New Ukraine

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Revision as of 05:48, 31 October 2006

The planet of New Ukraine is the second largest planet in the Chimera System. As a political entity, it is officially known as The Federation of New Ukrainian Republics, and is a member of the USSR. It has two moons, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, which are also inhabited, and are each independent members of the USSR in their own right.

The planet has been inhabited for over 200 years, making it the oldest Soviet colony outside the Solar system. Officially added to the Union in 2144 by the FTL cruiser Alexander Nevsky, control of the planet was cemented in 2152 after the first ever space battle, the Battle of New Ukraine, and the arrival of the Soviet colony ship, Kiev II.

The capital of the Federation is Kiev II, and the population of 87 million is split more or less evenly between the agrarian mircocoms (or micro-communes) and the nine densely populated and industrialised major cities of Kiev II, Murmansk Nov (New Murmansk), Triumfagorod (Triumph City), Leningorod Nov (New Lenin city), Industrija (Industry), Novaja Zazhitochnost' (New Prosperity), Jarkijj Budushhee (Bright Future), Gorky Nov (New Gorky, formerly known as Zion), Kolikoff Poluostrov (Kolikoff Isthmus) and Nevsky Bo'lsh (Greater Nevsky).

History

Naming and Settlement

The naming of the planet, (originally designated Lenin) was a political ploy by Josef Kolikoff to win the support of the Ukrainian Communist Party in his battles against the Division Now! movements of the late 2140's which threatened to dissolve the Union. The initial settlers were directed to form giant Arcology-communes, of the sort found on Mars, to both produce badly needed cash-crops to help pay the costs of the mission and to assist in the continuing terraforming. However, with terraforming running at breakneck pace to cement the Soviet claim on the planet's surface, the resources available for such ventures were woefully inadequate, with "arcologies" often constructed from rusting ship hulls, corrugated iron, and, in a few cases, canvas. The number of settlers lost in atmosphere breaches was extreme, though a more pervasive danger was the potential for crop failure caused by an improperly maintained internal atmosphere.

To this day, a distinctive whistle, marked by a rising cadence, is considered a moderately severe insult on New Ukraine - recalling the sound of a pressurised hull leakage. Originating amongst the terraforming crews living in the secure hull of the Kiev II, the "Farmer's kiss" or "Bumpkin fart" is both a vituperative death-wish as well as carrying a strong implication of provinciality.

By 2170, a breathable atmosphere had been established, and most of the arcologies were rapidly dismantled; although the ruins of lost and forgotten settlements are still discovered occasionally, hidden beneath the rich topsoil.

Influence and repression

As Russian farmland was swallowed by the great post-crash re-industrialisation of the 2190's, New Ukraine emerged as an important source of agricultural produce, but the resulting power the massive agricultural communes wielded made them a source of significant concern for their political masters. After the election of the Union's first non-earthborn Chairman, Pietro Sukov of Mars, in 2205, was secured by the threat of a New Ukrainian general strike, their position would remain the chief point of political struggle in the union for the next 50 years. Eventually, though, the New Ukrainian's exceptionalist demands, and the growth of underground and aboveground hydroponics on Mars gave their opponents - an interesting mix of hard-liners and reformers - a chance to strike.

In his now infamous "New Kulaks" speech on the eve of the invasion in 2242, General Sergei Roslov urged all loyal Soviets living on New Ukraine to fight the communes with their teeth, their fingernails, and the bones of their children, because "The only Ukrainians we shall deem worthy of life are those we find already dead". The invasion commander, the progressive General Timoslav Kolikoff (grand-son of Josef), was not as good as his commander's word, however, and after taking control of the planet without great loss of life, simply reorganised the commune system hierarchically, placing central government bureaucrats in administrative positions, who were to be regularly rotated. The invasion and subsequent operation are known as the Second Kulak Suppression. He also set up a major planetary garrison, the ruins of which can be seen today near Kiev II.

Zion and Kolikoff

While the Soviet colonisation effort on New Ukraine was the largest, and ultimately the only successful one; there were a few others. A number of American private corporations tried and failed to establish a foothold on the less-fertile Northern continent, while a British expedition (Corinth) near the Great Isthmus set down in 2170, before being forced to withdraw 15 years later by unsanctioned Soviet communal guerilla activity.

The most lasting mark on New Ukraine, however, was left by the still-extant population of Zion. A private corporation set up by the American Neo-Zionist movement set down illegally on the Northern continent in 2203, in the period when space-travel was becoming affordable for private organisations, but before the still nascent Soviet First Extrasolar Fleet had been fully assembled and dispatched to the system. Having failed to secure a Middle-Eastern homeland, the Zionists hoped to build a new Jewish homeland on New Ukraine, and, despite the barrenness of the Northern soil and aggressive diplomatic advances by the Planetary governor, were able to survive and prosper. They relied on income from the rich bauxite and iron mines in the surrounding area to support their subsistence hydroponics operations. The choice of New Ukraine was also, in part, an effort to protect themselves from the hostile Fourth Reich, which was forbidden by treaty from sending military vessels into orbit around the planet, since the Battle of New Ukraine. For 50 years, the colony of Zion struggled along, until 2252, in the wake of the Second Kulak Suppression and with the support of the now complete First Extrasolar Fleet, General Kolikoff made the unilateral decision that the Zionists, benefiting from their protection, should be forced to pay for it and presented the Zionists with a demand to pay, with a month to reply.

Zion turned immediately to America, the nation from which it had come, for assistance. However, America was engaged in a trade negotiation with the Nazis, and assisting the Jews was perceived as being likely to offend them. In addition, the New Zion Corporation had failed to pay what the IRS considered its fair share of tax, and had previously refused to assist American military vessels or serve in the military themselves. America let them know that as far as it was concerned, they were a sovereign nation, and good luck to them. Kolikoff, not expecting this turn of events, now saw a chance to unify all of New Ukraine under Russian rule, and from his Kiev II base launched a full-scale invasion of Zion 14 days before his terms ran out - but before the colonists had a chance to appeal to the potentially sympathetic British.

Zion was well-armed, however, in preparation for the long-feared Nazi invasion, and the Two Week War (Named for the betrayed treaty, but which actually lasted more than three months before subsiding into 30 more years of intermittent guerilla warfare) was one of the bloodiest and most vicious ever seen, with names like the Battle of Judea Spaceport and Tel Golan remembered today as expressions of man's inhumanity to man.

Today, the region is known as the Black Pale (Black referring to the charcoal-like soil of the area, as well as the black of space, and the Pale referring to the area of the Ukraine traditionally inhabited by Russia's Jewish community), and is the scene of intermittent rebellions and terrorist attacks. It is a dumping ground for unpopular Soviet Bureaucrats, who speak of "being bled" (a pun on "Made Pale") to describe assignment to the area.

The New Ukrainian Rebellion

• In 2362, the long-dormant New Ukrainian resistance movement flaired up again, requiring the dispatch of the brand new Soviet Third Extrasolar Fleet to Chimera. The task-force consisted of the Army-level dropship Maxim Gorky and two Stalin-class battlecruisers, the Stalin and the second Alexander Nevsky.

Politics

Government

The Federation of New Ukrainian Republics is, as the name implies, a federation of democratic republics, each with a unicameral legislature. These legislatures serve mainly to advise and ratify legislation issuing from the New Ukrainian Executive Committee, a body based in Kiev II, which serves as the Federal Capital.

Each republic (consisting of one of the nine cities and surrounding regions) nominates a number of members to the "NUEC" based on the size of their population. The Head of State is the Chairman of this Executive Committee, currently Maximilian Yukachenko.

The Executive Committee takes its orders in turn from the Supreme Soviet, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics General Committee, which is run by its own Executive Committee.

Political Parties

In common with all Soviet republics, every member of the Federation is a one-party state. Though the British and Americans particularly claim that this nullifies any claim to democracy, the Soviets argue that the openess and meritocratic values of their single party makes it a democratic institution second to none.

Communist party and state functions are intermingled at every level of the system, from the KIM or Communist Youth Internationale, which all children are required by law to join, to the integration of Communist party aligned Political Officers at the highest level of the military.

Geography

Land Masses

• Northern Continent (name?)
• Southern Continent (name?)
• Kolikoff itshmus that links them

Bodies of Water

• Steel Sea
• Russian Ocean

Mountains

• Drez Mountains

Regions

• The 'Black Pale' (Extreme Northern Territories)

Climate

Despite two hundred years of intensive farming and a mature industrial sector, New Ukraine retains the idyllic climate and fertile soil for which it was originally selected for colonisation.

New Ukraine orbits on a more stable axis than Earth, leading to smaller seasonal variations. It is warmer, and slightly drier than Earth as well, although large-scale irrigation projects and intentional terraforming have significantly changed the rainfall patterns in some areas, particularly around the agricultral hub of Novaja Zazhitochnost'.

There is concern that the planet may be unable to maintain current atmospheric oxygen levels, due to the continuing population boom of an oxygen-consuming algae left behind by the terraforming process. The New Ukraine High Committee assures its citizens that this problem is being addressed in their continuing terraforming efforts. New visitors to the planet are warned that the characteristic rotten fruit smell is likely to intensify for the duration of this process.

Built Environment

Cities

• Kiev II - Capital of the Federation, largest city on New Ukraine.
• Leningorod Nov (New Lenin City) - Early inductrial city
• Murmansk Nov (New Murmansk) - Centre of the New Ukrainian Space Industry.
• Triumfagorod (Triumph City) - Large military town.
• Industrija (Industry) - Agricultural and industrial center.
• Novaja Zazhitochnost' (New Prosperity) - Agricultural center.
• Jarkijj Budushhee (Bright Future) - Science and Research settlement.
• New Gorky (New Gorky, formerly known as Zion) - City captured amidst bloody fighting during the Two Weeks War.
• Kolikoff Poluostrov (Kolikoff Isthmus) - Construction facility for Kolikoff canal.
• Nevsky Bo'lsh (Greater Nevsky) - Small settlement and site of the 2369 Soviet Games.

Other Notable Locations

• The Red Cage
• Murmansk Space Hub

Orbital Facilities

• Roslov Shipyard

Military

Economy

Demographics

Culture