Laos (1983: Doomsday)

Laos (pronounced /ˈlɑː.oʊs/, /ˈlaʊ/, or /ˈleɪ.ɒs/), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west. Laos traces its history to the Kingdom of Lan Xang or Land of a Million Elephants, which existed from the 14th to the 18th century.

After a period as a French protectorate, it gained independence in 1949. A long civil war ended officially when the Communist Pathet Lao movement came to power in 1975, but strife between factions continued for several years. 44% of the population lived below the international poverty line of the equivalent of US$1.25 a day according to data from 2006, though the CIA World Factbook currently places this figure at 26%.[4]

Pre-Doosday
In 1975, the communist Pathet Lao, along with Vietnam People's Army and backed by the Soviet Union, overthrew the royalist Lao government, forcing King Savang Vatthana to abdicate on 2 December 1975. He later died in captivity. After taking control of the country, the Pathet Lao government renamed the country as the "Lao People's Democratic Republic" and signed agreements giving Vietnam the right to station armed forces and to appoint advisers to assist in overseeing the country. Laos was requested in the late 1970s by Vietnam to end relations with the People's Republic of China, leading to isolation in trade by China, the United States, and other countries. The socialist system has slowly been replaced by the relaxation of economic restrictions in the 1980s and admission into ASEAN in 1997.