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People's Republic of Moravia
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: parts of Southeast Czech Republic
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of Moravia
Green is Moravia, Blue is Bohemia
Capital Olomouc
Largest city Olomouc
Other cities Přerov, Prostějov, Šumperk, Svitavy
Language
  official
 
Czech
  others Slovak, Russian, Polish
First Secretary Ivan Langer
Area 12,214 km²
Population 839,826 
Currency Moravian koruna

Moravia (Czech: Morava), officially the People´s Republic of Moravia (Czech: Moravské lidová republika), is a survivor nation based in the center of former Czechoslovakia, on the eastern zone of the former Czech Socialist Republic.

History[]

Pre-Doomsday[]

Dubcek remained in office only until April 1969. Gustáv Husák (a centrist, and interestingly one of the Slovak "bourgeois nationalists" imprisoned by his own KSČ in the 1950s) was named first secretary (title changed to general secretary in 1971). A program of "Normalization" — the restoration of continuity with the pre-reform period — was initiated. Normalization entailed thoroughgoing political repression and the return to ideological conformity. A new purge cleansed the Czechoslovak leadership of all reformist elements.

Anti-Soviet demonstrations in August 1969 ushered in a period of harsh repression. The 1970s and 1980s became known as the period of "normalization," in which the apologists for the 1968 Soviet invasion prevented, as best they could, any opposition to their conservative regime. Political, social, and economic life stagnated. The population, cowed by the "normalization," was quiet. The only point required during the Prague spring that was achieved was the federalization of the country (as of 1969), which however was more or less only formal under the normalization. The newly created Federal Assembly (i.e., federal parliament), which replaced the National Assembly, was to work in close co-operation with the Czech National Council and the Slovak National Council (i.e., national parliaments).

In 1975, Gustáv Husák added the position of president to his post as party chief. The Husák regime required conformity and obedience in all aspects of life. Husák also tried to obtain acquiescence to his rule by providing an improved standard of living. He returned Czechoslovakia to an orthodox command economy with a heavy emphasis on central planning and continued to extend industrialization. For a while the policy seemed successful; the 1980s, however, were more or less a period of economic stagnation. Another feature of Husák's rule was a continued dependence on the Soviet Union. In the 1980s, approximately 50 percent of Czechoslovakia's foreign trade was with the Soviet Union, and almost 80 percent was with communist countries.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, the regime was challenged by individuals and organized groups aspiring to independent thinking and activity. The first organized opposition emerged under the umbrella of Charter 77. On January 6, 1977, a manifesto called Charter 77 appeared in West German newspapers. The original manifesto reportedly was signed by 243 persons; among them were artists, former public officials, and other prominent figures. The Charter had over 800 signatures by the end of 1977, including workers and youth. It criticized the government for failing to implement human rights provisions of documents it had signed, including the state's own constitution; international covenants on political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights; and the Final Act of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Although not organized in any real sense, the signatories of Charter 77 constituted a citizens' initiative aimed at inducing the Czechoslovak Government to observe formal obligations to respect the human rights of its citizens. Signatories were arrested and interrogated; dismissal from employment often followed. Because religion offered possibilities for thought and activities independent of the state, it too was severely restricted and controlled. Clergymen were required to be licensed. Unlike in Poland, dissent and independent activity were limited in Czechoslovakia to a fairly small segment of the populace. Many Czechs and Slovaks emigrated to the West.

Post-Doomsday[]

Following Doomsday, the destruction of the Czechoslovak government, and the severing of contact with the Soviet Union caused mass confusion. The remnants of the Husák regime struggled to hold onto control of the Olomouc area. Former supporters of the Prague Spring reforms plotted a rebellion to take advantage of the vanishing of the governments whose heavy-handed invasion suppressed the reforms twenty years ago. The revolutionaries bided their time, slowly gaining supporters for their revolution over the years. They even managed to turn the highest rank surviving Soviet Army officer into a collaborator. In 1988, after a particularly bad harvest, the revolutionaries took the opportunity and started a rebellion against the ruling regime. After a quick and relatively bloodless revolution the rebels managed to overthrow the government.

Government[]

Moravia is a communist state, but has steadily applied reforms to the government in the spirit of the unsuccessful Prague Spring reforms in the 1960's. The First Secretary is officially the head of state, and is common the final voice on most issues. The Communist Party is officially the only legal party, but it has split into two factions, which are the Reformists (who support further reform) and the Traditionalists (who support the ways of the past). Since the first official election in 1988 the Reformists have dominated the position of First Secretary, and have had a majority in the Federal Assembly.

Military[]

The military of the Moravian Republic primarily consists of the remnants of Czechoslovakian and Soviet forces in the former Czech half of the Czechoslovakian state, in addition to those recruited into its ranks since that time. In part, these remnants are from the Soviet 48th Motor Rifle Division headquartered at Vysoké Mýto, and Soviet 31st Tank Division headquartered at Bruntál, both of which were hit by nuclear weapons. The majority, however, come from the Czechoslovak 22nd Airborne Infantry Regiment based at Prostějov, which was lucky enough to escape nuclear destruction, though many still died from the chaos and the fallout.

Primarily, they are an infantry force, armed with surviving weaponry from the 22nd Regiment, and other weapons manufactured or imported since. A few surviving tanks and personnel carriers from the Soviet Divisions are in use as well. No intact planes, however, are in their possession, all having been heavily damaged at Doomsday.

They are currently looking at repairing the planes to some degree, and upgrading their equipment somewhat at the point when they can afford it.

Economy[]

The area around the ruins of Otrava has been a source of coal for years, and has continued to supply coal after the Moravians dialed back production to better suit their needs. Iron, chemicals, leather and building materials are the main industrial goods. West Poland is Moravia's greatest trading partner, followed by Bohemia and the Alpine Confederation after Moravia's government reforms.

International Relations[]

The Moravians have extremely close relations with West Poland, given their similar forms of semi-democratic Communist government. They have chillier relations with Bohemia and the Alpine Confederation, which have warmed somewhat due to Moravia's government reforms.

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