The New Order: Last Days of Europe - An Axis Victory Cold War Mod for HoIIV
- Thread starter Lonely Knightess
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You know, William Luther Pierce managing to become a politician and climbing up the ladder of American politics in the years leading up to Yockey’s presidency would actually make for a really interesting story. Considering he wrote one of the most important literary pieces for the American far-right, he seems like someone who could manage to carve out a future for himself in Yockey’s America.
chankljp
Donor
Someone over on Reddit had compiled a compilation of all the events that you get from Martin Bormann's historical visit to the US depending on who is serving as POTUS at the time, and I thought that it deserves to be shared here:
RFK (A Social Democrat being the advocate for capitalism against a Nazi? Truly a cursed TL):
LBJ (Given that in OTL, LBJ have a tendency to.... **Cough**, assert his masculine dominance, I was almost disappointed that he settled for only giving Bormann's an aggressive handshake):
Bennett (Nothing too interesting here. He acted exactly the way you would expect a POTU that have 'Don't rock the boat too hard' as his standard operating procedure):
Wallace (The term 'Your approval fills me with shame' comes to mind. What a shame that there wasn't a camera in the room in this scene. Just imagine the evening news: 'Nazis express approval for the president's racial policies!'):
Thurmond (A good reminder that within the far-right, there isn't such a thing as unity. Also, if he despited Bormann's retinue as fake veterans wearing military uniforms, I would love to see his reactions to Goering's chest full of medals... Even if the latter actually did served in WW1):
LeMay (This is just too great.... I have no words... Except maybe the unfortunate fact that considering how the instability caused by the aftermath of Wallace's impeachment and LeMay's subsequent presidency is one of the most easy ways to result in a Hall/Yockey presidency, Bormann was sadly no entirely wrong with his rebuttal to the foul mouthed POTUS):
Harrington (This can be the start of a great joke, 'A christian socialist and a Nazi walks into an office...' Also, the fact that Harrington did even recognised any of the German officials accompanying Bormann really shows that he is a very domestic issues focused POTUS, one that doesn't pay much heed to foreign policy unless he has to such as in this case):
Glenn ('I'm taking the American people to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by nazism... MARS!'):
MCS (Considering Bormann's sheet inability to even TRY to hide his sexism here, even when talking to the POTUS that as of the current version of TNO, is most likely to cause WW3, I would LOVE to see his hypothetical interactions with a Jewish POTUS such as Goldwater.... Or better yet, an African American POTUS!):
I just love the fact that every single POTUS, even openly racist members of the far-right such as Wallace and Thurmond absolutely HATE Bormann's guts, and could barely hide their sheer contempt for him. Or in the case of LeMay, him going full 'Zero fu*ks given' and not even bothering to hide his power level, in fact, I would say that he turned his power level all the way to overdrive!
Also, just in case anyone is wondering, under a Goldwater presidency, he would straight up refused to engage in any form of diplomacy with Bormann no matter what, hence there is no even for the two of them meeting at the White House.
What a shame that all meetings are limited to the pre-1972 election presidents. I would be really curious to see how Bormann would have interacted in Hall.... Or Yockey. The term 'fangirl' comes to mind for the latter.
RFK (A Social Democrat being the advocate for capitalism against a Nazi? Truly a cursed TL):
LBJ (Given that in OTL, LBJ have a tendency to.... **Cough**, assert his masculine dominance, I was almost disappointed that he settled for only giving Bormann's an aggressive handshake):
Bennett (Nothing too interesting here. He acted exactly the way you would expect a POTU that have 'Don't rock the boat too hard' as his standard operating procedure):
Wallace (The term 'Your approval fills me with shame' comes to mind. What a shame that there wasn't a camera in the room in this scene. Just imagine the evening news: 'Nazis express approval for the president's racial policies!'):
Thurmond (A good reminder that within the far-right, there isn't such a thing as unity. Also, if he despited Bormann's retinue as fake veterans wearing military uniforms, I would love to see his reactions to Goering's chest full of medals... Even if the latter actually did served in WW1):
LeMay (This is just too great.... I have no words... Except maybe the unfortunate fact that considering how the instability caused by the aftermath of Wallace's impeachment and LeMay's subsequent presidency is one of the most easy ways to result in a Hall/Yockey presidency, Bormann was sadly no entirely wrong with his rebuttal to the foul mouthed POTUS):
Harrington (This can be the start of a great joke, 'A christian socialist and a Nazi walks into an office...' Also, the fact that Harrington did even recognised any of the German officials accompanying Bormann really shows that he is a very domestic issues focused POTUS, one that doesn't pay much heed to foreign policy unless he has to such as in this case):
Glenn ('I'm taking the American people to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by nazism... MARS!'):
MCS (Considering Bormann's sheet inability to even TRY to hide his sexism here, even when talking to the POTUS that as of the current version of TNO, is most likely to cause WW3, I would LOVE to see his hypothetical interactions with a Jewish POTUS such as Goldwater.... Or better yet, an African American POTUS!):
I just love the fact that every single POTUS, even openly racist members of the far-right such as Wallace and Thurmond absolutely HATE Bormann's guts, and could barely hide their sheer contempt for him. Or in the case of LeMay, him going full 'Zero fu*ks given' and not even bothering to hide his power level, in fact, I would say that he turned his power level all the way to overdrive!
Also, just in case anyone is wondering, under a Goldwater presidency, he would straight up refused to engage in any form of diplomacy with Bormann no matter what, hence there is no even for the two of them meeting at the White House.
What a shame that all meetings are limited to the pre-1972 election presidents. I would be really curious to see how Bormann would have interacted in Hall.... Or Yockey. The term 'fangirl' comes to mind for the latter.
Fun fact: Both RFK (in the form of an impromptu debate on economic systems) and LeMay (in how he declares "we will bury you") have allusions to interactions the Corn Lord had with the West IOTL in how they interact with Bormann.
In 2WRW, I feel like Oktan would bribe his way to victory. Or the Germans could simply bribe Oktan to force a ceasefire. Plus I can imagine the Russian Army being weak and underequipped, with Oktan selling his arsenal to fill up his private bank account.
chankljp
Donor
Oktan might take Germany's bribe for him to not attack Moskowien... Only to turn around and attack them anyway after taking the Reich's money. If he wins, it will be a political gold mine that will likely keep him in power for the rest of his life, not to mention having more land under his control that can be used for wealth extraction.... If he lose, well, who cares? He has already been making plans to sell off Russia's nuclear program to the Swiss in exchange for getting set up in luxury for life in case things so south during the 2WRW, so it doesn't even matter that much for him.
As or OFN, it might end up look like one of those 'What if the Americans were able to take Taiwan, opening a sea route to directly supply the KMT during WW2?' discussions that I have seen here on AH.com... With the general consensus being that the army would be so outrageously corrupt to the point that the vast majority of the gear would just end up being sold on the black market.
Side note, but IMO, unless the KMT does effective anti-corruption reforms first (and knowing how they were at the time it'd involve a lot of executions), there's no serious hope of them improving enough to do better against Japan, however hard they fight.
I'm surprised you put Lydia!Kemerovo so low considering she's just below Tukha in terms of general strength and controls probably the most industrialized region of Siberia at regional.So I've decided to rank the warlords on who has the most chance of defeating Germany in the 2WRW using previous analysis regarding difficulty playing each warlord+peaceful reunification combos as a basis to discuss my observations
Ranking system:
I posted this on TNO subreddit, before it was removed for Rule 5(tier lists are a dead horse meme) and some people complained about Serov's position. Now he was one tier lower in the past and I have pushed him up a tier after considering some arguements. However, I do think he isn't as strong as the community makes him out to be.
- Focus on military, extremely strong military=more chance of crushing the Reich. This allows Tukh, who really has one opportunity for peaceful reunification, and Omsk, who has none, to rise to the very top
- In some rare cases, chances of incorporating new officers and commanders, this rank is determined by who would be most likely to incorporate new officers based on their characterization and behavior. This is why Shafarevich ranks so high: I see him as the most pragmatic of the Komi far right and the most likely to say yes to incorporating all the defeated enemies. And combined with the fact that he can incorporate Magadan and he might be a major player.
- Ability to peacefully reunify is a certified plus for everyone that can, as it means and incorporating leaders peacefully + a more developed region of Russia that won't be wrecked by further violence
- Ability to run into a CANON unifier on the regional or superregional stage they can peacefully reunify with, anyone who can peacefully reunify with WRRF, Sverdlovsk, Novosiberisk gets a point in their favor because since canon=a certain tilt in the direction of certain factions unifying a region. If someone from the west can reunify peacefully with Sverdlovsk at regional AND Novosiberisk at superregional, they get the most points here. This also makes it that only someone from central siberia or west russia can fully benefit from this as there are no one in the far east capable of unifying with both WRRF and Novosiberisk
- Societal development: This is why Chita ranks lower despite it's ability to unify with Vyatka and Novosiberisk, they are stuck with crippling Poverty hindering research efforts and end TNO1 with a mediocre economy at best
- Ability to create nukes. This is why the Dekabristy rank considerably lower despite potentially being able to peacefully reunify with Petlin Magadan.
- This takes best-case scenarios into practice. Meaning that every hypothetical peaceful unification would be sucessful and every offer to incorporate new leaders is an affirmative unless something in the leader's personality and characterization overrides that offer
- This does not take OFN intervention into consideration, meaning it's Nazis vs. new russia one on one. For WRRF's rank think of a hypothetical scenario where the OFN does not make their canon intervention
- Player only mechanics like buyouts do not count in anyone's favor because they are extremely gamey and frankly in some cases unrealistic.
For one, I feel Serov is the second least likely to incorporate many of the leaders that far right Komi could if given the option to if I factor in his characterization(the least likely to incorporate anyone would be Tabby). He still sees himself as a Communist so I don't think he would have anything to do with Onega, Samara, and Vtyka's leader pools. The only leader pool I feel he would be ok with integrating is Volgoda. Adding to the fact that most far right unifiers minus Shaf and Magadan can't peacefully intergrate other parts of Russia and that's pretty much realistically the only leader pool he would have, and he will also have to rebuild Siberia and the far east, who are in for a extra round of devastation because he has to fight his way to the Pacific, meaning he has more to rebuild.
Also iirc National Bolshevik Serov(Serov that acts more as a uber-nationalistic tankie or a totalist as possible and empowers right-ordosocialism at every turn) is stronger economically but Crypto-Strasserite/Natsynd/Red Fascist!Serov(Serov that acts as fascistically as possible and empowers right-ordosocialism at every turn) is somewhat weaker economically. Now characterization wise, he might tilt more towards the former, which convinced me to bump him up a level, but don't expect a Ordosocialist Russia to fully retake the old pre-WWII borders unless under a skilled player.
Yeah, the same is true of all of the Central Siberian unifiers. It's strange to see Vasilevsky ranked below Bukharina or Stalina--not that I think the latter are bad, mind you, and there have been justified criticisms of the PRC in the thread, but given their military reform mechanics and control over the Central Siberian Project it's odd to see them ranked so low. Likewise with the non-Sakharov leaders of Tomsk, especially Kharms--I mean, his whole deal is trying to build a society willing to sacrifice a bit now to unify Russia and defeat the Germans, and his megaproject is to open up trade with the rest of the world. Sakharov's technological investments are good for Russia, don't get me wrong, but it's hard to see him as being all that much better than Kharms when it comes to overall state strength.
Of course, in general, as I think I've commented here before, I would put the Central Siberian states high in overall strength lists, from a realistic perspective. After all, they are unmolested by the Germans (unlike West Siberia and Eastern Russia), benefit from the Central Siberian Plan and pre-war industrial investments (unlike Eastern Siberia), and likely have a fairly large manpower pool to draw on thanks to refugees fleeing eastward to the first place where they don't have to worry about Germans (which is...Central Siberia). So realistically I think they would be the most likely powers to unify Russia.
Although in truth I have a lot of trouble recognizing many of the people in the tier list. I mean, of course I recognize most of the people I've actually played as, like Petlin, and I recognize a lot of the community favorites like Tabby, but a lot of the others I just don't. Like, if the name was written down I would probably know who they were (and if their country was written down too, that would be peachy), but as it stands I just don't know who they are and so can't intelligently comment about their likelihood of smashing the Germans.
I’m still working on the Russian Reunification cinematics ideas, I’ve just been busy. But I’ve also had a few ideas of cinematics for visualizing events from before game start. In particular, there’s a few super-event songs that I think work really well, when played at full(er) length, to thematically illustrate broader movements/trends/regional developments. Here’s one I thought of, and maybe I'll post another later today along with an explanation for this one.
The Heirs of Harbin:
March of Siberian Riflemen plays throughout the cinematic (this version), with the scene switching verse by verse. Starting at verse one (0:00 – 0:27), Japanese soldiers with patches and flags denoting them as belonging to the Kwantung Army watch as Russian soldiers march past their field fortification on a road as the first snows of the season begin to fall. The youngest among the Japanese pulls aside the roadblock and waves the troops through while another hands worn Arisaka rifles to those passing troops that still lack weapons. A final pair of Kwantung fighters, one in heavy winter-gear and another who tucks an officer’s patch into his pack join the group and melt into the line.
Through verse two (0:27 – 0:53), thick snowstorms batter the marching troops as they tread through knee-high snows. The visibility is low and most of the soldiers’ faces are obscured by scarves and facewraps. One young rifleman stumbles and trips forward. As his comrade helps him up, he catches a short glimpse of another two other lines of soldiers marching north like them, one more distant than the other, but starting to angle north-eastward before they are obscured again. The rifleman resumes his march before coming across another collapsed soldier from further in the line. Thinking to assist as he was helped, the soldier tries to pull him up, but as he turns over it is clear the man is dead from hypothermia; ice crystals cling to his unevenly cut beard. The young soldier pulls his scarf tighter to his face and resumes his march with the rest of the line.
Moving to verse three (0:54 – 1:20), the storm clears to reveal a sunny but frozen landscape as the soldiers gather as a cliff. The young soldier from before rushes forward to look and finds himself standing next to Grigory Semyonov, who looks old but determined and dons a grey papakha that droops slightly to the right. As they look out over distant Chita, they see Soviet remnant troops coming to meet them. The nervous soldier looks for affirmation from Semyonov, then Boris Shepunov beside him, then resumes his watch over the approaching troops and fixes a bayonet to his Arisaka rifle.
Suddenly, on verse four (1:21 – 1:47), the scene immediately switches to the midst of battle as Russian Fascist Party soldiers brutally fight their way through the streets of Amur. In a short flashpoint from behind a shop window, amidst chaos and carnage, thuggish soldiers smash the window with their rifles and throw in an incendiary cocktail. As flames start to build below and around the camera viewpoint, the soldiers move on to reveal two other soldiers across the street, one beating a man into the snow-chilled mud and the other dragging his wife into the alley behind them.
Another instant transition with verse five (1:48 – 2:20) as the breakaway RFP meander in the aftermath of their victorious capture of Magadan. Mikhail Matakovsky gives an emotive speech we cannot hear to a mixed congregation of soldiers and a few civilians. A group of soldiers march past the camera before Nikolay Petlin walks perpendicularly between them. The camera turns 180 degrees to follow him as he stops at the head of a road, pausing in the middle. He notices movement to his left; a pair of beggar children, a boy and a girl, who sit in ill-fitting rags. The boy is visibly malnourished and the teenage girl instinctually watches the passersby for the chance to pickpocket, her face betraying her desperation and fear of the soldiers she cannot possibly risk to steal from. Petlin walks over, to the trepidation of the pair, but to their surprise he offers a generous handful of coins to the hesitant sister and a hand to lift the weak brother. They accept and he leads them to back to the center of the road as the first ship in years enters the bay, waving an American flag. Around the onlookers, the last snows cling to the roadside and icicles drip from roofs. Petlin and the children look over the harbor, joined by a few soldiers drawn by the view as a few rays peak through the overcast sky while storm clouds build on either side.
The Heirs of Harbin:
March of Siberian Riflemen plays throughout the cinematic (this version), with the scene switching verse by verse. Starting at verse one (0:00 – 0:27), Japanese soldiers with patches and flags denoting them as belonging to the Kwantung Army watch as Russian soldiers march past their field fortification on a road as the first snows of the season begin to fall. The youngest among the Japanese pulls aside the roadblock and waves the troops through while another hands worn Arisaka rifles to those passing troops that still lack weapons. A final pair of Kwantung fighters, one in heavy winter-gear and another who tucks an officer’s patch into his pack join the group and melt into the line.
Through verse two (0:27 – 0:53), thick snowstorms batter the marching troops as they tread through knee-high snows. The visibility is low and most of the soldiers’ faces are obscured by scarves and facewraps. One young rifleman stumbles and trips forward. As his comrade helps him up, he catches a short glimpse of another two other lines of soldiers marching north like them, one more distant than the other, but starting to angle north-eastward before they are obscured again. The rifleman resumes his march before coming across another collapsed soldier from further in the line. Thinking to assist as he was helped, the soldier tries to pull him up, but as he turns over it is clear the man is dead from hypothermia; ice crystals cling to his unevenly cut beard. The young soldier pulls his scarf tighter to his face and resumes his march with the rest of the line.
Moving to verse three (0:54 – 1:20), the storm clears to reveal a sunny but frozen landscape as the soldiers gather as a cliff. The young soldier from before rushes forward to look and finds himself standing next to Grigory Semyonov, who looks old but determined and dons a grey papakha that droops slightly to the right. As they look out over distant Chita, they see Soviet remnant troops coming to meet them. The nervous soldier looks for affirmation from Semyonov, then Boris Shepunov beside him, then resumes his watch over the approaching troops and fixes a bayonet to his Arisaka rifle.
Suddenly, on verse four (1:21 – 1:47), the scene immediately switches to the midst of battle as Russian Fascist Party soldiers brutally fight their way through the streets of Amur. In a short flashpoint from behind a shop window, amidst chaos and carnage, thuggish soldiers smash the window with their rifles and throw in an incendiary cocktail. As flames start to build below and around the camera viewpoint, the soldiers move on to reveal two other soldiers across the street, one beating a man into the snow-chilled mud and the other dragging his wife into the alley behind them.
Another instant transition with verse five (1:48 – 2:20) as the breakaway RFP meander in the aftermath of their victorious capture of Magadan. Mikhail Matakovsky gives an emotive speech we cannot hear to a mixed congregation of soldiers and a few civilians. A group of soldiers march past the camera before Nikolay Petlin walks perpendicularly between them. The camera turns 180 degrees to follow him as he stops at the head of a road, pausing in the middle. He notices movement to his left; a pair of beggar children, a boy and a girl, who sit in ill-fitting rags. The boy is visibly malnourished and the teenage girl instinctually watches the passersby for the chance to pickpocket, her face betraying her desperation and fear of the soldiers she cannot possibly risk to steal from. Petlin walks over, to the trepidation of the pair, but to their surprise he offers a generous handful of coins to the hesitant sister and a hand to lift the weak brother. They accept and he leads them to back to the center of the road as the first ship in years enters the bay, waving an American flag. Around the onlookers, the last snows cling to the roadside and icicles drip from roofs. Petlin and the children look over the harbor, joined by a few soldiers drawn by the view as a few rays peak through the overcast sky while storm clouds build on either side.
The scenes are matched to the verses of the WWI-era Russian song "March of the Siberean Riflemen", reflecting the Heirs of Harbin's origins in the Russian White movement's remnants, but also contemplating each successor's relationship to the legacy they claim. Verse one represents a somewhat collective/generalized depiction of the heirs as they departed Japanese-occupied Manchuria. Imperial Japanese sponsorship features heavily to emphasize just how divorced from Russia the heirs have become and how they started as just collaborators of another stripe. In some ways, they're a lot like Samara, dependent on the sponsorship of a superpower occupying their own land and expecting them to be grateful for it. For those heirs that maintain these ties, the scene emphasizes that they didn't just leave Manchuria, but in fact invaded the USSR with the blessing and backing of the empire. The presence of the Kwantung army is partly geographical, their historical jurisdiction being occupied Manchuria, of course, and partly referential, harkening to the notable brutality of the Kwantung Army (War crimes, Unit 731, etc.) and therefore calling into question just what their association with the heirs entails. The lyrics of verse one focus on the fearsomeness of Siberia and the bravery of those who march through it, but the question remains for what cause these men march. What use is their bravery if they are but "foreign lapdogs" and what hope do desperate men have against the vastness of Siberia?
Verse two's lyrics emphasize the brutality of Siberian storms, and how they strengthened soldiers into the ideals the song lauds. I decided to depict this mostly literally, depicting the Heirs' forces as shaped by their conditions and highlighting their dedication to their movement. And yet, that dedication alone may not be enough. The youth, an volunteer who has never seen his parent's homeland until now, can rise from his fall and continue his march. But the old veteran who longs to return from his long exile simply cannot survive the strains, unable to see any fulfillment of the original vision of the movement and leaving its destiny in the hands of the descendants, the successors, the ideological innovators, and the opportunists. Amidst the "silent taiga" and "ruthless storms," the youth also sees the movement fracture, as much as it was ever semi-unified in exile to begin with. The Heirs' visions are too different, their methods abhorrent to one another, and their goals mutually exclusive. The farce of exile unity is cast away as the survivors, strengthened by their experiences, bring altogether divergent lessons learned to an awaiting Russia.
Verse three speaks of the emergent soldier, ready to fight in any conditions and bearing the iconic Papakha hat. In line with this somewhat dated garb, the youth is revealed to belong to the monarchist faction, carrying the very legacy of the Baikal Cossacks and their papakhas, lead by Ataman Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov himself (mysteriously living 16+ extra years). They have braved the snowstorms, their beliefs intact, and now prepare for battle as they reach their destination in Chita. Mikhail II is purposefully absent, as I don't see him as belonging to the movement (at least arguably not yet) and want to keep him distinct from the likes of Semyonov and Shepunov.
Just as they prepare for battle, the next Heir is depicted in its midst. Verse four focuses on the idea of Siberia as the home of its soldiers. It is supposed to be defended and implores its sons to carry its greetings to distant lands. It is (deliberately ironically) juxtaposed with the behavior of Rodsaevsky's RFP as he brings untold pain and suffering to his own homeland and perverts its very nature. The only greetings Rodsaevsky's Siberia will bring "From the Danube to the Rhine" will be those of sycophancy and destruction. True, Rodsaevsky has innovated on the foundation of the movement to match what he perceives as the underlying truths of the world he inhabits, but it is a terrible invention and stands to invoke the lyrics only in their worst possible form.
Verse five acknowledges that Siberia's soldiers march because of difficult times and then poses their twin purposes: (1) to restore Russia's lost glory and (2) to defend the land's righteous citizens. Magadan's conquerors have also innovated beyond their origins to interpret the song's message, but have done so very differently from Amur and not only in one form. Matakovsky very much belongs to the "old glories", his nationalist vision serving as the means to bring Russia to the ideal the past has painted for Matakovsky. The army and people accept his vision, for it is not the worst of their options, but how much weight does it carry? Perhaps he is right and people recognize that their may be wisdom in both reform and rememberence? Or maybe he is wrong and ignorant of where Russia needs the most help. In TNO, Russia future, its children, and its needy cannot subsist on old stories, force of arms, and grand promises. Perhaps the true reformer hears Russia call even when it is silent and knows how to call forth its potential to better seek the greater good? Is it so, does Petlin have the answer, or is his promise too lost before it can be heard. The ship that enters the harbor can represent either of two worlds. What is it carrying? Is it arms that will make the Russian nation strong? Is it trade goods to ease the people's burdens and show them a better way? Or is it the herald of an unseen danger. Is a new breed of soldier coming? One who carries not the Arisaka but the M-16, and escorts not the watchful eye of the Kempetai but the long reach of the CIA? If the Heirs cannot earn their place, then another will brave Siberia's storms with his vision and bring his own flawed vision of Russia's future. /SPOILER]
Previous part here. Next part here.
Verse two's lyrics emphasize the brutality of Siberian storms, and how they strengthened soldiers into the ideals the song lauds. I decided to depict this mostly literally, depicting the Heirs' forces as shaped by their conditions and highlighting their dedication to their movement. And yet, that dedication alone may not be enough. The youth, an volunteer who has never seen his parent's homeland until now, can rise from his fall and continue his march. But the old veteran who longs to return from his long exile simply cannot survive the strains, unable to see any fulfillment of the original vision of the movement and leaving its destiny in the hands of the descendants, the successors, the ideological innovators, and the opportunists. Amidst the "silent taiga" and "ruthless storms," the youth also sees the movement fracture, as much as it was ever semi-unified in exile to begin with. The Heirs' visions are too different, their methods abhorrent to one another, and their goals mutually exclusive. The farce of exile unity is cast away as the survivors, strengthened by their experiences, bring altogether divergent lessons learned to an awaiting Russia.
Verse three speaks of the emergent soldier, ready to fight in any conditions and bearing the iconic Papakha hat. In line with this somewhat dated garb, the youth is revealed to belong to the monarchist faction, carrying the very legacy of the Baikal Cossacks and their papakhas, lead by Ataman Grigory Mikhaylovich Semyonov himself (mysteriously living 16+ extra years). They have braved the snowstorms, their beliefs intact, and now prepare for battle as they reach their destination in Chita. Mikhail II is purposefully absent, as I don't see him as belonging to the movement (at least arguably not yet) and want to keep him distinct from the likes of Semyonov and Shepunov.
Just as they prepare for battle, the next Heir is depicted in its midst. Verse four focuses on the idea of Siberia as the home of its soldiers. It is supposed to be defended and implores its sons to carry its greetings to distant lands. It is (deliberately ironically) juxtaposed with the behavior of Rodsaevsky's RFP as he brings untold pain and suffering to his own homeland and perverts its very nature. The only greetings Rodsaevsky's Siberia will bring "From the Danube to the Rhine" will be those of sycophancy and destruction. True, Rodsaevsky has innovated on the foundation of the movement to match what he perceives as the underlying truths of the world he inhabits, but it is a terrible invention and stands to invoke the lyrics only in their worst possible form.
Verse five acknowledges that Siberia's soldiers march because of difficult times and then poses their twin purposes: (1) to restore Russia's lost glory and (2) to defend the land's righteous citizens. Magadan's conquerors have also innovated beyond their origins to interpret the song's message, but have done so very differently from Amur and not only in one form. Matakovsky very much belongs to the "old glories", his nationalist vision serving as the means to bring Russia to the ideal the past has painted for Matakovsky. The army and people accept his vision, for it is not the worst of their options, but how much weight does it carry? Perhaps he is right and people recognize that their may be wisdom in both reform and rememberence? Or maybe he is wrong and ignorant of where Russia needs the most help. In TNO, Russia future, its children, and its needy cannot subsist on old stories, force of arms, and grand promises. Perhaps the true reformer hears Russia call even when it is silent and knows how to call forth its potential to better seek the greater good? Is it so, does Petlin have the answer, or is his promise too lost before it can be heard. The ship that enters the harbor can represent either of two worlds. What is it carrying? Is it arms that will make the Russian nation strong? Is it trade goods to ease the people's burdens and show them a better way? Or is it the herald of an unseen danger. Is a new breed of soldier coming? One who carries not the Arisaka but the M-16, and escorts not the watchful eye of the Kempetai but the long reach of the CIA? If the Heirs cannot earn their place, then another will brave Siberia's storms with his vision and bring his own flawed vision of Russia's future. /SPOILER]
Previous part here. Next part here.
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After playing Kemerovo, I have decided to rank them to the highest position, especially given the fact they can potentially get 30+ generals and the power of the Siberian plan.
With Oktan pulling off that trick taking their bribe and then attacking them, imagine the Germans using antisemitism in their propaganda comparing Oktan to a negative stereotype of what the Nazis viewed Jewish, the false stereotype of being greedy and deceptive. The irony being Oktan himself was also antisemitic. That and imagine Oktan reacting to German propaganda on him.
I can also forsee Oktan becoming slowly patriotic to Russia. At the start, he doesn't care about Russia, only filling up his pockets and bank accounts. But over time, Oktan slowly develops feelings for the nation he rules. Oktan realizes there is so much money he doesnt know what to do with it, so why not develop and properly modernize Russia? A sort of similar transition to Rodzaevsky, in that Rodzaevksy gradually sheds his paranoia and alcoholism, in which Oktan while still greedy, cruel and manipulative begins to slowly care about the newly-unified nation he rules.
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There should be events of what American presidents say to Bormann when they reject his overtures. Goldwater in particular should have some very interesting things to say.
chankljp
Donor
Goldwater does indeed get a special event when he received Bormann's request for a diplomatic visit to the US. With the half-Jewish president having a flashback to the stories that his grandfather used to tell him about life in Europe, and him realizing that if they haven't decided to immigrate to the US, he would have most certainly been one of the countless victims of the Holocaust at the hands of the Nazis, or at best, a slave.
As such, he sent a simple, one sentence reply back to the German embassy:
'America does not negotiate with monsters.'
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that would be a cool story and would be interesting character development
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And of course, if you want to milk a cow, you first have to feed it.
After listening to the Shafarevich super event a few times, I got inspired to make this based on what I think is actually happening in this super event.
As thunder roared outside, a lone old radio played Slavsya, the lyrics echoing across the cabin. As the song reached its climax, a weary old hand reached for the dial and shut it off. The camera turns to reveal the hand belongs to one Nikolai Bukharin, his old and shriveled face wet with tears and his eyes red. The former Soviet leader can find no words to say, he can only sigh in despair as he covered his face with his shaking hands, knowing that his failures had doomed the motherland to fascism, and the Union that so many of his comrades gave their lives for was now truly dead, likely forever. The screen slowly fades to black as the sound of the rain overtakes Nikolai's sobbing.
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chankljp
Donor
Considering that the quote accompanying Oktan's Russian unification super-event was:
'Thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find nothing.'
- Aesop
I have a feeling that Oktan have a much more... 'A goose that lay golden eggs? Well, I already have gotten enough gold from it for my luxury Swiss chalet anyway, and I could really use a nice dish of foie gras' kind of view when it comes to his long-term plans (if you can even call it that) for Russia.
- Status