Attempting to Fulfill the Plan MNKh Edition

[Vi'Talzin]

Nice to wake up to a update!

Semyonov's Purge:

In the aftermath of the nuclear crisis events proceeded rapidly with an emergency meeting of the Supreme Soviet called to determine fault for the entire incident and what is to be done to avoid similar instances of great power confrontation. The conclusion was incongruent in either respect with no practical results coming out of the process outside of starting the feud between Semyonov and Romanov as both effectively formed opposing power blocks. Intensive arguments focused on who was guilty were held in closed-door sessions with Klimenko sufficiently rattled to insist absolutely that no political comments are to be made and to "avoid doing anything stupid".

The results of what was to come came at first in the morning with an attempt by Semyonov to force a vote on a new Presidium composition with the effective retirement of Klimenko, Romanov, Obukhov, and Nikolaev sacking the majority of the body. Supreme Soviet voting at the moment entirely broke down with little progress made through an intensive day-long session as the lines were already drawn and the situation was rapidly developing. Romanov for his part trusted a loyal man to manage the situation, going to the Central Committee instead and organizing every one of his supporters that could be reached in Moscow to hold a confirmation vote while Klimenko was charged with ensuring the Supreme Soviet did not do anything.

Perfunctory voting on the Central Committee returned with the limited members managing to remove Semyonov as general secretary but failing to do anything else productive as the body was paralyzed on who would be the new General Secretary. The decision was communicated to Semyonov on the phone with him rushing to convene the Politburo as the party and state bodies both conflicted and could do little productive in the process. Immediate organization of the Politburo led to a perfunctory vote to re-organize the party along with a reappointment of Semyonov as General Secretary to navigate the crisis.

Formal discussions were held between Romanov and Semyonov the next day to navigate the new situation and determine what could be done to clear the impasse. After a tense morning where the negotiations went nowhere with Semyonov willing to reconvene the Supreme Soviet as Belik was given orders for the arrest of Romanov. The process of the arrest went about as well as it possibly could, with Romanov deciding to sit in the MVD building along with Obukhov to do something, even if little was practically organized. At this point, Klimenko came by and offered a last briefing of the likely soon-to-fall shitshow of the arrest and everything involved and went to negotiate with Semyonov.

Practical terms of what happened did not come quickly with an effective demotion of Romanov from the politburo along with a reassignment to the management of the Far Eastern Shipbuilding Industry. Obukhov and Nikolaev both were told to retire with both men being provided enough pensions to leave politics and never look back, removing them from the Presidium. Negotiations between Seymonov and Klimenko happened over the next few days, with Klimenko formally legitimizing Seymonov's new cabinet before peacefully retiring and formally supporting the advancement of his deputy over him.

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The TLDR here seems to be that basically, Romanov and Semyonov had fundamental disagreements over Forpol. The latter wanted to reshuffle the PoTCoM and remove people who almost led him to die of canned sunshine, whilst the former not only was among those but was also their political patron, so this was unnaceptable. Romanov went to the Central Committee, one convened in the middle of the night and absent the GS' allies no doubt, and voted him out. However, the GS went to the Politburo, who whilst elected by the CC, is senior to it to my understanding and just reconfirmed his leadership, promising Belik his job to make sure Romanov wouldn't try anything.

In any case, Romanov's power play failed decisively, and he is now irrelevant. This, plus Klimenko's retirement, means his faction is now in shambles. It was a big tent party held by big personalities, Romanov on the more moderate end holding off challenges from the center and serving as its head, and Klimenko on the more conservative end. Its unlikely that someone manages to come out of the weeds and consolidate. Most likely, Semyonov will move a bit to the left and take some of the real free estate in the more center left (with Podgorny likely following to pick off whoever he alienates), whilst Zimyanin brings over the more conservative part of it, and maybe someone popping off to take advantage of the people in between.

Practical terms of what happened did not come quickly with an effective demotion of Romanov from the politburo along with a reassignment to the management of the Far Eastern Shipbuilding Industry.

[]Vladivostok Shipyards: The naval yards in the Far East have some of the cheapest labor and a significant market for merchant shipping between all CMEA members. Expanding the construction of large hulled container and tanker ships domestically will be essential to keep up with current American standards. If the Soviet merchant fleet is to be modernized it needs to be funded now and expanded now to compensate for deficiencies in block-wide production. An entirely new generation of ships will have to be built to break with old standards and the dogged obsolescence that has remained a major part of naval construction. (240 Resources per Dice 0/200) (-54 CI4 Electricity +5 Steel +2 General Labor +1 Educated Labor) (High Profitability)

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A new project with top men on the job, top men!

This is hilarious, but it does make sense, Romanov was actually educated as a shipbuilder in Leningrad.

MNKh Minister: Vladimir Fedorovich Balakirev(1973): Pushed in as a compromise to ensure that Klimenko retired peacefully Balakirev was still the favored successor of the Supreme Soviet. Created in the same scheme as Voznesensky if from a radically different background, his views are broadly technocratic if more focused on aggressive development. Initially a consultant for the technical development of Sverdlovsk, Balakriev was able to leverage the post into a formal appointment as a full deputy with a significant effort spent on stabilizing a career. Most of his experience is still in the petrochemical sector, but this has broadened to general management in recent years. Balakirev has inherited an open political environment, but there are significant opportunities in the reactions to Seymonov's consolidation.

• Young (8 Bureaucracy Dice)
• Lacking a Patron (No Political Support/No Commited Dice)
• Lacking a High Party Position
• Inexperienced Politician (-10 to Bureaucracy Dice, +2 per Year)
• Excellent Administrator (+10 to all non-Bureaucracy Dice)
• Research Scientist
• Chemical Engineer (+10 to rolls in the Chemical Industry)

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We have beeeg numbers, second only to the Vozman himself, and he was significantly more experienced (he served double the time as Deputy compared to Balakirev, 10 years to the latters' 5, and that's not even counting his time as HI minister.)

In any case, whilst that -10 to politics is somewhat scary, I suggest it don't dissuade us from moving to secure our position this turn. The chaos and uncertainty in the Supreme Soviet is not going to last, and that's a much bigger advantage than a +2 to our politics that a year provides.

Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet: Ivan Aleksievich Mozgovoi(1973): Coming from a respectable career managing the development of agricultural production in Kherson and eventually managing development across the Ukrainian SSR. Politically he is an ally of Seymonov who has been advanced in the position of having more ties in the Supreme Soviet with a formal confirmatory vote pushed through to allow for the continuation of state power. Unambitious and ascetic he is a proven manager and more importantly for Seymonov the closest thing he has to a committed ally in the Supreme Soviet. His likely work will be primarily organizational and informal, replacing Romanov and effectively undermining the position.

• Unambitious
• Seymonov's Man
• Lacking a High Party Position
• Ascetic
• Social Liberal
• Subsidy Policy Proponent

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Semyonov's position is looking to reach the heights Mikoyan achieved, the last time the General Secretary and CPSS were in complete alignement was when Voroshilov was the former's puppet. If Semyonov sucessfully holds his position, he will be a powerful GS. Funny to think he was the underdog when he came in, I did not expect this.

Minister of the Interior: Vladimir Ignatievich Brovikov(1973): Something of a neutral candidate and what some may argue is a rushed candidate to replace Romanov, Brovikov is a party man in his entirety. Technically a journalist by trade he has most of a decade of intensive work in Belarusian party organs and was instrumental in several anti-corruption operations. This has led to his placement into the Ministry of Interior as a capable hand that Seymonov and everyone else can trust. He remains an idealist compared to several of those tasked with internal work leaving him very out of place for ministerial duties. Further, as someone young and directly connected to the investigations of the sixties it is unlikely that he will be able to tame the ministry, much less bring it to productive ends.

• Belarusian Party Base
• Politically Weak
• Idealistic
• Social Scientist
• Propagandist
• Anti-Corruption Investigator

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Now this is very interesting, a member of the Party from Belarus instrumental in several anti corruption operations? This rings some bells. Remember how Klim threw Abramov under the bus by leaking his involvement in corrupt dealings? The latter was from Belarus too. Lets take a look back at that turn:

Leaks towards Masherov were conducted to warn him ahead of time and ensure that a coordinated political response could be made the second the leaks occurred. The moment the evidence was presented in front of the full Supreme Soviet, rather than facing the betrayal of Abramov, he found the circumstances reversed. Concrete and consistent evidence was placed on how he accrued political influence and practically stole funds from the Soviet people with a sufficiency of pomp. Even that was accompanied by the massive findings of the program, as the corrupt have continued to be exposed, despite limits in prison sentences that could be handed down for questionable political activity naming and shaming was utilized to its logical extent.

Collaboration with Podgorny was tentatively authorized to allow for his increased position in the Supreme Soviet some leverage, advocating for the use of general shame tactics for the corrupt. One after another the various ministers and plant managers were effectively marched in front of the cameras with the evidence presented and punishment meted out

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How much you wanna bet this guy was one of the men Podgorny and Klimenko used in order to expose Abramov and his allies?

I think Balakirev is underestimating him. He is a investigative reporter who did successful work in anti-corruption, helping dethrone important politicians through the use of privileged information. Exactly the kind of guy who could do a lot of damage if he wanted to if he had access to the Soviet's internal security database.

Minister of State Security: Lev Sergeyevich Tolokinnikov(1973): Moving a replacement from military intelligence has been an unconventional choice but one that works with the current increase in confrontation and one that provides distance from the previous actions of the military. Tolokinnikov is a conventional intelligence expert who has served well on the primary axis of confrontation with the West rather than the colonial front, reducing the chance of a further flare-up. His loss from direct intelligence work will be felt but he is expected to moderately increase confrontation and focus more on infiltration work over blatant military-diplomatic work.

• Anti-American
• Head of Several Infiltration Programs
• Block Preservation Focused
• Ex-GRU
• Exceptional Organizer
• Personally Involved

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Semyonov's compromise to the hawks. He seems like he will do good work.

[]Reach Out to Podgorny: Podgorny is technically to the right of the party on economic matters but he has been proven right in the social sphere and in the foreign policy sphere. Reaching out to him may require some compromises but the man isn't expected to stand for election in a few years, nominating a chosen protege. A straight trade of mutual support and support for his successor can keep things stable and offer him a viable path forward without too many issues for the ministry. (1-3 Dice)

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"The people who attacked me over Algeria a couple of years ago are suddenly a lot quieter for some reason!"

Very funny how the man got vindicated.

 

[Vi'Talzin]

So, the discussion about the internal politics is well on it's way already, but I would note 2 things:

1) Our current guy doesn't know what he's looking at in terms of politics. He's explicitly an inexperienced politician that ascended during a turning point. Do not trust any numbers given, they might as well be entrail reading at the moment.

This? This means nothing beyond the vibes Bal gets. Bal likely doesn't know the actual number of delegates beyond "look how many alligned with Sem to oust Romanov". Given that Sem just ousted the old leadership, he is powerful. That doesn't mean he actually controlls the SupSov, the conservative faction members haven't magically changed into bleeding heart liberals. We are trying to look into the SupSov trough closed curtains here.

We are literally getting our political info from Soviet television. Meaning our political info is on par with a random guy on the street, we really shouldn't make alliances based on that.

---

2) People have already proposed allying one faction. In my opinion, this is a pretty bad idea. We are explicitly operating based on vibes and guesswork by Bal (-10 to tall politics means he is pretty bad at judging political realities). His malus is so bad that it's comparable to not having a beyond primary school education (Sergo) or actively purging your own government apparatus (Klim during the height of anti-corruption). I think we have a grace period here (nobody wants to replace the MKNH after the first couple years, since that throws planning into disarray) which we should use to get an accurate read on the SupSov. Political alliances are a bit like marriage proposals, you really want to meet and know the other party first. This isn't something we should rush into at the first moment, with Bal inexperience we could tie ourselves to a weak party, or simply miss out on a better option.

I think we can wait. Sem will likely attempt no further consolidation of power, since taking over the MKNH would be a step too far (that is why Bal is still there, rather than a new guy). Sem is going to busy for a bit convincing the SupSov that he isn't trying to be a dictator, so he isn't going to also grab the MKNH.

If you ask me, the most sensible spread of political dice is:

-[] Assess the Supreme Soviet: 1 Dice
-[] Dedicate Focus Towards A Project [7 Dice]

The best move is to wait, and see how the chips actually fall. Nobody wants a revolving door in the economic ministry, so we can wait a year for an actual assessment before making any political alliance. We need actual info. If we get that, we would be using some information for decisions rather than the first impulse that pops into Balks head (remember how badly relying on an incompetent characters judgement in regard to diplomacy went?). We are not about to loose our job the next turn, people are going to want to take us under their wing.

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Whilst obviously his assement of Semyonov's faction is complete and utter bs, I expect the right wing to be broadly correct, same with Ashimov's position, the right did not explode after all, and Ashimov is politically toxic to most of Romanov's cadres. It tracks with Klim's previous assesments of them. Zimyanin will probably be able to appeal to the more conservative wing of Romanov's allies, but well, the situation is very much in flux. I expect a lot of people are just scratching their heads in the same position as us of having to look for patrons.

Also, it is worth noting that there are indeed some bleeding heart liberals in Romanov's faction. Or well, not bleeding hearts, but Romanov explicitly compromised on social policy to preempt Semyonov taking the more liberal, economically conservatives, so much so that it opened up an opportunity for us to shank him by appealing to more conservative members. Obviously, even if he is successful he will be unable to totally consolidate the former center left, but he can probably shake off part of his right wing for a more significant chunk of the former center left's more liberal wing.

Here is a reminder of the choice we had to shank him by picking off members alienated to his compromises on social policy:

[]Agitate for a Conservative Course: Romanov is possibly correct that the vast majority of general party members prefer a more socially progressive course but that still leaves a wide swath of discontent. Working to pick up the conservative flank of the general conservative block will allow a far greater degree of political maneuver. Romanov for his part to an extent expects this and has all but admitted that he expects to lose supporters in the short term from changing social opinions.

[]Keep to Romanov's Line: Romanov has a point even if the point is a sign of the party escaping from the guidance of the older generations in favor of something new. Staying with him and broadly upholding his campaign promises will avoid splitting the current conservative block between personalities and allow a degree of unity in the face of resurgent liberal pressure. Staying in tight association without securing an independent party base can cause a massive problem but that is unlikely to be an issue through the course of this plan.

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In any case, that malus is not going away next turn. We will still have a -8 to politics. Obviously we will have a clearer view as the dust settles, but by then, compromises will have been made, factions will have solidified somewhat and we will be in a much tighter place in terms of needing to give out concessions.

I strongly recommend we do at least try to play at politics this turn, none of the options presented in terms of factional alignment and cadre building are too outrageous. Semyonov is obviously the dominant politician, so sucking up to him will obviously have its advantages, Podgorny is retiring soon, because in 77 he will hit retirement age. He had some embarassments previously, but the happenings in forpol vindicated him and he was still the third most important factional leader even then, so he is still someone we can court. The technocrats were part of Romanov's faction and are faced with either turning to Zimianyn, Semyonov or putting forward one of their own and trying to stand alone, etc etc

Contacting Klim's old allies to have a grasp of what is going on is not a bad ideia, and it will obviously synergize with any political options we take. But I think doing that, and that alone, in politics is a grave mistake. We are in a extremely vulnerable position right now, we need allies, and fast. Before anyone looks at us and say "its free real estate"

 

[Red Rationalist]

Whilst obviously his assement of Semyonov's faction is complete and utter bs, I expect the right wing to be broadly correct, same with Ashimov's position. It tracks with Klim's previous assesments of them. Zimyanin will probably be able to appeal to the more conservative wing of Romanov's allies, but well, the situation is very much in flux. I expect a lot of people are just scratching their heads in the same position as us of having to look for patrons.

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I don't think any of the factional strength numbers are correct beyond (able to do stuff/ outsider). If I'm interpreting the blurb regarding the SupSov correctly, Bal is politicking based on watching the Soviet News. This isn't a reliable source of info regarding the SupSov.

In any case, that malus is not going away next turn. We will still have a -8 to politics. Obviously we will have a clearer view as the dust settles, but by then, compromises will have been made, factions will have solidified somewhat and we will be in a much tighter place in terms of needing to give out concessions.

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That is correct, but if we assess the SupSov first, we will have actual politicians talk to us instead of working on what Pravda wrote. Right now, I trust our political assessment and actions so little that any option could be mined. After the first talks, Bal is probably informed enough to avoid political suicide (the contacts will likely point out "don't do that, that is a terrible idea)". Having a highly enthusiastic amateur play powerbroker is exactly the sort of thing that might prematurely end a career, since politicians really don't like non-experts mess with the system in the middle of a crucial moment. Concessions can be undone eventually, political suicide can't.

 

[PotentialPlateau]

[]Assess the Supreme Soviet
[]Locate a Patron
[]Reach Out to Podgorny
[]Alliance with Seymonov
[]Reconnect with the Technocrats

ain't no rule saying that you can't just do all of them and make the world's most blursed megacoaliton.

Clearly the play here is to ally everything and then squeeze so many favours out of our global support base that we can complete the entire five-year plan in one then retire as the most succesful mnkh head in soviet history before our wonky patchwork of a support base has time to implode in on itself

I call it the "cool guys don't look at explosions" strategem

 

[Random Member]

A proposal for Bureaucracy, an alliance between Left and Right to keep the Center in check:

[]Assess the Supreme Soviet (1 Dice)
[]Locate a Patron (2 Dice)
[]Reach Out to Podgorny (2 dice)
[]Reconnect with the Technocrats (3 dice)

Choosing to make no alliances until we have more info is all well and good, but Assess the Supreme Soviet is only a single dice roll at -10, meaning the chance is high that we enter next turn with still no good info, or even worse, bad info.

 

[Red Rationalist]

Choosing to make no alliances until we have more info is all well and good, but Assess the Supreme Soviet is only a single dice roll at -10, meaning the chance is high that we enter next turn with still no good info, or even worse, bad info.

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I don't think a botched roll can make the information situation worse. Right now, we have no info (Soviet Television give us a picture of unknown distortion). Even if we roll badly, we would find a few party members to talk to who would tell us something. It's a required action for getting us to the state of "soviet policy insider" rather than "guy from the street".

 

[Vi'Talzin]

I don't think a botched roll can make the information situation worse. Right now, we have no info (Soviet Television give us a picture of unknown distortion). Even if we roll badly, we would find a few party members to talk to who would tell us something. It's a required action for getting us to the state of "soviet policy insider" rather than "guy from the street".

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You are throwing off the baby with the bathwater, obviously Balakirev doesn't have the clearest view of what's happening, but again. We know the right did not implode, and that Ashimov is politically toxic. Semyonov still should have his cadres and Zimyanin rolled like shit this turn (a 2 in fact), so he can't have consolidated the conservative end of Romanov's faction already.

He also still has Klimenko's notes on the Supreme Soviet, and has worked passing legislation there for 3 years already.

We can still make reasonable assessments of what the situation is there, and so can he. I strongly suggest you don't dismiss the options he presented this turn out of hand and just analyze them for their pros and cons. The situation is much changed from last turn yes, but mostly that is that there is now a power vacuum where Romanov and Klimenko's faction was.

We can also compare Klimenko's previous assessment with Balakirev's and try to approximate the correct numbers.

Supreme Soviet Updated 1970 (Listed by Delegates, Unity, and Degree of Support) (None<Poor<Decent<Acceptable<Good<Excellent)
Ashimov's Faction: Around 80 Acceptable, None
Kleshchev's Faction: Around 40 Excellent, Poor
Romanov's Faction: Around 530, Good, Excellent
Semyonov's Faction: Around 400, Acceptable, Good
Podgorny's Faction: Around 320 Decent, Poor
Dzhussoev's Faction: Around 120 Decent, None
Gulyam's Faction: Around 60 Acceptable, None

Supreme Soviet Updated 1973 (Listed by Delegates, Unity, and Degree of Support) (None<Poor<Decent<Acceptable<Good<Excellent)
Ashimov's Faction: Around 100 ???, ???
Zimyanin's Faction: Around 150 ???, ???
Semyonov's Faction: Around 900, ???, ???
Podgorny's Faction: Around 270 ???, ???
Dzhussoev's Faction: Around 150 ???, ???
Gulyam's Faction: Around 80 ???, ???

Also, a reminder of Balakirev's traits.

• Lacking a Patron (No Political Support/No Commited Dice)
• Lacking a High Party Position
• Inexperienced Politician (-10 to Bureaucracy Dice, +2 per Year)

The latter we can do nothing about but wait and git good. But the other two are something we can work on now.

Head of the MNKh is the second most desired post in the Union. Being in it, and lacking a patron whilst having no cadres to depend on, and doing nothing to adress that lack is much more liable to be political suicide than working off imperfect, but not critically flawed imo, information.

 

[Red Rationalist]

He also still has Klimenko's notes on the Supreme Soviet, and has worked passing legislation there for 3 years already.

We can still make reasonable assessments of what the situation is there, and so can he. I strongly suggest you don't dismiss the options he presented this turn out of hand and just analyze them for their pros and cons. The situation is much changed from last turn yes, but mostly that is that there is now a power vacuum where Romanov and Klimenko's faction was.

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The issue is that Klim's notes are really outdated due to the ousting of Romanov, as the previous alliance has been broken. The entire political spectrum has gone trough a seismic shift. In regards to passing legislation, it was Klim explicitly dedicating political support to Bal, effectively giving him training wheels because he was such an inexperienced functionary that he needed them. That doesn't fill me with confidence.
Edit: Looking back, Bal almost exclusively used this dice for focussing on projects, rather than legislation. This is likely a direct result of him not knowing politics and fiddling around with the economy instead, since he's comfortable there. I wouldn't say he knows his stuff based on that.

All of these actions involve building a new power block or trying to be part of Seym's block. We don't even know if building a power block is a good idea right now, we might just make ourselves the juiciest target for elimination during a power struggle. Being the sensible guy that keeps the head down and waits to be courted carries some concessions, but also involves no potential great risks during a political turnaround.

 

[notgreat]

General resource situation:
Coal: 46+12 = 58/60
Steel: 31+3 = 34/40
NF: 52-1=51/60
PF: 35+8 = 43/40 -> reduce by 3
PG: 30+1 = 31/40
P: 38+6 = 44/40 -> reduce by 4
E: 71+331 = 402 available
All plans should take note of these.


Plan located here, copied in spoiler for convenience.

Spoiler: plan

[] Plan Computers and Electricity
-[]7340/7370 Resources (30 Reserve), 45 Dice Rolled
-[]Infrastructure (5/4 Dice, 960 R)
--[]Western Passenger Rail Expansion, 1 Dice (150 R), 100%/100%
--[]Civilian Airports(Stage 4/5), 2 Dice (230 R), 51%/64%
--[]Academic Network, 2 Dice (580 R), 75%/85%
-[]Heavy Industry (7/10 Dice, 1760 R)
--[]Kuzbas Deposit Exploitation(Stage 4/5), 2 Dice (260 R), 38%/52%
--[]Atomash(Stage 2/3), 3 Dice (930 R), 32%/43%
--[]Second Generation Lithography, 2 Dice (570 R), 98%/100%
-[]Rocketry (2/2 Dice, 0 R)
--[]Orbital Telescope Program, 1 Dice
--[]Formalize Peaceful Competition, 1 Dice
-[]Light Industry (5/6 Dice, 930 R)
--[]Light Home Appliance Plants, 2 Dice (340 R), 75%/85%
--[]Color Television Modernization, 2 Dice (380 R), 32%/45%
--[]Second Generation Calculators, 1 Dice (210 R), 100%/100%
-[]Chemical Industry (11/11 Dice, 2410 R)
--[]West Siberian Petroleum Fields(Stage 3/6), 2 Dice (320 R), 100%/100%
--[]Volga-Ural Petroleum Modernization, 2 Dice (380 R), 50%/63%
--[]Intensive Cracking Infrastructure(Stage 1/2), 2 Dice (500 R), 87%/94%
--[]Power Plants(CCGT), 4 Dice (1000 R), 100%/100%
--[]Stabilization of Agrochemicals, 1 Dice (210 R), 57%/72%
-[]Agriculture (4/4 Dice, 520 R)
--[]Domestic Meat Programs(Stage 4/10), 4 Dice (520 R), 100%/100%
-[]Services (4/3 Dice, 760 R)
--[]Transportation Enterprises(Stage 4/5), 4 Dice (760 R), 100%/100%
-[]Bureaucracy (8/8 Dice, 0 R)
--[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(), 1 Dice
--[]Expand Town Classification Codes, 1 Dice
--[]Housing Sector Reform, 1 Dice
--[]Assess the Supreme Soviet, 1 Dice
--[]Alliance with Seymonov, 2 Dice
--[]Reconnect with the Technocrats, 2 Dice

The basic premise of this plan is to focus on computers, getting both the critical 2nd gen lithography and the less-important but still incredibly useful proto-internet. It makes significant sacrifices in order to afford the internet action - if you're looking for a balanced plan, look elsewhere!

Infra:
Academic Network is expensive, and aside from that I throw 2 dice at doing more airports. Could instead throw those dice at roads, but replacing helicopters with airplanes is pretty good for efficiency whereas replacing trains with cars is not.
-16 E

HI:
We have just barely enough coal that we're not required to complete a stage this turn. so I can afford only 50% completion chance of Kuzbas. We have confirmation that Atomash stage 3 is a /200 project, so 3x dice on Atomash gives 43% chance of completing stage 3 this turn, which would make next turn a lot easier to handle, and ensures that we can do the 3x nuclear autodice next plan with much less luck dependence or chance of expensive overcompletion.
-48 -86x2 -21 E = -241 E
-4 Steel

I'm assuming stage 3 Atomash consumes the same resources as Stage 2. That would mean that our steel is getting close to the limit but not at any risk of going over (3 left), but consumes a lot of electricity.

Rockets:
Telescopes are incredibly useful scientifically, and making space peaceful would be nice. Didn't put much thought into these, admittedly.

LI:
Appliances are Very High Profitability, an easy choice. Color TVs are also Very High but are more expensive and take more progress, so 45% completion chance is enough. And of course finishing the almost-done calculators action.
-42 -52 -22 E = -116 E

CI:
Petroleum Modernization is really useful, right now we're just wastefully burning gas that could be put to use. However, we must have at least one PF action and the dice rounding is not kind, so guaranteeing the West Siberian fields while working on the modernization is a good way to be safe and efficient. We need at least one Petrochem producer, the Cracking infra seems like a pretty good choice there in that it's cheaper than plastics (while making the same amount), and makes more than the rubber plant which is already undergoing intensive expansion from the previous turns.

And of course, the Power Plants. By throwing a +15 focus and 4 dice at it, we guarantee constructing 2 (likely enough for this turn) and could get a 3rd for next turn if we get lucky. We don't quite have enough gas to run all 3 plants if the petro modernization doesn't finish, but the electricity wouldn't be needed then so it should just mean we have some power plants that aren't running at full tilt.
-40 -52 -40 -58 E = -190 E
+120x2 E = +240 E

Agri:
MEAT PROFITS
-26x2 = -52 (chance of completing 2 stages, assuming same values)

Services:
Transportation Enterprises are again Very High Profitability which is even more important here because we're behind the target in the sector. 4 dice guarantees completion of the current stage and gives a chance of completing the final stage too.

Total E: 615/402 spent
So even +240 is just barely enough if everything completes, but it is safe.

Bureaucracy:
I've seen some people think that we should be extra conservative right now since our character is bad at politics and it's a bit chaotic right now. I disagree; there's not much difference between -10 and -8, and it's not like we can just wait until the end of the next plan to start doing anything. Plus, focuses on anything other than CI are incredibly inefficient. I'm investing a ton into power plants this turn, so focus on that makes a lot of sense, but everything else is too small to be really helpful.

First of all, the actions we should NOT take:
Comprehensive Ecological Assessments, Advance an Ecological Program, Clarify the River Reversal: Reading the actions descriptions, these are all basically designed to destroy the environment (and put it to use serving the workers of course!). I'd prefer not to do that.
Rationalizing Domestic Patent Systems, Free Enterprise Licensing: The latter is basically making a policy of stealing foreign patents. Nice in the short term, but utterly trashes long-term business relationships. I don't quite understand the former, but it seems like a similarly questionable option.

The rest at least seem useful, but with such a big malus and no backers we need to focus on doing politics to some degree. I've allocated two dice into here:
Expand Town Classification Codes: Improves rural representation and overall makes us more democratic, plus we need to get this done ASAP since the elections are coming up soon
Housing Sector Reform: We're planning on doing a big Infra push next plan, setting up for that now seems useful. Could maybe be delayed until next turn, but it seems like something relatively hard to mess up and shouldn't require heavy political backing to get it done.

Then come the main politics actions: 1x Assess, 2x Seymonov, 2x Technocrats. This is starting talks with both the current leading group and with Voz's old corruption buddies; the former is in a good position right now, but the latter are more natural allies to our interests. Putting too much on one group is dangerous, if we roll too high we get things like accidentally purging all the sociologists along with Lysenko.

do what you want with this plan edit hate it idc
also does anybody know a good way to make plans?

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I do post a spreadsheet every update that's meant for plan creation- you can use the "Copyable" tab to copy the plan to text (after clicking on the little filter button to refresh the hidden rows)

 

[Hianny]

[]Assess the Supreme Soviet: With the fall of Romanov and the disintegration of the conservative flank, talking with several of the sectional leads will be essential. The men are all listed in Klimenko's journals and notes, ensuring that they can at least be contacted for a few dinners to discuss matters. Most are not going to be willing to work together but they can at least provide a far more accurate picture of the situation in the Supreme Soviet than the talking heads on the news. (1 Dice)

[]Locate a Patron: Talks on the conservative end along with the rightists will be needed if an alliance is to be made. Working with Podgorny is likely to require compromises in the economic sphere while Seymonov may take the entire ministry in negotiations to get him onside. Forming a partially independent block worked for Klimenko and Romanov and it needs to work now. Further, with the disintegration of the conservatives, the best time to strike is now as many of the old cadre technocrats can be rallied in the Supreme Soviet. (1-2 Dice)

[]Reach Out to Podgorny: Podgorny is technically to the right of the party on economic matters but he has been proven right in the social sphere and in the foreign policy sphere. Reaching out to him may require some compromises but the man isn't expected to stand for election in a few years, nominating a chosen protege. A straight trade of mutual support and support for his successor can keep things stable and offer him a viable path forward without too many issues for the ministry. (1-3 Dice)

[]Alliance with Seymonov: Semyonov is the current titan of politics, successfully consolidating the positions of general secretary to a point not seen since Mikoyan appointed Voroshilov. This position is obviously unstable and obviously not going to last but better to work with the titan at the moment of ascension and then later collect a proverbial pound of flesh. Current work is likely going to narrow the role of the ministry itself and will involve several painful internal compromises that may not be borne by the current managerial base. (1-3 Dice)

[]Reconnect with the Technocrats: Voznesensky was a spiteful bastard who had more spite than intelligence despite his advanced degree but the ministry was at its effective zenith. Working with several of Klimenko's lists of connections and communicating with the enterprise leaders frankly and comprehensively something of a comprehensive deal can be worked out. The Supreme Soviet has a vast gulf in power and instead of surrendering the initiative to a new conservative faction a new stage of consolidation can be initiated to become a power independent of petty interdepartmental politics. (1-4 Dice)

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In my mind we need to get a patron right now big things are happening and if we are not in movement then we are going to suddenly be in a way worse position to get a compromise when next turn everything is settling, and Bala suddenly is adrift without help and if he wants to survive then he is going to make far bigger sacrifices.

With that said i think assessing the SupSov is a must even if we only do it just so we can get a better shot at finding out how Bala fits in. Another thing i think will just be good is reconnecting with the technocrats i don't believe there are enough technocrats left to establish an independent faction under Bala after Voz massive failure and then their integration into conservative politics under Romanov, but a few can be gathered if we want to stall a turn or if we want to come into negotiation from a position of strength.

With all that said we have three options for getting a patron and i personally would rank them Pod > Semy > new conservative. Firstly, I don't think we should take a new conservative patron Klim was able to do it because Romanov was primed and ready to take over the base while Klim had solid control over the ministry and could help him establish his SupSov presence. This is in no way the position the conservatives or Bala is in Bala has far less control of the ministry than Klim so he cannot provide nearly as much support and Romanov just got purged in the middle of a big move with two opponents with far more political accumen than Romanov had to deal with. Because of this i imagine it is going to be a far worse knife fight than last this is not to say Bala can't win of course but it is going to be hard and even then, the winner likely must deal with Semy not being happy with them and him allying to the opposite side.

Here comes my controversial opinion Semy might not be that bad i suspect he will require some privilege being revoked and piss of the managers majorly, but he will likely keep Bala around for some time in a far less risky position than trying to somehow rebuild a conservative block out of nothing with missing political tools. Of course if we do this we are going to be in another Klim position where Semy likely will try to get rid of us if he comes through the consolidation perfectly fine and has no problems as getting in a toady would not be hard at that time and as Abramov has shown that after nominally negotiating the position and then throwing out the head for someone with less political power is a move some are willing to do. With that said though Klim had no political power at that point and if we can get some political power and navigate the next few turns directly i don't think Semy will be able to easily get rid Bala and at that point Bala is said.

Know for what i consider the best option i think allying with Pod is likely the best one while he just had a bad turn he is already putting in a successor which i think will have a solid place in the "right wing" part of the SupSov and if we help him in the transistion so his heir can remain strong i think there we would be able to ensure an alliance with Semy through him meaning Semy will have far better targets than the MNKH for his wrath while getting the support of a position in a more equal position like klim got.
So in short in my mind the best distribution is properly
[]Assess the Supreme Soviet (1)
[]Reach Out to Podgorny(3)
[]Reconnect with the Technocrats(2)
Even if i could also be convinced to support a Semy plan
[] Plan Bala landing the plane
-[]7345/7370 Resources (25 Reserve), 47 Dice Rolled
-[]Infrastructure (3/4 Dice, 380 R)
--[]Western Passenger Rail Expansion, 1 Dice (150 R), 100%/100%
--[]Far Eastern High Capacity Corridor, 2 Dice (230 R), 54%/68%
-[]Heavy Industry (10/10 Dice, 2715 R)
--[]Atomash(Stage 2/3), 2 Dice (620 R), 99%/100%
--[]Kiev Machine Building Plant, 3 Dice (870 R), 64%/74%
--[]Second Generation Lithography, 1 Dice (285 R), 40%/55%
--[]Baltic Sea Shipyards, 2 Dice (420 R), 32%/45%
--[]Volga Automotive Plant Modernization, 2 Dice (520 R), 54%/68%
-[]Rocketry (1/2 Dice, 0 R)
--[]Formalize Peaceful Competition, 1 Dice
-[]Light Industry (6/6 Dice, 1050 R)
--[]Air Conditioner Plants(Stage 6/8), 2 Dice (300 R), 18%/29%
--[]Mixed Textile Industries(Stage 2/3), 1 Dice (160 R), 18%/33%
--[]Color Television Modernization, 2 Dice (380 R), 32%/45%
--[]Second Generation Calculators, 1 Dice (210 R), 100%/100%
-[]Chemical Industry (8/11 Dice, 1600 R)
--[]West Siberian Petroleum Fields(Stage 3/6), 4 Dice (640 R), 100%/100%
--[]Power Plants(CCGT), 3 Dice (750 R), 100%/100%
--[]Stabilization of Agrochemicals, 1 Dice (210 R), 57%/72%
-[]Agriculture (4/4 Dice, 480 R)
--[]Domestic Meat Programs(Stage 4/10), 2 Dice (260 R), 42%/56%
--[]Vegetable Production Modernization, 2 Dice (220 R), 4%/10%
-[]Services (8/3 Dice, 1120 R)
--[]Transportation Enterprises(Stage 4/5), 2 Dice (380 R), 43%/57%
--[]Urban Beautification Programs, 2 Dice (220 R), 32%/45%
--[]Development of Population Services(Stage 1/3), 4 Dice (520 R), 97%/99%
-[]Bureaucracy (8/8 Dice, 0 R)
--[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(West Siberian Petroleum Fields), 1 Dice
--[]Dedicate Focus Towards a Project(Power Plants(CCGT)), 1 Dice
--[]Assess the Supreme Soviet, 1 Dice
--[]Reach Out to Podgorny, 3 Dice
--[]Reconnect with the Technocrats, 2 Dice

Ok i made a plan to match my political choices and taking two important but pretty political uncontroversial initiatives more housing (and to match that more AC) and reclassifying towns so things are less of a mess. It also has a pretty serious focus on getting more RpT, doing services, while also trying to keep oil in proper range (i am going to be honest this is a gamble might have to sacrifice somewhere else and put even more money on oil)

Edit: ok just made it potentially possible to do the rest of Siberia but two phases at least should finish with this amount of dice so we should survive on oil

 

[Ashheap]

Quick read, seems like the guy is super high on his own chem supply.
Kept yapping abt neglected rural town and under-utilized chemical sector.

The first Indian cosmonaut has also flown on a further mission, orbiting the planet for two months and participating in the testing of one of the first spherical inflatable habitats for the long-term conquest of space.

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Need another, a longggg tube one and a micro satellite dispenser 8=>

🚨❗ Emegency WoG post ❗🚨

[]Vegetable Production Modernization

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[]Urban Beautification Programs

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From @Blackstar :

[]Advance an Ecological Program

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From @Kirai :



New happy fun time

Bala view

From @Crazycryodude, behold:

View: https://youtu.be/91yVhrSZ5jQ?si=uSrpouFDdDoCsSKR

Concerning political alignment options:

State of the Ninth Five-Year Plan:
35% Increase in MFPG Production Value: Ahead of the Moving Target
35% Increase in Capital Goods Production Value: At the Moving Target
40% Increase in Consumer Goods Production Value: Slightly Behind the Moving Target
20% Increase in Agricultural Sector Production Value: Ahead of the Moving Target
45% Increase in Service Sector Production Value: Behind the Moving Target

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Consequences of last vote:

[]Housing Sector Reform: Current housing programs are working to maintain housing stocks but the massive risk of the Mikoyan era housing decaying has remained a national concern. The homes themselves have held up better than expected but they need to be replaced at an accelerated time frame. Improved apartment models have already been sufficiently developed to reduce costs per unit with current plans simply needing modification. This will commit the Union to the largest housing program in history but in a decade the communal housing form and wartime emergency housing can be left in the past. (1 Dice)

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[]Alliance with Seymonov: Semyonov is the current titan of politics, successfully consolidating the positions of general secretary to a point not seen since Mikoyan appointed Voroshilov. This position is obviously unstable and obviously not going to last but better to work with the titan at the moment of ascension and then later collect a proverbial pound of flesh. Current work is likely going to narrow the role of the ministry itself and will involve several painful internal compromises that may not be borne by the current managerial base. (1-3 Dice)

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Remember, only you can prevent miscommunication by NOT "pissing in the information stream" 🫵

 

[Red Rationalist]

If we are to actually try to build a political alliance, I think we should put the minimum of dice in and talk with everyone. This may be counter-intuitive, since a low number of dice means lower rolled results, but it also represents less effort and commitment to any given option. I think if we put 3 dice into talking with Sem, we are working really hard to get him on board, with negative results if he is on the loosing side. The trap might actually be maxing out the dice cap, since this means Bal is being far to desperate to ally a specific faction. The actions there have strangely high dice limits, don't they? Some of that might be explained by being unaligned politically, but Klim didn't get 3 dice caps after his sponsor was ousted.
Rethinking my political recommendations a bit, I think we should reach out to the existing blocks, but not with a high number of dice. We are not in a position to make good decisions about political allignment, so I think putting one dice into meeting with people is for the best.

This signals a very flexible political position and we are simply negotiating with the existing powers and seeing who is giving us the best deal. Nothing to crazy, nothing like trying to build our own faction to rival the existing ones, just sensible deal-making. So 1 dice on "Reaching Out To Pod" and one on "An Alliance With Seymonov" would translate into hearing out their offers, and making a decision after that. The most dangerous thing we could probably do is trying to build our own block and align with the non-Seymonovite, since that might mark us as active opposition.

 

[Ultrackius]

I think working with Podgorny is a bad idea unless we can also finagle an alliance with the left. He may have moderated but he's still a marketist, and if we fail to keep our little pet capitalism in check once it'll outstrip our ability to control it at all, and we need to keep it under control so we can strangle it once we're able to

Unrelated, what would happen if we actually did the river reversals? I read somewhere no one knew but the top suggestions were "the artic melts completely" and "the glaciers expand massivly" which are opposites. I kinda want to do it tbh, just to see what would happen and for the sheer hubris, I will always support hubris


Tbh some nature taming would be nice as long as we can avoid some of the idea we know are bad from irl. Remember the world only learns that things don't work if they fail. German forest management is phenomenal now (or at least was for a while), and it's because they almost fucked up real bad by making a mono culture forest and has to learn to artificially keep it alive and heal it

 

[NSchwerte]

Klimenko didnt have the option to approach the technocrats, right?

Is this because he already had a different support base or because he knew that it was a bad idea?

 

[Ultrackius]

Klimenko didnt have the option to approach the technocrats, didnt he?

Is this because he already had a different support base or because he knew that it was a bad idea?

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They probably hadn't recovered from Voz yet and by the time they did he had a faction already, I assume anyway

 

[NSchwerte]

They probably hadn't recovered from Voz yet and by the time they did he had a faction already, I assume anyway

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My suspicion is that Bali thinks the Technocrats are a good faction to approach, but that the Technocrats, being super conservative boomers who imploded after their big boss flamed out arent actually a useful political base.

Or maybe the Technocrats are the people Klim could have approached with the conservative flank of Romanov.

 

[Random Member]

This might be Bala's own technocratic bias giving him too much of a rose-tinted view on how much support the technocrats have in SupSov tbh?

 

[Red Rationalist]

Klimenko didnt have the option to approach the technocrats, didnt he?

Is this because he already had a different support base or because he knew that it was a bad idea?

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It's a mix of both. The technocrats were Voz personal clique, with him dying there was nobody organized enough to meet. Additionally, Klim had a support base in the form of Ambramovs base, which made talking to the technocrats unappealing. Plus, they were pretty politically toxic due to anti-corruption efforts.

My suspicion is that Bali thinks the Technocrats are a good faction to approach, but that the Technocrats, being super conservative boomers who imploded after their big boss flamed out arent actually a useful political base.

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That could very well be true, though there is some room for poaching there. I think the brainworms are more generally about founding your own block, since that mirrors what Voz did. The difference was that Voz was pretty clever politically, while Bal is very much not that.

 

[Blackgold211]

Also thought'd I'd mention something I haven't seen brought up, which is that getting too high a result could also be a bad thing, ala the sociology purge. Dunno how too high a result could be a bad thing here but it's def a possibility to keep in mind.

 

[Red Rationalist]

Also thought'd I'd mention something I haven't seen brought up, which is that getting too high a result could also be a bad thing, ala the sociology purge. Dunno how too high a result could be a bad thing here but it's def a possibility to keep in mind.

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I don't think that's applicable here, considering that was during the Stalin Era and the rules of the game have changed. If you roll to convince Stalin of stuff beyond "please don't kill me", there is always a risk.
But yeah, rolling very high could mean a solid, good alliance with a faction that is about to loose the power struggle. It's not impossible that high rolls might actually hurt us.

 

[Undeadmuffin01]

Thank you @Ashheap for sharing with the "Sufficient Presidium" information from the "Discordburo" !

Ok, so in my opinion,
[]Academic Network
[]Kiev Machine Building Plant
[]Second Generation Lithography
They have a lot of synergy so maybe taking them together could make a broader push toward computerization and electronic in general.
At least Kiev and Lithography should be taken together, Blackstar said that the new machine plant include electronic machine-tool so maybe we could include more advanced electronics in them if done with second generation Lithography?

 

[agumentic]

Now is really not the time for being politically indecisive. The politics got upended and everyone are, to a degree, flying blind. Trying to dither and pick and choose just means missing the consolidation and ending up on the outside without a political patron, which practically guarantees either having to fully sell out or being given the boot after the elections. Maybe if Bala was better at politics, we could try to build some grand coalition, but as it is we need to pick a course and stick to it. Yes, that means making a choice based on old information and vibes, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. Not making the choice is much worse.

 

[Kirbstomp]

"Rural QOL tonite 👀,"
"Rural QOL tonight queen??"
"Rural QOL tonite 👀"

This new manager seems fun, looking forward to seeing where he goes (if he can last)

 

[NSchwerte]

It's a mix of both. The technocrats were Voz personal clique, with him dying there was nobody organized enough to meet. Additionally, Klim had a support base in the form of Ambramovs base, which made talking to the technocrats unappealing. Plus, they were pretty politically toxic due to anti-corruption efforts.

That could very well be true, though there is some room for poaching there. I think the brainworms are more generally about founding your own block, since that mirrors what Voz did. The difference was that Voz was pretty clever politically, while Bal is very much not that.

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If nobody approached the Technocrats to get their support or even construct the new independent faction Bal is dreaming of in 7 years he is certainly not going to manage it. And I dont think bringing a dozen politically toxic technocrats into the faction of our new patron would be appreciated.


Do we know when we get the new deputy? Bala has great boni and if we manage to counteract his severe lack of touching grass he could be quite valuable to manage the oil crisis as the one who created our scary report.

But if we get a good deputy then Bala getting used by semy to improve worker conditions and pushing down the managers and then dropped wouldnt be that bad. But narrowing the role of the ministry is scary...

 

[Red Rationalist]

If nobody approached the Technocrats to get their support or even construct the new independent faction Bal is dreaming of he is certainly not going to manage it. And I dont think bringing a dozen politically toxic technocrats into the faction would be appreciated.


Do we know when we get the new deputy? Bala has great boni and if we manage to counteract his severe lack of touching grass he could be quite valuable to manage the oil crisis as the one who created our scary report.

But if we get a good deputy then Bala getting used by semy to improve worker conditions and pushing down the managers and then dropped wouldnt be that bad.

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It's been 6 years or so, the technocrats are less politically toxic then they were in the wake of anti-corruption. They actually did stuff after Voz was ousted and pushed some of the worst offenders out, but faction building is very much to ambitious for Bal.

In regards to the deputy, I don't have any solid information. It depends on the political struggle, since the MKNH is basically the second-highest rank in the state, and everybody wants a loyalist there. It depends on the political struggle, whether we get to decide or if the SupSov forces the decision on us. But probably fairly soon, people want their guy to learn on the job and to have that question settled. Agreed on Bal being pretty decent, he is actually quite competent if a bit chemical obsessed.