Characters / Kaiserreich Russia

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Russian Republic

^{Flag of the Russian State} 

^{Flag of the Russian Empire} 

^{Flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic} 

Official Name: Russian Republic, Russian State (Savinkov takeover), Russian Empire (Empire restored), Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Socialist)

Ruling Party: Natsionalno-Respublikanskaya Partiya Rossii^note National Republican Party of Russia

Ideology: National Populism

The devastated Russian Empire fell into revolutions and civil warfare in 1917, where the Whites emerged victorious due to several critical failures suffered by the Reds. However, the post-war Russian Republic was plagued by widespread political failures, making the populace increasingly radical and revanchist. With Boris Savinkov achieving the Presidency in 1934, he waits for his opportunity to avenge the humiliation from Brest-Litovsk.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: The RSFSR will implement Latin alphabets for all of Russia's minority languages (as the Cyrillic alphabet would complicate communication between Western Europe and Russia), just like what the Soviet Union did in real life.
• Balkanize Me: Russia was forced to recognize the independence of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, the United Baltic Duchy, Lithuania, Ukraine, White Ruthenia, Poland and Finland in accordance with the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, signed by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The Turkestan Republic and Emirate of Bukhara have also declared independence, and if Russia is defeated by Germany, it's possible for Grigory Semyonov to take over Siberia as his own personal domain.
• Chummy Commies: Compared to OTL Soviet Union, the RSFSR is far more benevolent to its people. Even the Totalist route is more in line with Lenin's ideals than later leaders of the USSR like Stalin.
• Commie Land: More literal than most, as the majority of the RSFSR's political parties, such as the Totalist Communist People’s Liberation Front, instead of Syndicalists, are... well, Communists.
• Former Regime Personnel: The RSFSR is led by Lenin's former allies in the Bolshevik regime. Stalin, Zhukov, Chuikov and Tukhachevsky can return to aid in the military matters of the RSFSR.
• Historical Downgrade: Zhukov, Tukhachevsky, Chuikov, and Dzhugashvili are still important in helping with the revolutions in Patagonia and France, but when they return to Socialist Russia, Dzhugashvili cannot attain power and acts as an advisor. The other three Marshals can resume their esteemed status like in real life once the RSFSR engages in wars but are not guaranteed to do so gameplay and lore-wise.
• Make Way for the New Villains: For the Internationale or the Entente, Russia can become the next biggest threat after Germany is defeated during the Second Weltkrieg, in case Russia conquers German allies in Eastern Europe or even Germany itself.
• Multiple Endings: Russia has quasi-fascist, liberal, monarchist, and socialist paths, with all of the non-national populist paths depending on Savinkov's government falling apart.
• Pyrrhic Victory: While the Whites won the Civil War, they got a country which was devastated by Weltkrieg and the Civil War, and they also had to agree with the German peace agreement, which obliges Russia to give up the fringes of the former Russian Empire and pay reparations to Germany. Moreover, the new government barely holds things together and is vulnerable to external forces.
• The Remnant: While the RSFSR is made up of many socialists from across Russia, a good chunk of the major players are former members of Lenin's vanguard.
• La Résistance: The RSFSR is formed when the military takes over the interim government and dissolves the Senate, forcing them into a ragtag rebellion in western Russia.
• Secret Police:
  • The military focus tree allows one to restart the Okhrana secret police through one of its early focuses.
  • In order to counter the threat of subversion from counter-revolutionaries from across the world, the RSFSR can reform the Cheka and modernise its methods.
• We Have Reserves: Russia starts with over a million soldiers in the field, deployed in over a hundred divisions. But half your soldiers don't have rifles...

Boris Savinkov

Role: President^note Country Leader, Vozhd^note Country Leader (Successful takeover)

Party: Natsionalno-Respublikanskaya Partiya Rossii^note National Republican Party of Russia

Ideology: National Populism

The President of the Russian Republic, Boris Viktorovich Savinkov was an anti-Bolshevik war hero, a former member of the left wing populist Socialist-Revolutionaries, and the current leader of the nationalist SR breakaway party, the Union for the Defense of the Motherland and Freedom. Long a fireband opponent of the Republic's corruptions and failures, Savinkov's election in 1934 gave him a chance to remake Russia into a new nation: a nation of blood and steel, that can avenge Russia's defeat of 1918.

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• Composite Character:
  • Like Hitler, Savinkov is elected into power by the revanchist population of a weak and corrupt democratic republic that lost WW1. He seeks to transform the country into a totalitarian state that will launch a revanchist war and reconquer their lost territories.
  • Like Stalin, Savinkov seeks to establish Russia as a modern world power under the leadership of a single all-powerful Vozhd, and he is utterly ruthless in removing threats and obstacles to his power, even going so far as to liquidate former allies (though Savinkov doesn't quite reach Stalin's level of personal paranoia).
  • Like OTL Mussolini (and unlike his in-setting counterpart), Savinkov is a former left-wing revolutionary who eventually grew disillusioned with the socialist program, but retained his revolutionary zeal and has alloyed it with fervent nationalism and aspirations to rule through a modern technocratic elite.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: While in real life he was a SR terrorist who later became disappointed in their cause, had dictatorial ambitions and became a Russian chauvinist in his later years, he wasn't a full-blown fascist (though he positively spoke about Mussolini's regime); neither he had opportunities to become the Russian Hitler.
• Knight Templar: Savinkov is unscrupulous in his crusade against Bolshevism (and his definition of Bolshevism can vary, making a good excuse for crushing any dissent) and prioritizes revenge against the historical enemies of Russia at any cost.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Russia's National Populist path led by Savinkov has at least a pluralistic definition of Russian compared to his more racist or religious extremist counterparts.
• A Nazi by Any Other Name: He's the leader of a pseudofascist political party in Russia and the closest thing the mod has to a Hitler analogue. It's worth noting, however, that he and his followers don't care about the racial question, and are more similar to real life Fascist movements in their vehement anti-Communism, revanchist nationalism, totalitarian tendencies and militarism rather than racism, typically associated with this trope.
• Politically Correct Villain: For a someone who is presented as a pseudofascist, Savinkov is benevolent towards national minorities, granting them equal rights with ethnic Russians, as long as they acknowledge themselves as Russians and are loyal to Savinkov's state.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Savinkov himself has a much better track on the national question than other National Populists, allowing national minorities to live on equal terms with the Russian population and thus ensuring the support from them.
• President for Life: In the 1934 elections, the SZRS secured a majority in the State Duma with their coalition partners, leading to Savinkov becoming President of the Russian Republic. If he manages to seize absolute power, Savinkov revises the constitution, transforming the Russian Republic into the Russian State and declaring himself Vozhd for life.
• The Purge: If Savinkov takes control of Russia, he can start purging socialists and democrats.
• Putting on the Reich: Evokes some Nazi imagery, including the title of Vozhd (a Russian equivalent of the German title "Führer").
• Red Scare: His ideology of National Renewal emphasizes anti-Bolshevism more than anything else.
• La Résistance: Savinkov was the leader of the anti-Bolshevik underground and organizer of several rebellions against the Soviet power during the Civil War.
• Scout-Out: An event chain of Savinkov's Russia is focused on the creation of the Yunarmiya (the Young Army), a youth organization, simular to the Pioneers in the Soviet Union and the Hitler Youth in Nazi Germany, which is dedictated to ideological education of the Russian children and preparing them for the service to the Vozhd and the Country.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Believes his actions can help restore Russia to glory and ensure safety against foreign and domestic threats.
• Wicked Cultured: Savinkov is a talented writer and also a potential pseudofascist dictator.
• Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Any terrorist actions of his Combat Squads are viewed by him and his supporters solely as necessary measures against the Syndicalist threat.

Viktor Chernov

Role: President of the Senate, President^note Country Leader (Savinkov assassinated or Right Republic/Empire loses war with Germany)

Party: Partiya Sotsialistov-Revolyutsionerov^note Party of Socialist Revolutionaries

Ideology: Social Liberalism

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• Plot-Triggering Death: The assassination of Viktor Chernov, leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries and Savinkov's fiercest democratic opposition, kicks off the game for Russia and leads to all of its numerous political paths forward.

Irakli Tsereteli

Role: President^note Country Leader (Election or Right Republic/Empire loses war with Germany)

Party: Rossiyskaya Sotsial-Demokraticheskaya Rabochaya Partiya^note Russian Social Democratic Labour Party: The RSDRP, a familiar sight to all Russians who lived through 1917, has undergone great change since its foundation in 1898. Originally encompassing both radical Bolsheviks and more moderate Mensheviks, the RSDRP split after the failure of the October Revolution forced each faction to adapt to the new situation differently. The Bolsheviks either fled to the newly-estabilished Commune of France and Union of Britain, went underground in the hopes that figures like Nikolai Bukharin would bring forth a Second Revolution, or reformed into democratic socialist parties deemed more acceptable by the victorious Whites. The Mensheviks, on the other hand, fled to Georgia, but a group of internationalists, disillusioned with the Georgian wing's growing nationalism, returned to Russia and took on the mantle of the RSDRP by themselves. Under Irakliy Tseredeli's leadership, they have returned to prominence in politics, becoming the leading opposition party.

Ideology: Social Democracy

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• Defector from Decadence: After the February Revolution, Tsereteli took a leading role in the Menshevik party, the Petrograd Soviet and Provisional Government, but broke with the Soviets after the Bolshevik takeover and fled to Georgia. Though he worked in the Menshevik government of Noe Zhordania for some time, he became disillusioned with its growing nationalism, which clashed with his internationalism, and returned to Russia after the Civil War.
• Honor Before Reason: Tsetereli is one of the few Russian politicians truly guided by ideals rather than pragmatism, and is vehemently opposed to petty politicking, backstabbing and manipulation. This can lead to a break between him and the more morally flexible Viktor Chernov, splintering the Russian left.

Pavel Milyukov

Role: President^note Country Leader (Election or Left Republic/Empire loses war with Germany)

Party: Konstitutsionno-Demokraticheskaya Partiya^note Constitutional Democratic Party

Ideology: Market Liberalism

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• War Hawk: Milyukov is one of the most vehement Russian imperialists (even moreso than the pseudo-fascist NRPR), and supports territorial expansion into the Balkans.

Ariadna Tyrkova

Role: President^note Country Leader (Trubetskoy succession or Left Republic/Empire loses war with Germany, Trubetskoy succession)

Party: Russkiy Soyuz^note Russian Union

Ideology: Social Conservatism

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• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: If Tyrkova is elected President after Kerensky's assassination, she is noted to be Russia's first democratically elected female head of state.

Dmitry Romanov/Dmitry III

^{Tsar Dmitri III} 

Role: President^note Country Leader (Romanov replaces Chernov), Monarch^note Country Leader (Romanov crowns himself Tsar)

Party: Soyuz 17 Oktyabrya^note Union of 17 October, Russkiy Obshche-Voinskiy Soyuz^note Russian All-Military Union (Tsar Dmitry)

Ideology: Authoritarian Democracy, Paternal Autocracy (Tsar Dmitry)

A member of the former Imperial dynasty and one of the participants in the assassination of Grigory Rasputin, Dmitri Pavlovich is one of the few Russian nobles who managed to find his new place on the post-revolutionary political scene. Using his charm and wide connections and acquaintances among the Russian elite, Dmitri amassed huge political influence within Kerensky's government in his hands, becoming the Speaker of the Senate and the third man in the Republic after President Kerensky and Prime Minister Milyukov. The former Grand Duke poses himself as a representative of the old aristocracy in the Senate, but who knows if the ambitions of the autocratic charmer go beyond that...

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• Nepotism: President Dmitry Romanov can appoint Felix Yusupov as his Prime Minister for nothing more than their long friendship rather than his political virtues.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Dmitry's outfit will change to a ceremonial military uniform if he crowns himself Tsar.
• The Social Expert: Unlike most of Russia's other potential leaders, who come to power on the basis of military backing (implicit or otherwise), Dmitri relies on his personal charm and incredible political acumen to win people's trust.
• The Usurper: Dmitry Romanov is not considered to be a rightful claimant by Russian monarchists, but can nonetheless declare himself the new Tsar Dmitri III, ignoring the legitimate branch of Kirill Vladimirovich in the line of succession.

Pyotr Wrangel

^{Wrangel as Tsar Pyotr IV} 

Role: Field Marshal, Country Leader (Wrangel coup or Savinkov loses war with Germany), Monarch^note Country Leader (Tsar Wrangel)

Party: Russkiy Obshche-Voinskiy Soyuz^note Russian All-Military Union, Russkiy Monarkhicheskiy Soyuz^note Russian Monarchist Union (Tsar Wrangel)

Ideology: Paternal Autocracy

One of the most mythologized White generals of the Civil War and a moderate military man, the Black Baron remains one of the most popular figures among the Russian public, with many people looking at him as the last hope to save Russia from the dangers of radicalism, as well as the incompetence of republican politicians.

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• Allohistorical Allusion: His rule can have parallels with that of Napoléon Bonaparte if he takes the military dictatorship path, being a hugely popular military officer of minor nobility who seizes power in a coup, establishes a dictatorship and eventually declares himself emperor.
• Cincinnatus:
  • Wrangel can give up his power to install Kirill Romanov as Tsar after he finishes stabilising the Republic in the wake of the political crisis caused by Kerensky's death and Savinkov's arrest.
  • Should Savinkov die after taking the National Populist path when Germany takes Moscow and trigger a conditional surrender, Wrangel takes power until legitimate elections can be held.
• The Emperor: Wrangel can crown himself Tsar Pyotr IV of Russia if he continues his military rule instead of establishing a republic or crowning Kirill Vladimirovich as Tsar.
• Germans Love David Hasselhoff: In-universe, Wrangel has a popular following in Germany as a side character in the film adaptation of Unser Kampf.
• Military Coup: Seizes the apparatus of the Russian Republic with the help of the military with the purpose of defending Russia from a potential takeover by either left-wing or right-wing radicals. Unlike Kornilov's brutal coup, not only is Wrangel's putsch efficient and bloodless, he successfully strong-arms Duma to give his actions veneer of legality by electing him as acting president.
• The Plan: As a potential military reformist, Wrangel promotes the centralized high-command doctrine.
• Red Baron: He is known as the Black Baron, as in Real Life. If he crowns himself as Tsar of Russia, he'll be known as the Black Tsar.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Wrangel's outfit will change if he crowns himself Tsar.
• Tyrant Takes the Helm: After Wrangel comes to power, he can choose to continue the military dictatorship or even crown himself as the Tsar (ironically, he can then organize elections should he become Tsar).
• The Usurper: He can crown himself Tsar instead of restoring the Romanov dynasty, even though he has no claim to the Russian throne.

Anton Denikin

Role: Field Marshal, President^note Country Leader (Denikin coup)

Party: Soyuz 17 Oktyabrya^note Union of 17 October

Ideology: Authoritarian Democracy

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• Cincinnatus: Denikin can choose to immediately restore Republican democracy after his coup.

Kirill Romanov/Kirill I

Role: Monarch^note Country Leader (Invited by Wrangel/Dmitry)

Party: Soyuz 17 Oktyabrya^note Union of 17 October (Constitutional path), Russkiy Obshche-Voinskiy Soyuz^note Russian All-Military Union (Absolute path), Partiya Sotsialistov-Revolyutsionerov^note Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (Elections), Konstitutsionno-Demokraticheskaya Partiya^note Constitutional Democratic Party (Elections), Russkiy Soyuz^note Russian Union (Elections)

Ideology: Authoritarian Democracy (Constitutional path), Paternal Autocracy (Absolute path), Social Liberalism (Elections), Market Liberalism (Elections), Social Conservatism (Elections)

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• Passed-Over Inheritance: Kirill is the legitimate heir to the throne of Russia, but may be passed over by his cousin Dmitry crowning himself Tsar.
• Rightful King Returns: There are many opportunities to crown Kirill Vladimirovich, who is widely recognized as the legitimate claimant for the Russian throne, as the Emperor of Russia, continuing the 300 years of Romanov rule over Russia.

Nikolay Bukharin

Role: Chairman^note Country Leader (Radical Socialists elected - Bukharin chosen or Released by a Radical Socialist country)

Party: Narodnaya Sotsialisticheskaya Partiya^note People’s Socialist Party: The NSP is a socialist party founded by Old Bolsheviks Nikolai Bukharin and Aleksey Rykov, in alliance with the renowned Left-SR Maria Spiridonova, who sought to reorganise the remnants of the Revolution into a new political party to regain power in Russia. Knowing that they have little chance of peacefully gaining power due to the military, Bukharin and Rykov hope that the ongoing political crisis will culminate in the generals dismantling their sham democracy and starting a wave of repression, enabling the NSP to launch another revolution in the name of popular freedom. An opponent of bureaucratisation, the NSP asserts that Russia must industralise slowly to prevent the creation of a massive state bureaucracy that could curtail the power of the proletariat. In great part due to influence of the "revolutionary grandmother" Spiridonova, the party also seeks the amendment of the divide between urban workers and rural peasants, so that they can united against the reactionary aristocracy and military.

Ideology: Radical Socialism

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• Ironic Name: Bukharin's New Economic Policy shares its name with the economic policy proposed by Lenin from 1921 to 1928 in the real Soviet Union. The difference is that this timeline's NEP is a program of voluntary farm collectivisation, something that was only implemented in real life after Stalin abolished the NEP.

Maria Spiridonova

Role: Premier^note Country Leader (Radical Socialists elected - Spiridonova chosen)

Party: Narodnaya Sotsialisticheskaya Partiya^note People’s Socialist Party: The NSP is a socialist party founded by Old Bolsheviks Nikolai Bukharin and Aleksey Rykov, in alliance with the renowned Left-SR Maria Spiridonova, who sought to reorganise the remnants of the Revolution into a new political party to regain power in Russia. Knowing that they have little chance of peacefully gaining power due to the military, Bukharin and Rykov hope that the ongoing political crisis will culminate in the generals dismantling their sham democracy and starting a wave of repression, enabling the NSP to launch another revolution in the name of popular freedom. An opponent of bureaucratisation, the NSP asserts that Russia must industralise slowly to prevent the creation of a massive state bureaucracy that could curtail the power of the proletariat. In great part due to influence of the "revolutionary grandmother" Spiridonova, the party also seeks the amendment of the divide between urban workers and rural peasants, so that they can united against the reactionary aristocracy and military.

Ideology: Radical Socialism

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• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Spiridonova can become Russia's first democratically elected female head of state.

Alexandra Kollontai

Role: Premier^note Country Leader (Syndicalists elected - Kollontai chosen)

Party: Profsoyuznaya Sotsialisticheskaya Partiya^note Trade Unions’ Socialist Party: The PSP is an urban-centred socialist party founded by former RSFSR Central Committee member Aleksandra Kollontai and her lover, fellow revolutionary Aleksandr Shlyapnikov. Although the PSP is a legal party, its supporters' rights have long been curtailed by the aristocracy, and they believe that the system must be overthrown. They hope that someday, the government will be weakened by a national catastrophe, letting them seize major cities such as Moscow to spearhead a revolution. True to its support base, the PSP believes that Russia must be managed by trade unions, seeing them as the most representative of the needs of the urban workers, themselves seen as the will of the proletariat. Due to this stance, the PSP is the Russian political party closest to orthodox French syndicalism, a fact conveniently utilised by its detractors to portray Kollontai, Shlyapnikov and the unions they represent as Communard-sponsored agitators.

Ideology: Syndicalism

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• Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Kollontai can become Russia's first democratically elected female head of state.
• The City vs. the Country: Kollontai and her allies distrust the Smychka—while not opposed to the rural worker, in their view, the urban worker is at the forefront of the revolution, and thus must be focused on.

Karl Radek

Role: Premier^note Country Leader (Totalists elected - Radek chosen or Released by a Totalist country)

Party: Kommunisticheskiy Narodno-Osvoboditelniy Front^note Communist People's Liberation Front: The KNOF is an underground organisation founded by the troika of exiled revolutionaries Karl Radek, Yakov Sverdlov and Grigory Zinoviev in the late 1920s that publishes propaganda about a Second Russian Revolution. Believing that Russia is the capitalist nation most vulnerable to a socialist revolt, they wait for a national catastrophe that will enable them to organise the workers into militias against the corrupt White establishment. Seeing itself as the vanguard of Russian socialism, the KNOF advocates rapid industrialisation under the auspices of five-year plans to quickly transition Russia into a proper socialist state. To that end, the troika seeks to control the labour unions and militarise their workers into labour armies that will diligently follow the will of the state.

Ideology: Totalism

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• Taking Up the Mantle: Radek subscribes to Leon Trotsky's Internationalism, the dominant Totalist ideology in Russia. Internationalism is a variant of Totalism that unlike Charter or Jacobin Totalism, is somewhat more lax on nationalism unlike the former, and is less totalitarian in its grip on society unlike both. However, Internationalism is far more militant in spreading the worker's revolution abroad and this will be carried out by Radek should Russia go totalist.

Leon Trotsky

The Russian Bolshevik leader, second to Vladimir Lenin. He was the Commander of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, and was killed in 1921 by an artillery barrage at Tsaritsyn. Despite having failed the revolution, Trotsky's ideas live on as Internationalism, a form of authoritarian socialism that advocates spreading the revolution abroad by force.

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• 0% Approval Rating: Trotsky is widely despised in the syndicalist world, as he is seen as responsible for the failure of the Russian Revolution. The rest of the world doesn't view him any better, lumping him in with the rest of the Reds.
• All There in the Manual: Since Trotsky died amid the Russian Civil War, he is primarily a backstory character.
• Allohistorical Allusion: Trotsky's death by artillery mirrors the actual Kornilov's death in our timeline.
• General Failure: As the Commander of the Red Army, Trotsky was accused by syndicalists of causing the failure of Soviet Russia due to his poor decisions. However, while Trotsky did make several poor decisions, the overall situation in the Russian Civil War was weighed heavily against the Reds, and it would be difficult for Trotsky alone to turn the tide.
• Posthumous Character: While he is mentioned by events, Trotsky was killed in 1921 during the Russian Civil War.
• The Scapegoat: Trotsky is blamed by syndicalists for the failure of Bolshevism in Russia.

Transamur

Official Name: Transamur, Far Eastern Union (Socialist), Green Ukraine (Ukrainian puppet state)

Ruling Party: Voennye

Ideology: Paternal Autocracy

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• Puppet State: Transamur is a Japanese puppet state when it arises, being propped up near entirely by Japan. Diterikhs, however, isn't fond of that.

Grigory Semyonov

Role: Field Marshall

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• Enemy Mine: If funded by Japan, Semyonov can reach out to the Circle of St. George, a group of dissatisfied soldiers of the Russian Army led by Mikhail Dieterikhs, who will willingly aid Semyonov hide from the authorities. However, even if Semyonov could achieve his goal of taking over Siberia as his own fiefdom, he'll eventually have to deal with Dieterikhs, who desires to fully restore the Russian Empire, and refuses to be a lapdog for Japan.
• The Quisling: Semyonov, a disgraced general desiring to take control over Siberia, will work with Japanese forces and the Kwantung Army to infiltrate the Transamur region and eventually take over the region when Russia goes to war, opening up a new war front.

Free Russian Army

Vasily Boldyrev

Role: Country Leader

Party: Military Rule

Ideology: Authoritarian Democracy

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• Military Coup: Worried at the growing popularity of far-left and far-right radicals, Boldyrev launched a putsch in 1929 against the Russian Republic to suppress them and 'restore order'. In the end, the attempt failed and Boldyrev fled into exile, having achieved little but exposing the Republic's weakness.
• The Quisling: Boldyrev will work with Germany to fund a revolt against Savinkov. Once war breaks out between Savinkov's Russia and Germany, Boldyrev's so-called Free Russian Army will rise up in the Caucasus to fight alongside Germany.

Alash Autonomy

Official Name: Alash Autonomy, Alash Orda (Declares independence), Alash Socialist Republic (Socialist)

Ruling Party: Partiiasy Alash^note Alash Party

Ideology: Social Conservatism

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• Occupiers Out of Our Country: The Russian government's land reform programs have led to a new wave of Russians settling in Kazakhstan and coming into conflict with the Kazakhs and Cossacks. Depending on how the Russian government reacts and whether any foreign powers decide to meddle, the Kazakhs could rise up.

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