Tubabao Island was an underdeveloped island by the time John Maximovitch and his congregation of White Russian refugees arrived in the Philippines from a Shanghai that recently fell to Mao Tse Tung's Chinese communist forces. In the island, Maximovitch began to supervise the construction of a Russian Orthodox parish mainly used for the refugees, but a few local Filipinos were curious at their different style of worshipping god. Sensing an oportunity to preach the Orthodox Christian religion, Maximovitch then started to invite the curious natives into his church and with the help of the White Russian refugees, started to proselytize the locals. Moreover, Maximovitch had written a letter to the US Congress, petitioning for Congress to allow his congregation to settle in the United States and Australia. However, no response was coming. Disappointed that his chance of moving his congregation to the US slipped away, Maximovitch decided to stay in Tubabao to expand the Orthodox Christian religion to its inhabitants. Moreover, after WWII had ended, the US authorities allowed a few anti-communist Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and many other peoples who feared going back to the USSR after they were forcibly taken to work in Germany as slave labourers to settle in the USA. The US also suggested that the anti-communist refugees can settle in the Philippines, which was in a need of new settlers and construction workers to work on rebuilding the entire country after it suffered during the war.
By January 7th of 1950, Maximovitch learned about an old Russian Orthodox Church that was destroyed by American bombing in Manila during World War Two. He went to the Philippine capital along with a few local guides and several Orthodox priests to request permission from President Quirino to allow them to rebuild the church on Manila. Quirino gave them permission and even told a local construction company to help the Patriarchate to build their church in Manila, along with three more Orthodox churches in the rest of the country. By June of 1950, the Annunciation Orthodox Cathedral in Paranaque was completed and two more Orthodox churches were being built. At the same time, Maximovitch had also set up an Orthodox school for the purpose of training local Filipino Orthodox priests. The first Orthodox priests to be ordained, consecrated and chrismated was in 1952, with Maximovitch taking the role of the mentor to a young, promising man from Leyte province by the name of Simon Abaygar (who was later baptized and took the name of Semyon Abaygar). Semyon Abaygar would eventually become the first Patriarch of the newly re-established Philippine Orthodox Church, which changed its subordination from the Greek and Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia. With Patriarch Semyon's appointment into the Patriarchate, he underwent a slow campaign to proselytize the rest of the Philippines into Orthodoxy. He had a slim advantage over the Roman Catholic Church at that time, which was the promotion of a married clergy. Unlike Catholics who had to be celibate in order to become priests, the idea of married clergy allowed newly baptized Orthodox Filipinos to become priests and have families at the same time. This helped create a potential for expanding the Orthodox population, which was badly in need of converts as Maximovitch's missionary work was becoming more prominent.
When Ramon Magsaysay became President in 1953, he began to implement the Agrarian Reforms that allowed landless peasants to own land. With the help of Patriarch Semyon I, Magsaysay had also passed down a law that would enable other religions to establish their own schools (not discussed in OTL), despite mild opposition from the Catholic Church. Magsaysay's so-called Religious Education Act had a considerable effect on Islamic education as the Bangsamoro peoples could set up schools and educate their own children. The same thing can be said to the Orthodox Christian community, which saw an increase in converts in Luzon and Mindanao. By 1954, the Roman Catholic population was now at 70%, while Muslims were at 20%, and Orthodox Christians were at 10%. However, the issue of Japanese reparations had strained relations between Magsaysay and Semyon I mainly because the latter wanted Japan to apologize for its war crimes. (Which Hirohito at that time wasn't willing to do yet), and Maximovitch had rejected Japan's help until it recognized its own crimes against the White Russian population during its occupation of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Despite the strained relations, Maximovitch and Semyon I supported the SEATO organization but had some grievances on the Bell Trade Act and the Mutual Defense Pact, seeing them as nothing more than to completely restrict true Philippine independence.
Magsaysay soon faced problems when landowners who lost their land to the Agrarian Reforms began to campaign to unseat him and install a President who would support them. The Catholic Church sided with the landowners because of the Religious Education Act's effect on the Catholic monopoly of power. 1957 was also the year when White Russians from Japan and South Korea emigrated to the Philippines after they heard of Maximovitch's preaching work and decided to help contribute. Some say that the landowners' opposition to Magsaysay planted the seeds for a possible sectarian violence between Catholics and Orthodox Christians in a similar manner to a war in 1991 in the Balkans, mainly because Magsaysay had the support of the growing Orthodox congregation in the Philippines. Nevertheless, the agreement for Japan to pay reparations was signed on March 15, 1956 even as Magsaysay's domestic problems escalated.
Magsaysay won his re-election in 1957, but his Nacionalista party lost its majority in the Philippine Congress as his new term was expected to be difficult. Indeed, Carlos P. Garcia had defected to the Liberal Party after he failed to unseat Magsaysay as the Nacionalista leader. Magsaysay continued his policies he laid out in his previous term, but now began to enact anti-corruption legislations with the help of his supporters and Semyon I. Moreover, Maximovitch and Magsaysay would meet in public for the last time in 1959 at Malacanang Palace for a special conference regarding the future of the country. Maximovitch would eventually die in 1960 after he contracted dengue from a mosquito bite he sustained while he was on a missionary work in Pangasinan. He would be buried in Tubabao Island, where a special tomb is created for his burial. Semyon I was now a full fledged Patriarch of an Orthodox Christian religion that has gained considerable ground.
By 1961, it was becoming clear that Magsaysay wasn't going to run for a third term after his latest reform was met with opposition. Diosdado Macapagal was elected as President in 1961, but his economic policies of free enterprise was met with enthusiastic satisaction from the majority of the Filipinos, but was met with skepticism by some of the poorest farmers and most of the White Russian settlers who had now contributed to the development of the Philippines through its network of religious schools. However, Macapagal's real success lay in the foreign affairs of the country, where he watched with optimism and caution at Sukarno's konfrontasi policy towards Malaysia. Though the plan to unite Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia into one single nation failed in the end, some of the Pan-Malay ideology would be revived in the future. Macapagal's overtures in the foreign affairs were successful in retaining its friendship with the United States, although Semyon I was concerned about the Philippines' involvement in the Vietnam War. Macapagal was also responsible for setting the date of Philippine Independence Day back to June 12. Ironically, future Russian President Gennady Zyuganov would choose June 12 as Russia's day of celebrating its new statehood. (Yeltsin would not take part in Russian politics as he was arrested for being intoxicated while attending a political convention.)
When Ferdinand Marcos assumed power in 1965 after defeating Macapagal in the 1965 Presidential Election, Semyon I had openly began to support him because of his anti-Japanese past, with some of his political opponents having collaborated with Japan during WWII. Semyon I and Marcos shared a close friendship with each other, having attended the same high school when they were younger. However, they were deeply divided over the emphasis on state loyalty and family loyalty. Semyon I disapproved the idea of a family oligarchy because of his rural past, plus the stories Maximovitch told his class about how the old Russian Empire had decayed because of corruption. Also, Semyon I was growing older and withdrew from public appearances, delegating the task of active missionary work to his eventual successor, Mikhail I. (born Miguel Alvarez) When Semyon I died on 1970, one year after Marcos was re-elected, Mikhail I became the new Patriarch of the Philippine Orthodox Church. Unlike Semyon I, Mikhail I actively searched for connections to post World War Two White Russian emigre groups, thanks to several White Russians who helped him with his work. (Without the help of the White Russians, Mikhail I and his predecessor would never have built a foundation on which the Catholic Church's influence would be challenged.) The First Quarter Storm threatened to plunge the Philippines into anarchy, and Soviet agents were even rumored to have entered Tubabao Island in search for prominent White Russian leaders.
During the Martial Law era, Mikhail I and the White Russian emigre started to host meetings for the almost-extinct Russian Liberation Movement, led by an expatriated former Don Cossack ataman. Upon explaining the works of Maximovitch to the ROD, some White Russian leaders began to set up their own branches of the ROD, and even helped Mikhail to create a Filipino version of the Russian Liberation Movement, tailored for the overthrow of Ferdinand Marcos's government, as well as destroying the communist movements and ending the Philippines' special but one-sided relationship with the United States. As a result of Mikhail I's collaboration with emigre White Russian movements, Marcos had the Filipino Patriarch imprisoned and the Orthodox Church came under attack by Marcos's policies that greatly restricted Orthodox Christian missionary work and vowed to bring the 'lost flock' back into Catholicism. However, the devout Orthodox Filipinos were now united with several other anti-government forces in stopping the rise of Marcos's fascist regime. It was clearly known in the Soviet Union itself that the Philippines was not only becoming more reactionary, but it also became the only Asian country in post-WWII that would host a lot of White Russian movements, primarily thanks to certain American officers who helped out despite the risk involved.
Ironically, it was the Soviet Union's relations with the Philippines that drew attention to the existence of a dormant White Russian movement, and its contributions to the relations between the Philippines and the rest of the socialist bloc. Even as the Philippines' demographic makeup is changing with the decline of Catholic populations to conversions into Orthodox Christianity, and to a lesser extent, Islam, the Catholic Church's authority remains unchalleneged. However, the provinces benefited from Marcos's reforms, meaning that the autocratic president can count on the support of the countryside, the White Russian emigre and the Catholic Church. (Although Mikhail I decided to remain neutral in this issue) Thankfully for Marcos, Mikhail I openly hated the Aquino family because of their role as collaborators during WWII, despite the fact that the Patriarch viewed Marcos with some skepticism as well.
The years 1983-1986 would be the stepping stone to the inevitable bloodshed that would rip the country apart as Mikhail I withdrew his support for Marcos as he grew ill and appeared less in public. Under his mentorship and anti-Marcos factions, Ivan Apayao was groomed to become the new Philippine leader should Cory Aquino and her supporters fail to topple Marcos. Apayao's faction, dubbed the Blacks, adopted a radical nationalist ideology that accepted Pan-Malay ideals, as well as elements from fascism. Moreover, Apayao proposed to change the name of the Philippines to something less-colonial to a more indigenous sounding name. Originally, Marcos's proposal to change the name to Maharlika was rejected. Apayao on the other hand, was a fervent admirer of pre-Hispanic Malay kingdoms in SE Asia, and also admired the Kingdom of Tondo. He therefore created the Tondo/Tundun Revolutionary Movement, and its military arm was the Tondo/Tundun Insurgent Army. It only needed a catalyst to spark what would become SE Asia's most bloodiest civil war since the post-Cold War era.
Ivan Apayao's Rise to Power and His Origins:
The man who would eventually become the warlord and future President of the self-declared Republic of Tundunistan was born in Tugegarao, Appari province on April 24, 1952. His parents were killed in an NPA raid, strengthening his hatred for the communist movement. As a result, Apayao was brought up in an orphanage run by the Philippine Orthodox Church. Apayao's talent for organization and a fanatical sense of duty had not been ignored by Maximovitch and Semyon I, who thought that Apayao would become a good leader that will bring the Philippines back to its ancient, pre-Hispanic glory. Apayao went to high school in Tugegarao and graduated top of his class. However, most of Apayao's high school teachers noticed his apparent lack of interest in socializing with other people, as clearly seen by his absence from other activities. Apayao dedicated his extra time to researching on the ancient Kingdom of Tondo and regularly attending the Orthodox masses, having been baptized as a child. Apayao expressed his contempt for sorority and fraternity groups, having planned to ban them should be become President.
Apayao graduated from the Philippine Military Academy later on in 1975, two years after Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law. It was noted that Apayao rejected higher education in the West Point Academy, preferring to complete his military education in the
Fuhrungsakademie der Bundeswehr in Hamburg, Germany. He later graduated from the FB in 1980, but returned to the Philippines to form the core of what will become the Tundun Revolutionary Movement with the Tundun Insurgent Army as its military wing. It is also noted that some future officers of the TIA were defected Soviet military officers who traveled from the Soviet base in Cam Ranh Bay to Subic Bay in the hopes of joining the Russian Liberation Movement. He formed the TIA General Staff, with the following generals:
- Nikolai Agtarap, Argus Agbayani, Babur Gatan, Alfonso Ulyanov, and Timur Gavrilov were TIA generals who were Orthodox Christians. Unknown to Apayao, Gavrilov was also a double agent for the KGB.
- Mustafa Baltar, Murad Lakan, Aydar Dimaporo, Ibrahim Salic and Suleyman Magat were TIA generals who were Muslims.
Apayao was arrested for sedition when he and his close supporters protested the arrival of Pope John Paul II in Manila in 1981. President Marcos was keen to avoid showing the Pope the waning influence of the Catholic Church in the Philippines to Maximovitch's machinations and the growing influence of the Orthodox Church. Apayao was released from prison in 1983, four months before Ninoy Aquino was assassinated. As Marcos's health deteriorated, Apayao and Cory Aquino were campaigning and competing for the right to succeed Marcos, and their approach was starkly different. Corazon Aquino's supporters promoted a non-violent resistance policy while Apayao promoted Pan-Malay and Neo-Eurasian nationalism which called for the three D's: De-Westernization, De-Hispanicization, and De- Catholicization. When Marcos called for a snap election in 1985, three candidates were running for the Presidency: the Aquino-Laurel duo ran under UNIDO (United Opposition), Marcos-Tolentino ran under the KBL, and Apayao chose Oleg Uvarov as his running mate under the National Revolutionary Union. What started as a non-violent revolution would eventually turn into a massive bloodshed that also became a sectarian civil war as the Philippines was headed into the same quagmire as Yugoslavia a few years later.
People Power Turned Violent:
When the RAM faction launched its plans to topple Marcos and install any president suitable to their cause, Apayao and his National Revolutionary Party also began to make speeches, declaring the end of the Marcos era and his promise to change the government for the better. The song Bayan Ko is sung, though Apayao's followes replaced 'Pilipinas' with 'Tundunistan' in their version of the lyrics. The Aquino faction carried yellow ribbons while the Apayao faction carried black banners, black armbands and also created the icon pictures of Andres Bonifacio, Jose Rizal, and John Maximovitch. Pro-NRP members of the Marines and the Army defected to the Tundun Insurgent Army, pledging their allegiance to Ivan Apayao's cause. When Marcos told General Ver not to open fire on the protesters, Apayao secretly ordered Timur Gavrilov and his squad to disguise themselves as the government troops and to show the protesters that Marcos had 'lost control' of his troops when Gavrilov's troops ruthlessly machine gunned the protesters. By the time Marcos had learned of Apayao's machinations, it was too late. What was supposed to be the start of a new era in Philippine democracy turned into a violent conflict. Catholics moved to support Cory Aquino while the Orthodox community moved behind Apayao. Interestingly enough, it was Apayao who consolidated his alliance with the Muslim community, strengthening his path to power. In the aftermath of the failed People's Power Revolution, the Philippine Civil War broke out.
Battle of Cabanatuan/Kamengrad:
The pro-Aquino Catholic paramilitary unit called Alsa Masa along with Philippine Armed Forces soldiers who defected to Cory Aquino began to move north towards Cabanatuan. Alsa Masa's leader Diego Alvarez had planned to capture Cabanatuan, along with Munoz (later to become the new Tundun capital of Stroganovsk) since those two cities were the primary places of the Orthodox community. Although NATO hasn't intervened in the conflict yet, their lessons from the conflict in Bosnia will apply to the Philippines.
AFP artillery bombarded the city of Cabanatuan while Alsa Masa soldiers began to advance into the city. The Tundun Insurgent Army responded by bombarding the Alsa Masa positions, even as their infantry were killed by the machine gunfire. The US government began to supply the Alsa Masa faction with weapons, forcing the Soviet Union (ironically) to supply the TIA with their own weapons. The siege went on for six months as a few volunteers from the White Russian community volunteered to fight alongside Apayao's forces. At this time, the Philippines was split into the Orthodox dominated Northern Luzon and the Catholic dominated Southern Luzon, with the province of Nueva Ecija firmly in Apayao's hands.
Street to street battles occured in the urban area of Cabanatuan as both sides slaughtered each other. Alsa Masa (with CIA support) firebombed the St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Church close to the World War Two memorial. In retaliation for the firebombing, Apayao ordered the Our Lady of Manaoag in Pangasinan looted and plundered, and its pews taken out. Both sides continuously fought each other to a stalemate, but tragedy struck Apayao's faction when Babur Gatan was killed while attempting to retake the Alsa Masa controlled neighborhood of Cabanatuan. Luckily, Vadim Kuzmin took over as General Gatan's successor and resumed the offensive.
Finally, a breakthrough by the Alsa Masa resulted in routing the Tundun Insurgent Army from Cabanatuan as the retreating TIA soldiers pulled back towards the Benguet mountains. Alsa Masa however, didn't follow up in their victory because they lost a lot of soldiers capturing Cabanatuan, plus they ran out of supplies. The end result was that Baguio City or Munoz was going to become the temporary capital city of a rump Tundun state, but at least the Banaue rice terrace fell under their control and possibly use the rice supplies to their own advantage. As for the civilians of Cabanatuan, the enraged Alsa Masa forces massacred Orthodox Christians coming to the ruins of St. Serpahim of Sarov Orthodox Church on July 25, 1986. But Alsa Masa and their Aquino loyalist allies would have another war on their hands, this time against the MILF.
Battle of Cotabato:
The origin of the Mindanao Conflict began when two Muslim renegade soldiers shot dead a Catholic couple who had recently gotten married. THe original plan for an Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao fell apart as a result of the incident. And so on October 3, 1986, the MILF and the Mindanao branch of Alsa Masa fought each other in Cotabato. The battle played out like the one in Cabanatuan, but there were several differences. While Alsa Masa faced against a poorly armed but experienced Tundun Insurgent Army in Cabanatuan, Alsa Masa in Mindanao faced a very powerful Moro Islamic Liberation Front along with Abu Sayaaf. This time, Alsa Masa would be caught in a quagmire not seen since the conflict against the very same Islamic groups during Marcos's time. By then, the Tundun Insurgent Army began to receive more weapons from the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union, and even rumours of Yugoslav weaponry have reached the Alsa Masa faction. The battle only ended in an Alsa Masa withdrawal because the TIA had launched its offensive to retake Cabanatuan and to defend Tubabao Island.
Second Battle of Cabanatuan:
Guerrilla attacks constantly plagued the Alsa Masa occupiers in Cabanatuan as survivors of the St. Seraphim of Sarov massacre avenged their dead by executing captured Alsa Masa soldiers. Cory Aquino and her family narrowly survived a firebombing incident led by Apayao himself. Meanwhile, Timur Gavrilov had gotten in contact with several KGB agents led by a young, rising star named Vladimir Putin. who infiltrated the Philippines and told them about the Yamashita Gold that Marcos had acquired during his term in office. The plan was to confiscate the gold hidden in Swiss banks under the pretext of using it to finance subversive actions. From November 27, 1986 to July 29, 1990, Operation: Grozny began with the search for the Yamashita gold in the Philippines and have it shipped to the Soviet Union, without revealing the secret to Japan. Only when Operation: Grozny was completed did the Soviet Union (in its last throes as Gorbachev came to power and initiated his reforms as in OTL, but Boris Yeltsin was arrested in Sverdlovsk for public intoxication) summoned the leaders of China, North Korea, the ASEAN countries and South Korea and told them about the existence of the captured Japanese loot they found in the Philippines with the help of the KGB agent working in the TIA. It was agreed that the remaining Japanese loot that the CIA didn't get its hands on will be divided among the present nations attended the secret conference. Furthermore, Agent Gavrilov promised the Soviets that he will give the order to confiscate the Marcoses' wealth and turn it over to the new Tundun government.
The civil war in the Philippines now gained momentum and notoriety when a similar civil war broke out in the former Yugoslavia with the Siege of Vukovar. NATO military leaders then asked the United States government officials as to how the Philippines managed to end up with three major religions when it was supposed to be only two. Either way, NATO had to watch the events in the Soviet Union as it formally ceased to exist in December of 1991. The new Russian president Gennady Zyuganov became the first President, but still represented the Communist Party.
Battle of Malolos:
The first capital of the First Philippine Republic was besieged by the TIA after the Alsa Masa faction had been defeated in Zamboanga City by Abu Sayaaf forces. By now, all sides had five years (from 1986 to 1991) to rest and train new soldiers as shipments of arms came in for the Alsa Masa faction (from the United States and its NATO allies), the MILF and Abu Sayaaf factions (mainly from Libya and other Middle Eastern countries), and the TIA (from the new Russian Federation, former Warsaw Pact nations and Yugoslavia. East Germany in particular were eager to decommission their old Soviet weapons as their army was merged into the West German Bundeswehr.). On September 25, 1991, Malolos, Bulacan was under attack by TIA forces. Alsa Masa troops took positions in the city, but they were unable to cope with an increasing amount of resistance emitted from the local Orthodox militias.
In the morning, TIA artillery pounded Malolos and destroyed the Barasoain Church in retaliation for the destruction of the Annunciation Orthodox Church at the hands of Alsa Masa. Rumors now spread throughout the TIA and MILF/Abu Sayaaf factions that US forces were going to land in Luzon. US President Bill Clinton didn't have any approval for the intervention in the Yugoslav Civil War, but obtained limited approval for American troop deployment in the Philippines. However, Alsa Masa did confirm the presence of foreign fighters who came to the Philippines, mainly from Latin American countries that were pro-American (ie: Colombia), Western European nations (excluding Germany as its own volunteers were fighting in the Bosnian Civil War), and the USA. (Its main troops participated in the war.) Volunteers who fought for the TIA were soldiers and mercenaries who came from Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, North Korea (a special North Korean regiment was allowed to fight in the Philippines against the US military in order to gain experience), Japan (anti-American Japanese nationalists volunteered despite their country's position in the conflict. Eventually these Japanese volunteers were arrested by Japanese authorities), Russia, Serbia (a few Serb soldiers retreated with the Tsarist Wolves and were redeployed into the Philippines), Greece, Armenia, Georgia, and Mongolia. (upon Ivan Apayao's recommendation, a Mongolian regiment was allowed to deploy into the Philippines)
Malolos also marked the first time the foreign fighters fought in their respective sides. A squad of US Marines, Spanish volunteers and Colombian mercenaries fought and defeated the TIA forces and their Russian allies in the outskirts of Plaridel. However, General Gavrilov avenged their defeat by retaking Plaridel, as well as Pulilan and Baliuag from Alsa Masa with the help of Kerasem Tatar volunteers, White Russian militias and Serb soldiers. After just two days of fighting, Alsa Masa was dislodged from Malolos.
"The Orthodox hordes have come to Manila. May God be with us." quoted a Spanish volunteer after he was captured by the Russian volunteers and was executed in the end.
Capture of Corregidor:
By this time, Bill Clinton had gone beyond his limits in his mission to stabilize the Philippines with the deployment of the US 7th Fleet. The former Soviet Pacific Fleet was of no help as their naval base in Cam Ranh Bay was closed. The task of defending Philippine waters fell to the makeshift Tundun Navy (its sailors were to be trained in Russia and China) and the PLA Navy. At this time, the US 7th Fleet had still controlled Subic Bay base, until the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991, forcing the US to close its bases when an agreement to renew the lease on the military bases fell apart. So on March 12, 1992, the US formally abandoned Subic Bay and Clark Air Field, allowing the TIA to seize those two crucial military bases. From those bases, Ivan Apayao invited the Russian and Chinese navies to stay in Subic Bay to protect the TIA bases from Alsa Masa's attacks. Another reason why Apayao wanted to seize Subic Bay was to provide a forward position to attack and capture Bataan, leading him into Corregidor Island. By March 19, TIA forces led by Nikolai Agtarap launched their offensive into Bataan. Alsa Masa was hard pressed and couldn't spare any more soldiers, so the regular AFP volunteered to hold the line in Bataan against the TIA.
Meanwhile, the White Russian emigres who joined the Tsarist Wolves had also launched their own attack on the city of Batangas. Batangas was the key stronghold in the Alsa Masa dominated southern Luzon, and the gateway into Visayas and Tubabao Island. The ferocity of the Tsarist Wolves and their Serb volunteer allies proved too much for the thinned out Alsa Masa forces, who had to fight the Abu Sayaaf and the MILF forces in Mindanao. The fighting in the Philippines also created a refugee problem as refugees fled to neighboring Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and even in Vietnam, from where they can request for emigration to the United States, Canada, or Europe. Some Orthodox Christian Filipinos requested to emigrate to the Russian Federation, where they can provide their own service in reconstructing the city of Vladivostok, in the hopes of making it the Hong Kong of Russia despite the fact that it faced utter ruin. Fortunately, China and South Korea was willing to invest in the economical development of Siberia, in order to make it suitable for settlement.
Back in Bataan, the AFP and Alsa Masa forces held the line long enough for the TIA to fall back from their positions. Apayao ordered General Murad Lakan to advance to Manila from TIA-occupied Malolos in order to cut off the AFP and Alsa Masa from Bataan. The trip took around three hours, and it was relatively easy for Lakan to arrive in Manila. However, Lakan reported to Apayao the defensive barriers Manila posed to the TIA, and was unable to attack it right away. So Apayao told Lakan to wait until the offensive in Bataan finished, but another tragedy struck. This time, the TIA was reeling from the news of Mikhail I's brutal execution at the hands of Alsa Masa. They pledged their allegiance to the new Patriarch, Andrei I as General Gavrilov and General Zagrebov from the Tsarist Wolves retaliated by kidnapping Cardinal Sin and executed him in revenge. What soon happened after Alsa Masa and the AFP was routed by the combined forces of the TIA and the Tsarist Wolves became a massacre. Alsa Masa forces shot dead twenty five Orthodox priests in revenge for Cardinal Sin's death and General Zagrebov's mercenary units along with Serb volunteers burnt down a Catholic Church in Valenzuela City. At this point, the ferocity of the Philippine Civil War had matched that of the Bosnian Civil War. In the words of an Irish volunteer,
"The Philippines is no longer the Ireland of Asia. It has now become the Bosnia of Asia."
With the northern outskirts of Manila, Bataan and Corregidor Island in TIA hands, Apayao ordered the Manila International Airport to be captured. Ukrainian and Greek mercenaries volunteered for the mission, but it was led by General Belyayev. According to Apayao's orders, the TIA would provide the diversion for the mercenaries by attacking the Quiapo Church and destroying the statue of Mary and replacing it with her picture in the icon. Alsa Masa took the bait, but the mercenaries were in for a nasty surprise. A group of foreign fighters fighting for Alsa Masa, consisted of Americans, Latin Americans and Spanish volunteers ambushed the Greek mercenaries in the outskirts of Pasay City. General Gavrilov then responded by sending his armored division into Ermita to secure the Philippine Navy base and to guide the Russian and Chinese navies into the city should they accept Apayao's request for naval backup.
Era of Foreign Immigration to the Philippines and the Final Phase of the Philippine Civil War:
While NATO was busy intervening in the Bosnian Civil War, the three Eurasian powers of Russia, China and India increased their activities in the Philippines with promise of economic aid should Apayao become president. Apayao kept his promise and continuously developed the Tundun Insurgent Army long enough to seize power. Apayao then had his sights on Malacanang Palace and wanted to capture it so he can utterly demolish it and build a new government building in Munoz, possibly relocating the capital for the second time. 1993 became the final year in the civil war as Apayao sent Orthodox missionaries into Visayas to build the growing influence of the Orthodox Church, and to expand the Tubabao operations. Apayao then made a pledge to the entire peoples of the new Republic of Tundunistan that:
- A parliamentary system will be established, with the President and Prime Minister as the Head of State and Head of Government, respectively.
- A new constitution will be created with the help of the three Eurasian powers: Russia, China and India.
- Orthodoxy and Islam will be the official religion of Tundunistan, with Catholicism demoted to a minor religion and eventually eliminated.
- Thorough and more efficient management in the economy is imperative.
- Poverty and homelessness will be combated more effectively, giving the poor an opportunity to prosper.
- Establishment of a foreign settlement in the country to make it a multi-cultural nation. (It goes well with Apayao's 'De-Westernization, De-Hispanicization and De-Catholicization' policies, replacing Hispanic culture with a hybrid Slavo-Turkic culture.)
- Free enterprise is to be controlled and government intervention in the economy is necessary. (Apayao's comment after critics rejected his economical plans were, 'So how did Roosevelt restored the American economy? Certainly not free enterprise, since his New Deal proved to be important.' It is worth noting that Apayao commented on the New Deal with a sarcastic tone)
- A new official language is needed, but his proposed Bahasa Tundun would be Tagalog influenced by Malay, Slavic, Uralo-Altaic (Turkic, Mongolian and Korean), Baltic, Caucasian, Indian, and Tungusic. The Cyrillic alphabet is to be the official alphabet.
- Finally, while Bahasa Tundun is being constructed, Bahasa Melayu and Russian would be the official language of Tundunistan.
The response were mixed. The Orthodox population supported those pledges, while the Catholics rejected them entirely. The Muslim reaction was unknown, although Apayao wanted to make amends to the Muslim population since they supported his campaigns. So in August 9, 1994, Ivan Apayao summoned the National Revolutionary Party delegates and representatives from both Abu Sayaaf and MILF to a conference in Tugegarao. Apayao promised everyone that he would reform the banking system in Tundunistan, with the Islamic banking system as the model. Furthermore, he spoke, most of the new laws of Tundunistan will be influenced by the West (he was forced to give in to allowing Western laws to be implemented in Tundunistan in return for NATO dropping support to Alsa Masa), Orthodox Christianity and Islam, and contemporary Russian and Chinese laws.
The Civil War formally ended with Apayao calling in for an election. He and Oleg Uvarov would run as the NRP representative, while Cory Aquino and Salvador Laurel will run for UNIDO and Fidel Ramos will also run as well. It was clear that Apayao promoted his party as the platform for a new era, while Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino campaigned the old fashioned Filipino way. By December 30, Apayao was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Tundunistan, with Oleg Uvarov as the new Prime Minister. All of the nations recognized the new Tundunistan except for Spain and a few pro-US Latin American nations. True to Apayao's promises, he sent a thousand 'Tundun' workers to the Russian Far East to help develop their economy there, bringing in their families to live in cities like Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and even far away places like Kazan, Novosibirsk, and Irkutsk. Russian, Chinese, Korean and Indian companies didn't hesitate to invest in rebuilding the Tundunistani economy, although Apayao requested Iranian and Turkish companies to invest in developing Mindanao as a sign of respect to the Muslim community there. Mokhagher Iqbal was appointed the new leader of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, in exchange that he will no longer support separatism.
Cory Aquino on the other hand, grew worried about the diminishing influence of the Catholic Church in the aftermath of Apayao's victory and the creeping Asianization, and to a lesser extent, the partial Russification of the old Philippines due to the Russian community there. Refugees fleeing from the Balkans in the aftermath of the Bosnian Civil War and later on, the Kosovo War, and the Caucasus arrived in Tundunistan to settle down in their new home. Apayao gave out an order to inoculate the entire population against dengue and malaria, and to make sure that mosquito-eaters like frogs and salamanders have their population increased. From 1995 to 1999, the old city of Munoz was rebuilt and renamed Strganovsk, with the Stroganovsk Kremlin built in the honor of John Maximovitch. The Tundun Black House was built inside the walls of the Stroganovsk Kremlin, and Black Square was dedicated to military marches. At the same time, Apayao had assigned Manila the title of 'Special Economic Jurisdiction', but demoted it to a minor city in the hopes for the population to move to Stroganovsk. He also renamed Manila into Seludong, to energize the patriotic fervor for the ancient Tondo kingdom.
Kosovo War and the Rise of the Seludong Cooperation Organization:
Tundunistan under President Apayao was barely stable by the time the Kosovo War broke out. While the economy grew at a modest rate from 1994 to 1999, Apayao still faced rebellions from the Catholic majority in provinces like Bicol and the Ilocos region. His initial response was to deport them to Mindanao and replace them with settlers from Central Asia, Russia and the Balkans. However, the deported Catholics still managed to return to their homes but was now faced with a hostile population of foreigners in their land. To make matters worse, Corazon Aquino and her loyalists fled Tundunistan for the United States for the second time and was greeted by a cheering community of Filipino-Americans. Yet Aquino's presence in the western United States was marred with incidents involving them and the local Orthodox community, mainly the Greek and Armenian Orthodox Christians because of Alsa Masa's atrocities in the former Philippines.
In the new Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov had to resign from his post in 1996 because of health reasons. Yevgeny Primakov became the caretaker of the Russian government until they can install a more, popular president. By now, Vladimir Putin was groomed to succeed Primakov, as Zhirinovsky mysteriously died in 1995. Primakov and the Chinese leader promised Apayao that they would donate some of their decent weaponry and warships to bolster Tundunistan's military capabilities. Moreover, Tundun Army soldiers conducted exercises with Chinese and Russian forces in the Russian Far East. Apayao also learned of the situation in Kosovo and created the Tundun Expeditionary Force for the purpose of helping the Serbs.
As in OTL, the Kosovo War broke out with the Western media demonizing the Serbian state and its peoples. However, the Western media had also began to demonize the new Tundunistan and its Orthodox population because of Aquino's influence on the PR campaigns. But an incident in Pristina had turned ugly when General Clark wanted to attack the Russian soldiers who occupied Pristina Airport and the British commander refused to do so. Furious, General Clark went ahead and ordered the US soldiers to shoot at the Russians. The Kosovo War was no longer just another conflict. It was now going to lead into the demise of NATO.
The Division and Eventual Fall of NATO:
General Clark's bullheaded actions against the Russians had caused several NATO leaders to distance themselves from their American counterparts. Just as Vladimir Putin had become president in August 1999, the first NATO member to leave the alliance was Greece. No one was surprised at Greece's departure from the alliance, but Turkey soon left after, which they were surprised. Serbia in return, attacks neighboring Bulgaria and Macedonia and bombs the Kozlodui nuke plant. Turkey had a good reason to leave NATO after Greece left, which was the outbreak of the Kurdish conflict that broke out over Ocalan's execution. Following the example of Greece and Turkey's departure from NATO, Romania and Bulgaria leave the alliance and negotiate with Serbia after the nuke power plant was attacked. Soon after ethnic minorities in EU member states demanded the model of Kosovo for their autonomy, which threatened the unity of their respective nations, namely Spain, France, and Italy.
Russia and China didn't miss the events in Europe as they geared for the inevitable. Indeed, the waning influence of the United States allowed even Middle Eastern nations like Iran and Syria to make bolder steps towards Israel. By October 1999, NATO was at its last throes as France, Spain and the Czech Republic left the alliance. The United Kingdom and many other remaining Western European nations also decided to leave the alliance after conservative far-right parties came to power. With the collapse of NATO, the United States was forced to turn inwards to its own continent in order to regroup and recover from its disastrous adventure. Germany, which benefited from the NATO alliance the most, was now declared the
de facto leader of the new Europe, which didn't go too well with nations like Poland, who suffered during Nazi occupation. A new European Military Alliance was proposed, with Germany, France, UK, Ukraine and Poland as the five founding members. Any European nation was welcome to join, but Serbia rejected such an alliance. Romania and Bulgaria were also skeptical of the new alliance as it would be the continuation of the NATO alliance, but soon found out that this new alliance was free from American meddling. Russia on the other hand, was betrayed by Belarus's sudden betrayal when it joined the EMA, but soon found out that the reason for joining the EMA was the fall of Lukashenko's government and replaced it with a pro-European regime. Angered, Russia under Putin was now free to form its own Asian Union with China and India. It was then that Russia would have to cultivate and establish stronger alliances with nations that were formerly pro-US in Asia, notably Tundunistan, South Korea and Japan.
Ivan Apayao was also fortunate to even become president of Tundunistan after several assassination attempts were made on him. All of the captured assassins were revealed to have received CIA training in the United States. Apayao responded by forming his own secret police to deter future attacks on him personally. All of the Tundun recruits were trained in Russia, China and North Korea, which gave a bit more notoriety to the new Overseas Intelligence Service Bureau (OISB, for external use only), and the Domestic Security Agency (the DSA for internal use only). At the beginning of 2000, Apayao's economic policies bore fruit as its growth was at 4.9%. He could only continue to make Tundunistan an economical powerhouse if he adopted Chinese-style economical reforms, which the PRC encouraged him to do. Furthermore, Apayao proposed a condominium between the PRC and ASEAN in regards to the Spratlys dispute. With the elections approaching, Apayao declared that he will not run for a second term.
Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos's Presidency and the KBL:
Apayao congratulated Bongbong Marcos on his victory in the General Elections of 1999 as he looked forward to his retirement. At the same time, Andrei I the new Patriarch of the Tundun Orthodox Church (renamed from the Philippine Orthodox Church) has also visited Kosovo and rallied the Serbian forces fighting the UCK faction. His efforts in meeting with the Serbian Orthodox clergy had earned him the Order of St. Sava. At the same time, the new Orthodox Church built in Stroganovsk was named St. Vladimir's Cathedral and Bongbong Marcos chose not to be present at its grand opening. Andrei I personally rebuked Bongbong for his outrageous behavior and told him to at least show some respect for the growing Orthodox community. Having been raised as a Catholic, Bongbong was not willing to listen to the Patriarch and began to issue orders to reintegrate the Orthodox converts back into Catholicism. Bongbong's economic policies came into question as he pledged to turn the Philippines (he refused to use the name of Tundunistan) into another Singapore. It was widely believed that Bongbong's presidency would be a very short one, and the critics and skeptics were proven right.
In the foreign affairs, Bongbong continued Apayao's policy of friendly relations with Russia, China and India. Indeed, the Seludong Cooperation Organization was founded on March 5, 2001 with Russia, China, Tundunistan and the five Central Asian '-stans'. However, Bongbong also started to re-establish relations with the West, something Apayao had disapproved and would later be condemned by Bongbong's successor, Nikolai Abaygar, the son of Semyon I. Bongbong's relationship with Andrei I and Nikolai Abaygar deteriorated to the point where Bongbong's political opponents began to contemplate removing him from the Presidency. In the end though, they decided to wait until Bongbong finishes his Presidency and then elect a NRP representative or an alternative party leader as President and Prime Minister. It is also worth noting that Joker Arroyo was appointed as Bongbong's Prime Minister, but even their relationship wasn't as good as Marcos junior's relationship with the Patriarch and the son of Semyon I.
Mar Roxas's Presidency:
In 2004, Mar Roxas defeated Bongbong Marcos in an election that was marred with the return to old Filipino-style election campaigns. Mar Roxas pursued a domestic policy of continued agrarian reforms, but scaled back the percentage of state ownership on agricultural farms. While this may have resulted in more land given to farmers, no one knew how it would affect food production. As a Catholic president of Tundunistan, Mar Roxas had to thread carefully when dealing with the dominant Orthodox community. Luckily, Catholic communities still thrived in Tundunistan despite Apayao's rabid de-Hispanicization policies, mainly in Bicol and Cebu City.
The next year, the Young Tundun Revolutionary League was formed with Ivan Apayao's son Lazar as the leader of the new group. In tandem with Russia's newly formed Nashi organization, both groups collaborated on programs that were designed to instill patriotism into their countries' youth, respectively. In Tundunistan however, it is the country's first major youth organization to ever have been created. Before the YTRL was formed, most of the old Filipino youths were only interested in emigrating abroad as a result of the economic downturn in the country. With the YTRL created, they adopted the Tsarist slogan but tailored for Tundun nationalism "Orthodoxy, Sovereignty (regardless of ethnic origin in the case of Orthodox Christians and Muslims), and Asiatic Autocracy". Filipino exile groups stationed abroad criticized the YTRL as nothing more than a rabble rouser gang intended to restrict their freedoms. Indeed, a pro-Aquino man was allegedly heckled and beaten by Tunduns after a dialogue turned into violence.
"I would rather be poor, but my heart be so free than to have money in my pockets and live restrictively."
"Then stay poor, you uncultured peasant! Don't ask us for help if something happened to you."
Unfortunately, the Tundun reaction would eventually come back to haunt them when a major typhoon struck Luzon Island. Orthodox Tunduns hurriedly donated their items to the Orthodox Church as the clergy there opened shelters for the incoming people who fled the storm, including the pro-Aquino man who was heckled. The said pro-Aquino man eventually emigrated to the United States and founded the Filipino Rebirth Union in response to the Young Tundun Revolutionary League.
Mar Roxas also pursued foreign affairs in the same way as his predecessors, although there was a controversy regarding an embezzlement case involving an official in the government. When it was revealed that an Orthodox Tundun had stashed his money in a Swiss bank account, Roxas had him arrested, but not shot. Similar cases where old Filipino oligarchs hid away their money overseas broke out, forcing Roxas to handle the case personally. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be the President who would be able to solve the cases.
Yesugei Dimasalang and Putin-Style Punishments for Corrupt Oligarchs:
When Yesugei Dimasalang was elected as the first mixed Tundun president, no one would imagine that Dimasalang would take his job seriously. He continued what Mar Roxas started, which was helping the DSA and OISB solve the embezzlement cases. Most of the economic oligarchs were of Chinese origin, meaning that Dimasalang would have to thread carefully with the PRC. Dimasalang and Prime Minister Emmanuel Villar spoke with the Chinese Politburo and expressed their concerns about the elitist attitudes of the oligarchs in their country. The Politburo's response was to suggest that the Tundun Duma should threaten the oligarchs with either imprisonment or exile if they cannot comply with the laws of Tundunistan. Together with Chinese and Russian authorities, Dimasalang managed to solve most of the embezzlement cases, although certain oligarchs were secretly in contact with exiled Alsa Masa leaders, plotting to assassinate Dimasalang.
Dimasalang continued the immigration policy as many more peoples from Central Asia and Russia migrated to Tundunistan, even as Catholic Filipinos emigrated overseas. Indeed, after Dimasalang's term would end, a constitutional amendment allowing a president to serve six years was approved by the Tundun Duma. By 2010, the demographic makeup of Tundunistan washad shaken up and Russians were becoming the second largest group in Tundunistan. However, Dimasalang came under attack by critics who felt that he wasn't doing anything to preserve Tundunistan's glorious past. (read: colonial period)
Oleg Lakan and Foreign Investment Schemes:
Oleg Lakan was officially the first president to serve a six year term after the constitutional amendment came to pass in 2012. He increased foreign investment in Tundunistan, particularly in Visayas and Mindanao where the infrastructure has yet to be improved. Indeed, there was an increase in Chinese and Korean investment in the country, primarily in agriculture and manufacturing. The Tundun economy however, slowed its economic growth as it fell to a mere 2% growth from 2011.
The new Lakan regime however, soon had its own troubles to deal with. For starters, the United States had trained and equipped the exiled Alsa Masa faction and emerged with the Filipino Rebirth Union. In response to the planned invasion of Tundunistan, the Lakan regime requested S-300 missiles from Russia, citing national security but the Russians denied them the missile. They did however, send the Russian Pacific Fleet into the east coast of Luzon to deter the US 7th Fleet from entering the country.
Exiled Filipino military leaders took control of the Filipino Rebirth Union and began to make speeches about the life after the Lakan regime is overthrown. They promised to turn the Philippines back into the right path (the Filipino Rebirth Union rejected the name Tundunistan for cultural reasons), and to realign it with the Western world before Ivan Apayao came along. Alsa Masa leaders promised to burn down the Orthodox churches and re-convert them back into Catholic churches as a result of their humiliation at the hands of the old Tundun Insurgent Army. It seemed that a Second Philippine Civil War was in the horizon and this time, Tundunistan will never be the same again.
2014-The Start of the Second Philippine Civil War:
Origins: Ever since the Catholics were exiled overseas in the aftermath of the Philippine Civil War of 1986, there has been a desire to expel the Orthodox population out of their country. Indeed, many Filipinos grieved the death of Cardinal Sin after he was killed by TIA soldiers in retaliation for Alsa Masa's execution of Patriarch Mikhail I. A few emigre Filipino communities in the United States declared their faction, the Yellow Movement after Corazon Aquino's yellow faction. Most of the emigres agreed that Apayao's faction was now called the Black Movement, or the Grieving Movement because their official color black is also used for clothing in funerals. The Yellow movement had its own troubles however, mainly because emigre Orthodox communities randomly vented their anger on them because of the civil war.
In the aftermath of the Bosnian Civil War, the Yellow movement's influence on the rest of the Filipino overseas community increased significantly. To counter the Yellow movement's influence, Apayao back then had encouraged Tunduns to settle in Orthodox countries and to increase their numbers. Many opportunistic Tunduns migrated mainly to Russia (in the Russian Far East), Ethiopia (despite little contact between Tundunistan back then and Ethiopia), Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. However, their numbers were rather small because of the period between the end of the Bosnian conflict and the Kosovo War. After NATO collapsed as a result of General Clark's actions, Tundun students began to study overseas, often at the government's expenses and educational agreements with key European countries. The Black emigres increased their influence in Tundun communities located in mainly Orthodox countries, but also in South Korea, Japan and Australia.
The United States was humiliated after NATO collapsed and the rising skepticism of the EU, forced itself to turn inwards in order to rebuilt its shattered influence. It found a perfect outlet in training the Yellow emigres for the invasion of Tundunistan. The Tundun government was well aware of the Yellow movement and sent its best military leaders to train in Germany, Sweden, Russia, China, and India. The decision to send the military leaders to said countries enabled the Tundun Armed Forces to retain a bilingual General Staff as it enabled them to coordinate their plans with the rest of the SCO member states.
Perhaps the most important catalyst for the civil war is the increasing unrest in Tundunistan as a result of the economic projects which sunk the Tundun economy into debt. Furthermore, President Apayao in 1995 had taken Tundunistan out of the IMF and the WTO, angering the international community. Muslims were still underrepresented in the government, but successive Tundun regimes tried to include several Muslim officials into top government positions, something that has been opposed by both Orthodox and Catholic alike. Religious tensions still simmered as Orthodox Christians were reguarly heckled by local Catholics. The civil war only needed one spark, and the missing piece was the reburial of former strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
The reburial of Marcos aroused strong opposition from both Black and Yellow emigres, but more so on the Yellows because they fought so hard to topple Marcos without bloodshed but was spoiled by the TIA's brutal response to the People Power Revolution. The Black emigre opposed the burial of Marcos for unknown reasons, but it is widely assumed that Patriarch Andrei I had a hand in vetoing Marcos's reburial because of his treatment of Orthodox Christian coverts in the former Philippines. Finally, an attempt to negotiate between the Yellow and Black factions ended in failure when the Yellows presented these demands:
- Tundunistan's present regime must step down immediately and cease the De-Catholicization, De-Westernization and De-Hispanicization policies laid out by President Ivan Apayao. This also meant the Cyrillic alphabet must be relaced with the Latin script again.
- The Tundun constitution must be torn down and replaced with Aquino's proposed constitution (ie: OTL 1987 constitution).
- Nullify the Tundun citizenship to recent immigrants to Tundunistan should they refuse to convert to Catholicism.
- Change the name back to the Philippines.
- Finally, Tundunistan must pull out of the SCO and any other organizations that are led by Russia, China and India.
Lakan opposed the demands, seeing it as nothing more than a blatant ultimatum. He set forth is counter-demands to the Yellow faction:
- The Yellow faction must stop its overseas activities at once and its leaders are to turn themselves in to Tundun authorities.
- Alsa Masa's leaders must be extradited to Tundunistan to face trial in the murder of Patriarch Mikhail I.
- Stop promoting the Yellow faction's useless ideology and take part in the great Tundun economic revival.
- The Aquino family must recognize their dark past as one of the collaborators who collaborated with Japan during WWII.
- Finally, the Yellow faction must support the Tundun government's execution or imprisonment of defiant oligarchs.
On August 21, 2014, the Filipino Rebirth Union launched an invasion of Tundunistan from their base on Guam. President Lakan ordered the Tundun Armed Forces to mobilize for the defense of the country. The FRU struck at Mindanao Island, where heavy fighting took place. Muslim guerrillas and Tundun Army soldiers battled the invading FRU soldiers in Cotabato in their first inter-ethnic civil war since 1994. What happened after Cotabato fell to the FRU was catastrophic. Many FRU soldiers took part in a massacre of Orthodox Christians on the outskirts in Cotabato. Muslim guerrillas led by Abu Sayaaf and MILF firebombed the FRU headquarters in occupied Cotabato, while the Tundun Army besieged the city. General Hosanan arrived in Cotabato, amidst a hostile crowd, pledging to restore the old Filipino pride that was trampled by Apayao and his Russian backers. The FRU continued to surge through Mindanao island as the Tundun Army and their Muslim allies retreated into the mountains, preparing for what would have become a long, guerrilla warfare.
