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Reds! A Revolutionary Timeline

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In the modern UASR, then, is it allowed for more than two people to be married?
 
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Superman/Batman
  • Media
    • Superman/Batman: World's Finest was a comic book series written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams, published by comics collective AC/DC between 1969 and 1974.

    As the Second Cultural Revolution changed the country and its people, the characters of Superman and Batman were at a crossroads. Whilst Superman was cemented as an icon of the Revolution, his adventures during the "Silver Age of Comics" had long become focused on science fiction excursions involving characters like Brainiac or strange "elseworlds" stories about alternate scenarios or tales of the Super Family like Superboy, Superwoman (Lois Lane), Supergirl, and Krypto the Superdog. The stories themselves were still stuck to the mores of the First Cultural Revolution. Deference to the party and the dictatorship of the proletariat, somewhat conservative mores, didactic messages about proletarian solidarity and sinister capitalist or Nazi villain

    Meanwhile, Batman had undergone major changes. Originally an ex-bourgeois apparatchik named Bruce Wayne who secretly fights crime and reaction in vengeance for the deaths of his parents at the hands of nefarious crime lords, the character was heavily retooled during the Silver Age by artist Jack Kirby. Now, playboy politician Oliver Queen (a name previously given to the Golden Age hero Green Arrow) was thrown off his cruise ship, and ends up on Starfish Island. There, he lives in a cave with several bats and gradually gains the skills to survive in the wilderness. He also observes the bats and learns to imitate them and follow them, deciding to adopt the image of the bat to become more intimidating. After helping striking sailors on a commercial freighter against strike breakers, he returns to civilization, and decides to become a crimefighter named "Batman", joining up with a Native American named Roy Harper as his Robin (Roy Harper had been the sidekick "Speedy" to Green Arrow)

    The Silver Age Batman shifted towards more science fiction plots involving villains like Mr. Freeze and the Atomic Man and bizarre characters like Bat-Mite and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, in addition to revamped versions of villains like the Joker and Two-Face (a white supremacist and a corrupt politician respectively).

    Eventually, the Batman character would receive a boost in popularity with the 1964 series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, which featured Oliver Queen (though had elements of the Bruce Wayne character incorporated), in adventures that spanned both counterrevolutionary and crime stories with the occasional foray into science fiction tales.

    With the more contemporary focused Marvel Comics on the rise, the characters of Syndicated Features, still stuck in the mores of the 1930's and 40's, were seen as quaint and antiquated. While characters like Plastic Man and the Spirit (already viewed as anarchic counterculture figures) updated with the times, stalwarts Batman and Superman were in dire need of an update.

    The opportunity came after the "Purge of 1968", which saw old school, slightly authoritarian editors like Jack Schiff and Mort Weisinger replaced by a younger, more diverse regime. Wanting a hipper approach to the two iconic DC characters (one having had the backing of a TV show), they had former Marvel cartoonists Denny O'Neill and Neal Adams take over the characters and update them for the 70's. To consolidate this, they combined the titles Batman and Superman (as opposed to their other titles, Detective Comics and Action Comics respectively) into a single title: Superman/Batman: World's Finest, with the characters teaming up.

    Adams had already redesigned Batman to have a goatee, and by 1969, Batman had resigned from his city council due to corruption, moved into an artist collective, and had become an anarchist bohemian. He also began sharing the "Batman" identity with Roy Harper and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon).

    O'Neill and Adams revamped the character of Superman, having him quit the Daily Planet and turning him into a TV reporter. They also cut out most of the more absurd elements like different colored kryptonite as well as characters like Krypto the Superdog, and instead had a stronger focus on Superman, Superwoman, and Supergirl.

    With the new set-up, Superman/Batman made an immediate impact with its first issue, showing the pair combating a corrupt development project threatening an historical neighborhood in Gotham. Whilst Batman stands with the people helping sabotage the program, Superman believes in change within the local Labor Party, trying to use his influence to stop it through "democratic means".

    Superman fails, and finds himself at odds with both Batman and the locals (mainly Africans). In one iconic (or infamous) moment, an older Black man asks Superman: "I been readin' about you. How you work for the blue skins … and how on a planet someplace you helped out the orange skins … and you done considerable for the purple skins! Only there's skins you never bothered with — the black skins! I want to know … how come?! Answer me that, Mr. Superman!" Superman is left speechless, unable to answer the man's queries.

    Ultimately, Superman and Batman stop the politician responsible (revealed to be using the development to secretly enrich himself), but Batman solemnly notes that politicians like him might continue to arise, even as Superman insists that the LCP and CLP know how to stamp out corruption.

    This general structure would define the series. Superman and Batman would take on a villain that represented a particular societal ill (racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, corruption, environmentalism), and have Superman represent the Orthodox Marxist-Leninist/Deleonist position, stating that only class solidarity and deference to the DOTP would allow for such issues to go away. Meanwhile, Batman would argue that there needs to be more accountability and people need to self-govern. Sympathies mostly lied with Batman, though Superman was convinced on several occasions.

    Of course, the traditional superhero stories never went away, with recurring villains drawing on the respective heroes' rogues gallery. Lex Luthor was reimagined away from traditional white supremacist eugenics scientist mold in favor of a Strasserist angle inspired by William Luther Pierce (indeed, authors like Alan Moore and Alana Levin* would expand on this angle). The recurring villain was O'Neill and Adams' own creation from the pages of Detective Comics: Ra's Al Ghul. Ra's represented the extreme tendencies of environmental capitalism, wanting to drastically reduce the world's population and destroy what he views as "dehumanizing" technology to bring humanity back to its "natural" order", and allow nature to take "its proper place." Batman also deals with his complicated relationship with Ra's daughter Talia, who alternates between supporting and opposing her father's views, trying to find a balance between genocide and environmentalism.

    Most of the stories focused on the titular characters. However (again, carried over from Detective Comics), hints of Superman and Superwoman's open relationship or Batman's open pansexuality were discussed openly, and frankly. Roy Harper and Barbara Gordon would take over Batman's role on occasion as well. In fact, an issue was instead labeled "Superwoman/Batgirl", with a specific feminist focus by guest writer Gloria Steinem and artist Trina Robbins.

    The most acclaimed story of this run was 1971's "Snowbirds Don't Fly", which featured a plot drawn from stories of drug addiction in various ethnic republics. Harper becomes addicted to an unspecified subject (similar to heroin), causing a fallout with Queen, who forces him into rehabilitation and gives his Batman role to an aging Dick Grayson (the Golden Age Robin). The story is often cited as a well-meaning and iconic, but dated and preachy highlight of the era.

    Indeed, the whole series would receive such a mixed reception in later years. Moore would parody the series in his 80's dark satire Suprememan, with the titular character teaming up with a "Ratman", who is a punk-toaster who openly hates Suprememan and mocks his "trust the system" beliefs. The famed speech by the old black man was also parodied for its tonal dissonance (i.e. Superman had saved the Earth on numerous occasions).

    Still, the series was considered a groundbreaking bit of social commentary in comics, and stood with works like the Jack Kirby/Jim Starlin New Gods Saga, Marv Wolfman and George Perez's New Teen Titans, and the Svetlana Zaitseva* series Reds and Blues as setting the tone for the "Bronze Age" of Comics". Adams would be elected as part of the inaugural head committee of the "Academy of Comic Book and Sequential Arts" (a section of the Academy of Arts and Sciences) alongside luminaries like Will Eisner off the strength of the series, and O'Neill was elected the managing editor of AC/DC in 1978.

    ---------------

    In the memory of Neal Adams
     
  • Media
    • Miss Teri said:
    Bingo. Right on the money.

    In fact, I use the speech from the comic, but swap out "Green Lantern" with "Superman"

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    It's honestly an inspired choice especially in a world where regular Batman would have been such an anachronism by the late 60s. I also really like the touches of also including O'Neill and Adam's touches on Batman (Ra's Al Ghul, revitalizing Joker, bringing back two face) revamp.
     
    With the Robins, does the line go Dick - Roy now? Like does Roy take the place of Dick. And what about Jason, Tim and Damian?
     
    @david T
    Kevin Phillips's biography of McKinley depicts him as a surprisingly progressive president who was likely to propose important new initiatives with respect to the tariff and trusts. McKinley's last speech to the Pan-American Exposition in September 1901 heralded a campaign for tariff reciprocity. Actions against trusts would likely follow in 1902 when the United States Industrial Commission appointed by McKinley in 1898 reported back. This report, as Phillips notes "wound up laying out much of what would be the Progressive corporate and antitrust agenda through 1914." (Phillips, *William McKinley*, p. 136) William McKinley

    Also, at least according to Mark Hanna, McKinley himself might have undertaken a prosecution against Northern Securities as TR famously did in OTL: "I warned Hill that McKinley might have to act against his damn company last year. Mr. Roosevelt's done it. I'm sorry for Hill, but just what do you gentlemen think I can do?" William McKinley and His America

    Furthermore, Phillips notes McKinley's pro-labor record, which included naming Terence V. Powderly, onetime leader of the Knights of Labor, as commissioner general of immigration, and of Samuel Gompers of the AFL to the Industrial Commission. McKinley frequently consulted with Gompers.
    ***

    In general, the positive reappraisal of McKinley by historians (H. Wayne Morgan's 1963 William McKinley and His America was a pioneering work here) is part of a larger trend to question the earlier tendency to draw a sharp line between the "Gilded Age" and the "Progressive Era." In particular, the idea that Theodore Roosevelt "revitalized" the presidency--as if it had been "devitalized" before him--has been questioned. See Charles W. Calhoun, "Reimagining the 'Lost Men' of the Gilded Age: Perspectives on the Late Nineteenth-Century Presidents" in the Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (July 2002):

    "Many scholars now believe that it was McKinley who created the modern presidency and gave it the preeminence in national affairs it has enjoyed ever since. As a congressional leader, McKinley had witnessed Harrison's legislative techniques first-hand. As president, he proved even more successful in applying these techniques, for he did so with a warmer personal sensitivity and greater political skill. Moreover, whereas Cleveland had badgered members of Congress, McKinley petted and cajoled them. A frequent recipient of the president's touch, veteran Illinois Senator Shelby Cullom concluded, 'We have never had a President who had more influence with Congress than Mr. McKinley.'72 61

    "McKinley also recognized the importance of carefully managing the flow of information to the nation. His staff briefed reporters twice daily and provided them with workspace in the White House. McKinley himself became an accomplished "leaker" of information to individual reporters to float ideas before the public. These efforts paid off in generally favorable press coverage for the president's policies.73 62

    "Building on the examples of predecessors such as Hayes and Harrison, McKinley established the presidency as an independent source of influence by using public appearances and speeches to carry his proposals directly to the people. He traveled extensively, and to ensure that the president's message reached far beyond the immediate audience, his staff took reporters on his trips and provided the technical means to send their stories to their home papers. Thus, effectively exploiting technological developments--the national rail network with telegraph wires paralleling the tracks--McKinley and his staff seized upon the new tools of modernity to modernize the presidency. McKinley demonstrated to his successors that the president's direct access to the public gave him the opportunity to build a power base independent of his constitutionally defined relationship with Congress. As one contemporary observer wrote, with understandable hyperbole, "The pivot upon which we revolve as a nation is no longer the Capitol, where the people's representatives assemble, but the White House, where one man sits in almost supreme power."74 63

    "In assessing the performance of the presidents in the Gilded Age, one should not lose sight of the broader political context, which profoundly influenced their effectiveness. Nineteenth-century Americans' abiding suspicion of concentrated power persisted and was deepened by the experience of Andrew Johnson. Moreover, for most of the period, the two major political parties were locked in an equilibrium in electoral strength that restrained presidents and other party leaders from taking stands so strong that they would offend some indispensable party constituency. The closeness in party strength also deprived most of these presidents of a clear electoral mandate, and it usually resulted in a divided national government, with the legislative and the executive branches at loggerheads on many issues. One of the reasons McKinley was able to lead with the dynamism he showed, besides his inherent talent for conciliation, was the major realignment that had occurred in 1894 and 1896, making the Republicans the nation's undisputed majority party. 64

    "Despite these contextual and systemic handicaps, the presidents of the Gilded Age presided over a gradual but undeniable accretion of authority and influence in their office from the depths to which it had plunged in the Johnson years. Presidents became more influential in their relations with Congress, and in a variety of ways, including travel and press manipulation, they increasingly attracted public attention and influenced public attitudes. By 1888 even James Bryce saw 'reasons for believing that [the presidency] may reach a higher point than it has occupied at any time since the Civil War. The tendency everywhere in America to concentrate power and responsibility in one man is unmistakable.' Because the president was 'in some respects better fitted both to represent and to influence public opinion than Congress,' Bryce forecast 'still undeveloped possibilities of greatness in store for the Presidents of the future.'75 Theodore Roosevelt did not will the modern presidency into being simply by the assertion of his own indomitable personality. Instead, he recognized the potential foreshadowed by the efforts of his late-nineteenth-century predecessors. Building on their accomplishments and advances, he moved the presidency to the center of national political and governmental life where it has remained ever since. 65" http://web.archive.org/web/20041128072909/http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/jga/1.3/calhoun.html
     
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    I mean, this is around the time the SEU becomes a force in American politics. So even if they did believe that, there's a significant minority of people that didn't. And they certainly don't by the 21st century.
     
    Tsarstvo
  • Media
    • A little song to set the mood.


    Tsarstvo - Legacy of the Great War     is a mod for the WW2 Grand Strategy Games Hearts of Iron II: Darkest Hour and Hearts of Iron IV on personal computer platforms in the Comintern & AFS by Swedish publisher Paradox Interactive set in an Alternate History where the Russian Empire emerged from the first World War as the unambiguous victor and major world power.

    Originally named "All the Little Germanies", the mod was initially about how World War 2 would be different had Germany been communist instead of fascist. However, the mod's developers radically retooled it into the mod it is known as today.

    The point of divergence occurs in 1914, where Russia wins the Battle of Tannenberg. The momentum allows Russia to continue on in the war until the end, where the Spartacists ally with the SPD during the German Revolution of 1919 and the creation of a socialist republic in Germany and the victory of the Entente. This leads to the Russian Civil War being averted and the Russian and British Empires becoming the dominant world powers for over a decade.

    However, similar socialist revolutions spring up in France and the United States, creating an alliance of Marxists, Syndicalists and other revolutionary socialists against capitalism and imperialism known as the "Third International", though the International is disunited in its exact ideology. In an attempt to prevent a fall to socialism, an alliance of far-right nations led by Italy forms the "Pax Romanum" alliance in an attempt to spread the new ideology of "Legionnairism" and strike against both the left-wing and liberal nations of the world.

    In 1936, Russia, now a true constitutional monarchy, now maintains a fragile balance over the rest of Europe. They now watch over many peoples within their empire, few of which are happy with their rule. What's worse is their deteriorating relationship with Britain threatening to tear the Entente apart into different spheres.

    The main gameplay is identical to the basegame of the particular version of HoI that it's played on. The Darkest Hour Version is on Version 0.17.2 while the HoI4 version is on Version 0.20.1.

    Ideologies

    Each nation in Tsarstvo is assigned one of twelve ideologies of three types: "Revolutionary", "Reformist" and "Reactionary", replacing the four ideologies of "Democracy", "Communism", "Fascism" and "Neutral". They are, from left to right:

    Revolutionary

    Totalism - A portmanteau of "totalitarian socialism" or "total commitment to socialism", Totalism is a catch-all term for authoritarian and nationalistic socialist movements in the game. The term was coined in-universe by critics of socialists with more authoritarian leanings such as Gregor Strasser, Georges Valois and Earl Browder, though was taken on by said men as a moniker for their ideology. Totalism claims to synthesise both Marxism and Syndicalism, with the goal of having all live in anarchy under a single, benevolent group of enlightened rulers.

    Marxist - Marxism is a system of materialist analysis of economic structures with the goal of achieving socialism and eventually communism based on the writings of German economist Karl Marx. Many forms of Marxist thought are practised, though all place emphasis on the class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, and seek to embed class-consciousness in the global proletariat. It is the form of socialism promoted by the Union of American Socialist Republics. Tsarstvo classifies Left-Communist and Council Communist nations under Marxism.

    Syndicalism - Syndicalism is one of the earliest forms of socialism, born out of the trade union movements in America and Western Europe. It prioritises direct action from the workers and trade unions through general strikes and direct democracy to form a decentralised, and in some cases anarchic system of governance. Syndicalism is the form of socialism practised by the Commune of France. Tsarstvo classifies most anarchist nations under Syndicalism.

    Moderate Socialism - Moderate Socialism is an umbrella term for socialist ideologies that promote non-violent and less radical policies than their more revolutionary brethren. Many Moderate Socialists work within liberal democracy to reform it from within, others work in nations that have already sworn to the global revolution and yet more promote other causes entirely, such as national liberation. It is the form of socialism (de facto) practised by the German People's Republic.

    Reformist

    Social Democracy - Social Democracy is a capitalist ideology that incorporates some socialist policies, such as welfare and publicly-owned industries into a market economy. Criticised by both sides of the aisle for being either entryism for socialism or for diluting class-consciousness, Social Democrats across the world are split over whether or not to support the Third International.

    Social Liberalism - Social Liberalism is a form of liberalism that pushes for progressive taxation and other socially-progressive policies in order to keep the market open and competitive. They seek to expand individual and civil liberties to citizens and are classified as centrists on the political spectrum.

    Market Liberalism - Market Liberalism is an ideology of pure, unregulated economics that seeks to separate the market from government intervention as much as possible, where the individual may pursue their own life without hindrance from the state. Many Market Liberals are born into old money and aristocratic families and attempt to uphold and preserve their privilege.

    Social Conservatism - Social Conservatism, often called simply "conservatism" seeks to preserve the social hierarchy and status quo of a nation, while still working within a liberal framework. Conservatives oppose any and all reforms to a society and often tend to keep the needs of other nations secondary at best.

    Reactionary

    Authoritarian Democracy - Authoritarian Democracy is a loose term used to describe anything from authoritarian governments with a pseudo-democratic structure, to republics with a powerful executive branch, to sham democracies, to semi-constitutional monarchies or even conservatives who are more extreme than the mainstream.

    Paternal Autocracy - Paternal Autocracy is a dictatorship in the strictest sense of the word, where a single person (often an absolute monarch) or occasionally a small group of people (usually military juntas or one-party states) hold absolute power. These strongman leaders maintain their power through the oldest rule of them all: force, and few are afraid to use it wherever and whenever they feel like.

    Fundamentalism - Fundamentalism is an umbrella term for highly-reactionary ideologies, that nationalist, anti-socialist and anti-modernist, though view Legionnairism as a flawed product of modernity. Fundamentalists are usually religious and/or monarchist in nature, though can pursue less grounded and more varied and esoteric goals.

    Legionnairism - Legionnairism is the brainchild of Italo Balbo, the Duce of Italy. It's a far-right anti-socialist, anti-liberal, imperialist, populist and ultranationalist ideology with a corporatist economic structure that seeks open warfare with the socialist world. Styling themselves after Roman Legionnaires, Legionnairists claim themselves to be the true successors to the Roman Empire and "the champions of western civilisation" and are almost all aligned with Pax Romanum.

    Great Powers

    Tsarstvo has dozens of starting nations, some with barely any content (as of the current version of the mod). As such, only the "Big 7" (Russia, Italy, America, Nippon, Britain, Germany and France) and three other nations (China, Brazil and Middle Africa) will be discussed.



    Russian Empire (Российская империя)

    Head of State: Nicholas II
    Capital: Petrograd
    Ideology: Authoritarian Democracy
    Faction: Entente Cordiale

    The Third Rome, the Russian Empire is the undisputed global power. They are a semi-constitutional monarchy led by the Tsar Nicholas II, who exercises control over the state legislature, the Duma. Russia has exerted its power over the world since its victory in the Great War and has become the cultural, military and economic capital of the world for the past decade and a half. However, this "Russian Century" isn't as assured as some think it to be...

    Russia's paths involve the growing friction between the Tsar and the Duma, as well as the souring of relationships with Britain (which results in an unavoidable split in the Entente into the Moscow Accord and the Commonwealth of Nations), the Rasputin scandal, ethnic revolts in Poland, Manchuria, Finland and Central Asia, the slow industrialisation effort, an economic crisis on the Moscow Stock Exchange on February 5th, 1936 known as "Black Monday" and the growing threat of both the Third International and Pax Romanum.

    Three main paths exist for Russia:

    • Status Quo (AuthDem) - The Tsar and the Duma maintain in deadlocke for the rest of the game, maintaining the political system as is with the White Party maintaining the Duma.
    • Democratic (MarLib, SocDem) - The Duma comes out on top, turning Russia into a true constitutional democracy with universal adult suffrage under either the Liberal Party or the Social Revolutionaries.
    • Absolutist (PatAuth) - Nicholas II emerges victorious and dissolves the Duma to overwhelming public support.


    Union of American Socialist Republics

    Head of State: William Z. Foster
    Capital: Debs-De Leon
    Ideology: Marxism
    Faction: Third International

    Founded in 1927 following the Second American Revolution, the Union of American Socialist Republics was inspired by the 1919 German Revolution and the 1921 French Revolution to create a socialist state founded on Marxist principles.

    Most of the United Republics' paths involve the infighting among the International, especially with France and Belgium over the differences between Marxism and Syndicalism. Both they and France have mechanics over the stability of the Third International, trying to balance their influence over socialist nations and other socialists that are a part of their own nations.

    If America "wins", they can take control of the International from the Commune of France and either push a specific socialist orthodoxy or pursue a united front. A disgruntled France however may leave the International and start the Fourth International.

    The United Republics' paths are as follows:

    • WPA (Marxist) - America maintains a Marxist leadership under William Z. Foster and attempt to solidify a Marxist orthodoxy.
    • IWW (Syndicalist) - America changes course to Syndicalism under the IWW organisation and Elizabeth Gurley-Flynn.
    • DFLP (ModSoc) - Huey Long leading the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party becomes President of the United Republics and slows down the Cultural Revolution.
    • Vanguard (Totalist) - Earl Browder consolidates power with a Vanguard party with the intent of turning the UASR into his Totalist experiment.
    • United Front (Marxist) - Jack Reed unites the various factions into a united front with his charisma and zeal, attempting to ease tensions with the Commune.
    In older versions of the mod, Huey Long was able to reverse the Second American Revolution and recreate the United States of America, inviting MacArthur back from Cuba and annexing the island. As of Version 0.16.0 however, this is no longer possible.



    Empire of Nippon (大日本帝国)

    Head of State: Hirohito
    Capital: Tokyo
    Ideology: Social Democracy
    Faction: Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (Leader)

    The Empire of Nippon has fallen on hard times in recent years. After losing their footholds into China due to losing Manchuria to the Russians in 1928, they are left with Korea, Taiwan and the Ryukyu Islands as their only colonies as leftist agitation grows in the country.

    Nippon has very little time to prepare before a three-way civil war breaks out between a democratic east, a communist north and a zaibatsu-led republican west, as well as Korea, Taiwan and Ryukyu breaking free from Nipponese control.

    The results of the Nipponese Civil War are as follows:

    • Showa Restoration (Reformist) - Hirohito reunites Nippon and strengthens Nipponese democracy by strengthening the Imperial Diet and the constitution.
    • Hokuto Revolution (Revolutionary) - Kanson Arahata leads a socialist coalition against both Hirohito and the Zaibatsus from the north and unites Nippon under the Nippon Socialist Republic.
    • Reign of the Zaibatsu (Reactionary) - Unsatisfied with Hirohito and the Diet's treatment of the Zaibatsu, a coalition of industrialists led by Koyata Iwasaki with the help of the Nipponese far-right unify Nippon under Zaibatsu rule.


    Italian Empire (Impero Italiano)

    Head of State: Italo Balbo
    Capital: Rome
    Ideology: Legionnairism
    Faction: Pax Romanum (Leader)

    Gaining prominence following their defection to the Entente and their subsequent victory in the Great War and France's fall to radicalism, Italy took some French territory and their North African colonies following the Communard Revolution. However, many feared a similar revolution in Italian lands. Capitalising on this fear, in 1925, Italo Balbo and his Associazione Nazionalista Italiana marched on Rome to demand the democratic government cede power to them. In the intervening years, Italy has become the face of the ideology of Legionnairism and the leader of Pax Romanum: Italy's new attempt to recreate the Roman Empire of old.

    Italy's paths revolve around "The Great Game", a battle of influence between Balbo and King Victor Emmanuel III over who will control Italy:

    • Legionnaires in control (Legionnairism) - Balbo and the ANI wrest power from Emmanuel, as the House of Savoy loses legitimacy and are forced to abdicate the throne.
    • The Rightful King Returns (AuthDem, Reformist) - Victor Emmanuel III gains enough influence to denounce the ANI and cast them out as traitors. Pax Romanum collapses and the king guides Italy to the next elections.


    Commune of France (Commune de France)

    Head of State: Sebastien Faure
    Capital: Paris
    Ideology: Syndicalism
    Faction: Third International (Leader)

    Inspired by the revolution in Germany, the workers and unions of France rose up in a general strike in an attempt to end the war there and then. Under the tutelage of the CGT, the workers radicalised towards syndicalism and declared a successor state to the Paris Commune of 1871. When the dust finally settled, The Federation of the Communes of France was declared in 1921. The revolutionaries received help from the nearby German People's Republic, and the revolution spilled out into neighbouring Belgium and Luxembourg.

    Most of France's paths involve infighting among the International, especially with the United Republics over the differences between Marxism and Syndicalism. Both they and America have mechanics over the stability of the Third International, trying to balance their influence over socialist nations and other socialists that are a part of their own nations.

    If France "wins", they can prevent the United Republics from taking control of the International and either push a specific socialist orthodoxy or pursue a united front. A disgruntled America however may leave the International and start the Fourth International.

    The United Republics' paths are as follows:

    • CGT (Syndicalist) - The CGT and unions maintains hegemony over the Commune of France.
    • Anarchists (Syndicalist) - Exiled Ukrainian anarchist Nestor Makhno becomes Chairman of the Commune of France and attempts to devolve powers to create an anarcho-syndicalist society in France.
    • FCP (Marxist) - The French Communist Party takes control of the Commune and attempts to change course towards Marxism.
    • Neosocialism (Totalist) - Georges Valois takes power in the Commune of France with his nationalist rhetoric and subverts the unions and councils both.


    United Kingdom

    Head of State: George V
    Capital: London
    Ideology: Market Liberalism
    Faction: Entente Cordiale (Leader)

    Britain emerged from the Great War bruised, but victorious. Now owning over a third of the world from cannibalising France's old colonies, the British Empire is arguably the most powerful empire to have ever lived.

    Britain will unavoidably split from the Entente following Russia's economy crashing due to Black Monday, and will form the "Commonwealth of Nations" faction to consolidate their colonies, especially British Middle Africa: which is highly unstable and has a high chance of breaking apart into dozens of warlord states.

    Britain has only three main paths:

    • Whigs (MarLib) - Britain will seek to repair relationships with Russia.
    • Tories (SocCon) - Britain will seek a detente with Pax Romanum.
    • Labour (SocDem) - Britain will seek a guarantee with the Third International.


    German People's Republic (Deutsche Volksrepublik)

    Head of State: Otto Wels
    Capital: Berlin
    Ideology: Moderate Socialism
    Faction: Third International

    In 1919, the Kaiserreich and the Central Powers were losing the war. This prompted the Spartacist uprising in the town of Weimar, where a "People's Republic" was declared by an alliance between the SPD and KPD. The resulting state was an awkward compromise between Marxism, Syndicalism and Social Democrats, where both unions and councils comprise the beating heart of the government, though the SPD dominates both.

    In a microcosm of the Third International's politics, Germany can go down many paths:

    • The Compromise Holds (ModSoc) - No faction emerges victorious and Germany continues down an awkward, but stable status quo.
    • Cradle of Marxism (Marxism) - Germany sides with America and pursues Germany as close to Marx's vision as possible.
    • Our Nearest Allies (Syndicalism) - Germany favours the growing union movements over Marxist orthodoxy and grows closer to France & Belgium.
    • SPD Hegemony (SocDem) - Germany reintroduces a market economy and becomes estranged from the rest of the 3I.
    • National Socialism (Totalism) - Gregor Strasser becomes Chairman of Germany, and shapes it into an authoritarian state.


    Republic of China (中華民國)

    Head of State: Dai Li
    Capital: Beijing
    Ideology: Legionnairism
    Faction: N/A

    The 20th century has been nothing but humiliation after humiliation for the Republic of China. The concessions made to westerners following the Opium wars, the loss of Manchuria to Russia, then Nippon then Russia again. Enough was enough. Following the death of Sun Yat-sen, Dai Li rose to power within the ranks of the KMT in 1933 with the goal of uniting China by force, and by force he united the land. Now calling himself "the Marshal", Dai Li is dead-set on finishing the job by taking revenge on Russia and Nippon to create a China capable of creating its own destiny.

    China has three major paths:

    • The Marshal Hold on (Legionnairism) - Dai Li strengthens his hold over China to begin turning it into his personal fiefdom with his Blueshirt state security.
    • Return of the Three Principles (ModSoc) - A coup from within the KMT overthrows Dai Li and re-establishes party democracy. From here, China may either become a liberal or socialist democracy.
    In earlier versions of Tsarstvo, Jiang Jieshi was President of China at the game's start, though he would always get shot on January 5th, 1936, with his assassination setting off China's focus tree.



    British Middle Africa

    Head of State: Winston Churchill
    Capital: Cairo
    Ideology: Paternal Autocracy
    Faction: Entente Cordiale

    Following France and Belgium's fall to socialism, Britain managed to take most of them in the confusion and create the world's largest colony: British Middle Africa. Watched over by Governor-General Winston Churchill, the colony provided the United Kingdom with untold riches and cheap labour, though unbeknownst to most people, Middle Africa is coming apart at the seams, not helped by Churchill's nakedly-exploitative and borderline-cruel governorship of the continent.

    Middle Africa has the unique mechanic of attempting to expose Churchill's crimes against humanity before it's too late. If this fails, Middle Africa is locked into the Collapse path.

    There are only two paths for Middle Africa:

    • Dominion of Middle Africa (Reformist, AuthDem) - Churchill's crimes are exposed before the crown and he is stripped of his governorship. Middle Africa is officially upgraded from a colony and is fully admitted as a dominion of the British Empire.
    • Collapse (PatAuth, Fundamentalist) - Churchill's leadership leads to the complete collapse of Middle Africa, with dozens of warlord states fighting for control of the continent.

    Brazil (Brasil)

    Head of State: Varies
    Capital: Varies
    Ideology: Varies
    Faction: Varies

    In June of 1924, Brazil entered a civil war between multiple claimants as the legitimate Brazilian government, with the war growing deadlier and more confusing by the day. Both the Entente and Third International intervened in the conflict in an attempt to stop the fighting, though in the end, a ceasefire was reached in 1930 with all the breakaway states existing simultaneously despite their mutually-exclusive claims as the true Brazilian government.

    The goal as one of the five Brazils is to unite the others to add the full might of Brazil to whichever faction they're aligned with:

    • Empire of Brazil (AuthDem)
    • Brazilian Union (Totalist)
    • Federative Republic of Brazil (SocDem)
    • Brazilian Integralist State (Fundamentalist)
    • Free State of Sao Paulo (MarLib)

    Community

    The developers of the mod, known as the "Tsardevs" are very integrated in the fan community their mod has fostered, and regularly take on feedback about the mod, including various bugfixes, graphical updates, music suggestions and more.

    A group of fans of the mod founded their own film group known as "Ocelot Productions" to create works based on the mod, such as fan-films, animatics and covers of old WW2-era songs. They are more or less treated as a part of the dev team, with a lot of overlap between Ocelot and the Tsardevs.

    Fans of the mod were interviewed and asked which of the twelve ideologies they identified with and whether they were from a capitalist or communist nation with a sample size of 206, the results were as follows:








    Tsarstvo's playerbase is diverse of both country of origin, race, gender and ideology, showing its strength as a mod and as an Alternate History setting for being able to connect with as many people for as many walks of life.


    Game Map


    Ideology Map


    Faction Map
     
    Last edited:
  • Media
    • Wait, France, Germany, and America are (usually) on the same side, with a guaranteed civil war in Japan, and the potential for China to join and the UK to seek guarantees? How do they lose? Are Russia and Italy that buffed?
     
    I thought I was in the HOI4 thread for a second and got really excited at the sudden announcement of a new mod only to have found myself bamboozled :cry:
     
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