Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

by **The Crooked Beat** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:53 pm

The Democratic Republic of Parsistan (Jomhuri-ye Parsistan)

Geography
Location: Western Asia, between the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf. Geographical extremities include small enclave of Garabogaz on the eastern shore of the Caspian, the Socotra archipelago in the Arabian Sea, and the Prince Edward Islands in the Southern Ocean.

Land Area: 1,470,571 sq. kilometers

Elevation Extremes: Caspian Sea (28 meters below sea level), Donbavand (5,610 meters)

Land Borders: 5,449 kilometers

Maritime Claims: Caspian Sea: Hypothetical Median Line
Persian Gulf: Hypothetical Median Line
High Seas: 12nm territorial waters, 200nm exclusive economic zone

Climate: Highly varied; temperate in north, Mediterranean in central and southern part, sections of hot, dry desert and alpine conditions

Terrain: Mountainous, heavily-forested northern section and Caspian Sea coast, Elburz Range, drier Zagros range running diagonally northwest-southeast, flat, dry Persian Gulf coast, flat, arid terrain in Garabogaz bordered by shallow salt lake, dry coastal plains running to mountainous, sparsely-forested interior in Socotra, barren and wind-swept volcanic Prince Edward Islands

Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, sulphur

Natural Hazards: Much of Parsistan is subject to periodic intense earthquakes, droughts often pose a serious problem during the summer months in the central part of the country and in Garabogaz, sand and dust storms

by **The Crooked Beat** » Fri Jun 12, 2009 5:21 pm

Population Statistics

Overview
Parsistan is a large, diverse nation in the same vein as many of its regional neighbors, its varied ethnic makeup reflecting, on one hand, imperfect frontier-setting on the part of Western imperial powers, and on the other hand the historical patterns of invasion, migration, and religious expansion that served to shape modern Asia and the Middle East. The Alavars, originally a nomadic people hailing from Central Asia and the western part of China, are Parsistan's largest single ethnic group. Alavar dynasties ruled Parsistan, as well as much of the surrounding area, pretty consistently from the mid-1300s until the late part of the 19th century. Though usually considered a single ethnicity, Alavars themselves exhibit significant genetic diversity and many anthropologists believe that the Alavars essentially absorbed Parsistan's indigenous inhabitants, over the course of several centuries. This is possibly reflected in the presence of Jewish communities among the Alavars. For much of its modern history, Parsistan was characterized by significant ethnic and religious strife, the likes of which successive governments either failed to control or actively encouraged. However, since the late 1970s, Parsistanis, especially those on the political left, have worked to create a 'rainbow nation,' one inclusive of all its various groups and their unique traditions.

Population: 68,112,507 (2007)

Population Growth Rate: 0.81%

Age Structure: 0-14 years: 28.3%
15-64 years: 57.2%
65 years and over: 14.5%

Life Expectancy at Birth: Total population: 76.46 years
Male: 74.42 years
Female: 78.5 years

Ethnic Groups: Alavar (47.6%), Azeri (15.2%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (11.9%), Kurd (8.7%), Turkmen (6.5%), Lur (3.9%), Arab (2.7%), Armenian, Baloch, Georgian, Assyrian, Roma, African, Hazara, Brahui, Lak and others (3.5%)

Languages: Turkish (administrative), Alavar, Azeri, and other Turkic languages, Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian, Luri

Religions: Islam (67.5%; Ismaili 54.2%, Sunni 12.3%), Zoroastrianism (14.6%), Christianity (10.4%; Assyrian 7.1%, Greek Orthodox 3.3%), Judaism (4.1%), Buddhism (1.4%), Baha'i (1.1%), Other (0.9%)

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 94.1%
male: 95.8%
female: 92.4%

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:14 am

Government

Overview
Parsistan's constitution, adopted in 1953, laid the foundations of an egalitarian, pluralistic republic based both on western democratic systems and on the nation's own traditions of governance by consensus, as exhibited most strongly by the early Alavar Khaganates. Inter-ethnic violence frequently crippled Parsistan's political system during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, an era of political extremism and armed separatism that cost hundreds, perhaps thousands of, for the most part, innocent lives, and scattered militant activity continues into the present day. Modern Parsistan, however, is well past that period, and the ruling Popular Democratic Alliance, a coalition of Parsistan's main leftist and labor parties, enjoys widespread support from all the republic's ethnic and religious groups. Parliamentary politics is dominated by the PDAP, which is able to maintain a comfortable majority in the national legislature thanks to its broad support base and a badly-divided opposition. Indeed, opposition parties range from the communist and separatist Kurdish Workers' Party to the far-right Phalange movement, with the Liberal Party, lonely champions of the free market, and the royalist Alavar Heritage Front sitting somewhere in the middle.

Country Name: Conventional Long Form: Democratic Republic of Parsistan
Conventional Short Form: Parsistan
Abbreviation: DRP
Local Long Form: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan/Parsistan Cumhuryeti/Parsistan Respwblikashi

Government Type: parliamentary democratic republic

Capital: Daylam (7,088,287)
Time Zone: UTC+3:30 (Parsistan Standard Time)

Administrative Divisions: 29 Governates (Artavli, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Bushehr, Chaharmahaal and Bakhtiari, Shiraz, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormuzgan, Elam Kurdish, Isfahan, Kerman, Kermanshah, North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, South Khorasan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Parezgeha Kurdistane, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Parthava, Daylam, Yazd, Zanjan), 316 Departments
2 Special Administrative Regions (Garabogaz, Socotra)
1 Overseas Territory (Prince Edward Islands)

Independence: Anglo-Russian occupation ended 1945, full self-government since 1951

National Holiday: Labor Day (1 May), Constitution Day (15 November), Family Day (22 August), various religious holidays

Constitution: Adopted 15 November 1953

Legal System: mainly adapted from English Common Law

Suffrage: 17 years of age; universal

Executive Branch: Chief of State: President Fikret Arslan (Since 10 June 2005)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Mehmet Taghiyev (PDAP-APLL) (Since 9 January 2006)
Cabinet: Special Ministers for Garabogaz and Socotra appointed by local parliaments, other cabinet ministers appointed by Prime Minister
Elections: President elected by popular vote for four-year term in office; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister by the President.

Note: Matters of domestic and foreign policy are responsibilities of the Prime Minister; the duties of the President are largely procedural.

Legislative Branch: Unicameral; 1,535-seat Parliament. Members of Parliament are elected by popular vote on the basis of electoral districts to serve six-year terms, subject to recall by constituents.
Elections: Last held 28 December 2005
Election Results: Popular Democratic Alliance for Parsistan 68.4% (All-Parsistan Labor League 36.7%, Azeri Workers' Conference 11.4%, Communist Party of Parsistan 10.6%, United Front for Democracy and Development 6.8%, Green Party 2.9%), Kurdistan Worker's Party 10.9%, Liberal Party 9.5%, Alavar Heritage Front 5.8%, Phalange Movement 3.5%, Independent/Other 1.9%
Voter Turnout: 72%

Judicial Branch: 7-member Constitutional Court interprets legislation. Panelists hold one-year terms that rotate between the most senior Parsistani judges. Large permanent staff and institutional structure. 5-member High Court rules on civil and criminal cases. Judges appointed for non-renewable five year terms.

Flag Description: Vertical red-white-red tricolor, with green crescent and star centered on middle bar

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 9:37 am

Economy

Overview
Parsistan boasts a strong, diverse economy, the product of a sensible, state-driven development strategy started even before the last foreign troops left Parsistani soil following the Second World War. Revenues from the republic's significant reserves of oil and natural gas, estimated to be the world's third largest, provide a large safety net in times of economic hardship and instantly magnify Parsistan's strategic position, but, unlike most other oil-rich countries, it seems that Parsistan was able to escape the resource curse. Profitable industrial and service sectors mean that the republic is not entirely reliant on oil extraction for its economic livelihood, and not at the mercy of unstable prices on the international market. Some criticize the government's development plan, however, claiming that its emphasis on diversification continues to deny Parsistan's fossil fuels industry of the resources necessary to fully exploit known deposits, or to explore likely resource pockets under the Caspian Sea in particular. Parsistan is the world's foremost producer of high-quality rugs and caviar.

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity): $799.7 billion USQ

GDP Per Capita: $11,741 USQ

GDP Composition by Sector: Agriculture 10.1%
Industry 50.5%
Services 40.4%

Labor Force: 23,839,377 (est.)
By Occupation: Agriculture 26.3%
Industry 48.1%
Services 35.6%

Unemployment Rate: 10.7%

Agriculture/Aquaculture Products: wheat, rice, grains, sugar beets, sugarcane, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, caviar

Industries: mining, petroleum extraction, petroleum processing, textiles, food processing, steel, metal fabrication, pharmaceuticals, cement, shipbuilding, aeronautical equipment, automobiles and transportation equipment, heavy machinery

Electricity Production: 189 billion kWh
Exports: N/A

Electricity Consumption: 141 billion kWh
Imports: 0 kWh

Electricity Production By Source: Nuclear: 58.4%
Natural Gas: 27.9%
Coal: 10.3%
Renewable Energy: 3.4%

Oil Production: 4.7 million bbl/day
Exports: 2.8 million bbl/day
Proven Reserves: 138.4 billion bbl (potentially)

Oil Consumption: 978,000 bbl/day
Imports: 0 bbl/day

Natural Gas Production: 104.9 billion cubic meters annually
Exports: 7.5 billion cubic meters annually
Proven Reserves: 26.85 trillion cubic meters

Natural Gas Consumption: 105.4 billion cubic meters annually
Imports: 7.0 billion cubic meters annually

Export Commodities: textiles and apparel, ships, auto parts, petroleum, petroleum products, foodstuffs, generic pharmaceuticals, industrial machinery, construction materials, rugs

Import Commodities: metals, textile fabrics, foodstuffs, heavy transportation equipment, chemical products, computers and related devices, semiconductors, unenriched uranium, deuterium oxide

Major Trade Partners: Great Britain, Spyr, Cassanos, The United Taifas, Quinntonia

Currency: Tugrik (TGK)

Exchange Rates: Tugriks per British Pound: 65.8 (2000)
Tugriks per United States Dollar: 43.48 (2000)

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sun Jun 14, 2009 10:17 am

Transport and Communications

Overview
Parsistan operates a reasonably modern and extensive transport and communications network, the result of significant state investment and assistance from both Western powers and Spyr. A widespread state-run rail system connects all of the republic's major population centers and economic regions, providing Parsistanis with a cheap, efficient, and timely means of travel, although as of yet no high-speed trains or rails are in service. Major improvements have also succeeded in bringing the national highway system up to international quality and safety standards, but there are relatively few high-speed expressways.

Communications

Telephones: Main Lines in Use: 28.78 million
Mobile Cellular: 22.25 million

Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 49, FM 104

Television Broadcast Stations: 41

Internet Country Code: .pa

Transportation

Airports: 322

Airports With Paved Runways: 121
Over 3,000m: 34
1,500-3,000m: 39
850m-1,500m: 48

Airports With Unpaved Runways: 201
Over 3,000m: 4
1,500-3,000m: 49
900-1,500m: 78
Under 900m: 70

Waterways: 850km

Merchant Marine: Total: 97 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 768,121 GRT
By Type: bulk carrier 15, cargo 27, container 10, chemical tanker 4, liquefied gas 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 14, roll on/off 7, vehicle carrier 5, refrigerated cargo 4, cable layer 2

Ports and Terminals: Gamrun, Ashkhabad, Bandar Qoli Beg, Bandar Tamim, Bandar Timur, Bandar Guyuk, Garabogaz

Railways: Total: 30,945km
Broad Gauge: 21,485km (1676mm "Indian Gauge")
Standard Gauge: 7,550km (1435mm)
Narrow Gauge: 1910km (1000mm)

Roadways: Total: 145,898km (1,244km of expressways)
Paved: 97,564km
Unpaved: 48,334km

by **The Crooked Beat** » Mon Jun 15, 2009 6:17 pm

Cities and Towns in Parsistan

Daylam (Tehran)
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Population: city limits: 7,088,287
metropolitan area: 13,413,348
Land Area: 686 sq. kilometers
Description: Situated at the foot of the snow-capped Elburz range, Daylam is both the capital of Parsistan and its most populous city. With over seven million people residing within the city proper, and a metropolitan region home to over 13 million, Daylam ranks among the world's largest cities and can claim constant human habitation for at least the last five thousand years. Though an inconsequential settlement for most of its early history, Daylam was chosen by Parsistan's Alavar rulers as the site of their new capital in the 9th century ACE, replacing the city of Rhages which, following a local revolt, the Alavars themselves promptly sacked. Since that time, Daylam has undergone an almost perpetual process of expansion and modernization in response to successive waves of urban in-migration and the requirements of Parsistan's political administrators. Government housing estates co-exist with bold, innovative modern buildings and centuries-old palaces, and among Daylam's major attractions are its many examples of ancient and early Islamic architecture. Modern Daylam is a crowded, colorful, bustling metropolis that serves as the economic, political, and cultural center of the entire nation.

Khanbaliq (Mashhad)
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Population: city limits: 2,427,316
Land Area: 204 sq. kilometers
Description: Parsistan's second most populous city, and the administrative capital of Razavi Khorasan, Khanbaliq is considered one of the nation's most beautiful and friendly cities, home to several important religious sites and renowned as a center of learning. Khanbaliq means "the residence of the great Khan" in the Alavar language, a name which, it is believed, refers to Khanbaliq's status as the seat of Parsistan's pre-Alavar rulers. It is, like Daylam, a city of monumental architecture, but, unlike the capital, modernism has largely failed to make a strong impression on Khanbaliq's urban landscape, and even municipal housing carries a distinct classical flair. Many of Parsistan's leading universities are located in Khanbaliq, which is also home to the nation's first metro system, still in operation after almost one hundred years. The city's public transportation system is also quite well-regarded.

Aspandana (Esfahan)
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Population: city limits: 1,583,609
metropolitan area: 3,430,353
Description: Centrally-located Aspandana, Parsistan's third most populous city and second largest metropolitan area, is also quite possibly the nation's most beautiful, covered in classical Islamic architecture and rich in both history and religious significance. Situated in the foothills of the Zagros range, Aspandana is a good deal warmer and drier than Parsistan's other large cities and can expect to receive only a quarter of Daylam's annual participation. However, the city's otherwise unpleasant climate is offset by the Zayanderood river, which runs directly through Aspandana's center and supplies its large population with water for drinking and for irrigation, as well as with a multitude of scenic, lush parks and gardens. Thanks to the Zayanderood, Aspandana is known for its green, tree-lined squares and boulevards, and for Parsistan's oldest public swimming pool. Aspandana is home to Parsistan's aviation industry, and to a large Jewish community.

Koyunlu (Tabriz)
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Population: city limits: 1,579,312
Land Area: 140 sq. kilometers
Description: Koyunlu is Parsistan's fourth most populous city, and perhaps its most livable, situated in the green and temperate northwestern corner of the republic at the foot of the dormant Sahand stratovolcano. It is both a center of industry and a place of considerable cultural significance, home to much ruined and intact architecture from both the ancient and Islamic periods, and to a fair few European-style civic buildings as well, constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. Sitting at a cultural and historical crossroads, Koyunlu is an extremely diverse city, which changed hands several times over the course of its history. It is known as a center of leftist revolutionary activity, and it was in Koyunlu that Parsistan's constitution was officially signed in 1953.

Gamrun (Bandar Abbas)
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Population: city limits: 352,173
Description: Gamrun, a port city on the Persian Gulf, commands an important strategic position at the northern end of the Strait of Hormuz, and handles most of Parsistan's dry bulk and container cargo imports and exports. It is also the site of Parsistan's largest shipyards. Gamrun's history is rich and lively, going back several thousand years at least. An important commercial city since Roman times at least, Gamrun was frequently noted in ancient histories for its wealth and splendor, and it sat at an important junction on the Indian Ocean trade routes. Indeed, the name Gamrun itself is derived from Gumruk, an ancient word meaning customs-house, which in turn comes from the Greek word for commerce. Thanks in large part to its wealth and strategic location, Gamrun was the focus of fierce fighting between regional, and, later on, imperial powers bent on controlling trade in the Persian Gulf. As such, modern Gamrun is still covered with ruined fortresses and fortifications, as is Qeshm Island directly to the southwest. Gamrun is the Parsistani Navy's primary anchorage.

Bandar Tamim (Abadan)
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Population: city limits: 415,139
Description: Located on an island between the Shatt al-Arab waterway and the Karun river, Bandar Tamim is home to a great deal of Parsistan's oil infrastructure, including an extensive refinery and the nation's largest tanker terminal. Though a port of some significance for much of its history, Bandar Tamim did not really develop into a notable urban center until after the discovery of oil nearby. Most of the city is quite new, having been built within the past 50 years in order to keep-up with a rapidly-growing population, and overcrowding continues to pose a major problem for the municipal government. The majority of Bandar Tamim's residents work in the oil industry and related fields.

Bandar Qoli Beg (Bushehr)
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Population: city limits: 165,377
Description: Named for its founder, an eponymous Alavar warlord, Bandar Qoli Beg is a port city on the Persian Gulf, home to a large container terminal and a breaker's yard. An ancient city, and an important trading post through much of its history, Bandar Qoli Beg is ringed by battlements and the modern city sits on top of a star fort built by Great Britain in the mid-1700s, when it gained possession of the town.

Bandar Timur (Bandar Torkaman)
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Population: 126,000
Description: Named for legendary conqueror Tamerlane, Bandar Timur is a port city at the northeastern corner of the Caspian Sea. The well-irrigated land around the port is ideal for producing cotton, and a small but well-established textiles industry is known for producing high-quality carpets. Several kilometers to the northwest, though not within city limits, is the island of Ashur Ada, which is single-handedly responsible for over a third of Parsistan's caviar production.

Bandar Guyuk (Bandar Anzali)
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Population: 150,000
Description: Like Bandar Timur, Bandar Anzali is a small port city on the Caspian Sea, situated on a series of islands in the delta of the Sefid River. It is by no means a built-up city, consisting mostly of wood, stone, and brick structures, and most city roads are either paved with stones or unpaved entirely. Fishing is the basis of Bandar Guyuk's economy, the caviar industry in particular. A small tourism sector is also taking root, based on Bandar Guyuk's superb beaches and picturesque surrounding landscape.

Ashkhabad (Babol)
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Population: 283,617
Description: Ashkhabad is the only significant Parsistani port on the Caspian, and its modern appearance is in sharp contrast to the somewhat more rustic cities of Bandar Timur and Bandar Guyuk. It is an important agricultural center and many of the foods grown in surrounding territory are processed in Ashkhabad. The textile industry also maintains a large presence in Ashkhabad, and cotton grown in the surrounding region is processed and turned into garments within the city limits. But probably Ashkhabad's most important economic activity has to do with oil and natural gas exploration in the Caspian Sea, with the port serving as a vital base for drilling operations. Most Parsistani vessels operating in the Caspian are built in Ashkhabad, and the Parsistani Navy's Caspian Sea Fleet is headquartered in the city.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Thu Jun 18, 2009 4:45 pm

Special Administrative Regions in Focus

Garabogaz
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Area: 343 sq. kilometers
Capital: Bekdash
Population: 6,895
Highest Point: Mamudiyeh Island (9 meters)
Description:

Sandwiched between the Caspian Sea and the Garabogazkol Aylagy salt lake, the tiny exclave of Garabogaz is a dry, barren piece of territory, home to hardy and adaptable fishermen and herders and extremely rich in history. Garabogaz underwent occasional human habitation for thousands of years, but the territory's first permanent settlement, a small trading post at the site of present-day Bekdash, was founded at around 900 ACE. Over the next few centuries, Garabogaz acquired considerable significance as a center for Caspian Sea trade, and population blossomed accordingly in spite of difficult conditions, peaking at 24,000 at about the year 1400. Arid, trying conditions soon got the better of Garabogaz, however, and people steadily streamed out of the settlement as other, more hospitable coastal cities sprung up, and by the beginning of the twentieth century the port was only significant as the northernmost province of Parsistan's Alavar rulers.

Modern-day Garabogaz still has the appearance of a backwater, low-built and dusty, and paved surfaces are a rare sight indeed. Most of the province's inhabitants are either small-scale fishermen, who take to the waters of the Caspian in small oar- or sail-powered boats, or semi-nomadic cattle herders, who graze their stock in the dusty steppe that surrounds Bekdash city. Population retention poses a major problem, and, increasingly, Garabogaz is home either to the very young or the old, with most younger adults emigrating to the mainland in search of higher-paying jobs and improved living conditions. Transportation infrastructure is quite limited, but this is not so much of a problem as the ground itself is generally flat and solid, and Garabogaz itself is small enough to walk across in not much more than a day. A narrow-gauge railway feeds several warehouses on the waterfront, and stretches across the steppe to the shores of the Garabogazkol Aylagy, where there is a small dock and a few prefabricated storage huts typically used by scientific expeditions. This narrow-gauge railway also connects Bekdash town with a 1,350-meter dirt airstrip, Garabogaz's main connection with Parsistan proper. Several airlines operate regular cargo and passenger service out of Garabogaz's airport, using Twin Otters and Do 228s for the most part, but the field's only permanent residents are a pair of derelict DC-3s left to rust at the northern end of the runway.

Probably the most serious problem facing Garabogaz today and for most of its history is an acute lack of fresh water, which limits development potential and places a very definite cap on population. Rainwater is stored in large underground cisterns, and it is estimated that these contain enough water to meet the survival needs of inhabitants for several months at least with no outside inputs, but severe water rationing is normal and most day-to-day water needs are filled by supplies shipped-in from the mainland. A small desalinization plant is being built, and once completed should finally provide Garabogaz with true water independence, but its construction has been delayed by small acts of sabotage, and the project is well behind schedule.

Garabogaz province includes a number of small islands within its administrative area, all of them located just off Bekdash town. The largest, Mamudiyeh, is home to an ancient and still-operational lighthouse, without a doubt one of the most interesting on the Caspian Sea, and its keeper.

Giray Khan Islands
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Area: 335 sq. km.
Capital: administered from office in Daylam
Population: 20-30 year round staff, up to 100 scientists, researchers and conservationists in the summer months
Main Settlement: Meteorological station on Sarkhosh cove
Highest Point: Mascarin Peak (1,242 meters)
Islands: Adil Giray Island, Salim Giray Island
Description:

Parsistan's southernmost territorial possession is the Giray Khan group of volcanic islands, notable for their extreme isolation and remoteness, and for their ecological value as habitats for seals, penguins, and seabirds. It is believed that Dutch mariners discovered the Giray Khan islands, and they were known to exist as far back as 1650, but the first to set foot on one of the islands was the Parsistani mariner Ibaq Ali, who landed and laid claim in 1744 while searching for Antarctica. Ibaq Ali's expedition was genuinely a first, as the Giray Khan group, separated from inhabited territory by over sixteen hundred kilometers of surging sea, was well off the map of human migration, though Ibaq Ali's sailors found the islands relatively comfortable, preferable at least to the confines of a small sailing ship. Parsistanis visited the islands only infrequently for the next few hundred years, their interests lying very much elsewhere, but seal hunters from Britain and other seafaring European states made regular trips to the Giray Khan islands, teeming as they were, and still are, with sea life. The islands were also sometimes used as a place of extreme banishment by Parsistan's Alavar rulers, for enemies that they could not quite afford to kill, but needed well out of the picture. Records show that the Giray Khan Islands hosted a grand total of ten high-level prisoners at one time or another, of which five died while in exile, three were pardoned and recovered, and two escaped with foreign mariners. A small compound of wooden shacks, built to house prisoners and necessary provisions, is still standing, and is occasionally home to parties of scientists.

Two islands, Adil Giray and Salim Giray, comprise the Giray Khan group. Adil Giray, the larger of the two, covers some 290 square kilometers, while Salim Giray, a short distance to the northeast, has a land area of about 45 square kilometers. There are also two rock formations off Salim Giray Island, Ship Rock and the Ross Rocks, which act as important rookeries for sea-going birds. Both islands are covered in a mixture of scrub grass and volcanic sand, with rocky coastlines and mountainous interiors, though none of the mountains or hillocks in the Giray Khan group are difficult to summit and slope gently upwards.

Like most sub-antarctic islands, climatic conditions in the Giray Khan group, buffeted by the roaring forties, are characterized by substantial, almost constant rainfall and high winds. Temperatures are not exactly hospitable, but neither are they comfortable, rarely dropping below freezing but hardly ever exceeding 50 degrees Fahrenheit at the same time. Snow does, however, linger on Mascarin Peak and the islands' elevated portions, which are themselves often shrouded in cloud cover. Seas surrounding the islands are usually rough and choppy, rendering approach by ship quite problematic for much of the year.

The Giray Khan Islands hold unique status as Parsistan's only administrative district with no official population, but scientists and conservation personnel are almost always present on some part of the islands. Their numbers peak in the summer months and drop-off sharply once winter sets in, complicating resupply and limiting communications with the outside world. Small cabins and prefabricated shelters are scattered across the two islands, providing researchers in the field with overnight accommodation, but the only continuously-occupied settlement on the islands is the meteorological research station on Sarkhosh Cove, on the northeast coast of Adil Giray Island. Built from prefabricated materials, this research station can support up to 60 residents for months at a time, providing occupants with spartan, but entirely adequate, personal accommodations, ample laboratory space, wireless internet and a gymnasium. Power is usually supplied by a series of small wind turbines, but a backup diesel generator is on hand for emergency situations. There is also a small hangar and concrete helicopter pad for ship-to-shore transfers, and cargoes can be hoisted from a small pier and into the research station using an electric crane. A small boat is usually kept for use by the research station's occupants.

Illegal fishing poses a serious threat to stocks of marine life around the Giray Khan Islands, and foreign trawlers frequently violate Parsistan's EEZ in pursuit of the Patagonian Toothfish, which can fetch a high price in East Asian markets. Two of the Parsistani Navy's Kahar Class patrol boats are usually assigned to patrol duties around the islands, often joined by one of the larger, helicopter-equipped Tochal Class ships or non-military customs cutters.

Socotra Archipelago
Area: 3,796 sq. kilometers
Capital: Tamrida (8,545 residents)
Population: 42,842
Highest Point: Sultanate Peak (1,503 meters)
Islands: Socotra, Abd Al Kuri, Samhah, Darsah
Description:

Socotra is not the most isolated piece of territory under Parsistani administration, that distinction going without doubt to the Giray Khan Islands, but it is almost certainly the most other-worldly. Separated from the African and Arabian mainlands by several hundred kilometers of open ocean, the Socotra Archipelago, already extreme and exotic in terms of geology, climate, and topography, is home to some of the most unique flora on planet earth, with many species only found on Socotra. As such, protecting the islands' particular ecosystem is a high priority for both the local government and the national government in Daylam, and much of the Archipelago's land area is classified as a nature preserve.

In spite of their long isolation from the continental mainland and the daunting stretches of water separating the archipelago from the nearest landmass, Socotra has a long history of human habitation, and the islands were known to mariners since the time of the ancient Greeks at least. Socotra's early inhabitants, however, lived in relative isolation, at first enduring a subsistence lifestyle in an environment that, while it offered little in the way of natural dangers, also raised many obstacles to the simple production of day-to-day existence. These early Socotrans left no written records of themselves, but they do feature in the histories of the Sabean people, who, in the 2nd century ACE, established a series of small trading and fishing settlements on Socotra Island's northern coast, the largest of them at the site of present-day Tamrida. Slowly, in part due to the influx of trade goods and agricultural techniques originating in the more-developed civilizations of the time, Socotra's native society itself became more ordered and stratified, and within a few hundred years Socotra sported a self-styled King and a budding nobility, though the ruling class was still quite poor by international standards.

A major milestone for native Socotran society was a widespread conversion, in the 6th century ACE, to Coptic Christianity, which triggered a series of small-scale conflicts with Sabean settlers on the coast. For the next several centuries, Socotra remained a self-governing entity, in frequent contact with mainland societies able to avoid outright domination and subordination. However, in 1389, a Parsistani fleet arrived off the Socotran coast, its commander, at the behest of the Khagan in Daylam, demanding the right to establish a permanent trading post and fort on the island. Socotra's native ruler declined and the Parsistani Khagan ordered the island to be taken by force, which it eventually was, but only after heavy fighting in the mountainous, forested interior. Though initially quite brutal, the Parsistanis proved generally benevolent, and, in spite of their own Islamic faith, tolerated the Socotrans' Coptic Christianity and allowed them some measure of self-government. Khaganate rule was sufficiently appealing for the Socotrans, alongside a small Alavar garrison, to rise-up and defeat in 1553 a Spanish invasion aimed ostensibly at liberating a Christian people from their supposed Muslim oppressors. Since that time, Parsistan has, through one means or another, managed to hold onto Socotra, whose strategic importance increased significantly after the Suez Canal was completed.

Modern Socotra, in spite of all the intervening centuries, still bears a strong resemblance to the Socotra of antiquity, and many aspects of daily life are essentially unchanged. Most of the island's inhabitants remain Coptic Christians, herders and fishermen, with increasing numbers of small-scale farmers and craftsmen. Socotrans are well-regarded as mariners, and many of the Archipelago's residents serve aboard merchant vessels for at least part of the year. Road infrastructure is limited and generally in poor repair, but all notable settlements on Socotra Island are connected by a well-maintained system of narrow-gauge railways and water taxis. Health and education on Socotra conform more or less to the national standard, and Socotrans, in the same manner as any Parsistani, can expect to be well looked-after in a state hospital and educated to a pre-university level at least free of charge. A single-runway airport and a small artificial harbor on Tamrida Bay provide Socotra with a transportation connection with the Parsistani mainland, and a series of undersea fiber-optic cables offer international telephone and internet service, though Socotrans make very little use of either. Socotra's harbor was initially built as a coaling station for Parsistani warships, and frequently hosts Armed Forces vessels, but its scant facilities and small size to begin with prevent the Navy from basing any significant force out of the island. Air Force patrol aircraft frequently fly out of Socotra's airfield in support of security operations in the Red Sea. Daylam typically does not consider the islands to be under threat, and therefore does not maintain a significant garrison in the Archipelago. The battalion-sized Socotra Volunteer Defense Force is recruited locally, and tasked, as its name implies, with protecting the archipelago from pirates, smugglers and foreign invaders. A standing-force battalion from the Parsistani mainland is also garrisoned on the islands for most of the year, and garrison duties typically rotate between the Amphibious Brigade's infantry formations, which is quartered in a barracks on Tamrida Bay.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 11:55 am

Military

Overview
Protecting Parsistani territory and citizens from foreign aggression is the responsibility of the Armed Forces of Parsistan, which consist of an Army, Navy, Air Force and Gendarmerie, although the Gendarmerie reports to the Ministry of the Interior while the other three services are managed by the Ministry of Defense. Modern-day Parsistan and its armed forces can look back on a long and illustrious history of military exploits stretching almost to the present day, although it must be said that the Republican armed forces bear little resemblance to the armies levied by Parsistan's dynastic rulers or interested colonial powers. The Armed Forces, though not the most modern or the best-equipped, are reputed for their professionalism and their high standards of training, and every major combat formation can expect to participate in large-scale maneuvers at least twice a year. Armed Forces officers are, for the most part, of a leftist persuasion, and they are notoriously reluctant to turn-out against civilians, as several Parsistani governments have found out to their great dismay, and civil-military relations are generally quite harmonious. Compared to other militaries, especially those of the Republic's regional rivals, Parsistan's armed forces are somewhat on the small side, although in wartime a core of standing volunteers would in theory be augmented by a mass levee of conscripts within one month.

Demographics
As ought to be expected of any democratic military, the Parsistani Armed Forces conform more or less to the national standard in their ethnic composition, though, as is most often the case, women are seriously under-represented, accounting for less than ten percent of total personnel strength. Concerted efforts are underway to offset this gender imbalance, with the goal of making military service more attractive to females, but these have met with little success. The largest single ethnic group in the Armed Forces is, unsurprisingly, the Alavar people, accounting for a little over 30% of total armed forces strength, followed by the Azeris. Somewhat surprisingly, however, Parsistan's smallest ethnic minorities, when taken as a whole, are considerably over-represented, while Kurdish recruitment is almost negligible.

Special Forces Command
Parsistan's military has at its disposal four special forces units; the Special Boat Service, the Pathfinder Squadron, the 595th Independent Company, and the Tactical Assault Group. These formations, numbering about 1,500 personnel in total, represent the Armed Forces' most elite troops, trained to standards comparable with any of the world's foremost special forces units. However, unlike most other similar formations, Parsistani commandos are only permitted to serve two years in the Special Forces Command, after which they must return to their original units. This way, the particular set of skills mastered by a special operator are shared with the Armed Forces as a whole. Each of Parsistan's four commando groups specializes in a particular mission, but, as ought to be expected, these roles are flexible and overlapping. The Special Boat Service is charged with operations at sea, and frequently acts in support of the regular forces' amphibious brigade. SBS members train heavily with re-breather equipment and small watercraft, and hold navy ranks while serving. The Pathfinder Battalion is attached to the 2nd Air Assault Brigade on operations, and is tasked first and foremost with reconnoitering and marking drop zones for parachute infantry. Pathfinders are also used independently, sometimes as airborne saboteurs or as para-rescuers of downed pilots. Specializing in long-range reconnaissance behind enemy lines, the 595th Independent Company is patterned very closely on the British SAS, and uses a very similar organizational structure. The Tactical Assault Group, part of the National Gendarmerie, is trained in anti-terrorist and hostage rescue operations, similar to Germany's GSG9. Special forces units have access to the normal Armed Forces supply and logistical chain, but are also largely free to select their own weaponry and kit based on operational necessity. Most Special Forces operators find standard Land Forces kit entirely adequate, but non-standard firearms such as the G36 and SIG 550 variants are frequently adopted in place of the Steyr AUG. A single Air Force squadron is permanently attached to Special Forces Command, operating a mixed force of helicopters and fixed-wing transports in support of operations.

Land Forces Command
Parsistan's ground army, with nearly 280,000 active-duty and reserve personnel, is by far the Armed Forces' largest component service, and carries-forward a Central Asian tradition of excellence in mobile warfare. Founded in 1931, the modern Republican army has yet to participate any large-scale combat operations, least of all against Kievan Rus, but it does maintain a reputation for high standards of training and professionalism. Like most armies today, the Parsistani Land Forces are built around tanks and armored vehicles, and the backbone of a fairly large tank corps is the British Chieftain 4030, an improved variant of the venerable Chieftain tank that fixes many of the type's machinery problems and features vastly-improved fire control. A smaller force of Leopard 2A4s represents perhaps the Land Forces' most deadly equipment, and there are plans to acquire at least another 50 similar vehicles in the near future while upgrading the 2A4s to 2A5 standard. The Land Forces' fighting strength consists of 11 maneuver brigades, each one numbering anywhere from 5,000 to 8,000 personnel depending on role and readiness. These in turn are divided among three active divisional commands, with the third, confusingly-numbered 4th Division, made-up of airborne and amphibious formations, acting as a rapid reaction force and a pool of deployment-ready troops. Two additional divisional commands exist in an administrative capacity during peacetime, and in the event of a war they would be filled-out with reservists. Though largely reliant on Cassanovan heavy equipment, Parsistani ground troops dress mainly in British personal kit.

Air Force Command
Though reliant on somewhat outdated equipment, the Parsistani Air Force is an efficient, reasonably effective combat arm with a variety of serviceable and useful types on strength. Spyrian types fill-out the Air Force's fighting squadrons, as they have ever since the retirement of the Hawker Hunter from front-line service, and the backbone of the fighter force is the GyAPCo F66, an innovative and rugged type that maintains an exemplary service record decades after its first flight in Parsistan. Several squadrons still fly the GyAPCo F60, Parsistan's first supersonic jet fighter, mainly in the ground attack role. 30 of those airframes underwent a major overhaul at Parsistan Aerospace, aimed at preserving their usefulness as strike aircraft until 2015 at least. Now sporting small canards and leading-edge slats, the F60 MOD can carry a full ground attack loadout from short and poorly-prepared airstrips. One squadron is equipped with the very modern GyAPCo F92, the type selected to replace all F60 and F66 aircraft in Parsistani service by 2020. The C59 supersonic bomber flies in a reconnaissance capacity, with a secondary precision strike role. The only area in which Parsistan's air force is notably deficient is maritime patrol, where the air force is dependent on BAe Jetstream transports, fitted with search radars and weapons hardpoints. Three far more useful Lockheed P-3B Orions are also in service, but one of these is usually grounded for maintenance, and local upgrades have largely failed to bring internal systems up to the standard of contemporary Orion variants. One of the strangest aircraft in Parsistani service is the Air Force's single AEW-configured Orion, similar to the version used by Quinntonia's DEA.

Navy Command
Primarily known for their exploits on land, Parsistan's Alavar ruling dynasties also had a strong command of warfare at sea, and for a long stretch dominated both the Caspian and the Persian Gulf with their well-provisioned and expertly-crewed fleets of galleys and sailing vessels. After falling into disrepair during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Parsistan's navy was revived and revitalized by the new Republican government, and the modern fleet, though by no means the world's largest, is competent and well-equipped. Parsistan is faced with the unusual problem of having to maintain strong naval forces in two separate bodies of water, where neither force is capable of supporting the other. Generally speaking, the Navy's large surface vessels and submarines are kept on open water, while operations in the Caspian Sea are left to fast attack craft and minelayers. A class of seven small submarines, whose design owes much to the German Type XXIII boats, also operates in the Caspian. RNS Qeshm, a small aircraft carrier and the largest warship in service, serves as the Navy's flagship, while the minelayer Namak carries the Caspian Fleet commander's flag. At present, the Navy is working on a replacement for its two Type 42 air defense destroyers, and must also decide just what to do with the incomplete hull of Qeshm's sister ship, Hormoz.

National Gendarmerie Corps
Combining the attributes of a light infantry formation and a national police force, the Gendarmerie Corps is responsible for law enforcement and maintenance of public order in Parsistan, alongside the National Police Service. Where the National Police are responsible for addressing everyday, procedural duties and minor crimes, the Gendarmerie, or Jandarma as it is known locally, deals with serious, violent crime and militant activity, problems that frequently call for a higher degree of combat-oriented training and substantial firepower. In wartime, the Gendarmerie would protect important installations and logistical centers from enemy commando attack. Well-trained and highly professional, the Jandarma commands an excellent reputation, built on its superb record of service in the low-level insurgencies that blighted much of the Parsistani countryside between 1960 and 1990. Gendarmes are known for the extreme degree of restraint that they exhibit when dealing with the civilian population. Unlike members of the Land Forces, who wear DPM camouflage uniforms, Gendarmes wear dark blue uniforms and riot helmets with face shields.

Military Age and Obligation: 18 years of age; conscription levied in times of war. Every Parsistani is required to perform nine months of national service following their completion of secondary education, barring debilitating medical conditions or extenuating circumstances, but only around 40% of eligible Parsistanis choose to fulfill their national service requirement in the Armed Forces.

Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie

Manpower Fit for Service: citizens ages 15-49: 26,495,675
Manpower Serving: 184,400 active personnel, 197,944 reservists
Expressed as a Percentage of Total Population: active troops: .27%
active and reservists: .56%
Dispersion of Personnel by Branch: Army: 114,955 (157,305 reservists)
Air Force: 36,404 (22,560 reservists)
Navy: 22,024 (12,779 reservists)
Gendarmerie: 11,017 (5,300 reservists)

Military Expenditures: 2.5% of GDP; $20.0 billion USQ

Structure and Organization
Command Staff Headquarters
Special Forces Command
-Parsistan Special Boat Service
-Pathfinder Battalion
-595th Independent Company
-Gendarmerie Tactical Assault Group
-37 Squadron (Special Duties)
Armed Forces Medical Corps
Parsistan Corps of Gendarmes
Coastal Artillery Brigade
Directorate of Military Intelligence
Land Forces Command
-Supply and Ordnance Corps
-Parsistan Corps of Signals
-3rd Engineer Regiment
-4/9th Engineer Regiment (Reserve)
-11th Air Defense Regiment
-Land Forces Training Establishment
-Army Air Corps
-Socotra Volunteer Defense Force (Reserve)
-Garabogaz Rifles (Reserve)
1st Division
-23rd Surveillance Regiment
-8th Signals Regiment
4th Armored Brigade
7th Armored Brigade
15th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
6th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
8th Field Regiment, Corps of Artillery
2nd Division
-5/3rd Surveillance Regiment
-14th Signals Regiment
1st Armored Brigade
11th Armored Brigade
5th Mechanized Infantry Brigade
19th Light Brigade
21st Field Regiment, Corps of Artillery
4th Division
-1st Surveillance Regiment
-26th Signals Regiment
2nd Air Assault Brigade
-Headquarters and Signals Squadron
-10th Parachute Infantry Battalion
-3rd Parachute Infantry Battalion
-24th Parachute Infantry Battalion
-15th Infantry Battalion (Reserve)
-11th Air Assault Logistics Squadron
-43rd Parachute Engineer Battalion
17th Amphibious Brigade
-Headquarters and Signals Squadron
-15th Infantry Battalion
-9th Infantry Battalion
-4/6th Infantry Battalion
-Brigade Logistics Group
-Embarked Army Component
-Assault Pilot Squadron
-55th Armored Battalion
-73rd Engineer Battalion
3rd Light Brigade
50th Field Regiment, Corps of Artillery
5th Division
-18th Surveillance Regiment
-57th Signals Regiment
6th Division
-40th Surveillance Regiment
-24th Signals Regiment

Summary of Major Equipment

Small Arms
-7.62x51mm FN FAL battle rifle (reserve issue rifle)
-7.62x51mm FN MAG general-purpose machine gun
-7.62x51mm AI Arctic Warfare sniper's rifle
-7.62x51mm G3SG/1 marksman's rifle
-7.62x51mm PSG1 sniper's rifle (Gendarmerie)
-5.56x45mm Steyr AUG (service rifle)
-5.56x45mm FN Minimi section machine gun
-9x19mm Carl Gustav M/45 submachine gun
-9x19mm MP5 submachine gun
-9x19mm Browning L9 semi-automatic pistol
-40mm AG-C/GLM under-barrel grenade launcher
-40mm HK69 grenade launcher

Crew-served and Antitank Weapons
-12.7x99mm Browning M2 heavy machine gun
-40x53mm HK GMG
-51mm Light Mortar
-81mm L16 Mortar
-66mm M72 LAW disposable anti-tank weapon
-94mm LAW 80 disposable anti-tank weapon
-84mm Carl Gustav recoilless rifle
-90mm Pvpj 1110 recoilless rifle
-RBS 56 BILL anti-tank missile
-100 Spike-MR anti-tank missile launchers
-25 Spike-ER anti-tank missile launchers

Armored Vehicles
-98 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks
-415 Chieftain 4030 main battle tanks
-105 FV107 light tanks
-74 FV102 anti-tank vehicles
-70 Warrior infantry fighting vehicles
-505 Marder 1A3/A5 infantry fighting vehicles
-24 BvS-10 tracked armored personnel carriers
-46 PKCO PLAV wheeled infantry fighting vehicles
-650 PKCO Piranha II wheeled armored personnel carriers
-92 Alvis Saxon wheeled armored personnel carriers
-44 FV4204 ARVs
-36 Leopard 2 Kodiak combat engineering vehicles
-29 FV4205 armored bridge-layers

Unarmored Vehicles
-Volkswagen/PKCO Iltis utility vehicle
-Pinzgauer light truck
-PKCO 151 light truck
-Unimog U1500 medium truck
-PKCO 266 medium truck
-Scania SBAT111S large truck/artillery tractor
-Scammell Commander tank transporter
-Bv206 tracked transporter/artillery tractor

Artillery
-291 105mm L118 light howitzers
-228 155mm FH-70 gun-howitzers
-26 155mm PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers
-41 122mm RM-70 multiple rocket launchers
-11 RBS-15 mobile land launchers

Anti-Aircraft Equipment
-150 20mm Rheinmetall twin anti-aircraft cannons
-85 35mm Oerlikon GDF-007 twin anti-aircraft cannons
-30 35mm Gepard twin self-propelled anti-aircraft cannons
-57 Rapier FSC anti-aircraft missile systems
-40 Land Dart? medium range anti-aircraft missile systems
-RBS 70 anti-aircraft missile system
-Javelin S-15 anti-aircraft missile system
-25 Starstreak LML anti-aircraft missile systems

Fighter and Attack Aircraft
-42 GyAPCo F92 multi-role fighters
-79 GyAPCo F66 multi-role fighters
-25 GyAPCo F60 MOD fighter-bombers
-7 GyAPCo C59 supersonic bombers/reconnaissance aircraft
-30 PAe-4 close air support fighters
-12 Sea Harrier FA2 carrier-borne fighters

Trainers
-65 PAe-4 intermediate/advanced jet trainers
-57 Zlin Z 42 basic trainers
-45 PAe-5 intermediate trainers
-17 L-13 Blanik training gliders
-3 Sea Harrier T8 conversion trainers

Transports and Tankers
-5 Short Belfast airlifters
-20 Fokker F-27 medium transports
-15 BN-2T Defender STOL transports
-34 GyAPCo C62 STOL transports
-6 GyAPCo C63 utility transports
-7 VC-10 strategic airlifters/aerial tankers

Patrol
-9 BAe Jetstream maritime patrol aircraft
-10 Fokker F-27 maritime patrol aircraft

Helicopters
-58 Westland Gazelle helicopter trainers/anti-tank scouts
-60 PAe-2/2C utility helicopters
-14 BO-105 utility/ship-board helicopters
-19 Westland Lynx HAS.3/Super Lynx 300 ship-board helicopters
-24 Westland Sea King maritime patrol/rescue helicopters
-35 Westland Commando transport helicopters

Large Surface Combatants
-1 Qeshm Class Aircraft Carrier (RNS Qeshm)
-3 Admiral Class General Warfare Frigates (UK Type 23) (RNS Oruc Reis, Hayreddin Pasha, Kemal Reis)
-4 Aspandana Class Fleet Defense Frigates (RNS Daylam, Aspandana, Koyunlu, Khanbaliq)
-4 Donbavand Class Corvettes (RNS Donbavand, Kholeno, Alam Kuh, Savalan)

Submarines
-4 Marlin Class Attack Submarines (RNS Marlin, Dolphin, Albacore, Nautilus)
-1 Captain Class Attack Submarine (similar to Type 207) (RNS Yadgar) (+2 laid-up awaiting disposal)
-7 Sturgeon Class Attack Submarines (very similar to Type 202) (RNS Sturgeon, Seal, Bream, Salmon, Kutum, Roach, Minnow)

Small Surface Combatants
-9 Brave Class Fast Attack Craft (RNS Brave, Daring, Citizen, Sword, Rampart, Resolute, Steadfast, Loyal, Relentless)
-1 Zeal Class Air-Cushion Fast Attack Craft (+1 laid-up awaiting disposal) (RNS Zeal, Zest)
-5 Ghazi Class Fast Attack Craft (RNS Ghazi, Fedayeen, Akinci, Sipahi, Timariot)
-37 Combat Boat 90HS Fast Assault/Patrol Boats (RNS P100-P136)

Survey and Patrol Ships
-2 Tochal Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (RNS Tochal, Kharsang)
-1 Dervis Pamuk Class Antarctic Patrol Ship (RNS Dervis Pamuk)
-5 Kahar Class Patrol Ships (RNS Kahar, Sialan, Sharbak, Varevasht, Sarakchal)
-1 Ibrahim Ali Mirza Class Hydrographic Survey Ship (RNS Ibrahim Ali Mirza)

Mine Warfare Ships
-4 Karun Class Mine Hunters (UK Sandown) (RNS Karun, Aji, Gadar, Zayanderood)
-2 Zola Class Minesweepers (German Type 352) (RNS Zola, Karkeh)
-2 Urmia Class Minelayers/Escorts/Depot Ships (RNS Urmia, Namak)

Amphibious Warfare Ships
-1 Burkhan Khaldun Class Amphibious Transport Dock (RNS Burkhan Khaldun)
-8 Murad Beg Class Utility Landing Craft/Minelayers (RNS L84-L91)

Fleet Auxiliary
-2 Rover Class small fleet tankers (RNS Mirwas Gurgin, Doquz Khatun)
-1 Submarine Rescue Ship (RNS Nustekin Gharcha)
-3 Oak Class Salvage Tugs (RNS Oak, Ash, Elm)
-1 Oil Recovery Ship (RNS Khwarezm)
-1 Diving Support Ship (RNS Gutluk Temir)
-10 Harbor Tugboats
-Motor launches, inflatable boats and hulks

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:17 pm

Civil Protection Agencies

National Police Service

Overview
Parsistan's National Police Service is a civilian force staffed largely by citizens performing their national service requirement, and responsible for the more mundane and procedural tasks that fall outside the Gendarmerie's area of specialization. National Police Service personnel frequently undertake traffic control, crowd management and rescue tasks, and typically go about their duties unarmed. The Police Service is permitted to issue firearms to its officers, but only on a limited basis and never to officers engaging in crowd control. Any police officer about to be issued a firearm must first complete an extensive course on safety and proper usage. The National Police Service is responsible for security along Parsistan's inland waterways, and also operates a small air wing for surveillance and rescue duties.

Active Personnel: 49,000

Equipment:

-9x19mm Browning L9 semi-automatic pistol
-9x19mm H&K MP5 submachine gun

-10 BO-105 surveillance/rescue helicopters
-5 BK-117 surveillance/rescue helicopters
-3 Britten-Norman Islander light transports

Department of Civil Security

Overview
The Department of Civil Security, an organ of the Interior Ministry, is charged with protecting Parsistanis and, to a lesser extent, their property and the national parks, from life-threatening disasters such as fires, earthquakes, and chemical spills in support of local emergency services. Search-and-rescue operations also fall within Civil Security's area of responsibility. Due to the nature of its mission, the DCS has a wide variety of specialist personnel and equipment on hand, maintained to very high standards of training and readiness. One of the DCS's most celebrated bodies is its squadron of airborne firefighters, deployed by aircraft to reach fires raging in remote areas of the Parsistani wilderness, or to rescue distressed citizens stranded in difficult locations. Previously deployed for the most part by parachute, the DCS's airborne squadron now relies mainly on helicopter transportation and insertion, although all members of the squadron must undergo a parachute course as part of their training.

Active Personnel: 2,350

Equipment:

-5 Canadair CL-215T water-bombers
-3 Bombardier 415 water-bombers
-7 PZL M-18 fire-bombers
-2 Basler BT-67 transports
-12 PAe-2 utility helicopters
-6 BO-105 utility helicopters

Coast Guard

Overview
Life-saving at sea is the responsibility of Parsistan's Coast Guard, an unarmed service operating a small air wing in addition to a large fleet of motor lifeboats on both the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea. Six Bay Class patrol boats, an Australian design, are the largest ships in service, and they usually embark a small navy contingent for use in the fisheries protection role.

Active Personnel: 1,100

Equipment:
-6 Bay Class Patrol Boats
-10 40-ton motor lifeboats
-9 27-ton motor lifeboats
-10 14-ton motor lifeboats
-15 10 meter rigid-hull inflatable lifeboats

-4 Jetstream SAR aircraft
-3 Defender SAR aircraft
-8 Sea King SAR helicopters

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:46 pm

Political Parties of Parsistan

Popular Democratic Alliance for Parsistan

-Founded in 1974, the PDAP is a broad-based coalition of left-leaning and, since 1988, environmentalist parties meant to govern Parsistan along pluralistic, egalitarian, and transparent lines. The PDAP was built from the remnants of Parsistan's previous political behemoth, the Parsistan Workers' Party, which, by the end of the 1970s, was laid-low by fraud and corruption. Allegations of heavy-handedness on the part of party leaders, the likes of which culminated in the assassination of two prominent journalists in 1973, further served to disillusion Parsistani voters. In response to the ruling party's apparent weakness, a group of smaller organizations, some of them long-standing members of the PWP's ruling coalition and others relatively young minority parties, decided to band together in order to challenge the PWP's increasingly tenuous hold on the government. Joined by a great many defectors from the PWP itself, the PDAP swept to victory in the 1976 general election, defying an apparently stymied attempt by the PWP leadership to declare martial law and annul the election results. Since then, the PDAP, thanks to its strong democratic credentials and a fragmented opposition, has managed to hold onto the Prime Ministership without interruption. Each member party is allowed to field its own choice as the alliance's candidate for Prime Minister every general election in a kind of rotating system.

All-Parsistan Labor League
The APLL, which formed in 1927, has the distinction of being Parsistan's oldest political party, and, consistently polling between 30 and 40 percent of the vote, ranks as its most enduringly popular. It is, unlike most of the nation's political movements, not tied to any one particular ethnic or religious group, and draws its support from the whole of Parsistan's population. First an anti-monarchist party, the APLL is a center-left movement built on the backs of Parsistan's early trade unions, and a member of the Progressive International. It is the PDAP's largest member party, arguably the alliance's leader, and long-time APLL MP Mehmet Taghiyev is currently Parsistan's prime minister. He has one year left in office.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 10:49 pm

Nuclear Technology in Parsistan

Power Applications

Scientists and civil engineers in the Parsistani Republic were early proponents of atomic energy, and the nation's first nuclear reactor, albeit a small, experimental type, was operational by the end of 1955. Nuclear reactors were, at the time, seen as an ideal solution to Parsistan's electrical requirements, given a limited potential for the development of hydropower and a desire to preserve as much oil as possible for export. Therefore, as part of the Republic's overall development plan, the construction of nuclear powerplants, and nuclear research more generally, were made a high priority and given ample funding. Operating under the Energy Ministry, and built around a core of western-educated physicists, the Atomic Power Office began operations in 1954 and grew at a steady rate, especially after building a close relationship with Spyr's own nuclear energy program. The APO built a chain of experimental reactors, meant to test-out different reactor types and to explore the limits of available technology, before it commissioned its first operational power station in 1965.

After exhaustive evaluation, the APO determined that a pressurized heavy water reactor of the CANDU type, using unenriched uranium and deuterium oxide, would best fit requirements. Parsistan's first civilian nuclear powerplant, APOR 8, was based on the CANDU design, favored by scientists and engineers for its safety features. The CANDU design's use of unenriched uranium, which allowed Parsistani engineers to skip a whole technological step, was also a major element in its selection for widespread use by the Energy Ministry. Designed for relatively easy construction and friendly towards a developing industry base, the CANDU reactor was in many ways an ideal type for Parsistan. APOR 8 was built just outside of Aspandana, and continues to power that city and the surrounding area. Another 35 similar reactors were built by the APO in ten sites between 1966 and 2002, each new reactor incorporating some design improvements and the lessons of operational experience gathered from earlier reactors. Parsistan's nuclear power network is efficient and reliable, expertly-managed and possessed of an excellent safety record. The APO, not unsurprisingly, takes to its responsibilities with a great deal of seriousness, and penalties for negligence or corruption are severe, perhaps draconian. At the present time, the APO, renamed the Electrical Research Office in 2004, is working on an improved PHWR design that will, if things go according to plan, be operational by 2014, and there is also a small team hard at work on the fusion problem, though that particular hurdle will probably not be overcome in the foreseeable future.

Nuclear Weaponry

Parsistan began work on a nuclear weapons program almost as soon as it started research into civilian nuclear technology, but, in order to maintain secrecy, the two efforts had very little to do with one another, and progress on the military side was, at times, disappointingly slow. Officials within the Ministry of Defense first identified a requirement for atomic weaponry when Kiev's own nuclear capability became public. Fearing nuclear blackmail on the part of the Kievans, or even an outright attack the likes of which the Republic would be unable to thwart, the ruling PWP ordered the Defense Ministry to begin a nuclear program of its own. Work began in 1954 with the creation of Section R, a highly secret organization charged at first with overseeing the whole of Parsistan's weapons effort, from plutonium enrichment to delivery systems. Buried within the Defense Ministry's bureaucratic structure, and equipped with its own covert fund-raising department, Section R was meant to operate very much below the radar, so as not to provoke Kiev, or any other nuclear-armed power, into preemptive action. It proved impossible, however, to keep the whole of such a large organization entirely secret, and an almost inevitable series of leaks discovered between 1962 and 1964 prompted the Ministry of Defense to temporarily halt the project. Despite being underway for almost ten years, Section R did not have much to show for itself, though it did manage to design a number of advanced delivery systems and was on the cusp of flight-testing an IRBM prototype. The monolithic Section R was broken-up into its constituent parts, and while work on the weapon itself was frozen, other components went ahead with their assigned tasks.

Satisfied that a suitable level of secrecy could be maintained this time around, the government ordered a revival of the Defense Ministry's nuclear program in 1967, with Section R replaced by the equally secretive, but far smaller, Special Ordnance Office. Progress, though still relatively slow, was far more substantial, and, following highly positive reports from the program's directors, the Defense Ministry decided to acquire fifteen GyAPCo C59 supersonic bombers as likely delivery systems for a future bomb type. So encouraging were reports from the Special Ordnance Office that the Air Force, by 1970, was training its C59 pilots for low-level nuclear attack missions, and built a number of hardened bunkers meant to store nuclear warheads. By December of 1972, the Special Ordnance Office was reportedly prepared to test its first warhead type, with an estimated yield of 50kT, but no central authorization was forthcoming.

Following the PWP's electoral defeat at the hands of the PDAP, official interest in nuclear weaponry steadily waned. The Ministry of Defense was heavily restructured after the change in government, which eliminated almost all the secret military departments established under the PWP and closed-down unofficial funding channels. The Special Ordnance Office was dissolved pending ministerial review, and the bulk of its scientists and engineers were transferred to the Atomic Power Office while the experimental warhead, still in the early stages of its assembly, was destroyed. Following an extensive Parliamentary investigation, which delivered its findings in 1977, it was decided to discontinue Parsistan's nuclear weapons program, and to destroy all related materials. Since that time, the PDAP government has committed itself to the peaceful use of nuclear technology and staunchly advocates nuclear disarmament on the international stage. If pressed, however, it is widely believed that Parsistan could produce a nuclear weapon within a relatively short time, and the Republic certainly retains the necessary expertise and industrial capacity.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 4:52 pm

Significant Companies and Cooperatives in Parsistan

Parsistan Khodro Company
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... lllogo.jpg
The Parsistan Khodro Company, usually abbreviated PKCO, is Parsistan's largest automobile manufacturer and also builds, either from scratch or on license, several important soft-skinned and armored types for the Armed Forces. PKCO was a product of the PWP's first five-year economic plan, which, along the lines of many contemporary theories of economic development, sought to diversify Parsistan's oil-based economy and develop a solid industrial capacity so as to avoid over-reliance on the export of raw commodities. At first, lacking a cadre of skilled automobile designers of its own, PKCO focused on producing foreign-designed vehicles on license, and unveiled its first product, a domestic variant of the popular Saab 92, in 1954. A highly fruitful partnership with Saab continued into the 1980s, which saw PKCO versions of the iconic Saab 96 and the Saab 99, until, in 1983, PKCO finally came out with its first wholly original product line. The PKCO Alfa, a compact family car in the same class as the Volkswagen Golf, sold fairly well, well enough for the company to switch its focus from license-production to original design work, and was a popular replacement for rusted-out Saab 96s. PKCO also produces light trucks and off-road vehicles, and, in partnership with MOWAG, builds the eight-wheeled Piranha armored personnel carrier for the Armed Forces.

Parsistan Aerospace Industrial Group
Better known by the abbreviation PAe, the Parsistan Aerospace Industrial Group is Parsistan's leading producer of aeronautical equipment, including the Republic's only domestically-designed aircraft types, though it is better known on the international stage as a manufacturer of aero engines. Unlike most of Parsistan's modern industries, PAe pre-dates the Republic, having been established in 1928 as a license-producer of the Westland Wapiti, the dynastic air force's primary combat type. PAe license-built several other types, notably the Junkers W34, and also handled aircraft maintenance and assembly. A number of skilled aerospace engineers were employed during this early period, and they dabbled in design themselves, producing at least two flyable prototypes, though neither of these aircraft were ever put into production. PAe made a technological leap forward just before the second world war, when it was assigned to produce the Curtis Hawk 75 on license, an advanced type and one that PAe engineers modified extensively. In 1952, PAe, along with most existing large industries, were nationalized by the Republican government, which had identified the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer of note as an important strategic asset. State funding allowed for the establishment of a permanent design bureau and a powerplant section. Today, PAe continues to focus mainly on license production of aircraft, but its powerplant establishment has a reputation for creativity and effectiveness. Notable PAe designs include the PAe-2 series of utility helicopters, very similar to the Quinntonian UH-1, the PAe-4 jet trainer, a twin-engined type with tandem seating, and the PAe-5 turboprop intermediate trainer, an adaptation of the Hunting Firecracker. Each of these aircraft are considered quite capable and adequate for their intended roles, but they are not particularly original or outstanding designs. PAe also maintains an extremely close relationship with Spyr's GyAPCo, and was charged with a major upgrade program for the F60 jet fighter, the fruits of which were rated very highly by Air Force commanders.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 3:52 pm

Parsistan Aeronautics and Space Commission

Overview

A product of Parsistan's nuclear weapons program, specifically the search for a suitable delivery system, PASC is the Republic's space agency, responsible for conducting all manner of spaceflight operations and charged with a heavy load of purely scientific tasks as well. PASC was established as an organic government agency in 1965, one of a few sub-offices salvaged from Section R after its dismantlement, with a mandate strictly delimiting the agency to unarmed and non-offensive activities under the Transport Ministry's administrative umbrella. Assigned the task of developing a domestic satellite launch vehicle, PASC at first suffered from a miniscule budgetary allocation, and initial progress was slow. Much of the funding that might otherwise have gone into PASC's coffers was still devoted to the nuclear weapons effort under the Special Ordnance Office, and this large chunk of funds would not become free until 1976. Nonetheless, PASC managed to stretch its meager resources quite far and, employing an able and efficient cadre of engineers, managed to undertake several successful rocket launches from its flight test center in the Kavir-e Namak salt desert with the Mark 1, a modified IRBM.

These efforts culminated in the launching of Safir-1 aboard a specially-built Mark 2 rocket, which took place in October of 1972. Safir-1 was a small payload, just over ten kilograms, and its basic instruments were of little scientific value, but Safir-1 confirmed Parsistan's place among the space-capable nations, paving the way for larger and more capable satellites the likes of which would be put into orbit aboard more powerful rockets in the coming years. Safir-1 remains in low earth orbit, transmitting a pre-recorded message in Morse code stating the craft's name and origin, though all of its scientific instruments are now non-functional. It is predicted that Safir-1 will continue in orbit for another 30 years before decaying, though PASC is, in theory, capable of de-orbiting the payload if an emergency situation arises.

Following the outright cancellation of Parsistan's nuclear weapons program in 1977, PASC was finally allocated sufficient and steady funding and this allowed the agency to undertake more ambitious projects, including, in 1979, the launching of Parsistan's first ground surveillance satellite, Brant-4, and the 1983 deployment of the Cosmos atmospheric monitoring satellite. At the present time, PASC maintains a steady tempo of rocket launches from two sites, one in the northern part of the Kavir-e Namak and one near the city of Gamrun in Southern Parsistan. PASC's most powerful launch vehicle, the Mark 5, can carry a payload of some 5,300 kilograms into low earth orbit, and work on the Mark 6 rocket, which ought to have double the payload capacity, is underway. PASC's budget, typically on the lower side, currently amounts to around 1.1 billion Quinntonian dollars.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 5:07 pm

Warships of the Parsistani Navy

Qeshm Class Light Aircraft Carrier
Displacement: 12,600t standard, 14,960t full load
Length: 187.1 meters
Beam: 19.7 meters
Draught: 6.2 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesel generators, 3 gas turbines, 2 shafts; 76,000shp
Speed: 27 knots
Range: 12,200km at 18 knots
Crew: 530 ship's company, 210 air crew, up to 500 light infantry in amphibious assault configuration
Armament: 2x30mm Goalkeeper CIWS, 6x20mm GAM-BO1 autocannon
Aircraft: 22 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, more normally 8 Sea Harriers and 6 Sea Kings
In Class: 1 in service: Qeshm
Notes: Aircraft carrier Qeshm is the largest warship in Parsistani service and the largest warship ever built in Parsistan, representing a significant and quite unprecedented industrial project. Parsistan's navy identified a requirement for two helicopter-carrying cruisers as early as 1975, meant to act as the core of a blue-water navy capable of challenging the not-entirely-trusted Indians and able to assist British forces in the Mediterranean in the event of a war with Rome. As design work progressed, however, Parsistani naval architects realized that it would not be impossible to fit the vessels with a through-deck, similar to the Invincible Class then entering service in Britain. The Ministry of Defense, suitably intrigued, accepted for production a vessel much larger than the displacement initially specified, with almost none of the independent offensive capabilities, and which, in a single example, ate-up all the funding allocated for two hulls and then some. Qeshm is, as aircraft carriers go, very much on the small side, and like most similar-sized ships her air wing is based around the Harrier V/STOL fighter-bomber. A ski jump is built into the forward deck in order to facilitate Harrier operations. Up to 22 aircraft can be shipped in total, with twelve stored below and ten on the flight deck, but a typical operational deployment consists of eight Sea Harriers and six Sea Kings. The ship can embark just shy of a full infantry battalion in the amphibious assault role, along with some equipment, but Qeshm lacks a well deck and can only carry a few small landing craft. Considered, not without justification, a white elephant, capable of performing a number of roles more or less adequately but by no standard superb or world-beating, Qeshm still provides the Parsistani Navy with a useful aviation capability at sea.

Aspandana Class Fleet Defense Frigate
Displacement: 6,040t full load
Length: 143.5 meters
Beam: 18.4 meters
Draught: 5 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines, 1 gas turbine, 2 shafts
Speed: 29 knots
Range: 7,700km at 18 knots
Crew: 210
Armament: 1x114mm Mark 8 gun in A position, 2x27mm MLG 27 autocannons, 1xRAM short-range missile launcher aft, 1x32-missile VLS with PAAMS or ASROC missile in B position, 2x4 RBS-15 box launchers amidships, 2x3 324mm torpedo tubes
Aircraft: 1xLynx or BO-105
In Class: 4: Aspandana, Koyunlu, Daylam, Khanbaliq
Notes: No doubt the Parsistani Navy's most advanced surface warships, and certainly its most expensive, the four Aspandana Class frigates are designed around active phased-array radar systems, the likes of which provide the Parsistani Navy with an anti-aircraft capability on par with the largest and most modern navies, albeit in a far-reduced quantity. Initially it was only planned to build two frigates of the Aspandana Class, but, eager to replace the aging Type 42 ships in service, the Ministry of Defense decided on another two hulls, much to the delight of Parsistani ship-builders. Aspandana was commissioned in 2002, and Koyunlu followed two years later, with the two last ships reaching completion in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Only one of the frigates achieved full PAAMS capability upon commissioning, however, due to a series of software problems that were not ironed-out until 2006, causing many in the Ministry of Defense to question the wisdom of acquiring such costly warships in the first place. In wartime, the Aspandana class warships would work closely with Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, one providing protection against airborne threats while the other deals with submerged enemies, although both are competent anti-submarine vessels. The Ministry of Defense still holds an option for another vessel, and debate rages over whether to shell-out for a fifth frigate. These ships incorporate stealth features and radar-absorbent materials into their design.

Donbavand Class Corvette
Displacement: 1,275t standard, 1,500t full load
Length: 86.5 meters
Beam: 10 meters
Draught: 3.4 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesel engines, 2 shafts; 17,000shp
Speed: 25 knots
Range: 9,500km at 16 knots
Crew: 105
Armament: 1x57mm Bofors Mark 2 gun in A position, 2x20mm Oerlikon cannons, 1xRAM short-range missile launcher, 2x2 RBS-15 box launchers/1x4 375mm anti-submarine rocket launcher (Kholeno, Alam Kuh), 2x3 324mm torpedo tubes
Aircraft: aft helipad capable of accommodating BO-105 or Lynx; no hangar facilities
In Class: 4: Donbavand, Kholeno, Alam Kuh, Savalan
Notes: Four Donbavand Class corvettes, named after prominent mountains in Parsistan, were commissioned between 1984 and 1987, replacing a batch of inadequate Blackwood Class frigates. Initially their armament was very light, but more equipment was subsequently added as the class took on additional combat roles. The Donbavand Class is optimized for anti-submarine warfare and can cruise at a reasonable speed thanks to all-diesel machinery. Anti-aircraft weaponry is minimal, meant for short-range missile defense, but the two ships fitted with the Swedish RBS-15 missile can strike surface targets out to 200 kilometers. The other two ships, fitted with anti-submarine mortars, depend on embarked helicopters, armed with Penguin or Sea Skua missiles, for long-range surface engagements.

Brave Class FAC
Displacement: 158t
Length: 38 meters
Beam: 6.8 meters
Draught: 1.5 meters
Propulsion: 2 Maybach turbo-diesel engines, 4 shafts; 9,200shp
Speed: 37 knots
Range: 790km at 30 knots
Crew: 25
Armament: 1x40mm Bofors L/70 AA gun in A position, 2x20mm Oerlikon cannon on the bridge wings, 1xRBS-70 trainable launcher on superstructure, 4xRBS-15 box launchers, 1xdepth charge rack or 6 sea mines
In Class: 9: Brave, Daring, Citizen, Sword, Rampart, Resolute, Steadfast, Loyal, Relentless
Notes: Brave-class missile boats were built between 1984 and 1986 for use in the Caspian Sea. They are small, fast vessels with low draught and heavy anti-surface armament, meant to engage similar Kievan small missile craft and amphibious shipping with RBS-15s and, if need be, with its heavy autocannon armament at short range. Anti-aircraft armament is limited to a single RBS-70 post just aft of the bridge, and defense against incoming missiles is dependent on electronic countermeasures and launched decoys. The Brave Class carries only a rudimentary sonar and can in principle be armed with depth charges, but these would be of limited utility. A dedicated antisubmarine variant of the design was tested, however, and the Brave Class can in theory be fitted with a 375mm A/S mortar and 324mm torpedo tubes if the need arises in place of its anti-surface weaponry.

Zeal Class Fast Attack Craft
Displacement: 86t light
Length: 27.5 meters
Beam: 15.4 meters
Draught: nil at speed
Propulsion: 3 gas turbines, 2 ducted fans, 14,500shp
Speed: 50 knots
Range: 550km at 40 knots
Compliment: 15
Armament: 1x27mm MLG 27 cannon, 2x2 RBS-15 retractable box launchers, 1xRAM short-range missile launcher, 8-10 sea mines
In Class: 1 in service: Zeal, 1 laid-up awaiting disposal Zest
Notes: A highly advanced class of air-cushion fast attack craft, capable of attaining very high speeds, invulnerable to mines and torpedoes, and well-suited to operations close inshore, the Zeal Class is said to be a marvelous warship when all systems are functional, but this is rarely the case. Parsistani engineers, in an effort to reduce crew size as far as possible, and to minimize radar signature, packed the Zeal Class with automated systems, the likes of which proved entirely beyond the capability of Parsistan's industry in the mid-1990s, and as a result the class is notorious for its unreliability. Mechanically, however, the design was deemed quite sound and work is underway to develop a hovercraft amphibious assault ship based on the Zeal Class. Of the two vessels built, one is still in service, often serving as a trials ship, while the other is non-operational. The Ministry of Defense is actively seeking a buyer for Zest, but has met with little success so far.

Ghazi Class Fast Attack Craft
Displacement: 305t standard
Length: 47 meters
Beam: 8.9 meters
Draught: 3 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines; 2 water jet propulsors
Speed: 33 knots
Range: 970km at 25 knots
Crew: 27
Armament: 1x57mm Bofors Mark 2, 1x40mm Bofors L/70, 1xRBS-70 trainable launcher, 4x2xRBS-15 box launchers, 2xdepth charge/mine rails
In Class: 5: Ghazi, Fedayeen, Akinci, Sipahi, Timariot
Notes: Five Ghazi Class missile attack craft were ordered in 1990 for use in the Caspian Sea, and commissioned between 1994 and 1997. They are large, fairly capable vessels with some stealth features, meant to act as flotilla leaders in a sense for smaller Brave Class and CB90 vessels, using their superior sensors to detect enemy vessels at long range. Their primary weapon is the RBS-15 anti-ship missile, but these can be swapped-out for other payloads including sea mines and inflatable assault boats.

Urmia Class Minelayer
Displacement: 1,458t standard
Length: 78 meters
Beam: 11.5 meters
Draught: 3 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines, 2 shafts
Speed: 21 knots
Range: 7,100km at 15 knots
Crew: 60 (accommodation for 30 infantrymen over a short period)
Armament: 1x57mm Bofors Mark 2 gun, 2x27mm MLG 27 autocannons, 1xRAM short-range missile launcher, 2x1 RBS-15 box launchers, 1x4 375mm A/S mortar, 4 rails for up to 150 sea mines
Aircraft: aft helipad for BO-105 or Lynx; no hangar facilities
In Class: 2: Urmia, Namak
Notes: These two minelayers and escort ships are the largest Parsistani naval vessels operating in the Caspian Sea, and fulfill a number of combat roles besides their primary mine-laying function. They frequently act as depot ships for flotillas of fast attack craft or as resupply ships, carrying cargo on their aft helicopter pads.

Burkhan Khaldun Class Amphibious Transport Dock
Displacement: 7,680t standard
Length: 134 meters
Beam: 20.6 meters
Draught: 5 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesel engines, 2 shafts
Speed: 19 knots
Range: 12,500km at 15 knots
Crew: 180 + 350 embarked infantry
Armament: 2x27mm MLG 27 autocannons, 2x20mm Oerlikon cannons
Aircraft: 5 BO 105/Lynx/PAe-2 or 3 Sea King; Lynx-sized helicopters can be accommodated in the vehicle bay
In Class: 1: Burkhan Khaldun
Notes: Parsistan's largest and most important amphibious warfare vessel is the Burkhan Khaldun, named after a spiritually and historically significant Mongolian mountain. It is similar in profile to an aircraft carrier, with a flush aviation deck capable of handling up to five light or medium helicopters, but it is not large enough to operate fixed-wing aircraft or to carry a meaningful aviation component. Four infantry landing craft or CB90 assault boats can be transported semi-recessed into the hull and deployed over the side by derricks, and the flooding stern landing bay can accommodate up to three similar-sized ships, or one of the larger Murad Beg Class LCUs, at a time. Burkhan Khaldun is also tasked with fleet anti-submarine duties when not operating in the amphibious assault role, thanks to its useful helicopter capacity. Together with Qeshm, Burkhan Khaldun is capable of transporting a full battalion of light infantry with attached support formations to any sea-side location.

Murad Beg Utility Landing Craft
Displacement: 425t full load
Length: 40 meters
Beam: 9 meters
Draught: 2 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines, 1 shaft, 1,450shp
Speed: 12 knots
Range: 2,200km at 8 knots
Crew: 15 + 400 embarked troops (short voyages only)
Armament: 1x27mm MLG 27, 2x20mm Oerlikon guns, up to 60 sea mines
In Class: 8: L84-L91
Notes: The Murad Beg Class is a workhorse type in Parsistani service, used in the amphibious assault role but also as a minelayer, multi-purpose transport, and small craft tender. It is capable of delivering troops and cargoes directly onto a beach, under fire if need be, and can transport up to two Chieftain main battle tanks.

Tochal Class Offshore Patrol Vessel
Displacement: 2,500t standard, 2,850t full load
Length: 92 meters
Beam: 12.4 meters
Draught: 4 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesel engines, 2 shafts; 8,000shp, 1 bow thruster
Speed: 22 knots
Range: 19,500km at 18 knots
Crew: 78 (accommodation for up to 40 more)
Armament: 1x57mm Bofors Mark 2, 2x20mm GAM-BO1 autocannons, fitted for but not with 2x3 324mm torpedo tubes, 2x2 RBS-15 box launchers
Aircraft: 1xBO 105 or Lynx
In Class: 2: Tochal, Kharsang
Notes: Two large offshore patrol vessels, capable of undertaking long-distance independent voyages and high-endurance EEZ patrols in the Southern Ocean, the Tochal Class are excellent sea-boats with reliable machinery and comfortable accommodations. They are not meant to act as full-fledged warships, and are thus lightly-armed, but they can be fitted with more significant offensive weaponry if the need arises. The embarked helicopter can also be armed with Penguin or Sea Skua anti-ship missiles, allowing the Tochal Class to engage small surface threats at some distance. The Tochal Class has a secondary amphibious assault role, and can carry an embarked contingent of up to 40 light infantrymen for long voyages, or over twice that figure for short periods. Scientific and survey operations are also part of the vessels' role, and mission-specific equipment can be fitted as required.

Kahar Class Offshore Patrol Vessel
Displacement: 1,040t standard, 1,290t full load
Length: 59 meters
Beam: 11 meters
Draught: 4.4 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel engines, 1 shaft: 4,800shp
Speed: 17 knots
Range: 21,000km at 11 knots
Crew: 35
Armament: 1x40mm Bofors L/70 cannon, 1x20mm GAM-BO1 cannon
In Class: 5: Kahar, Sialan, Sharbak, Varevasht, Sarakchal
Notes: Good ships with reliable machinery and excellent patrol endurance, the Kahar Class is based on the design of commercial trawlers, and operates mainly in the fisheries protection role. They are safe and operable in heavy seas such as are encountered in the Southern Ocean, heavily-built to withstand breaking waves and self-righting, but they tend to roll badly and have a low maximum speed. Crew accommodation is also very spartan.

Ibrahim Ali Mirza Survey Ship
Displacement: 4,450t empty, 10,280t full load
Length: 120 meters
Beam: 20.5 meters
Draught: 7 meters
Propulsion: 3 diesel generators, 2 electrical motors, 2 shafts
Speed: 17 knots
Range: 19,500km at 15 knots
Crew: 30 + up to 100 passengers
Armament: 1x20mm GAM-BO1 autocannon
Aircraft: 1xBO 105 or Lynx
In Class: 1: Ibrahim Ali Mirza
Notes: Built to undertake long-endurance scientific missions in the Southern Ocean, Ibrahim Ali Mirza is a capacious and well-furnished vessel capable of handling heavy seas, with long range and reliable machinery. A wide variety of specialized equipment can be fitted, including small submersibles deployable from a stern derrick. A high-capacity crane is fitted to the forward deck. It is widely believed that the Ibrahim Ali Mirza is used, besides its peaceful stated purpose, for gathering acoustic data on foreign submarine types, but the Ministry of Defense generally disavows this. However, in a time of war, it would not be at all difficult to fit the ship with the necessary equipment, and its present sonar outfit, though optimized for sea-floor mapping, is quite powerful and advanced.

Marlin Class Attack Submarine (figures in parentheses refer to Nautilus)
Displacement: 1,100t surfaced, 1,210t submerged (1,570t surfaced, 1,800t submerged)
Length: 59 meters (71 meters)
Beam: 5.4 meters
Draught: 4.6 meters
Propulsion: 4 diesel generators, 1 electric motor, 1 slow-revolving seven-bladed screw (2 diesel generators, 2 Sterling Engine AIP units, 1 electric motor)
Speed: 11 knots surfaced, 23 knots submerged (21 knots submerged)
Range: 8,500km surfaced, 750km submerged (submerged endurance of several weeks)
Diving Depth: 450 meters
Crew: 20 (25 + 8 passengers)
Armament: 6x533mm torpedo tubes, 14 DM2A3 or Spearfish torpedoes carried or 14 sea mines (4xRBS-15 vertical launch tubes)
In Class: 4: Marlin, Dolphin, Albacore, Nautilus
Notes: Four submarines of the Marlin Class were built for Parsistan's navy between 1998 and 2004, representing a significant increase in capability over the modified Type 205 submarines that previously formed the navy's ocean-going submarine force. They are very modern boats, with advanced fire control, sensors, and quieting systems, small and maneuverable for operations in the shallow Persian Gulf but perfectly capable of patrolling far afield. All boats in the class are fitted with towed sonar arrays, and use electronic sensors masts in place of traditional periscopes. The fourth boat, Nautilus, was built with an air-independent propulsion unit, housed in a 12-meter hull insert. This insert also provides space for a wet entry/exit chamber and four vertical launch cells for the RBS-15 missile. Anechoic tiles are usually fitted, and the boats' power-generating systems are mounted on rubber shock absorbers to reduce noise and improve damage resistance.

Sturgeon Class Attack Submarine
Displacement: 137t surfaced, 175t submerged
Length: 27.5 meters
Beam: 3.7 meters
Draught: 3 meters
Propulsion: 2 diesel generators, 1 electric motor, 1 slow-revolving screw
Speed: 8 knots surfaced, 15 knots submerged
Range: 1,400km surfaced, 300km submerged
Diving Depth: 210 meters
Crew: 7
Armament: 2x533mm torpedo tubes, 2 torpedoes or 4 mines carried
In Class: 7: Sturgeon, Seal, Bream, Salmon, Kutum, Roach, Minnow
Notes: Parsistan's Sturgeon Class submarines are diesel-electric craft built for coastal operations against an enemy invasion fleet, specifically Kievan forces operating in the Caspian Sea. They are very small boats, almost midget submarines, and are of limited utility against enemy submersible craft owing to their limited sensors outfit. However, as a virtue of their tiny dimensions, they are exceedingly difficult to detect and can operate safely in very shallow waters. It is believed that there may have been two additional Sturgeon Class boats in service with Parsistan's intelligence agencies, their torpedo tubes replaced with a passenger or cargo compartment, but their existence is strictly classified, and it is rumored that one of those boats sank on operations in the Aegean Sea sometime during the 1990s.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Wed Jul 22, 2009 7:04 pm

Parsistani Aircraft

PAIG PAe-2
Crew: 2-3
Capacity: 8 combat-equipped troops or equivalent cargo internally, under-slung loads up to 2,250kg
Type: Twin-engine utility helicopter
Powerplant: 2xPAIG 700 turboshaft motors (720kW each)
Performance: maximum speed 136 MPH, range at cruising speed 458 kilometers
Weights: 2,658kg empty, 4,780kg max. take-off
Armament: 2x7.62mm FN MAG in cargo doors, 2x70mm rocket pods in exceptional circumstances, or two external fuel tanks
Variants: PAe-2C with improved avionics and FLIR
Avionics: PAe-2A is VFR only, PAe-2C has small weather radar and forward-looking infrared night vision system
Notes: Though Quinntonians would no doubt guffaw over the type's striking exterior similarity to the Bell 205 series, the venerable Huey, the PAe-2 utility helicopter is PAIG's most enduring and profitable project, from the ground up a domestic aircraft designed and built in Parsistan. It serves as the backbone of the Armed Forces' rotary-wing fleet, performing battlefield transport and evacuation missions. Like the majority of PAIG's in-house designs, the PAe-2 is a relatively basic aircraft, rugged and easy to produce but lacking in refinement and fitted-out with minimal avionics systems. A full infantry section, eight troopers with fighting kit, can be transported internally, or up to twelve lightly-equipped passengers, and over 2,000 kilograms of under-slung cargo can be flown over shorter distances.

PAIG PAe-4
Type: intermediate/advanced jet trainer or light attack aircraft
Crew: 2, with space for two additional passengers in communications role
Powerplant: 2xPAIG 25 low-bypass turbofan engines (8.7kN each) or 2xPAIG 45 turbofan engines (18.5kN each)
Performance: maximum speed 615 MPH, range at cruise speed 2,200 kilometers
Weights: 2,855kg empty, 4,670kg maximum take-off
Armament: usually none; wired for two AIM-9 AAMs in the emergency air-defense role, up to 1,600kg of ordnance on six wing hardpoints including podded cannon, CRV7 rocket pods and free-fall bombs; close air support variant armed with 2x30mm ADEN cannons under cockpit, six under-wing and two wingtip hardpoints for up to 2500kg of ordnance including AIM-9 missiles, laser-guided bombs, podded cannon and rockets, AGM-65 missiles, cleared for use with Brimstone anti-tank missile but none currently in service
Avionics: weather and ranging radar, can be fitted with FLIR pod and cleared for operations with, but almost never carried, TIALD targeting pod
Variants: PAe-4A trainer, PAe-4B light attack and close air support aircraft also known as PAe-7
Notes: Parsistan's primary jet trainer type, the PAe-4 is a small and reliable high-winged, T-tailed, twin-engined aircraft liked for its excellent performance and forgiving flying characteristics. Tandem seating allows for the pilot-trainee and instructor to interact more closely during flight training, and, if required, the two ejection seats usually fitted can be swapped-out for four airliner-style seats. Air Force doctrine provides for the PAe-4's employment as a light ground attacker if Parsistan is ever invaded by an enemy force, and in that role it would either be flown by a single pilot, or by a pilot and observer. No doubt its excellent short-field characteristics and mechanical reliability would come in very handy, though its small stores capacity would be something of a handicap. PAIG is actively seeking export customers for its trainer, but faces determined competition from perhaps more capable and versatile British, Czech and Bedgellen offerings. PAIG has also developed the basic PAe-4 into an effective light attack aircraft, with more powerful turbofan engines, built-in cannon armament, and armor protection around the crew compartment. 30 examples of this variant, designated PAe-4B, are in air force service.

PAIG PAe-5
Type: turboprop-powered intermediate/advanced trainer
Crew: 2
Powerplant: 1xPAIG 601 (license-built Walter M601) turboprop (560kW)
Performance: maximum speed 330 MPH, range at cruising speed 1,550 kilometers
Weights: 1,380kg empty, 1,840kg maximum take-off
Armament: usually none; can carry up to 1,100kg of external stores on six wing hardpoints including unguided bombs, rockets and machine gun pods
Avionics: podded FLIR can be fitted
Notes: PAIG's PAe-5 turboprop trainer is an innovative and efficient design, but something of a one-off. Facing stiff foreign competition, it has failed to attract any foreign buyers, and the Parsistani Air Force remains the sole operator. It is not entirely clear as to where the PAe-5 fits into the Air Force's training syllabus, as it is capable of performing many of the PAe-4's functions, but it is a well-regarded aircraft nonetheless, easy to maintain and possessing good flying characteristics. Unlike the PAe-4, the PAe-5 seats its cadet and instructor in a more traditional front-and-back configuration, more similar to proper jet fighter aircraft, and both are provided with zero-zero ejection seats. Besides its training role, the PAe-5 operates as a target tug and a radar calibration aircraft.

F60 MOD/F60J/F60T
Type: Single-seat fighter-bomber/twin-seat special duties aircraft
Crew: 1 pilot or 1 pilot and 1 weapons officer
Powerplant: 1xGyAPCo-built Rolls-Royce Avon 300 turbojet engine (56.5kN dry thrust, 78.4kN with afterburner)
Performance: Just over Mach 2 or 1,317 MPH at altitude, range at cruising speed 3,250 kilometers with auxiliary fuel tanks or 1,300 kilometers with stores, rate of climb 34,450ft/min, take-off roll 650 meters
Weights: 7,865kg empty, 15,000kg maximum take-off
Armament: 1x30mm ADEN cannon with 100 rounds, up to 4,500kg of external stores on 6 wing and 2 fuselage hardpoints including AIM-9 or comparable short-range AAMs, AGM-65 or comparable guided missiles, 70mm rocket pods, guided and unguided bombs, podded cannon, external fuel tanks or camera pods
Variants: F60 MOD: highly-modified ground attacker, F60J: more modest conversion fitting improved avionics and Avon upgrades, F60T: twin-seat conversion trainer and ECM aircraft with chisel nose and integral camera
Avionics: multi-mode pulse-Doppler radar, under-nose IRS/T, radar warning receiver, podded ECM equipment, cameras, and laser targeting systems
Notes: At one point the mainstay of Parsistan's Air Force, with over 150 airframes in service, the GyAPCo F60 is still an important aircraft in the Armed Forces' inventory, albeit one slated for definite retirement in the near future. In an effort to extract every possible ounce of usefulness from the F60, the Ministry of Defense commissioned a series of comprehensive upgrade programs between 1980 and 1995, aimed at bringing the aircraft up to a more modern standard in terms of internal systems and combat capability. By far the most radical of these upgrades was the F60 MOD program, in which PAIG rebuilt 30 of the Air Force's F60s with small canards and dog tooth wingtips. These aerodynamic modifications allowed the F60 to cope with the increased weight of avionics equipment and Avon modifications with no penalty in terms of performance, and dramatically improved short-field payload capacity. The F60 was still, however, dogged by its use of an inefficient, but highly reliable, turbojet powerplant, so its time in Parsistani service is by now drawing to a close. Parsistani F60s operate mainly in the ground attack role, and their upgraded avionics systems provide compatibility with all the Air Force's most important ordnance.

F66 Capability Sustainment Program
Type: Single seat fighter-bomber
Powerplant: GyAPCo FFD63 turbofan (125kN afterburner)
Performance: supersonic at low level, maximum speed in excess of Mach 2 at altitude,
Armament: 1x30mm Oerlikon KCA cannon with 150 rounds, up to 7,000kg of external stores on seven hardpoints including AIM-9, IRIS-T and ASRAAM short-range AAMs, Skyflash or AIM-120 long-range AAMs, AGM-65 surface-attack missiles, RBS-15 or Sea Eagle anti-ship missiles, unguided rockets and bombs
Avionics: upgraded medium range pulse-Doppler multi-mode radar, infra-red search and tracking system, improved airborne data-link, upgraded ECM systems including RWR, integral active jammer, integral chaff/flare dispensers
Notes: The Parsistani Air Force initiated a comprehensive upgrade program for its F66 fighter-bombers, the backbone of the Armed Forces' fast jet fleet, in 2000, with all conversions completed by the end of 2007. Though by all accounts a superlative aircraft, with very impressive capabilities and maintenance characteristics, the GyAPCo F66, which Parsistan first fielded in 1978, was beginning to look less and less formidable in the face of an evolving Kievan fighter force, especially when compared to the very good MiG-29 and nearly perfect Su-27 air superiority aircraft. In order to tide the Air Force over until the widespread introduction of GyAPCo's subsequent design, the F92, the Defense Ministry ordered PAIG to thoroughly modernize all 80 F66s in service at the time, under a program known as CSP I. The primary feature of the CSP I upgrade was a complete avionics overhaul, which, with an updated pulse-Doppler air intercept radar and an infra-red tracking system, allowed the F66 to use advanced short-range AAMs like the British ASRAAM and the German IRIS-T. CSP I makes it possible for the F66 to engage the most advanced Kievan fighter aircraft on more equal terms at short distances. The F66's Oerlikon KCA also remains a useful weapon, and happens to be the most powerful cannon presently fitted to a fighter aircraft. Structural modifications were also performed on older airframes, with a view to extending their operational lives at least as far as 2014, when the F92 is scheduled to become the Air Force's predominant fixed-wing combat type.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 9:59 pm

Parsistani Armored Vehicles

PKCO Parsistan Light Armored Vehicle
Type: wheeled infantry fighting vehicle
Weight: 14.56 tons, 16.8 tons with add-on armor
Length: 6.4 meters
Width: 2.5 meters
Height: 2.6 meters with turret
Crew: 3; driver, gunner, commander + 6 passengers
Armor: all-around protection from 12.7mm BMG, protected over forward arc from 14.5mm KPV, applique armor package protects against 30mm AP rounds over frontal arc, cage armor protects against RPG rockets
Armament: 1x30mm RARDEN autocannon with 350 rounds, 1xcoaxial 7.62mm machine gun, 1x7.62mm machine gun on turret roof, mounting brackets for RBS 56 anti-tank missile, 2x4 smoke grenade projectors, 1 Carl Gustav recoilless rifle carried internally
Engine: PKCO diesel, 300 horsepower
Suspension: 8x8 hydro-pneumatic
Range: 650km
Speed: 100km/h
In Service: 46
Notes: Though based on the MOWAG Piranha II, which is manufactured on license by the PKCO motor company in Parsistan, the PLAV is otherwise a completely new design, featuring a two-man turret of domestic manufacture and a 30mm RARDEN cannon as its main armament. As a result of its wheeled configuration, the PLAV is not as mobile as its tracked counterparts such as the Marder and CV90, but it is much faster on solid ground and transportable within a C-130 aircraft. It is also fully amphibious, although that capability is lost with the addition of applique armor. In combat, the PLAV would be used primarily for patrol and scouting, where its light armor would be less of a liability and its good cross-country speed a major asset, though its RARDEN cannon is capable of penetrating the armor on most modern IFVs and a great many tank types. All PLAVs built so far for Parsistani use are in service with the Amphibious Brigade or the Air Assault Brigade, where their light weight and low maintenance requirements make quick deployments a great deal easier. A fair few are also used by the army of Sab'yn, the PLAV's only export customer to date. The PLAV is fully protected from NBC agents, and can run with all eight tires punctured or any two wheels shot clean off.

Chieftain 4030
Type: main battle tank
Weight: 55 tons
Length: 7.5 meters hull, 10.8 meters overall (gun forward)
Width: 3.5 meters
Height: 2.9 meters
Crew: 4; commander, gunner, loader, driver
Armor: Rolled Homogeneous: 120mm glacis, 38mm hull sides, 195mm turret; Stillbrew add-on armor package vastly improves crew protection, indigenous applique armor also available and fitted as required
Armament: 1x120mm L11A5 rifled main gun with 64 rounds, 1x7.62mm coaxial machine gun, 1 or 2x7.62mm GPMG on turret roof, 6,000 7.62x51mm rounds carried, 2x6 smoke grenade dischargers, LAW or LAW 80 anti-tank weapons frequently stored internally for dismounted use
Engine: Perkins Condor 12V diesel developing 1,200bhp at 2,300rpm
Suspension: Horstmann hydropneumatic
Range: 500km
Speed: 56km/h (road)
In Service: 415
Notes: The Parsistani Army is an enthusiastic user of the British Chieftain main battle tank, one of the best-protected and most formidable vehicles in service with any nation when it first appeared. Some 550 Chieftain MBTs were ordered between 1974 and 1980 to replace the mixed force of Shermans, Comets and Achilles tank destroyers that still formed the backbone of Parsistan's tank corps, and of those 550 some 415 are still in service. These 415 remaining Chieftains are all improved variants of the basic Mk.5 configuration, received with a more capable power pack and running gear that remedied the Chieftain's reputation for unreliability and relatively poor power-to-weight ratio. Since then, Parsistani Chieftains were fitted with the Stillbrew add-on armor package, drastically improving survivability against most infantry anti-tank weapons, and received a thorough fire-control upgrade including the TOGS gunnery sight and a domestic combat information system. So modified, the venerable Chieftain remains a formidable weapon of war into the 21st century, thanks in no small part to the impressive capabilities of its 120mm main gun. The Ministry of Defense has, however, identified a requirement for a new main battle tank type, and the acquisition in 2003 of over 90 Leopard 2s represents a very concrete step in that direction. There is as yet no word on whether the Ministry of Defense intends to acquire more Leopards or some other foreign tank type, and the Chieftain will in all probability remain the Army's chief tank type for the next few years at least.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:53 pm

Parsistan: A Brief History

(OCC: My apologies for any serious historical inaccuracies. I'm painting very broad strokes here, so I encourage anyone who spots an inconsistency to say so.)

Ancient Parsistan

Located very near the Euphrates-Tigris area, Parsistan was home to early complex societies very early on, although evidence of these is relatively scarce and archaeologists find it very difficult to distinguish between the numerous small civilizations that cropped-up, mainly in the western part of the country, between the 5th and 3rd millennium BCE. These early peoples very closely resembled Mesopotamian societies, writing as they did in cuneiform and building a number of Ziggurat temples, and whether they represent distinct groups, or merely offshoots of those Euphrates-Tigris civilizations, is a matter of significant scholarly dispute. Nonetheless, by the 1st millennium BCE, most of present-day Parsistan fell under the sway of one original and autonomous society, the Parsis for which the modern Republic is named. Under the energetic leadership of several important rulers, the Parsis built a very large empire which, on several occasions, grew to encompass what was at the time much of the known world, brushing shoulders with the Romans and the Mauryas. The Parsis are widely acknowledged as the inventors of human rights, and pioneered a number of political concepts that, while groundbreaking in their day, are now commonplace among most upstanding and conscientious nations.

Several periods of Parsi decline and resurgence came and passed before, in approximately 760 ACE, a nomadic people from Central Asia now known as the Alavars arrived on the Empire's frontier. The Alavars were not unknown to the Parsis, who fought against them on occasion and more frequently engaged them in a profitable trade, but never before were the Alavars evident in such great numbers. Archaeological evidence suggests that the pre-literate Alavars, who at that time left no written records, were being driven out of the steppe by a mixture of climatological stress and hounding by a mixture of rival nomadic groups, chief among them the early ancestors of the Mongols. Whatever the case, their arrival coincided with a period of extreme weakness on the part of the Parsi Empire. Numerous outlying provinces were in revolt thanks to the spread of Islam, and government was in the hands of an incompetent, and possibly insane, child King. Unsurprisingly, this king dealt with the Alavars poorly, and ended-up provoking a serious armed conflict. Though by no means at the height of their own power, the Alavars, skilled horsemen and archers, commanded by a council of skilled warrior-chieftains, shattered the Parsi armies and rode triumphantly into the Parsi capital, where they proclaimed themselves the Empire's new ruling dynasty after unceremoniously casting the young Parsi king off the top of a tower. Initially, the Alavars dealt quite brutally with the local population, using their superior administration and military advantage to crush dissent and to bring unruly governors into line, but what soon followed was a typical period of assimilation and cross-cultural exchange. Within the space of a few hundred years, the Alavar culture, while more or less dominant in Parsi lands, resembled the Parsi culture that it replaced on many levels, and many who would perhaps objectively be identified as Parsis called themselves Alavars and rode about on stout ponies shooting bow and arrow.

Parsistan's new Alavar rulers wasted no time in carving-out an empire of their own, and, for the first few hundred years, the Alavar dynasties were in almost constant conflict with Muslim caliphates to the west. Alavar expansion was temporarily halted by the Mongol invasions, during which the Alavar rulers, wisely, pledged their allegiance to the Mongols, but by approximately 1450 the Alavarid Empire managed to reach its maximum territorial extent, encompassing much of Central Asia and the Middle East, Arabia, and several smaller port cities on the Horn of Africa. It was not until the late 1700s and early 1800s that this empire really started to come apart, under significant external pressure on the one hand and also dogged by increasingly incompetent domestic government. For most of the 19th century, Parsistan, still known as the Alavarid Empire, was relegated to the position of puppet power, an important piece in the Anglo-Russian geopolitical struggle but little more in and of itself.

Modern Parsistan

Most Parsistani historians point to 1899 as the beginning of Parsistan's modern period, the year that Muhammad Ali Uguz was pronounced Khagan of the Alavarid Empire. Reform-minded Muhammad Ali began on the eve of the 20th century a comprehensive modernization program, designed to bring the Empire up to European standards in every respect. It was during this first fit of westernization that the idea of a national constitution was introduced into official circles, and the constitutional cause quickly became a rallying point for progressive forces in the Empire. Understandably, Muhammad Ali's program of reforms made him no few enemies, and the Khagan's grip on power was always tenuous. Threatened by conservative forces from within his own court, Muhammad Ali came to rely increasingly on the popular appeal of several new political parties and workers' organizations as a check against the landed nobles set most staunchly against the Khagan's initiatives.

Thanks in large part to the efforts of Muhammad Ali's cabinet, stocked with an unusually large number of forward-thinking, theoretically-minded ministers, the Khagan consented to Parsistan's first constitution in November of 1909, and oversaw the formation of Parsistan's first parliament, albeit an interim body of royal appointees, in March of the following year. The extent to which Muhammad Ali supported, or even understood, the undeniably republican direction taken by his administration is entirely unclear, but, by the middle of the 1910s, the Alavarid Empire could be best classified as a constitutional monarchy, and the Khagan continued to foster progressive sentiment in preference to the reactionary old guard, the nobles and military commanders. It was during the first decade of the 20th century that oil was discovered in Parsistan, vast reserves at that, and the potential of this resource as both a huge source of national income, and as a significant prize for any would-be imperial power, weighed heavily on internal politics during Muhammad Ali's reign. The Khagan, along with his cabinet, and the public at large, favored national control over Parsistan's oil, but the large land-owners, on whose holdings the drilling was to begin, took umbrage, and refused to allow the work crews onto their lands. Determined to gain access to such a tantalizing source of national wealth, and eager to put millions of Tugriks' worth of foreign-made equipment and expertise to work, the Khagan and his Parliament quickly introduced a land redistribution scheme, whose thinly-veiled aim was the expropriation of hereditary landholdings. This piece of legislation, signed by Muhammad Ali in 1916, nearly triggered a civil war, and set in motion a period of considerable political instability.

Muhammad Ali Uguz died of old age in 1927, and his passing, without a clearly-designated heir, provided a coalition of Alavar nobles and high-ranking military officers, ruffled by the previous Khagan's taste for political radicalism, with a perfect excuse to step in. Citing trumped-up concerns over a pending secession crisis, army chief of staff Hamid Kojaev declared a state of martial law and turned his forces out into the streets, to enforce new restrictions on public assembly and a curfew. Muhammad Ali's budding parliament was promptly dissolved, with many of its more prominent members taken into detention, while the internal security services armed royalist and right-wing youth movements as a countermeasure against what they expected to be a strong reaction from the political left. The sight of Mauser-wielding aristocrats prowling the streets was frightening enough to keep most union activity indoors, but in the northwestern City of Koyunlu, a hotbed of communist and anarchist activity, more than a few union members armed themselves and engaged the so-called public order squads in running gun battles. Kojaev's junta, however, managed to cling onto its position through a mixture of outright repression and political subterfuge, and the elderly chief of staff, not much younger than Muhammad Ali, finally named a new Khagan in 1933.

Ahmet Gokalp, one of Muhammad Ali Uguz's more obscure nephews, was only eighteen years of age when he acceded to the Khaganate. A reclusive and somewhat eccentric individual, with no taste for civic life, Khagan Ahmet was widely viewed as nothing more than a puppet of the military and the landowners, and was openly mocked as such in both the left- and right-wing press. During his rule, which lasted from 1933 until the Anglo-Kievan invasion in 1941, Alavarid diplomats cultivated a close relationship with Europe's emerging fascist powers and spent a great deal of the nation's oil capital on military equipment from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The military itself, however, was undergoing significant internal upheaval as a new generation of junior officers, a great many of them leftist sympathizers or, in some cases, outright communist infiltrators, came into conflict with the staunchly aristocratic general staff. Matters came to a head in 1941 when, hoping to secure Parsistan's oil reserves for their own war effort, Britain and Kievan Rus cooperatively invaded and occupied the Alavarid Empire and deposed Khagan Ahmet. Most of the army's junior officers ignored their operational orders and refused to contest, or even cooperated with, the allied attack, leading to a complete collapse in the army's chain of command and the dissolution of the general staff.

Over the next four years, left-wing political groups, confident that the power of the army and aristocracy had been shattered, worked to build the foundations of a post-occupation Republic, which they named Parsistan in honor of the Alavarid Empire's previous inhabitants. Conditions in the British occupation zone, however, differed markedly from those in the Kievan zone. Where the British tolerated and often encouraged this move towards a republican form of government, the Kievans tried their best to suppress it, rehabilitating many detained army commanders to lead a Kievan-sponsored armed militia charged with suppressing the labor unions and proscribed political organizations. It is estimated that some 17,000 Parsistanis lost their lives at the hands of either the Kievan secret police or Kievan-organized militias during the Kievan occupation, a figure that did little to endear the Khaganate to the general population, and which led to a number of extremely brutal reprisals against prominent landowners.

British and Kievan troops, as per diplomatic agreement, formally ended their joint occupation in November of 1945, and foreign forces were effectively removed from Parsistani territory by April of the following year. Civil war broke out almost immediately, as the Republican government established in southern Parsistan mounted an invasion of the former Kievan occupation zone in an effort to reunify the country. Republican forces, armed by the British and Quinntonians, quickly overran Khaganate troops, far fewer in number and faced with a mass of Republican irregulars behind their own lines, but the lightly-armed royalist militias posed a particular problem and took to the hills and forests of northern Parsistan soon after Khaganate regular forces were defeated.

by **The Crooked Beat** » Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:21 pm

Parsistani Intelligence Agencies

Directorate of Military Intelligence
Defense-related information is the purview of the Directorate of Military Intelligence, which operates under the Ministry of Defense and, in wartime, under the Armed Forces Command. There is, of course, significant overlap between the DMI's responsibilities and those of other Parsistani intelligence services, and cooperation on the DMI's end at least is generally quite good. In keeping with its very sensitive function, and given that most of its personnel are uniformed members of the Armed Forces, the DMI is prohibited by law from sending covert operatives to foreign countries or running networks of agents in peacetime. Most of the DMI's work consists of analyzing and interpreting information gathered by other agencies, but it does maintain a large cryptographical section and operates several electronic listening stations on Parsistani territory, concerned for the most part with intercepting Kievan coded traffic.

Territorial Security Office
Parsistan's Territorial Security Office conducts internal intelligence operations, acting principally in counter-espionage and counter-sabotage roles in close cooperation with the Gendarmerie, and organized under the Interior Ministry's administrative umbrella. Established in 1982, the TSO is the most recent addition to Parsistan's intelligence community, although the internal security function did not go un-fulfilled for very long. Its predecessor, the Special Intelligence Bureau, carried a well-deserved reputation for corruption and underhandedness. Used by the upper-echelon PWP ministers to slander and intimidate political opponents, and probably complicit in the murders of several prominent Kurdish separatists, the SIB was thoroughly purged as part of the PDAP's reform program and ultimately re-created, with a much smaller staff, as the TSO. Unlike its predecessor, the TSO operates under strict legal limitations and scheduled Parliamentary oversight, and can be considered, for the most part, a highly professional and staunchly apolitical intelligence organization with a healthy respect for the constitution. Operationally, the TSO concerns itself mainly with the apprehension of Kievan and other monarchist agents established in Parsistani territory, and with the disruption of domestic militant activity, particularly among Kurdish separatists and Phalangists. Technically, the TSO is not permitted to arrest or detain suspects on its own, and must work closely with the National Gendarmerie in that regard.

Directorate-General of Intelligence
Established upon the return of constitutional government in 1953, Parsistan's Directorate-General of Intelligence is the nation's external intelligence agency, organized under the Foreign Ministry and in close cooperation with the Defense and Interior Ministries. Kievan Rus and viceregal India represent the DGI's main operational concerns, and the bulk of the Directorate's resources are devoted towards collecting political and military information regarding those two nations, presumed as they are to pose the most dire and direct threat to Parsistan itself. In common with the Parsistani Republic in general, the DGI was a welcome change from military administration, replacing the feared and brutal Central Security Bureau. At first, following the banishment of all former CSB personnel from civic office, the DGI was staffed mainly by former police detectives and members of the military intelligence and its level of activity was correspondingly very low. It took the better part of a decade for the DGI to acquire the expertise and tradecraft skills necessary to operate with any measure of effectiveness against such formidable opponents as the Kievan internal security forces, and a number of early operations were notable, and costly, failures. Thanks for the most part to its strictly outward-looking mandate, the DGI was able to remain uninvolved with the various schemes pursued by internal intelligence at the behest of the PWP leadership, the likes of which ruined the careers of many seasoned operatives and ultimately played a part in the PWP's downfall. This did not, however, keep the agency from meddling at times irresponsibly in a wide variety of foreign crises, to the point where, in 1983, a frustrated foreign minister slashed the DGI's budget and established a semi-independent coordinating committee whose job it was to review the Directorate's operational commitments and cut loose those not particularly salient to national security. Undertaken with the best of intentions, this program left the DGI unprepared for the Roman invasion of Greece a short time later, and though Parsistan raised quite a stink diplomatically its intelligence services mounted a fairly ineffective response. In one highly-classified incident, infamous within the DGI, a miniature submarine carrying nine of the Directorate's agents to the Greek coastline was lost without a trace, a blow from which the DGI's Balkan operation did not soon recover. In modern times, at least, an atmosphere of stability and competence prevails within the Directorate, which made up for its Greek debacle somewhat with a series of more or less effective actions in Sab'yn, and with a so far successful, but still ongoing, major operation in viceregal India. Under a centralized command staff, at the present time headed by one Said Bakr, and a central cryptographic office, the DGI is ordered into several geographical Sections. It is also believed that the DGI maintains a small direct-action unit, numbering perhaps two companies of parachute-trained former military types used for secret participation in small-scale or guerrilla conflicts and for the training of friendly irregular forces, but the existence of such a force has never been disclosed, and it is a subject that Parliament at least is not too keen on bringing into the public view.

Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

Re: Jomhuri-ye Parsistan (AMW Factbook)

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