I would note, however, that autobiographies are not what you would call an unbiased source on the character of the person in question.
Attempting to Fulfill the Plan MNKh Edition
- Thread starter Blackstar
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Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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Well yes, but he has a picture in a field with Kleschev and went to sanatoriums with him (the latter seems to have been in poor health, and died this year OTL. So he might be gone this turn, Ashimov died at 92 otoh), and exchanged touching personal letters to important political figures. He also seems to be very involved with his family unlike, say, Brezhnev. He may have exaggerated some things, but as he outlines his career and personal life he seems to have have been that kind of person who just knows everyone on the street.
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No. It's somewhat US-leaning, but is also mostly neutral, and is in fact one of the founding members of Non-Aligned Movement TTL, I believe. They also have their own nukes.
Cannon Omake: The Cretan Question: A Cold War Flashpoint
Terminator57
Southern trees bear a strange fruit
I had a new idea for an omake map called "The Cretan Question: A Cold War Flashpoint". I hope you will like this map.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas Eve !
I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas Eve !
Turn 77 (January 1st, 1967 - January 1st, 1968): Decisive Moments Results
- Location
- The United States
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Turn 77 (January 1st, 1967 - January 1st, 1968): Decisive Moments Results
Internal Movements
With the economic crisis seeming unending due to poor fourth-quarter results and endemic issues in politics, the general fate of the ministry was looking poor. Almost the second poor results were broadcast Kosygin and Masherov started an attack on the ministry as almost expected. Instead of providing any protection though, Abramov joined in the attack, advocating for the placing of a new deputy to make up for issues in performance. This only continued through the spring as new economic indicators were not yet out that performance improved and it was almost certain that someone new would head the ministry, only not exactly who. Thankfully, no decision was able to be reached due to disagreements on methodology delaying the process sufficiently for it to become irrelevant.
Abramov must have decided that it was better to burn connections rather than focus on retaining anyone involved, choosing to persecute the manner as the preamble for a corruption trial despite a lack of evidence. Kosygin's caution on the matter along with Masherov's slower stance still forced the matter to occur as an investigation. Instead of the expected results, the personnel of the ministry underwent a strategic and targeted leaking campaign on the economic involvement of the Belarusian party organs, targeting enterprises where Abramov was the most significant. This was just a small phase of the overall anti-corruption campaign, but it would have been a shame to insufficiently use the evidence produced.
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. Kosygin for his part watched the power struggle from the sidelines, possibly unsure of any evidence that would be found on him, or more than content to see a member of his troika brought low. Masherov for his part made significant commitments towards future cooperation as personnel fell out from the ministry, believing the current program to be entirely one of consolidation.
Actual internal political changes have followed, with them believed to be a lesser cost than going through the last political mess, as preventing excesses while allowing some luxuries has been a popular view anyway. Transparency for funding allocations across the plan has been made universal and accessible to the public. Work towards improving technical programs and specifying the tasks of discretionary funding has come as a compromise for allowing further direct control of them. Work with both Masherov and Podgorny was started in earnest on further reform towards the general opening of the ministry. Funding may be debated, but cost accounting is certain to be essential to ensure the proper operation of the planned economy.
Opening talks immediately proceed with Masherov, only lightly delayed by Abramov's effective dethroning and chaos thrown into the conservative wing. Lacking an easy center many have become disorganized and fractious as several politicians have attempted to consolidate block-wide control. Masherov for his part was attempting to consolidate his block, ensuring that it would grow stronger from Abramov's fall and starting work towards ensuring that Ashimov would not grow too strong. Unfortunately for him and the general state of Soviet politics and during the celebration of a few cosmonauts that have flown through the program some imbecile conscript decided to make his move. Targeting Kosygin but getting the wrong car on parade, three bullets were fired at Masherov with two hits. One managed to hit him in the eye through the windshield, killing him instantly and losing the Union one of its key political minds and likely the next general secretary.
Not long afterwards Voznesesnky himself was effectively rendered impotent in politics as whatever was sapping his energy was severe enough for hospitalization without any timeline for a return. Instead of the bastards pushing as hard as he could to re-enter politics he has been bedridden in the hospital with some likely severe diagnosis. It has been rumored that a significant tumor has been found and that he is unlikely to last until the next year, leaving the political situation even more in flux than ever before. The only elements of the old center that are left are a Kosygin that has committed towards retirement and even in initial conversations without a plan to stay in politics.
The conservative center is under the dire threat of Ashimov as he moves into the massive power vacuum left and much of the base is too fractuous to manage anything. From the right Podgorny himself is liable to move into the opening in the Supreme Soviet, as one of the people who called the anti-corruption effort and that was most focused on opening up. Some of his right-wing economic positions will have to go, but the man himself is nothing but capable of maneuvering despite the sheer dysfunctionality of younger party members. This has left the situation unstable and there is practically no one that has any idea of the situation on the ground.
Choose Two:
[]Enter Negotiations with Kosygin: The man has to have some idea of what to do and it is impossible that he did not at least have some idea of what would happen upon consolidating his Troika. Some positions may have to be given in the deputy post being approved by both along with top-level support, but it is almost certainly better to work with the man than around him and some concessions or favors are nearly guaranteed.
[]Talk to Podgorny: Working with the rightmost fringe is a sure way to further degrade Soviet Stability and damage the socialist system, but Podgorny is nowhere near secure in position. Offering some terms to him and working with him may go far further than working around him. Instead of focusing on any specific deals or gains, making a simple ally committed to ending the current chaos can allow for significant future gains.
[]Dictate terms to Abramov: Abramov himself is a bastard who attacked the promise of a position for someone willing to take the fall, and he has had his career ended. Dictating some terms to him to at least get a tentative line of cooperation to stop Ashimov from taking over the left wings of the party can have some value. The man may hate the ministry but even he can see the sheer threat the radicals pose.
[]Try to Find an Ally: Taking the time to work with the Supreme Soviet and finding someone at least sympathetic will take some time, but consolidation has to happen now before Ashimov or Podgorny consolidate their positions among the delegates. Taking the time to meet with all of the smaller factions can allow for a massive degree of influence, and if a new position is taken, some can almost certainly be brought on the side actively.
[]Back a Conservative Position: Taking an immediate conservative stand as a reasonable figure and allowing whoever comes out of the cross-factional consolidation ensures that the pickups will focus on more conventional positions. Whatever new conservative consolidates the factional position is going to be desperate and need a degree of backing, ensuring that wherever they move the ministry can project influence.
[]Back a Moderate Position: Masherov was determined that the Union needed to move to something new while Abramov was too content with his position, but nothing stopped a compromise from being formed. Instead of attempting to woo the supporters of either side a theoretical united line that makes the necessary compromises to make policy can be formed. Whatever succeeds Voznesensky's bloc will almost certainly pressure the left wing while Kosygin pressures the right, but there is enough political room to make a new faction rather than relying on old positions.
The Economy
Unlike the expectations of tepid growth across Q4 of 1966 the actual economy continued to shrink if at a far lesser pace. This has led many industries of the heavy industrial sector in dire straights through little fault of their continuing declines in values as the state moved to prune and re-organize significant parts of the sector. Personnel that was judged as capable of reorganization with Gorky itself effectively split into six profit-making enterprises along with several sectors that were wholesale redistributed through dirt-cheap asset sales. Only the remnants of experimental divisions were saved due to the need to maintain competitiveness, with the rest effectively distributed. Shortfalls in further machine production have struck the economy through the plan, though imports and resumption of some production have at least provided a floor.
Noncompetitive sectors of both Gorky and several steel mills and processing facilities have been sold for little with little expectation of return, but as they were effectively debt-ridden toxic assets that has been better than nothing. The leadership involved in the sector has effectively been replaced in its entirety with new more capable personnel claiming what could be returned through vigorous plans of reconstruction and capital re-investment. The only good news is that by the midpoint of 1967, the bleeding across all sectors was stopped with re-investment returning and production starting the steady climb up. Massive market opportunities were further rapidly capitalized upon by every enterprise capable of making machinery with one of the largest knowledge transfers out of Gorky occurring, as skilled technicians were effectively re-employed in other sectors.
Not every sector was in a downturn however as significant numbers of private business interests and alternative sectors have continued to improve production. Services have continued to grow strongly despite other economic conditions and the consumer goods sector has only had a single quarter of downturns. The crisis itself has mainly been contained to heavy industrial development with imports more than compensating at the lowest market segments thanks to the degree of overproduction in fraternal socialist allies. Being a machinery importer for some segments and tools has immediately caused several political protests and issues, but with the state of politics maintaining economic functionality was given a far greater priority.
Service sector growth has been followed by an increase in petrochemical consumption across every industry as integration has increased along with automobile numbers. Effectively much of the strong private growth has come at the cost of increasing the utilization of gasoline and diesel in every application putting significant strain on the exportation of fuel. It is almost certain that some of the fuel supplies for even European CMEA will come externally from general imports as the demand for fuel has only rapidly increased. Imports from the Middle East are expected to stay strong but domestic production must be re-established at the first possible opportunity.
Incentive fund-induced growth along with private sector growth has started this year strong and only gotten stronger as a multitude of technical professionals have moved industries. Instead of the near total dominance of Gorky and its associate enterprises, a massive number of smaller enterprises have been founded with a far greater degree of variance and specialization. Work on improving has been secondary to getting salvaged sectors into production and bringing them to productivity, but a significant portion of the jettisoned personnel and machinery have immediately gone back to the workforce. The steel industry has performed worse with a far lesser degree of recovery even though it was not a total loss.
The first quarter of 1967 came in with a strong growth in consumer spending which was further enhanced by the universalization of the food program to anyone with a residence no matter the sector of employment. The basics at least minimally guarantee a surge in the consumption of better domestic foods along with a broader consumer spending profile has allowed for a significant growth of industries. As the new normal stabilizes the growth impacts are mostly expected to abate, but they have practically secured a path through the recent recession. Furthermore, there has been a slight synergistic effect in the founding of new businesses as the willingness to increase leveraged positions has increased thanks to the minimalization of social risk combined with easier access to credit.
Rocketry
Finalization of work on the RLA-3 system has come with another complex of successful heavy payload launches of a set of enhanced capability climatological buses destined for LEO. The actual usefulness of the heavy lifter is expected to be quite questionable as most payloads do not need anything near the mass toward low earth orbit. Proposals have been made for combined systems of satellite buses, with several spacecraft carried in a quadrupled configuration inside of an expanded fairing but those are just proposals. Prospective stations and distant interplanetary programs are expected to be another significant use even if both are still only in the proposal stages.
Continued failures in the Venera program along with the complete failure of both subsequent landing attempts have led to the conclusion that with current hardware and techniques, a budget landing will not be possible. The acidic, high temperature and high-pressure environment leaves any avionics with massive cooling requirements that are unavailable on any reasonable platform, to say less of the exposure risk towards whatever sensors are launched. Something along the lines of an orbiter program is considered viable, but given the current political mood, it is almost certainly better to cut losses and focus on other exploration opportunities.
[]Cancel it: The Venera program has delivered back important information from the planet, but the sheer technical challenges are too much for any viable near-future technology. Work on improvements to landers and hardware will almost certainly continue, ensuring that eventually, a lander will touch the surface, but that is a question for the next few decades not now. (Cancels Venera)
[]Maintain It: The funding has already been allocated and by focusing on an orbiter program there is still a degree of science that can be found on the planet. The composition of the atmosphere is not perfectly understood and by constructing a series of constantly scanning satellites a far better general picture can be made for a theoretical future landing.
A further success of the new heavy probe bus over Mars, launched in one of the first interplanetary variations on the RLA has formed a basis for further exploration. Now with a plan on how to navigate the atmosphere, several proposals have been made to land on the red planet. Using the increased interplanetary capabilities of the RLA one, a complex of small probes can be independently re-entered from a general carrier bus to survey prospective sites on the planet, covering a wide area in a single launch. Assuming the mission is successful a significant amount of information can be recovered as with the lunar landings. Some more ambitious personnel have even proposed the development of a rover to further increase capabilities and provide wide-reaching images of the surface.
With the increased capability available to the Union and the call for further exploration of space, Luna-16 and Luna-17 have both made a successful landing. Unlike the previous craft launched in the program, small samples of lunar regolith up to two hundred grams were placed on a return stage to deliver them back to Earth. Despite some significant technical difficulties in both missions, both have managed to deliver their payloads back to Earth, providing the greatest victory in the sciences possible to show before the fiftieth anniversary of the revolution. Only a paltry one hundred and seventy grams of regolith were sent back, but that is more than has ever been present on Earth and represents an overwhelming technical victory.
The Americans in the meantime have significantly increased the scale of launches, with a further slate of military and civilian flights. Attempts towards sending crews towards the moon have succeeded through the use of an orbitally combined stack, putting two astronauts into the orbit of the moon for a few hours. After committing some orbits, the two astronauts have come back to the States for a significant welcome. This has of course been domestically hailed as a victory in the space race by launching crew further than they have ever gone before, but given the negligible scientific value of their program, the clear victory has gone to the Union.
Infrastructure
Western USSR Regional Roads: The Western USSR has some of the best roads when compared to the rest of the nation, but even those are considered internationally poor. Constructing a massive series of two-lane roads to act as regional feeders and linking them with previously built high-capacity systems will be more of an exercise of paving the few yet-to-be-paved major roadways, ensuring that every area has acceptably poor access. Further efforts are expected to get more expensive, but they are relatively deprioritized compared to the development of similar systems in regions where no tentative efforts have even started. (270/300)
Far more developed transportation networks in the West have still required a degree of modernization to link smaller industrial centers and provide for the more dispersed industries. As much of the farming has been located in the West despite the best efforts of several politicians, the major use case for many of the regional roads is expected to be agricultural. The development of these roads is a critical step in further improving systemic throughput and providing each farm truck with only a few kilometers of dirt roads to cross instead of a hundred. As the program has nearly concluded much of the progress left has fallen toward the most remote regions with the least infrastructure integration, slowing matters but those limitations can still be overcome through the commitments of further funding.
Ural Regional Roads: Continued development of local infrastructure is a logical extension of previous programs and a near requirement given the Supreme Soviet. Work on these roads will drive towards a general improvement in transportation focused on improving the interconnections between the Northern and Southern inhabited corridors. The terrain will allow for a massive increase in the paved kilometers of roads and improve local transportation. As one of the centers of newly developing industries and a core of natural resource utilization, roads will produce a massive economic return and practically pay for themselves through increasing economic turnover. (114/400)
The Northern segment of the dual route program has proven to be as much of an issue with regional construction as it was for the development of the larger road system. Interlinks and integration for the large roads have proven challenging due to the adverse weather conditions and consistent demand for more material in a logistically challenged area. Soviet workers have overcome such obstacles before and are still overcoming them now through a combination of new machinery and labor. The expected gains in interlinking the area between major rail lines and providing a consistent corridor outside of urban ones are expected to significantly improve transport throughput and ensure that heavier trucks can avoid transiting cities directly. Far more funding is needed to complete the segment, but it will still likely be finished by the end of the decade assuming funding is maintained.
Caucuses High Capacity Roads: The construction of one large central corridor near the inhabited areas of the southern Caucasus is expected to massively improve overall road integration. Most goods in the region stay in the region with a few primarily agricultural exports, allowing a single developed road system to serve much of the local population. Development here will have to be followed with more generalized paving of regional corridors to ensure adequate linkage despite terrain challenges, but it will be possible to finalize development and ensure a steady drive toward development. (239/200) (Completed)
A new comprehensive drive towards the modernization of transportation across the entirety of the Caucuses has come with the mandate to further improve road construction. The primary aim of the program itself was the construction of the primary corridor between Baku and Sochi, with a branching line into the Armenian SSR. These have all entered massive construction at several points along the line, utilizing rail transport in parallel for both paving programs and the still-forming roads to extend them. Construction itself is only expected to be finalized by the end of the plan, but the system alone represents a massive increase in viable roads for heavy transportation.
Caucuses Regional Roads: The narrow corridor in the Caucasus can theoretically be developed without the previous linkage of it outside. Most movement of goods locally is conducted in a narrow corridor between mountains and by improving it significant economic returns will be possible. The movement of goods between republics will of course take a significant hit as local supply routes are prioritized, but to fulfill local development obligations and improve the general economy it should be both sufficient and significantly cheaper. (66/100)
In parallel with the programs to increase general road capacity on the primary corridor, work has started to connect the smaller towns on the corridor to the main system. A comprehensive drive towards increasing the number of ramps and interlinks has coincided with general construction. These have effectively provided paved regional routes around and towards any notable industrial center, ensuring that goods anywhere can travel by truck to either their end destination or a rail loading yard. Work on improving the regional roads however still requires more funding as the construction program has not been entirely funded, but it has advanced by leaps and bounds catapulting the area forward by almost thirty years of infrastructure development.
Heavy Industry
Bakchar Deposit Utilization(Stage 1): New steel deposits are necessary to continue the development of the Union and further provide steel in the Far East for local construction projects. The location near the Kuzbas deposit and in the presence of a magnetic anomaly just as massive as the one at Kursk is essential for the further development of the Steel industry. Starting large-scale surface extraction with modern equipment along with the construction of several mills for the production of steel through oxygenation is necessary to enable development and further improve domestic steel supplies in the face of increasing construction and development. (195/250)
Building a new series of modern steel mills using the latest techniques has proven to be a significant challenge primarily due to their location. The utilization of the massive deposits of iron has come comparatively easily as experienced miners and heavy equipment were transferred East. Work on developing further mill infrastructure is almost certain to be a major challenge as despite the sheer scale of the deposit its proper utilization remains a significant challenge. Access to local coals will reduce prices considerably but fuel prices are only one of the major cost factors for new mills. Assuming continuous funding, steel should be producible on a comparatively efficient timescale, with new cities set up around the deposit to provide workers and continue economic development.
Kuzbas Deposit Exploitation(Stage 3): Kuzzbass as an area of extraction offers nearly double the coals available to the Union alone when discounting the massive brown coal deposits to the north of it. Developments at this stage will focus on the exploitation of more viable surface deposits to reduce the overall costs of coal production and provide a far greater energy capacity to the Union than ever before. Work will demand a significant portion of labor and energy, but it will deliver massive gains to local wages and ensure that the Western Union can maintain the current high energy-coupled growth. (184/200)
With the opening of canal routes and the massive-scale shipping of equipment, the development of the Kuzbas deposit has accelerated significantly. Geological work has already been done for the planned expansion, with the only task left to dig at the coal. The above-ground lower-grade coals have so far been prioritized due to the lower costs of extraction. Underground coals are significantly shallower than in any other coal basin and represent a massive degree of untapped potential. Digging at them at a sufficient scale will take the importation of significant labor and the construction of entirely new cities for the workers. That too can be done to drive the extraction of coal and leave any crisis of energy in the past.
Rocketry (3) 2 Dice
New Crewed Programs: A simple low-intensity crewed program with already proven hardware can be pursued at practically the same budget cost as the FGB-VA system. Consistent payloads in the form of the combined system embarking on mission durations of up to three weeks will allow a massive quantity of scientific information to be produced. Much of the funding for the program will in itself go towards the development of novel technologies and tests to run to prepare for further crewed programs, establishing a base of understanding for wider programs once political will is present. (-10 RpY Expected) (41)
The foundation of a new manned program on planned hardware has come as a logical conclusion to the full testing of the FGB-VA bus. Standardized production of more modules in the same scheme is expected to improve access to orbit with several new missions already planned. The most significant of these is expected to be the first testing of the Kretchet suit, delivering the first Soviet EVA with a reliable system capable of enduring the harsh orbital environment. Experiments of up to a month in duration are sure to follow, with several ideas on testing the growth of plants in orbit along with some manufacturing techniques to improve general technologies. Current efforts are unlikely to be much outside of a foundation for designs of the future, but finalizing designs is going to be critical for the further development of orbital infrastructure.
Allow Enterprise Bidding: The communications networks that are launched are only growing in sophistication and cost. Rather than forcing every system to fly on state backing for an ever narrower set of criteria, general payload bidding can be opened for most categories of payloads. If an enterprise wants to launch something into orbit, there is no reason to prevent it from doing so. Similar policies have already been applied for CMEA and there is little reason not to allow our people to do the same. (78) (+5 RpY Spending Cap)
A new and open framework for contracting with orbital launches has been established, with civilian payloads now launchable at a premium by any interested enterprise in CMEA. These have been accompanied by the steady rise in RLA production to meet the demand for a wider launch schedule and the need for more satellites. The largest use case of these has come from several telecommunications companies looking to make signal transfer easier. Work on the launch of geostationary satellites to ensure a steady line of communications between Soviet and American telephones is expected to form a lucrative market for some time to come. The only negative is that there are only so many things that can be done in space, and while technology is developing in leaps and bounds it is still too expensive for most use cases.
Light and Chemical Industry
Samotor Field Development(Stage 1): A discovery past the Urals has found a field with more oil in place than any other discovered field. Moving towards high throughput utilization of the field is going to be necessary to keep domestic energy prices low and ensure consistent access to oil and gas. Local deposits are biased towards medium-density oils, but even those can be used at a high rate without many technical issues. Outside of the location, the deposit itself is conventional and can enable local refinement of fuels without significant issues. (70/100)
The establishment of initial infrastructure for the development of the Samotor field has consistently been behind schedule despite transportation improvements. Regional work is itself remote requiring higher wages and considerable technical expenditure to continue its development. One of the only factors going to plan is that the oil in place has tracked with what was expected and the deposit is exceptional both in its size and ease of utilization. Further funding is going to be critical to stabilizing the prices of petrochemicals, ensuring that the Union can avoid having significant energy issues.
Consumer Goods Production Grants(Stage 1): Mobilizing enterprises to get off their asses and get into the consumer-export sector has met with some success under Voznesensky, but policies can be pushed far further. Directly offering investments to proven enterprises to improve production is a reliable way of increasing production and will encourage involvement in the general economy. This is technically operating through a similar mechanism as some of the corruption under Voznesensky, but it can be done through ostensibly clean methods and can serve to increase production. Nothing stops managers from actually following the law, and by rewarding good actors a carrot can be offered along with the stick. (78/125)
Grants going to businesses and enterprises have been the first major step in recovering mass employment, but a currently insufficient one. The manufacture of basic goods remains a massive employer of personnel and one that cannot be adequately automated. Improving the employment of the textile industry and continuing strong funding towards the modernization of it is going to be essential for providing the average worker with jobs and continuing stable and consistent growth. There are only so many workers willing to work for effectively minimal wages in the industry, but that is in itself a sign of continuous modernization. Funding the current planned stage and a further one will likely tap much of the economic potential, leaving the industry to exist in a slow decline as the dual forces of automation and the common market attack it from both sides.
Self-Aligned Gate Prototypes: A further jump in the quality of transistors can be derived from improvements in the calculator program with a further step towards improving density. Integrated examples of aluminum-silicon systems can be made with massive improvements in density, centralizing a previously unheard number of transistors onto a single production example. Making these units will come at a cost, but initial development programs are not expected to drive high yields as significant microcomputer demand is not expected. If the technology proves to be viable, it will likely shift towards utilization in a larger calculator program, distributing lower yield computing power. (42+10 Omake/50) (Completed) (-13 CI3 Electricity +1 Educated Labor)
The monumental task of cramming more than a thousand transistors into something the size of a medium-sized capacitor for thermal and fabrication reasons represents one of the largest technical challenges facing the sector. Nothing theoretically should prevent the formating with work in the West making progress by the day. The fight for lowering threshold voltages on individual circuits has already led towards the universalization of silicon but with every step forward a dozen new technical problems have appeared. The question of fabricating the circuit monolithically remains along with the production of a lithographic mask, but that too can be overcome in time. The calculator program and the Elbrus system upgrade programs have already demonstrated that a mixed metal integrated circuit can be delivered, but a further step is necessary to truly reduce the cost of computing power and make it far more energy efficient.
Agriculture
Agronomy Institutes: The harsh soils of much of the nation and the variety in soil conditions across much of the Union are in desperate need of further study. Dedicated institutes to evaluate local soils and discover optimal procedures for their fertilization and tillage are required to further improve yields and improve the sophistication of agriculture. The system itself will cost fairly little compared to the relative impacts, and the publication of regional agricultural information can help every enterprise and business farming in similar soil and climate. (71+15 Cannon Omake/75) (Completed) (-10 CI1 Electricity +1 Educated Labor)
Continued development of agronomy has almost come as a secondary factor in the plan, as the old network of sciences was judged as sufficient. Now with some added funding and a commitment towards improving the sciences dedicated grants and organizations for the study of every soil in the Union have been provided. These have been further coupled with long-term studies on new farming practices aimed towards the improvement of productivity in agriculture and raising the efficiency of land, labor, and water utilization. All of this has been coupled with funding being given to almost a dozen new institutes focused on new agricultural approaches, ensuring that the farmers of tomorrow will be more capable than any that have come before.
Increasing Mechanization: Tractors and their attachments are needed now more than ever as field sizes per laborer have grown as quickly as production has. Work towards ensuring that manual labor is finally eliminated from common-form crops must be continued to mobilize the average worker and ensure that development can continue. A modern tractor is worth more than an agricultural laborer and every small farmer should have a basic mechanical understanding of their machines along with the machine itself. Forming a large educational program offering discounts and subsidies for the purchases of equipment for family farms can serve to improve mechanization without much risk. (119/200)
Mechanization has remained an essential factor in improving land use efficiency for personnel and the long-reach of mechanization programs has finally been made truly universal. Instruction courses have effectively been opened to any family farmer or private business farmer on how to maintain and care for equipment, allowing for favorable credit towards the purchase of equipment. Actual uptake has been slower with most benefiting from the general improvement in loan accessibility for mechanization rather than education. Still, any increase in mechanization represents a massive gain in efficiency and tillage, allowing farm labor to finally and decisively shift away from backbreaking work and towards machinery.
Combined Agricultural Methodologies: It is almost universally the case that any family farm that is both in a remote area and with limited access to animal products will have a few animals on site. Historically these animals have been economically useless with a limited sale and transfer of them outside of the farms, but with policy aimed towards improving private animal supplies, this can be reversed. Farms that purchase a set amount of animals per acreage to both provide manure and local goods can be given further economic benefits for their purchase. This can also be organized in combination with enterprises specializing in veterinary care for the animals, improving the access of every family farm towards improvements in high-value goods. (139/100) (Completed) (+1 Educated Labor)
The effective subsidization through tax benefits for improving local development and the localization of animal husbandry has been combined with a series of investments in farmers' market programs. Direct farm sales are generally beyond the ability of an individual farmer due to the degree of organization needed, but through providing a dozen days in the summer for sales and bureaucratic assistance, significant local economic mobility can be generated. These structures have been combined with a general focus on improving the lot of family and private farms, providing benefits to animals, and assisting them in ensuring a direct pipeline of production to sales. Massive results are not expected to come quickly, but the simple factor of encouraging an increase in animal populations is expected to deliver productivity improvements. Further, several new state veterinary enterprises have been made to provide care for farm animals, ensuring stability in populations and yield percentages.
Third-Generation Pesticides: Co-Opting the insect hormonal system as a weapon to finally relegate any remnant of blight or crop loss to history is one of the most promising new methods available and it is only logical for development programs to start now. Eliminating wide swaths of pests with far more precise chemicals will allow for both a safer and more efficient agricultural sector. As chemistries improve, the more toxic chemicals that are currently in use can be replaced by more advanced and scientific derivatives, reducing contamination and improving farmer safety without a massive increase in costs. (188/125) (Completed) (-19 CI3 Electricity +1 Petrochemicals +1 Educated Labor)
New chemical formulations to aggressively and specifically target the most common pests in the Union have been developed with initial lot production funded. These are not expected to see widespread use, but hormonal pesticides offer a far cleaner and neater solution for improving agriculture than older chemically intensive practices with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Both the organophosphate and carbonate families of second-generation pesticides are liable to continue mass use, but those that have historically been the most dangerous to farmers are liable to be retired entirely by 1975.
Services
Distribution of Banking Branches: To properly allow for banking to be used by the people, the goal of the program should be the construction of a branch in every town and village. The goal of the state should be to ensure that every worker has a savings account in some form rather than holding their money outside the system, improving the monetary supply available for investment and ensuring that financial services are universally available rather than confined to a few elites. (228/150) (Completed) (+1 General Labor)
A bank in every village and town has been a monumental step towards improving the circulation of currency and increasing the availability of savings for financial mechanisms. Instead of old customs of hoarding money and adjacent goods in places the adoption of mass banking has continued at an acceptable pace. There are still some who view the sector as unreliable due to the destructive practices of earlier governments, but those have been rendered a thing of the past. All but the most remote towns now have at least a basic state structure for dealing with money and providing security for deposits. Further improvements in the general banking sector are expected to occur in the integration of electronics and specifically in telex machinery, allowing a universalization of deposits to a far greater extent than ever before.
"Banks as Far as the Eye Can See? The Soviet banking sector has historically been dominated by state banking giants, but now change is coming with the development of personal banking. In most towns and on several street corners new branches of Gosbank have been founded to provide basic banking services to the average worker. Development of the banks has come with a recent surge of funding, providing a safe place for savings and hubs for low-scale investments. Small business grants are available along with the normal set of financial services at any larger bank, with massive improvements in communications and transaction speed expected over the next few years." -Sibirskaya Gazeta, November 1967 Issue
Transportation Enterprises(Stage 2): Continued increases in the distribution of labor and the development of transport is a core goal of the current plan. Committing more funding towards improving truck numbers along with driver training programs for ever larger trucks already promises to deliver significant economic returns as the economy recovers and infrastructure improvements are utilized. Most of the trucking industry is still decentralized and small, but that can be addressed through funding. Reliable and large state trucking enterprises can continue to improve transportation and significantly reduce burdens on all businesses. (156/175)
Employment through the increase in the number of truckers and the construction of support structures for them remains a significant and major endeavor. Not only do more transportation drivers need to be trained in the operation of heavy machinery, but support structures to enable long-distance travel must be funded. Drivers need regular stops for fuel, food, and rest and their construction has necessitated a move towards remote locations. These rest stops are just a first step in improving the quality of life of the average worker and increasing economic returns. Increases in the stock of cab-over trucks have been challenging due to factory shortfalls with the rapid expansion of the sector but continued focus and funding along with a mixture of temporary imports has compensated for any lack.
Legal Consulting Programs: With the current legal system reforms the availability of reliable and cheap representation has consistently been questionable. The average worker does not have the knowledge base to navigate the legal system independently. Rather than allowing people to be guilty through no fault of their own, they can start by ensuring that there is an accessible supply of lawyers for every trial. Training is not going to be exceptional, but they can still adequately serve. (108/100) (Completed) (+1 Educated Labor)
Hiring thousands of freshly graduating lawyers and tasking them with large-scale consulting work has proven to be a mixed case of efficacy. The general shortage of legal professionals has limited the implementation with several offices not yet filled and the few that were brought on almost immediately overwhelmed. Curiously, the majority of utilization cases have come not from individual workers but from businesses and enterprises small enough to not have dedicated departments. These have almost immediately contracted out a significant degree of time to provide consulting and advice on legal matters for further growth. To a degree, the defense of public cases has also expanded, but the general industry is stuck waiting for more graduates and those specialized in population-applicable fields before coverage can be universal.
Universalization of Telephone Networking: The telephone has revolutionized business and commerce but it has still only partially spread into the private sector. By funding a large program of telephone integration and unifying standards overall utilization can massively increase to improve private sector performance. Nowadays as more deals are conducted over the phone instead of in person telephones are an essential good for any business, making their availability essential for ensuring growth in less infrastructurally fortunate areas. (151/175)
With the success of previous programs for bringing telephones into every business and major enterprise, the question of increasing the scale of the network at a local level has been decisively answered. Through a strong commitment to funding towards technical applications and the foundation of local enterprises branching off the main system of networking, regional provision of telecommunications has significantly improved. Current investment funding has gone to increasing the density of throughput of main networks and linking larger apartment buildings to the network. The old dream of a telephone in every home will almost certainly not be completed by the end of this or the next plan, but the major step of universal availability can almost certainly be accomplished.
Solving the Garbage Problem: The garbage problem has only worsened over the last plan as consumption has skyrocketed without much expansion to the processing industry. Finalizing a break away from old policies, incineration plants can be massively scaled up along with more land designated for the economic disposal of trash. Filtering plants are expected to be established to screen out valuable metallic scraps, ensuring that a maximum degree of value is recovered from every ton of bulk garbage. (158/200)
Transferring funding towards the increase of garbage services with a focus on more secondary areas has allowed a massive increase in the truck fleet. New mechanisms along with a larger set of dumpsters have been trialed in several municipalities to improve throughput. Further, local-level garbage processing has significantly improved through the steady improvement in dumpster areas both in capacity and frequency of collection. In discrete-home and low-density areas tentative programs for home-pickup of waste have been pushed forward as regional trials to improve the people's quality of life while increasing employment. These are only expected to be implemented at a test scale for the current effort, as the funding and intensity do not exist for their universalization, but it remains a logical step towards improving services.
Bureaucracy
Labor Reserve Reforms: The current system of labor reserve has been tasked with managing a nearly inescapable deluge of workers who have left their previous positions. While there is a degree of work available for some, many are essentially being paid for parasitism rather than committing to productive industrial work. The integration of educational requirements to fill job postings is expected to improve general workforce participation and attainment. If the state needs far more welders and electricians for new programs, their creation through the reserve system must logically be prioritized. (27) (Supreme Soviet)
The labor reserve is a millstone across Soviet politics and the proper mobilization of the workers. Treating a massive supply of workers not notably better than prisoners and expecting them to do random jobs without training or qualifications has led to systemic issues in quality and no end of problems in construction. To maintain the mechanism and continue the elimination of unemployment the program has been maintained, but passive reserve status has been effectively rendered nonexistent. Instead, any worker that has joined the reserve will be expected to be either in education or some form of labor, with directly applicable training applied towards ensuring every labor demand can be filled. Some of the future income of those who find field-applicable work will be taken on a contract to ensure that the available education is not misused, but those fees are expected to be effectively minimal.
Inflation Control Measures: To prevent a second inflationary crisis from impacting the Soviet economy, a focus on measures to reduce the impact of current spending programs has already been implemented. Measures towards tightening reserve ratios to re-establish stability in Gosbank in the aftermath of positive growth quarters have been proposed along with several smaller measures. The challenging economic situation of avoiding future inflation while ensuring growth is an open question that must be decisively answered. Wage policy changes have been set aside given their unpopularity, with a focus placed on ensuring that consumption power for domestic goods is kept high. (41) (Supreme Soviet)
Stabilizing the economy must rationally come with measures to control inflation from increasing currency in circulation. Increasing the local demand for food is almost certain to cause some inflation, but the social benefit will be far greater. Work towards reducing inflationary pressure has occurred primarily as a financial means with loan requirements maintained for banks and reserves increased to reduce the monetary supply as the recovery has started. The planned raise in reserve and interest rates is not expected to take effect for a few more years to allow the economy to recover, but the announced planned increases can effectively have the same effect.
New MNKh Deputy: To return the favor for stalling out the investigation and ensuring that the Soviet people have moved on to new matters, Abramov has requested several recommendations for new candidates. These all comprise important political allies and are likely to not be the most capable, but better a tentatively agreeable politician than some radical pulled out of Masherov's strange ideas. Whoever gets agreed upon is an entirely different matter, but that will be a problem of the future and the greater priority is making it through this plan than anything else. (68) (Interrupted) (Supreme Soviet)
Before a vote could be held or the candidates interviewed, the discovery of massive corruption in the process along with the problems in appointment managed to derail the process. With the economic downturn, the maneuvering towards the appointment of a deputy was practically a backstab toward replacing the main position and scapegoating the ministry for failing political goals. The tentative backing of Kosygin and the partial support of Masherov was a clear sign that it was a political attack, but the anti-corruption method produced a far more notable counter-blow. By framing the replacement as a means of silencing his opposition Abramov has been wrested from power and made a primary target of investigations as entire funding and price fixing rings in Minsk were exposed on the floor of the Supreme Soviet with a wealth of evidence.
Preceding further represents an open question as while Abramov has entirely fallen on his sword as the Minsk ring has become synonymous with corruption, this has left a massive vacuum of power. Masherov managed to die by a misplaced bullet that was almost certainly meant for Kosygin. Voznesensky is receiving surgery for something with a poor enough prognosis that would lead even that bastard to immediately retire. This leaves the general situation so problematic that a second chair that is at least tentatively aligned can be a condition for working closely with Kosygin, as he is reliable and if nothing else soon to retire.
Coal-Industry Economization: Retiring the oldest coal power plants constructed using the oldest generation of turbines represents a tiny quantity of power production but a significant degree of coal use. Modern plants more than double the efficiency of those that came before and conclusively eliminating them from economic service can help to reduce coal prices and improve the performance of the energy sector. Receiving authorization to reduce employment further for technical workers will be a challenge if a sufficient quantity of new jobs is not provided, but it should be possible. (31) (+1 CPSC Coal Price Increase, +20 Electricity per Year) (-60 Electricity -5 Coal -1 General Labor)
The unpopular but necessary unemployment of several coal industry workers in the obsolete old energy sector has come as a decisive act to stabilize fuel prices. Work towards improving the economy must come from a complete and efficient use of fuel and as there was an electricity surplus front-loading the change in labor has been advanced as a means of making the economy more efficient. Some critics have called the policy extreme in a time of shrinking employment and lack of program completion, but the decision was made and it would be the height of political weakness to reverse it. Continued work towards the modernization of the power sector is still necessary, but finally, the smog of the plants constructed before the war has been rendered a thing of the past.
Reorganization of Agricultural Subsidies: Without the significant backing of Abramov or a desire for effective political immolation immediately before the 1969 elections, the grain subsidy is expected to be unassailable. This however does not mean that it cannot be worked around or even optimistically fixed at a set rate for a time to allow other areas of the agricultural sector to prosper. The state goal of keeping incomes high and the price of goods low can easily be turned towards focusing on goods outside of the most basic of foods, allowing diversity in production at some additional financial costs. (7)
Any reduction in grain subsidies has been rendered impossible to implement to any reasonable extent. This has not prevented further pushes towards the agricultural sector improving the production of alternative goods at cost to the state, but ensuring that cheaper food items can be supplied to the workers. Increased funding commitments have only been passed as an element of economic crisis and the sinking worker wages causing further political issues. Meat products along with several types of vegetables regarded as highly nutritious have received a set of production subsidies to lower end prices and encourage their consumption. Spending will increase massively to compensate for the rest of the sector but physical demonstrations of lower prices will massively help with any discontent.
Price Loss Coverage: Expanding the definition of agricultural insurance to something as wide as coverage for price losses from market instability is a radical step, but if farmers are willing to pay for it, it can be organized. Forming an effective drive towards a non-profit enterprise for the development of further insurance can provide stability to the agricultural markets and ensure continued development. Assuming no disruptions happen, the scheme can backstop most crop losses and compensate for the irrationality of market activity. (71)
Universal insurance for hedging against market variation has been passed and provided for the already built-up system of agricultural insurance. Assessment of possible losses on crops has been a simple extension of insurance against weather risks for agriculture. Both programs are expected to be mildly negative for individual budgets but with massive political returns. Every political failure pales in the scale towards the legislation of universal insurance allowing every farmer to take risks and not fear total failure in case of anything outside the most idiotic practices. Further work in the agricultural sector finally has a viable and complete backstop ensuring that no farmer will go hungry at a frankly minimal expenditure in state revenues.
Farmer Flexibility Legislation: Broadly entirely deregulating what farmers can and cannot plant for state enterprises can significantly improve efficacy. The local management has a decent idea of what needs to be planted and forming strong recommendations has involved a massive degree of incorrect guessing that more often than not is a political deadweight. Inducing flexibility and market prices can allow the ministry to work entirely on the demand end, simplifying funding and improving general sector efficiency. (-5) (Critfail)
The passage of legislation towards the deregulation of enterprises has been seen as a massive attack on the development of the Socialist economy and an infringement on the initiative of the managers. By some interpretations, the reform was treated as consolidating the control over planting in the ministry leading to massive walkouts. Enough was even said on a similar line that it became a common opinion leading to a divergence of views that nonetheless agreed that decisive agricultural action was needed. Breaking from the advice of the ministry politicians they have advocated for a "decisive" and radical course to fix the agricultural sector. Total deregulation of planting based on profitability has been passed along with delegating significant portions of land management to the enterprises. Even now, constant attacks have been wielded by the most attached politicians on the ministry as an example of insufficiency and bureaucratic overreach.
12-Hour Moratorium(Your anti-corruption rolls, discounting the last political one were 1/13000 odds of rolling that well, what in the fuck you should have been booted out this turn) (Next turn is likely to be a crisis turn)
Internal Movements
With the economic crisis seeming unending due to poor fourth-quarter results and endemic issues in politics, the general fate of the ministry was looking poor. Almost the second poor results were broadcast Kosygin and Masherov started an attack on the ministry as almost expected. Instead of providing any protection though, Abramov joined in the attack, advocating for the placing of a new deputy to make up for issues in performance. This only continued through the spring as new economic indicators were not yet out that performance improved and it was almost certain that someone new would head the ministry, only not exactly who. Thankfully, no decision was able to be reached due to disagreements on methodology delaying the process sufficiently for it to become irrelevant.
Abramov must have decided that it was better to burn connections rather than focus on retaining anyone involved, choosing to persecute the manner as the preamble for a corruption trial despite a lack of evidence. Kosygin's caution on the matter along with Masherov's slower stance still forced the matter to occur as an investigation. Instead of the expected results, the personnel of the ministry underwent a strategic and targeted leaking campaign on the economic involvement of the Belarusian party organs, targeting enterprises where Abramov was the most significant. This was just a small phase of the overall anti-corruption campaign, but it would have been a shame to insufficiently use the evidence produced.
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. Kosygin for his part watched the power struggle from the sidelines, possibly unsure of any evidence that would be found on him, or more than content to see a member of his troika brought low. Masherov for his part made significant commitments towards future cooperation as personnel fell out from the ministry, believing the current program to be entirely one of consolidation.
Actual internal political changes have followed, with them believed to be a lesser cost than going through the last political mess, as preventing excesses while allowing some luxuries has been a popular view anyway. Transparency for funding allocations across the plan has been made universal and accessible to the public. Work towards improving technical programs and specifying the tasks of discretionary funding has come as a compromise for allowing further direct control of them. Work with both Masherov and Podgorny was started in earnest on further reform towards the general opening of the ministry. Funding may be debated, but cost accounting is certain to be essential to ensure the proper operation of the planned economy.
Opening talks immediately proceed with Masherov, only lightly delayed by Abramov's effective dethroning and chaos thrown into the conservative wing. Lacking an easy center many have become disorganized and fractious as several politicians have attempted to consolidate block-wide control. Masherov for his part was attempting to consolidate his block, ensuring that it would grow stronger from Abramov's fall and starting work towards ensuring that Ashimov would not grow too strong. Unfortunately for him and the general state of Soviet politics and during the celebration of a few cosmonauts that have flown through the program some imbecile conscript decided to make his move. Targeting Kosygin but getting the wrong car on parade, three bullets were fired at Masherov with two hits. One managed to hit him in the eye through the windshield, killing him instantly and losing the Union one of its key political minds and likely the next general secretary.
Not long afterwards Voznesesnky himself was effectively rendered impotent in politics as whatever was sapping his energy was severe enough for hospitalization without any timeline for a return. Instead of the bastards pushing as hard as he could to re-enter politics he has been bedridden in the hospital with some likely severe diagnosis. It has been rumored that a significant tumor has been found and that he is unlikely to last until the next year, leaving the political situation even more in flux than ever before. The only elements of the old center that are left are a Kosygin that has committed towards retirement and even in initial conversations without a plan to stay in politics.
The conservative center is under the dire threat of Ashimov as he moves into the massive power vacuum left and much of the base is too fractuous to manage anything. From the right Podgorny himself is liable to move into the opening in the Supreme Soviet, as one of the people who called the anti-corruption effort and that was most focused on opening up. Some of his right-wing economic positions will have to go, but the man himself is nothing but capable of maneuvering despite the sheer dysfunctionality of younger party members. This has left the situation unstable and there is practically no one that has any idea of the situation on the ground.
Choose Two:
[]Enter Negotiations with Kosygin: The man has to have some idea of what to do and it is impossible that he did not at least have some idea of what would happen upon consolidating his Troika. Some positions may have to be given in the deputy post being approved by both along with top-level support, but it is almost certainly better to work with the man than around him and some concessions or favors are nearly guaranteed.
[]Talk to Podgorny: Working with the rightmost fringe is a sure way to further degrade Soviet Stability and damage the socialist system, but Podgorny is nowhere near secure in position. Offering some terms to him and working with him may go far further than working around him. Instead of focusing on any specific deals or gains, making a simple ally committed to ending the current chaos can allow for significant future gains.
[]Dictate terms to Abramov: Abramov himself is a bastard who attacked the promise of a position for someone willing to take the fall, and he has had his career ended. Dictating some terms to him to at least get a tentative line of cooperation to stop Ashimov from taking over the left wings of the party can have some value. The man may hate the ministry but even he can see the sheer threat the radicals pose.
[]Try to Find an Ally: Taking the time to work with the Supreme Soviet and finding someone at least sympathetic will take some time, but consolidation has to happen now before Ashimov or Podgorny consolidate their positions among the delegates. Taking the time to meet with all of the smaller factions can allow for a massive degree of influence, and if a new position is taken, some can almost certainly be brought on the side actively.
[]Back a Conservative Position: Taking an immediate conservative stand as a reasonable figure and allowing whoever comes out of the cross-factional consolidation ensures that the pickups will focus on more conventional positions. Whatever new conservative consolidates the factional position is going to be desperate and need a degree of backing, ensuring that wherever they move the ministry can project influence.
[]Back a Moderate Position: Masherov was determined that the Union needed to move to something new while Abramov was too content with his position, but nothing stopped a compromise from being formed. Instead of attempting to woo the supporters of either side a theoretical united line that makes the necessary compromises to make policy can be formed. Whatever succeeds Voznesensky's bloc will almost certainly pressure the left wing while Kosygin pressures the right, but there is enough political room to make a new faction rather than relying on old positions.
The Economy
Unlike the expectations of tepid growth across Q4 of 1966 the actual economy continued to shrink if at a far lesser pace. This has led many industries of the heavy industrial sector in dire straights through little fault of their continuing declines in values as the state moved to prune and re-organize significant parts of the sector. Personnel that was judged as capable of reorganization with Gorky itself effectively split into six profit-making enterprises along with several sectors that were wholesale redistributed through dirt-cheap asset sales. Only the remnants of experimental divisions were saved due to the need to maintain competitiveness, with the rest effectively distributed. Shortfalls in further machine production have struck the economy through the plan, though imports and resumption of some production have at least provided a floor.
Noncompetitive sectors of both Gorky and several steel mills and processing facilities have been sold for little with little expectation of return, but as they were effectively debt-ridden toxic assets that has been better than nothing. The leadership involved in the sector has effectively been replaced in its entirety with new more capable personnel claiming what could be returned through vigorous plans of reconstruction and capital re-investment. The only good news is that by the midpoint of 1967, the bleeding across all sectors was stopped with re-investment returning and production starting the steady climb up. Massive market opportunities were further rapidly capitalized upon by every enterprise capable of making machinery with one of the largest knowledge transfers out of Gorky occurring, as skilled technicians were effectively re-employed in other sectors.
Not every sector was in a downturn however as significant numbers of private business interests and alternative sectors have continued to improve production. Services have continued to grow strongly despite other economic conditions and the consumer goods sector has only had a single quarter of downturns. The crisis itself has mainly been contained to heavy industrial development with imports more than compensating at the lowest market segments thanks to the degree of overproduction in fraternal socialist allies. Being a machinery importer for some segments and tools has immediately caused several political protests and issues, but with the state of politics maintaining economic functionality was given a far greater priority.
Service sector growth has been followed by an increase in petrochemical consumption across every industry as integration has increased along with automobile numbers. Effectively much of the strong private growth has come at the cost of increasing the utilization of gasoline and diesel in every application putting significant strain on the exportation of fuel. It is almost certain that some of the fuel supplies for even European CMEA will come externally from general imports as the demand for fuel has only rapidly increased. Imports from the Middle East are expected to stay strong but domestic production must be re-established at the first possible opportunity.
Incentive fund-induced growth along with private sector growth has started this year strong and only gotten stronger as a multitude of technical professionals have moved industries. Instead of the near total dominance of Gorky and its associate enterprises, a massive number of smaller enterprises have been founded with a far greater degree of variance and specialization. Work on improving has been secondary to getting salvaged sectors into production and bringing them to productivity, but a significant portion of the jettisoned personnel and machinery have immediately gone back to the workforce. The steel industry has performed worse with a far lesser degree of recovery even though it was not a total loss.
The first quarter of 1967 came in with a strong growth in consumer spending which was further enhanced by the universalization of the food program to anyone with a residence no matter the sector of employment. The basics at least minimally guarantee a surge in the consumption of better domestic foods along with a broader consumer spending profile has allowed for a significant growth of industries. As the new normal stabilizes the growth impacts are mostly expected to abate, but they have practically secured a path through the recent recession. Furthermore, there has been a slight synergistic effect in the founding of new businesses as the willingness to increase leveraged positions has increased thanks to the minimalization of social risk combined with easier access to credit.
Rocketry
Finalization of work on the RLA-3 system has come with another complex of successful heavy payload launches of a set of enhanced capability climatological buses destined for LEO. The actual usefulness of the heavy lifter is expected to be quite questionable as most payloads do not need anything near the mass toward low earth orbit. Proposals have been made for combined systems of satellite buses, with several spacecraft carried in a quadrupled configuration inside of an expanded fairing but those are just proposals. Prospective stations and distant interplanetary programs are expected to be another significant use even if both are still only in the proposal stages.
Continued failures in the Venera program along with the complete failure of both subsequent landing attempts have led to the conclusion that with current hardware and techniques, a budget landing will not be possible. The acidic, high temperature and high-pressure environment leaves any avionics with massive cooling requirements that are unavailable on any reasonable platform, to say less of the exposure risk towards whatever sensors are launched. Something along the lines of an orbiter program is considered viable, but given the current political mood, it is almost certainly better to cut losses and focus on other exploration opportunities.
[]Cancel it: The Venera program has delivered back important information from the planet, but the sheer technical challenges are too much for any viable near-future technology. Work on improvements to landers and hardware will almost certainly continue, ensuring that eventually, a lander will touch the surface, but that is a question for the next few decades not now. (Cancels Venera)
[]Maintain It: The funding has already been allocated and by focusing on an orbiter program there is still a degree of science that can be found on the planet. The composition of the atmosphere is not perfectly understood and by constructing a series of constantly scanning satellites a far better general picture can be made for a theoretical future landing.
A further success of the new heavy probe bus over Mars, launched in one of the first interplanetary variations on the RLA has formed a basis for further exploration. Now with a plan on how to navigate the atmosphere, several proposals have been made to land on the red planet. Using the increased interplanetary capabilities of the RLA one, a complex of small probes can be independently re-entered from a general carrier bus to survey prospective sites on the planet, covering a wide area in a single launch. Assuming the mission is successful a significant amount of information can be recovered as with the lunar landings. Some more ambitious personnel have even proposed the development of a rover to further increase capabilities and provide wide-reaching images of the surface.
With the increased capability available to the Union and the call for further exploration of space, Luna-16 and Luna-17 have both made a successful landing. Unlike the previous craft launched in the program, small samples of lunar regolith up to two hundred grams were placed on a return stage to deliver them back to Earth. Despite some significant technical difficulties in both missions, both have managed to deliver their payloads back to Earth, providing the greatest victory in the sciences possible to show before the fiftieth anniversary of the revolution. Only a paltry one hundred and seventy grams of regolith were sent back, but that is more than has ever been present on Earth and represents an overwhelming technical victory.
The Americans in the meantime have significantly increased the scale of launches, with a further slate of military and civilian flights. Attempts towards sending crews towards the moon have succeeded through the use of an orbitally combined stack, putting two astronauts into the orbit of the moon for a few hours. After committing some orbits, the two astronauts have come back to the States for a significant welcome. This has of course been domestically hailed as a victory in the space race by launching crew further than they have ever gone before, but given the negligible scientific value of their program, the clear victory has gone to the Union.
Infrastructure
Western USSR Regional Roads: The Western USSR has some of the best roads when compared to the rest of the nation, but even those are considered internationally poor. Constructing a massive series of two-lane roads to act as regional feeders and linking them with previously built high-capacity systems will be more of an exercise of paving the few yet-to-be-paved major roadways, ensuring that every area has acceptably poor access. Further efforts are expected to get more expensive, but they are relatively deprioritized compared to the development of similar systems in regions where no tentative efforts have even started. (270/300)
Far more developed transportation networks in the West have still required a degree of modernization to link smaller industrial centers and provide for the more dispersed industries. As much of the farming has been located in the West despite the best efforts of several politicians, the major use case for many of the regional roads is expected to be agricultural. The development of these roads is a critical step in further improving systemic throughput and providing each farm truck with only a few kilometers of dirt roads to cross instead of a hundred. As the program has nearly concluded much of the progress left has fallen toward the most remote regions with the least infrastructure integration, slowing matters but those limitations can still be overcome through the commitments of further funding.
Ural Regional Roads: Continued development of local infrastructure is a logical extension of previous programs and a near requirement given the Supreme Soviet. Work on these roads will drive towards a general improvement in transportation focused on improving the interconnections between the Northern and Southern inhabited corridors. The terrain will allow for a massive increase in the paved kilometers of roads and improve local transportation. As one of the centers of newly developing industries and a core of natural resource utilization, roads will produce a massive economic return and practically pay for themselves through increasing economic turnover. (114/400)
The Northern segment of the dual route program has proven to be as much of an issue with regional construction as it was for the development of the larger road system. Interlinks and integration for the large roads have proven challenging due to the adverse weather conditions and consistent demand for more material in a logistically challenged area. Soviet workers have overcome such obstacles before and are still overcoming them now through a combination of new machinery and labor. The expected gains in interlinking the area between major rail lines and providing a consistent corridor outside of urban ones are expected to significantly improve transport throughput and ensure that heavier trucks can avoid transiting cities directly. Far more funding is needed to complete the segment, but it will still likely be finished by the end of the decade assuming funding is maintained.
Caucuses High Capacity Roads: The construction of one large central corridor near the inhabited areas of the southern Caucasus is expected to massively improve overall road integration. Most goods in the region stay in the region with a few primarily agricultural exports, allowing a single developed road system to serve much of the local population. Development here will have to be followed with more generalized paving of regional corridors to ensure adequate linkage despite terrain challenges, but it will be possible to finalize development and ensure a steady drive toward development. (239/200) (Completed)
A new comprehensive drive towards the modernization of transportation across the entirety of the Caucuses has come with the mandate to further improve road construction. The primary aim of the program itself was the construction of the primary corridor between Baku and Sochi, with a branching line into the Armenian SSR. These have all entered massive construction at several points along the line, utilizing rail transport in parallel for both paving programs and the still-forming roads to extend them. Construction itself is only expected to be finalized by the end of the plan, but the system alone represents a massive increase in viable roads for heavy transportation.
Caucuses Regional Roads: The narrow corridor in the Caucasus can theoretically be developed without the previous linkage of it outside. Most movement of goods locally is conducted in a narrow corridor between mountains and by improving it significant economic returns will be possible. The movement of goods between republics will of course take a significant hit as local supply routes are prioritized, but to fulfill local development obligations and improve the general economy it should be both sufficient and significantly cheaper. (66/100)
In parallel with the programs to increase general road capacity on the primary corridor, work has started to connect the smaller towns on the corridor to the main system. A comprehensive drive towards increasing the number of ramps and interlinks has coincided with general construction. These have effectively provided paved regional routes around and towards any notable industrial center, ensuring that goods anywhere can travel by truck to either their end destination or a rail loading yard. Work on improving the regional roads however still requires more funding as the construction program has not been entirely funded, but it has advanced by leaps and bounds catapulting the area forward by almost thirty years of infrastructure development.
Heavy Industry
Bakchar Deposit Utilization(Stage 1): New steel deposits are necessary to continue the development of the Union and further provide steel in the Far East for local construction projects. The location near the Kuzbas deposit and in the presence of a magnetic anomaly just as massive as the one at Kursk is essential for the further development of the Steel industry. Starting large-scale surface extraction with modern equipment along with the construction of several mills for the production of steel through oxygenation is necessary to enable development and further improve domestic steel supplies in the face of increasing construction and development. (195/250)
Building a new series of modern steel mills using the latest techniques has proven to be a significant challenge primarily due to their location. The utilization of the massive deposits of iron has come comparatively easily as experienced miners and heavy equipment were transferred East. Work on developing further mill infrastructure is almost certain to be a major challenge as despite the sheer scale of the deposit its proper utilization remains a significant challenge. Access to local coals will reduce prices considerably but fuel prices are only one of the major cost factors for new mills. Assuming continuous funding, steel should be producible on a comparatively efficient timescale, with new cities set up around the deposit to provide workers and continue economic development.
Kuzbas Deposit Exploitation(Stage 3): Kuzzbass as an area of extraction offers nearly double the coals available to the Union alone when discounting the massive brown coal deposits to the north of it. Developments at this stage will focus on the exploitation of more viable surface deposits to reduce the overall costs of coal production and provide a far greater energy capacity to the Union than ever before. Work will demand a significant portion of labor and energy, but it will deliver massive gains to local wages and ensure that the Western Union can maintain the current high energy-coupled growth. (184/200)
With the opening of canal routes and the massive-scale shipping of equipment, the development of the Kuzbas deposit has accelerated significantly. Geological work has already been done for the planned expansion, with the only task left to dig at the coal. The above-ground lower-grade coals have so far been prioritized due to the lower costs of extraction. Underground coals are significantly shallower than in any other coal basin and represent a massive degree of untapped potential. Digging at them at a sufficient scale will take the importation of significant labor and the construction of entirely new cities for the workers. That too can be done to drive the extraction of coal and leave any crisis of energy in the past.
Rocketry (3) 2 Dice
New Crewed Programs: A simple low-intensity crewed program with already proven hardware can be pursued at practically the same budget cost as the FGB-VA system. Consistent payloads in the form of the combined system embarking on mission durations of up to three weeks will allow a massive quantity of scientific information to be produced. Much of the funding for the program will in itself go towards the development of novel technologies and tests to run to prepare for further crewed programs, establishing a base of understanding for wider programs once political will is present. (-10 RpY Expected) (41)
The foundation of a new manned program on planned hardware has come as a logical conclusion to the full testing of the FGB-VA bus. Standardized production of more modules in the same scheme is expected to improve access to orbit with several new missions already planned. The most significant of these is expected to be the first testing of the Kretchet suit, delivering the first Soviet EVA with a reliable system capable of enduring the harsh orbital environment. Experiments of up to a month in duration are sure to follow, with several ideas on testing the growth of plants in orbit along with some manufacturing techniques to improve general technologies. Current efforts are unlikely to be much outside of a foundation for designs of the future, but finalizing designs is going to be critical for the further development of orbital infrastructure.
Allow Enterprise Bidding: The communications networks that are launched are only growing in sophistication and cost. Rather than forcing every system to fly on state backing for an ever narrower set of criteria, general payload bidding can be opened for most categories of payloads. If an enterprise wants to launch something into orbit, there is no reason to prevent it from doing so. Similar policies have already been applied for CMEA and there is little reason not to allow our people to do the same. (78) (+5 RpY Spending Cap)
A new and open framework for contracting with orbital launches has been established, with civilian payloads now launchable at a premium by any interested enterprise in CMEA. These have been accompanied by the steady rise in RLA production to meet the demand for a wider launch schedule and the need for more satellites. The largest use case of these has come from several telecommunications companies looking to make signal transfer easier. Work on the launch of geostationary satellites to ensure a steady line of communications between Soviet and American telephones is expected to form a lucrative market for some time to come. The only negative is that there are only so many things that can be done in space, and while technology is developing in leaps and bounds it is still too expensive for most use cases.
Light and Chemical Industry
Samotor Field Development(Stage 1): A discovery past the Urals has found a field with more oil in place than any other discovered field. Moving towards high throughput utilization of the field is going to be necessary to keep domestic energy prices low and ensure consistent access to oil and gas. Local deposits are biased towards medium-density oils, but even those can be used at a high rate without many technical issues. Outside of the location, the deposit itself is conventional and can enable local refinement of fuels without significant issues. (70/100)
The establishment of initial infrastructure for the development of the Samotor field has consistently been behind schedule despite transportation improvements. Regional work is itself remote requiring higher wages and considerable technical expenditure to continue its development. One of the only factors going to plan is that the oil in place has tracked with what was expected and the deposit is exceptional both in its size and ease of utilization. Further funding is going to be critical to stabilizing the prices of petrochemicals, ensuring that the Union can avoid having significant energy issues.
Consumer Goods Production Grants(Stage 1): Mobilizing enterprises to get off their asses and get into the consumer-export sector has met with some success under Voznesensky, but policies can be pushed far further. Directly offering investments to proven enterprises to improve production is a reliable way of increasing production and will encourage involvement in the general economy. This is technically operating through a similar mechanism as some of the corruption under Voznesensky, but it can be done through ostensibly clean methods and can serve to increase production. Nothing stops managers from actually following the law, and by rewarding good actors a carrot can be offered along with the stick. (78/125)
Grants going to businesses and enterprises have been the first major step in recovering mass employment, but a currently insufficient one. The manufacture of basic goods remains a massive employer of personnel and one that cannot be adequately automated. Improving the employment of the textile industry and continuing strong funding towards the modernization of it is going to be essential for providing the average worker with jobs and continuing stable and consistent growth. There are only so many workers willing to work for effectively minimal wages in the industry, but that is in itself a sign of continuous modernization. Funding the current planned stage and a further one will likely tap much of the economic potential, leaving the industry to exist in a slow decline as the dual forces of automation and the common market attack it from both sides.
Self-Aligned Gate Prototypes: A further jump in the quality of transistors can be derived from improvements in the calculator program with a further step towards improving density. Integrated examples of aluminum-silicon systems can be made with massive improvements in density, centralizing a previously unheard number of transistors onto a single production example. Making these units will come at a cost, but initial development programs are not expected to drive high yields as significant microcomputer demand is not expected. If the technology proves to be viable, it will likely shift towards utilization in a larger calculator program, distributing lower yield computing power. (42+10 Omake/50) (Completed) (-13 CI3 Electricity +1 Educated Labor)
The monumental task of cramming more than a thousand transistors into something the size of a medium-sized capacitor for thermal and fabrication reasons represents one of the largest technical challenges facing the sector. Nothing theoretically should prevent the formating with work in the West making progress by the day. The fight for lowering threshold voltages on individual circuits has already led towards the universalization of silicon but with every step forward a dozen new technical problems have appeared. The question of fabricating the circuit monolithically remains along with the production of a lithographic mask, but that too can be overcome in time. The calculator program and the Elbrus system upgrade programs have already demonstrated that a mixed metal integrated circuit can be delivered, but a further step is necessary to truly reduce the cost of computing power and make it far more energy efficient.
Agriculture
Agronomy Institutes: The harsh soils of much of the nation and the variety in soil conditions across much of the Union are in desperate need of further study. Dedicated institutes to evaluate local soils and discover optimal procedures for their fertilization and tillage are required to further improve yields and improve the sophistication of agriculture. The system itself will cost fairly little compared to the relative impacts, and the publication of regional agricultural information can help every enterprise and business farming in similar soil and climate. (71+15 Cannon Omake/75) (Completed) (-10 CI1 Electricity +1 Educated Labor)
Continued development of agronomy has almost come as a secondary factor in the plan, as the old network of sciences was judged as sufficient. Now with some added funding and a commitment towards improving the sciences dedicated grants and organizations for the study of every soil in the Union have been provided. These have been further coupled with long-term studies on new farming practices aimed towards the improvement of productivity in agriculture and raising the efficiency of land, labor, and water utilization. All of this has been coupled with funding being given to almost a dozen new institutes focused on new agricultural approaches, ensuring that the farmers of tomorrow will be more capable than any that have come before.
Increasing Mechanization: Tractors and their attachments are needed now more than ever as field sizes per laborer have grown as quickly as production has. Work towards ensuring that manual labor is finally eliminated from common-form crops must be continued to mobilize the average worker and ensure that development can continue. A modern tractor is worth more than an agricultural laborer and every small farmer should have a basic mechanical understanding of their machines along with the machine itself. Forming a large educational program offering discounts and subsidies for the purchases of equipment for family farms can serve to improve mechanization without much risk. (119/200)
Mechanization has remained an essential factor in improving land use efficiency for personnel and the long-reach of mechanization programs has finally been made truly universal. Instruction courses have effectively been opened to any family farmer or private business farmer on how to maintain and care for equipment, allowing for favorable credit towards the purchase of equipment. Actual uptake has been slower with most benefiting from the general improvement in loan accessibility for mechanization rather than education. Still, any increase in mechanization represents a massive gain in efficiency and tillage, allowing farm labor to finally and decisively shift away from backbreaking work and towards machinery.
Combined Agricultural Methodologies: It is almost universally the case that any family farm that is both in a remote area and with limited access to animal products will have a few animals on site. Historically these animals have been economically useless with a limited sale and transfer of them outside of the farms, but with policy aimed towards improving private animal supplies, this can be reversed. Farms that purchase a set amount of animals per acreage to both provide manure and local goods can be given further economic benefits for their purchase. This can also be organized in combination with enterprises specializing in veterinary care for the animals, improving the access of every family farm towards improvements in high-value goods. (139/100) (Completed) (+1 Educated Labor)
The effective subsidization through tax benefits for improving local development and the localization of animal husbandry has been combined with a series of investments in farmers' market programs. Direct farm sales are generally beyond the ability of an individual farmer due to the degree of organization needed, but through providing a dozen days in the summer for sales and bureaucratic assistance, significant local economic mobility can be generated. These structures have been combined with a general focus on improving the lot of family and private farms, providing benefits to animals, and assisting them in ensuring a direct pipeline of production to sales. Massive results are not expected to come quickly, but the simple factor of encouraging an increase in animal populations is expected to deliver productivity improvements. Further, several new state veterinary enterprises have been made to provide care for farm animals, ensuring stability in populations and yield percentages.
Third-Generation Pesticides: Co-Opting the insect hormonal system as a weapon to finally relegate any remnant of blight or crop loss to history is one of the most promising new methods available and it is only logical for development programs to start now. Eliminating wide swaths of pests with far more precise chemicals will allow for both a safer and more efficient agricultural sector. As chemistries improve, the more toxic chemicals that are currently in use can be replaced by more advanced and scientific derivatives, reducing contamination and improving farmer safety without a massive increase in costs. (188/125) (Completed) (-19 CI3 Electricity +1 Petrochemicals +1 Educated Labor)
New chemical formulations to aggressively and specifically target the most common pests in the Union have been developed with initial lot production funded. These are not expected to see widespread use, but hormonal pesticides offer a far cleaner and neater solution for improving agriculture than older chemically intensive practices with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Both the organophosphate and carbonate families of second-generation pesticides are liable to continue mass use, but those that have historically been the most dangerous to farmers are liable to be retired entirely by 1975.
Services
Distribution of Banking Branches: To properly allow for banking to be used by the people, the goal of the program should be the construction of a branch in every town and village. The goal of the state should be to ensure that every worker has a savings account in some form rather than holding their money outside the system, improving the monetary supply available for investment and ensuring that financial services are universally available rather than confined to a few elites. (228/150) (Completed) (+1 General Labor)
A bank in every village and town has been a monumental step towards improving the circulation of currency and increasing the availability of savings for financial mechanisms. Instead of old customs of hoarding money and adjacent goods in places the adoption of mass banking has continued at an acceptable pace. There are still some who view the sector as unreliable due to the destructive practices of earlier governments, but those have been rendered a thing of the past. All but the most remote towns now have at least a basic state structure for dealing with money and providing security for deposits. Further improvements in the general banking sector are expected to occur in the integration of electronics and specifically in telex machinery, allowing a universalization of deposits to a far greater extent than ever before.
"Banks as Far as the Eye Can See? The Soviet banking sector has historically been dominated by state banking giants, but now change is coming with the development of personal banking. In most towns and on several street corners new branches of Gosbank have been founded to provide basic banking services to the average worker. Development of the banks has come with a recent surge of funding, providing a safe place for savings and hubs for low-scale investments. Small business grants are available along with the normal set of financial services at any larger bank, with massive improvements in communications and transaction speed expected over the next few years." -Sibirskaya Gazeta, November 1967 Issue
Transportation Enterprises(Stage 2): Continued increases in the distribution of labor and the development of transport is a core goal of the current plan. Committing more funding towards improving truck numbers along with driver training programs for ever larger trucks already promises to deliver significant economic returns as the economy recovers and infrastructure improvements are utilized. Most of the trucking industry is still decentralized and small, but that can be addressed through funding. Reliable and large state trucking enterprises can continue to improve transportation and significantly reduce burdens on all businesses. (156/175)
Employment through the increase in the number of truckers and the construction of support structures for them remains a significant and major endeavor. Not only do more transportation drivers need to be trained in the operation of heavy machinery, but support structures to enable long-distance travel must be funded. Drivers need regular stops for fuel, food, and rest and their construction has necessitated a move towards remote locations. These rest stops are just a first step in improving the quality of life of the average worker and increasing economic returns. Increases in the stock of cab-over trucks have been challenging due to factory shortfalls with the rapid expansion of the sector but continued focus and funding along with a mixture of temporary imports has compensated for any lack.
Legal Consulting Programs: With the current legal system reforms the availability of reliable and cheap representation has consistently been questionable. The average worker does not have the knowledge base to navigate the legal system independently. Rather than allowing people to be guilty through no fault of their own, they can start by ensuring that there is an accessible supply of lawyers for every trial. Training is not going to be exceptional, but they can still adequately serve. (108/100) (Completed) (+1 Educated Labor)
Hiring thousands of freshly graduating lawyers and tasking them with large-scale consulting work has proven to be a mixed case of efficacy. The general shortage of legal professionals has limited the implementation with several offices not yet filled and the few that were brought on almost immediately overwhelmed. Curiously, the majority of utilization cases have come not from individual workers but from businesses and enterprises small enough to not have dedicated departments. These have almost immediately contracted out a significant degree of time to provide consulting and advice on legal matters for further growth. To a degree, the defense of public cases has also expanded, but the general industry is stuck waiting for more graduates and those specialized in population-applicable fields before coverage can be universal.
Universalization of Telephone Networking: The telephone has revolutionized business and commerce but it has still only partially spread into the private sector. By funding a large program of telephone integration and unifying standards overall utilization can massively increase to improve private sector performance. Nowadays as more deals are conducted over the phone instead of in person telephones are an essential good for any business, making their availability essential for ensuring growth in less infrastructurally fortunate areas. (151/175)
With the success of previous programs for bringing telephones into every business and major enterprise, the question of increasing the scale of the network at a local level has been decisively answered. Through a strong commitment to funding towards technical applications and the foundation of local enterprises branching off the main system of networking, regional provision of telecommunications has significantly improved. Current investment funding has gone to increasing the density of throughput of main networks and linking larger apartment buildings to the network. The old dream of a telephone in every home will almost certainly not be completed by the end of this or the next plan, but the major step of universal availability can almost certainly be accomplished.
Solving the Garbage Problem: The garbage problem has only worsened over the last plan as consumption has skyrocketed without much expansion to the processing industry. Finalizing a break away from old policies, incineration plants can be massively scaled up along with more land designated for the economic disposal of trash. Filtering plants are expected to be established to screen out valuable metallic scraps, ensuring that a maximum degree of value is recovered from every ton of bulk garbage. (158/200)
Transferring funding towards the increase of garbage services with a focus on more secondary areas has allowed a massive increase in the truck fleet. New mechanisms along with a larger set of dumpsters have been trialed in several municipalities to improve throughput. Further, local-level garbage processing has significantly improved through the steady improvement in dumpster areas both in capacity and frequency of collection. In discrete-home and low-density areas tentative programs for home-pickup of waste have been pushed forward as regional trials to improve the people's quality of life while increasing employment. These are only expected to be implemented at a test scale for the current effort, as the funding and intensity do not exist for their universalization, but it remains a logical step towards improving services.
Bureaucracy
Labor Reserve Reforms: The current system of labor reserve has been tasked with managing a nearly inescapable deluge of workers who have left their previous positions. While there is a degree of work available for some, many are essentially being paid for parasitism rather than committing to productive industrial work. The integration of educational requirements to fill job postings is expected to improve general workforce participation and attainment. If the state needs far more welders and electricians for new programs, their creation through the reserve system must logically be prioritized. (27) (Supreme Soviet)
The labor reserve is a millstone across Soviet politics and the proper mobilization of the workers. Treating a massive supply of workers not notably better than prisoners and expecting them to do random jobs without training or qualifications has led to systemic issues in quality and no end of problems in construction. To maintain the mechanism and continue the elimination of unemployment the program has been maintained, but passive reserve status has been effectively rendered nonexistent. Instead, any worker that has joined the reserve will be expected to be either in education or some form of labor, with directly applicable training applied towards ensuring every labor demand can be filled. Some of the future income of those who find field-applicable work will be taken on a contract to ensure that the available education is not misused, but those fees are expected to be effectively minimal.
Inflation Control Measures: To prevent a second inflationary crisis from impacting the Soviet economy, a focus on measures to reduce the impact of current spending programs has already been implemented. Measures towards tightening reserve ratios to re-establish stability in Gosbank in the aftermath of positive growth quarters have been proposed along with several smaller measures. The challenging economic situation of avoiding future inflation while ensuring growth is an open question that must be decisively answered. Wage policy changes have been set aside given their unpopularity, with a focus placed on ensuring that consumption power for domestic goods is kept high. (41) (Supreme Soviet)
Stabilizing the economy must rationally come with measures to control inflation from increasing currency in circulation. Increasing the local demand for food is almost certain to cause some inflation, but the social benefit will be far greater. Work towards reducing inflationary pressure has occurred primarily as a financial means with loan requirements maintained for banks and reserves increased to reduce the monetary supply as the recovery has started. The planned raise in reserve and interest rates is not expected to take effect for a few more years to allow the economy to recover, but the announced planned increases can effectively have the same effect.
New MNKh Deputy: To return the favor for stalling out the investigation and ensuring that the Soviet people have moved on to new matters, Abramov has requested several recommendations for new candidates. These all comprise important political allies and are likely to not be the most capable, but better a tentatively agreeable politician than some radical pulled out of Masherov's strange ideas. Whoever gets agreed upon is an entirely different matter, but that will be a problem of the future and the greater priority is making it through this plan than anything else. (68) (Interrupted) (Supreme Soviet)
Before a vote could be held or the candidates interviewed, the discovery of massive corruption in the process along with the problems in appointment managed to derail the process. With the economic downturn, the maneuvering towards the appointment of a deputy was practically a backstab toward replacing the main position and scapegoating the ministry for failing political goals. The tentative backing of Kosygin and the partial support of Masherov was a clear sign that it was a political attack, but the anti-corruption method produced a far more notable counter-blow. By framing the replacement as a means of silencing his opposition Abramov has been wrested from power and made a primary target of investigations as entire funding and price fixing rings in Minsk were exposed on the floor of the Supreme Soviet with a wealth of evidence.
Preceding further represents an open question as while Abramov has entirely fallen on his sword as the Minsk ring has become synonymous with corruption, this has left a massive vacuum of power. Masherov managed to die by a misplaced bullet that was almost certainly meant for Kosygin. Voznesensky is receiving surgery for something with a poor enough prognosis that would lead even that bastard to immediately retire. This leaves the general situation so problematic that a second chair that is at least tentatively aligned can be a condition for working closely with Kosygin, as he is reliable and if nothing else soon to retire.
Coal-Industry Economization: Retiring the oldest coal power plants constructed using the oldest generation of turbines represents a tiny quantity of power production but a significant degree of coal use. Modern plants more than double the efficiency of those that came before and conclusively eliminating them from economic service can help to reduce coal prices and improve the performance of the energy sector. Receiving authorization to reduce employment further for technical workers will be a challenge if a sufficient quantity of new jobs is not provided, but it should be possible. (31) (+1 CPSC Coal Price Increase, +20 Electricity per Year) (-60 Electricity -5 Coal -1 General Labor)
The unpopular but necessary unemployment of several coal industry workers in the obsolete old energy sector has come as a decisive act to stabilize fuel prices. Work towards improving the economy must come from a complete and efficient use of fuel and as there was an electricity surplus front-loading the change in labor has been advanced as a means of making the economy more efficient. Some critics have called the policy extreme in a time of shrinking employment and lack of program completion, but the decision was made and it would be the height of political weakness to reverse it. Continued work towards the modernization of the power sector is still necessary, but finally, the smog of the plants constructed before the war has been rendered a thing of the past.
Reorganization of Agricultural Subsidies: Without the significant backing of Abramov or a desire for effective political immolation immediately before the 1969 elections, the grain subsidy is expected to be unassailable. This however does not mean that it cannot be worked around or even optimistically fixed at a set rate for a time to allow other areas of the agricultural sector to prosper. The state goal of keeping incomes high and the price of goods low can easily be turned towards focusing on goods outside of the most basic of foods, allowing diversity in production at some additional financial costs. (7)
Any reduction in grain subsidies has been rendered impossible to implement to any reasonable extent. This has not prevented further pushes towards the agricultural sector improving the production of alternative goods at cost to the state, but ensuring that cheaper food items can be supplied to the workers. Increased funding commitments have only been passed as an element of economic crisis and the sinking worker wages causing further political issues. Meat products along with several types of vegetables regarded as highly nutritious have received a set of production subsidies to lower end prices and encourage their consumption. Spending will increase massively to compensate for the rest of the sector but physical demonstrations of lower prices will massively help with any discontent.
Price Loss Coverage: Expanding the definition of agricultural insurance to something as wide as coverage for price losses from market instability is a radical step, but if farmers are willing to pay for it, it can be organized. Forming an effective drive towards a non-profit enterprise for the development of further insurance can provide stability to the agricultural markets and ensure continued development. Assuming no disruptions happen, the scheme can backstop most crop losses and compensate for the irrationality of market activity. (71)
Universal insurance for hedging against market variation has been passed and provided for the already built-up system of agricultural insurance. Assessment of possible losses on crops has been a simple extension of insurance against weather risks for agriculture. Both programs are expected to be mildly negative for individual budgets but with massive political returns. Every political failure pales in the scale towards the legislation of universal insurance allowing every farmer to take risks and not fear total failure in case of anything outside the most idiotic practices. Further work in the agricultural sector finally has a viable and complete backstop ensuring that no farmer will go hungry at a frankly minimal expenditure in state revenues.
Farmer Flexibility Legislation: Broadly entirely deregulating what farmers can and cannot plant for state enterprises can significantly improve efficacy. The local management has a decent idea of what needs to be planted and forming strong recommendations has involved a massive degree of incorrect guessing that more often than not is a political deadweight. Inducing flexibility and market prices can allow the ministry to work entirely on the demand end, simplifying funding and improving general sector efficiency. (-5) (Critfail)
The passage of legislation towards the deregulation of enterprises has been seen as a massive attack on the development of the Socialist economy and an infringement on the initiative of the managers. By some interpretations, the reform was treated as consolidating the control over planting in the ministry leading to massive walkouts. Enough was even said on a similar line that it became a common opinion leading to a divergence of views that nonetheless agreed that decisive agricultural action was needed. Breaking from the advice of the ministry politicians they have advocated for a "decisive" and radical course to fix the agricultural sector. Total deregulation of planting based on profitability has been passed along with delegating significant portions of land management to the enterprises. Even now, constant attacks have been wielded by the most attached politicians on the ministry as an example of insufficiency and bureaucratic overreach.
12-Hour Moratorium(Your anti-corruption rolls, discounting the last political one were 1/13000 odds of rolling that well, what in the fuck you should have been booted out this turn) (Next turn is likely to be a crisis turn)
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trooperist
Cinnamon Roll AI
I can feel the cope.
HanEmpire
Delicious
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I swear if have a civil war over this corruption this will end the experiment forever
On the first day of Christmas, the MNKh quest gave to me, another political crisis.
On favor of cancelling Venera but not entirely committed to it and would vote to just continue the program if given a good enough cause.
For Political vote, I think going to Kosygin and taking a Moderate Position could work, but not entirely sure about that one and this is just vibes.
I also want the Agri Enterprises butchered for pulling that stunt in the middle of a Crisis as soon as we are able to.
On favor of cancelling Venera but not entirely committed to it and would vote to just continue the program if given a good enough cause.
For Political vote, I think going to Kosygin and taking a Moderate Position could work, but not entirely sure about that one and this is just vibes.
I also want the Agri Enterprises butchered for pulling that stunt in the middle of a Crisis as soon as we are able to.
Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
Podgorny must be salivating on the sidelines. Finally, his time has come!
- Location
- Your pantry
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Kosygin's nigh immortality (both politically and in the not bleeding out way) continues I see, because of course the wrong car was shot at! 
Find an Ally and Back a Moderate Position both synergize in forming our own bloc as the leading figure in it, or at least in more equal terms. Find an Ally and Back a Conservative Position also synergize, but gives up some of our initiative in the process, leading it to being less our bloc and moreso backing the best conservative we can find.
- Location
- New York
The expected next General Secretary is dead, the current General Secretary is planning retirement, and Klimenko's patron was politically knifed by an unexpectedly successful anti-corruption investigation leaving Klimenko somehow still standing and politically adrift facing an uncertain future in a chaotic situation instead of having cushy job after being Abramov's willing fall guy. Interesting times are ahead for Klimenko and the USSR.
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- Location
- Northish
I do agree that we need to make an example from this, if the enterprises think they can start chipping at our mandate then they will never stop hammering. Food production is a section of the economy that cannot be driven by profitability alone, same as housing and defense.
Statistics: RLA Roll Retrospective
CrabMonarchy
Allegedly Dutch
- Location
- the Netherlands, apparently
RLA Roll Retrospective
In light of the RLA finally reaching completion, I have compiled an overview of the RLA dice and their insane luck. Images of the spreadsheet I used to track and calculate everything and a list of sources (with some bonus discord reactions attached, including quite a bit of "FUCKING RLA" on Blackstar's part) can be found at the bottom of this post (spoilered for size), but to summarize:- The RLA program has concluded with an average roll of 64.53, resting at a comfortable 97.01 percentile for 15d100 (that is, 97.01% of possible results for 15d100 are worse than what we got).
- The RLA has remained in the top 90% of rolls for an uninterrupted ~73% of the project runtime (11 out of 15 turns), beginning with the nat 100 on Turn 67.
- The RLA has remained in the top 95% of rolls for ~46% of the project runtime (7 out of 15 turns), including an uninterrupted 6-turn / 7-roll run [1] starting on Turn 72.
- The RLA's overall highest point was on Turn 74.5 [1], reaching the 98.89 percentile for 12d100. The highest individual roll occurred on (naturally) Turn 67 with a nat 100, and the highest average was reached on Turn 69 with a 70.67 on 6d100.
- The RLA's overall lowest point was on Turn 64, reaching the 39.16 percentile for 2d100. The lowest individual roll occurred on Turn 76 with a 17, and the lowest average was reached on Turn 64 with a flat 45 on 2d100.
- Every single roll was either 38 and below (4 out of 15 rolls) or 61 and above (11 out of 15 rolls); none of the rolls fell into that 22-wide intermediate range.
Additional Notes:
[1] Two sets of rolls were made on Turn 74, one for the turn post and one for the results post, the latter of which I have listed as Turn 74.5.
[2] No rolls were made on Turn 66 as far as I can tell (no dice in the discord + no blurbs in the turn post and results post). As such, the values for that turn are the same as for the previous turn.
[3] This analysis focuses entirely on the rocketry dice rolled in the Discord and excludes the project rolls for Determine the Next Launcher, RLA Expansion, Expand RLA Program, and Rationalization of the RLA, on the grounds that those were primarily administrative actions which allocated funds and personnel to a task as opposed to the rocketry rolls which were very specifically about the overall progress of the program (also fitting them into the graph would be awkward and I don't want to have to keep messing around with it lol).
[4] The Hydrogen Engine Program and RLA-Interplanetary rolls have also been ignored due to being separate programs with their own entries in the project list.
[5] If you look at the graph, the dice rolls appear to form an "M", which is clearly an omen promising continued success for the MNKh (especially topical in light of how the political situation has caught fire and exploded yet again lmao).
(RLA reaction was pretty muted this turn)
(intervening messages removed, TL;DR Blackstar forgot we cancelled a rocketry project)
(this reaction is more in response to the double nat 100 than to the RLA, which rolled pretty average this turn)
(no interesting reactions here sorry, the discord was focused on other topics at the time)
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- Location
- Northish
This is going to be our grassy knoll material that people will never agree on forever. Honestly I really expected that the first politicians to get shot once Stalin kicked it would be at the hands of a military operation.
There is already going to be conspiracy theories thanks to what Klim has survived and done, this just makes it mainstream.
And despite all of this happening Kosygin is still going to retire anyway, thus clearing the entire center for whoever follows. Hard to imagine some won't be suspicious about it forever yeah.