Holy Russian Empire (Yellowstone: 1936)

The Eternal Holy Empire of Russia is a state in Eurasia. It is a successor state to the USSR, and one of the world's more powerful states. Though the Czars have all claimed descent from the original Romanov line, it is widely thought outside the nation that in fact they are not so decended. Despite being a Monarchy, there is an elected Duma; however, only certain people may vote.

It has been acknowledged informally by a number the Czars and their governments (including Malinovsky himself) that the line is not in any way related to the Romanovs. However, it was necessary to stabilze the initial Tsardom, and since then has remained so.

Pre-Tsardom
Russia was initally home to a group of Indo-European peoples called Slavs. Near the height of the Norse Empires, however, around 800 AD, a group of Scandanavian Vikings known as the Rus moved in as overlords to the Slavs, and established empire of the Rus, centred at the city of Kiev. After adopting Eastern Orthodoxy, from the Byzantines, the Empire reached it's height, controlling most of Russia proper. However, after Yaroslav the Wise, the Rus became divided, further weakened by intermingling with the Slavs, and were thus unable to stop the Mongol hordes when they attacked approximately 1240, annexing most of Russia, destroying Kiev, and halving the popualtion of the Rus. As the other Mongol empires collapsed over the next 100 years, however, the Golden Horde, the Empire which had taken Russia, remained strong until finally collapsing against a Russian rebellion in the late 1400s, led by Ivan the Great of Moscow. Moscow founded the new Russian Empire, though the term Czar did not appear until Ivan IV, Ivan the Great's successor.

Tsardom of Russia
After the founding of the Russian Empire, however, the fledging nation ran into difficulty almost immediately, as Ivan IV left no direct successors. Finally, after several civil wars, a successor emerged; Peter the Great, a Romanov. The Romanovs ruled over a Golden age lasting from the early 1600s to the 1800s. In the early 1800s, the French, under Napoleon, attacked Russia, for a period of time even taking the city of Moscow. However, unused to the Winter cold, they collapsed and were driven from Russian territory.

Following the collapse of the French Empire, the 5 great states of Europe- Britain, Russia, France, Austria, and Prussia- met at Vienna to discuss a method of avoiding popular revolts in the future. Britain refused to be party to the ensuing 'Holy Alliance', and ironically, was the only one of them that did not experience a popular revolt.

A hundred years after the Holy Alliance, Russia found itself at war with Austria and Prussia, fighting alongside the British and French. However, the Russian people grew tired of war fast, and the Germans, seeking to utilize this situation, shipped the Communist Lenin over to Moscow. Lenin incited a populist revolution that first overthrew the Monarchy and then the Democracy that came after, in the Russian Civil War.

USSR
Following the defeat of the White Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War, Lenin quickly established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the USSR. However, after his death in 1924, his successor, Joseph Stalin, exiled one of Lenin's advisors, Leon Trotsky, and then quickly seized total control over the government. Stalin quickly exibited extreme paranoia, purging his government and people multiple times to remove the people he felt were enemies to the revolution.

After the Great Depression in 1929 caused widespread economic trouble throughout the world, a leader called Adolf Hitler rose in Germany. Blaming the German loss in WWI on the Jews and Slavs, he started setting up concentration camps for them. Over the next few years, he quickly started to annex nearby nations. It appeared that there would soon be another war in Europe, mirroring the first...

Eruption
On Eruption Day, Russia itself was mostly untouched. However, soon after, as the massive dust clouds settled over the North, casuing Years Without Summer and starvation in large portions of the nation. The nation quickly decended into chaos as the military, fearful of another 'purge', killed Stalin and most of his government in a coup. The nation quickly dissolved, and Multiple micro states emerged all over the area.

Post-Eruption

In December 1936, almost 3/4 of a year after Eruption Day, the military stabilized under the command of one Rodion Malinovsky. Though his mother was not royal, he claimed that his father (who was never known to him or his family) had in fact been a cousin of the Tsar, making him the next in line for the the throne. With widespread backing from the military, which now only controlled the area between Moscow and Smolensk, he declared the Holy Russian Empire, and was made Czar.

Immediately after his enthronement, he quickly established Battle Plan Orange, to take back the Russian Heartland. He advanced on the city of Novgorod, quickly took it from the feuding warlords attempting control over it, then attacked north, making it all the way to the gates of St. Petersburg before turning back and smashing southward to Warsaw, which he annexed from the Nazi remainder government that had arisen there. In this, the First War of Unification, he more than octupled the size of the Empire at it's founding, despite having a small, porrly armed army, mostly due to having the support of the largest intact military structure the world had at that point- something that would come in immense use over the next few years.

Consolidation and Expansion
With the Russian Heartland back under the control of the army, Malinovsky- the Czar- needed to control his new domains. Using his extensive military structure, he started a severe rationing system. Realizing that his Empire was short on Agricultural land, he first immediately set up warehouses to store food for rationing, then sent another army South under the command of one of his subordinates, to conquer land between the Aral and Black Seas, which he correctly reasoned would be untouched by the ash clouds of Eruption Day. With a strict military procedure, he managed to create and consolidate a large nation in under a year. It was about at this point that radio contact was established with parts of the other world.

With the new nation in good hands by 1944, the Czar decided on further expansion, this time into the Slavic nations to the West. Now with small governments, they were quickly taken by the now well-supplied and hardened Russian army, then annexed and assimilated into the nation.

Military
The Holy Russian Empire is one of the most militarily powerful nations on Earth, thanks to it's gigantic military industrial base in it's snow ridden North.

Politics
The Holy Russian Empire is a constituional monarchy. However, the Czar still wields immense powers, and it times of crisis he totally takes over the government, akin to the ancient Roman practice of establishing a 'dictator' when the nation is in danger.

There is an elected Duma, however. There are at any time exactly 450 members of the Duma. 150 members of the Upper House, and 300 from the Lower House. There are at the moment 6 political parties, shown below in order of stadning.
 * The Progressive Democrats:  Liberal, favoring lowering taxes by cutting spending. Socially very liberal. Currently the largest single party, with 32% of the vote. The Posadnik is not theirs, however, because of a coalition between the Consolidationists, the Green party, and the Federalists.
 * The Consolidationists: Socially liberal but economically conservative, they control 28% of the vote, and are just narrowly behind the  Progressive Democrats. The Posadnik is a Consolidationist. Currently in a coalition with the Greens and the Federalists.
 * The Conservatives: Socially and economically conservative. Once the largest party, they ruled from the Civil War until the disastrous First Scandanavian War, after which the Consolidationists and Progressive Democrats took control of the government and defeated the Scandanavians in the Second and Third Scandanavian Wars. Have not been in government since. Control 14% of the vote.
 * The Foundationists: Socially Conservative but economically liberal. Control 12% of the vote.
 * The Federalists: Economically and socially liberal. Mainly concentrated among the Trade Sector. Control 8% of the vote. In a coalition with the Greens and Progressive Democrats.
 * The Green Party: Socially liberal, economically conservative. Mainly focused on the Agricultural Sector. Control 6% of the vote. In a coalition with the Federalists and Progressive Democrats.

Culture
The Holy Russian Empire has a vibrant Culture.

Film/Television
The Holy Russian Empire has an extensive Film and Television industry, as well as their own set of awards- the RAFTA awards (Russian Association of Film and Television Awards), and are often hosts to the Gemmies, the world's premier film and television award.

Literature
Russia has an extensive literature industry, mostly in High Fantasy and Science Fiction.

Music
Russia is the world's premier source of Rock music, with no fewer than 7 of the world's 20 best selling bands.

Economy
The Holy Russian Empire has three main economic sections. Each of these sectors refers to the main goods produced there, and is highly informal; the 'Industrial' sector contains Agricultural lands and has as much trade in services as goods.



The Industrial Sector
The Industrial Sector is the largest of the Three Sectors, both in terms of the number of workers and amount of land. Despite the name, it also includes the ordinary commercial sector, with trade in services as much as in goods.

The Agricultural Sector
Mainly placed between the Caspian and Black Seas, the Agricultural Sector is generally just below the Line of Permament Frost. However, thanks to the large amount of volcanic ash that settled here post Eruption Day, the land is extremely arable, and is one of the most fertile istricts in the entire world.

The Trade Sector
Russia has a large sector of the economy based on trade, thank's to it's large navy, total control of the Black Sea, and access to the Med., Baltic, and Atlantic.

Demographics
The Holy Russian Empire is mostly Slavic or Rus- almost 70% is pureblood Russian. However, there are several significant minorities.

Slav/Rus
Makes up 67.8% of the population. The Slavs were the original inhabitants of the region.

Turkish
Makes up 22.6% of the Population

Greek
makes up 4.9%.

Persian
Makes up 3.1%

Other
Makes up 1.6%.

Quality of Life
The Life expectancy of the average Russian is 67.8 years. What's more, Russia is one of the few countries on Earth that has achieved 100% literacy, and severe laws against corruption have made it almost free of that scourge. It's Human Development Index is a massive .869, the highest number in Asia and second in Europe.

However, Translucency International has given it a C+ rating for it's democracy. It has a high social divide between the rich and poor, with a Class Mobility Index of just .234.

The average age of the population is 27.9, and the male to female ratio is a healthy 99:100.

Geography
Much of the Empire is overrun with Glaciers. In fact, it is one of the most Northerly stable states in the World. However, it's South, in between the Aral and Baltic seas, survived the Eruption event well and is incredibly fertile and lush, thanks in no small part to the volcanic ash that settled here. The Northern reaches, however, in Scandanavia, are incredibly cold and are mostly covered with snow except during the summer.