Development Diary XI: The Land of Wanderers
Welcome to another development diary of The New Order: Last Days of Europe. I’m Lead Russian Developer BigJohn, and today I’ll be taking you to a part of Asia outside of Japan’s sphere – forgotten by the world but still with some fight left in it: the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Karakalpakstan, along with the seven forces vying for control of a shattered Kazakhstan. That’s quite a few nations, so let’s dive right in.
Central Asia
Let’s start with the southern -stans, minor players who won’t really be playable in of themselves, but will all have a role in the region and represent opportunities for a wily Japan/India/Iran/Kazakhstan/Russia player to expand their own influence in the region.
Turkmenistan
As German boots paraded through Leningrad, Moscow, and Voroshilovgrad and the politburo all but vanished in the mad rush over the Urals the Central Asian SSRs were quick to declare independence so as to avoid being consumed by the madness that was swallowing Russia.
But these new governments were uniformly weak and confused, struggling to find a new national identity and political system in the absence of the Soviet authority. In Turkmenistan, this confusion was put to an end by the Turkmen National Fascist Party – a fiercely authoritarian and anti-communist movement inspired by the European fascists that had conquered half the world.
While the military-backed fascist putsch did at first seem to put an end to Turkmenistan’s troubles, the new regime has since had problems of its own. Rebels still plot against Anaorazov’s rule, and within the TMFP itself a growing liberal movement has taken root – aiming to reform Turkmen fascism into something more moderate and to open Turkmenistan to the world economy.
Tajikistan
While many of the Central Asians proved eager to shed the soviet system, Tajikistan stood true. Although the party leadership formally seceded to avoid German wrath, the truth is that Tajikistan’s government is still holding out for a new Soviet Union to rescue them from their hostile neighbors, from their poverty, and from their isolation since the war.
While maintaining the communist apparatus in spite of everything has proved popular with the party and what remains of the local Red Army, there are several rebel groups working to put an end to the outdated system – should no savior arise, Secretary Gafurov’s days in power are surely numbered.
Kyrgyzstan
When the Soviet Union ceased to be, a group of military men took power in Shymkent, hoping to avoid the descent into anarchy that was already spreading through Kazakhstan. For twenty years this military junta has done its best to keep Kyrgyzstan independent and neutral, something that has endeared it to some of its populace – but not all.
Many Kirgiz citizens are beginning to chafe under the heavy restrictions of martial law, some resent the generals’ reactionary bent, and there are Kirgiz that have yet to forgive their leaders for abandoning the Soviet Union in its hour of need. General Grishin just wants Kyrgyzstan to be left alone, but should another power not respect that wish he may not have the full support of his people in resisting.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan vacillated while their fellow SSRs declared independence. For a time, like Tajikistan, it seemed the Uzbeks would stay loyal soviet subjects even in their master’s absence. The blow that finally toppled the Uzbek government was the news that Karakalpakstan, a minority region of Uzbekistan since tsarist times, had declared its own independence first. The SSR was overthrown, and the new nationalist government launched a brief and ultimately failed war against the upstart rebels.
Since that embarrassing defeat, the Uzbek republic has grown harder. President-for-Life Qahhor has rolled back many of the reforms promised in the early days of independence, and still eyes Karakalpakstan with hungry eyes. With an increasingly angry opposition and a communist insurgency that hasn’t quite given up on restoring the SSR against him, Qahhor may feel pressured to launch a second war just to keep his enemies from uniting – especially if a foreign power takes interest in unseating Uzbekistan’s status quo.
Karakalpakstan
Declaring independence from the Soviet Union (and from Uzbekistan) in the wake of the German invasion and fighting a victorious rallying war against Uzbekistan to secure it, Karakalpakstan has found itself in possession of the only functioning democracy in Central Asia when the dust settled.
Although this small nation cherishes its independence, and its newfound democratic traditions, their young republic lives under the shadow of a bitter and revanchist Uzbekistan. Should the Uzbeks launch another war to reclaim their former territory, the Karakalpaks may have to strike deals with another power to survive – even at the expense of their values.
Kazakhstan
Now that the minor players are out of the way we can move on to the real meat of the region – the seven factions struggling for control of a shattered Kazakhstan. For now the Kazakhs, like the western Russians, are kept down by a relentless German bombing campaign that destroys buildings and lives and makes holding together large regions all but impossible. But should the Luftwaffe become busy bombing itself? The powers that be in Asia could do well to pay attention to a Kazakhstan united under one flag, as for better or worse a new regime will attempt to claim its place in the region.
Kyzyl Orda
Holding the prewar Kazakh SSR’s capital and the majority of the surviving Kazakh Red Army, General Momyshuly would seem to have the best claim to leadership of Kazakhstan. And yet the Red territories contain not even a third of the Kazakh people and are surrounded on all sides by hostile forces. And in reality, outside of the cities of Kyzyl Orda and Alma-Ata Momyshuly’s territory is largely lawless – relentless bombing runs make it hard to maintain order over such a vast and sparsely populated land.
Once the bombings stop however, the Kazakh Red Army will have the chance its been waiting for to bring order back to its lands – and then go on the offensive. Reactionaries and traitors hold much of the Kazakh lands, but with the might of the Red Army and the indomitable will of the people at their backs nothing will stand in their way.
Should the Reds prove victorious over their many foes, the fighting will be far from over – Momyshuly’s next goal is nothing less than a restoration of the USSR itself. Following a short period of reconstruction and
over the future of the Kazakh SSR they will once more go on the march, joining the Russian warlords in the battle for the future of Russia. Some of the other red factions may be amenable to alliance, and a Kazakh led USSR will have an easier time convincing the Motherland’s minorities they mean well, but it’ll be a long, difficult road to reunification…
Khromtau
The other military-run Kazakh faction, the city of Khromtau and a region of hinterland is under the control of another former Red Army officer – Colonel Nikolai Onoprienko. Seeing the failure of socialism in Kazakhstan, the rogue Colonel has forged his own ideology: “National Renewal”. Claiming to combine the best elements of capitalism, bolshevism, and fascism, this new ideology has few followers outside of the lands controlled by Onoprienko’s clique, but he is convinced that it is Kazakhstan’s only hope to recover from anarchy.
Onoprienko’s forces are professional, but not as numerous as their Red counterparts and so the Colonel will have to play his hand carefully and pick his targets well on the road to power – one misstep could doom Kazakhstan to stagnation under weak leadership.
Should the National Renewal forces prove victorious over all comers, Onoprienko will launch an ambitious campaign to drag Kazakhstan into the twentieth century – no matter the cost.
Finally, even with all of Kazakhstan and a brutal industrialization program, Onoprienko is aware that Kazakhstan will never be a world power on its own, and so the junta will search for friends among the nearby powers: India, Iran, even Germany and Japan. But surely this is just a naïve hope on the part of the junta, after all what could backwater Kazakhstan have to offer the great powers in the age of the atom?
Pavlodar
Now for the first of the non-army states. Made up of a coalition of liberal nationalists, Pavlodar is led by famed historian and poet Sabit Mukanov, who since the February Revolution has worked to build a new Kazakh culture and a flourishing democracy. Since the fall of the USSR Mukanov has attracted a large and devoted following, and although they lack in professionalism, with only a few former Red Army units aligned to their movement, surely the righteousness of their cause will be sufficient to overcome all opposition.
Although Mukanov’s liberals would rather negotiate than fight, they know their enemies are unlikely to extend them the luxury and so have other means of evening the odds – being led by a poet has its advantages when urging the enemy’s people to rise up.
Once in power, Mukanov will set upon the process of building a new republic on Kazakh soil – something the old man will unfortunately not live to see. The young democracy will face opposition from
within and
without, but can blossom into a stronghold of liberty in a region long held under the thumb of despots and demagogues.