Union of Russian Federations
Capital: St. Petersburg
Government Type: Republic
Head of State: President Irena Kubrickova?
Language: Russian
Population: 1.6 billion
Formed: January 9, 2441
The Union of Russian Federations is one of the major superpowers on Earth in the year 2748. Originating from the old Russian Federation which crumbled in the twenty-fourth century, the Union of Russian Federations is in many foreign and domestic matters most similar to the old Soviet Union, although it is far more fascist than communist.
Today's Union of Russian Federation encompasses most of eastern Finland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Estonia, Georgia, much of eastern Poland, the large bulk of northern Mongolia, and the entire and eastern seaboards of the Black Sea. Additionally, both Australia and New Zealand operate as effective puppets of the Russian government after a war in the Pacific in the twenty-fourth century. They share borders with both the European Union and the Republic of China. The only major territory to have left Russian rule since the twenty-first century is the state of Chechnya?, which after a series of abortive republics and revolutions finally had its independence guaranteed by the United Nations in 2659.
Its capital and largest city is St. Petersburg. Other major cities include Kiev, Odessa, and Moscow. With a population of over one and a half billion, the Union of Russian Federations is the most populous state in the world.
On this page... (hide)
1. The late Russian Federation
Russia's twenty-first century was dominated by a continuation of the aggressive, nationalist foreign policy advocated by Presidents Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev, and their like-minded successors. This frequently brought them into conflict with the then-nascent European Union, particularly over energy issues. The Russians were, however, content to put merely economic pressure on Europe until 2112, when after over a decade of planning a pipeline was completed linking Europe and North America via Greenland?.
The completion of this pipeline allowed the Europeans to wean themselves off of Russian oil and gas thanks to reliable supplies from Canada? and the United States?. Deprived of their largest stick in the battle for dominance over Europe, the Russians turned more aggressive. Exaggerated reports of anti-Russian terrorist activity in the Baltic led to the occupation (what the Russians called liberation) of Estonia and Latvia in 2114 and 2115.
By 2120, traditional European ally Ukraine was being threatened and a general mobilisation was declared. An attempt to get a bill through the United Nations Security Council against the invasion was (unsurprisingly) vetoed by Russia and the Europeans used this as a chance to take action. Troops were rushed into Ukraine to bolster Ukrainian defenses. A general war seemed inevitable, but the European generals had a trick up their sleeve. An airborne division was dropped directly into the almost-unprotected capital of Moscow, eluding Russian anti-aircraft defenses. The Russians had made a critical error by consolidating their command and control around the capital: within a week almost the entire Russian senior staff was in custody and the president, Mikhail Kurosov, had shot himself.
1.1 The largest puppet
With their commanders dead or captured, the momentum went out of the Russian military machine and a costly war was averted. The European Union replaced Kurosov with a series of pro-Europe dictators and attempted to remove the threat of Russia for all time. Much of their heavy industry was left to wither on the vine in favour of making them rely on imports from Europe. Heavy incentives were given to those who went into agriculture, and the military was heavily reduced, leaving over a million Russians suddenly dumped onto the job market.
The Europeans committed to a 15-year administration, and sure enough they left in 2135, returning Russia to native rule. The economy had been mauled beyond recognition by the rapid demobilisation and deindustrialisation, and low world food prices meant the new farmers struggled to make a living.
2. Turmoil and reform
As soon as the Europeans were out, the Russians set about trying to restore what had been taken from them. The newly-reformed Republic of China quickly became a major ally, with Russian raw materials swapped for Chinese industrial goods to the benefit of both emerging powers.
Social unrest raged in Russia for over a century. In 2199, a radical leftist militia seized control of Moscow, executing top government officials before the army was sent to restore order. The resulting street battles lasted for over a year before the militia was finally defeated and left much of Moscow in ruins and its population on the run. The capital was relocated to St. Petersburg, and though it returned to Moscow in 2205 the ancient capital was in permanent eclipse.
Unrest particularly occupied Siberia, where farming conditions were poor and industry was largely overlooked. Several Siberian rebel groups operated from 2188 as late as the twenty-fourth century, significantly delaying development in that part of the country. In 2285, in response to an alleged buildup of rebel forces near the Mongolian border, the Chinese entered Russian soil to defeat a large rebel camp without requesting permission from Moscow. The incident was officially forgiven, but relations between the two allies began to rapidly cool.
2.1 The Pacific War
China's increasing interest in Siberia led the Russian brass to reprioritise. Less of their interest was turned to Europe and a redistribution of military strength occured, with the strength shifting east. By 2309, the alliance between Russia and China was in tatters and both nations lurked across their borders and leered at each other suspiciously.
On October 6, 2314, the Russian air and sea forces launched a surprise attack on the island of Kyushu in Japan?. For over a century Japan had been under the influence of China, and this was widely seen as an act of aggression against Beijing itself. However, by the time Chinese reinforcements were available Japan was completely under Russian control. This marked the beginning of what would be called the Pacific War?.
The war was the first major world conflict between industrialised powers since the twenty-first century, and warfare had come a long way in that time. New technologies and doctrines allowed the emphasis of mobility over exceptional distances, and the war was characterised by each side trying to snare the other away from its lines of defense while they hopped from island to island.
Ships and planes roared throughout the Pacific as each side tried to entangle the other. Each move or feint caused an army to quickly move to another island to try and avoid encirclement, often an island which had not previously been drawn into the war. The world community was aghast, but took no action.
The war lasted six years, from 2314 to 2320. Casualties were remarkably light for most of that time, but in November of 2320 the main Chinese army was forced ashore in Australia after a skilled attack on Papua New Guinea by Russian combined arms. With nowhere else to run the Russians flooded into Australia and bitter land fighting took the place of quick ocean manoeuvres. Just as Russia had driven the Chinese army into the ground, a rapid Chinese attack seized Japan, and the world was almost back where it had started.
On July 7, 2320, a peace treaty was signed and each nation agreed to withdraw its forces. However, provision was made for "administrative governments" to remain in the foreign territories invaded during the war. These administrative governments served to seal the respective nations into either the Russian or Chinese spheres of influence.
3. Overthrow
The Russian public had expected an easy victory in the Pacific War, and the result stunned and upset them. The millions of dead did not improve their mood, and unrest against the government widely increased. Rebel groups were covertly supported by both Europe and China, who were eager to drive out the expansionist Russian government and gain a few more decades of peace.
In 2331, rebels stormed Moscow once again. This time they were quickly driven out by security forces but the government received a major blow. The president and his cabinet resigned and called for new elections which led to gridlock in the Duma between a menagerie of parties, each dedicated to wiping the others out.
3.1 Factions emerge
By 2340, each of the major parties in the State Duma had its own militia waging a constant street battle against the others. The official state security forces were utterly unable to control the surge in violence and soon gave up the pretense of neutrality as local commanders instructed their troops to aid whatever candidate the commander supported.
Of these parties, many claimed to be the official government of the Russian Federation due to some arcane rule or bureaucratic procedure. It was said there were no fewer than a dozen Presidents in Moscow and St. Petersburg in those days, and the constant strife was appreciated by Europe and China, who did much to nurture it.
3.2 Civil war
In 2351, what had been over a decade of street fighting emerged into long civil war when the underpaid and overstrained Russian army, navy, air and space forces finally mutinied and all official control over the country was lost.
The factions sniped at each other in the streets while each party tried to carve out a local zone of control and keep the economy running. The civil war lasted for over a decade but was remarkably bloodless as the fighting was done almost without heavy weapons and was largely limited to the partisans on each side, who were always under instructions to limit collateral damage.
4. The interim government
By 2363, the civil war had died down to a low simmer, and most of the combatant sides had laid down arms. In May of that year, a coalition agreement was reached between the remaining political parties providing for an interim government until a new constitution could be devised and new elections held.
In spite of its name, the interim government lasted for eighty years as the coalition fought its own internal divisions as well as those forces which still fought against it. In 2440, a constitution was finally drafted and it was signed on January 9, 2441, formally dissolving the long-defunct Russian Federation and replacing it with the new Union of Russian Federations.
5. A new union
The Union of Russian Federations was a republic but one set up so that those in power could stay there. Voting districts were arranged to favour incumbents and hostile areas or elements were excluded from the vote entirely for security reasons. Over the centuries, the franchise diminished still further, until only loyalists could count on receiving a ballot.
Reemerging onto the world scene, the Russians were determined to show that their power had not diminished during their internal struggle. The cosmonaut force, long a source of national pride, was augmented and the Russians were able to found Olympus Colony?, the third permanent human habitat on Mars, in 2448 only seven years after formally coming into being.
The current president of the Union of Russian Federations is Irena Kubrickova?, who has been in office since 2720.