Difference between revisions of "Second Soviet Civil War"
m (→Notable Dates) |
|||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
− | The ''' Second Soviet Civil War''' ( | + | The ''' Second Soviet Civil War''' (March [[2011]]–March [[2014]]) erupted following the assassination of Premier [[Oleg Tikonov]] and engulfed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its Warsaw Pact satellites. Liberal and conservative Soviet factions fought one another for control of the USSR's moribund empire, and also battled anti-Soviet nationalist rebels in Eastern Europe. The conflict was finally ended by NATO intervention, resulting in the final dissolution of the USSR and the global supremacy of the newly formed [[Western Alliance]]. |
− | == | + | ==Background== |
By [[2005]] the [[Cold Wars|Second Cold War]] had brought the Soviet Union and NATO to the brink of World War III. The ascension of the moderate [[Oleg Tikonov]] as Soviet Premier heralded a respite for both sides, as Tikonov undertook policies which eased international tensions and his own country's economic woes. These efforts culminated with the [[Tikonov Accords]] of January [[2011]], which pledged liberal reforms and free elections throughout the Warsaw Pact.<ref name=JHSTp138-139>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 138-139</ref> | By [[2005]] the [[Cold Wars|Second Cold War]] had brought the Soviet Union and NATO to the brink of World War III. The ascension of the moderate [[Oleg Tikonov]] as Soviet Premier heralded a respite for both sides, as Tikonov undertook policies which eased international tensions and his own country's economic woes. These efforts culminated with the [[Tikonov Accords]] of January [[2011]], which pledged liberal reforms and free elections throughout the Warsaw Pact.<ref name=JHSTp138-139>''Jihad Hot Spots: Terra'', p. 138-139</ref> | ||
+ | Just four hours after the Accords were signed, Tikonov was assassinated by a suicide-bomber - an act carried out not by hardline Communists who were his chief opponents, but a Islamic militant named [[Mustafa Khemar Rhasori]]. A power struggle erupted as members of the Politburo and KGB sought to either realize Tikonov's vision or return the USSR to purer Communist roots. Non-Russian nationalists soon added to the volatile situation; on March 3, ethnic Ukrainians seized control of Kiev and announced the secession of their homeland. Two weeks later, East Germany and Czechoslovakia declared their intent to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact.<ref name=TPp7>''The Periphery'', p. 7</ref> | ||
− | + | ==The Second Soviet Civil War== | |
+ | As these nationalist revolts threatened the very integrity of the USSR, the KGB Director, Admiral [[Sergei Tarantoff]], assumed control of the Soviet military and declared the Soviet Union to be under martial law. His brutal methods only fanned the flames and in short order the enormous Soviet military split into liberal and conservative factions, openly battling one another for control of the USSR.<ref name=TPp7> <ref name=JHSTp138-139/> | ||
− | + | Poland at this point seized its chance to finally end sixty years of Soviet oppression, with Polish freedom fighters adopting as their symbol the upraised clenched fist. Under this sign they fought a losing battle against the Soviet army until the popular uprising was brutally crushed. Nonetheless, their heroism earned the Poles the sympathy of the Western nations.<ref name=HSLCp18>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 18, "The Steiner Fist"</ref> | |
− | The | + | The fighting dragged on for three years as the liberal and conservative factions battled one another and secessionist regions. Over fifteen million civilians were killed during the civil war, and the threat of a full-scale nuclear exchange between the Soviets and NATO was an ever-present concern for the world. Western nations tried to render humanitarian aid without actively participating in the war itself, but by early 2014 NATO finally felt compelled to intervene.<ref name=JHSTp138-139/> <ref name=HSLCp18/> <ref name=SL7>''The Star League'', p. 7</ref> |
− | + | ==NATO Intervention and the War's End== | |
+ | NATO forces began by liberating Czechoslovakia and Poland. In a gesture of solidarity for the latter's people, NATO soldiers (particularly armored vehicle crews) took up the defiant fist symbol themselves. Of interest to later historians, ancestors of future rivals [[House Steiner]] and [[House Marik]] were both recorded as participating in these operations. Five Steiners were among the West German forces sent into Poland - and adopted the clenched fist symbol that would become the [[Lyran Commonwealth|Lyran Commonwealth's]] motif - while Major Jan Marik returned to his ancestral Czech homeland as one of the peacekeepers and later settled in Prague.<ref name=JHSTp138-139/> <ref name=HSLCp18/> <ref>''Handbook: House Marik'', p. 11</ref> | ||
− | + | The Western powers then sought to further assist the liberals by mounting amphibious landings at various points along the Soviet coast, most notably the Latvian city of Riga, in January 2014. Coupled with recent defeats at Minsk and Leningrad which they attributed to "capitalist freebooter" aid to their enemies, this led to Soviet conservative officers launching a limited nuclear strike against both West and East Germany and NATO bases. The [[Western Orbital Defense Network]] (WODeN), housed on [[Crippen Station]], played a pivotal role in destroying the ICBMs and thereby saved humanity by averting the full-scale nuclear exchange this would have precipitated.<ref name=JHSTp138-139/> <ref name=TPp7> | |
− | NATO | + | The Soviet Navy then opposed the NATO landings in the Baltic and the Kola Peninsula in what proved to be the last large ocean battle in human history. During the fighting, conservative naval commanders razed Riga with chemical weapons, but this atrocity drove the final nail into the hardliners' cause. By March 2014 the last of the holdouts had surrendered to Western forces.<ref name=JHSTp138-139/> |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
== Aftermath == | == Aftermath == | ||
− | |||
− | |||
Meeting in Kiev, leaders of various Soviet political and ethnic groups dissolved the USSR. Seven independent Russian States were created in a loose confederation. | Meeting in Kiev, leaders of various Soviet political and ethnic groups dissolved the USSR. Seven independent Russian States were created in a loose confederation. | ||
Meeting in newly reunited Berlin, leaders of the various Western powers, led by the British Prime Minister, merged NATO and the European Common Market into the [[Western Alliance]]. | Meeting in newly reunited Berlin, leaders of the various Western powers, led by the British Prime Minister, merged NATO and the European Common Market into the [[Western Alliance]]. | ||
+ | |||
+ | The effects of the Second Soviet Civil War were still being felt over two centuries later in the neighboring Scandinavian nations. At first, hordes of refugees wrought serious economic and social havoc in their host states. Later, in rebuilding the former Soviet states, the Terran Alliance practically ruined Norway, Sweden and Finland through heavy taxation. As a result, emigrants from these lands fled to the outer reaches of the [[Inner Sphere]], forging the [[Principality of Rasalhague]].<ref>''Handbook: House Kurita'', p. 20, "We, Rasalhague"</ref> | ||
== Notable Dates == | == Notable Dates == | ||
Line 47: | Line 45: | ||
== Bibliography == | == Bibliography == | ||
* ''[[DropShips and JumpShips]]'' | * ''[[DropShips and JumpShips]]'' | ||
+ | * ''[[Handbook: House Kurita]]'' | ||
+ | * ''[[Handbook: House Marik]]'' | ||
* ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2]]'' | * ''[[Historical: Liberation of Terra Volume 2]]'' | ||
+ | * ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]'' | ||
* ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]'' | * ''[[Jihad Hot Spots: Terra]]'' | ||
* ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]'' | * ''[[The Periphery (sourcebook)|The Periphery]]'' |
Revision as of 16:53, 5 July 2021
The Second Soviet Civil War (March 2011–March 2014) erupted following the assassination of Premier Oleg Tikonov and engulfed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and its Warsaw Pact satellites. Liberal and conservative Soviet factions fought one another for control of the USSR's moribund empire, and also battled anti-Soviet nationalist rebels in Eastern Europe. The conflict was finally ended by NATO intervention, resulting in the final dissolution of the USSR and the global supremacy of the newly formed Western Alliance.
Contents
Background
By 2005 the Second Cold War had brought the Soviet Union and NATO to the brink of World War III. The ascension of the moderate Oleg Tikonov as Soviet Premier heralded a respite for both sides, as Tikonov undertook policies which eased international tensions and his own country's economic woes. These efforts culminated with the Tikonov Accords of January 2011, which pledged liberal reforms and free elections throughout the Warsaw Pact.[1]
Just four hours after the Accords were signed, Tikonov was assassinated by a suicide-bomber - an act carried out not by hardline Communists who were his chief opponents, but a Islamic militant named Mustafa Khemar Rhasori. A power struggle erupted as members of the Politburo and KGB sought to either realize Tikonov's vision or return the USSR to purer Communist roots. Non-Russian nationalists soon added to the volatile situation; on March 3, ethnic Ukrainians seized control of Kiev and announced the secession of their homeland. Two weeks later, East Germany and Czechoslovakia declared their intent to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact.[2]
The Second Soviet Civil War
As these nationalist revolts threatened the very integrity of the USSR, the KGB Director, Admiral Sergei Tarantoff, assumed control of the Soviet military and declared the Soviet Union to be under martial law. His brutal methods only fanned the flames and in short order the enormous Soviet military split into liberal and conservative factions, openly battling one another for control of the USSR.Cite error: Closing </ref>
missing for <ref>
tag
The fighting dragged on for three years as the liberal and conservative factions battled one another and secessionist regions. Over fifteen million civilians were killed during the civil war, and the threat of a full-scale nuclear exchange between the Soviets and NATO was an ever-present concern for the world. Western nations tried to render humanitarian aid without actively participating in the war itself, but by early 2014 NATO finally felt compelled to intervene.[1] [3] [4]
NATO Intervention and the War's End
NATO forces began by liberating Czechoslovakia and Poland. In a gesture of solidarity for the latter's people, NATO soldiers (particularly armored vehicle crews) took up the defiant fist symbol themselves. Of interest to later historians, ancestors of future rivals House Steiner and House Marik were both recorded as participating in these operations. Five Steiners were among the West German forces sent into Poland - and adopted the clenched fist symbol that would become the Lyran Commonwealth's motif - while Major Jan Marik returned to his ancestral Czech homeland as one of the peacekeepers and later settled in Prague.[1] [3] [5]
The Western powers then sought to further assist the liberals by mounting amphibious landings at various points along the Soviet coast, most notably the Latvian city of Riga, in January 2014. Coupled with recent defeats at Minsk and Leningrad which they attributed to "capitalist freebooter" aid to their enemies, this led to Soviet conservative officers launching a limited nuclear strike against both West and East Germany and NATO bases. The Western Orbital Defense Network (WODeN), housed on Crippen Station, played a pivotal role in destroying the ICBMs and thereby saved humanity by averting the full-scale nuclear exchange this would have precipitated.[1] Cite error: Closing </ref>
missing for <ref>
tag
Notable Dates
- 2011, Start of Second Soviet Civil War.
- 2013, Battle of Moscow. Brigadier Arthur Davion is titled as a baron.
- 2014, End of Second Soviet Civil War.
- 2014, Formation of the Western Alliance.
- 2014, Formation of the Democratic Republic of European Russia.
- 2014, Formation of the People's Union of Kazakh.
- 2014, Formation of the Islamic Republic of Turkmen.
- 2014, Formation of the Soviet Socialist Republic.
- 2014, Formation of the Democracy of Yakut.
- 2014, Formation of the Magadan Socialist Republic.
- 2014, Formation of the Confederation of Free Orient Peoples.