the Russian and Jewish peoples.
• Living Weapon: After Tukhachevsky's WRRF unifies to the superregional stage, he begins Project FERMENT to develop biological weapons, which he considers to be a force multiplier of tremendous magnitude.
• Martyr Without a Cause: Subverted. Tukhachevsky blames the Red Army's defeats on the pointless sacrifices they make to create martyrs, an attitude he intends to reverse.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Project INDRIK is the overarching weapons development program set out by Tukhachevsky and "Indrik" is a Russian mythological beast who is the king of all animals and shakes the Earth when it trembles.
• "Not So Different" Remark: In the pro-American path of Zhukov's WRRF, the Front acknowledges that, despite their past rivalries, they and the United States aren't much different, both being forged out of revolution and boasting powerful militaries and industries.
• Occupiers Out of Our Country: The WRRF was created to expel the Germans from Russia.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: The West Russian War in the 50s. Even though they lost the war, they did irreparable damage to Germany, making their victory a pyrrhic one.
• Old Soldier: The backbone of the Front is formed by Red Army veterans who spent their whole life fighting against the Germans, who survived the hell of two catastrophic wars and were hardened and steeled by years of never-ending warfare and attrition. As such, the army of the WRRF has a strong advantage in manpower, organization and recovery, compared to the other warlords.
• Patriotic Fervor: Under Tukhacheveky, the people are taught to have total faith to the Red Army and Russia as a whole, willing to sacrifice even basic comforts like pots and pans to contribute to the military.
• Propaganda Machine:
  • When a Zhukov-led Front reunifies West Russia, they start propaganda campaigns to promote socialist values over the old ideologies that the other warlords espoused.
  • To build morale for Tukhachveky's upcoming war plans, massive propaganda campaigns can be assembled to produce slogans and mottos that glorify the military.
• Punch-Clock Villain: Though the Front's soldiers can be in service of Tukhachevsky, they earnestly believe that they are doing what's best for Russia and have no personal malice. When one unit finishes their harsh training, they go out on a normal, relaxing celebration with music and vodka.
• Quality over Quantity: Said word-for-word in a regional focus, where Zhukov focuses on training a smaller-scale, but more elite army equipped with the best equipment possible.
• Religion Is Wrong: In contrast to most of the Front, who tolerate the Orthodox Church's presence, Tukhachevsky and his band have no patience for supposed superstitions, tearing down their buildings and sentencing the priests to hard labor or death.
• The Remnant: The WRRF is ruled by remnants of the Red Army under Alexander Yegorov who still maintain their belief in Communism and the Soviet cause.
• Revenge: Some of the older members of Tukhachevsky's clique are eager to begin destroying the Orthodox Church as revenge for serving the Tsar and White Movement in past decades.
• Secret Police: Tukhachevsky empowers SMERSH to fill the NKVD's role in Bukharin's Soviet Union.
• The Stool Pigeon: Soldiers in Tukhacheveky's Red Army are encouraged to rat out their fellow comrades if they are suspected to be traitors to the Front.
• Shout-Out: Their playthrough contains a number of references to Warhammer 40,000:
  • One of their original national spirits is called Veterans of the Long War, a reference to an ability used by the Chaos Space Marines in the tabletop game. Indeed, the two factions have many parallels: like the Chaos Space Marines, the WRRF is a rag-tag group of elite soldiers dedicated to fighting a genocidal fascist empire, who have in the past almost succeeded in defeating it but were ultimately pushed back into an inhospitable place where noone else but them could survive.
  • The full description of the national spirit, meanwhile, references the famous "And they shall know no fear" monologue of the Emperor of Mankind, where he describes his Space Marines.
  • Finally, the WRRF's capitulation message is "Only in death does duty end.", a common phrase in the setting.
• Shown Their Work: Their regional flag is based on the standards of Soviet front formations during WWII. (example)
• Taking Up the Mantle: Zhukov's clique consider themselves the rightful inheritors of Lenin and Bukharin's legacies. After regional unification, they can take steps to restore the old Soviet Union, up to reforming the Bolshevik All-Union Communist Party and inviting its old members.
• Tank Goodness: Tukachevesky's OBT program centers around developing improved T-64 tanks that will be a match for the German armor they will face in Moskowien.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Marshals Zhukov and Tukhachevsky, the two potential successors of Alexander Yegorov, have a fierce rivalry, and only work with each other because of Yegorov. When Yegorov dies and either Tukhachevsky or Zhukov emerges victorious in the ensuing power struggle, the other may abandon the Front with his followers depending on the level of factionalism within the WRRF. Even if they don't, both contenders have a focus at the regional stage that removes the other and their followers from the faction.
• Training from Hell: Discipline is extremely strict in Tukhacheveky's military. Corporal punishment is enacted against those who violate the rules and any deserters are immediately marked for death.
• Undying Loyalty: Under Tukhachevsky, the Red Army is taught to express undying loyalty to Russia above all else, praising it as the greatest country in the world.
• Vestigial Empire: The WRRF reached its peak during the West Russian War when the Red Army High Command controlled most of West Russia. As the course of the war turned against the Soviet leadership, however, most members of the Front either left or were taken by Vlasov's Russian Liberation Army or Tsar Vladimir's monarchist forces, reducing the Front only to Arkhangelsk and the surrounding area.
• We ARE Struggling Together: There are a few cliques within the WRRF, such as Tukhachevsky's clique and Zhukov's clique, who are challenging Yegorov's authority due to having different ideas on how to lead the WRRF. The two military districts of the WRRF, Plesetsk and Ukhta, were created so that Tukhachevsky and Zhukov would have a harder time challenging Yegorov.

Grand Marshals

Alexander Yegorov

Role: Military Commander, Head of State

Party: Zapadnorusskiy Revolyutsionnyy Front^note West Russian Revolutionary Front

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Alexander Yegorov has been in the midst of the military throughout his entire adult life. Born in Samara in 1883, at age 18, he joined the Imperial Russian Army and quickly rose through the ranks. Originally a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party prior to the Revolution, he quickly aligned with the new Soviet regime when they came to power in 1917. He served courageously during the First World War, Russian Revolution in the Southwestern Front, the Great Patriotic War and the West Russian War, getting shot more than five times throughout his long service as he often led his men into battle. Ever humble, Yegorov always downplayed his achievements, and silently suffers with the regret of his past defeats even when he himself was not at fault. Still, Yegorov never gave up even after Moscow fell to the huns. In his exile behind the A-A Line, he amassed the remaining red forces in West Russia underneath the banner of the West Russian Revolutionary Front, leading it to the cusp of victory during the West Russian War before the collaborators and reactionaries within the Front tore this away.

Now nearly 80, his once more powerful grip over the Front's leadership is slipping away, with cliques of officers vying for power underneath him. The harsh climate of Arkhangelsk and his many war wounds have not helped improve his health, and the fractures within the Front continue to grow.

Despite the Front's many defeats, Yegorov's resolve remained strong - at least to the outside observer. It needed to be, for the hopes and dreams of those Russians still loyal to the glorious Revolution lie on his shoulders. Only time will tell whether his successor - whoever they may be, can also hold this burden.

The highest leader of the Front, a Soviet Marshal with a long military service record. Now almost 80 years old and in ailing health, Marshal Yegorov has to make plans for a successor to lead the Front should he pass away.

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• Big Good: Yegorov's efforts caused massive trouble for the Nazis, and the West Russian War is one of the leading causes of the German Civil War that completely messes up Nazi Germany's sphere.
• Drowning My Sorrows: Yegorov spends a lot of time drinking to forget about his wasting body, the Red Army, the whoreson Tukhachevsky, Finland, and especially the failure of the West Russian War.
• King on His Deathbed: By 1962, the old Marshal Yegorov has become senile, and spends most of his days murmuring about old comrades and battles, while Zhukov and Tukhachevsky are locked in a power struggle to determine who would succeed Yegorov.
• My Greatest Failure: In his sleep, Yegorov keeps dreaming of Operation Suvorov, in which he wasted a whole generation of Russians in a mad gambit to reclaim Moscow.
• Reconcile the Bitter Foes: Tired of the constant infighting between Tukhachevsky and Zhukov, Yegorov tries to reconcile the two and their cliques for the basic survival of the WRRF.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Yegorov doesn't live long by the game's start, but he was instrumental in commanding the West Russian War against the Reich and his decision on a successor may determine who ends up reunifying Russia.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Yegorov dies in late 1963 (some time after Hitler's death), just a little less than two years after game start.

Georgy Zhukov

^{70s Zhukov portrait} 

Role: Military Commander, Head of State (Yegorov succession)

Party: Zapadnorusskiy Revolyutsionnyy Front^note West Russian Revolutionary Front

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} From the streets of Voroshilovgrad to the shores of Khalkhin Gol, from the outskirts of Leningrad to the forests of West Russia, in every battleground he fought, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov demonstrated himself as an exceptional leader and stood out as an example to respect and follow from his peers and subordinates alike. Serving the Motherland with dignity and honor since its foundation, Zhukov was among the cohort of Soviet generals who have not surrendered to the advance of the Hun or abandoned their oath to the Soviet Union, and became one of the leading generals of the West Russian Revolutionary Front, the one which almost brought the Reich to its knees.

Even though the Front lost the battle, it did not lose its sacred war against the Fascist horde. The Front will rise anew - but will it learn from its past failures? Marshal Zhukov adamantly believes in the Communist cause and deeply admires the sacrifices the Soviet people took to preserve their country, but at the same time, he often expressed his doubts in the efficiency of the Front organization and went as far as suggesting that the Soviet leadership moved too far away from the working people it claims to represent. Zhukov's too independent position caused some hardliner generals to question his trustworthiness and even his loyalty to the Front for a man of his responsibilities.

The rumors of his political unreliability have not walked past the ears of the Arkhangelsk leadership, but his authority among the Red Army and sympathies from the common people were too significant to even consider merely discarding him. Following several unfortunate confrontations between Zhukov and other generals, he was sent to oversee the extraction of oil in the region of Ukhta, where he could put skills to use while keeping himself busy to affect the politics of the Front. Should the Front face turmoil, however, the marshal won't let himself to be quiet...

70's In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Very few expected Russia to be reunited, and fewer still believed that it would be reunited under another Union of Soviets. And yet, despite all odds, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, the son of a Russian peasant cobbler, General of the West Russian Revolutionary Front, and the heir apparent to Kliment Voroshilov clique, has done just that.

Zhukov rose through the ranks of the Soviet military, his career derailed by the invasion of Russia by the Reich. Joining the Western Revolutionary Front, a rump communist state, he was instrumental in the Western Russian War in the 50s, and while the war ended in loss for the WRRF, it broke Germany's hegemony. Falling out of favor, he was sent to the military district of Ukhta.

But with the German Civil War, his opportunities and fortunes alike expanded. Winning the power struggle against his opponent, Tukhachevsky, he quickly took advantage of the stop in terror bombings to reunite West Russia, and quickly extended this rule over the rest of Russia. His reforms have made the system more stable and prosperous, with the economy recovering from the destruction of the warlord period. Rumors abound Zhukov, however. His health has deteriorated, with many of his underlings within the early days of the clique being labelled as possible successors. And then there is the matter of the border, which in recent months has seen massive amounts of build in materiel and soldiers near the Pakt.

Zhukov has refused to comment on this rumor.

One of the leading Soviet Marshals under the Front, and a candidate to succeed the Front's leadership. Marshal Zhukov has doubts about the Front's efficiencies, and seeks a closer relationship with the working people.

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• The Ace: Not only is Zhukov one of the finest generals in Russia, he's also an expert industrialist whose management of Ukhta's productivity has been key to the WRRF's survival.
• Brutal Honesty: He unashamedly denounces Bukharin's promotion of autarky, sparing no word on how it tanked the Soviet economy and contributed to their crushing defeats by the Reich.
• Cincinnatus: In the path where Zhukov emphasizes the military's precedence, he ensures that the Front will eventually return to civilian governance once Germany is defeated.
• Chummy Commies: Zhukov is loyal to the working people, even suggesting that the Soviet leadership moved too far away from them, and seeks to rebuild a Union more accountable to the common folk.
• Defector from Decadence:
  • After being expelled from Arkhangelsk, Zhukov aligned himself with the WRRF's democratic and reform-minded faction.
  • Zhukov initially supports War Communism as the Front's economic policy during the West Russian War. However, seeing it enrich the Red Army at the expense of the people disillusions Zhukov and he intends to phase the system out, one way or another.
• Enemy Mine: Despite past enmities with the United States, Zhukov is open to actively cooperating with them and the OFN in the upcoming conflict with Germany, their mutual enemy, and remembering the OFN's support for the Front back in the days of the war. Borders on Odd Friendship at how amicable their relationship can get compared to other Soviet unifiers.
• Four-Star Badass: It goes without saying, as this is Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov we're talking about. As leader of the military district, Zhukov is noted for being a fair and effective ruler and he starts with a focus which gives Ukhta bonuses to division organization and recovery rate.
• Hot-Blooded: Averted. Zhukov lacks his real-life counterpart's hot-blooded temperament, which was enough to match the likes of Stalin's.
• Humble Hero: His private study is much more modest than most people expect, with the most impressive decoration there being a fish tank with a couple of discus fish.
• Internal Reformist: Zhukov wishes to reform Russia into a socialist state more accountable to the common folk. He doesn't want to rock the boat too much before Russia is united, though, out of fear of alienating his fellow Communist comrades and making Russia more vulnerable to its enemies.
• Kicked Upstairs: Concerned that his sympathies for the common people were compromising his loyalty to the Front, the hardline Red Army generals assigned Zhukov to rule over Ukhta and oversee the extraction of oil there, effectively removing him from Arkhangelsk's politics.
• King on His Deathbed: By the 1970's, Zhukov is dying from old age, in which his inner circle begins making moves to see who will succeed the old marshal.
• The Last DJ: His concern for the people have made him distrusted by the hardliner Red Army generals, believing that it would compromise his duties. As such, they've sent him to Ukhta to keep him busy and out of their politics, unaware that the general won't be silenced so easily.
• Rags to Riches: Zhukov was born to a family of peasants and has since risen to become one of the Red Army's most prestigious commanders.
• Realpolitik: To relieve the overstretched structure of the WRRF, Zhukov can recruit some former bureaucrats from previous warlords, dropping their past association with "unsavoury regimes" in exchange for their service.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Zhukov is one of the more reasonable generals of the Red Army remnants, balancing a focus on militarism with a concern for the people of Russia.
• Secretly Dying: In the 1970's, Zhukov's health has taken its toll and rumors spread that he isn't going to live much longer. For his part, Zhukov refuses to comment on this speculation.
• Shown Their Work: One focus description amusingly implies that Zhukov enjoys drinking Coca-Cola, with Yakovlev promising to bring some back from his trip to Washington D.C. It is also true in real-life that Zhukov secretly liked the beverage, despite it being banned in the Soviet Union.
• The Starscream: There are rumors that Zhukov seeks to take over the West Russian Revolutionary Front's Arkhangelsk base.
• War Hero: Zhukov is practically a legend in the Red Army, proving himself to be an exceptional commander in every battle he's participated in and earning the respect of those who served under him.

Mikhail Tukhachevsky

^{70s Tukhachevsky portrait} 

Role: Military Commander, Head of State (Yegorov succession)

Party: Zapadnorusskiy Revolyutsionnyy Front^note West Russian Revolutionary Front

Ideology: Stratocratic Communism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was always considered an eccentric, if talented, member of the Soviet High Command. A former noble, he turned against the conformity of his class and joined the Bolshevik party in their crusade against the old order. Victory after victory, every conquered city he dedicated to the cause of revolution and Vladimir Lenin paved the extraordinary career for the so-called 'Red Bonaparte', despite his young age.

Following the Soviet defeat against the Nazi tide, Tukhachevsky was one of the generals who formed the basis of the WRRF leadership, but soon the self-willed Marshal grew to disdain his colleagues for their weakness and incompetence that led Russia to be defeated by Nazis in the first place. Being concerned with his influence on the Front politics, the Front leadership granted Tukhachevsky with a small domain in Plesetsk, where he could stay away from the intrigues of Arkhangelsk and organize the defensive frontier against the enemies from the West.

A proponent of a revolutionary offensive war ever since his maturity as a Bolshevik military theorist, Tukhachevsky for a long time opposed the attempts of Bukharin to appease the enemies of the world proletariat, such as Germany and Japan, and tried to resist his ruinous reforms in the military complex, only for his voice to fall on deaf ears and his efforts to negated during the catastrophic course of the war with the Nazi Reich. Being a witness to the failed attempts of Bukharin's government to placate and defeat the bourgeois powers without a needed revolutionary vigor and determination, Marshal Tukhachevsky, a passionate warrior he is, only grew more convinced in his notion of the Red Army as the main instrument of a political change.

If the Soviet Union is bound to return under Tukhachevsky, it will return as an armed camp, eternally vigilant against its numerous enemies, with every cog inside its state machine rotated towards the final victory.

70's In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} After the miserable failure of Operation: Suvorov, many of Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky's colleagues in the West Russian Revolutionary Front had said that it was proof that his strange theories were more flawed than they appeared, and ignored his criticisms of the Red Army's conduct.

When Marshal Tukhachevsky took power in the Front, his detractors claimed that his brutal adherence to war communism would lead the Socialist cause in Russia to ruin, and that the army's purpose is to serve the state, rather than become the harbinger of the global revolution.

Once the rejuvenated Red Army marched beyond the Ural Mountains, there were those who still held that even a brilliant strategist like Tukhachevsky could never tame the harsh wastes of Siberia.

Now, however, they are silent. Grand Marshal Tukhachevsky has brought the Soviet Union together, and reforged it into a great engine to propel the Red Army forward as the most powerful military force in the history of man. The "Red Napoleon'' now turns his attention to the West, preparing for the final conflict against the Union's ultimate foe. He shall see to it that the Red Army, invincible and legendary, will achieve the victory that they were denied so many years ago.

No matter what the cost may be.

One of the leading Soviet Marshals under the Front, and a candidate to succeed the Front's leadership. Marshal Tukhachevsky deeply resents the Soviet Union's military deficiencies, and envisions a militarized and revolutionary Soviet Union that can triumph over the enemies of Communism.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: In real life, some of Tukhachevsky's generals and ministers were Brezhnev-era officials who were privy to the USSR's massive military buildup at the time (Dmitry Ustinov, Alexey Yepishev), which Tukhachevsky is more than willing to repeat.
• The Cassandra: During Bukharin's reign, Tukhachevsky for a long time opposed his efforts to appease the enemies of the world proletariat, such as Germany and Japan, and tried to resist his ruinous reforms in the military complex. His voice fell on deaf ears, and his efforts were all for nothing during the catastrophic failure of World War II.
• Chest of Medals: To celebrate the unification with West Siberia, Tukhachevsky wears a crisp uniform full of medals across his chest.
• Cincinnatus: Subverted. In the superregional stage, Tukachevsky reforms the Vsesoyuznaya Kommunisticheskaya Partiya and seemingly restores civilian rule, except that the new government is little different than the stratocracy of the old Front and Tukhachevsky is still at its head.
• Dirty Communists: Mikhail Tukhachevsky is more authoritarian and militaristic than Zhukov and will turn a Soviet Union reformed under his banner into an army with a state to bring the world revolution to the doorsteps of its enemies, with few compunctions about war crimes.
• Drill Sergeant Nasty: As the administrator of Plesetsk, Tukhachevsky has been directed to train new troops and officers for the Front, and an early event after having chosen him as the successor shows the harsh discipline he enforces on new recruits. Even at the regional stage, he remains preoccupied with whipping the troops, and Russia as a whole, into shape.
• Enemy Mine: Even though Tukhachevsky despises the United States and capitalism as a whole, he can reach out a truce with them in united opposition to Germany and Japan.
• Evil Is Petty: Should he be sent to detain Steve during his travel in the WRRF, he'll take his truck and send him to Onega just to be a dick.
• Evil Pays Better: In addition to being one of the worst communist rulers to unify Russia, Tukhachevsky also grants his military enormous bonuses (even when compared to his rival Zhukov), making him one of the easiest warlords to unify Russia with, and one of the most likely ones to win the war to reclaim RK Moskowien.
• Four-Star Badass: For all his faults, Tukhachevsky is still one of the greatest military leaders the Front has, and his Deep Battle theory is admired by Ivan Serov, Lazar Kaganovich, and even Henning von Tresckow in their respective focuses. Dmitry Yazov, while praising the Front, singles out Tukhachevsky for his "strength".
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Likely because of the permeating cruelty of the setting, this version of Tukhachevsky is portrayed as a militaristic madman, with his ruthlessness and cruelty being greatly dialed up compared to his real life counterpart, who died in Stalin's purges for perceived disloyalty.
• Kangaroo Court: After Tukhachevsky's WRRF defeats Komi, he puts its entire leadership, from politicians to generals to radio hosts, on trial, but everyone who was escorted into the courthouse had their fates already decided. Mikhail Suslov notices that no one who happened to be carted to the podium were given an innocent verdict, and that Tukhachevsky had already decided who was innocent, namely Svetlana Bukharina and Yuri Andropov.
• Kicked Upstairs: Tukhachevsky was granted dominion over Plesetsk so he couldn't influence the WRRF's main command in Arkhangelsk.
• Necessarily Evil: Tukhachevsky justifies all of his heinous actions as an unavoidable cost to prepare Russia for war against the Reich, a much worse evil in his eyes.
• Odd Friendship: Despite the two having very different ideologies, Tukhachevsky still maintains his friendship with Tomsk's Dmitri Shostakovich. Two early events for the WRRF and Tomsk involve the two exchanging correspondence, and at the regional and superregional stage, Tukhachevsky will reminisce about playing violin with him. Truth in Television believe it or not, as both men actually were friends in real life and kept a friendship up until Tukhachevsky was executed in 1937 during the Great Purge.
• The One Thing I Don't Hate About You: In the regional stage, Tukhachevsky has the option to continue Bukharin's New Economic Plan and encourage some free-market policies. Though Tukhachevsky personally blames Bukharin for the Soviet Union's crushing defeat, he acknowledges the soundness of his economic ideas in this path.
• Passing the Torch: Tukhachevsky is well aware that his old age will eventually catch up to him, so he appoints Ustinov as his future successor.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: When Tukhachevsky conquers Komi, he'll execute all party leaders, except for Bukharina. This includes the overtly racist and genocidal Passionariyy, who all panic at their impeding doom (save for Gumilyov).
• Pet the Dog:
  • While he does steal Steve and Zoya's truck if he confronts their passage into the WRRF's territory, he at least compensates them somewhat with several horses to carry their belongings on the journey to Onega.
  • At the regional stage, he makes sure his men are adequately pensioned at the end of their service and can optionally bring back the NEP to develop civilian industries instead of forcing collectivization.
  • This trope is zig-zagged for his treatment of civilians. For his casual hawkishness, Tukhachevsky is willing to give generous benefits to the people so they can live more comfortably and do their jobs better, such as buying modern farming equipment for the peasants, but when circumstances demand austerity, Tukhachevsky will impose it on them so that the military is better able to fight.
  • At the regional stage, instead of implementing harsh punishments for defeatism, Tukhachevsky can opt to promote positive heroism and undertake a propaganda offensive in order to inspire hope in his men. However, he reverses course at the superregional stage as the nascent RFSSR absorbs new recruits from West Siberia, implementing harsh punishments for desertion.
• Pragmatic Villainy:
  • If he conquers the Komi Republic, he'll spare Svetlana Bukharina because her popularity and relation to Nikolai Bukharin makes her a perfect propaganda tool to legitimize his claim over Russia.
  • Despite his own misgivings with the Presidium and its "incompetent" politicians, Tukhachevsky can treat them as an equal partner to the Red Army because they are needed to fill in policies that the military can't, like ethnic autonomy.
  • After conquering West Siberia, Tukhachevsky integrates their armies because their manpower will be useful to the Red Army.
• Red Baron: The "Red Napoleon", as he's known, has a very militaristic outlook on how to best reunite the Soviet Union.
• Repressive, but Efficient: Despite his dictatorial and violent means, Tukhachevsky does successfully industrialize Russia and turn it into a powerful military power, so much so that many are willing to endure the below-average living standards in the hopes that victory against Germany will make it worth the cost.
• The Starscream: When Yegorov dies after having chosen Zhukov to succeed him, Tukhachevsky may (depending on the level of factionalism) openly rebel against the Front, which would then have to conquer Plesetsk by force. Even if he doesn't, Zhukov only puts up with him until the regional stage, whereupon he and his generals are fired:
  "Tukhachevsky and his clique have been constantly going behind Marshal Zhukov's back, and occasionally trying to stab him in it. This is unbecoming of a professional soldier in the Red Army, especially ones with such high ranks as him and his men hold. They are a disgrace and a stain upon the uniform, and one knows what must be done with stains. These traitors will be removed from service."
• Surrounded by Idiots: Tukhachevsky disdains most of his colleagues for their perceived weakness and incompetence, believing that more extreme measures are required to save Russia.
• Taking Up the Mantle: His hawkish ideas are partly inspired by Trotsky's, both believing that the proletariat can only be protected by a powerful army. Though Trotsky is long dead, Tukhachevsky proclaims to inherit his theory of a permanent revolution.
• Token Evil Teammate: In contrast to Zhukov (who seeks to reestablish a USSR more accountable to the common people), Tukhachevsky is a hyper-aggressive warmonger who will turn the Union into an army with a state, and play a dangerous game of chicken involving nuclear weapons with Germany.
• The Unfettered: Tukhachevsky is utterly indifferent to the heavy costs of his massive industrialization and militarist plans, considering them a small price for Russia to achieve its ultimate victory over Germany.
• Unknown Rival: To Mikhail Suslov in Komi. Tukhachevsky blames him and Zhukov for the WRRF's defeat in the West Russian War, but while Zhukov merely has Tukhachevsky's contempt, Suslov has his unbridled hatred for allegedly engineering a coup attempt in Syktyvkar (which used to be the WRRF's headquarters) in the latter half of the war, turning the WRRF's retreat into a rout. Suslov, for his part, does not consider Tukhachevsky at all until he is tried when Tukhachevsky takes over Komi.
• Warhawk: Tukhachevsky believes in a revolutionary offensive war. He wants to reform the Soviet Union through warfare and take the fight to their enemies, with every element of the state engineered to maximize its military strength.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Tukhachevsky tolerates no dissent in his campaign to liberate Russia, going as far as massacring an entire town with poison gas when it's taken over by partisans.
• Wicked Cultured: Tukhachevsky frequently listens to classical music when alone or in small meetings, and he is easily the crueler and more evil of the two potential leaders of the Front.
• Would Hurt a Child: After defeating Vyatka, Tukhachevsky sends orders for the entire family of Tsar Vladimir to be executed in the basement they're held in, including his daughter Maria, a teenager who doesn't even understand why she has to die, and cries as she's gunned to death. By contrast, under Zhukov Vladimir is shot while trying to flee in a car with his family, and is given a quick field-trial before he can bleed out, with no indication his family will share his fate.
• You Have Failed Me: Tukhachevsky has little tolerance for failure. He is implied to not be kind towards workers who fail to meet their quotas, and when a trainee collapses and refuses to budge, he mutters "something cruel" to an aide before a Commissar approaches the body. He can also implement harsh punishments for desertion and defeatism, up to and including decimation.

Zhukov Cabinet Members

Sergey Akhromeyev

Role: Military Commander, Security Minister (Zhukov cabinet)

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Sergey Fyodorovich Akhromeyev was born in 1923 into a peasant family from the village of Vindrey near Tambov. His mother divorced his father in 1928 and took her children to Moscow. As he grew up, Akhromeyev decided to enter military service, and in 1940 graduated from the 1st Special Naval School in Moscow. After next completing a course at the Frunze Higher Naval School, he fought as part of a cadet rifle battalion on the Leningrad Front, where he was wounded. In 1942 he enrolled in the 2nd Astrakhan Infantry School and graduated the same year, being made commander of a rifle platoon of the 197th army reserve regiment of the 28th army, and continued to rise through the ranks of the regiment. By 1944 he found himself commander of a motorized battalion, but by then the war was lost.

To Akhromeyev, however, and to many others, it never truly ended. As the following collapse of the Soviet Union meant that many positions needed to be filled by capable people, he quickly found himself a member of the general staff. Assigned to work with Zhukov during Operation Suvorov, Akhromeyev became something like a protege to him, and even after the operation failed remains his second in command. Seeing civilian government as unable to handle the times to come, he is a strong advocate for a state led by the Red Army and strict adherence to war communism.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: In OTL, Akhromeyev was one of the leaders of the 1991 August Coup that sought to reverse Gorbachev's reforms. In TNOTL, he is the communist hardliner option for the WRRF and shuts down any attempts at steering the Front away from a military dictatorship until the entirety of Russia could be liberated from German occupation.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Out of Zhukov's potential successors, Akhromeyev is the staunchest advocate of orthodox Bolshevism.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Akhromeyev sincerely believes that Russia can only prosper with the Red Army at the helm, believing that a civilian government would be unable to stand against Germany.

Nikolay Ryzhkov

Role: Economic Minister (Zhukov cabinet)

Ideology: Bolshevism^note Communism

In-Game Biography ^{Click to Show} Born in 1929 into the family of a miner from the village of Dzerzhynsk in the Ukrainian SSR, Nikolay Ivanovich Ryzhkov was fascinated by engineering, technology, and industry from a young age. Before he could begin his formal studies however, the collapse of the Soviet Union caused him to flee east towards the Front, where he studied engineering at one of the few colleges still available. Finishing his studies just after the failure of Operation Suvorov and the near collapse of the Front, he again fled towards what remained of it, eventually finding himself in Ukhta, where he distinguished himself quickly and caught Zhukov's attention.

As such, he was put in charge of the economic and industrial organization of Ukhta despite his young age, proving to be instrumental in the success of that project. Now, just like Zhukov, he has his eyes on bigger things. Ryzhkov strongly believes that War Communism should be phased out, and that a civilian government following Leninist lines should eventually be reestablished.

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• Chummy Commies: Ryzhkov is a pragmatic Leninist who supports phasing out war communism and replacing it with democratic elections as soon as the emergency is over.
• Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Ryzhkov is the one responsible for the Front's economic and industrial organization, making him one of Zhukov's most valuable supporters. He's ultimately sidelined into a minor bureaucratic position even if he emerges as dominant in the power struggle for the Front's leadership, but his impact on the Soviet Union's future will remain.
• Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Unlike Yakovlev, Ryzhkov doesn't want to completely dismantle the secret police apparatus, but to curb its power he establishes the KGB, who promptly get into turf fights with SMERSH and reduce the impact of both organizations.

Alexander Yakovlev

Role: Foreign Minister (Zhukov cabinet)

Ideology: Left-Wing Populism^note Progressivism (WRRF), Democratic Socialism^note Progressivism (Komi)

In-Game Biography (WRRF) ^{Click to Show} In 1923, Alexander Nikolaevich Yakovlev was born into a family of five. Conscripted into the Red Army in November 1941, he served as commander of a rifle platoon, fighting in battles around Leningrad. Although he was a great admirer of Bukharinism at the time, seeing it as the only hope against the fascists of the world, his experiences in the aftermath of the war changed him. Becoming a member of the Communist Party in 1944, he chose to leave the army with the collapse of the Soviet Union, demoralized by the outcome of the war.

Finding himself in the lands of the West Russian Revolutionary Front, he eventually came to learn of the deal made by the Front with the gulags of Vorkuta to send them prisoners in exchange for coal. Infuriated by this arrangement and no longer able to truly believe in Bukharinism, Yakovlev joined the government of the Front, determined to change it from within.

After Operation Suvorov failed, Zhukov convinced the capable Yakovlev to join him in Ukhta, where he now hopes to convince Zhukov in turn and bring down War Communism and Bukharinism both through him, and in turn create a democratic system of governance for Russia.

In-Game Biography (Komi)^{Click to Show} Alexander Nikolayevich Yakovlev's career is one marked by remarkable change and evolution. Born to a peasant family in Korolyova, Yakolev's father was a Red Cavalryman during the Civil War and an important leader in the local agricultural commune. Raised in such an environment, at a young age he became an ideological adherent to Marxist-Leninism. Under normal circumstances, he might have even become an important local politician, and maybe even beyond. But the German invasion changed all that.

Conscripted in the Red Army, Yakovlev saw how easily Marxist-Leninism fell to the hoards of German soldiers, crushed beneath the tire treads of Panzers, then, after it was all done, shattered into a thousand bickering generals and warlords. Such destruction forced Yakovlev to view socialism through a different, more independent lens - a view that placed human dignity above ideological purity.

Originally a member of Zhukov's clique in the West Russian Revolutionary Front, he has adapted well to the Russian Republic, organizing the Arkhangelsk Oblast into a DSNP stronghold. A firm member of his party's left flank, he has made himself famous as an orator of populist values. Now, as President and successor to Voznesensky, he intends to take both the party and the Republic in a different direction, and to ensure, once and for all, that all citizens are happy and free.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: In real life, Yakovlev was one of the key people behind Mikhail Gorbachev's reform program of glasnost and perestroika. In TNO, he advocates for the very same things in the WRRF.
• Broken Pedestal: After the fall of the old Union to the German menace, Yakovlev lost faith in the strength and truth of Marxist-Leninism, and was forced to look at socialism through a different lens.
• Internal Reformist: One of the most prominent reformist politicians in the WRRF, Yakovlev advocates for limited privatisation, free and open trade, foreign investment, decentralized economic planning, and ending war communism as soon as possible. He is also notable in his staunch support of free and open elections and receiving aid from the OFN.
• Kicked Upstairs: At the end of his story, Yakovlev is ultimately sidelined by being put in charge of coal transportation, but his work in democratizing the Front will remain, and leave behind a big impact on the Soviet Union's future.

Tukhachevsky Cabinet Members

Dmitry Ustinov

^{Joined Black League} 

Role: Military Commander, Economic Minister (Tukhachevsky cabinet), People's Commissar of Defence^note Security Minister (Chelomei-favored Zhdanov cabinet)

Ideology: Stratocratic Communism^note Communism, Bolshevism^note Communism (Chelomei-favored Zhdanov cabinet)

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• The Cameo: In a post-Taboritsky Russia, Ustinov appears as a general for the Revolutionary Communes of Orenburg, as the Sole Survivor of Tukhachevsky's clique and in a vastly reduced role.
• Number Two: Ustinov is Tukhachevsky's right-hand man, advising him on economic and military matters and handling civilian affairs. At the superregional stage, Tukhachevsky makes it official by nominating him as his successor.
• Rags to Riches: One event at the regional stage involves Ustinov solemnly recalling his childhood in Samara, where he had to hand-feed his starving mother with scraps of bread and rat soup. His impoverished origins hardens his resolve to rebuild Russia.
  Never again, this we swear.
• The Spartan Way: Citing the example of Ilya Starinov and the Ural Guard, Ustinov advocates utilizing their training methods in order to produce elite soldiers from raw recruits, in contrast to Ieronim Uborevich's application of spartan discipline - in short, focusing on Quality versus Uborevich's Quantity approach.

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