Socialist Siberia (1983: Doomsday)
From Alternative History
Motto: Труд, Социализм, Возрождение (Labor, Socialism, Revival) | |||||||
| Capital: | Krasnoyarsk | ||||||
| Largest city: | Ulan Bator | ||||||
| Other cities: | Chita, Bratsk, Ulan-Ude, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Blagoveshchensk, Ulan Bator, Urumqi, Aksu, Pavlodar and many others | ||||||
| Language: official: | Mandarin (Chinese), Russian (official) | ||||||
| Other languages: | Mongolian, Uyghur, many others | ||||||
| Type of government: | Socialist Federation, Single-party communist state | ||||||
| General Secretary of the Communist Party: | Aman Tuleyev | ||||||
| Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: | Aman Tuleyev | ||||||
| Area: | app. 15,370,000 km² | ||||||
| Population: | app. 42,000,000 inh. | ||||||
| Independence: | 1984 | ||||||
| Currency: | Ruble | ||||||
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Despite making up around half of the area Soviet Union during the Cold War, north-eastern Kazakhstan, Soviet Siberia and the Russian Far East handled World War III and the Doomsday that followed fairly well. Although all of the major cities and Russian bases stationed in the area were nuked, the isolated population lived mostly outside these areas, and the vast wilderness surrounding them allowed much of the population and government to escape the radioactive fallout. After the war the surviving population slowly began to come into contact with each other.
They soon learned about how a false alarm accidentally lead to the launch of all NATO and Warsaw pact nuclear missiles and destroyed most of known civilization in the northern hemisphere. When they tried to contact the Soviet Union west of the Ural Mountains they also discovered that most people here had been killed in the ensuing chaos. What little remained had fallen into anarchism along with most of the rest of Europe.
Understanding this and knowing how important it was to have a strong socialist government to rebuild, the surviving leaders of the Soviet Union came together to discuss how to best handle the situation. Six months after Doomsday, Geydar Aliyev, reaching the western borders of territory still controlled by the USSR, was unanimously elected by the remaining political leaders as the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the General Secretary of the Communist Party, owing to his high ranking position in the Andropov government. A little after a year from doomsday on December, 23, 1984, Siberia, the provisional government of Kazakhstan and the Russian Far East declared themselves the Union of Sovereign Socialist Republics, and the successor state to the Soviet Union.
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[edit] History
[edit] Doomsday
As reports of incoming American ICBM flooded Soviet airwaves senor officials, political leaders, and high ranking military commanders were rushed to command bunkers throughout the Soviet Union. While these people in Eastern Europe and Central Asia usually did not have time to escape the missiles launched from Western Europe, the officials in Siberia had extra time to reach these fortified areas. Better yet was that much of these bunkers were well hidden from western intelligence, and virtually unknown to the Chinese. All aircraft and warships stationed in Siberia were ordered to leave over the Pacific and Arctic Oceans partially to destroy American targets over them and partially to avoid getting destroyed at home.
The civilians living in Siberian cities however had less warning and were given evacuation orders only moments before the nukes hit. Most military bases and all major cities were hit. Most notably hit was the port city of Vladivostok, and the biggest of Siberian cities Novosibirsk where up to 4 million people died alone. Compared to the rest of the Soviet Union however, Siberia had handled this disaster favorably better. All in all it had been hit by less than 14 nuclear devices. Given that almost all of these went off in the south or along the southern Pacific coast and that most of the small towns in the north were unaffected, Siberia, north-east Kazakhstan and the Russian Far East had a legitimate chance of survival. In the mean time however the surviving Soviet government had to deal with the thousands of military men and women coming back to destroyed ports and bases, and hundreds of thousands of people trying to escape the blown up cities.
[edit] First Responses
As the first refugees began arriving in the still functional Siberian cities, Soviet officials hoarded them into shanty towns along the Trans-Siberian railway. Conditions were appalling as Soviet officials tried to organize the last part of the USSR with any form of stable government. Survivors came from all parts of the country, hoping to receive shelter. The Soviet officials quickly started organizing the rebuilding of parts of the Trans-Siberian railway still under their control. Military officers bickered with surviving politicians about who should be the legitimate successor to the Premier until in December of 1983 a surviving member of Andropov's inner circle arrived at the vague borders of the still functioning parts of Russia, Geydar Aliyev.
[edit] Rebuilding (1984 – 1993)
Aliyev was quickly chosen to be the head of state and started to quickly reorganize and rebuild the shattered country. Agriculture productivity was increased and organized around the southern part of Siberia and in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. Military personnel started building new bases and border patrol units defended the country from rouge generals. He strengthened his rule and became the main decision maker in the Socialist Union.
Contact with Alaska was established soon after Doomsday and the government, seeing their desperate situation, provided aid to the Alaskans and relations with them were friendly and a bond between the two states quickly emerged. However, after the return of the remnants of the United States in 1987, tensions emerged.
In 1988, increasing hostility against the APA and fears of a resurgence of the United States prompted the Soviet Leadership to invade Alaska, securing the Bering strait, which was strategically important for it's proximity to the Soviet Union. General colonel Pankov was chosen to invade with the 41st and 35th Army, supported by the Pacific Naval Forces and the 11th Air Army. The invasion made stunning progress at first, but organized Alaskan resistance quickly stopped the advance and after six months of heavy fighting, a cease fire, mediated by Australia was signed on March 15th 1989, leading to the Siberians creating the Alaskan Autonomous Territory. Event though Australia was neutral in the conflict, relations were lukewarm at best, seeing as the Siberians considered them nothing more than a successor to western imperialism. Another cold war, however, did not emerge. Both sides saw the futility of continuing something that led to war and closer ties were created.
He strengthened relationships between the USSR and the countries of Uyghuristan and Mongolia and signed the "Mutual-Defence and Economic Cooperation Treaty" with them, eventually annexing Mongolia, as well as the Third East Turkestan Republic into the Union in May 1989. By the beginning of 1993, the Soviets were the worlds main exporter of raw materials and a respectable part of the (then known) international community.
[edit] New challenges (1993-2000)
International relations remained tense during this period, with trade being conducted with surviving Asian and Oceanian countries, as well as Latin America. Aliyev was fearful of another cold war, this time happening between the ANZC and the SAC and continued to stress the necessity of cooperation between them. Foreign policy was focused on trade and exporting socialism wasn't an objective, since most countries embraced a form of socialism best suited for their needs. Relations with other openly communist countries was, however, very valuable to the USSR and ever since establishing contact with Cuba in 1997 it has been the Socialist Union's main ally. They started actively helping the Sandinistas in the Costa Rican civil war, which is as of yet, still ongoing . Domestically, it was one setback after another for the Chairman. The people, worried about his autarcic rule and economic turmoil, started protesting and demanding greater freedom. Aliyev, worried about his deteriorating health, stepped down from rule in early 2000, being replaced by Aman Tuleyev.
[edit] Present day (2000-present)
Aman Tuleyev rose quickly through political ranks after Doomsday, using his engineering skills to organize the rebuilding of the Trans-Siberian railway and was the designer of the Sovetskaya Gavan part of the railway. He enacted swift reforms in an array of places, from politics to the economy. Freedom of speech was ensured, as well as the right to vote for the high ranking members of government, although it is still a one-party government. He stimulated agriculture and small businesses drafting laws similar to Lenin's NEP, moving towards a socialist democracy.
Tuleyev has continued his predecessors policy of regarding the former territory of the USSR and PRC as legitimately a part of the Socialist Union and has rebuffed any offers of other nations trying to lay claim to that territory. Relations with Tibet, however, remain friendly.
The Socialist Union is still the main exporter of resources to the rest of the world and starting to develop it's electronics industry, benefiting economically and thus raising the standard of living in the USSR. His rule has been mostly peaceful, although rising tensions in international relations have increasingly started to worry the Siberian leadership.
[edit] Military
The USSR has kept all of the titles and structures of the Soviet Armed Forces, consisting of the Army, Air Force and Navy. The Army has under its control all of the armies which remained intact during Doomsday which are under the control of the Siberian, Far East, Uyghur, Kazakh, Mongolian and Alaskan military district, and PRC forces willing to join the USSR. Men are subject to draft at the age of 18. The draft can be postponed due to continued education. Most universities have an obligatory Military Chair which is in charge of military training of all able-bodied male students to become officers of reserve of a particular military specialty depending on the university. The term of service is 18 months. Draft-dodging is a criminal offense and is punishable by prison time.
Siberian Military District:District Troops (5th Guards Tank Division, 11th Air Assault Brigade)
5th Army (81st Krasnograd Order of the Red Banner Guards), 121st Order of Red Banner Motor Rifle Division, 127th Roslavl Machine-Gun Artillery Division, 129th Machine-Gun Arty Division, 130th Machine-Gun Arty Division) 36th Army (1st Motor Rifle Division, 1st Guards Tank Divison-both formed after Doomsday)
Far East Military District: 35th Army (21st Guards Motor Rifle Division, 128th Machine Gun Arty Division, 270th Motor Rifle Division) 68th Corps (18th Machine Gun Arty Division, 33rd Motor Rifle Division)
Kazakh Military District: 1st Corps (131st Motor Rifle Division) -formed post-Doomsday
Uyghur Military District: 2nd Corps (1st Motor Rifle Division, 34th Guards Artillery Division-formed post-Doomsday)
Mongol Military District: 1st Army (mainly former Mongolian forces-2nd, 3rd Motor Rifle Divison, 1st Guards Tank Unit)
Alaskan Military District:35th Army (21st Guards Motor Rifle Division, 128th Machine Gun Arty Division, 270th Motor Rifle Division) 41st Army (85th Motor Rifle Division, 74th Motor Rifle Brigade, Yurga (Constant readiness) ) There are also a lot of smaller units in action, such as Spetsnaz units and border patrol units.
The Air Force consists mainly of units who managed to escape targeted airbases during Doomsday and as such, hosts a wide array of planes. The 11th Air Army managed to escape largely intact, as well as elements from the 8th Air Defence Corps, the 21st Air Defence Corps and other units such as bombers which were deployed during the nuclear holocaust. Planes such as the Su-24, Su-25, Tu-22M, MiG-25, as well as newly produced planes, such as the MiG-29 and the Su-27 continually defend Soviet air space and are a real asset to the military. Helicopters, such as the Kamov Ka-50, Mil Mi-24 and Mil Mi-28 are also in use.
The Navy consists of the largely intact Pacific Ocean Fleet and other surviving vessels that made their way to safe Soviet ports after September 26th. The Socialist Armed Forces have around 1, 750, 000 men and women currently serving in the military.
[edit] Politics & Society
Through reforms made by Chairman Tuleyev, Soviet politics have been made more democratic and akin to Lenin's designs; a democratic-socialist form of Communism is the dominant ideology. Citizens over the age of 18 freely engage in elections, choosing the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet every 5 years, although the one-party system is still in place.
Citizens have the right to freely gather, the freedom of speech and press, but the KGB still has the right to invade people's privacy so it could gain information on dissidents and the agency's influence on everyday life is quite strong. The propaganda machine is as active as ever, trying to legitimize this invasion of privacy by stating that the government has done wonders in keeping it's citizens safe, which is more than true in the post-nuclear age. The larger cities are crowded and officials give incentives for people to move to smaller cities and villages.
There is no law regulating the amount of how many children a family can have and abortion is legal. Same sex marriages, however, are not. Through reforms, faith has also been established as a personal choice and it is not frowned upon. The number of Orthodox Christians, led by the Patriarch of all Russias in Exile, has risen over the years and account for 64.7% of the population. The rest are mainly Buddhist (19.5%) Muslim (7.9%) or atheist/agnostic (7.9%) .
[edit] Economy
Siberian industry produces metals and metal products, textiles, vehicles, agricultural equipment, and construction materials. Most of the industrial centres lie on an east-west axis along the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was rebuilt to the Pacific coast city of Sovetskaya Gavan in 1987. It remains, along with newer lines, such as the Baikal-Amur Railway (completed in 1990) and the Amur-Magadan Railway (completed 1993), the major regional transport link. Because of the difficulty of building roads and railways on permafrost, air transport has assumed increasing importance in both travel and transport.
Agriculture in the Socialist Union is extremely limited by harsh climate and poor soils. Excellent soils are present, however, in the west and south-west, from the Ural Mountains to Lake Baikal. The region's principal crops include wheat, oats, rye, barley, and sunflowers; livestock-raising and dairy production are also important. Crops grown in eastern Siberia include potatoes, grain, sugar beet, and flax. In the far eastern part of the region, people herd reindeer for their milk, flesh, and hides.The cultivable area is continually being expanded, especially to the north. Siberia also has significant timber and fishing industries.
The Socialist Union is especially rich in mineral resources, most notably coal, gold, iron ore, natural gas, and oil. Siberian mines formerly supplied the majority of Russia's gold, making the country one of the world's largest producers. Vast reserves of natural gas and oil are located in the region. A pipeline connects refineries in Irkutsk in central Siberia to the Pacific coast cities of Magadan and Sovetskaya Gavan. There are also important deposits of uranium, nickel, copper, manganese, diamonds, tin, and cobalt. Large hydroelectric power plants are installed in Siberia near Bratsk, and Krasnoyarsk.
Mongolia has rich mineral resources, and copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and gold account for a large part of industrial production.The majority of the population outside urban areas participate in subsistence herding; livestock typically consists of sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and Bactrian camels. Agricultural crops include wheat, barley, potato, vegetables, tomato, watermelon, sea-buckthorn and fodder crops.Industries include construction materials, mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold), oil, food and beverages, processing of animal products, and cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing.
Uyghurstan is known for its fruits and produce, including grapes, melons, pears, cotton, wheat, silk, walnuts and sheep. Uyghurstan also has large deposits of minerals and oil and gas extraction industry in Aksu and Karamay is booming.
[edit] Administrative division
Socialist republics (members of the Union) :
- Soviet Federative Socialist Republic of Russia
- Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
- People's Republic of Mongolia
- Uyghur Socialist Republic
- Manchurian Socialist Republic
The union territories:
- Alaskan Autonomous Territory (special district in the SFSRR)
- Ural Territory
[edit] Space Program
Ever since the destruction of Baikonur on Doomsday and the Salyut 7 Crisis, the Siberian Space Agency (SSA) has struggled to make advances in space exploration. Only after the first years of restructuring did the Siberian government focus on getting back to space. A new cosmodrome, the Vostochny Cosmodrom, was built in Amur in 1998 and contact with some remaining satellites was reestablished. Plans included building the planed Mir space station, launching the GLONASS (Russian: ГЛОНАСС, abbreviation of ГЛОбальная НАвигационная Спутниковая Система; tr.: GLObal'naya NAvigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema; "GLObal NAvigation Satellite System" in English) satellite network and other ambitious scientific projects.
So far, the agency has succeeded in successfully launching the first GLONASS satellite named "Tsiklon" (Russian: Циклон), while the Mir Space Station is still in early planning stages and serious development will begin sometime after 2020.
Future plans are quite ambitious, however budget problems, the unwillingness of some LoN members and technical issues have slowed down space exploration till earthly issues are dealt with first..jpg)
[edit] Current Conditions
The USSR, like Cuba, takes pride on being one of the only surviving Communist states to survive Doomsday. According to its 2001 Census, Russians still predominate demographics (ethnically and culturally), although the USSR has an increasing number of Chinese, Uyghur and Mongolians. It openly engages in economic trade, such as with Japan, Cuba, and ANZC-controlled Alaska, though heavily monitored. The infamous KGB remains active to this day.
It has emerged as a "silent" power in the North, with control over practically half of Alaska; there are rumors of outposts stretching as far south as former North Korea. As recently as 2007, plans were presented to the Politburo on a possible expedition to European Russia. Initially aimed to survey the post-Doomsday wastes, its goals soon tended towards establishing influence, and recolonization of the destroyed western parts of the USSR. It still remains under government scrutiny, though insiders are suspicious.
[edit] International relations
Siberia is a member of the League of Nations. Other than Cuba, the USSR is continuing to support socialist movements around the world, such as the Sandinistans in Nicaragua and the People's Republic of Angola in Africa.
[edit] See also
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