Attempting to Fulfill the Plan MNKh Edition

[Blackstar]

Turn 17(1936 1st Half): Our Strength is Without Number
Resources per turn 615+ULAG with 30 in storage.
Party Support 50
Vladimir Bazarov Economic Report, 1936
The current counter-productive state of the peasantry and their strange desires are both an esoteric and frustrating problem. They do not wish to move when it is clearly to their benefit, but with a small amount of uncertainty, they are running about as if their homes are on fire. Given this utterly irrational and suboptimal behavior, the only possible conclusion when looking at the peasants is that they must lack the information or be somehow deceived into making these decisions. What sane person would give up the opportunity for advancement and far improved position for the sake of frivolities and tradition?

It would be my by far greatest recommendation to start the proper education of peasants at the youngest possible level so that they can properly prioritize efficiency. While such a change would take decades to fully implement, the engineering of their way of life and patterns of thought would create the new Soviet farmer. One that is properly focused on things that actually matter and capable of ignoring the frivolities. Such a change will also enhance grain yields as the proper information and focus will be taught on all levels.

Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 452,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -37.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -12.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 75 Resources Per Turn

Free dice to allocate: 6 Dice
Infrastructure 6 Dice

[]Buildup of Rail Stock (Diesel, Urals): With the continuous dieselification of the rail lines, it has come time to finally replace the infrastructure all over the mountains and their industrial districts. After such an improvement, over half of the trains in the Union will be powered by the new fuel of the future, improving efficiency considerably and minimizing additional infrastructure. However, such a changeover will cause an issue with needing to do something with all of the old coal locomotives, as more track needs to be laid to exploit the new quantity of trains properly. (15 Resources per dice (0/400))

[]Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such efforts would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. Currently, the electrification of the Western Region is a high priority, as it will link a considerable number of core industrial cities. (Select a region from: Far East, Siberia, and the Western Region) (15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 1): The construction of newly updated roads to better traverse multiple regions of the Union would be a massive military asset. It would allow for rapid transit of equipment and armor to where it is needed. While such a program would be expensive due to the limited but steady production of bitumen, it should be possible to ensure that the roads are fully paved. The first stage of such a project will start with the cities and urban areas, ensuring they have all paved roads. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Angara River Systems: An expensive and labor-intensive proposal for utilizing the deep Siberian river for additional power generation and motive capacity. While the local region is under-developed, the construction of multiple new hydroelectric systems will allow significant improvements in the transportation of goods and improve the power available in the Union's deep Siberian regions. Such efforts, however, will be challenging due to the inhospitable terrain and lacking infrastructure in the region. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/400))

Heavy Industry 8 Dice

[]Magnitogorsk Planned City(Stage 5): The further expansion of the planned city will be one of the largest efforts undertaken by the Union. The complex will nearly double in size and become the premier steel production installation in the world. The alloying vats will be further expanded with more steel blends tested out to improve quality, and another metallurgical university will be constructed. The goal of this final level of expansion would be to create an industrial complex nearly half a million strong focused on the production of steel for the Union, creating a true paragon city for industrialization. (15 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (92/1200))

[]Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably greater amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (139/700))

[]Donbas Coal Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): The expansion of the basin any further will be an impractical endeavor as the bulk of the easily reachable coal is already underutilization. Still, further efforts can be invested to produce more coal yet from the region. However, such material will be far harder to ship to the Urals, where the bulk of the coal use is occurring. (15 Resources per dice (65/400))

[]Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 3): Where there is currently no metallurgical need for the additional coal, it will not go amiss. There are a considerable number of opportunities to use it for both energy and commerce, securing yet more resources for the Union. The current phase of expansion will focus on deep-shaft coal mines so as to ensure a steady supply of coal in the future from the massive deposit. (15 Resources per dice (84/400))

[]Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 3): The expansion of the machine-building plant is critical for producing a full domestic series of large industrial machinery. While the planned city itself is already producing many goods, further expansion is easily in the books, allowing a further massive production ramp-up. The steel shortage has passed for now, and while there is insufficient domestic steel to maintain the full planned production of the plant, minor imports will combine well with it, making the facility one of the largest machine production plants in the world. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (60/400))

[]Leningrad Metallurgical Plant: With more aluminum needed for a multitude of new possible projects and engines, more production cannot go amiss. While this plant will be inherently smaller than that constructed in Stalingrad, it will still produce a truly massive quantity of material. The plant would mostly use local hydroelectric power along with some of the thermal plants. Still, such an effort will represent a good quantity of additional capacity and is highly recommended. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Power Production Campaigns(Stage 2): Additional thermal power generation will ensure that the Union can secure its electricity supply. While this would considerably improve urban workers' lives, the bulk of this power use will improve industrial processes. For this stage of the effort, a large quantity of coal will be required along with a considerable number of rail assets to transport it. The integration of more power into the Union can only help, as if in 10 years every home can have electric lighting and heating, we will have truly reached the goals of the plans. (20 Resources per dice (29/200))

[]Norilsk Combine: The processing of Nickel and Palladium fulfills a critical domestic need in the case of war with the Capitalists. Large sections of our industrial production require these metals, from catalyzed processes to alloying, necessitating their mining in large quantities. However, the issue is that the deposit is relatively far north, necessitating large quantities of cold weather equipment to work effectively. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (0/200))

Light and Chemical Industry 5 Dice

[]Baku Oil Extraction(Stage 3): The time for the near-total utilization of the oil fields is now. Yet a few more deposits are not being actively extracted, allowing for the Union to ramp up production further. This will start hitting the field's limit, but a further campaign can increase oil production. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 10 Resources per dice (106/300))

[]Baku Oil Refineries(Stage 3): With the plans to nearly totally utilize the oil deposits in Baku, there also needs to be a plan to refine the massive quantity of oil products. However, these industrial facilities would necessitate a high cost of production with little return on spending. These would further improve the number of oil products available to the Union for larger military projects and secure the position of the Union as the source of Eastern European oil. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bakelite Production(Army): The army has a desperate need to produce more resin for various applications. With the construction of an additional number of bakelite plants, this need can be easily met. While no concrete applications for light plastic have yet made themselves evident, some engineers are already suggesting using it heavily in aircraft and personnel army devices. However, the quantity of the material needed has caused some delays as the prospective needs seem to be quite massive. (25 Resources per dice (0/400))

[]Pharmaceutical Plants(Sulfa): With the newly published paper in Germany about the wonder drug capable of easily fighting Bacteria, mass production must be rapidly initiated. Prospects for it would allow the bulk of the people in the Union to fight off infection far more easily, a considerable improvement to military capabilities, and yield improvements in factory farms. The necessity to get production of these wondrous new classes of medications cannot be overstated as they shall revolutionize medicine. (40 Resources per dice (46/100))

[]Electric Heating Plants: Through the use of new tungsten filaments, many new commercial items can be made. These new items will allow the multitude of workers connected to the electric grid to heat their homes and food and utilize the newly available power sources more efficiently. While such an effort will increase electric consumption, it should steadily reduce reliance on coal inside of cities, allowing for a degree of cleaner air. (15 Resources per dice (0/150))

Agriculture 6 Dice

[]Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 4): With the current massive flood of peasants to new installations, the cooperative farm program does not lack for labor. With the new plans and food targets needed of the people, these large installations will allow for a considerable production increase. Despite being less popular with the average peasant, these cooperatives represent a far more integrated and more efficient approach to improving grain yields. However, they do cause considerable lifestyle changes to the average peasant and may cause some issues in their conversion to rural proletariat. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (Will have a Stage 6 if NST stage 4 is not done) (15 Resources per dice (14/300))

[]New Socialist Towns(Stage 4): The construction of new models of socialist towns is needed to accommodate the steady flood of peasants that are abandoning their previous homes in favor of transferring to new agriculture. While the peasants will happily go to either system, they are far more enthusiastic about the town model. While such a setup would inherently have lower production efficiency, it allows more workers to stay on the land and considerably modernize the small-town life without massive alterations. Thus, allowing a minimally interventionist hand in the lives of the newly made rural proletariat. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (Will have a Stage 6 if VCC stage 4 is not done) (10 Resources per dice (243/300))

[]Expand Pacific Fishing: The initial attempts at fishing on the Pacific ocean have supplied a truly massive catch for the quantity of resources invested. Thus, it would be prudent to begin massive fishing operations in the waters around the Union, and in the nearby international waters. While it is still challenging to get that much fish across the nation, the far east will be more than happy to eat most of the production. (15 Resources per dice (0/150))

Services 5 Dice

[]Creation of the State Hospital System(Stage 3): With most people in the Union now having access to at least some form of doctors, a good quantity of specialized healthcare is needed. Thus, multiple large specialized hospitals need to be constructed, one for each major urban center, so that high-quality care can be provided to the most severe of cases and injuries. (10 Resources per dice (69/300))

[]Creation of State Libraries: Through literacy expansion, an enormous need for additional books has been created. Thus, a series of new libraries must be made, with one in every town ensuring that a steady supply of literature and textbooks can be provided to the population. Such an effort would take some time to fully fill with books, but the base buildings for the system of libraries can be constructed at a rapid speed. Such an effort would help many students and workers keep their minds sharp and themselves educated. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Expansion of the Schooling Programs(Stage 3): The current youth of the Union need further expansions in schools so that illiteracy may finally be defeated. This step of schools will be built down to the smallest town that can require one and create a unified classification system of students' performance. Overall, such an effort would allow a consistent and trackable improvement to the nation's education for little cost. However, this effort would further exacerbate the shortage of trained personnel for some time and not pay off in anything close to the near term. It would, however, ensure a steady pipeline of well-educated adults joining the labor force. (5 Resources per dice (271/300))

Military 6 Dice
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have a quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 400 after the end of this turn.)

[]Trial New Sub-Machine Guns: With multiple foreign armies creating new fully automatic pistol-caliber weapons, it would be a shame for the Union to not join in on the trend. The new gun trials will open up for all engineers to design a new gun model suitable to the Union's needs in the reliable Tokarev cartridge. (10 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Machine Guns: With the prevalence of the old maxim, and the current lack of any option better than it, a new series of infantry portable machine guns must be considered. While there is a multitude of designs, the current favorite is a modernization of the PV-1. But, the design faces stiff competition from multiple OKB's, each wanting the honor of designing a gun for the Union. (10 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Aircraft Weapons: With the prevalence of the old rifle caliber weapons and the lack of a proper heavier MG, the union desperately needs some new form of gun to use in the air. Thus, the testing and refining of Berezin's currently promising gun should allow the Union to have a new standard gun in the air. As a benefit, the current heavy cartridge shows some viability towards being up-calibered to 20mm. (15 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Divisional Guns: The army's current expansion needs some form of new mid-velocity divisional gun as a semi-universal gun for the anti-tank and long-range direct fire role. While the gun will be reasonably expensive, it will offer a considerable improvement in capabilities. The gun will also be viable for use in a tank when the next generation of armor designs starts. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Perm Engine Plant Expansion and Upgrade(ASh-62): With the need for a steady development of new engine systems and the desire to no longer rely on American engines, a new series of upgrades are possible to implement for the M-25 engine. Overall this should increase the horsepower considerably while cutting costs due to no-longer needing to pay licensing fees. The effort will also start the steady improvement of 9 cylinder engines, possibly yielding future results. (20 Resources per dice (0/50)) (-25 ABM) (Currently ahead of time)

[]Stalino Artillery Plant: With the new models of howitzer that have been developed in the Union, it would be prudent to construct a series of new assembly lines to make more guns and ensure that the troops have a steady supply of new devices. While such a plant would be a major industrial undertaking, it will allow a steady stream of production of both howitzers, ensuring that in a few years, each infantry corps and army will have its full accompaniment of guns. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Gorky Artillery Plant: The production of new anti-tank guns and other high-pressure guns necessitates high-quality steel and a large industrial complex. Thus, by creating a new secondary plant to the Gorky Machine-building plant must be constructed to make specialized, high-quality guns. While current production is sufficient for the current army, the planned expansion will require a large scale ramp-up. (25 Resources per dice (0/100)) (-50 ABM)

[]Expansion of the Leningrad Locomotive Plant: With the considerable production capacity in the North of the Union, it would be prudent to utilize it to create a new series of trucks to allow easy transport of troops, resources, and supplies. Such a design inherently would use a licensed American engine but should perform fairly well, ensuring a steady movement and advance speed. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Construct Officer academies (Stage 4): With the massive recruitment of more personnel that is planned yet more officer training is needed. With the current reserve of officers already starting to thin with the need for instructors, some commanders will be transferred over to teach the next generation how to lead correctly. The effort will involve constructing an additional twenty universities to educate officer candidates into competent individuals capable of managing the army's complexity. (15 Resources per dice (158/300))

Bureaucracy 2 Dice

[]Scapegoat Passively Resisting Priests: Due to the effort of various religious personnel in the creation of the community centers, the project was delayed considerably. While the bulk of them are likely to be entirely innocent, with the issue instead occurring due to mismanagement, there is an opportunity for easy political gains to be made. With the bulk of them tried, a good amount of influence can be recouped in the party for acting with its goals. (10 Party Support if completed, DC 20)

[]Trial Production Staff: The poor state of military production must have someone be at fault for the disrepair and low standards. While they were likely supplied with poorly made domestic machinery older than a portion of the workers, that is no excuse for the degree of slack exhibited. Thus, with a large trial of the personnel, a considerable amount of progress can be made. (20 Party Support if completed, DC 20)

[]Encourage Sales: With the Japanese desire for more oil and specialize industrial material, there is a decent trade opportunity. Despite their ideological opposition, it would only make sense to offer them some fuel and metal exports to allow some degree of local influence. At the same time, this would help obtain a good quantity of foreign currency for further industrialization at only some minor political cost. (-10 Party Support if completed, DC 40) (Resource Gain)

[]Attempt Trade Agreements(USA): There are currently some opportunities to open far more friendly relations with the United States through an expansion of trade. The current president in power is moderately friendly and should be able to sign a fairly reasonable deal so that some income can be gained from US markets, at the same time as securing more favorable machinery imports. (-5 Party Support if attempted, DC 40/60) (Resource Gain)

Moratorium 4 Hours

 

[Blackstar]

Turn 17(1936 1st Half): Our Strength is Without Number Results
Resources per turn 615+10+5+5+5+ULAG=650+ULAG with 0 in storage.
Party Support 50+5+5-5=55

Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 452,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -37.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -12.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 75 Resources Per Turn

Infrastructure

Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such efforts would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. Currently, the electrification of the Western Region is a high priority, as it will link a considerable number of core industrial cities. (Select a region from: Far East, Siberia, and the Western Region(351/300)) (15 Resources per dice (0/300)) (Western Region Complete)

With twelve NKPS labor units' assignment, a massive effort is initiated all over the Soviet Union's Western regions to construct the number of power lines needed. The bulk of the effort is focused on the large linking systems, allowing the disparate sections of the greater power grid to become inter-connected, ensuring that power can easily flow from one end of the Union to the other. Still, despite the poor weather, multiple substations are constructed all over the area, linking up thousands of towns and communities to electricity gifts. Casualties are also fairly reasonable, as the laborers start their work in the more temperate zones, gradually moving north.

We got shipped out to the cold yet again, on another never-ending labor effort. This time they didn't even tell us where we were going, only to get on the train. Once we got there, though, the site was a simple field, and we got shown a steel shipment and told to construct an electric tower. We did the same job before, but it was the middle of the winter, and the heated train cars were just never warm enough. Still, we managed to build the first pole in less than a week, and after a few months, we completed the project, only losing a few from our team this time.
-Lev Solovev, Journal

It has been found that not informing laborers of their work locations before shipping them out has managed to considerably reduce transportation casualty rates. With this lack of information, the teams have also become far happier, especially as some limited alcohol is supplied as part of the post-shift rations for cold weather work.
-Statistical Commisariat​

Heavy Industry

Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably greater amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (205/700))

The further expansion of the mining infrastructure feeding the planned city occurs at a steady pace. The current phase of the effort has so far created dozens of rail links to connect to the mines, with a multitude of rare metal mines now in full exploitation and providing a steady supply of alloying materials. So far, the actual heavy high-temperature smelters have not been installed, but the ore production is now hooked up and going. Simultaneously, two separate metallurgical universities have been constructed to study the alloys to ensure steady industry improvements. Now though, the bulk of the current effort now needs to be focused on the build-up of novel machinery for processing new metals.

Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 3): The expansion of the machine-building plant is critical for producing a full domestic series of large industrial machinery. While the planned city itself is already producing many goods, further expansion is easily in the books, allowing a further massive production ramp-up. The steel shortage has passed for now, and while there is insufficient domestic steel to maintain the full planned production of the plant, minor imports will combine well with it, making the facility one of the largest machine production plants in the world. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (193/400))

The Gorky plant has called back its six NKPS labor units for further expansions of the complex. While this time the work is far more humane, with shelters already set up there are some instances of minor problems from cold. But, progress is made at an acceptable pace as the experienced construction crews manage to easily tackle the massive construction project. At the end of the season, most of the buildings are ready to receive the heavy machinery, with a few heavy presses ordered and installed for the large scale production of steel parts cheaply. The necessity of moving such heavy components also sees the extensive use of new tractor cranes to optimally move the extremely heavy machinery into position.

[]Import Foreign Presses: There are a considerable number of opportunities to secure heavier presses through foreign expertise and import. While this would not be the most popular effort, it would allow a good degree of progress to be made in both quantity and quality. (-5 Party Influence) (100 Resources) (100 Progress on Gorky)

[]Domestic Presses: Given time the domestic production will catch up to the quality of foreign production, but it will take time, and progress must be devoted to the plant. (No effect)

Power Production Campaigns(Stage 2): Additional thermal power generation will ensure that the Union can secure its electricity supply. While this would considerably improve urban workers' lives, the bulk of this power use will improve industrial processes. For this stage of the effort, a large quantity of coal will be required and a considerable number of rail assets to transport it. The integration of more power into the Union can only help, as if in 10 years every home can have electric lighting and heating, we will have truly reached the goals of the plans. (299/200, Stage 2 Complete) (99/250 Stage 3)

The construction of a massive number of thermal power stations across the bulk of the western region has allowed a multitude of homes and factories to have a steady supply of power. While they are locally produced turbines and boilers, the efficiency is far greater than of those made during the first production runs, with improvements taken into account and production staff far better trained. Still, a large amount of coal is now necessary to be shipped all over the Union to ensure the steady production of electric power to supply all cities and communities. Given the predicted usage of power with the proliferation of more electric appliances and the ever more energy-intensive production processes for most technologies, the work in electrifying the Union will likely never be done, and more power plants must still be constructed.

Light and Chemical Industry

Pharmaceutical Plants(Sulfa): With the newly published paper in Germany about the wonder drug capable of easily fighting Bacteria, mass production must be rapidly initiated. Prospects for it would allow the bulk of the people in the Union to fight off infection far more easily, a considerable improvement to military capabilities, and yield improvements in factory farms. The necessity to get production of these wondrous new classes of medications cannot be overstated as they shall revolutionize medicine. (124/100) (Complete) (+10 Resources per Dice)

The mass production of Sulfanilamide is hailed as one of the largest steps of the Soviet Union's medical progress. The plant now produces enough for use in most hospitals, but supplies still need to be built up to ensure that every hospital and clinic has sufficient supply. With every day, new treatments are found for the drug, with reported successes against various diseases. Still, though, occasional side-effects tend to be severe, slightly limiting the number of people where it can be used to full effect. The military also desires massive supplies of the drug, causing steady transfers to be undertaken so that field medical commands will have sufficient supplies.

With the success of the trials of new anti-bacterial mediation, a large number of frostbite patients with infections have recovered, demonstrating a great victory for socialism. While production is still spooling up, in time, infections may become a thing of the past
-Pravda​

Electric Heating Plants: Through the use of new tungsten filaments, many new commercial items can be made. These new items will allow the multitude of workers connected to the electric grid to heat their homes and food and utilize the newly available power sources more efficiently. While such an effort will increase electric consumption, it should steadily reduce reliance on coal inside of cities, allowing for a degree of cleaner air. (202/150) (Complete) (+5 Resources per Dice)

With the construction of a bunch of heating elements, a new series of improvements are made and put into mass production for use by a large number of Soviet citizens. The first of these applications is a simple electric consumer heater with a fan, capable of efficiently heating a room. Another product made is a standardized single plate stove to allow for convenient heating of food on top. However, these new products are set to greatly increase the quantity of power used by the civilian sector, but in doing so, they will ensure the steady removal of coal from the urban home.

Agriculture

Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 4): With the current massive flood of peasants to new installations, the cooperative farm program does not lack for labor. With the new plans and food targets needed of the people, these large installations will allow for a considerable production increase. Despite being less popular with the average peasant, these cooperatives represent a far more integrated and more efficient approach to improving grain yields. However, they do cause considerable lifestyle changes to the average peasant and may cause some issues in their conversion to rural proletariat. (5 Party Influence) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (Will have a Stage 6 if NST stage 4 is not done) (460/300, Stage 4 Complete) (160/500 Stage 5) (+5 Resources per Turn)

Given the current large quantity of mobile peasants, it is only proper to convert them into Rural proletariat. While there is a large quantity of non-utilized prime agricultural land, it is only prudent to convert it in mass to large-scale industrial farms. With the allocation of a considerable number of tractors, and new towns constructed to run the massive installations, agricultural production should significantly improve. Still, it will take time for the new farms to start working, as it is still months from harvesting season. Thus the bulk of the winter is spent on training the new farmers on their equipment and the proper science of managing crops. But, with this effort and the new towns constructed in smaller plots, the Union's food production is now officially fully decoupled from the old peasant farmer.

When we couldn't farm anymore where did we have to go? The only skill I had was farming and a bit of writing. And after staying for three months in this city, I had to just give up and go back to the party official. When I told him my skills, the smug fucker lined me up to a new farm, and I knew that due to my family I couldn't say no. Still, we all ship out tomorrow and hopefully, the party is at least a bit honest about the farms.
-Fedot Nikolaev, Journal​

New Socialist Towns(Stage 4): The construction of new models of socialist towns is needed to accommodate the steady flood of peasants that are abandoning their previous homes in favor of transferring to new agriculture. While the peasants will happily go to either system, they are far more enthusiastic about the town model. While such a setup would inherently have lower production efficiency, it allows more workers to stay on the land and considerably modernize the small-town life without massive alterations. Thus, allowing a minimally interventionist hand in the lives of the newly made rural proletariat. (5 Party Influence) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (Will have a Stage 6 if VCC stage 4 is not done) (407/300, Stage 4 Complete) (107/500 Stage 5) (+5 Resources per Turn)

The high-speed construction of the new towns goes at a breakneck pace due to the last harvest's poor results. While the tractor plants are being continuously run, multiple new, far more widespread towns are constructed all over the abandoned countryside, with personnel volunteering to move into them. The small towns themselves are sizable local communities, but they are tiny for the land area compared to the population that came before. Still, agricultural efficiency in the regions where they are used has massively climbed as mechanization, training, and fertilizer is distributed. In the spring, the soil is plowed to plant a new far more dense, far more massive crop.

Services

Creation of the State Hospital System(Stage 3): With most people in the Union now having access to at least some form of doctors, a good quantity of specialized healthcare is needed. Thus, multiple large specialized hospitals need to be constructed, one for each major urban center, so that high-quality care can be provided to the most severe of cases and injuries. (10 Resources per dice (286/300))

Slow and steady hospital system expansions occur, with multiple specialized institutes constructed in many separate city centers. A new dedicated hospital specializing in surgery is made in Moscow. In Leningrad, a new hospital is made specializing in the treatment of cancer. Overall, progress is made all over the Union, ensuring that there are highly specialized and trained doctors capable of performing most operations available. While this may not save many lives, the new built-up expertise will eventually be a considerable help to doctors in the field along with the Union as a whole as new doctors are trained.

Expansion of the Schooling Programs(Stage 3): The current youth of the Union need further expansions in schools so that illiteracy may finally be defeated. This step of schools will be built down to the smallest town that can require one and create a unified classification system of students' performance. Overall, such an effort would allow a consistent and trackable improvement to the nation's education for little cost. However, this effort would further exacerbate the shortage of trained personnel for some time and not pay off in anything close to the near term. It would, however, ensure a steady pipeline of well-educated adults joining the labor force. (371/300, Stage 3 Complete) (71/500 Technical Colleges)

The steady expansions of the schooling programs go well, now with every new student able to receive a slot in a class. While the teachers will need more time to all be fully trained, progress is continuously made, with those recruited in earlier efforts slowly cycled out with actually trained educators. At the same time, standardized performance exams are made to assess the quality of students from a multitude of schools so that the university slots can be prioritized to those most likely to do well. At the same time, the broader initiative is expanded so that those without the academic capacity to go into the university system can be educated in more hands-on fields, ensuring an actually experienced and trained working class in full, capable of handling complex devices.

Military
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have a quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 350 after the end of this turn.)

Trial New Machine Guns: With the prevalence of the old maxim, and the current lack of any option better than it, a new series of infantry portable machine guns must be considered. While there is a multitude of designs, the current favorite is a modernization of the PV-1. But, the design faces stiff competition from multiple OKB's, each wanting the honor of designing a gun for the Union. (99/40) (Complete) (Military Dice: 64)

The machine gun trial involves many new and exciting guns trialed against the old and tested maxim, along with the currently in mass production DP-27 gun. The bulk of the weapons are new, with new untested and revolutionary mechanisms. However, there are some conservative designs in the trail, both of which only necessitated a simple change in production. The first of them is an air-cooled modification of the old Maxim that was originally used in aircraft. While it is heavier, it is more capable of long bursts and neatly fits into the dedicated MG role. However, there is another option that is just a modification of the DP-27 gun, including a new belt system for feeding ammo and a reinforced barrel. Due to the cost of production and possible savings from scraping the old Maxims, the DP-27 based design, the DP-36 is selected.

Trial New Aircraft Weapons: With the prevalence of the old rifle caliber weapons and the lack of a proper heavier MG, the union desperately needs some new form of gun to use in the air. Thus, the testing and refining of Berezin's currently promising gun should allow the Union to have a new standard gun in the air. As a benefit, the current heavy cartridge shows some viability towards being up-calibered to 20mm. (15 Resources per dice (10/40))

Little progress is made on designing a new aircraft weapon, as most of the bureaus are focused instead on refining their designs. Still, so far, the competition is fairly fierce, with a new Berzarin gun still looking to be the most viable, but there is also a new ShVAK cannon. Both guns should meet the minimal requirements, but more time is needed for development to finish before testing can start.

Trial New Divisional Guns: The army's current expansion needs some form of new mid-velocity divisional gun as a semi-universal gun for the anti-tank and long-range direct fire role. While the gun will be reasonably expensive, it will offer a considerable improvement in capabilities. The gun will also be viable for use in a tank when the next generation of armor designs starts. (100/40) (Complete) (Military Dice: 14)

With the new trials open, many design bureaus send in their ideas for the new gun and an updated mounting system. However, out of them, one of the more ambitious designs is selected with a promising new recoil system and better traverse. This new universal gun prototype is designed and designated as the F22 76mm gun. But, as trials continue, a multitude of issues are revealed with the tracking being insufficient for an anti-aircraft gun, the armor penetration insufficient against tanks, and at the same time, the gun was heavy as a divisional piece. Overall, while the project did teach some valuable lessons, the current gun was too little of an improvement in any field to be produced, with generals just favoring the addition of direct fire sights to the 122mm howitzer.

Perm Engine Plant Expansion and Upgrade(ASh-62): With the need for a steady development of new engine systems and the desire to no longer rely on American engines, a new series of upgrades are possible to implement for the M-25 engine. Overall this should increase the horsepower considerably while cutting costs due to no-longer needing to pay licensing fees. The effort will also start the steady improvement of 9 cylinder engines, possibly yielding future results. (20 Resources per dice (37/50)) (Complete) (-50 ABM) (Military Dice 25)

The rush to expand the plant to produce newly updated engines has gone decently well. While a large quantity of foundational production infrastructure was canceled in favor of speeding up construction, such a change was allowable with the considerable parts reserve. The new domestic engine models deliver a steady stream of horsepower, with almost a thousand reached on the test bench, demonstrating substantial improvement over the original US design. While the increased pressures inside the engine have caused some failures, overall, the meantime to failure is rated as acceptable, but work has started to further improve the engine.

Construct Officer academies (Stage 4): With the massive recruitment of more personnel that is planned yet more officer training is needed. With the current reserve of officers already starting to thin with the need for instructors, some commanders will be transferred over to teach the next generation how to lead correctly. The effort will involve constructing an additional twenty universities to educate officer candidates into competent individuals capable of managing the army's complexity. (293/300, Close Enough, Stage 4 Complete) (Military Dice 52)

The construction of the academy complexes almost manages to complete during the month, with local work crews to finish the last parts of painting the large buildings. While the instruction has been decent so far, the stream of qualified and enthusiastic candidates has started to slacken, along with the stream of military personnel excited to be in teaching positions. Due to this, workers who wish to join the military are now in main-line training, with many officers sent towards teaching instead of the field. With the graduating younger classes, a steady rotation of new blood is coming in, with portions of the lower leadership rotated out and sent to teach instead of commanding. The first class's field performance has already been called an improvement on all levels, and if they have the chance to gain experience, a formidable military corps can be made.

Bureaucracy

Attempt Trade Agreements(USA): There are currently some opportunities to open far more friendly relations with the United States through an expansion of trade. The current president in power is moderately friendly and should be able to sign a fairly reasonable deal so that some income can be gained from US markets, at the same time as securing more favorable machinery imports. (-5 Party Support) (DC 60/135)

The trade negotiations started well, with a mission of diplomats sent to the United States to secure imports and trades. Tragically, such an arrangement had many issues, with none of the negotiators prepared to talk with the Americans' government or business structure. But due to the diplomatic mission unsure of how to properly do negotiations with the capitalists, the mission itself failed to make any progress in actual negotiations. However, multiple engineers who were with the mission managed to secure factory tours and visits to many stores. Securing multiple samples of packaging and products, which are now rapidly replicated with local production helping the population enjoy a greater quality of goods.

Moratorium 4 Hours, Incoming politburo vote on a new developing situation in Spain.

Current Economic Issues:
Rail: Minor Shortage
Coal: Minor Surplus
Aluminum: Massive Surplus (You aren't using much)
Steel: Minor Surplus
Energy: Moderate Surplus
Food: Minor Surplus
Labor: Moderate Surplus

 

[Blackstar]

Spanish Conflict Starting Politburo
After another meeting concludes on the plan, your aide rushes to you with a telegram sent from Moscow. There is an emergency meeting planned between the politburo to determine a response to the current crisis. The day's crisis is a brewing civil war in Spain, which has had a military coup attempted broad popular front government. Currently, a mass of high party functionaries and politicians have been called in and chunks of the military command to determine how best to act with the situation.

The military wing of the party and some of the older members are advocating small to moderate scale support, with the sale of older military assets. Some also suggest the transfer of volunteers with up to date equipment for testing it and the officers in the combat environment. But, such proposals do run the risk of equipment being captured and could uncover the direct involvement of the Union, perhaps prompting escalation.

Those more specialized in intelligence and those more focused on the party's internal politics are advocating for ensuring the Spanish government's stability. As any possible issue on the governmental level could unravel the whole effort to keep the place stable or cause them to end up as the wrong ideology. Multiple political and policing groups will be sent over first, with equipment and personnel following on second to fix these issues. While this could degrade the republic's short-term combat potential, it will ensure that some form of proper government forms.

Still, another wing of the party just wants to wash their hands of this mess and let the republic fight on its own. It would entirely comply with party policy but could cause another nation to fall to the fascists. Still, non-involvement will not risk anything and let resources be marshaled far better for internal efforts instead of foreign adventures. But, as an influential member, your word carries a large amount of weight, possibly changing the policy if enough support is gathered.

Or, Multi vote, vote by plan

[]Do Nothing: Lose nothing and risk nothing. (5 Party Influence)

[]Send Intelligence Assets: Begins the effort of stabilizing the Spanish Government, but can cause issues with parties fragmenting.

[]Equipment Sales and Instructors: Sending enough arms to stabilize the situation will help gain experience and update military doctrine considerably. (-5 Party Influence)

[]Volunteers: With the transfer of larger-scale volunteer assets along with their equipment, it should be possible to launch large scale early offensives before the fascists can stabilize their line. (-10 Party Influence)

Moratorium over, feel free to vote for the turn and this
Edited Voting Options a bit

 

[Blackstar]

Turn 18(1936 2nd Half): The Great Break
Resources per turn 650+ULAG with 0 in storage.
Party Support 40
Mission to Spain, Report by Alexander Orlov

The Spanish Republic's war effort's current state is as haphazard as are the political divisions in the newly created government and military. Still, my team and co-workers have so far managed to organize the volunteer brigades and republican military under loyal local generals. With a chain of command and some re-organizations, the army should become an acceptably organized force in the course of a few weeks, even if there is a lack of experienced commanders, necessitating lower level substitutions.

The government has so far aligned well with Soviet interests as they have been directed towards making large-scale purchases of arms as they become available from the Union first. Fortunately, they are also not aware of the exact top of the line and just desire basic equipment. As long as these can be green-lit, a considerable potential for mobilization exists in the state. Such arms will also be purchased with gold, securing a significant economic asset for the Union.

However, the war at the front is going poorly, with many southern regions cut off and in need of aid. There is currently a great need for trained volunteers and pilots at the south front, as the front is in rapid motion in the region. As long as some form of reserves can be sent over, an offensive can be conducted to cut off the bulk of the Fascist forces.

Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 452,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -37.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -12.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 75 Resources Per Turn

Free dice to allocate: 6 Dice
Infrastructure 6 Dice

[]Buildup of Rail Stock (Diesel, Urals): With the continuous dieselification of the rail lines, it has come time to finally replace the infrastructure all over the mountains and their industrial districts. After such an improvement, over half of the trains in the Union will be powered by the new fuel of the future, improving efficiency considerably and minimizing additional infrastructure. However, such a changeover will cause an issue with needing to do something with all of the old coal locomotives, as more track needs to be laid to exploit the new quantity of trains properly. (15 Resources per dice (0/350))

[]Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such efforts would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. (Select a region from: Far East and Siberia) (15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 1): The construction of newly updated roads to better traverse multiple regions of the Union would be a massive military asset. It would allow for rapid transit of equipment and armor to where it is needed. While such a program would be expensive due to the limited but steady production of bitumen, it should be possible to ensure that the roads are fully paved. The first stage of such a project will start with the cities and urban areas, ensuring they have all paved roads. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Angara River Systems: An expensive and labor-intensive proposal for utilizing the deep Siberian river for additional power generation and motive capacity. While the local region is under-developed, the construction of multiple new hydroelectric systems will allow significant improvements in the transportation of goods and improve the power available in the Union's deep Siberian regions. Such efforts, however, will be challenging due to the inhospitable terrain and lacking infrastructure in the region. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/400))

Heavy Industry 8 Dice

[]Magnitogorsk Planned City(Stage 5): The further expansion of the planned city will be one of the largest efforts undertaken by the Union. The complex will nearly double in size and become the premier steel production installation in the world. The alloying vats will be further expanded with more steel blends tested out to improve quality, and another metallurgical university will be constructed. The goal of this final level of expansion would be to create an industrial complex nearly half a million strong focused on the production of steel for the Union, creating a true paragon city for industrialization. (15 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (92/1200))

[]Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably greater amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (205/700))

[]Donbas Coal Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): The expansion of the basin any further will be an impractical endeavor as the bulk of the easily reachable coal is already underutilization. Still, further efforts can be invested to produce more coal yet from the region. However, such material will be far harder to ship to the Urals, where the bulk of the coal use occurs. (15 Resources per dice (65/400))

[]Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 3): Where there is currently no metallurgical need for the additional coal, it will not go amiss. There are many opportunities to use it for both energy and commerce, securing yet more resources for the Union. The current phase of expansion will focus on deep-shaft coal mines to ensure a steady supply of coal in the future from the massive deposit. (15 Resources per dice (84/400))

[]Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 3): The expansion of the machine-building plant is critical for producing a full domestic series of large industrial machinery. While the planned city itself is already producing many goods, further expansion is easily in the books, allowing a further massive production ramp-up. The steel shortage has passed for now, and while there is insufficient domestic steel to maintain the plant's full planned production, minor imports will combine well with it, making the facility one of the largest machine production plants in the world. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (193/400))

[]Leningrad Metallurgical Plant: With more aluminum needed for a multitude of new possible projects and engines, more production cannot go amiss. While this plant will be inherently smaller than that constructed in Stalingrad, it will still produce a truly massive quantity of material. The plant would mostly use local hydroelectric power along with some of the thermal plants. Still, such an effort will represent a good quantity of additional capacity and is highly recommended. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Power Production Campaigns(Stage 3): Further construction of more power plants is still needed all over the Union, as multiple future projects necessitate more power. At the same time, civilian power consumption is going up continuously as more and more cooking implements are issued out. Still, the heating and cooking effort should as a total save some coal, as the electric systems are far more efficient than their older coal-based alternatives. This stage of the construction of more thermal power plants will also allow the construction of multiple new factories and aluminum working facilities with their new supply of power. (20 Resources per dice (99/250))

[]Norilsk Combine: The processing of Nickel and Palladium fulfills a critical domestic need in the case of war with the Capitalists. Large sections of our industrial production require these metals, from catalyzed processes to alloying, necessitating their mining in large quantities. However, the issue is that the deposit is relatively far north, necessitating large quantities of cold weather equipment to work effectively. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (0/200))

Light and Chemical Industry 5 Dice

[]Baku Oil Extraction(Stage 3): The time for the near-total utilization of the oil fields is now. Yet a few more deposits are not being actively extracted, allowing for the Union to ramp up production further. This will start hitting the field's limit, but a further campaign can increase oil production. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 10 Resources per dice (106/300))

[]Baku Oil Refineries(Stage 3): With the plans to nearly totally utilize the oil deposits in Baku, there also needs to be a plan to refine the massive quantity of oil products. However, these industrial facilities would necessitate a high cost of production with little return on spending. These would further improve the number of oil products available to the Union for larger military projects and secure the position of the Union as the source of Eastern European oil. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Large Scale Synthetic Rubber: Given the great success and progress that has occurred with the initial synthetic rubber experiments, a larger follow-on facility is recommended. While this plant will not be able to substitute the entirety of the Unions rubber use, it will considerably reduce the dependence on foreign imports. This plant will use a considerable amount of feedstock, but that is unavoidable when ensuring independence from the vulnerable rubber trade. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Sulfuric Acid Plants: With the current likely expansion of shell and industrial chemical production, there needs to be dedicated production of the chemical industry's basic feedstock. Given the current and planned expansions for ore refining and chemical industrial processes, a more efficient way to convert waste sulfur on a large scale is needed. Thus, multiple large scale plants will be constructed through the Union to act as supply points for the material. (20 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Expanded Radio Plants: With the soon to occur mobilization of the military and considerable advantages of radio-integration into the lower commands, it has become a priority to increase radio production. While these units will entirely focus on being equipped with aircraft and tanks, they should provide a massive coordination advantage. While the infantry radio prototypes are still far too large, they will not be so forever given the currently advancing technology. Thus, it will be prudent to ensure that production and advancement are kept up to date. (30 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bakelite Production(Army): The army has a desperate need to produce more resin for various applications. With the construction of an additional number of bakelite plants, this need can be easily met. While no concrete applications for light plastic have yet made themselves evident, some engineers are already suggesting using it heavily in aircraft and personnel army devices. However, the quantity of the material needed has caused some delays as the prospective needs seem to be quite massive. (25 Resources per dice (0/400))

Agriculture 6 Dice

[]Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 5): Further large scale farming cooperatives need to be constructed on the land still available that is still fallow as farmers leave it for the cities. With this final leg of the effort, the Union's agricultural land will be fully brought under mechanized cultivation. Thus, it will ensure a flow of labor never before seen in the Union towards far more productive city work. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (15 Resources per dice (160/500))

[]New Socialist Towns(Stage 5): The further expansion of the last stage of the new towns will be the triumphant moment of the Union, as the conversion will indicate that all planned agricultural and rural communities have adopted the new model. While some have fought, the prices have broken most of their will to fight back, and just the last holdouts need to be converted. Over time, these towns may shift over into far larger installations, but this step has allowed a clean break with old peasants. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (10 Resources per dice (107/500)

[]Expand Pacific Fishing: The initial attempts at fishing on the Pacific ocean have supplied a truly massive catch for the quantity of resources invested. Thus, it would be prudent to begin massive fishing operations in the waters around the Union and nearby international waters. While it is still challenging to get that much fish across the nation, the far east will be more than happy to eat most of the production. (15 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Expand Factory Farms: Given the demand for meat products and the current surplus of fodder crops that can be used in animal farming, it would make perfect sense to authorize the construction of more factory farming complexes. These would primarily be focused on milk and beef production, but smaller, more local installations will be made for the mass production of chickens. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Ice Cream Plants: With the acquisition of many high-quality milk products in the United States, it would only be proper to replicate them domestically. While the current industrial state is not there to issue it out to the bulk of the population, cheap morale raising foods can be produced in mass at little cost. As a food that just needs milk and fat, ice cream is one of the foods proposed by multiple scientific committee members. With the current relatively large supply of milk, its conversion to a new form of dessert will allow the workers to be rewarded and will score a major propaganda win. (20 Resources per dice (0/100))

[]Pisciculture Experiments: Fish farming has always been an attractive concept for cheap bulk meat production. There are, however, constant issues as current feed systems are inadequate, and fish require considerable amounts of water. Still, a new developmental effort for fish farming can yield some results in cheap meat if the proposal turns out to be viable. But, odds are that this experiment will be an expensive waste of resources. (15 Resources per dice (0/50))

Services 5 Dice

[]Creation of the State Hospital System(Stage 3): With most people in the Union now having access to at least some form of doctors, a good quantity of specialized healthcare is needed. Thus, multiple large specialized hospitals need to be constructed, one for each major urban center, to provide high-quality care to the most severe cases and injuries. (10 Resources per dice (286/300))

[]State Childcare Services: As more and more women are entering the workforce, it has become a critical concern of the state to ensure that their children are cared for. While such an effort will take some resources and only apply to the cities, it will allow for more working-age women to go into the factories to further increase production. The effort will also allow the further removal of religion from society with the proper education of the youth of those taken in by various cults. (10 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Creation of State Libraries: Through literacy expansion, an enormous need for additional books has been created. Thus, a series of new libraries must be made, with one in every town ensuring that a steady supply of literature and textbooks can be provided to the population. Such an effort would take some time to fully fill with books, but the base buildings for the system of libraries can be constructed at a rapid speed. Such an effort would help many students and workers keep their minds sharp and themselves educated. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Technical Colleges: With the current massive pool of workers, and the need to train them properly on a wide variety of small scale repair and machinery tasks, it has become the concern of the Union to expand schooling systems further. Not all students in the Union can manage to qualify for university positions to study the sciences, but knowledge and experience are still needed in the workforce. Thus, a broad system of technical colleges should be established for those graduating from primary schools without qualifying for any other form of higher education. (10 Resources per dice (71/500))

Military 6 Dice
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 350 after the end of this turn.)

[]Trial New Sub-Machine Guns: With multiple foreign armies creating new fully automatic pistol-caliber weapons, it would be a shame for the Union to not join in on the trend. The new gun trials will open up for all engineers to design a new gun model suitable to the Union's needs in the reliable Tokarev cartridge. (10 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Aircraft Weapons: With the prevalence of the old rifle caliber weapons and the lack of a proper heavier MG, the union desperately needs some new form of gun to use in the air. Thus, the testing and refining of Berezin's currently promising gun should allow the Union to have a new standard gun in the air. As a benefit, the current heavy cartridge shows some viability towards being up-calibered to 20mm. (15 Resources per dice (10/40))

[]Stalino Artillery Plant: With the new models of howitzer that have been developed in the Union, it would be prudent to construct a series of new assembly lines to make more guns and ensure that the troops have a steady supply of new devices. While such a plant would be a major industrial undertaking, it will allow a steady stream of production of both howitzers, ensuring that in a few years, each infantry corps and army will have its full accompaniment of guns. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Gorky Artillery Plant: The production of new anti-tank guns and other high-pressure guns necessitates high-quality steel and a large industrial complex. Thus, by creating a new secondary plant to the Gorky Machine-building plant must be constructed to make specialized, high-quality guns. While current production is sufficient for the current army, the planned expansion will require a large scale ramp-up. (25 Resources per dice (0/100)) (-50 ABM)

[]Expansion of the Leningrad Locomotive Plant: With the considerable production capacity in the North of the Union, it would be prudent to utilize it to create a new series of trucks to allow easy transport of troops, resources, and supplies. Such a design inherently would use a licensed American engine but should perform fairly well, ensuring a steady movement and advance speed. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Construct Officer academies (Stage 5): The last stage of the officer academy expansions is a critical step in ensuring that enough officers are made for the massive army. While the bulk of the candidates by necessity will not be from the party or Komsomol, they can still be trained into acceptable officers. This will also create a multitude of large scale training fields for the improvement of army doctrine and large scale exercises. These officers will also be trained on the capabilities of the weapons that are issued to the common conscripts to ensure that they know the capabilities of what they are commanding. (15 Resources per dice (0/400))

Bureaucracy 2 Dice

[]Trial Production Staff: The poor state of military production must have someone be at fault for the disrepair and low standards. While they were likely supplied with poorly made domestic machinery older than a portion of the workers, that is no excuse for the degree of slack exhibited. Thus, with a large trial of the personnel, a considerable amount of progress can be made. (15 Party Support if completed, DC 20)

[]Encourage Sales: The expansion of sales to the Spanish Republic must be pushed to ensure that the Republic can fight on while securing the resources necessary for army modernization. Simultaneously, the effort will only dispose of the oldest of equipment, ensuring that there is a good exchange of gold for weapons. Hopefully, if the gold reserves and weapons can be transferred in full, both nations can greatly benefit. (DC 40) (Resource Gain)

[]Expand Hiring: With the projected lack of personnel due to internal political maneuvering, it would be prudent to expand hiring. These new workers will transfer from multiple sources, with large parts of entire university classes transferred to the department. While they are going to be green, this should at least maintain proper staffing levels. (DC 30) (No Action Loss from Severe Purges)

[]Sign Kill Lists: Due to constant expansions of the workforce and administration, there have been many wreckers and traitors who have slipped through the hiring process. Or, so says the party, but in practice, these lists are nothing but loyalty tests for those positioned lower in the pecking order. While not signing them is a theoretical option, such a decision could cause a considerable risk. However, such problems can be used as an opportunity, as over-fulfilling the quota of traitors will allow the choice of the more indolent old-guard to be cleared out of their positions and replaced. (???? If not taken) (Vote on Extent) (1 Dice)

Moratorium 4 Hours

 

[Blackstar]

Turn 18(1936 2nd Half): The Great Break Results
Resources per turn 650+60+10+5+ULAG with 0 in storage.
Party Support 40+10+5+5
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 589,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -45 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -15 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 90 Resources Per Turn

Infrastructure

Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 1): The construction of newly updated roads to better traverse multiple regions of the Union would be a massive military asset. It would allow for rapid transit of equipment and armor to where it is needed. While such a program would be expensive due to the limited but steady production of bitumen, it should be possible to ensure that the roads are fully paved. The first stage of such a project will start with the cities and urban areas, ensuring they have all paved roads. (544/200, Stage 1 Complete) (344/300 Stage 2 Complete) (44/500 Stage 3)

The construction of the Soviet Union's road system sees one of the largest attachments of NKPS labor through the entire planning period. Thirty-one full divisions are attached to the effort with a further large quantity of engineering attachments and voluntary shock labor. Overall, as the effort initiates all over the Union, an insanely ambitious goal is set in the paving of every urban zone's streets, along with gravel connections between the cities. While the first effort is accomplished in mere months, the latter construction of gravel roads takes a far greater effort, with the fleeting fall months used to lay down swathes of gravel and the cutting down of routes through the woods. With the conclusion of the construction, now the Union's major urban centers have paved roads, with simple inter-linkages made to allow for fast transit of motor vehicles through the countryside. While the later effort does induce some minor casualties, overall, the entire process has led to a significant improvement in agricultural transport and the ability to move trucks between installations.

Heavy Industry

Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 3): The expansion of the machine-building plant is critical for producing a full domestic series of large industrial machinery. While the planned city itself is already producing many goods, further expansion is easily in the books, allowing a further massive production ramp-up. The steel shortage has passed for now, and while there is insufficient domestic steel to maintain the plant's full planned production, minor imports will combine well with it, making the facility one of the largest machine production plants in the world. (10 Party Influence) ((402/400) Stage 3 Complete) (2/600 Stage 4) (+60 Resources per Turn)

The massive machine producing complex is completed right as the winter is closing in with multiple domestic heavy presses already making massive quantities of components. The presses have some minor issues with productivity, but overall they work well. The plant currently involves a massive, sprawling industrial complex focused on making parts and tooling for other plants, finally altogether breaking away with the need to import new machines from the West. Currently, the staff has been massively expanded with a mess of new hires coming in to work on the machines. The city has become one of the most important industrial cities in the Union, as the bulk of all other machinery will be made here.

Norilsk Combine: The processing of Nickel and Palladium fulfills a critical domestic need in the case of war with the Capitalists. Large sections of our industrial production require these metals, from catalyzed processes to alloying, necessitating their mining in large quantities. However, the issue is that the deposit is relatively far north, necessitating large quantities of cold weather equipment to work effectively. (5 Party Influence) (272/200) (Completed) (+10 Resources per Turn)

The construction of the northernmost mines proceeds at a good pace as a large quantity of personnel is moved in during the balmy summer months to construct the massive plant. While the new personnel are used to the cold, most are surprised that it is already this cold in the Summer. Still, the trains manage to keep them warm enough to keep casualties at acceptable norms for long enough for thick insulated homes to be constructed along with a dedicated thermal power station. The power station is set to also provide mass hot water heating, as a steady stream of coal will be burned in it as both heating and power. Deliveries are set up, warehouses are set up, and then the mining effort begins with imported crews from Donetsk. While the teams report constant issues with cold rock and freezing, the casualties are so far light compared to the initial days of mining. Even during a moderate blizzard that interrupted supply deliveries, production has managed to stay constant.

Light and Chemical Industry

Baku Oil Extraction(Stage 3): The time for the near-total utilization of the oil fields is now. Yet a few more deposits are not being actively extracted, allowing for the Union to ramp up production further. This will start hitting the field's limit, but a further campaign can increase oil production. (5 Party Influence) (278+10 Omake Bonus(Moldavanka)/300)) (Completed Stage 3) (+5 Resources per Turn)

The expansions of the oil fields go well with the ongoing construction of hundreds of new derricks, incorporating lessons learned on the old systems. While everyone has so far complimented the new designs, a problem has rapidly emerged as the bulk of the field is already being tapped, possibly creating an issue with later fuel supply. The effort has still managed to connect a truly massive amount of Oil into the Unions transportation network. However, the refining capacity for most of this oil is not there and still needs to be constructed to use the capacity for anything but export.

Sulfuric Acid Plants: With the current likely expansion of shell and industrial chemical production, there needs to be dedicated production of the chemical industry's basic feedstock. Given the current and planned expansions for ore refining and chemical industrial processes, a more efficient way to convert waste sulfur on a large scale is needed. Thus, multiple large scale plants will be constructed through the Union to act as supply points for the material. (20 Resources per dice (53/200))

The starting construction of the new sulfuric acid plants starts off well with multiple large industrial storage buildings constructed with rail and pipeline links. While neither the machinery for the production nor the mining equipment has been installed, orders have been made to the factories. With a bit more effort and funds soon, the Soviet chemical industry can start on a solid basis. These plants, however, will use a good bit of electricity, and in time may necessitate more power generation.

Agriculture

Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 5): Further large scale farming cooperatives need to be constructed on the land still available that is still fallow as farmers leave it for the cities. With this final leg of the effort, the Union's agricultural land will be fully brought under mechanized cultivation. Thus, it will ensure a flow of labor never before seen in the Union towards far more productive city work. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (15 Resources per dice (421/500)) (nat 1)

The farms' massive construction effort has had multiple delays due to local resisting peasants in the mostly abandoned villages. These have so far been the very old and traditionally-minded ideologues that have stayed in these villages all their lives. Unfortunately, these peasants have also occasionally taken up resistance against the state with their attempted destruction of agricultural assets in the region, along with various structures. While they may believe that they are doing damage, and such is reported in the paper and radio to draw out more possible dissidents, they have so far accomplished little but burn down their possessions. The overall media campaign of playing up the small traditional farmer's victories as a thorn in the state's side has exposed many unrelated traitors through their actions. Overall though, substantial progress is made to create thousands of new mechanized communities for agriculture, with rushed crops put into the earth to get some yield out of the newly set up ones.

My family was still living in the town despite everyone leaving, the party couldn't just kick us out, they had to be better than that. Everything just got more and more destitute, and all I could buy with my harvest were a few roof-tiles. But, as time passed, no help was coming and I read in the paper if I just started to try to sell my own grain, the party would notice and help. How much of an idiot I was.
-Samuil Gusev, Journal, Sentenced to 10 years ULAG​

Services

Creation of the State Hospital System(Stage 3): With most people in the Union now having access to at least some form of doctors, a good quantity of specialized healthcare is needed. Thus, multiple large specialized hospitals need to be constructed, one for each major urban center, to provide high-quality care to the most severe cases and injuries. (351/300) (Completed)

The construction of the new specialized schools and hospitals is complete with the full network setup. Despite the constant shortages of doctors, the hospitals are constructed. A new official annual meeting is set up for doctors of their specialty to meet up and discuss new discoveries in their fields. At the same time, a new system of medical exams and textbooks is created with up-to-date knowledge to ensure the consistent quality of doctors and nurses. However, there is still a problem with the medical networks, as there are just not enough doctors currently to fill all of the planned posts, and more time is needed for them to graduate from the system of medical schools.

State Childcare Services: As more and more women are entering the workforce, it has become a critical concern of the state to ensure that their children are cared for. While such an effort will take some resources and only apply to the cities, it will allow for more working-age women to go into the factories to further increase production. The effort will also allow the further removal of religion from society with the proper education of the youth of those taken in by various cults. (10 Resources per dice (139/200))

Hundreds of daycares and orphanages are constructed all over a multitude of urban areas. While they currently do not do much past housing and caring for the Union's various orphans, this is still a valuable service. They are also useful for those whose parents have been arrested for political crimes, as they can be brought up with proper knowledge of socialism and correct knowledge of religion. Such a changeover will, however, take a considerable amount of time and likely the bulk of multiple generations to truly get rid of religion in the Union.

When they bulldozed down the church we were all staying at, the nice party officials told us that we were going to a nicer home. But, when we got there it was just an old smelly apartment. The guy in charge was also so much meaner than old father Kirov, he just wanted us gone on most days, only serving some soup and telling us to go to school.
-Demyan Kiselev​

Military (Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 300 after the end of this turn.)

Trial New Aircraft Weapons: With the prevalence of the old rifle caliber weapons and the lack of a proper heavier MG, the union desperately needs some new form of gun to use in the air. Thus, the testing and refining of Berezin's currently promising gun should allow the Union to have a new standard gun in the air. As a benefit, the current heavy cartridge shows some viability towards being up-calibered to 20mm. (72/40, Completed) (Military Roll: 70)

The new Berezin UB machine gun succeeds in most of its trials by a good margin, with the cheap to manufacture gun proving reliable and accurate. While the mechanism itself is fairly plain, comprising a simple cheap to make gas system, it functions well at a good rate of fire. Beyond the minor issue of a large amount of force needed to charge the gun, it works well, fires, and almost every branch wants more of it. So far, the bulk of proposals have been to mount it to aircraft, but even the tank designers want an adaptation of it as a new coax gun. However, gun production is fairly small as there was no expectation of the army wanting mass adoption of the gun into a multitude of platforms. (New Project: Resources per Dice 20, (0/75) to get enough production of the gun)

Expansion of the Leningrad Locomotive Plant: With the considerable production capacity in the North of the Union, it would be prudent to utilize it to create a new series of trucks to allow easy transport of troops, resources, and supplies. Such a design inherently would use a licensed American engine but should perform fairly well, ensuring a steady movement and advance speed. (173/150, Completed) (-50 ABM) (Military Roll: 84)

With the resources allocated and the necessity to supply trucks to the bulk of the army, both a new design and a far larger plant is needed. In terms of the design, a new three-axle truck is ordered with the stated goals of transporting five tons on a gravel road and two tons on any possible reasonable ground state. While the latter goal fails to be met, the leading design that managed to get close gets the green-light. The plant itself becomes a fairly large facility, focused on the assembly line production of trucks to make up the current shortfall in both the civilian and military sectors. A new engineer named Gastev is also a major help, with large portions of the assembly line further optimized, demonstrating an increase in production with far better worker training and management.

Construct Officer academies (Stage 5): The last stage of the officer academy expansions is a critical step in ensuring that enough officers are made for the massive army. While the bulk of the candidates by necessity will not be from the party or Komsomol, they can still be trained into acceptable officers. This will also create a multitude of large scale training fields for the improvement of army doctrine and large scale exercises. These officers will also be trained on the capabilities of the weapons that are issued to the common conscripts to ensure that they know the capabilities of what they are commanding. (15 Resources per dice (314/400))

The construction of a new series of massive classes for younger officers goes well, with thousands of workers and basic conscripts applying to join in the effort. With the new academies, the older officers are mostly spread thin, as they, by necessity, are training the planned class for the expansion of the army. Still, assuming all goes to plan, the newly graduating classes will be quite inexperienced for the bulk of the mobilization period, as most will be used to commanding far smaller units. Still, they will all have the training to be promoted up. The only question will be the relative experience.

Bureaucracy

Encourage Sales: The expansion of sales to the Spanish Republic must be pushed to ensure that the Republic can fight on while securing the resources necessary for army modernization. Simultaneously, the effort will only dispose of the oldest of equipment, ensuring that there is a good exchange of gold for weapons. Hopefully, if the gold reserves can be transferred in full, both nations can greatly benefit. (DC 40/113) (100 Resources) (Completed)

The Spanish republic takes the sales of material happily, with hundreds of thousands of rifles transferred over along with a considerable number of older divisional guns and retired artillery pieces. Despite the age of most of the equipment, the republic is happy to pay top dollar even as their government forms, also in a stroke of luck, through negotiations and early deliveries, almost all of the gold spent as payment has been transferred to us instead of the Capitalists, as our arms were already there when the transfers started happening. In news on the actual front line, though, the situation is less happy as there are small gains made by Fascist forces. Still, there have not yet been any decisive engagements, just a slow-going slog depleting men and equipment.

Expand Hiring: With the projected lack of personnel due to internal political maneuvering, it would be prudent to expand hiring. These new workers will transfer from multiple sources, with large parts of entire university classes transferred to the department. While they are going to be green, this should at least maintain proper staffing levels. (DC 30/8) (No Action Loss from Severe Purges) (Failed)

Despite the opening of new slots for thousands of personnel to be hired, far fewer than expected come, as the education needed for their positions is still rare. Thus, with unfilled spots, the only order that can be given is for the personnel already in the department to work more and harder, as there are just fewer people to pick up the slack. However, not all is lost, as the next years' graduating class promises to be massive, allowing multiple easy pickups of talented personnel fresh out of university.

Sign Kill Lists: Due to constant expansions of the workforce and administration, there have been many wreckers and traitors who have slipped through the hiring process. Or, so says the party, but in practice, these lists are nothing but loyalty tests for those positioned lower in the pecking order. While not signing them is a theoretical option, such a decision could cause a considerable risk. However, such problems can be used as an opportunity, as over-fulfilling the quota of traitors will allow the choice of the more indolent old-guard to be cleared out of their positions and replaced. (Vote on Extent) (Dice: 103, Opportunities)

Reading the kill list, it is worse than you expected, but in terms of the minimal extent, the list is not too bad nor too disruptive despite it being chosen apparently at random from a personnel roster. Despite the already relatively severe list, however, the man giving the briefing on the list's importance and you hit off a relatively amicable conversation. While he is one of the most ideologically aggressive party members you have ever talked to, he did, however, come off as believing his own espoused worldview and thus easy to direct, creating many opportunities. While the bare minimum degree of purge would be accepted with few complaints and only minorly hurt relation to the party, there is always an opportunity to do more and ensure that your political goals can more readily be met.

[]Sign the List: There is no point in shooting more than is necessary. While this will not exceptionally over-fulfill the quotas like other members of the party, it should allow the bulk of suspicion to pass. (-10 Party Influence per Turn till the end of Purge) (Loss of three actions)

[]Expand the List: Some useless functionaries have been hired and retained for no reason other than just filling positions, with their factual work being very little. Thus, through expanding the list with hanger on's, more of the suspicion can be diverted. (-5 Party Influence per Turn till the end of Purge) (Loss of four actions)

[]Expand the List(Internal Enemies): Through the listing of a multitude of personal enemies along with strange ideologues in the department, the running of the system can be far improved, as power will all be centralized towards your seat. Such a purge would clear multiple personnel still in important seats, but it would allow personal near-total control. (-5 Party Influence per Turn till the end of Purge) (Loss of six actions)

[]Sign the List and Direct Yezhov: With the current reasonably famous falling out of the military staff between Voroshilov and Budyonny, and the brewing discontent of the establishment towards the military. It would be prudent to discuss a few of the more regressive officers with Yezhov. They have tried their best to hurt production by favoring cavalry, and with the likely upcoming trails of the military, it would be the perfect time to dispose of them. (-5 Party Influence per Turn till the end of Purge) (-20 Party Influence) (Loss of five actions)

Moratorium 2 Hours

Current Economic Issues:
Rail: Minor Shortage
Coal: Meeting Demand
Aluminum: Massive Surplus (You aren't using much)
Steel: Moderate Shortage
Energy: Minor Surplus
Food: Minor Surplus
Labor: Minor Surplus

 

[Blackstar]

Vote Called for [X]Sign the List and Direct Yezhov

Turn 19(1937 1st Half): The Trial of Labor
Resources per turn 725+ULAG with 100 in storage.
Party Support 40
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 589,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -45 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -15 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 90 Resources Per Turn

Moscow, Case of the Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization
On a cold spring evening, a multitude of army personnel and generals were brought into Moscow, and just three weeks later, the trials started. When they brought in the generals one after another to the courtroom, those that were soon to be tried walked as if they were already dead, and for all of the upper officers, they already were. All they could do was walk in and confess to all charges, getting judged by a council of their peers. No one expected justice from this, only dead men with no fight to say their last confessionals.

Kulik did not speak a word, just mutely sat into his chair, shaking, unable to utter anything, and looking around the room in terror. When it came to his turn to testify, he kept trying to stutter, unable to utter anything but low pleas. Still, after almost 20 minutes of encouragement and some water, he agreed with the trial's verdict that he was guilty on all counts. Afterward, going mute and huddling in a small ball, needing to be carried out by guards.

Budyonny, when entering, entirely lacks his pomposity and aplomb. He looks like a man half-dead and can barely move by his own power. Instead, he is dragged into the courtroom by his guards. While he appears unable to walk, he delivers his confession through broken phrases in a scratchy accent with constant pauses to cry. Still, he confesses to all counts and receives the minor mercy of being carried out by guards to meet his fate.

Primakov managed to get into the courtroom on his own power, looking at the floor and fully knowing his fate. He brought forward evidence against the other officers, securing him a far more lenient stay. Though, all he could do was announce his guilt to the judges and get the same sentence as all the others. But, he did walk in and out of the room without assistance.

Feldman was moved into the courtroom as a shell of a man, there was no fight left in him, and the guards both knew that. He just sat down at his chair, confessed to all his crimes, and all he asked for was that his family should be spared. Such promises, however, could not be fulfilled as his request indicated that they too were some form of counter-revolutionaries. Still, they at least had a few months until the military portion was done.

Kork was one of the few people under trial to need to be dragged in fully, as he could not talk and could not move as the NKVD brought him in. Instead, he was just a huddled ball, only making some small noises. While the judges asked him to state what he was being tried for and to confess, all he could do was stay silent. Instead, the judges presented the evidence, slowing down proceedings considerably before he was issued a guilty verdict and dragged out of the room.

Uborevich went into the courtroom looking much worse for wear but determined, unlike any of the others. While he was silent sitting down, when asked for his plea, unlike all the others, he declared himself not-guilty to his handlers' considerable surprise. But, as per all things, the commission of judges rapidly presented evidence that he was, and when his word was put against seven respected members of the party, what could he do but mutley state that they had the wrong man as he was dragged off by his guards.

Tukhachevsky was the last of those tried and one of the less vocal as he was dragged in by his two guards. The man did not say much and just stared at the panel of judges as they described his crimes. When asked how he pleaded, he plainly refused to plead in any way, creating a slowdown in the procedure. After extensive evidence was brought up, however, he continued to refuse to plead any which way. But, his signed confession in text was enough to have him sent away.

Free dice to allocate: 4 Dice
Infrastructure 6 Dice

[]Buildup of Rail Stock (Diesel, Urals): With the continuous dieselification of the rail lines, it has come time to finally replace the infrastructure all over the mountains and their industrial districts. After such an improvement, over half of the trains in the Union will be powered by the new fuel of the future, improving efficiency considerably and minimizing additional infrastructure. However, such a changeover will cause an issue with needing to do something with all of the old coal locomotives, as more track needs to be laid to exploit the new quantity of trains properly. (15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such efforts would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. (Select a region from: Far East and Siberia) (15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 3): With the previous successes in constructing a new series of roads through the Union, it would be a further benefit to start the roads' mass paving. As the current inter-city roads are made of gravel, there are multiple large speed limitations on the roads; thus, a paving effort is critical to speed up travel for both local grain and for military goods. Once the bulk of the new main-road system is constructed further small gravel distribution roads to farms and villages can be made. (15 Resources per dice (44/500))

[]Create Bus Lines: With the new road systems constructed in a multitude of cities, it is time to create a new series of buses to optimize the ability of the workers to travel. Despite the minor increase in fuel use these would represent, they will allow the bulk of the people of the Union to travel far farther for work and food, allowing for larger and more distributed factory complexes. These will also allow people to far more easily move and be transported between cities, hopefully increasing the happiness of the workers. (20 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Angara River Systems: An expensive and labor-intensive proposal for utilizing the deep Siberian river for additional power generation and motive capacity. While the local region is under-developed, the construction of multiple new hydroelectric systems will allow significant improvements in the transportation of goods and improve the power available in the Union's deep Siberian regions. Such efforts, however, will be challenging due to the inhospitable terrain and lacking infrastructure in the region. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/400))

Heavy Industry 8 Dice

[]Magnitogorsk Planned City(Stage 5): The further expansion of the planned city will be one of the largest efforts undertaken by the Union. The complex will nearly double in size and become the premier steel production installation in the world. The alloying vats will be further expanded with more steel blends tested out to improve quality, and another metallurgical university will be constructed. The goal of this final level of expansion would be to create an industrial complex nearly half a million strong focused on the production of steel for the Union, creating a true paragon city for industrialization. (15 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (92/1200))

[]Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably greater amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (205/700))

[]Stoylenskoye Planned City(Stage 1): The construction of the infrastructure base to tap a new large deposit of iron for its production to steel is a critical step in further expanding Steel production in the Union. The deposits in the Kursk region are the highest in any place outside of Magnitogorsk and are also fairly easily accessible, making the site a perfect one for the construction of a planned city. While the city itself will also be focused on Steel production, many of the early lessons learned during the construction of Magnitogorsk will be taken into account to optimize higher-quality steel production. (20 Resources per dice (0/100))

[]Donbas Coal Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): The expansion of the basin any further will be an impractical endeavor as the bulk of the easily reachable coal is already under utilization. Still, further efforts can be invested to produce more coal yet from the region. However, such material will be far harder to ship to the Urals, where the bulk of the coal use occurs. (15 Resources per dice (65/400))

[]Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 3): Where there is currently no metallurgical need for the additional coal, it will not go amiss. There are many opportunities to use it for both energy and commerce, securing yet more resources for the Union. The current phase of expansion will focus on deep-shaft coal mines to ensure a steady supply of coal in the future from the massive deposit. (15 Resources per dice (84/400))

[]Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 4): Now that the plant is in full production and can easily meet the goals set out for it, the planned future expansion can be attempted. This expansion will massively expand the city it is built-in along with greatly ramping up production. Such heavy machinery production will cause a massive amount of steel and coal use but will allow mechanisms to start being issued to construction crews. While this will make many construction efforts more expensive, it will considerably speed up constructive effort all over the Union and free up a considerable amount of manpower. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (2/600))

[]Leningrad Metallurgical Plant: With more aluminum needed for a multitude of new possible projects and engines, more production cannot go amiss. While this plant will be inherently smaller than that constructed in Stalingrad, it will still produce a truly massive quantity of material. The plant would mostly use local hydroelectric power along with some of the thermal plants. Still, such an effort will represent a good quantity of additional capacity and is highly recommended. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Power Production Campaigns(Stage 3): Further construction of more power plants is still needed all over the Union, as multiple future projects necessitate more power. At the same time, civilian power consumption is going up continuously as more cooking implements are issued out. Still, the heating and cooking effort should as a total save some coal, as the electric systems are far more efficient than their older coal-based alternatives. This stage of the construction of more thermal power plants will also allow the construction of multiple new factories and aluminum working facilities with their new supply of power. (20 Resources per dice (99/250))

Light and Chemical Industry 5 Dice

[]Baku Oil Refineries(Stage 3): With the plans to nearly totally utilize the oil deposits in Baku, there also needs to be a plan to refine the massive quantity of oil products. However, these industrial facilities would necessitate a high cost of production with little return on spending. These would further improve the number of oil products available to the Union for larger military projects and secure the position of the Union as the source of Eastern European oil. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Large Scale Synthetic Rubber: Given the great success and progress that has occurred with the initial synthetic rubber experiments, a larger follow-on facility is recommended. While this plant will not be able to substitute the entirety of the Union's rubber use, it will considerably reduce the dependence on foreign imports. This plant will use a considerable amount of feedstock, but that is unavoidable when ensuring independence from the vulnerable rubber trade. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Sulfuric Acid Plants: With the current likely expansion of shell and industrial chemical production, there needs to be dedicated production of the chemical industry's basic feedstock. Given the current and planned expansions for ore refining and chemical industrial processes, a more efficient way to convert waste sulfur on a large scale is needed. Thus, multiple large scale plants will be constructed through the Union to act as supply points for the material. (20 Resources per dice (53/200))

[]Expanded Radio Plants: With the soon to occur mobilization of the military and considerable advantages of radio-integration into the lower commands, it has become a priority to increase radio production. While these units will entirely focus on being equipped with aircraft and tanks, they should provide a massive coordination advantage. While the infantry radio prototypes are still far too large, they will not be so forever given the currently advancing technology. Thus, it will be prudent to ensure that production and advancement are kept up to date. (30 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bakelite Production(Army): The army has a desperate need to produce more resin for various applications. With the construction of an additional number of bakelite plants, this need can be easily met. While no concrete applications for light plastic have yet made themselves evident, some engineers are already suggesting using it heavily in aircraft and personnel army devices. However, the quantity of the material needed has caused some delays as the prospective needs seem to be quite massive. (25 Resources per dice (0/400))

Agriculture 6 Dice

[]Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 5): Further large scale farming cooperatives need to be constructed on the land still available that is still fallow as farmers leave it for the cities. With this final leg of the effort, the Union's agricultural land will be fully brought under mechanized cultivation. Thus, it will ensure a flow of labor never before seen in the Union towards far more productive city work. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (15 Resources per dice (421/500))

[]New Socialist Towns(Stage 5): The further expansion of the last stage of the new towns will be the triumphant moment of the Union, as the conversion will indicate that all planned agricultural and rural communities have adopted the new model. While some have fought, the prices have broken most of their will to fight back, and just the last holdouts need to be converted. Over time, these towns may shift over into far larger installations, but this step has allowed a clean break with old peasants. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (10 Resources per dice (107/500)

[]Expand Pacific Fishing: The initial attempts at fishing on the Pacific ocean have supplied a truly massive catch for the quantity of resources invested. Thus, it would be prudent to begin massive fishing operations in the waters around the Union and nearby international waters. While it is still challenging to get that much fish across the nation, the far east will be more than happy to eat most of the production. (15 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Expand Factory Farms: Given the demand for meat products and the current surplus of fodder crops that can be used in animal farming, it would make perfect sense to authorize the construction of more factory farming complexes. These would primarily be focused on milk and beef production, but smaller, more local installations will be made for the mass production of chickens. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Ice Cream Plants: With the acquisition of many high-quality milk products in the United States, it would only be proper to replicate them domestically. While the current industrial state is not there to issue it out to the bulk of the population, cheap morale raising foods can be produced in mass at little cost. As a food that just needs milk and fat, ice cream is one of the foods proposed by multiple scientific committee members. With the current relatively large supply of milk, its conversion to a new form of dessert will allow the workers to be rewarded and will score a major propaganda win. (20 Resources per dice (0/100))

[]Pisciculture Experiments: Fish farming has always been an attractive concept for cheap bulk meat production. There are, however, constant issues as current feed systems are inadequate, and fish require considerable amounts of water. Still, a new developmental effort for fish farming can yield some results in cheap meat if the proposal turns out to be viable. But, odds are that this experiment will be an expensive waste of resources. (15 Resources per dice (0/50))

Services 4 Dice

[]State Childcare Services: As more and more women are entering the workforce, it has become a critical concern of the state to ensure that their children are cared for. While such an effort will take some resources and only apply to the cities, it will allow for more working-age women to go into the factories to further increase production. The effort will also allow the further removal of religion from society with the proper education of the youth of those taken in by various cults. (10 Resources per dice (139/200))

[]Creation of State Libraries: Through literacy expansion, an enormous need for additional books has been created. Thus, a series of new libraries must be made, with one in every town ensuring that a steady supply of literature and textbooks can be provided to the population. Such an effort would take some time to fully fill with books, but the base buildings for the system of libraries can be constructed at a rapid speed. Such an effort would help many students and workers keep their minds sharp and themselves educated. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Technical Colleges: With the current massive pool of workers, and the need to train them properly on a wide variety of small scale repair and machinery tasks, it has become the concern of the Union to expand schooling systems further. Not all students in the Union can manage to qualify for university positions to study the sciences, but knowledge and experience are still needed in the workforce. Thus, a broad system of technical colleges should be established for those graduating from primary schools without qualifying for any other form of higher education. (10 Resources per dice (71/500))

Military 4 Dice
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 300.)

[]Trial New Close Air Support: In Spain the German Stukas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a plane capable of performing close air-support against a multitude of troops, necessitating some form of domestic design capable of doing the same. While the older features of the Stuka can easily be done away with along with the siren, a simple one engined plane armed with some bombs will go a long way towards alleviating the need of providing cheap ground support. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Level Bombers: With the currently demonstrated effectiveness of large payload level bombers flying long distances it would be a good idea to create a program aiming to do just that. A simple twin-engined bomber with a long-range and a reasonable set of defensive guns will be ordered to fill the need of the army. While such a plane will be vulnerable, its long-range should be a good propaganda win. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Tank Upgrades: Due to the multitude of engineers attempting to make new tank designs, it would be prudent to formalize their efforts and start creating full-scale prototypes for trials, allowing some new designs to replace the more aging models. While these will likely not be in production for years, the trials will allow feedback from the performance of T28 tanks during the Spanish war to be taken into account for designing a new tank. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Sub-Machine Guns: With multiple foreign armies creating new fully automatic pistol-caliber weapons, it would be a shame for the Union to not join in on the trend. The new gun trials will open up for all engineers to design a new gun model suitable to the Union's needs in the reliable Tokarev cartridge. (10 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Further Perm Plant Expansions: With the current need for more speed and horsepower from the engines of the Union, multiple engineers have come forward with the idea to double up the engines in order to almost double the horsepower. While such a combination will be heavier and far more expensive, it should provide enough power for nearly any heavy single-engine fighter in the future. Such a design is near guaranteed to have teething issues, and may not be usable on the first production model, but may be a massive national asset. (20 Resources per dice (0/50)) (-25 ABM)

[]Berezin Plant: The newly created MG's production is a high priority for the military, with a constant stream needed for vehicles of every type. While this plant will produce enough for most applications, a large number of tanks and planes will need upgrades, creating a spike in need. The planes especially, as the new Messerschmitt type fighter over Spain, has been causing significant issues with its armor and speed. (20 Resources per dice (0/75)) (-25 ABM)

[]Stalino Artillery Plant: With the new models of howitzer that have been developed in the Union, it would be prudent to construct a series of new assembly lines to make more guns and ensure that the troops have a steady supply of new devices. While such a plant would be a major industrial undertaking, it will allow a steady stream of both howitzers, ensuring that in a few years, each infantry corps and army will have its full accompaniment of guns. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Gorky Artillery Plant: The production of new anti-tank guns and other high-pressure guns necessitates high-quality steel and a large industrial complex. Thus, by creating a new secondary plant to the Gorky Machine-building plant must be constructed to make specialized, high-quality guns. While current production is sufficient for the current army, the planned expansion will require a large scale ramp-up. (25 Resources per dice (0/100)) (-50 ABM)

[]Expansion of the Moscow ZiL Plant: More trucks are always in need and production must be further increased to meet the constant demand for more monetization options. While this plant needs modernizations and expansions, it should provide a good basis for further increasing the new model trucks' production. Production may start slow, but in time the bulk of the logistical forces may be motorized. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Construction of the GAZ Plant: More factories are needed to create the unrelenting tide of trucks to support any possible mobilization and war effort. At the same time, these new trucks can free up older trucks to use in farming and the civilian economy. Still, more production is greatly needed, thus necessitating the construction of another plant. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Construct Officer academies (Stage 5): The last stage of the officer academy expansions is a critical step in ensuring that enough officers are made for the massive army. While the bulk of the candidates by necessity will not be from the party or Komsomol, they can still be trained into acceptable officers. This will also create many large scale training fields for the improvement of army doctrine and large scale exercises. These officers will also be trained on the capabilities of the weapons issued to the common conscripts to ensure that they know the capabilities of what they are commanding. (15 Resources per dice (314/400))

Bureaucracy 2 Dice

[]Trial Production Staff: The poor state of military production must have someone be at fault for the disrepair and low standards. While they were likely supplied with poorly made domestic machinery older than a portion of the workers, that is no excuse for the degree of slack exhibited. Thus, with a large trial of the personnel, a considerable amount of progress can be made. (15 Party Support if completed, DC 20)

[]Encourage Further Sales: The further expansion of sales to the Spanish Republic must be pushed to ensure that the Republic can fight on while securing the resources necessary for army modernization. Simultaneously, the effort will only dispose of the oldest equipment, ensuring a reasonable exchange of gold for weapons. Hopefully, if the gold reserves can be transferred in full, both nations can significantly benefit. (DC 50) (Resource Gain)

[]Expand Hiring Massively: With the current crisis with filling spots, especially in the military command, drastic action is needed to fill positions. While these hires will significantly cut down the polytechnic academies' graduating classes, they will allow the department to be expanded past the initial size. Despite their inexperienced, sheer numbers and education should make up the gap. (DC 20) (Recovers lost dice and then some) (-10 Resources per Turn)

Moratorium 4 Hours

 

[Blackstar]

Turn 19(1937 1st Half): The Trial of Labor Results
Resources per turn 725+10-10+ULAG with 150+100 in storage.
Party Support 40+5+5-5=50
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 667,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -52.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -17.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 105 Resources Per Turn, Additional Actions

Infrastructure

Buildup of Rail Stock (Diesel, Urals): With the continuous dieselification of the rail lines, it has come time to finally replace the infrastructure all over the mountains and their industrial districts. After such an improvement, over half of the trains in the Union will be powered by the new fuel of the future, improving efficiency considerably and minimizing additional infrastructure. However, such a changeover will cause an issue with needing to do something with all of the old coal locomotives, as more track needs to be laid to exploit the new quantity of trains properly. (488+50/300) (Completed) (Western Region: 238/600)

With the massive allocation of labor and continuing ramping up of new diesel train production, a great amount of further effort is made. The lines in the Urals are fully replaced by new, improved VM locomotive models, with slightly more tractive force and horsepower through the mounting of larger diesel engines. While these locomotives have been slow to roll out, the benefits so far are immense as the core lines with the bulk of the heavy industrial facilities have had their track speeds nearly doubled. Thus, far more cargo is being moved far more efficiently. Simultaneously, due to necessity, multiple links into the nation's Western regions have also been improved, allowing a multitude of new diesel trains to access them at a high rate. With just one more final effort, the bulk of the nation can be connected through the new trains.

Heavy Industry

Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 3): Where there is currently no metallurgical need for the additional coal, it will not go amiss. There are many opportunities to use it for both energy and commerce, securing yet more resources for the Union. The current phase of expansion will focus on deep-shaft coal mines to ensure a steady supply of coal in the future from the massive deposit. (468/400, Stage 3 Completed) (68/500 Stage 4) (+10 Resources per Turn)

The massive coal basin exploitation accelerates further with multiple massive mineshafts dug deep into the earth for the multilevel extraction of coal. While many workers were tasked with the project, thousands of pieces of equipment and resources were also allocated. These have been mostly spent on digging the deep shafts into the earth. Still, as the weather clears, a new enormous quantity of coal is available in the prime industrial region, making the nation a coal exporter once more. Still, with further industrial projects, yet more coal may be needed necessitating yet more expansions.

After being stuck in a black hell-pit for more than two years, what miner is exited when a party official tells them about a new job? Still, the new offer was a far better job, sure I had to leave the crew of friends here, but I got to teach some new greenhorns how to mine coal deep in the earth. When I got the site, they assigned me a new crew so fresh they didn't even have a cough yet! Still, they were happy enough to work and at least knew how to operate the bulk of the equipment. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can make a go at over fulfilling one of the quota targets, I want to try some of that ice cream.
-Akim Kuznetsov, Journal​

Power Production Campaigns(Stage 3): Further construction of more power plants is still needed all over the Union, as multiple future projects necessitate more power. At the same time, civilian power consumption is going up continuously as more cooking implements are issued out. Still, the heating and cooking effort should save some coal, as the electric systems are far more efficient than their older coal-based alternatives. This stage of the construction of more thermal power plants will also allow the construction of multiple new factories and aluminum working facilities with their new supply of power. (20 Resources per dice (185/250))

While the campaigns start on a slow note with only a few NKPS labor divisions allocated to the construction effort, the pace is accelerated with time. The plan calls for the construction of twenty additional thermal power plants for this stage, and it mostly goes well with massive turbine housings installed and large scale boiler rooms made. While only six of the plants start-up in these six months, they still utilize a considerable amount of coal, converting it into more power to supply the Union's slowly growing massive industrial and urban zones.

Light and Chemical Industry

Expanded Radio Plants: With the soon to occur mobilization of the military and considerable advantages of radio-integration into the lower commands, it has become a priority to increase radio production. While these units will entirely focus on being equipped with aircraft and tanks, they should provide a massive coordination advantage. While the infantry radio prototypes are still far too large, they will not be so forever given the currently advancing technology. Thus, it will be prudent to ensure that production and advancement are kept up to date. (30 Resources per dice (259/300))

The production of Radios sees a massive quantity of resources allocated towards it as there is now a need to install the new systems into both tanks and aircraft. While the latest model of radio is relatively bulky, it is mostly functional and works reasonably well. Production has already started on multiple lines, with a new command level radio also designed and put into production. While the current planes in production will be modified to fit a radio set, new models will be designed for one, along with new tanks. As of now, despite the slightly lacking production, soon every armored and airborne unit of the army will be able to easily report back to command from the most reasonable ranges. Another benefit of the new radio sets is the ability to act as a relatively clear in-vehicle intercom for new designs, allowing for easy communication in the noisy interior.

Agriculture

Voluntary Cooperative Construction(Stage 5): Further large scale farming cooperatives need to be constructed on the land still available that is still fallow as farmers leave it for the cities. With this final leg of the effort, the Union's agricultural land will be fully brought under mechanized cultivation. Thus, it will ensure a flow of labor never before seen in the Union towards far more productive city work. (5 Party Influence) (Think Kibbutz with more propaganda) (533/500) (Completed) (+10 Resources per Turn)

The massive planned construction effort of the new system of cooperatives can finally be declared as completed, as now all planned locations for agriculture are under the management of a cooperative. While there is now a lack of actually willing peasants to join in such an effort, the nation has finally transformed the agricultural sector into an efficient and productive one with massive investment. Now the farmers have tractors and fertilizer to process the large fields now assigned to them. However, this has created an additional problem of where to put the massive quantity of manpower liberated from the rural countryside as a mass of used-to-be peasants moves into cities looking for some form of work.

Expand Pacific Fishing: The initial attempts at fishing on the Pacific ocean have supplied a truly massive catch for the number of resources invested. Thus, it would be prudent to begin massive fishing operations in the waters around the Union and nearby international waters. While it is still challenging to get that much fish across the nation, the far east will be more than happy to eat most of the production. (210/150) (Completed)

With the need for additional food to complete the plan and the relative demand for a greater quantity of pacific fish, it is thus prudent to expand fishing. The fishing fleet sees a massive expansion of new large diesel-powered ships sent out to trawl for massive catches of fish all over the region. These ships are directly based on a set of two train diesel engines, and in maritime use, they are found to be a highly reliable and dependable power plant, with most designs of ships updated to use them in either single or twin sets. Despite multiple encounters with Japanese warships and fishermen, the effort continues to go well as thousands of tons of fish are transferred to refrigerated train cars and shipped out to the rest of the Union.

Ice Cream Plants: With the acquisition of many high-quality milk products in the United States, it would only be proper to replicate them domestically. While the current industrial state is not there to issue it out to the bulk of the population, cheap morale raising foods can be produced in mass at little cost. As a food that just needs milk and fat, ice cream is one of the foods proposed by multiple scientific committee members. With the current relatively large supply of milk, its conversion to a new form of dessert will allow the workers to be rewarded and will score a major propaganda win. (+5 Party Influence) (103/100) (Completed)

Brought into the Union as an American idea obtained and enjoyed by a multitude of engineers, there is nothing better than setting up domestic plants. The bulk of these are set up near the large factory farms and are made to process the large quantities of milk into new exciting frozen products, with a multitude of sweet and savory flavors offered. So far, the optimal mass production combination of ice cream bisecting a plain cookie is the most popular product. This plays well into the union's industrial investments as a simple cookie requires just wheat, sugar, and fat, unlike the milk consuming ice cream. The new ice-cream sandwiches are rapidly seen as a new thing to offer to workers for purchase and offer to enterprises to utilize as a reward.

When we finished working our shifts and heard that we exceeded quota, we expected a bit of a pay bonus, but the boss called us all in. Dreading the upcoming meeting, no-one showed up happy, but then we got a new amazing thing, iced cream between two cookies! It's now offered as a reward for quota fulfillment, and apparently, it's soon to be in stores!
-Adrik Frolov, Letter ​

Services

Creation of State Libraries: Through literacy expansion, an enormous need for additional books has been created. Thus, a series of new libraries must be made, with one in every town ensuring that a steady supply of literature and textbooks can be provided to the population. Such an effort would take some time to fully fill with books, but the base buildings for the system of libraries can be constructed at a rapid speed. Such an effort would help many students and workers keep their minds sharp and themselves educated. (5 Party Influence) (186/200) (Complete, but short on books)

The construction of the village library system goes well with a massive number of new large state libraries constructed all across the cities of the Union so that those who can read can take out new books for entertainment. While the orders of books to most of the facilities are not yet complete, with multiple lacking a full set, the network of libraries is already functioning with hundreds of thousands of citizens able to take out books for reading and enjoyment. These collections are also carefully curated to ensure that the correct information reaches the citizens' eyes on the state's nature and how the world works.

Military
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 250.)

Trial New Close Air Support: In Spain, the German Stukas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a plane capable of performing close-air-support against a multitude of troops, necessitating some form of domestic design capable of doing the same. While the older features of the Stuka can easily be done away with along with the siren, a simple one engined plane armed with some bombs will go a long way towards alleviating the need of providing cheap ground support. (20 Resources per dice (18/40))

The new airframes' trials fail to go anywhere, as every single department of the Union undertaking trails wants the new MG to mount to various prototypes. Still, basic aircraft designs are centered around an improved version of the M-62 engine, the M-63, now delivering almost 1100 HP on takeoff. Simultaneously, multiple new developments in small scale rockets offer promising alternatives to bombs in the ground support role.

Trial New Tank Upgrades: Due to the multitude of engineers attempting to make new tank designs, it would be prudent to formalize their efforts and start creating full-scale prototypes for trials, allowing some new designs to replace the more aging models. While these will likely not be in production for years, the trials will allow feedback from the performance of T28 tanks during the Spanish war to be taken into account for designing a new tank. (98/40) (Completed) (Military Roll: 15)

The new tank's production effort has no shortage of exciting designs made by many design bureaus. While the bulk of them have glaring issues that are rapidly pointed out, quite a few advance past the design stage into full-scale prototype testing. The biggest concern from the Spanish civil war so far has been the ability of the tank to traverse the terrain. Thus, all applicants for the current trial are asked to use the suspension licensed from the Americans and utilized on the BT tanks. The other large issue with the trial is that the capability to launch large filling HE shells is needed across a multitude of the tanks limiting gun choice, as the field gun is inadequate, the 45mm is too small, and the 76mm AA gun is a bit too large for most designs. Still, designers make do.

[]BT-7M: A simple modernization of the BT series of tank with a further improvement in armor amount, multiple issues fixed in the suspension, and a new re-enforced turret. While the bulk of the hull is relatively plain, the improvement's primary focus is a new advanced steel diesel engine. It is designated the V-2 and is capable of delivering almost five hundred horsepower and most of its torque at a very low RPM, allowing decent all-round performance. However, the issue with this design is the lacking 45mm gun that is incapable of adequately supporting infantry.

[]BT-20: A full re-design of the hull with a rationalized suspension system that has lost the capability to move without tracks. Simultaneously, the V-2 engine is also mounted into it, providing it with decent power to weight, even if it is worse than the BT-7M. The issue with this tank is the need to re-model production to support the new model and that it still has the lacking 45mm gun. (20 Resources per Dice 0/100)

Stalino Artillery Plant: With the new models of howitzer that have been developed in the Union, it would be prudent to construct a series of new assembly lines to make more guns and ensure that the troops have a steady supply of new devices. While such a plant would be a major industrial undertaking, it will allow a steady stream of both howitzers, ensuring that in a few years, each infantry corps and the army will have its full accompaniment of guns. (193/150) (Completed) (-50 ABM) (Military Roll: 28)

The artillery plant's construction goes decently well with massive production of new gun barrels set up for the two new howitzer designs so that with time, most units can have their guns. Current lines are mostly set up towards producing the new 152mm gun-howitzer, as it comprises the main shortage for the military. Still, more production is made with time, and the new massive plant is set to make more than a thousand guns as the plant spools up through the next year. So far, the guns' initial batches are slightly on the heavy side, as due to inconsistent quality of steel, a slightly re-enforced design is used to make up for said quality.

Construct Officer academies (Stage 5): The last stage of the officer academy expansions is a critical step in ensuring that enough officers are made for the massive army. While the bulk of the candidates by necessity will not be from the party or Komsomol, they can still be trained into acceptable officers. This will also create many large scale training fields for the improvement of army doctrine and large scale exercises. These officers will also be trained on the capabilities of the weapons issued to the common conscripts to ensure that they know the capabilities of what they are commanding. (378/400) (Completed) (Military Roll: 18)

The final stage of the massive officer academy construction effort is finally completed, with the last set of schools constructed to secure a steady supply of officers. While the instructors for these schools are deeply sub-par as the supply of high-quality instructors has been depleted by the previous construction efforts. The new schools are considered of acceptable quality as the new massive classes of younger officers and junior officer candidates enter the system to be trained. These are drawn from the workers rather than from experienced and trained party functionaries, thus they will likely never see high promotions, but they still should be competent lower officers.

Bureaucracy

Encourage Further Sales: The further expansion of sales to the Spanish Republic must be pushed to ensure that the Republic can fight on while securing the resources necessary for army modernization. Simultaneously, the effort will only dispose of the oldest equipment, ensuring a reasonable exchange of gold for weapons. Hopefully, if the gold reserves can be transferred in full, both nations can significantly benefit. (DC 50/65) (+100 Resources)

The transfer of additional aging and old assets to the Spanish war effort continues to go well, as thousands more rifles, guns, and old biplanes are sold for gold. Given the known state of the Spanish gold reserve, this is the last such purchase that can be paid for by the Spanish government, but the new equipment should allow them to fight on well. Despite the continuous gains by fascist forces in the south, no real breakthrough has yet been made with heavy fighting across the line for every inch of ground. Though, current volunteers in the region are asking for heavier arms and new planes to keep the skies contested.

Expand Hiring Massively: With the current crisis with filling spots, especially in the military command, drastic action is needed to fill positions. While these hires will significantly cut down the polytechnic academies' graduating classes, they will allow the department to be expanded past the initial size. Despite their inexperienced, sheer numbers and education should make up the gap. (DC 20/8+10 Omake Bonus) (Bare Fail) (-10 Resources per Turn) (Recover most actions)

The attempt to hire a mass of personnel for the departments' filling runs into the issue of the far greater purge in multiple civilian sectors of industry, with administrative personnel re-assigned to closed cities for their supposed deviations from the party line. Despite this, the mass of new hires is rapidly called upon to fill the openings in many enterprises and local councils. Despite the number of experienced personnel lost in these transfers, the young and properly educated new personnel make up the gap. In terms of the NKPS itself, a few non-critical re-assignments are transferred into the old vacant posts to stabilize the situation and provide most of the Beuracratic capability back.

Current Economic Issues:
Rail: Meeting Demand
Coal: Moderate Surplus
Aluminum: Massive Surplus (You aren't using much)
Steel: Moderate Shortage
Energy: Minor Surplus
Food: Minor Surplus
Labor: Moderate Surplus

 

[Baltika9]

Ice Cream Plants: With the acquisition of many high-quality milk products in the United States, it would only be proper to replicate them domestically. While the current industrial state is not there to issue it out to the bulk of the population, cheap morale raising foods can be produced in mass at little cost. As a food that just needs milk and fat, ice cream is one of the foods proposed by multiple scientific committee members. With the current relatively large supply of milk, its conversion to a new form of dessert will allow the workers to be rewarded and will score a major propaganda win. (+5 Party Influence) (103/100) (Completed)

Brought into the Union as an American idea obtained and enjoyed by a multitude of engineers, there is nothing better than setting up domestic plants. The bulk of these are set up near the large factory farms and are made to process the large quantities of milk into new exciting frozen products, with a multitude of sweet and savory flavors offered. So far, the optimal mass production combination of ice cream bisecting a plain cookie is the most popular product. This plays well into the union's industrial investments as a simple cookie requires just wheat, sugar, and fat, unlike the milk consuming ice cream. The new ice-cream sandwiches are rapidly seen as a new thing to offer to workers for purchase and offer to enterprises to utilize as a reward.

When we finished working our shifts and heard that we exceeded quota, we expected a bit of a pay bonus, but the boss called us all in. Dreading the upcoming meeting, no-one showed up happy, but then we got a new amazing thing, iced cream between two cookies! It's now offered as a reward for quota fulfillment, and apparently, it's soon to be in stores!
-Adrik Frolov, Letter ​

Click to shrink...

Friends, comrades, countrymen, lend me your ears!

With this monumental discovery, we close the darkest chapter in the history of the Soviet people: an age of no ice cream. No longer shall the communist youth toil in their education without the promise of it, no longer shall our workers sweat in the summer heat without the prospect of a cool, sweet snack!

Three hurrahs for Comrade Anastas Mikoyan, the Ice Cream Man of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics!


[X]BT-7M

 

[Blackstar]

Due to overwhelming support/me wanting to write a lot, Vote called for [X]BT-7M

Turn 20(1937 2nd Half): There is no Fortress that Bolsheviks Cannot Storm
Resources per turn 725+ULAG with 250 in storage.
Party Support 50
Current Status of ULAG:
Population: 667,000 (I'll round to the nearest 100k)
Attitude: Stable
Food State: Hearty Meals, -52.5 Resources Per Turn
Guard State: Intensive Monitoring, -17.5 Resources Per Turn
Resource Income: Construction focused, 105 Resources Per Turn, Additional Actions

Status Report on the Spanish Civil War, November
The front line's current status is ever-changing with the situation steadily turning for the worse for our forces and our Republican allies. While the fascists have failed to make any significant gains or achieve a major breakthrough, we are still losing ground at every phase of the war due to a lack of equipment and training. We need more men here to compensate for the poor quality of Spanish recruits, or if not that, then some new equipment to help harden the line. Wherever the volunteer forces are, we can gain ground and force a bloody retreat on the fascists. Still, the pressure intensifies during such actions, preventing any form of a true winning blow. Still, for all of the criticism, the republican forces are hardening and becoming far better trained, they just need to hold out for long enough.

In the air, though, the current crop of pilots is having a string of constant harassment, and a considerable number of them have been shot down. Most of the problems have come down to the better formations and tactics of the Germans. Thus, it would be my proposal to cycle back some of the experienced pilots with a record to their name of enemy kills to see what can be done to fix the problem. For the short term, we desperately need that new MG that Moscow is talking about, as at least if the boys in the air can get a firepower advantage, they can bring down far more newly showing up fighters. Still, the need for a new faster fighter is great, especially with the probably soon to arrive faster German designs.

Free dice to allocate: 5 Dice
Infrastructure 8 Dice

[]Buildup of Rail Stock (Diesel, Western Regions): The final part of the great Dieselification effort must be undertaken to finally break away from the old inefficient coal trains underutilization all over the Union. This is the last step of the effort and will involve converting the last rail lines still using older steam locomotives. This final change-over will also standardize the bulk of the rails on three separate locomotives models, allowing for a considerable degree of commonality and ease of maintenance. Still, this last step is expensive and when done, any further improvement in rail capacity will involve the massive construction of new massive lines. (15 Resources per dice (238/600))

[]Regional Interlinked Grids: The construction of a full regional scale grid is necessary to ensure that every city and town can be connected to the central network of electrical capacity. While such an effort would be a massive arduous undertaking, progress will allow an enormous leap forward in the workers' comfort and quality of life. Such efforts would also enable the expansion of new types of industry exploiting the production of electric power. (Select a region from: Far East and Siberia) (15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Bitumen Road Programs(Stage 3): With the previous successes in constructing a new series of roads through the Union, it would be a further benefit to start the roads' mass paving. As the current inter-city roads are made of gravel, there are multiple large speed limitations on the roads; thus, a paving effort is critical to speed up travel for both local grain and for military goods. Once the bulk of the new main-road system is constructed further small gravel distribution roads to farms and villages can be made. (15 Resources per dice (44/500))

[]Create Bus Lines: With the new road systems constructed in a multitude of cities, it is time to create a new series of buses to optimize the ability of the workers to travel. Despite the minor increase in fuel use these would represent, they will allow the bulk of the people of the Union to travel far farther for work and food, allowing for larger and more distributed factory complexes. These will also allow people to far more easily move and be transported between cities, hopefully increasing the happiness of the workers. (20 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Angara River Systems: An expensive and labor-intensive proposal for utilizing the deep Siberian river for additional power generation and motive capacity. While the local region is under-developed, the construction of multiple new hydroelectric systems will allow significant improvements in the transportation of goods and improve the power available in the Union's deep Siberian regions. Such efforts, however, will be challenging due to the inhospitable terrain and lacking infrastructure in the region. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/400))

Heavy Industry 10 Dice

[]Magnitogorsk Planned City(Stage 5): The further expansion of the planned city will be one of the largest efforts undertaken by the Union. The complex will nearly double in size and become the premier steel production installation in the world. The alloying vats will be further expanded with more steel blends tested out to improve quality, and another metallurgical university will be constructed. The goal of this final level of expansion would be to create an industrial complex nearly half a million strong focused on the production of steel for the Union, creating a true paragon city for industrialization. (15 Party Influence upon completion, 20 Resources per dice (92/1200))

[]Zlatoust Planned City(Stage 4): While the initial stages of the Zlatoust industrial city have been fully completed, there is still a considerable amount of progress that can be done. For this step of the plan, an additional mass of infrastructure needs to be constructed, but nothing needs to be rebuilt due to good planning. With these large industrial expansions, a considerably greater amount of new alloys can be transferred to multiple industries. The most notable of these will be the production and processing of Tungsten, as the metal is critical for a large quantity of industrial machinery, and more is always in need. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (205/700))

[]Stoylenskoye Planned City(Stage 1): The construction of the infrastructure base to tap a new large deposit of iron for its production to steel is a critical step in further expanding Steel production in the Union. The deposits in the Kursk region are the highest in any place outside of Magnitogorsk and are also fairly easily accessible, making the site a perfect one for the construction of a planned city. While the city itself will also be focused on Steel production, many of the early lessons learned during the construction of Magnitogorsk will be taken into account to optimize higher-quality steel production. (20 Resources per dice (0/100))

[]Donbas Coal Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): The expansion of the basin any further will be an impractical endeavor as the bulk of the easily reachable coal is already under utilization. Still, further efforts can be invested to produce more coal yet from the region. However, such material will be far harder to ship to the Urals, where the bulk of the coal use occurs. (15 Resources per dice (65/400))

[]Kuznetsk Basin Mine Expansion(Stage 4): With the current mining expansion stage, a further ramp-up of open-pit mines is necessary to increase significantly the amount of coal pulled from the earth. While such an expansion will only take a bit more labor, it will increase diesel use in the coal mines significantly due to the amount of heavy transportation and mining equipment. Still, progress must be made, and with the constant mechanization effort, far more coal can be extracted per worker. (15 Resources per dice (68/500))

[]Gorky Machine-building Plant(Stage 4): Now that the plant is in full production and can easily meet the goals set out for it, the planned future expansion can be attempted. This expansion will massively expand the city it is built-in along with greatly ramping up production. Such heavy machinery production will cause a massive amount of steel and coal use but will allow mechanisms to start being issued to construction crews. While this will make many construction efforts more expensive, it will considerably speed up constructive effort all over the Union and free up a considerable amount of manpower. (10 Party Influence upon completion, 35 Resources per dice (2/600))

[]Leningrad Metallurgical Plant: With more aluminum needed for a multitude of new possible projects and engines, more production cannot go amiss. While this plant will be inherently smaller than that constructed in Stalingrad, it will still produce a truly massive quantity of material. The plant would mostly use local hydroelectric power along with some of the thermal plants. Still, such an effort will represent a good quantity of additional capacity and is highly recommended. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/150))

[]Power Production Campaigns(Stage 3): Further construction of more power plants is still needed all over the Union, as multiple future projects necessitate more power. At the same time, civilian power consumption is going up continuously as more cooking implements are issued out. Still, the heating and cooking effort should as a total save some coal, as the electric systems are far more efficient than their older coal-based alternatives. This stage of the construction of more thermal power plants will also allow the construction of multiple new factories and aluminum working facilities with their new supply of power. (20 Resources per dice (185/250))

Light and Chemical Industry 6 Dice

[]Baku Oil Refineries(Stage 3): With the plans to nearly totally utilize the oil deposits in Baku, there also needs to be a plan to refine the massive quantity of oil products. However, these industrial facilities would necessitate a high cost of production with little return on spending. These would further improve the number of oil products available to the Union for larger military projects and secure the position of the Union as the source of Eastern European oil. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 15 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Large Scale Synthetic Rubber: Given the great success and progress that has occurred with the initial synthetic rubber experiments, a larger follow-on facility is recommended. While this plant will not be able to substitute the entirety of the Union's rubber use, it will considerably reduce the dependence on foreign imports. This plant will use a considerable amount of feedstock, but that is unavoidable when ensuring independence from the vulnerable rubber trade. (5 Party Influence upon completion, 30 Resources per dice (0/300))

[]Sulfuric Acid Plants: With the current likely expansion of shell and industrial chemical production, there needs to be dedicated production of the chemical industry's basic feedstock. Given the current and planned expansions for ore refining and chemical industrial processes, a more efficient way to convert waste sulfur on a large scale is needed. Thus, multiple large scale plants will be constructed through the Union to act as supply points for the material. (20 Resources per dice (53/200))

[]Expanded Radio Plants: With the soon to occur mobilization of the military and considerable advantages of radio-integration into the lower commands, it has become a priority to increase radio production. While these units will entirely focus on being equipped with aircraft and tanks, they should provide a massive coordination advantage. While the infantry radio prototypes are still far too large, they will not be so forever given the currently advancing technology. Thus, it will be prudent to ensure that production and advancement are kept up to date. (30 Resources per dice (259/300))

[]Bakelite Production(Army): The army has a desperate need to produce more resin for various applications. With the construction of an additional number of bakelite plants, this need can be easily met. While no concrete applications for light plastic have yet made themselves evident, some engineers are already suggesting using it heavily in aircraft and personnel army devices. However, the quantity of the material needed has caused some delays as the prospective needs seem to be quite massive. (25 Resources per dice (0/400))

Agriculture 6 Dice

[]New Socialist Towns(Stage 5): The further expansion of the last stage of the new towns will be the triumphant moment of the Union, as the conversion will indicate that all planned agricultural and rural communities have adopted the new model. While some have fought, the prices have broken most of their will to fight back, and just the last holdouts need to be converted. Over time, these towns may shift over into far larger installations, but this step has allowed a clean break with old peasants. (5 Party Influence upon completion) (Think Moshav with more propaganda) (10 Resources per dice (107/500)

[]Expand Factory Farms: Given the demand for meat products and the current surplus of fodder crops that can be used in animal farming, it would make perfect sense to authorize the construction of more factory farming complexes. These would primarily be focused on milk and beef production, but smaller, more local installations will be made for the mass production of chickens. (15 Resources per dice (0/200))

[]Pisciculture Experiments: Fish farming has always been an attractive concept for cheap bulk meat production. There are, however, constant issues as current feed systems are inadequate, and fish require considerable amounts of water. Still, a new developmental effort for fish farming can yield some results in cheap meat if the proposal turns out to be viable. But, odds are that this experiment will be an expensive waste of resources. (15 Resources per dice (0/50))

Services 5 Dice

[]State Childcare Services: As more and more women are entering the workforce, it has become a critical concern of the state to ensure that their children are cared for. While such an effort will take some resources and only apply to the cities, it will allow for more working-age women to go into the factories to further increase production. The effort will also allow the further removal of religion from society with the proper education of the youth of those taken in by various cults. (10 Resources per dice (139/200))

[]Polytechnic Universities(Stage 4): With the steady introduction of more experienced professors from initial university efforts, it would be prudent to further increase the number of schools. While much of the faculty in these new institutions would be reasonably low in experience, they have confidence and updated knowledge of the world. Simultaneously, an expanded number of slots will ensure that most graduates from lower education can have a chance at receiving a far better one and being far more productive workers. (10 Resources per dice (0/400))

[]Technical Colleges: With the current massive pool of workers, and the need to train them properly on a wide variety of small scale repair and machinery tasks, it has become the concern of the Union to expand schooling systems further. Not all students in the Union can qualify for university positions to study the sciences, but knowledge and experience are still needed in the workforce. Thus, a comprehensive system of technical colleges should be established for those graduating from primary schools without qualifying for any other form of higher education. (10 Resources per dice (71/500))

Military 5 Dice
(Authors note: Most military efforts will have quality dice rolled after they are completed, which will affect the quality of the buildup/equipment/information) (ABM points are a thing that most factory actions will cost while you have them, but while you have them, all will be around ¼ cheaper. Currently, you will have 250.)

[]Trial New Close Air Support: In Spain, the German Stukas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a plane capable of performing close-air-support against a multitude of troops, necessitating some form of domestic design capable of doing the same. While the older features of the Stuka can easily be done away with along with the siren, a simple one engined plane armed with some bombs will go a long way towards alleviating the need of providing cheap ground support. (20 Resources per dice (18/40))

[]Trial New Level Bombers: With the currently demonstrated effectiveness of large payload level bombers flying long distances, it would be a good idea to create a program aiming to do just that. A simple twin-engined bomber with a long-range and a reasonable set of defensive guns will be ordered to fill the army's need. While such a plane will be vulnerable, its long-range should be a good propaganda win. (20 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Trial New Sub-Machine Guns: With multiple foreign armies creating new fully automatic pistol-caliber weapons, it would be a shame for the Union to not join in on the trend. The new gun trials will open up for all engineers to design a new gun model suitable to the Union's needs in the reliable Tokarev cartridge. (10 Resources per dice (0/40))

[]Further Perm Plant Expansions: With the current need for more speed and horsepower from the engines of the Union, multiple engineers have come forward with the idea to double up the engines in order to almost double the horsepower. While such a combination will be heavier and far more expensive, it should provide enough power for nearly any heavy single-engine fighter in the future. Such a design is near guaranteed to have teething issues and may not be usable on the first production model, but maybe a massive national asset. (20 Resources per dice (0/50)) (-25 ABM)

[]Berezin Plant: The newly created MG's production is a high priority for the military, with a constant stream needed for vehicles of every type. While this plant will produce enough for most applications, many tanks and planes will need upgrades, creating a spike in need. The planes desperately need the gun as the new Messerschmitt type fighter over Spain has been causing significant issues with its armor and speed. (20 Resources per dice (0/75)) (-25 ABM)

[]Gorky Artillery Plant: The production of new anti-tank guns and other high-pressure guns necessitates high-quality steel and a large industrial complex. Thus, by creating a new secondary plant to the Gorky Machine-building plant must be constructed to make specialized, high-quality guns. While current production is sufficient for the current army, the planned expansion will require a large scale ramp-up. (25 Resources per dice (0/100)) (-50 ABM)

[]Expansion of the Moscow ZiL Plant: More trucks are always in need, and production must be further increased to meet the constant demand for more monetization options. While this plant needs modernizations and expansions, it should provide a good basis for further increasing the new model trucks' production. Production may start slow, but in time the bulk of the logistical forces may be motorized. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

[]Construction of the GAZ Plant: More factories are needed to create the unrelenting tide of trucks to support any possible mobilization and the war effort. Simultaneously, these new trucks can free up older trucks to use in farming and the civilian economy. Still, more production is greatly needed, thus necessitating the construction of another plant. (25 Resources per dice (0/150)) (-50 ABM)

Bureaucracy 2 Dice

[]Trial Production Staff: The poor state of military production must have someone be at fault for the disrepair and low standards. While they were likely supplied with poorly made domestic machinery older than a portion of the workers, that is no excuse for the degree of slack exhibited. Thus, with a large trial of the personnel, a considerable amount of progress can be made. (15 Party Support if completed, DC 20)

[]Introduce Statistical Planning: The massive policy change that Bazarov has been advocating for all of this time. With the use of statistics and means in planning, a fair amount more progress could be made. While cooking the books will become far harder, this should allow a far greater level of coordination and action through the plan, at the minor cost of necessitating an education to really get into planning aspects. (-10 Party Support if Attempted, DC 60)

[]Recruit Young Officers: A greater degree of military experience is required to undertake yet more projects for the Union. Thus, necessitating the hiring of much new personnel towards the department's management to expand its capabilities. While the bulk of these would be reasonably green, they show potential and are educated, allowing them to function as decent planners. (DC 30) (-10 Resources per Turn)

Moratorium 2 Hours

 

[Chimeraguard]

Decided to try my hand at writing an omake about what we've been selling to Spain.

Soviet Equipment in the Spanish Civil War
By and large, the USSR was reluctant to involve itself heavily in the Spanish Civil War at its beginning, limiting its initial contribution to the Republican cause to intelligence assets meant to keep the Republican government stable and cooperative to Soviet interests. But as the situation worsened for the Republicans, Soviet material assistance for the Republican cause began to emerge. While volunteer units were sent to fight the Nationalists directly and gain crucial experience and combat feedback on technology developed during the USSR's military buildup, along with advisors and instructors to test the effectiveness of the Soviet officer program, the USSR's primary form of assistance was becoming the Republican Forces' only major arms supplier.

To pay for these weapons, the vast majority of the Bank of Spain's gold reserve, the 4th largest in the world at the time, was transferred to the Soviet Union, amounting to almost 700 tons of gold in exchange for crucially needed, if often outdated, military equipment.

Small Arms
By and large, the Soviet Union's sales to the Republicans primarily consisted of outdated and aging equipment, and this is clear than in the small arms sold to and used by Republican forces during the Civil War. Within the WPRF, the Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle was rapidly being replaced the first semi-automatic service rifle: the SVT-34, while old M1910 Maxim medium machine guns and DP-27 light machine guns were being replaced with the new DP-36 LMG, and in the late 1930s, the Berezin UB heavy machine gun.

The large stockpiles of now-outdated firearms found a new use being sold to the Spanish Republic as part of the arms shipments. Hundreds of thousands of old rifles and thousands of machine guns found their way into Republican hands. Many were of poor quality and reliability owing to both their age and the lack of quality control at the time they had been manufactured, but their purchase provided a vital influx of weapons at a time when the Popular Front was rushing to mobilize and arm as many soldiers as it could.

More modern weapons were also used in the Civil War, although not in the hands of the Republicans. Soviet volunteer units sent to support the Popular Front and gain field experience with their new equipment were armed with modern SVT-34s and DP-36s. Though not without its own flaws at the start of its introduction, the SVT proved a decisive edge for the volunteer riflemen in the average infantry firefight, while the DP-36 proved greatly superior compared to the DP-27 that it was replacing.

Artillery
Like the small arms, the Soviet artillery used by the Spanish Republic consisted largely of aging pieces made obsolescent by the Red Army's modernization program in the course of the 2nd Five Year Plan. The M1927 76mm Regimental Gun, M1932 45mm Anti-Tank gun, and a number of short-barreled 122mm howitzers often dating back to before World War I.

Despite this, Soviet artillery was not so old that it was obsolete in the Spanish Civil War, and was plentiful as the Union made haste to rid itself of its stockpile of outdated artillery guns. The M1932 proved more than a match for any Nationalist tank deployed, and the M1927 Regimental Gun was found to be useful against the same thin-skinned armored vehicles if anti-tank guns were available.

Armored Vehicles
In terms of armored vehicles and warfare, the Spanish Republicans soon found they had a significant edge over their Nationalist opponents. While the T-28 medium tank and BT-5 light tank were not without their own flaws (the BT-5 receiving numerous complaints about its uncomfortable crew space and issues with its suspension), they were vastly superior to the Panzer Is and Italian tankettes that would make up most of the Nationalist-aligned armored corps.

As the war progressed, Soviet Volunteer forces would find themselves equipped with new models of the T-28 and BT series tanks, though their Republican allies, as was the norm, would have to make do with older equipment. The new T-28s improved frontal armor from 30mm to 80mm, after field reports noted that the proliferation of anti-tank weapons made 30mm poor protection for a tank meant for frontline combat. Meanwhile, the BT-7M fixed most of the issues the BT-5 suffered from, with the exception of the underwhelming 45mm gun.

Furthermore, though the importance of this was underestimated by most observers at the time, the new models of Soviet tanks all came with built-in radios, providing a crucial edge in command and communication over the previous variants. As a result, Soviet volunteer tank units began to pick up a reputation as some of the most dangerous armored forces in the entire war.

Aircraft
The primary Soviet aircraft deployed and sold to Spain consisted of the Polikarpov I-15 biplane and I-16 monoplane. Unfortunately for the Republican and Soviet pilots, the I-15, though effective, was outmatched by the Italian Fiat CR.32, while Soviet pilots flying the I-16 lost more often than not to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109. The greatest complaint Soviet aircraft received in this era was their inadequate armament, with the early I-16 units only mouting two 7.62mm machine guns. Variants that saw service in the later stages of the Civil War were upgraded to using the Berezin UB 12.7mm machine gun, and the resulting boost in firepower was enough to allow Soviet pilots to inflict more significant casualties on their Condor Legion opponents, though never enough to take full control of the skies, and in general it was the Nationalists who could count on air superiority more reliably than the Republicans.