Winter War

The Winter War (Kuban: Зимова війна, tr. Zymova viyna), known in Severyane as the Great Collapse (Sniatyn: Великий Свернуть, tr. Velikiy Svernut), was a period of internal chaos and military conflict within the Union of Socialist Republics. It ended with the Bukanya Accords, which resulted in the independence of Kubaniza, Balochia, and Calgarov from the USR.

Etymology

The war is most widely called the Winter War because of the record low temperatures in Marzanna during the early 1520s. In Severyane, it is called the Great Collapse, due to the rapid collapse of the Union of Socialist Republics caused by the war.

Background

Rise of Gregor Perov

Since the foundation of the USR, the Perov family had near direct involvement in the nation's politics. Vladmir Perov was elected twice as Premier of the Union of Socialist Republics, and two times as the Councilman of National Defense. His son Issac Perov served as Director of the SNP, the Uniformed Police Force, four times. Because of this, Vladmir Perov's grandson Gregor Perov was raised surrounded by the politics of the Union. At the age of 18 he had become the People's Representative of the Zlynkan Autonomous Socialist Republic. From his earlier years, Perov had developed a contempt for the system his grandfather had put in place. His ideal system of government, self styled as Gregorianism, included changes in the distribution of resources and further restrictions on the civil liberties of citizens than already existed in the USR.

During the 1517 election for the office of Premier, Gregor Perov was chosen and voted in by a 563 to 202 margin. His father Issac would later call it his "proudest moment as a father but saddest moment as a citizen of the Union." By this point, he was widely known for his dismissal of Perovism and his authoritarian leanings.

Government policy under Gregor Perov

Throughout Perov's term as Premier, he placed loyalists in key positions in the government, military, and state-run industries.

On Alvan 9, 1518, in his second week in office, Perov banned all anti-government and anti-communism speech and any public gatherings of 5 or more persons, claiming that these restrictions were necessary to secure the Union's national security and unity. On Dosa 2, the USR legislature greatly expanded the powers of the office of Premier, and named Perov the General Secretary of the Communist Party in addition to Premier. Perov made plans for the expansion of the military, including ordering the immediate enlistment of 50,000 new troops for the People's Red Army. In addition, the Ministry of State Security (MGB), was ordered to increase surveillance activity in the Kubanizan, Balochian, and Calgarovan Socialist Republics. On Fein 17, he banned all news media networks operated by the USR's constituent republics, leaving the Workers' and Peasants' News Network, the Union's official news network, as the only legal source of news. Perov's longtime ally, Illarion Kozar, was placed in charge of the network.

In Elva 1518, Gregor Perov outlawed several churches, including the Ostrid Church, which the majority of religiously-affiliated Union citizens were members of. This move was met with outrage throughout the Union, and incidents of civil unrest and riots, such as the Dnaino Riots of 1518, erupted in many areas. The civil unrest was brutally put down by the MGB and Army.

In Vintyr 1518, Perov instituted a program of embedding Severyan "cultural colonies" into non-Severyan populated areas, primarily in Kubanizan-, Balochian-, and Calgarovan-dominated areas. The first of these cultural colonies was put in place in Alvan 1519 when 100 Severyan families were moved to Rvon in the Balochian Socialist Republic. After the discovery of the Khmelnytsky Plot and the subsequent purges, Perov barred any known Perovists, as well as any ethnic Kubanizans, Balochians, and Calgarovans, from taking any new officer positions unless they were given a written exemption by the premier or head of the MGB.

Coup plot and purges

In Fein 1519, Perov began to openly talk about the possibility of dissolving the constituent republics of the USR and creating a unitary government. Many in the government and military considered this to be the next step towards the total abandonment of Perovist Communism. A small group of Army officers, led by Colonel General Dmytro Khmelnytsky, a Kubanizan general, colluded with a group of politicians and government officials in devising a plot, known later as the Khmelnytsky Plot, to oust the Premier. The political group would order the arrest of Perov and the officers would use the soldiers under their command to carry out that order, in addition to securing vital buildings, such as the MGB headquarters.

These plans were revealed to Perov in Septem by an officer embedded in the plotters' ranks. Perov immediately arrested all of those involved. Declaring a state of emergency, he placed the Army under the temporary authority of the MGB and appointed Illarion Kozar as head of the MGB. To Perov, the fact that the ringleader of the plotters was a Kubanizan and a staunch supporter of Perovism was evidence that Kubanizans, and by extension Balochians and Calgarovans, could not be trusted, and that loyalty to Perovist principles should be suppressed. Purges of the military and government was subsequently carried out. Between Septem and Dein, and estimated 6,000 suspected disloyal Perovist, Severyanian, Kubanizan, Balochian, and Calgarovan officers, government officials, and politicians were arrested and executed or imprisoned. A majority of Army generals and political commissars and a majority of Navy admirals and political commissars were purged. Between Tolven 1519 and Dosa 1520, another estimated 2,000 were purged from the military and government and 5,000 from state-run industries and the intelligentsia.

Beginning of the war

((OOC: The war starts in Kubaniza, followed shortly by Calgarov and Balochia. Mazaghea joins in 1522.))

Ceasefire

In early Marth 1525, it was agreed between the Union and the rebel forces to observe a temporary ceasefire beginning on Marth 11 while delegates met to discuss peace in the future Kubanizan capital of Bukanya. There were numerous violations of the ceasefire along the extended front by both sides. In general, however, the ceasefire was observed by the majority of the opposing forces.

Aerial warfare

In the early stages of the war, the Union held unchallenged air superiority, and Union air force were put to extensive use against rebel guerrillas. As Union forces began taking massive casualties in 1522, however, the Union air force proved unable to turn the tide of the war, and many Union airfields were overrun by rebel ground forces. When, by 1523, Union forces had been pushed out of most of Kubaniza, Balochia, and Calgarov, Kubanizan, Balochian, and Calgarovan airmen that had survived Perov's purges of the military, as well as Union deserters, provided valuable skills.

Former pilots were limited, but those that were in supply were put to use training other pilots. From 1523 onward, rebel air forces began to establish a presence in the skies. Their numbers were often limited and their training dubious, but they made a notable impact on the battlefield, while Union air forces continued to fly in support of Union ground forces.

Naval warfare

During the war, rebel naval activities were almost nonexistent outside of smuggling activities. The Union's use of naval forces against the rebels was mostly limited to blockading the Drakkenmorn and Byras Sea. Occasionally, Union naval infantry would attempt landings on the Balochian or Calgarovan coasts as parts of various operations.

War crimes, abuses, and civilian casualties

Total casualties for the war, military and civilian, are varied because the exact numbers are unknown. Many deaths went unrecorded and there are thousands of unmarked graves. Millions of civilians were displaced by the war. The Special Projects Division, under the direction of Gregor Perov, is suspected of committing war crimes.

After military failures to suppress the rebellion, Perov ordered the Special Projects Division (SPO) to begin fervently interrogating rebel suspects and prosecuting the government's efforts to suppress rebellious activity. SPO operations in Severyane, Kubaniza, Balochia, and Calgarov were extensive and almost entirely without government oversight. Hundreds of suspected dissidents and rebels were disappeared. Some former SPO members came out many years after the war and spoke about crimes committed by the organization during those years. However, there is very little physical evidence as almost all official documentation of the SPO operations was destroyed.