WMG / The New Order: Last Days of Europe

Speculation on the worst path for Komi and Russia

Ok so one of the biggest mysteries in this mod is the existence of an ultra-evil, far-right Komi that supposedly make Omsk, Amur, a hypothetical Dirglewagner realm(granted he isn't a unifier but he can conquer a shitton of stuff) and the Aryan Brotherhood look pleasant in comparison. Their existence has been hinted at by the Russian devs, who called this "the worst path for Russia". Now people have speculated that this is a fringe occultist group with designs on creating hyperborea, potentially even Burgsys Russia. Now the devs have jossed both of them and the way that this route has been presented in the meme compass has been generally considered to be pleb lore as well. So what do I have to say about this?

I can be wrong, but I believe that the most evil aspect of Komi is in fact........the Basegi Black Brigades

So why them? We know these details about the Black Brigades:

They got their ass kicked by the Ural Guard but moved west

• Their ideology is fascist, anti-communist and revolves solely around the strong dominating the weak, essentially social darwinism. Yet we don't know if they have a belief in racial purity or just have a weird belief in the "strong" enforcing their will over the weak
• They are really well organized and professional, much more than Dirglewagner's crew
• They regularly raid deep into the European interior, stealing everything they can from those they meet, and shooting them for the trouble.

Now let us look at where Komi is, it is somewhat northwest of the Ural League, and very close to Moskiwien, a perfect spot for raiding, it's not a stretch to think they may have fled there.

Now, ultranationalism as an ideology. They don't have necessarily an obsession on race as much as "power", hunger for war, and excessive totalitarian control, extreme militarism up to eleven and the strong enforcing it's will over the weak. I feel that this ideology is a perfect shoe in for the remnants of the Black Brigade. As it stands, they don't necessarily have a belief in racial purity, but rather the supremacy of the strong over the weakest. And I think they would see Omsk as a threat to themselves, wanting to settle things the "old fashioned way" of duking it out until one remains.

How will they be worse than Omsk? Omsk, if their unifier event is any indication, does seem to have genuine popular support that Yazhov tries to cultivate, rather than force revanchism on everyone at the bottom of a gun. While Omsk's path is only war and rumors of war, it seems that they can cultivate a degree of popular support leading up to the Great Trial. By contrast, the Brigade are essentially a army of psycotic mass murdering thugs. If things in Komi deteriorate to the point where they take over it means something real bad has happened.

What specifically makes it that bad? If they win, I believe they will start purging Komi of everything they deem to be weak, enforce a dog eat dog society boiled down to the lowest level of human behavior enforced at gunpoint to ensure that the population "evolves" and only the strong remains. Reunifying Russia will still be an uphill battle, but with every territory they somehow take, the weak will be "purified" and the strong will be filtered out to join their army, which is just armed psycopathic thugs on the tier of Immortan Joe with a state and lots of military training. The deaths will rack up in the thousands, if not millions, Russia will run red with blood to the level that other unifiers considered evil such as Rodzhevsky, Yazhov, and Dobrovolsky won't reach in their destructive campaigns.

• Jossed. The Brigades are actually a faction that pops up if RK Moskowien explodes while Ultranationalist Komi is a Eurasianist regime under Lev Gumilyov.
• Also, The worst path for Komi and Russia overall is Imperial Cult under Taboritsky

The Father is Santa Claus.

• Jossed. It's Alexander Men.
• (Not far off compared to some of the darker fan speculation, though.)

Raúl Salinas Lozano is specifically pro-Kishi rather than generally pro-GEACPS

Mexico teaser claims that he wants to make a deal with the "japanese devil". And as you know, Nobusuke Kishi has the nickname "the devil of Showa".

Burgundy will actually get an eventual "Sane Path"

...but as a Take That! to those who kept asking for one, the "sane path" will be barely better than the Burgundian System and will essentially end with Burgundy becoming a "normal" National Socialist country which is only "sane" because the old system was even worse.

• Surprisingly Confirmed: While AI Burgundy never collapses, it's possible for a player to botch keeping Burgundy stable, and have the state collapse, and ALL of the factions that pop up (besides the Red Poppy Movement) are all Ultranationalists, a.k.a. literally only ONE step below the Burgundian System in terms of vileness and insanity.

In a future update that includes content for South America, Brazil will be Retconed into a nation led by Integralists

With the presence of the nazi flag over Europe, far-right factions in Brazil would have a much more vocal voices compared to OTL, leading to a possible coup after the suicide of Getúlio Vargas.

• Unlikely to be the case. The US still maintains the Monroe Doctrine over Latin America, and would absolutely not tolerate a Nazi German-inspired fascist coup happening right on the largest and most powerful nation in their backyard. It's worth noting that, in the TNO timeline, America is willing to aid left-wingers coup and overthrow fascist governments to curb German influence, as is the case with Cuba.
  • While it's unlikely to be Retconned to have the Integralists lead Brazil at the start, I wouldn't put it past Germany and/or Japan trying to finance fascist dictators to try reducing America's influence over South America (the way the continent was a proxy-war battleground between the USA and USSR in OTL), not helped by the fact the Nazis have already orchestrated coups to plant dictators who were historically installed by the CIA (namely Reza Shah Palavi in Iran) - other countries that can get a "Historically Inverted Coup" would include Chile (i.e. with the Nazis helping Augusto Pinochet's coup d'etat, and possibly with Salvador Allende being a OFN-backed leader).
• Jossed: Brazil starts out as liberal democracy after CSS merged with TNO.

If Yockey is elected, there will be a path which sees him serve more than two terms.

For one thing, given he's a fascist, it's not like he's going to respect political norms. But moreover, due to the lack of FDR in this timeline, there is no 22nd Amendment because nobody ever made it to three terms. If Yockey is doing well enough and/or has secured enough power, it's pretty plausible to see him going for a third term and perhaps beyond...

Of course, this does entail that Yockey as President manages to either A) gather enough popular support to win reelection that many times or B) subvert democracy enough for popular will not to matter.

Savitri Devi path for India will have it transformed into an Eco-Fascist state

Besides mixing her beliefs in Hinduism with nazism, Devi was a very outspoken vegetarian in Real Life, to the point of saying that human beings do not have the right to protest against the Holocaust because the consumption of animals is worse than that. If she actually manages to take over control of India, she will cull the dissenting population (And minorities) in a effort to "stop overpopulation" while enforcing a vegan diet on the country, ending with most of the technology being set back, with the possible exception of military research to allow the state to maintain this new status quo. Basically, she would take a path similar to Marc Augier in Red Flood, except with a nazist bent (And with a oppressive state in place of a anarchist society).

• Technically Jossed, as Devi can no longer lead India, though that doesn't mean it could have happened while she still was in development.
  • Zig-zagged, as while this was the intention of her policies in development, she is now scrapped and cannot lead India.

Chile will have an Ultranationalist/Esoteric Nazi path...

...specifically, one lead by Miguel Serrano, ambassador and writer of utter insanity in the OTL. It all depends on whether he switches his insane focuses as to who is the true "Avatar" in his eyes, whether Hitler or Himmler, now that the former's death happens so much later. His path would probably be a Yockey/Kishi-tier failstate to get to in the first place, however...

Yockey or Hall being elected may prompt a military coup, leading to a second American Civil War

The war will essentially start with the military refusing to take orders from the president, and escalate to the military outright refusing to work with a nazi or commie, leading to them deposing the president "to preserve American Democracy", which would prompt resistance just on the face of it (and not just from the party they're deposing). This would essentially split the country in several directions, since it could also be a "Last Ditch" by the opposing side to take the lead before the Fascists/Communists take over for good (since either way the R-Ds are collapsed).

The obvious sides would be the Fascists and Communists, as well as a possible "American Conservative" (i.e. Constitutionalists who are effectively just the deposed and dispossessed R-Ds) faction plus the fragmented military. Though it would be likely America would not be able to fully recover from a second Civil War, and would be changed.

Said war would eventually end in a few ways:

• Fascist Victory. If Yockey is still around (assuming the coup didn't kill him instead of arresting him) he would assume power as a full-blown Nazi, but other choices would be James Madole ("Merely" a Fascist in this timeline) and H. Keith Thompson (another full-blown Nazi, if not a Burgundian).
• Communist Victory. Hall would take over and represent an Communist takeover, being effectively a Stalinist. Charlene Mitchell would be an alternative choice for a more Socailist bent. Bernie Sanders (if he exists) could instead be a SocDem path or represent an alternate Socialist path.
• Military Victory. This could go several ways, from just "restarting the elections" and re-establishing the USA but banning NPP outright and Communist and Fascist parties in particular (thus forcing them underground and rendering the US a Conservative Democracy for a significant period), to Authoritarian Democracy by establishing the "United American Citizen's Federation" (or something akin to it) and requiring voting and holding office be restricted only to veterans, or as a Despotism or Ultranationalist, outright being a military dictatorship (as technically fascism and communism were imported ideologies).
• Dark Horse Victory. Some other group not covered is victorious. This could lead to an Ultranationalist bent (such as Black Panthers), to Despotism, or even flat out Anarchism.

• Almost certainly Jossed. Word of God says the US can never enter a civil war, and though Lying Creator could be in effect, whatever Hall or Yockey can unleash upon the US is probably a failstate in and of itself.
  • Considering the Word of God once said Komi could never adopt the Burgundian System, and this remains technically true, it's possible The United States can never enter a civil war, but if it gets renamed under Hall or Yockey technically is no longer the United States. In the case of Tabby, Komi never adopts BurgSys, and while it's just Komi, Tabby is "merely" a despot. It could be the case that the Failstate prompts a dissolution of the US and thus technically "not a a US civil war".

Eventually there will be content for post-Tabby Russia's warlords.

Granted it's pretty clear that Russia is going to have severe difficult recovering from Tabby, but it is possible that eventually there will be later content that might provide some hope that a post-Tabby Russia can emerge.

• Eh, probably not. The Devs have gone on record saying that Tabby is so awful that he effectively kills the very idea of a Russian nation itself. Of course things could change, but this path probably isn't gonna have sunshine and daisies at the end of it.
• Seemingly confirmed by this Polandball map which shows what could be post-Taboritsky Russian factions.
  • Totally confirmed by the "After Midnight" update, which adds Post-Tabby content. Furthermore, there are also events which imply that several of the states can indeed reunify Russia again, though given that they aren't accessible without the console and some of the events don't read like typical news events, it's dubious if these are actually something that could happen or simply What If? scenarios.
    • Even if they can't reunify Russia, the names of several of them do at least show that the idea of a Russian nation is very much not dead.
• It won't be added in the near future for more practical reasons. Adding post-Taboritsky content means adding content for this one specific path of Russia all the way to the 80s, if not beyond. The world outside of Russia as a result will be extremely stale, if not outright dead due to the dev team perhaps adding some skeleton content. So therefore, Post-Taboritsky content will not happen, at least until every other path possible in Russia, not to mention the rest of the world, gets another 10 years of content.

Yockey will be a global failstate, while Hall screws up so much he consigns America to obscurity

Think about it. The devs have ruled out a military coup or a civil war against either. Yockey, given his extreme anti-Japan worldviews, and the fact that H. Keith Thompson is a literal Burgundian, will most likely push the US to war with Japan in his second term with Thompson egging him on in service to Himmler. While Hall will not have extremely apocalyptic goals, he will destroy US power to such a extent and cause so much strife that it will lead to the US being severely weakened and either becoming a backwater pariah state with nukes or a backwater client state to the USSR if it exists(the "best" outcome here).

The future Socialist path for the USA will be Martin Luther King Jr.

It's not hard to butterfly away his assassination, and he did lean towards socialism (especially later in life).

Expanding on the above, future presidential candidate ideas.

• Republican-Democrats (Reminder that Republicans in The New Order are the more liberal side)
  • Alexander Haig (D)-He'd fit as a McNamara type.
  • Mike Gravel (R)-He'd be the right age to mount a bid for the presidency and would be somewhat akin to McGovern in terms of his politics, albeit perhaps a bit more conservative domestically given Gravel's record in the Senate in our world.
    • This one is jossed, as he appears ingame as a NPP-C senator. It's not out of the question to see him representing the NPP-C through.
  • George H. W. Bush (D)-A more moderate conservative who could provide some Allohistorical Allusion in this world and be a skilled hand at foreign policy.
  • John Anderson (R)-A 1980 independent candidate in our world, Anderson could fit as a moderate unifier within the R-Ds in 1976 or 1980.
  • Bob Dole (D)-Dole's positions mean he could be a good standard bearer for the R-D right.
  • Daniel Patrick Moynihan (R)-Moynihan can fit as the sort of advocate for liberal democracy and responsible politics the R half of the R-D coalition is known for in TNO.
  • Howard Baker (R)-A moderate Republican in our world, Baker could fit as a Rockefeller type within the R-Ds.
  • Jerry Brown (R)-Brown, as someone who was rather heterodox politically in the 1970's to the 1990's, could be a good R-D unifier. Of course including Brown would inevitably spawn memes about 'zen fascism' because of California Uber Alles.
  • William F. Buckley (D)-Buckley could serve as a nice Foil to Harrington as a political commentator/writer who in TNO ends up entering politics. In terms of governance he would likely be quite similar to Goldwater.
  • Ross Perot (D)-He could fit as a moderate conservative with enough of a liberal streak to keep the R-D's unified and an advocate of fiscal responsibility.
  • Joe Biden (R or D)-Biden would be juuuuust young enough to run for president in 1980, which falls within the timeline of the next stage of TNO. As a fairly moderate figure, Biden might be not only a fresh face but a unifier for the R-Ds.
  • James L. Buckley (D) Buckley in otl was the founder of the Conservative Party of New York, was president of Rsdio Free Europe and served on a bunch of offices during the Reagan administration, due to Reagan been confirmed will not take a part on TNO 2 and Buckley being a staunch consevative along with having offices during the Reagan presidency he could work as a replacement for him in TNO 2

• National Progressive Party
  • Lucille Ball (NPP-L)-She shows up as an NPP-L Senator sometimes and is a potential option for a socialist path.
  • Walter Mondale (NPP-C)-A man cut from the cloth of Hubert Humphrey like Mondale would be a good fit for the NPP-C in later elections.
  • Donald Rumsfeld (NPP-FR or NPP-C)-Rumsfeld was a rising star in the 1970's in our world. The reason for the either/or is because Rumsfeld, while always hawkish, could have gone in the direction of Scoop Jackson-derived social democracy in TNO assuming that is viable given Rumsfeld was a defender of many Great Society programs.
  • Francis Parker Yockey (NPP-Y)-It seems unlikely Yockey would pass the torch on to another leader if he had any choice in the matter. He likely would be the Yockey choice in 1976 or 1980 if he doesn't take power by 1972.
  • Jim Jones (NPP-L or NPP-C)-Jones was a major player in Bay Area politics before his move to Guyana. If he stayed in that role, it isn't hard to imagine he could get to the point of running for president. Jones as someone decidedly on the left could still be either a socialist of some sort or a social democrat.
  • William Luther Pierce (NPP-Y)-If Yockey gets killed before an election, perhaps there will be enough of a power vacuum that the Yockeys end up with a new leader. If this happened, Pierce is certainly an appropriately vile choice-perhaps even as a secret Burgundian System leader/Burgundian agent as a reference to his most famous work inspiring the concept in the first place.
    • He does appear as a NPP-Y senator, so he might show up proper in TNO2.
  • George Wallace (NPP-FR)-If Wallace wasn't elected in 1964 it's not impossible to see him pulling a Heel–Face Turn like he did in reality and adjust to the new direction of the NPP-FR.
  • Ralph Nader (NPP-C)-If Michael Harrington can be a viable candidate why not Nader? His stances in favor of better environmental protection and safety regulations would fit within the NPP-C's social democratic views and Nader would likely be more hawkish against a fascist world order than a communist one.
  • Jesse Jackson (NPP-C or NPP-L)-Jackson could fit in either the socialist or socdem camps depending on how far he is willing to press reforms and would be a choice for similar reasons as MLK would be.
  • Lyndon LaRouche (NPP-L or NPP-Y)- LaRouche's politics exist in a weird position of overlap between fascism and communism, blending Trotskyist theory with right-wing conspiracy theories. This makes LaRouche a plausible figure within the extremes of the NPP as either a leftist or fascist figure and his status as a leader of a movement in our world means in TNO he could be a viable candidate if things get shaky enough.
  • Mathias Koehl (NPP-Y)-Considering that IOTL he was leader of the American Nazi Party for nearly half a century he’d be a perfect fit for the fascistic NPP-Y.
  • J. Sakai (NPP-L): If America goes really racist(either a successful Wallace run or a Thurmond presidency followed by a anti-Socialist and anti-civil rights Goldwater) and has an excessively imperialistic foreign policy that does not favor socialists(establish AND botch the mandates, support far-right anti-Nazi unifiers in Russia such as Magadan over Communists), it is quite possible for elements of the American left that never believed America(and by extension the West as a whole) to have done anything positive in human history in the first place and are not so different from the Nazis to take over the NPP, seeking to unleash DSR style purges in retaliation for slavery and the treatment of Native Americans and condemning the founding fathers as genocidal, slaveholding maniacs that no one should celebrate.
  • Howard Zinn (NPP-L): He was very critical of the Soviet Union as much as American Imperialism, but also critical of progressive reform eras and movements in the US as well such as the New Deal and the Progressive movement. While his "A People's History of the United States" book was very critical of American history, he, unlike Sakai, did find elements within the evolution of leftist beliefs and movements in America that are salvageable. He would be a perfect fit for the socialist wing of the NPP.
  • Michael Aquino (NPP-Y): OTL, an army psychological warfare officer in Vietnam. He also founded the Temple of Set and performed rituals at Himmler's castle in Wewelsburg. His interest in Satanism and Nazi Occultism could easily lead him to being influenced by Burgundy and attempt to adapt the Burgundian System to achieve his religious goals. America would have to seriously screwed up for a Satanist to become president, however.
  • Grover Furr (NPP-L): This ones a bit of a stretch considering Furr’s young age(only turning 35 in ‘79) but considering that Grover Furr was a full blown Stalin apologist and denied many of his crimes he would make perfect highly cursed Communist path for the US. At the very least he could be a senator.
  • Harold Keith Thompson (NPP-Y): As a Burgundian agent in Yockey's cabinet, he would be a shoo-in for the Burgundian system and could make his own bid for power post-1972 if Yockey is removed as the leader of the NPP-Y. He would very much be a global failstate and would do all it takes in his power to unleash nuclear war at the behest of Himmler.
  • B.F Skinner (NPP-Y): Skirner as a OTL researcher had some... unique ideas. He firmly believed in the The Evils of Free Will and in his essay "Beyond freedom and dignity" he argued that the western world belief that free will was necessary for human beings to be happy was holding back science and progress of the human race. One of his books, Walden Two, which presents his vision of a utopic society, was even compared by him to both 1984 and Brave new World, which are well know fictional Dystopian books. His belief of "Hapiness over freedom" could become very tempting to America depending on how bad things go for them, and his presidency would lead to a regional failstate where America turns to isolationism as he tries to implement policies similar to the ones seem in We in the country.
  • Larry McDonald (NPP-FR): McDonald in otl was listed as of the most conservative conservative voters in congress and he was also an staunch anti-communist, combining this we could have a good choice for a possible NPP-FR president for TNO 2

• Could be in either party
  • John McCain (D or NPP-FR)-In this world, McCain's career could have started somewhat early thanks to fighting in the South African War, which would mean he could end up prominent enough to be a 1976 or 1980 candidate despite being relatively young.
    • He currently shows up as a leader of OFN POWs in the Reichstaat collapse, but that doesn't preclude from returning home and entering politics.
  • Edward Kennedy (D or NPP-C)-Depending on what occurred before his bid, Kennedy could either be a member of the R-Ds still like JFK was and seeking to fulfill his legacy in 1976 or 1980 or be running on the legacy of both JFK and RFK as a member of the NPP-C.
  • Gary Hart (NPP-C or R)-Hart could work as a transformative candidate either on the liberal democratic or social democratic spectrum. Of course he likely has to be careful lest he get mired in a sex scandal like in real life.
  • Robert Redford (R or NPP-C)-As a left-leaning counterpart to Reagan for this world as well as a nice reference to another alternate history work.
  • Jimmy Carter (R or NPP-C)-Carter's liberal internationalism and concern for human rights could be very resonant in TNO. Carter in our world was an advocate for detente but it is possible given TNO's Cold War is against Nazis that this world's Carter is more hawkish in the name of human rights.
    • Carter is confirmed for TNO2, possibly as a D.
  • Richard Lamm (NPP-FR or D)-Lamm is somewhat of a populist figure who could be a decent new face for either wing of the right. His anti-immigrant stances could be spun as a means of staving off the Yockeys as well.

• Options that have been Jossed:
  • Gerald Ford, which Panzer confirmed in a twitch stream would never appear in the mod
  • Ronald Reagan as the devs have said they'd rather not use him
  • Noam Chomsky and Bernie Sanders owing to their prominence in Red World.

There will be a really cursed path in Central Siberia come the Cutting Room Floor Update

Currently, the more "villainous" Central Siberia paths(Lydia and Despotist SBA) are overwhelmingly less depraved than the worst that could take over the other regions and much more tamer to boot. CRA might change it and add truly cursed paths for Novosibirsk or the PRC.

• Zig-zagged, while there are no truly villainous paths to the calibre of Amur, Osmk, the Aryan Brotherhood or Taboritsky's Komi, Novosibirsk's soul-crushing governance upon regional unification could be seen as extremely "cursed" on it's own

Margaret Thatcher will be able to go despotist or fascist

Considering that Thatcher becomes more and more authoritarian as her playthrough goes on, it isn´t far-fatched that she could at one point become officially an absolute dictator changing her ideology to despotism or maybe even fascism.

Authdem!Novosibirsk will be somewhat more sympathetic in TNO2

On the Russian ending compass, the devs consider "Siberian Putinism" one of the less bleak endings for the mod, while Novosibirsk is presented as extremely bleak, it is possible that TNO2 will see it's governance in the whole of Russia be presented in a more nuanced light.

• Somewhat Jossed: While not as outright Cursed as Amur, Omsk, the Aryan Brotherhood or Taboritsky's Holy Russian Empire, Authdem!Novosibirsk is portrayed as soul-crushing in its governance (compared to the Shukshin's Condem path which restores some idealism to the Federation).
  • You're missing the point. We're talking about TNO2, where Authdem!Novosibirsk has an opportunity to redeem itself. Now remember, Pokryshkin gets compared to Lee Kwan Yew according to his character sheet right in this website. It's therefore possible Authdem!Novosibirsk could go on a same path as Singapore, progressive and partly free, though not as free as someone like USA.

Bormann's German Collapse will be Chernobyl up to eleven

Panzer has stated that under Bormann, Germany can collapse in a way no-one can expect. We've already seen two flavors of warlordism and the Reich becoming a closed country. However, one of Bormann's focuses is the accelerated construction of High-Power Channel-Type Reactors to provide cheap electricity. In Russian, they are known as RBMKs, the same type in the Chernobyl disaster and infamous for lacking containment vessels and having graphite moderators. In a state as politically paranoid as Bormann's Germany, it is even more unlikely that scientists and plant managers would know about these flaws and act on them. Multiple meltdowns, or even a single meltdown, by accident or by sabotage, could easily leave the Reich uninhabitable for decades.

When Argentina gets content, it can go Posadist

Juan Posadas founded the Fourth International-Posadist in Argentina in 1962. While an absolutely wacky ideology OTL, it wouldn't be out of place alongside the Nazi-Posadists in Burgundy, and may indeed have more followers believing the world to be so thoroughly broken by fascism that it must be cleansed by nuclear fire. Of course, such an outcome is exactly what Burgundy wants and may covertly support them to cause chaos in South America.

Also, while Panzer has said that Posadas himself will not appear, he has not explicitly Jossed the ideology.

Onega will eventually turn into a delayed unifier

While Onegan 'unification' of West Russia only annexes the north, in the south instead setting up a system of client states under a West Russian Defence Pact, the event and focus tree descriptions suggest this is more because the Onegan authorities believe they lack the strength to govern such a wide swathe of territory in such a quick expansion than because they actually want Russia to remain divided (unlike Zlatoust). However, this is the state when content currently ends, in 1972. The newly-minted Northern Russian Republic is still a hegemonic power in western Russia (especially given they likely would have had to fend off unifiers from farther east), and one that once it has absorbed the annexations it did make and finished reforms and reconstruction could well be in a position to gradually integrate their client states into a confederation, or failing that to simply use its strengthened position as a springboard for further expansion once the Republic's rulers deem it prepared.

Speculation on Post-Taboritsky Russia

As this Polandball teaser shows, the devs are working on Post-Taboritsky Russia, with many hints towards what awaits the former empire in TNO2. With the help of this comprehensive post, this is a breakdown on what might happen. Will contain unmarked spoilers for a Komi Tabby playthrough and some covered spoilers for other countries/warlords.

• The Fate of West Russia
  • To the right are several Red Army and Soviet adherents, most likely from the WRRF, Plesetsk and Ukhta, and anyone from Komi’s Communist Party. Their goal will of course be the restoration of some Soviet ideals, but exact details are anyone's guess.
    • While the WRRF remnants part is Confirmed,the rest is Jossed:the state uses communist imagery and slogans but has abandoned all communist ideals.
  • Under them are the Holy Russian Empire’s most dedicated supporters, who have rejected reality and swear allegiance to Taboritsky and Alexei long after their deaths. The metaphorical statement taken from the mechanized body is that they operate only within their borders and are too deluded to understand why nobody else is following them. Or the political body is a machine that may have taken a mind of its own and is not in the control of the Regent's circle. A more literal interpretation is depiction of the repetitive radio broadcast, and even more extreme would be that they've stuffed Taboritsky's corpse with automatons to make him move and seem alive.
    • The symbolic interpretation is Confirmed. The literal interpretation is Jossed.
  • The blue-crossed, white flag seems rather happy with its situation. With the shared similarities to TNO Samara’s flag and knowing Oktan’s motivation, perhaps some likeminded people took over this region, judging from the sack of rubles it holds. It possibly supports kleptocratic neo-feudalism as well. The post also connects their symbols to the programs of the Lokot Republic: amnesty, NEP, worker safety and its own Holocaust.
    • Partially Confirmed; they're actually the remnants of Imperial mega-corps that Tabby created to run the empire, and they rule the turf north of Samara, though they do appear to support neo-feudalism. Samara itself is ruled by a group of fairly benevolent Christians.
  • The Countryball with black planes in front of imagery based on the Pamyat Party’s flag alludes to them possibly being paratroopers and the air forces leftover from the empire, much like the Free Aviators. Acting as their Foil, however, they’ll spend time bombing their own people rather than helping them, either due to them following the last orders to kill those that Tabby marked for death (i.e. everyone) or because killing them is helping them.
    • They're moreso bandits than fanatical HRE remnants, but otherwise Confirmed.
  • Near the new aviators is a Soviet version of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug flag. It is territory that is so withdrawn like the unorganized Northeast Siberian territories that it escaped much of the slaughter, leading to a capable faction of soldiers and civilians to re-reunify Russia.
• The Fate of the Southern Urals and Western Siberia
  • A Countryball below sports the flag of Samara Oblast, but with an Orthodox Christian cross in the center. They possibly rose from the Order of Saint George, or even the non-unifier Oyrotia in Central Siberia. They are depicted wearing traditional garb and solemnly carrying a Bible, denoting themselves as separate from Tabby’s interpretation of Christianity. The sentence “God Save Russia” could take a new meaning.
    • Confirmed.
  • The flag sporting the Star and Crescent shares traits with the flags of Azerbaijan, Bashkortostan, and Tatarstan. Possibly composed of several states and survivors from Central Asia’s warlords.
    • Confirmed.
  • An HRE Countryball sports a beret and a flamethrower, along with a working “clock” eye that shows them being close to midnight, but not by much. As events unraveled with every force just continuing their operations when they received radio silence, this small but still sizable group may be determined to fulfill Tabby’s last-heard orders to the letter. The agenda and teachings of the HRE don’t matter, all they wish to do is burn everything to the ground.
    • Confirmed.
  • Below them is the flag of Orenburg’s Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It seems that the chaos and anguish from Tabby’s rule has forced the Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering into reforming into a competent government.
  • The white-green-black flag uses the same palette as the flag used by the Provisional Regional Government of Ural, in 1918, but in a different order with the Ural League’s blue “V” symbol to the center. The Vorkuta Gulag’s people rise to do just what they did before the reunification under the Holy Russian Empire: survive and defend those nearby.
    • Confirmed to be a Ural League remnant.
  • To their bottom right corner is a white flag with three-dimensional plusses using an optical illusion. The Countryball has a red cybernetic eye and is seen controlling an RC tank. It might have come from Magnitogorsk’s workers and has intentions for experimentations once more.
    • They are Confirmed to have been made from Magnitogorsk’s remnants and do have plans for scientific advancement, but the idea of them being as cruel as their predecessor is Jossed. They are actually a benevolent successor.
  • The Black League of Omsk, though without the yellow stripe, but looking as angry as ever. They might have switched their sights to Tabby’s factions instead of Germany’s during the return to warlordism. Nothing else is given about their motivations, but it can be proposed that the drastic situation has changed their agenda. Facing the chemically-bombed wastes, they will have the option to either proceed with The Great Trial as planned, or to reform their ideology towards redemption. Just as Yazov would come to regret their plan after seeing the devastation it causes, Omsk's supporters may do the same with the current wastes instead of global nuclear destruction, and from there, seek the notion of reform before this fate is inflicted upon the rest of the world. The former goal can be accomplished using the newly-developed technology of the HRE’s military, and like in Heydrich’s Germany, securing states with nuclear and chemical arms will end up being the priority rather than reunification.
    • That is indeed the Black League, but everything else is Jossed; Tabby's rule made the Black League even more fanatical than before, to the point where they believe that Russia itself is corrupted by the Teutons and needs to be purged in its own Great Trial before Germany can be.
  • A dark purple Countryball uses the sigil of Luciferians. Witnessing the horrors inflicted in the name of “The Blessed Regent’s” theocracy must have driven this group to seek the other direction of Biblical study. Unlike Bogi Smerti, who use Satanic imagery purely for intimidation, these people seem to genuinely practice non-LeVeyan Satanism, with the character studying a glowing book with a bloody dagger.
    • Somewhat confirmed. They are genuine Satanists except they are also far-right ex-HRE personal that turned against Christianity altogether and declare it a Jewish invention after seeing that Taboritsky's fundamentalist theocracy has all but destroyed Russia.
• For some of Central Asia's territories: Kazakhstan is seen near what may be Nowa Polska and another state.
• The Fate of Central Siberia
  • A green and white flag with the symbol of the unofficial Eurasian Union flag. Their ambition is to seek and unite with the Kazakhs, and they may be lamenting what has happened to all of Russia.
  • The blue and white ball keeps wearing Rurik’s crown and Kemerovo’s symbol in their banner. They may be attempting to use the same idea that Rurik himself had, which is to adopt the ancient tradition of the Kingdom of Rus. Again.
    • Confirmed.
  • The Siberian Black Army is back, and even firmer in their belief that power creates tyrants. Possibly to “anti-extremist Stalina” levels. As this is a female Countryball from the use of the bow, there might be a new influential figure aside from Yuri and Ivan.
  • Behind them is a different anarchist flag with a beret and a Cartoon Bomb, who might be militarists seeking to run a junta like Stepanov wants, or they genuinely believe that Anarchy Is Chaos and that it’s the only proper response to the HRE's regime.
  • Towering over the four previous states is the flag of the Bastillards. All that remains of Tomsk are them, and they could have been spared by the HRE’s followers due to being mistaken for adherents, with their absurdist humor derived from death, an animalistic world, and one event where Kharms embraces the idea of not caring for the average worker in favor of defending and maintaining the government.
    • Confirmed.
• The Fate of the Far East
  • The old flag of the Russian Empire carries a scepter and dons a non-Russian tiara. This could hint that they want the monarchy back, but they either have no idea what it’s supposed to look like with the inconsistent use of the tiara, or they are trying Kemorovo’s strategy with the Romanovs in place of the second coming of the ancient Varangian prince, and the tiara was the closest that they could find. With all the talk about Alexei still being out there, someone and their allies might just use this narrative to their advantage and proclaim to know Alexei or of him. This would have been blasphemous in the eyes of Tabby and his followers, but with them struggling for power, this group has made its move.
    • The idea that someone would use Alexei was indeed correct; their head of state claims that they are the real Alexei, returned just as Tabby said, though he isn't an HRE fanatic.
  • The Old Russian Empire fights an HRE-styled Amur flag, which is even closer to midnight than the flamethrower detail from before. Perhaps they’re waging war over the direction an Imperial Russia needs to go in.
  • Non-fascist Amur weeps at the sight of everything. Note the briefcase and the flag of the Russian Federation on it. Maybe it was sent from a superpower to survey and help the wastes.
  • To the rightmost are Magadan remnants, with one of them taking the original Magadan Oblast’s deer symbol. At least one of them is seeking the OFN’s help, or at least the US’s, just as before. That might be where they’re getting their oil.
    • Somewhat confirmed; they're so fanatically in favor of America that their leader actually wants to be annexed by the US. In a way, they're a more extreme version of WerBell.
• The several dead countryballs will end up being states of anarchy and No Authority/Radio Silence, as seen with part of Africa and after the world collapses. Unlike the new warlords that will form, these areas will stay voided and are so contaminated with pollution, gas and chemical weaponry that they won’t be bypassed or annexable. To go even further would be to have them act as walls between every territory, forcing further strategy from the player.
  • Confirmed, though there's only one big blob of Radio Silence instead of several.

Post-Taboritsky Russia will be able to reunify in the future

Despite the devs previously going on to say that a Russia reunified by Taboritsky becomes eradicated, down to the very idea of being a nation, players have found some reunification events pertaining to specific warlords. The main concern is if this will ever be implemented or not, or if these will just be scrapped "What If?" scenarios, as adding re-reunification would be going back on their word. At least, seemingly.

• It's possible that (at least some of) these events will become actual content, for various reasons.
  • Exact Words will be used, as the country that will rise from the wasteland will not go by "Russia" anymore. This may be hinted at from the new titles given by every warlord upon hypothetical reunifications, which often don't use "Russia" in their new names. Alternatively, Russia will technically not be whole, due to the massive territory that remains in Radio Silence.
    • Partly confirmed as some warlords do go this route. Like with Siberian Free Territory becoming Free Motherland, Brotherhood of Cain becoming the Kingdom of the Hellborn and Central Eurasian Republic becoming the United Eurasian Republic.
  • With cases like the United Siberian Salvation Committee, territories won't be "Russia" reunified, but rather, territory owned by other nations and powers.
  • The claim of Russia's existence being stopped can still be true if the campaigns of certain remnants are followed.

Shafarevich's authoritarianism in the mod is due to multiple factors

For one, Igor Shafarevich would probably deride his TNO depiction as "too socialist." His real-life beliefs are not far removed from an American Libertarian ala Glenn Beck or possibly even fellow Russian Ayn Rand. He also had a very broad definition of socialism that, essentially, came down to "the government does stuff".

So what's he doing giving out aide packages to Russians? Simple: Libertarianism was literally bombed out of him. For one, Bukharin's Russia was not as heavy handed as Stalin's, and for two, the guys bombing Russia "prove socialism works" (putting aside his very flawed ideas IRL of what constitutes socialism). Hanging out with Gumilyov and Taboritsky probably furthered this idea, and showed him that a strong state would allow him to make everything work "right". But people still like feeling like they live in a Democracy, hence his sham republic. His real-life self would not be caught dead with the likes of Gumilyov or Taboritsky, (since it takes more than being racist to put you on the right wing - Komi's own social democratic party can attest) let alone form a coalition government with Ivan Serov.

Possible leaders for Red Italy

• Francisco Freda: He is somewhat too young for the, but assuming he takes power, he could potentially as as an Italian Ordosocialist oweing to his IRL attempts to synthize Nazism with Maoism.

• Alfredo Bonanno: The most famous theorist of contemporary insurectionary anarchism, Bonanno could certainly entice individuals around his beliefs, and his fiery, oftentimes violent rhetoric could a unifying factor amongst the more "extremist" side of Red Italy. That being said, something weird would have to happen in the government so that not only an anarchist would get into power, but an anarchist who flat out rejects syndicalism and had a explicit influence of Stirner and anarcho-egoism in his tought.

• Maria Occhipinti: As an real life anarcha-feminist Maria could be seem as a symbol for progressive policies regarding women in Red Italy, depending on how bold she feels she could act either as an libertarian socialist or try to get rid of the state altogether, though her anti-militarist policies would make her unpopular within the more violent "factions" in Red Italy.

• Domenico Losurdo: The lack of Stalin's influence on world politics might make this a bit difficult to happen, but given how Losurdo was a gigantic Stalin apologist who deemed Stalin's crimes as necessary multiple times, mixed with his apologia towards totalitarism and refusal to compromise with liberalism or fascism or even more moderate forms of communism would make his government a daunting enemy towards all of the three world powers.

It will be clear by the Toolbox Theory update that Himmler is ultimately the Disk-One Final Boss

• According to some dev statements regarding the Toolbox Theory rework, Burgundy might not die only in the 1980s, and its story arc will end in a unexpected way and there will be only three surviving narrative characters(including Himmler) at the end of its content in the 70s. With the resolutions for Burgundy being the new and unexpected ending, collapse by revolt, or a even more secret REDACTED ending. It is quite possible that something cataclysmic happens to Burgundy leading to its' collapse from something outside of the Legion and Red Poppy revolts. This will make Himmler ultimately the Disk-One Final Boss of the Mod and a Big Bad Wannabe rather than the ultimate villain, either dealt with by Heydrich, the various rebels, or whatever happens in the "normal" ending. This will ultimately shift the main focus on TNO 2 from Burgundy's attempts to destroy the world to Germany and Japan standing in the way of the Russians and the Chinese in liberating themselves.
  • Seemingly confirmed. The Globalplans have been greatly reduced and AI Burgundy can fall to partisans and rebel brigades.
    • Better yet, Burgundy has a significant chance to outright collapse in the year 1970, and even if this fails, in 1981 certainly. This means Burgundy will get invaded and partitioned/conquered by Germany.

Slavic gods exist in TNOTL

• This is mostly a joke theory, but consider: how come Velimir has come to the same insane conclusions about history and religion as in OTL, but without the decades of academic study that he had there? We have no idea where he got his ideas from: they are too complex to have been developed by an uneducated brute, and too outlandish to have been taken from other 20th century esoteric thinkers. No, he has been granted that knowledge by Perun himself. The gods of the Slavs want revenge on the world for the horrors of the Holocaust, and Velimir is their instrument, set to destroy the planet in nuclear fire.

The PRC will eventually get a path to join Long Yun's Northern Expedition

• With the Great Asian War rework, the PRC finally gets an opportunity to expand its Mongolian path, opening a northern front to seize the rest of Mongolia if they consider Long Yun's insurrection worth joining, and even going further to establish a communist state in Northern China with remnants of the CCP.

Lev Gumilyov was radicalized by Germany's victory

• While how the variant of Eurasianism that Lev Gumilyov's regime being closer to Dugin's variant of Eurasianism than the Eurasianist ideology that he historically espoused might sound absurd, people being radicalized by Germany's victory has a precedent in the Black League and their Great Trial with how Yazov and his allies certainly never advocated the destruction of Germany or the death of all Germans in the world in our timeline. Therefore, it isn't much of a stretch to assume that Germany's victory in the War led to Gumilyov being radicalized ideologically with how the trauma of German victory leading him to develop an ideology closer to Duginism than his historical views.

The SS Coup in TTL is an inversion of the OTL July 20 Plot

• This is a theory regarding the nature of the two incidents and their relationship to each other. Both happen after the ringleaders lost faith in Hitler after Germany started to lose a war, the West Russian War in case of the former, and World War 2 in case of the latter. Both end up as failures, with the ringleaders being punished, with them being sent to Burgundy in case of the former, and tortured and kill in case of the latter. Now here's where the inversion bits come in. The ringleaders of the SS coup wrongly thought Germany was doomed to lose to the WRRF, while the ringleaders of July 20 were right in thinking Germany was doomed. The SS coup is planned by the members of the well... the SS, while the latter is done mainly by members of the Wehrmacht. The former is stopped by Hans Speidel, who is one of the more morally upright members of the German High Commmand by their own standards at least. While the latter was stopped by Otto Ernst Remer, who would go on to become a major Neo-Nazi figure all the way up to his death. And funnily enough, the latter is depicted as one of the most rabid militarists in-game, which contrasts sharply with the sane Speidel.

Lovestone will have signifcant influence on the Hall Administration

• He already is appointed director of the CIA and could potentially be in a position to influence the politics of the Hall administration. This could be a good way by the devs to acknowledge the critiques about how a Bukharinite led Soviet Union would have seen pro-Right Opposition factions in the CPUSA consolidate their hold on the party rather than a leadership line similar to OTL, while also acknowledging the implausibility regarding Lovestone ascending to the presidency due to him not being a naturalized citizen, relying on allies like Hall to fulfill his policies.

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