Soviet Union Coat of Arms via Wikipedia
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Since Schattenkrieg is set in an alternative history, there is a need to define what is different in this fork of time. What is the same and what is different needs to be established and it all has to make plausible sense, which can become a very daunting task.
The first country to be defined was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Soviet Union
Die, but do not retreat. – Stalin
Unternehmen Barbarossa (English translation: Operation Barbarossa) ended surprisingly well for the Third Reich. The German offensive surprised the Soviets and caught the Red Army ill-prepared. Inadequate training and obsolete equipment allowed the Wehrmacht to stroll through Soviet defenses.
Operation Barbarossa revealed the newest member of the Axis Powers, the enigmatic Doppelgänger Empire. Though there was little combat contact with the alien race during the German offensive, the Doppelgängers did deploy a device that influenced the local climate in October of 1941 after the fall rains impeded the German supply lines. The device created a sweltering heat wave that kept the roads firm and allowed the eastern blitzkrieg to sweep over Moscow.
Before the final blow that brought Moscow to its knees, Stalin overturned his no-retreat policy and had ordered the disassembly of several key weapon factories that were to be sent by rail over the Urals and deep into Siberia, well beyond the grasp of Hitler. As Moscow fell, the Red Army retreated with the vital factory equipment and collapsed key mountain passes behind them.
The Germans have occupied the Ukraine, a very important source of food and natural resources, but left the rest of western Soviet territories to rot. That is of course, after they had deported much of its citizens back to Germany for slave labor. Today, Moscow and much of the surrounding area, a 300 mile radius, has become a frozen wasteland as the Doppelgängers have reversed the function of their device.
The Doppelgänger device has also effected the life that still manages to survive in the area. Radiation has turned many Russian survivors and wildlife into mutants raving with madness. Mammoth bears and wolves have been reported by Allied and Axis troops unfortunate enough to have reason to be there.
The remnants of the Soviet leadership and its Red Army have regrouped in an undisclosed location deep in the Siberian tundra. Radio communications confirm that they are planning a massive counterstrike against the Germans. Currently, Stalin has been aiding the Allied forces with small commando units that have ongoing missions to disrupt the German infrastructure with as much violence as necessary.
EXTRAORDINARIES
Little is known about the existence of Extraordinaries in the Soviet Union. The press and communication is heavily censored since the The Great October Socialist Revolution and was sparse during the reign of the Czars before that. It is believed the USSR has gone to great lengths to document their Extraordinary population and recruit them into government sponsored programs well before the Western world developed parallel programs. Recruitment into state sponsored programs is usually not optional and the NKVD may have a team comprised wholly of Extraordinary operatives to convince their fellow metahumans to join.
Even though information on current Soviet Extraordinaries is scarce, there are many legends and folklore that hint at historical Extraordinaries that may still exist within the large expanse of the Soviet Union. The myths of Koschei the Deathless and Baba Yaga are certainly tales surrounding old Extraordinaries. More recently, it has been confirmed that the late Czar’s advisor, Rasputin, is an Extraordinary exhibiting uncanny abilities of cheating death.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Shortly before the Germans broke their non-aggression pact with them, the Soviets rescued Nikola Tesla from poverty in the United States. Since that time, the Soviet Union has been developing weapons based on Tesla technologies. Tesla rifles and electromagnetic pulse canons have been field tested and are being deployed with specially trained units in the Red Army. The deployment is slow since the USSR has had a hard time rebuilding their factories, even after being able to retreat with key equipment.
The Soviets have also uncovered something at Lake Cheko which is very near the Tunguska Event hypocenter. Intercepted radio communications have not given a lot of details and since the object’s discovery, Soviet radio traffic has been encrypted.
PERSONALITIES
Joseph Stalin is the current Premier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Stalin is furious about his incorrect calculations regarding the German invasion and their success in the Eastern Front. He has become ruthless in the pursuit of exacting vengeance on Hitler’s Third Reich.
Nikola Tesla is a Croatian born American inventor responsible for alternating current electricity. Stalin had Nikola kidnapped shortly after the Nazi-Soviet Pact to enlist his aid in developing the burgeoning Soviet industrial market.
Rasputin the sorcerer who was poisoned, shot, castrated, drowned, and burned by agents of the last Czar of Russia. He still lives and has his own agenda for Russia. It is believed Rasputin is involved in the research initiative at Lake Cheko in Tunguska.
ORGANIZATIONS
Not much is left of the Soviet Union’s bureaucracy except the bare minimum needed to keep the few operating factories and the remnants of the Red Army functioning. Stalin and a few members of the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR, the Soviet Union’s executive governing body. Everyone else fell when the Wehrmacht sacked Moscow. However, beyond the regular Red Army units, there are two organizations of note operating within the remnants of the Soviet Union.
The NKVD (Russian: Народный Комиссариат Внутренних Дел Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del), or the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, is the Soviet state security agency that operates with impunity in its duty to suppress enemies of the state, foreign and domestic. The NKVD is ruthless and has a large network of spies built during the reign of Vladimir Lenin. Since Operation Barbarossa, official communication to operatives outside the Union has broken down, giving NKVD agents little direction on their actions. Many NKVD behind German lines have attempted to contact Allied Forces in Paris, looking for refuge. Many more have become little more than terrorists preying on military and civilian targets indiscriminately.
The genius of Nikola Tesla is behind the Tesla Corps, a battalion of shock troops for the Red Army. Armed with Tesla Rifles and encased in strange armor, the Tesla Corps will spearhead the Soviet counter-offensive against Germany. In the meantime, they have been field testing new weaponry against the mutants ravaging the wasteland around Moscow.
AGENDA
The current Soviet agenda is to rebuild its infrastructure and military might. A lot of importance is being placed on researching new technologies under the guidance of Nikola Tesla. The communist regime is currently content with allying itself with the anti-fascist government of the West for now, but this may change once the Axis Powers fall.
ALLIANCES
The Soviet Union has entered uneasy coalition with the Allied nations of Britain, the United States, and the freedom fighters of fallen European nations that comprise the Resistance.
Written by Michael Brewer
Edited by Cassey Toi
One of the most recent films unveiling important parts in the Soviet history I’ve seen is a documentary on Joseph Stalin’s daughter who happens to live in Wisconsin, “Svetlana About Svetlana”. Doesn’t say much of the mutants, but tells a lot about myths of that time and whether they were true or not.