The country of Valania is in turmoil. Following a decade of economic collapse and political violence, all out civil war has broken out between the many factions of the nation. This is the era of political and social upheaval worldwide, and Valania, having already gone through this phase not too long ago, is fracturing once again. It is either up to a new generation of leaders to decide the fate of this country now, or to return to an old order where times were much simpler. The fate of Valania rests in the coming years.
Context
It has been nearly 25 years since the country of Valania held its first democratic elections following the overthrow of the oppressive monarchy in 1919. The revolution, lead by liberal reformist Julius Zukal, ended in the overthrow of the centuries old monarchy with the forced abdication of King Jan III and ushered in the era of the First Valanian Republic, however, this was the era of numerous communist and socialist movements worldwide, and they found root in Valania too. Many followers of these movements laid low as Zukal, with overwhelming popularity, was elected as the country’s first president, instituting a liberal democracy with a free market economy. Many on the far left felt betrayed by this system, and over the years the coalition of the revolution ended with the split between the hardline communists and the liberals. Zukal publicly disavowed the communists, forming his own Revolutionary Valanian Party (RVP), in opposition to the communist’s Valanian Communist Party (VCP).
Six years into Zukal’s rule, the leader died of sudden cardiac arrest, as his successor was the timid and far less charismatic Oto Jerabek. Under him, the young republic’s economy collapsed into the worst crisis seen in a century, causing massive resentment from among the populace. Fearing another civil war and a revolution against his rule, Jerabek went against the very principles of Zukal’s revolution by heavily censoring any opposition, and using the police force, still loyal to the Republic, to suppress dissent. However, underground communist movements flourished with the poor state of the economy, with the newfound leader, the charismatic young Kvido Simek. In the following election, despite Jerabek’s attempts at suppressing opposition, the communist party triumphed, and ironically went on their own "reign of terror" against the RVP and its supporters, leading to a long period of political violence, further enhanced by the resurgence in popularity of the monarchy, especially in the Southwest, where monarchists claimed the revolution lead to the economic crisis and the violence.
With the next presidential elections in 1939 being won by the RVP, although under suspicious circumstances facing accusations of rigging by both communist groups in the VCP and conservatives, Jerabek returned to power and outlawed the VCP as a "terrorist group," leading to mass riots and protests in cities, especially with workers who formed the backbone of the VCP voting base. Further inflaming the tensions was the imprisonment and execution of Kvido Simek, leading him to adopt a near-legendary status as a martyr and hero of the cause among supporters. His successor was no less charismatic, Krystof Stejskal, a prominent trade union leader turned revolutionary theorist.
Meanwhile, large portions of the population were beginning to get fed up of the constant political violence and uncertainty in the country. Many people turned to the works of newspaper owner Rudolf Polak, whose views gained notoriety. Coinciding with the rise of fascism around the world, Polak believed that the only way to end political violence is through a strong totalitarian government, taking a third position which was neither left or right, and valuing nation over all else, with intense ultranationalist rhetoric. Polak formed the National Patriotic Front (NPF) and gained huge popularity especially in the Southern regions of the country, the NPF trained many of its young idealistic supporters and organized its own violent paramilitaries, known as the Lichtors. Due to the often violent nature of these paramilitaries, the NPF was banned from contesting elections and Polak imprisoned.
The Valanian military was arguably as divided as the country itself. Many military leaders were idealistic liberals, communists, ultranationalists, or monarchists. This all came to a breaking point in Decemeber of 1940. At the break of dawn, trade unions, assisted by sympathetic military leaders, led a massive storming of government buildings across the central part of Valania, North of the Middle Mountains. The most notable of these was the city of Glazhonsk, where large mobs of trade unionists took control of the city and maintained order through the sympathetic garrison in the city, imprisoning government officials and dissolving the police departments, which remained sympathetic to the Republic. These union uprisings were organized by the VCP, and that afternoon, Krystof Stejskal declared the second revolution, and claimed that the Republic had become as oppressive as the monarchy used to be. These uprising occurred all throughout the republic, however, those where the military garrisons were opposed to the communists were quickly crushed, leaving only the central area under de facto VCP control, as military stockpiles were raided and pro-communist workers formed crude paramilitaries to seize control of the countryside.
Seeing the chaos come to breaking point, the NPF leadership saw it as a "now or never" moment to advance their goals. While a military coup against the Republic had been considered in the past, it was deemed too unstable to succeed, until now with the communist uprising. Sympathetic military leaders cut off communications from the Republican government, all of them in the South of the country which formed the NPF’s main powerbase, and Lichtor militias seized military bases who remained loyal to the Republic or other factions. One of these militias stormed and freed Rudolf Polak from his prison, however, Polak being an ideological leader rather than a military one, chose to cede powers to sympathetic general Peter Rezincek for the duration of the inevitable Civil War, governing from the city of Morgaw. The NPF declared itself to be a country that prioritizes neither left or right, but Valania over all else. A sympathetic general who had been deployed to the extreme North also cut off communications from the Republic, sitting at the border between the communist territories and the Republic.
Seeing the chaos unfold, the neighboring nations of Maksaland, Freidhom, and Kartvelskia declared a joint agreement of neutrality in the Valanian Civil War, although how that neutrality will play out remains to be seen. All three were stable liberal democracies, although Kartvelskia had a growing communist movement as the economic depression of the 20s and 30s had affected it to a large degree as well.
Soon after, Janists, supporters of ousted monarch King Jan III, revolted with their militias, known as the King's Loyal Soldiers (KLS). While they failed to secure as much control as the other factions, managed to take their main powerbase in the Southwest Peninsula and the city of Novomaw. Despite only securing control over this area, the population of much of the Southwest is vehemently pro-monarchist, however with little military backing, they were unable to secure control over the area, and the area continues to remain unstable, against the Republicans who maintain control over it for now.
Seeing the systematic breakdown of the Republic, President Oto Jerabek declared martial law and entrusted himself with emergency powers, including the powers of mobilization. Retaining control of the capital and largest city in Valania, Kurmutsk, and most of the West, as well as the extreme East due to the establishment of sympathetic Republican garrisons in the area, he now faces the monumental task of keeping his government afloat and the Republic alive.
All factions vie for control over the entire country of Valania, but a brutal civil war where countrymen shall kill countrymen is inevitable now.
The Factions
OOC: This is a character RP where you will create and guide your character through the civil war, your character could be anyone relevant to the political climate, whether it be a general, a political leader, etc. Whether they rise up the ranks and take control of the faction, win the civil war, or be stamped out soon is for them to decide.
Valania is a fictional country on a fictional continent, loosely based on an amalgamation of slavic countries. However, politics and technology evolved exactly the same as it did IRL, with the rise of Marxism and communism throughout the early 20th century, followed by the rise of fascism and third positionism in the 30s. This also coincided with the rise of aviation and the creation of permanent air forces. The geography of Valania involves a mild climate, with mild summers and winters. The country is generally hilly all throughout, however, the one major land feature to consider is the vast Middle Mountains, which roughly correspond to the border between Communist and NPF territory on the map. Otherwise rivers and streams dot the country’s landscape.
Rules
No godmodding
No metagaming
Keep characters realistic, you’re not going to have a young revolutionary completely supplant the entire communist leadership
Put effort into posts, no need for an essay but no one liners either
OP’s word is law
OP controls random events
Character Application
- Code: Select all
[align=center][b]Character Application[/b][/align]
Name:
Age:
Personality description:
Appearance: (picture preferred, description is fine)
Faction (Either member of or sympathetic towards):
Position in leadership (if any):
If Military or Militia leader, how many troops under command?:
Political Ideology:
Goals:
Biography (Minimum 2 paragraphs):
Do not remove - 2088
