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Part 1: The Siberian Black Army

Sappho of Lesbos

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Most of the world would readily describe the current state of Russia as “anarchy”.

They are wrong.

Anarchy is not chaos. Anarchy is the removal of unjust hierarchies. But in Russia in 1962, you can hardly throw a stone without hitting an unjust hierarchy. Leaving aside the Nazi regime in Reichskommissariat Moskowien, we have three separate monarchies, six purported successors to the Soviet Union, and a grab bag of feuding republics, would-be fascist dictators, and petty warlords.

But there is also anarchy. In Central Siberia, there is an area of free cities and villages who answer to no authority but themselves. These lands are defended by the vanguard of anarchism: the Siberian Black Army. If we can work together and stay true to our principles, we will not only protect our lands, but bring true freedom to all of Russia, perhaps for the first time in its history.

LONG LIVE ANARCHY!

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Hi! In this AAR, we will be chronicling the Siberian Black Army as it fights to reunite Russia in the beautiful hellscape that is The New Order: Last Days of Europe.

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The Siberian Black Army controls (in the military sense) a territory centered on the city of Kansk, where the General Assembly and Security Council meet.

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Our forces are fairly well-equipped, at least by the standards of modern Russia. However, despite our militarized society, we are short of manpower, so we won’t be able to train any more for a while.

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On top of that, the Black Army is playing an increasingly prominent role in our government. Many fear that if they become too strong, they will destroy the very freedoms we are trying to protect.

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One of our greatest assets is the legacy of the Siberian Plan. The unfinished legacy of Premier Bukharin, central Siberia has considerable industrial capabilities which we can make use of. These decisions all have penalties, but they are overall positive.

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Instead of an oppressive state apparatus, our communes govern themselves. What central administration there is is in the hands of the Siberian Soviet.

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Our communes elect representatives to the General Assembly of the Siberian Soviet, which acts as a sort of legislature.

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Periodically, we can propose measures to the General Assembly that will benefit the entire Free Territory. Of course, we will have to secure the assent of the major communes. Currently, the only major commune is Kansk, but hopefully that will change in the near future.
 
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Must admit I don't know this mod at all.
 
As and when this picks up again, I'll happily jump on board. Don't think I've ever seen an anarchist AAR before.
 
A word of warning based on forum rules: if a certain Russian Nazi unifies the Far East I'd suggest not showing his flag.
Way ahead of you. I've already spoken to the mods, and I will be carefully checking the screenshots for any swastikas. Fortunately, the two Russian unifiers with swastikas in their flags (Amur and the Aryan Brotherhood) also tend not to live very long (Amur usually dies very quickly).

I did make a go at creating a submod that removed all swastikas, but it didn't work out. I might try again. In any event, I'm waiting for the next major update to TNO, which should be out soon.
 
And we're back!

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First, since the Cutting Room Floor update came out, we got a new leader portrait!

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Unfortunately, conditions in the former Soviet Union make raiding our neighbors for supplies a necessity if we are to develop our society.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at who our neighbors are!

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To the northwest is our biggest potential rival, Tomsk, the remnant of the Central Siberian Republic that formed after the Soviet Union collapsed. They’re a bunch of airheaded bourgeois ideologues and artists.

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To the west is Krasnoyarsk, a breakaway state from the CSR, run by a renegade officer named Nikolai Andreev. He’s just a warlord making democratic noises.

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To the south is the People’s Revolutionary Council, formed by a fragment of the Red Army, bent on restoring the old Soviet Union. I think that ship has sailed, Comrade.

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To the east is Irkutsk, officially known as the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. What distinguishes this particular bunch of holdouts is that they are apparently the “legitimate” Soviet government. Whatever. It’s basically General Yagoda and his toadies. They’re at war with the Sablin government in Buryatia. Sablin’s honestly not a bad sort, with a much less authoritarian take on Leninism.

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To the north is the area around Chernyshevsky. Here, civilization has completely broken down. There is no actual leadership, just a series of autonomous villages. In time, we will spread anarchism here as well.



First, however, we will have to unite Central Siberia. Of our neighbors, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, and the People’s Revolutionary Council are in Central Siberia, while Irkutsk and Chernyshevsky are not. Also in our region (but not immediately adjacent to us) are Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, and Oyrotia.

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Kemerovo is another fragment of the Central Siberian Republic. Its ruler, Major General Nikolay Krylov, was sent to deal with the Black Army’s initial revolt, and retreated to Kemerovo after we defeated him. Apparently he went insane and has now proclaimed himself “Rurik II, Emperor of all the Rus”.

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The collapse of the Central Siberian Republic came about during the Siberian War, fought between the CSR and General Yagoda’s regime in Irkutsk. In addition to the revolt of the Black Army and Krasnoyarsk, the cities of Novosibirsk and Barnaul formed an alliance and seceded, becoming the Federation of Novosibirsk and Altay, led by ace pilot-turned-mayor Alexander Pokryshkin. Not only is he a warlord, but his regime has close ties with the nascent corporations that have emerged in Siberia.

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Finally, we have the tiny state of Oyrotia, an alliance of Old Believers (an Orthodox denomination distinct from the formerly national Russian church) and Burkhanists (a syncretic native religious movement). This bunch pose no real ideological threat; they just want to survive. It may be possible to peacefully integrate them into our society.

As you can see, the Siberian Black Army is the only hope for true freedom any of these people have. Join us next time, when we begin work on the liberation, take a look at our focus tree, and maybe even unpause!
 
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All these people needing liberation
 
All these people needing liberation
And that's just Central Siberia! Here's a quick summary of what the other regions have:

West Russia:
West Russian Revolutionary Front: More Red Army holdouts squabbling over who should be in charge
Komi: The Dumpster Fire Republic
Samara: Collaborators who got abandoned
Vyatka: Samara except they're Tsarists
Aryan Brotherhood: Neo-Nazis

Southern Urals:
Orenberg: Anarchists who don't understand organization
Ural League: The only reason Orenberg still exists
Magnitogorsk: A mad scientist and his NKVD bodyguards
Dirlewanger Brigade: The guy even the Nazis thought was psycho and his band of rapists

Western Siberia:
Sverdlosk: Red Army holdouts who forgot what they're fighting for
Tyumen: Obsessed with some random Soviet bureaucrat named "Josef Stalin"
Omsk: Creepy ultranationalists
Zlatoust: Gun merchants

Eastern Siberia:
Irkutsk: Soviet remnant
Buryatia: Reformers
Magadan: Fascists
Amur: Russian Nazis
Chita: Tsarists whose Tsar just wants to go home to Australia
 
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That is a phenomenally fractured world. Lots of nazis to hunt, lots of communes to organise…
 
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A TNO AAR? This is going to be nuts
 
With that in mind, we’ll begin to actually do stuff.

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I’m prioritizing weapons over industry. Right now, we have more guns than people, so manufacturing additional weapons won’t do us any good. More important is being able to defend ourselves and liberate others.



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However, that will change in time, so I’ll start building a military factory. Once we get additional manpower, I want to be able to equip them.



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I won’t be showing all decisions regarding research, construction, and manufacturing – only those that involve major changes.



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More importantly, let’s get our troops organized. Of our neighbors, Tomsk is the greatest threat, so I’ll send them to the border.



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And now let’s take a look at our focus tree. It may look small, but this isn’t all of it. TNO uses dynamic focus trees to create a more narrative-driven experience. This tree merely establishes the setting for the Siberian Black Army.



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You may note that many of our focuses have no effect other than an event. These events are largely narrative-focused, although they may have some effects.

And with that, our setup is complete. It is time… to unpause!



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Germany lands a man on the moon.


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I won’t bother going over our ministers, but this event serves to introduce our head of government, the closest thing to a leader that the Siberian Free Territory has: Yuri Galanskov. At 23, he is one of the youngest world leaders.


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But Yuri Galanskov is far from a dictator. The true power in the Free Territory rests with the General Assembly, the voice of the communes.



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The bogatyr is the Russian equivalent of the Western knight-errant, and it appears that one has arisen in this dark time. Interesting. I will also put down “Bogatyr” as a good name for a tank or fighter model.



So our journey begins! I should warn you, this will be a fairly slow start – we won’t get to actual warfare until 1963. But please hold on! Anarchy is not built in a day!
 
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It’s a big bug bear of mine that the Pdx engine can’t really deal with anything other than a statist society, so pleased to see that this all looks like a pretty valiant attempt at simulating an anarchist commune. Good stuff.
 
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Gonna follow this one. Tried playing as the SBA today. Didn't realize all the warfare branches unlock for everybody at the same time. Got painted into a corner where Tomsk and the People's Revolutionary Council declare war at the same time, and I don't have enough manpower, troops, or equipment to defend.