1618: Alternative Divergence [AH][OOC-OPEN]

[Orostan]

Full Nation Name: Great Yuan


#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

I still have my reservations, but acting upon the fact that Nova told him that the app can be accepted - accepted

Thanks

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name: Das Österreichisch-Bayerische Reich, or in English, the Austro-Bavarian Realm, is also rendered occasionally as Das Vereinigte Königreich Österreich und Bayern, or the United Kingdom of Austria and Bavaria; Österreich-Bayern, or Austria-Bavaria, is also acceptable.

This is heavily WIP still, might need help further developing it. Thoughts on what's there so far are welcome.

Accepted - with an edit that I will request and a thing that I need to say.

Munich being an Archduchy is unlikely. Austria becoming an Archduchy was basically the Habsburgs leveraging their influence to go against the norms and hierarchy of the HRE and to try to put Austria on the same place as the prince-electors and particularly as the Kingdom of Bohemia, and even, it took a long while for the rest of the HRE to accept it.

It was because of the same rules and concepts that Austria did not become a Kingdom and why the Prussian monarch was King in Prussia instead of Prussia for a long while.

Now, I've assumed that it would be likely for the Habsburgs to elevate Austria to the rank of a Kingdom in order to compensate for their loss of Bohemia, and Bavaria being raised to a Kingdom also as a compensation for perhaps fully relinquishing their claims to the electorate to the Palatinate.

But Munich being raised to an Archduchy would be a bit too much. Had you not been using the United Kingdom as a name I would have also perhaps requested that Bavaria should remain a Duchy, but I don't want to force you too much - still, Munich would at the very most be a Duchy.

And the thing that I need to say is that in order to be elected, much like in real life, Ferdinand is likely to have been required to make some promises and/or negotiations in order to get elected (since the Protestants should have had a majority among the prince-electors), which is something to keep in mind for the IC.

[New Luciannova]

I just want to let everyone know, as I reserved Poland, that I should have something up before the weekend. Na Zdrowie!

[New Luciannova]

Sorry, should have checked the rules. I'm a law student taking summer courses. This is my last week of classes so I should have something done after this week is concluded.

Reservation

Nation Name: Poland
Territory: Poland and Hungary
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Sorry, should have checked the rules. I'm a law student taking summer courses. This is my last week of classes so I should have something done after this week is concluded.

Reservation

Nation Name: Poland
Territory: Poland and Hungary
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Well, I can accept this reservation, but if it will lapse again then I will have to remove it. So it might be best for you to simply work on an app and to post it as a WIP when you can.

But even so, I wouldn't worry too much - it's a bit too late for us to get another Polish player.

Regardless, reservation accepted.

[New Luciannova]

Full Nation Name: Polish Commonwealth
Majority/Official Culture: The people identify as Polish, although a number of people have other identities (Galician, Prussian, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Bohemian, Hungarian, Ukrianian, Lithuanian, and Jewish.
Territorial Core: All of modern-day Poland and Czechloslovakia that hasn't already been claimed by a pre-accepted nation.
Territorial Claim: The rest of what is now Poland, Lithuania, Hungary
Capital City: Warszawa, Poland
Population: 8 Million

Government Type: Monarchy, but with some emerging republican elements.
Government Ideology/Policies: Cultural, tolerant, and primarily focusing on defending our country from potential nearby aggression being surrounded by a hungry Russia, an ambitious Prussia, and a Hapsburg "ally."
Government Focus: The government wants to keep Poland alive, but also to expand Poland and gain more land that was once Polish to come back into the fold. We also seek to preserve our identity and sovereignity. We also want to protect the Church and our borders.
Head of State: King Konstantyn
Head of Government: King Konstantyn
Government Description: King Konstantyn believes that the Polish people should have some say in their day to day lives and takes time out to ensure the people's needs and concerns are being heard by allowing them to elect representatives and local councils. However, the ultimate final say remains that of the monarch, just a well-informed one. King Konstantyn is religious, but doesn't fully buy into divine right, he feels that just because he is on the throne may be the will of God at some point, if he was to be overthrown that would also be the will of God. Konstantyn sees himself more as a "first among equals" or "first servant of state."

Majority/State Religion: Roman Catholicism, but religious tolerance is practiced.
Religious Description: I think we know this. The Archbishop of Krakow has influence over affairs of state.

Economic Description: Poland remains mostly agrarian and extracting raw materials. Poland is disappointed to fail to get into the scramble for the new world, but has been too tied into local affairs and keeping itself strong.
Major Production: Grain, timber, coal, metals, lots of arable land for food crops and livestock


Army Description : The Polish army is centered around peasant militias like most armies of this time, they rely primarily on muskets, like most contemporary armies and conscription and levies are a major force of the time. The Polish army does have elite heavy infantry, however their primary most powerful weapon is their famed winged hussars which are a highly mobile light cavalry capable of a powerful and deadly cavalry charge. The Polish army has artillery and is looking to expand its battery.
Army Weakness : Besides some elite troops and artillerymen, as well as the hussars, most of the Polish army is lightly equipped and far more interested in defending their local communities than doing anything else.
Naval Description : The navy is relatively small and mostly patrol boats and a few smaller warships, but very minor fleets.
Further Military Description : Nothing I can think of at this time.

National Goals : Poland wants to protect its borders and defend itself while expanding to encompass more land and people and bring more Polish people into the fold.
National Issues : Polish infrastructure is somewhat limited and while capable of defending itself moving outside of the local area is challenging. Poland has enthusiastically embraced the Catholic faith but is one of the few truly religiously tolerant nations, especially toward the Jewish people. As religious conflict spreads throughout Europe, Poland is having a hard time settling many of the refugees who have fled into the country.
National Figures of Interest : Besides King Konstanyn, the Archbishop of Krakow is highly influential. He supports religious tolerance, but encourages prostelytism.
National Ambition/Aspirations : Poland wants to be larger and better developed.

History : Following the end of the Polish golden age and the capital moving from Krakow to Warsaw, Poland underwent a few transformations, and King Konstantyn arose as a young monarch. Despite being young when he ruled and the Archbishop of Krakow operating as a co-King and regent until only two years ago, the time has come for Konstantyn to truly lead Poland on his own. He is looking toward more sontruction projects and improving the military. He has joined the Holy League, but has worked to keep relationships strong with Prussia, Russia, and Sweden as well. He wants to ensure Poland is a key player on the European stage, especially as Poland has fallen behind recently due to the strength of its neighbors and comparable poverty. Konstantyn has begun embracing the idea of delegates being allowed to assemble and consult with him as needed to give him better ties to various portions of the country and allowing local needs to be known.
RP Sample:I'll insert this later.

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name: Polish Commonwealth
Majority/Official Culture: The people identify as Polish, although a number of people have other identities (Galician, Prussian, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, Bohemian, Hungarian, Ukrianian, Lithuanian, and Jewish.
Territorial Core: All of modern-day Poland and Czechloslovakia that hasn't already been claimed by a pre-accepted nation.

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

So are you sure that you do not wish to claim eastern Hungary? There is an extremely tiny bit of Czechoslovakia that has not been claimed, while eastern Hungary and Transylvania are likely to remain open.

Without Hungary it's also likely that your population would be lower.

Since we do not yet have an accepted Russian player you can assume something close to reality there, but we have no Prussia. Brandenburg is its own thing, and the region of Prussia is owned by the Electorate of Saxony.

So there is no Sejm? No elective monarchy, and no Golden Liberty? What dynasty is Konstantyn part of?

The army description is alright, even if you could take some more inspiration from the Polish-Lithuanian military organization, but the Polish army would still rely on both muskets and pikes.

As for the history:

• You need a divergence, a moment in which the history of Poland would have deviated from real life to the timeline that you have here. You can build it on from there, and you should also at least take a cursory glance at the other nations.
• There is no Holy League as there are no Ottomans, there is like I said no Prussia, and there is no Sweden - instead there is a unified Scandinavian state known as the Northern Kingdom.

[Pasong Tirad]

Hi, sorry it's been a few days, but I've been working on my app it's just been really slow.

[The V O I D]

Full Nation Name: Das Österreichisch-Bayerische Reich, or in English, the Austro-Bavarian Realm, is also rendered occasionally as Das Vereinigte Königreich Österreich und Bayern, or the United Kingdom of Austria and Bavaria; Österreich-Bayern, or Austria-Bavaria, is also acceptable.

This is heavily WIP still, might need help further developing it. Thoughts on what's there so far are welcome.

Accepted - with an edit that I will request and a thing that I need to say.

Munich being an Archduchy is unlikely. Austria becoming an Archduchy was basically the Habsburgs leveraging their influence to go against the norms and hierarchy of the HRE and to try to put Austria on the same place as the prince-electors and particularly as the Kingdom of Bohemia, and even, it took a long while for the rest of the HRE to accept it.

It was because of the same rules and concepts that Austria did not become a Kingdom and why the Prussian monarch was King in Prussia instead of Prussia for a long while.

Now, I've assumed that it would be likely for the Habsburgs to elevate Austria to the rank of a Kingdom in order to compensate for their loss of Bohemia, and Bavaria being raised to a Kingdom also as a compensation for perhaps fully relinquishing their claims to the electorate to the Palatinate.

But Munich being raised to an Archduchy would be a bit too much. Had you not been using the United Kingdom as a name I would have also perhaps requested that Bavaria should remain a Duchy, but I don't want to force you too much - still, Munich would at the very most be a Duchy.

And the thing that I need to say is that in order to be elected, much like in real life, Ferdinand is likely to have been required to make some promises and/or negotiations in order to get elected (since the Protestants should have had a majority among the prince-electors), which is something to keep in mind for the IC.

I'll keep this mind and make a couple edits soon. I assume I'd be okay to post in the IC after making those couple edits?

[Tracian Empire]

Accepted - with an edit that I will request and a thing that I need to say.

Munich being an Archduchy is unlikely. Austria becoming an Archduchy was basically the Habsburgs leveraging their influence to go against the norms and hierarchy of the HRE and to try to put Austria on the same place as the prince-electors and particularly as the Kingdom of Bohemia, and even, it took a long while for the rest of the HRE to accept it.

It was because of the same rules and concepts that Austria did not become a Kingdom and why the Prussian monarch was King in Prussia instead of Prussia for a long while.

Now, I've assumed that it would be likely for the Habsburgs to elevate Austria to the rank of a Kingdom in order to compensate for their loss of Bohemia, and Bavaria being raised to a Kingdom also as a compensation for perhaps fully relinquishing their claims to the electorate to the Palatinate.

But Munich being raised to an Archduchy would be a bit too much. Had you not been using the United Kingdom as a name I would have also perhaps requested that Bavaria should remain a Duchy, but I don't want to force you too much - still, Munich would at the very most be a Duchy.

And the thing that I need to say is that in order to be elected, much like in real life, Ferdinand is likely to have been required to make some promises and/or negotiations in order to get elected (since the Protestants should have had a majority among the prince-electors), which is something to keep in mind for the IC.

I'll keep this mind and make a couple edits soon. I assume I'd be okay to post in the IC after making those couple edits?

Yep, with the edits you are accepted

[Tracian Empire]

Hi, sorry it's been a few days, but I've been working on my app it's just been really slow.

Don't worry about it

I highly doubt we'll be getting another player in the area anyway, so I'll be looking forward to seeing your app

[Union Princes]

Is Hungary open?

[Tracian Empire]

Is Hungary open?

Since the Polish player has not included it in his app despite my recommendation, Eastern Hungary (without Slovakia) and Transylvania are free.

[New Luciannova]

Is Hungary open?

Since the Polish player has not included it in his app despite my recommendation, Eastern Hungary (without Slovakia) and Transylvania are free.

I wanted to include the unclaimed parts of Czechloslovakia. It was closer and would be easier to defend.

[Tracian Empire]

Since the Polish player has not included it in his app despite my recommendation, Eastern Hungary (without Slovakia) and Transylvania are free.

I wanted to include the unclaimed parts of Czechloslovakia. It was closer and would be easier to defend.

Up to you in the end, of course.

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Full Nation Name: Officially the Kingdom of Rus sometimes also called "Muscovite Rus" or "Second Rus"

Majority/Official Culture: The majority of people identify as either High Rus (Russian) or West Rus / Small Rus (Ruthenian), thus orthodox eastern Slavs make up the vast bulk of the Kingdom's population. Some regions are home to other peoples however. In the western slopes of the Urals and across the Kola peninsula live many Finnic peoples, cousins of the Finns, Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians who once dominated these lands before the arrival of the Slavs. A great concentration of Tartars once inhabited the confluence of the Kama and the Volga between Kazan and Samara but after the Kazan Khaganate was conquered and many of it's towns and villages put to the torch and many tartars either fled, were driven out or were put to the sword when refusing to renounce their faith. This left large swathes of the region depopulated after the conquest and opened it to increasing numbers of Rus settlers who now live side by side, not always peacefully with the remnants of the Tartar populatation. In the northern Caucasus the lands claimed by the Rus are a diverse mosaic of peoples and cultures, when one goes south of the major Rus strongholds of Krasnodar or Stavropol, the Rus themselves become few and far between. Instead, a traveler is met by Circassians, Ossetians, Avars, Greeks, Cherkesis, Georgians, Azeris, Persians, Lezgins and others. In the steppes between Elista and Astrakhan live the buddhist Kalmyk nomads while in the Kingdom's lands in Central Asia there live many Kazakhs among growing numbers of Rus settlers.

Territorial Core: The Core
Territorial Claim: The Dream
Capital City: Moscow.
Population: Approx 14 500 000 (Was 12 million in 1600 historically, but also didn't extend as far west)

Government Type: Absolute Monarchy with elements of Feudalism and budding elements of Bureaucratization.
Government Ideology/Policies: The Rus Monarchy is working toward increasing Bureaucratization by working together with the Orthodox Clergy, an intensification of the colonization of it's Siberian and Central Asian territories and the "final retribution" against the Crimean Khanate.

Government Focus: The Rus Monarchy wishes to secure it's western borders so it may turn it's main military attention to the south, namely the Black Sea, Caucasus and Central Asia. It hopes to expand agriculture by bringing more land under cultivation and increasingly settle it's vast tracts of thinly populated wilderness areas and improving trade connections by opening a route to the Baltic Sea.

Head of State: Vsevolod VII Rurikovich-Moskovsky - King of All the Rus'
Head of Government: Vsevolod VII Rurikovich-Moskovsky - King of All the Rus'

Government Description: The government of the Kingdom operates as a absolute monarchy with most power descending downward from the throne. The monarch rules the nation under a system of hereditary autocracy granted by divine right. The monarch is the personification of the state and the law, power descends downward from him. Under the King and his Royal Duma made up of appointed advisors and minsters is the Zemsky Sobor, or Assembly of the Lands. It is a parliament made up of representatives from the kingdom's estates of the realm and represents Rus' feudal classes in three categories, the nobility (boyars) and the higher bureaucracy, the Holy Sobor of the Orthodox clergy, and representatives of commoners including self-owning peasants, merchants and townspeople. The Sobor can be summoned either by the King, the Patriarch, or a Boyar Duma to decide the current agenda, discuss controversial issues or enact major pieces of legislation.

Majority/State Religion: Orthodox Christianity is the official state religion of the Kingdom of Rus.
Religious Description: The vast bulk of the Kingdom's population are Orthodox Christians, as a part of the increasing centralization during the 1500's, King Boris III merged the Patriarchate of Kiev with the Patriarchate of Moscow, creating a centralized clerical system in Rus which was then used as the primary methods of communicating with the common masses and conduct censuses for the purpose of tax collection but also distanced the church in the lands of the Rus from that in Constantinople. Lower-ranked members of the clergy and the lower nobility thus make up the vast majority of Rus´ budding bureaucratic system as the power of the old landed nobility erodes. After the conquest of the Kazan Khanate in 1538 and Astrakhan Khanate in 1571 the Kingdom gained sizable Muslim populations and in the case of Astrakhan, Buddhist populations. However, during the conquest of Kazan and it's aftermath, many local communities were given the choice of the sword or the cross, leading to many Tartars and Bashkirs either converting by force or fleeing while towns and villages that refused to convert were sacked and had their populations massacred. East of the Urals there are numerous local Pagan communities living in relative isolation, with Muslim communities dominant in Central Asia. The Kingdom is home to a number of sizable Jewish communities, primarily clustered in the cities of Kiev, Polotsk, Minsk and Novgorod.

Economic Description: Overwhelmingly agricultural, as can be expected for the time. Fishing is a large economic activity particularly around major lakes and rivers as well as along the coast of the White Sea. Logging and charcoal burning are widespread activities as well but Rus' most important economic sectors are probably the export of high quality pelts and furs from the northern parts of the realm and it's Siberian lands east of the Ural mountains, as well as the production of grain and cattle in it's south. Internal trade and international trade is taxed and levied, making up a very important source of income for the royal coffers. Most trade is conducted along Rus' river-systems, primarily the Volga, Don and Dniepr along with their tributaries.

Major Production: Grain / Live Cattle / Linen / Timber / Furs


Army Description : The army of the Kingdom of Rus can be seen as closer to several armies fighting side by side under one banner. It is divided into a number of principal "branches". The Streltsy are Rus´primary infantry force, armed with matchlock muskets and bardiches, the Streltsy are not only a military unit but a social strata as well. They were first formed in 1525 and were armed with arquebuses as a professional infantry force as Rus spent most of the early 1500's fighting wars almost continuously, primarily against the Khanates in the South. The Streltsy first saw large-scale combat at the Siege of Kazan in 1536 and then Siege of Samara in 1537. The Streltsy are subdivided into the vyborniye or "selected" troops in Moscow and Kiev and the gorodskiye, or "municipal" in different Rus cities. The Landed Army or Pomestnoe voysko is the feudally organized cavalry force of the Kingdom. It is made up of feudally organized units headed by Boyars and consist of landed gentry fighting as heavy cavalry and their "armed servants" who are conscripted serfs making up a medium cavalry force. The noble cavalry is armed mostly with sabers and composite bows, with wheel-lock pistols making a limited entry, Armor includes brigandines, plate-and-mail and mirror armor, The armed serfs are armed with composite bows and sovnyas while clad in padded armor and a helmet. The Cossacks are semi-nomadic and semi-militarized people of mostly Slavic extraction who used to primarily inhabit the sparsely populated "wild fields" of Southern and Eastern Ruthenia and Russia between the Lower Volga and Dniestr rivers. The Crimean–Nogai raids into Slavic lands caused considerable devastation and depopulation in these areas and also played an important role in the development of the Cossacks. Earlier they served as border guards and protectors of towns, forts, settlements and trading posts particularly in the Grand Principality of Kiev where the Cherkassk Host and Poltavan Host made themselves indispensable in the fighting against the Crimean Tartars. They performed policing functions on the frontiers, and have today come to represent an integral part of the Rus army to protect the borderland areas from Tatar invasions and, after the great southern conquests of the unified Rus Kingdom, they serve primarily as light troops and also spearheaded the colonization of Siberia and the incursions into Central Asia. In addition to these three main forces, nomads, especially of Kalmyk origin are often seen serving as scouts, outriders and vanguards while conscripted serf pikemen reinforce the infantry line. The size of Rus forces on campaign have varied in the history of the realm, while some say it could muster over 160 000 fighting men, such a mobilization would collapse the economy and agricultural system. The largest mobilization recorded was of 80 000 troops, while small mobilizations in frontier areas have rarely been above 25 000 fighting men.

Army Weakness : The size of the Kingdom greatly complicates military matters, in times of invasion, it can take months to gather the troops needed to repel it, and by that time the enemy may very well already have taken a good number of forts and towns and established a solid foothold in the contested region, making them so much harder to try and dislodge. The second major weakness of the armies of the Rus is the very way they have been organized. After the Fall of Kiev in 1477 and Muscovite Reunification of 1478, the Kings of Rus have organized their armies to fight and defeat what they precieved as the greatest enemies of their realm and their people. The Tartars of the Southern Khanates. The traditional cavalry army consisting of members of the petty nobility along with their conscripted serfs is not a standing force. In exchange for service these nobles received estates or sometimes modest cash payments from the crown. Augmenting the horsemen are the so-called Streltsy or musketeers, who often when not campaigning or serving in garrison-duty, engage in petty trading and small-scale agriculture in the principal towns of the kingdom. Although the Rus army has a decent artillery branch, there are few arsenals and Master Gunners are in short supply. While such an army has its advantages, it is both rather mobile and relatively inexpensive by Western European standards. The entire military system of united Rus has been created bottom-up for fighting Tatars, in this it has proven it's efficiency by the enemies it was made to fight mostly being destroyed, which means the next enemy of the Rus may require significant reorganization to best.

Naval Description : The Rus Kingdom has two fleets, the Novgorod Banner in Archangelsk consisting of a few Brigs and Brigantines and the Black Sea banner based out of the port-town of Taman and made up of two dozen light Galleys, it's crews drawn from among the Greek populations sprinkled along the Black Sea coast.

Naval Weakness : It's fleets are tiny, inexperienced and cut off from any hope of supporting each other. The Kingdom of Rus is fundamentally a land power and it's Kings have had no reason to change that as of yet.

National Goals : The destruction of the Crimean Khanate, extension of diplomatic relations primarily with Poland, Norden, and the Romans. Revitalization of agriculture and trade, settlement of wilderness territories, pushing eastward.
National Issues : The Kingdom of Rus lags behind Western Europe in technology and organization as well as suffering from economic underdevelopment. It is largely isolated from the rest of Europe diplomatically and cut off from most major trade lanes on the continent.

National Figures of Interest : TBA
National Ambition/Aspirations : TBA

History : The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of the Vikings who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black Sea. One such Viking named Rurik was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862, his successor Oleg later ventured south and conquered Kiev, which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazar Khanate. Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar Khaganate, and launched several military expeditions to Byzantium and Persia. In the 10th to 11th centuries, Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe. This time saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from the Romans in the south and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code. Constant in-fighting between members of the Rurikid Dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively weakened the realm and the city of Kiev's dominance waned to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod in the north-west and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west.

Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated under the fearsome force of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240, which resulted in the sacking of Kiev and many other cities. Out of around 80 major towns and cities in the Rus lands, half were sacked, many of whom were later abandoned or declined into little more than villages. This devastation left a large swathe of land was depopulated as the Mongols massacred it's populations or the locals fled from the steppes and plains into the woodlands north of Voronezh and behind the Dniepr river, leading to the creation of a no-mans land called the "Wild Fields". The invaders, later known as "Tatars" to the Rus, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the small Rus principalities and ruled the southern and eastern parts of what used to be the Kievan realm for over two centuries. The Rus Kingdoms and Principalities stood divided and often fought amongst themselves and against Tartar-Nogai incursions, invasions and slave-raids, many Rurikid branches were exterminated in these conflicts as each considered itself the rightful claimant to the lost crown of Kievan Rus. The Grand Principality of Kiev meanwhile bore the hardest burden in the struggle against the Tartars as it was situated closest to the Southern Khanates. In the mid 14-th century Muscovy began to grow significantly in power and authority under the rule of Prince Vladimir III. He renovated the Moscow Kremlin and opportunistically claimed surrounding lands. Under his rule Muscovy rose to eclipse and then annex the former major powers in Central Russia, namely Vladimir-Suzdal, Tver, Ryazan, Rostov and Yaroslavl as well as other surrounding principalities, with the princes of Muscovy taking the title of King after the Western Expedition of Prince Ivan III which resulted in the annexation of Polotsk. While facing off against it's major rival, the Principality of Novgorod in the north. The Muscovites were central in building up the coalition of Rus states that inflicted the pivotal defeat at the Battle of Kulikovo on the Tartars in 1380, but with the seeming reduction of the Tartar threat the coalition soon collapsed.

With the collapse of the Coalition the Rus states once again warred amongst themselves for hegemony over the land. While Muscovy had played a central role in forming the coalition and forming it's joint army. Many of the smaller principalities such as Smolensk, Vitebsk, Odoyev and Voronezh along with the Grand Principality of Perm questioned the seeming Muscovite Hegemony and wished to pursue freedom and autonomy. Kiev, momentarily released from the vast pressure upon it from it's perennial Tartar enemies looked to reestablish it's own hegemony over the Rus Realms. The Muscovites were defeated by the Novgorodians in the Battle of Borovichi in 1391, this in turn led to the brief resurgence of Kiev after it conquest of Odoyev, Oryol and it's War of Faith in the south under Grand Prince Ihor II which resulted in the capture of Yedisan from the Crimean Khanate. During the time of the "Kievan Hegemony", the Grand Principality of Kiev often found itself engaged in conflict at at least three sides, and winning. This was mostly due to the excellent generalship of Sergiy Borvasky and Vadym of Cherkassk. The Kievan Hegemony however lasted for less than a decade. It began with the Battle of Bryansk in 1393 and ended at the Battle on the Don Bend in 1400 where the last of the generals instrumental in Kiev's military success was killed fighting the Tartars. Muscovy, in the meantime had recovered from Borovichi, in the north was a Novgorod that had mired itself in internal strife between the boyars and the merchant families while in the south, Kiev had clearly fallen off and was once again declining, allowing Muscovy to grow into the leading power among the Rus states, finally allowing it to conquer Novgorod under the rule of King Oleg II in 1421 while his grandson Vasili I reformed it's armies by instituting the Landed Army or Pomestnoe voysko and putting an end to the old system based around the Druzhina.

With this new army Vasili I managed to take Kiev in 1477 and exterminate the Rurikid branch that ruled the Grand Principality. While a number of Rus states were still nominally independed from Muscovite rule, Vasili I announced the formation of the Kingdom of Rus in 1478 and embarked on a campaign to conquer first Vitebsk and then Perm in 1481, bringing the last of the independent Rus states under the banner of the Kingdom and significantly increased the land-holdings of the central monarchy as hostile Boyar houses were expropriated and the estates of rival rulers absorbed. While the Battle of Kulikovo had turned the tide in the wars between the Rus and the Tartars, the Tartar raids and incursions had not stopped after the battle. Vasili I'st´s successors thus embarked upon constructing the Great Abatis Border which was a chain of fortification lines created by the Kingdom to protect it from the Crimean-Nogai Raids that ravaged the southern provinces of the realm. It would serve as the border between the Rus State and the steppe nomads for decades to come. Peasants who lived nearby were forbidden to settle or cut wood in the area, but were obliged by authorities to spend part of their time supporting and renewing the fortifications. In the autumn, large areas of steppe grass beyond the line would be burnt to deny raiders fodder. Stone kremlins were constructed in the towns along the line while other fortresses in the line were built as smaller ostrogs. Rus would attempt to gain a port in the Baltic Sea under the rule of King Boris III but failed multiple times, being defeated by Norden twice. Boris would then turn to internal matters, reorganizing the structures of the Orthodox Church in the lands of the Rus, uniting the Kiev and Moscow Patriarchates and putting them under increased state influence and control. His successor, King Ivan VI turned his focus once more to the Tartars. As this time tens of thousands of Rus soldiers were tied up garrisoning the Great Abatis Belt, a burden for a state whose social and economic development was lagging and backward. Thus, Ivan VI'th would reform the Rus armies based on experience gained during the defeats against Norden and earlier battles with the Tartars, he would then turn the new Rus army against first the Khanate of Kazan, resulting in a war that ended in 1536 with the sackings of Kazan and Samara before turning south and marching against the Astrakhan Khanate, destroying it in 1545. These conquests would open Rus´ gates to Siberia and Central Asia, resulting in wars with and later the destruction of the Nogai Khanate in 1579.

Rus expansion into Siberia encountered little resistance. In 1581, the Novgorodian Stroganov merchant family, interested in the fur trade, hired a band of Cossacks to lead an expedition into western Siberia. There they defeated the Khanate of Sibir and claimed new territories for the realm. From such bases as Tyumen, Tobolsk, Kurgan and Mangazeya, merchants, traders, and explorers pushed eastward. In order to subjugate the natives and collect the yasak fur tributes, a series of fortified all-year trading posts and forts were built at the confluences of major rivers and streams and important portages. The first among these were Tyumen, Nizhny Tagil and Tobolsk while to the north Beryozovo and Mangazeya were built to bring the Nenets tribes under tribute, while to the east Surgut and Tara were established to protect Tobolsk and subdue the Narym Ostiaks. Of these, Mangazeya was the most prominent, becoming a base for further exploration eastward where the cossack hosts reached the outskirts of the Yuan Empire and after a period of conflict with the Yuan dynasty, the Yuan stopped further Rus attempts of expanding into Siberia. The lands of Siberia, already thinly populated were made even easier to conquer through the spread of diseases that weakened and demoralized the indigenous peoples of the land, the worst of these being smallpox. This fire was further fuelled by the brutality displayed by the Rus Cossacks, upon arrival in an area occupied by a tribe of natives, the Cossacks would initially come with a proposal to submit to the King and to pay the yasak, but these negotiations did not always lead to successful results. When their entreaties were rejected, the Cossacks chose to respond with force, not rarely decimating entire tribes.

Today, Rus stands victorious over it's old Tartar nemesis, it looks to an uncertain future and to new prospects along it's long, diverse borders. It is clear that a King of All the Rus´ who picks his allies carefully, his wars equally so while guiding the ship of state with a strong hand, can do much to make his realm great and prosperous...

RP Sample: Here

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[Tracian Empire]

Still kinda WIP, looking to see if something like this could be acceptable

Full Nation Name: Officially the Kingdom of Rus sometimes also called "Muscovite Rus" or "Second Rus"


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I will be properly reviewing it once it's done, but I don't see any major issues with it, and I like the concept!

If you could also make a reservation for it that would be great, procedure and all

The population does feel a bit too large. The data that I could find shows around 1,700,000 for Lithuania in 1572 so maybe a 2,000,000 or 2,500,000 in 1618 would be very generous, and you would be taking a good chunk of it, but not all of it. Your Kazkah and Nogai territories would also likely not amount to that much, so let's say 14,5 million? 15 million maybe.

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

I will be properly reviewing it once it's done, but I don't see any major issues with it, and I like the concept!

If you could also make a reservation for it that would be great, procedure and all

The population does feel a bit too large. The data that I could find shows around 1,700,000 for Lithuania in 1572 so maybe a 2,000,000 or 2,500,000 in 1618 would be very generous, and you would be taking a good chunk of it, but not all of it. Your Kazkah and Nogai territories would also likely not amount to that much, so let's say 14,5 million? 15 million maybe.

Okay I'll be adjusting the population down to some 14.5-ish

Yeah I thought a Russia that never takes the whole role of successor to the Byzantine empire could be an interesting concept to explore

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Kingdom of Rus
Territory: Lands of the Rus
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: The Kingdom of Rus
Territory: Lands of the Rus
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Reservation accepted!

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Reservation accepted!

Yay! App is also finished now if I haven't missed anything

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name: Officially the Kingdom of Rus sometimes also called "Muscovite Rus" or "Second Rus"



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Accepted!

[The National Dominion of Hungary]

Accepted!

Yay! Glad to be aboard, gonna start on a IC post soon

[Tracian Empire]

Accepted!

Yay! Glad to be aboard, gonna start on a IC post soon

I'll be looking forward to it xD

[Tracian Empire]

The map and list have been updated, some inactive reservations have been removed

If your reservation was removed but you're still interested - don't worry. If you can post a finished app or if an edited app if we already reviewed your app before then your claim could still be accepted.