News:Yarova
This is a news feed of articles about the United Federated Districts of Yarova.
2018
Jan 09: Riordan meets with Grigorievna: Yarova to become member of the League of Free Nations
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 09 January 2018 — 18:28 (UTC+7)
As was announced in September of this year, Brigantican President Joseph Riordan has met with President Konstantina Grigorievna in Shchyokhov today to discuss issues of bilateral trade and common defence, amid growing concerns of the North-South Concordant. Riordan and Grigorievna held a 40-minute-long press conference in the Lyustra komnata (or Chandelier room) of the Surkov Palace’s Presidential Residence Wing at 2.30 pm. Security has been estimated to cost the Yarovan government around ₲291.6 M ($36 M USD), with land and air patrol scheduled to be on high-alert through the course of Riordan’s 36-hour visit. Earlier this morning, Riordan was hosted by Vice President Isaak Nikishin Svoburg at the Orekhovvy Hotel in Shchyokhov for a talk on combating climate justice issues by internationally-acclaimed life-long naturalist and documentarian Dr. Matvey Tselner. Tselner applauded Riordan for his determination on countering the effects of climate change at government-level and awarded him with the Tselner Prize, which honours high-profile individuals who use their influence to bring climate justice to international attention. Riordan is reportedly “very delighted” with receiving the award. Later on this evening, the president will lay a wreath at the Memorial of the Republican Rebels in Chaykoboksarsk, before attending a partially-televised banquet. The Brigantican Ambassador in Yarova, as well as all ministers of Grigorievna’s cabinet, are expected to be present – including Erik Meselev, who was initially hesitant of showing his face.
Riordan’s state visit has not come without controversy, with thousands gathered on the streets of Shchyokhov, Chayboksarsk and other major cities in the country protesting Yarovan membership of the League of Free Nations. Petrol has only been added to the fire, as Meselev publicly went against Grigorievna’s wishes when he ruled out Yarova being admitted to the League of Free Nations while he was Minister of Defence. Meselev’s alternative of so-called ‘pragmatic pacifism’ would see Yarova practise an independent defence policy and increase military expenditure by 0.33% every year until security threats had been quelled, subject to review. Meselev slammed Riordan just last month when he accused him of “generating endless division across the world” and “dragging Yarova into the moronic board game of bloc-politics.” President Grigorievna was rumoured to have presented Meselev with a formal warning to which he responded with a threat of walking out regardless, although the authenticity of such claims have not yet been confirmed. Sizeable swathes of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives had backed Meselev and at the peak of the feud, it was becoming increasingly likely that the party would see a split and the country would be spiralled into a bitter general election. Thus far, such a prospect has been evaded, due to its undesirability, but it is uncertain how long it will take before the situation deteriorates once again. Of course, the Conservative Party have been lapping up the Left’s worsening factionalism, with Leader of the Opposition Tanas Gruzdev welcoming Grigorievna’s supposed “shift to the Right” – a statement designed to be incendiary.
Standing against this background, Grigorievna undoubtedly has plenty on her plate, while simultaneously keeping up appearances with her allies in Brigantica. The League of Free Nations was founded at the end of the Great War and was based upon a charter known as the Ornans Pact, the city where the Artemia Reconstruction Conference was hosted. Brigantica, Vallis and Legantus have partaken in this military alliance arrangement since its launch, so Yarova’s admittance nine decades later is significant and brings to the table a multitude of questions. Why would a country, which has descended down a path of extensive demilitarisation, suddenly take such a dramatic U-turn? What could be the international community’s response to this, particularly members of the North-South Concordant? Has Yarovan membership of the League come about directly due to untold foreign threats of aggression?
In her speech to the press, the president displayed poise and confidence when she insisted Yarova was not steering towards conflict and that membership would mean defending values of democracy, fairness and human rights. However, even Grigorievna’s artful professionalism and body language could not conceal the air of anxiety and imminent unpredictability. Provided is a full transcript of Grigorievna’s speech:
“I would first like to commence by saying publicly: Mr. President, you are most welcome to the United Federated Districts. The honour is entirely ours to receive you in our capital on this rather frigid January morning. It is our hope that our cordial hospitality will be sufficient in sustaining your body warmth – if all else fails, a ushanka will certainly be on the ready!
Both of our states, the United Federated Districts and the Continental Republic, have an extensive, shared history of warm bilateral relations, be it in terms of diplomacy, trade, commerce or otherwise. Our republican roots run deep and owing to this undying fact, we are brothers and sisters.
The Continental Republic supplied munitions and military strategy expertise to the Republican Front during the Vojiskiy War – a war from which the people emerged victorious for the first instance.
The Briganticans played their part in aiding the Yarovar republican rebels in their fight for freedom; the rest is now history. There exists a special bond between the United Federated Districts and the Continental Republic; for our harmonised aspirations are fuelled by social justice and human rights.
Since our transition from Empire to ballot boxes, there has been a phrase commonly uttered and heard in our state – and I find it most befitting given the circumstances – “Politics is for us, not above us.”
As Head of State of my country, I am not above my fellow citizens, I am their most loyal and faithful servant – as I am sure you would agree, Mr. President. As Heads of States, this is what we are morally obliged to do. For if we do not, we become despots of tyrannies, with free reign to act at the expense of the people and to the detriment of the common good.
Certainly, we should neither celebrate tyrannies nor permit such poison to seep into the borders of other, more vulnerable states, which may typically be found in the developing world. Both the United Federated Districts and the Continental Republic are tremendously proud of our democratic traditions and ideals of liberty, equality and justice; therefore, it is fundamental that we work towards securing such freedoms for people elsewhere in our world.
The Continental Republic must continue to play its part, as it did in 1924. As must we, because our national experience forbids us to forget or water down the atrocities of the Imperial Era. We must not authorise the repetition of this sinister dimension of history. Military defence partnership and security co-operation with our allies most committed to global peace and stability is first and foremost on our agenda. Therefore, in the coming weeks, the United Federated Districts will initiate participation in the League of Free Nations.
To whomever is intent on the misuse of power to undermine democracy and threaten what level of international order and goodwill we have fought so strenuously for, on behalf of my government, the Yarovan people and the free world, I tell you this simply: You will not be enabled to sleep upon us any longer, you will not be allowed to wantonly spawn upheaval. Not while so much commendable work has been achieved, such as the accomplishment of physical activist ceasefires, peace processes, new-found common ground between former perceived foes and the facilitation of respectful, respectable dialogue.
This very city from where we stand today has, itself, experienced first-hand the incessant and unsparing consequences of war. The Great War, followed by two civil wars and several terrorist attacks by dissident secessionists have collectively and individually shaken Shchyokhov to its core. Alas, Shchyokhov is far from a solitary case – war has profoundly and negatively impacted all four corners of our globe.
Conflict maims and slaughters, it mentally scars its victims and those their beloved. The damage it does unto the infrastructure and economy of any civilised state is immeasurable. Needless to say, conflict is not anywhere to be found on our agenda. We want nothing more than to see the threat of conflict subdued through consistent and considerate intergovernmental conversation. As it stands today, we are not edging into the proximity of conflict, but we and our Brigantican allies hold the view that additional effort is required in order to advance the cause of global peace and stability.
Yes, we have reached so very far, but indeed, there is more work to be done. As we journey through a new year, I am hopeful that great progress will be made as we persevere in the pursuit of peace in 2018. Thank you.”
Replying to a question regarding the Meselev controversy, specifically whether or not Meselev would resign, Grignorievna had this to say: “Mr. Meselev and I may not have seen eye-to-eye on this particular issue [Yarova in LoFN] in the past, however, such disagreements have since been reconciled. I am confident my colleague will act, as have I, in the best interests of the people’s government to which he has been appointed to serve.”
Meanwhile, vocal backbenchers such as Yuriy Pechkin have publicly condemned the president and even made calls for her to resign. Asked if the country could be dragged into a premature general election, she said: “I cannot imagine any scenario by which we would be compelled to call for a general election, especially in regard to the United Federated Districts joining the League. If anything, I am optimistic that greater co-operation and engagement will be in the best interests of our nation.”
Grigorievna provided vague answers to questions of future projects within the League, particularly the prospect of League bases in Yarova and its seas. “Our government is completely dedicated to protecting the people of this country and upholding the stability which we enjoy so very much today. I am, by no means, a clairvoyant, but I can assure that no decision will be taken which could contradict our values and undermine our resolve to secure regional and global peace.”
“There exists now a remarkable opportunity for our nation… a stellar opportunity… excuse the pun… to expand the national space programme and collaborate to a greater extent with allies.”
The Conservative Party have largely welcomed the decision, having pushed for it for many years, but have criticised Grigorievna for her “lack of transparency and openness.” Vice President Isaak Nikishin Svoburg was, initially, reported to have been ‘discontented’ with the development, but ultimately granted his approval. In a closed conference with fellow Ecology Party members this evening, he called for “Continued unity and focus on defending the earth;” as well as “Making certain the DSP honour the Yarovan ideal of pacifism and basic human decency.” Yarova Today will deliver additional commentary the moment additional information is received.2019
Apr 05: Twenty years on since Shvekshna broke away from Aukalnia, what has changed?
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 05 April 2019 — 10:21 (UTC+7)
“The reign of terror our country thrust on a smorgasbord of peoples across this continent in the name of ‘Eastern Domination’ was not inevitable. But the undoing of that terror – decolonisation - is indeed inevitable.” Those were the words of Vladimir Rodchenko in a rare address to the House of Representatives only three months into his radical presidency. The Aukalnia and Sartland Decolonisation and Reconciliation Act, 1995 which he personally championed was arguably the single-most contentious law to ever pass in the Yarovan parliament. Elements of the national media viciously lambasted Rodchenko. Ivan Pasternak, then-Leader of the Opposition and President of the People of Yarova, demanded he be tried for an act of treason. The Act authorised the Aukalnian takeover of the historic Švėkšna region, which was heavily settled, or planted, by ethnic Yarovars and Peremorovkars in the early nineteenth century. To understand the present situation, it is important to reflect on the region's history of violence and mistrust.
By the 1840s, almost 90% of the inhabitants were East Slavic settlers and, in 1853, the Vojiskiy Empire formally annexed the region. In 1926, the Provisional Government declared Shvekshna one of the 23 federated districts of the union. Following the victory of the communists in the Aukalnian Civil War, the People’s Socialist Boreal Republics laid claim to Shvekshna in its constitution, and referred to it as the county (apskritis) of Švėkšna. No diplomatic, commercial or trade relations were fostered during this period. For much of the 20th century, the contested region would dominate the fractured relationship between Yarova and its smaller, north-western neighbour. After three Aukalnian soldiers were purportedly shot dead by the Yarovan Land Forces near the disputed border in 1950, a war was looming ever closer.
Liudvikas Vainikonis, the Aukalnian dictator who was celebrated and vilified by equal measure, issued the Bartninkai Ultimatum to President Slava Novoseltsev. This threat of an Aukalnian invasion resulted in widespread ethno-sectarian attacks against Boreal minorities in Shvekshna’s capital of Chernyakhovsk. It is believed some 80 Aukalnians and Sarts lost their lives in the riots, and hundreds more were injured. Following Vainikonis’ death in 1951, tensions mollified considerably, but it was not until Merunas Kanys’ premiership in 1977 when both states started to engage in formal diplomatic relations. In the 1990s, the Kanys administration, with the endorsement of Yarova and the League of Free Nations, announced plans to transition Aukalnia to a market economy. However, he was promptly ousted from office by the People’s Socialist Party and his successor, Marijus Kerasevicius, rescinded his liberalisation policies. This is when things got ugly.
Any hopes of Aukalnia once more becoming part of a Yarovan Eastern Bloc were seemingly dissipated with Kanys’ removal. However, Pan-Slavist President Sergey Khismatullin was unprepared to allow Aukalnia and Sartland’s steps towards capitalism to flush down the drain. “He saw an open window of opportunity and he dove face-first to effectively alter the national constitution,” asserts Dr. Ilya Usoyev, a political scientist at the University of Chaykoboksarsk. “It is on record that the hypermilitarisation of the UFDY was the raison d'être of the People of Yarova since the party’s creation.” In May 1992, Khismatullin presented to parliament a bill which proposed changing Yarova’s defence policy and extending the Federal Armed Forces’ capabilities to launch military operations off Yarovan sovereign turf. Owing to the dominance of the People of Yarova in the House of Representatives at that time, the major vote managed to narrowly pass 236-225, with a further 29 parliamentarians crucially abstaining. A 250,000-strong pacifist demonstration on the streets of Shchyokhov did little to change Khismatullin's point of view.
Fast-forward one month and the Federal Armed Forces were mopping up the last of Aukalnian resistance in the Boreal metropolis of Ažytėnai. In spite of international condemnation, Yarova invaded its neighbour. Khismatullin accused Kerasevicius of overseeing human rights abuses and, in an official press statement, detailed of alleged intelligence reporting of potential WMDs based in the southern stretches of the country. In reality, there were no such findings. Communist Aukalnia and Sartland was nothing more than a cantankerous, sickly old grandfather, while Khismatullin’s vision of Yarova was a brutish, hypermasculine man pumped up on steroids.
Khismatullin assured critics in Yarova that the operation was simply to democratise Aukalnia and secure the frontier with Shvekshna. However, Gardic spyplanes soon gathered intelligence of surface-to-air ballistic missile sites in five different locations in Aukalnia, believed to be of Yarovan origin. Unsurprisingly, the situation deteriorated into what is now known as the Aukalnian Missile Crisis, between the nuclearised states of Yarova and Gardarike. It took a threat of a Gardic counter-attack in Sartland to eventually bring Khismatullin to the negotiating table, after several push backs and displays of his trademark stubborn character. After a one-year peace process, all Yarovan troops were withdrawn and the Northern Coregnancy supervised the establishment of the United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland, which would function under a capitalist economy and practise open, multi-party elections. The Ruchava Agreement guaranteed a pact of mutual non-aggression between the two neighbours. However, the Question of Shvekshna was only becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
The Yaro-Aukalnian War did tremendous damage to the reputation of Sergey Khismatullin and the right-wing People of Yarova party. Thus, it was an expected result when Vladimir Rodchenko of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) was elected as the thirteenth President of Yarova. Rodchenko was staunchly opposed to the invasion of Aukalnia and had made known his views regarding Shvekshna and its future in the union. In the aftermath of the Act’s implementation, all that was changed, changed utterly.
Rodchenko firmly stood by the view that, because the principle of consent was not codified in any law, it was not an unconstitutional act to “peacefully hand over the reins to Kapcinskas.” He was sorely mistaken, however, if he had truly believed that Shvekshnars would have willingly accepted Aukalnian rule. The day after the Act’s passing, on 21 September 1995, the oblast’s assembly in Chernyakhovsk unanimously voted to declare Shvekshna’s independence. Through the course of 1996, the Yarovan authorities gradually withdrew from the oblast, and thousands of Shvekshnars fled to the nearby Pivnichna Peremorovka Oblast. Those that remained, relentlessly resisted attempted Aukalnian advances into the region, which escalated into the First Shvekshna War of 1997. Initially, Rodchenko offered military support to the handover but by 1998, Shchyokhov abandoned this policy. In the Second Shvekshna War, from 1999-2000, the Aukalnians persisted in its efforts to gain control of the region but only succeeded in acquiring 20% of the territory. The remaining 80% maintained its independence, regardless of what is argued by Ažytėnai, Shchyokhov or even Holmgard.
“We refer to ourselves as the ‘Millennium Republic,” laughs Zina Cherenchikova, a fresh-faced 22-year-old student teacher from the outskirts of Chernyakhovsk. Zina was just three months’ old when the First Shvekshna War ignited. To her, Shvekshna is as much a country as Aukalnia and Sartland or indeed, Yarova. “Our entire livelihoods are here, we have our own government which enacts its own laws, our own police force which enforces those laws, our own hospitals, schools, and we use our own legal tender.” The principle of consent is a term that is widely echoed in the Yarovan Republic of Shvekshna, an area that encompasses the city of Chernyakhovsk and some fifty towns and villages which surround it. “Us Shvekshnars are still angry now, of course. The old country we once felt part of greatly betrayed us, flung us out into the cold of night,” says Boris Emskikh, a 48-year-old butcher who partook in the rebel resistance during the conflict. It is clear a new sense of identity has been cultivated here, and that is certainly no thanks to Yarova.
Given the DSP has been behind the steering wheel of Yarovan governance since 1995, the policy on Shvekshna has remained relatively unchanged. With that said, in 2014, President Nikita Chekudayev showed signs of subtle sympathy, by permitting the opening of a Yarovan pseudo-consulate in Chernyakhovsk. However, the federal government maintains to this day that the activity is merely cultural in nature. The People of Yarova’s official party policy affirms the principle of consent, although in 2019, the context has undoubtedly evolved. The current Leader of the Opposition Tanas Gruzdev recently reiterated that policy by stating that if he became president he would recognise and normalise diplomatic relations with the Yarovan Republic of Shvekshna. Notably, President of the Yarovan Republic of Shvekshna Pavel Kurhepin has said publicly that he is “ready to talk.”
The question is, 20 years on, should President Konstantina Grigorievna and the DSP revise its stance? Some DSP political figures have argued that by doing so, it would be in breach of the terms of the Ruchava Agreement - as recognising Shvekshna's independence would equate showing aggression towards Aukalnia and Sartland. As the People of Yarova are climbing in popularity, with the most recent poll by YTV indicating that 54% of voters would choose them over the DSP, this question has become significantly more relevant. Is the Pan-Slavist argument still an acceptable aspiration?Jun 06: End in sight for the DSP? People of Yarova Party take country by storm
By ALEXEI BANIN | 05 April 2019 — 10:21 (UTC+7)
Just three weeks after Tanas Gruzdev topped a popularity poll which, needless to say, served as a major embarrassment to the Grigorievna administration, the People of Yarova have emerged as the overall victors of the district-level elections. Although the right-wing party were forecast to get eleven candidates to the finish line, a favourable increase from 2014’s total of seven districts, they have secured a jaw-dropping sixteen chancellors. For the first time since the presidency of Sergey Khismatullin from 1985 to 1995, more districts are represented by the People of Yarova than any other party – a major blow to the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP). The People of Yarova have maintained majority control over the traditionally-supportive districts of Bochinovka, Buguznogorsk, Khanskoye-Chirbent, Otrada, Pozdnyakovskaya, Roslapeysk and Yelerinsk, successfully putting forward well-known public figures such as Victor Sagadeyev, Jr. and Kristina Kelerova.
In addition to this, the party have impressively gained ground in Kamenka, Khomustatskaya, Kogalma, Leont’yevskaya, Smirnova, Yadryshkina, Yumarapol and, controversially, Borisopol. The free city of Borisopol is commonly regarded in Yarovan popular culture as the ‘swing district,’ that is to say it is believed that the city determines who will be the federal president in an upcoming election by the party it elects in the chancellorship race the preceding year. Borisopol has never strayed from this trend since it was awarded free city status in 1973, and this year’s result has led to a frenzy. But what has brought about such a rapid and significant shift in the voting patterns of the electorate? Oil, or so reckons Dr Sosi Karchagina from the School of Political Science at Shchoykov’s National University of Yarova. “It is clear from analysing trends of public opinion that the federal government’s announcement of ‘phasing out’ the domestic petroleum industry by 2030 has resulted in people turning their backs on the DSP. Of course, the People of Yarova were waiting in the wings to clutch on to that discontent. That’s how populism works.”
The DSP, which have governed the UFDY for almost 25 years, may soon see their democratic socialist project come tumbling down, but perhaps not without a good fight. In a surprisingly honest admission, President Grigorievna has stated that her government “have not heeded the anger of ordinary people whose livelihoods rely on the continuance of the oil industry.” However, Grigorievna fell short by refusing to answer on whether or not she regrets setting government policy on the matter, or even if such policy would be retracted following the election result. Vice President Isaak Nikishin Svoburg, who leads the Ecology Party (EP), has called for the “uniting of the Left” and the “abandonment of all internal disagreements” to ensure the People of Yarova are prevented from getting access to the driver’s seat in Shchyokhov.
For a great number of people in eastern oblasts of the country, like Mr and Mrs Lagransky from Shultaysk in Bochinovka, this year’s election result was a long time coming. Mr Lagransky, aged 78, worked on an oil rig from the age of just twelve years and he shares with us why he wants to see Tanas Gruzdev become the sixteenth president of Yarova. “In this country, we are blessed by God to have so much natural resources. 45 billion barrels of oil! We would not be half the country we are today without it. We could not fuel our vehicles, heat our homes, power our factories, or pave our roads. Jesus Christ, you mean to tell me they want to take all this away from us?” He continues: “Gruzdev gets it, there is no horseshit passing his lips. I have supported him since he has been leader. He knows that it is lunacy to shut the oil rigs.” Mrs Lagransky, aged 74, has a soft spot for newly-elected Otrada chancellor Kristina Kelerova. “I like this young blonde! She reminds me of myself when I was in my youth, a real working girl [she laughs].” The mood changes when they are asked about their feelings towards President Grigorievna. An initially-hesitant Mrs Lagransky ponders: “But how could they put a foreign, coloured woman in office? She does not represent Yarovars, she knows nothing about us.” Mr Lagransky adds: “I think she should be deported to Kesh.”
Unfortunately, such racist views are not rare and the Lagransky’s remarks echo those of Gruzdev’s in the past, which are not limited to the verified video recording in which he says about Grigorievna: “Look at her! Look at her! This woman is disingenuous, she is not a Yarovar!” This time around, however, the People of Yarova have tread carefully on the issue of race and strategically put forward ethnic minority candidates such as Kellerovo’s Areqshu Nashko (who is Adyghe) and Yelerinsk’s Annagül Ibragimova, (who is Trukhmen). Both Nashko and Ibragimova were successful in their respective bids for chancellor and have, in the process, polished the party’s reputation on the matter.
Dr Karchagina is unsurprised by this and offers a personal prediction of what to expect in the presidential race later this year: “Expect to see a far more versed and prepared Gruzdev, who is willing to say the right thing when it comes to race relations and LGBTQ+ rights. I do think that he will select Kelerova as his vice-presidential running mate. She would be a wise choice, given her popularity.” Kelerova, whose great-uncle-in-law was none other than the late Sergey Khismatullin, is a self-proclaimed ‘farmer’s daughter’ and ‘run-of-the-mill Otradan’ who just so happened to study Law and Ovancian in affluent Shchyokhov. She rose to prominence within the party over the past number of years and, yes, she is the woman who gave that cringe-worthy speech about how she isn’t a feminist because the DSP ‘stole’ the term. If Kelerova is chosen, it is unclear why she would contend in the district-level elections, but what is clear is that the People of Yarova have their eyes on the ball and very much want to tear down the DSP establishment.Jul 11: When Tanas met Vika: Interview with People of Yarova party leader
By VIKA ZUYEVA | 11 July 2019 — 19:30 (UTC+7)
Although we have seen each other on numerous occasions since, the last time I interviewed Tanas Gruzdev for Vika was way back in 2009 when he ran for the second time against Nikita Chekudayev. Things were certainly different back then. The Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) were an insurmountable force, against which the People of Yarova (PY) never stood a realistic chance. The Rodchenko years solidified the DSP into Yarovan political life, all the while the PY retreated into the shadows in a desperate attempt to brush off the dust of the tumultuous Khismatullin administration. Much like the Christian Alliance Party (CAP) in Kropokhovo, the PY held on to its traditional vote in the eastern half of the country, typically consisting of those involved in agriculture and the oil industry. This demographic would prove itself essential to winning the party’s first majority in almost 25 years.
Tanas Shaposhnikov Gruzdev was born in the remote town of Oktyashikha in north-eastern Buguznogorsk Oblast on 3 March, 1951. An average academic performer at school, in 1967, at the age of sixteen years, Tanas was enlisted in the Federal Armed Forces and was first stationed at Sosotroitsk, before being transferred to Likhigrad in 1969. In spite of his childhood dream of someday becoming a colonel, his service in the military was over within five months. After getting caught within the range of a deadly KELL bomb detonation, irreparable damage was done to his right leg. Who could have predicted this injury would end up changing the face of Yarovan politics forever?
Tanas did not let his disability hold him back. In fact, his limp has become something of a sensation in popular culture and has resulted in his common nickname Utka, meaning the “duck.” Shortly after returning to his hometown, Tanas dove headfirst into local politics and joined the Republican Party. After the party formally disbanded in 1979, Tanas proved instrumental in the formation of the People of Yarova Party and in 1984, was briefly elected Chancellor of Buguznogorsk. In 1985, he served as Minister for Agriculture and Food Affairs under Sergey Khismatullin, before returning to district chancellorship from 1994 to 2004. A man with a countenance once likened to a “bulldog licking urine off a nettle,” Tanas is, unashamedly, everything westerners portray the eastern stereotype to be. Oddly, maybe that is his charm.
Cut to 2019, and duck memes deluge Yarovan social media. On teenage girl’s bedroom walls, beside posters of drag queens, mumble rappers and pop heartthrobs, is the awkward, crotchety mug of ole Grandad Gruzdev. “Konstantina is shook,” reads one post on trendy Yarovan platform Boltovnya in the immediate aftermath of PY’s success in the elections. This would be harmless, if it were not for the fact Tanas has a questionable political record on weapons of mass destruction, the environment, race relations, gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. To his critics, Tanas is a very real threat to peace on our continent, but to his supporters, he is a living, breathing example of a changed, unapologetic Yarova.
Vika: Whether one agrees with the sentiment or not, every Yarovar is familiar with the phrase “oil and toil is a feast for the east”. I recall sitting in my office when the news broke of the district election results, seeing the celebrations in places like Borisopol and thinking it will be no time at all before all of the country will be having its feast. No doubt it was a historic outcome.
Tanas: It was a day of absolute jubilation. Finally, we could see with our own eyes that, actually, yes, we can accomplish the goals we were always told were impossible. Communities that have had no reason to celebrate in many, many years were having street parties. Elderly people were up on their feet dancing. Little children had their faces painted white, blue and yellow. To me, this was beautiful.
Vika: Would you consider yourself a patriot?
Tanas: Of course! To be a patriot is to have love for one’s own country. I would not be doing any of this if it were not for the fact I love Yarova and my countrymen. It is patriotic to stand up firmly against the ineptitude of the DSP dynasty and ensure that the cosy consensus they have with the ecosocialists is exposed. It is patriotic to want to see Yarova prosper and that cannot happen with these spineless crooks in charge.
Vika: In that case, do you believe the Democratic Socialists and Progressives are patriots?
Tanas: Only an emotionally-uninvested foreigner from afar could spout such nonsense. The DSP are the antithesis of what it means to be a Yarovan patriot. Clearly, their policies are conceptualised by people with underdeveloped brains. They do this country a great deal of harm and this can never be considered patriotism.
Vika: Do you understand people who find the things you say, and the way you say them, offensive? For instance, when you imply that foreign leaders are incompetent at their jobs or that immigrants are destroying the national economy.
Tanas: Illegal immigration is a very real problem here and it is common knowledge that the DSP have built alliances with fellow crooks mismanaging other countries. This is not unfair to say. Contrary to what the media says, I am not the boogeyman. I can empathise and try to understand why some people feel a particular way about me. However, I reject all of this political correctness crap. We are nurturing the youth of this country to be crybabies who whinge and moan about anything and everything they don’t want to hear. Truth tends to hurt the weak and I think that is the actual issue.
Vika: How do you define good leadership?
Tanas: In order to be a good leader, you must relate to the electorate. To the common, everyday people. You must be able to see things from their perspective. Only by those means can you plausibly represent them. Leadership must be driven by patriotism but also by the ability to make tough calls when difficult situations arise. Take no shit from anyone. None of this is new to me.
Vika: Already, you have been on the road for quite a number of weeks on the campaign trail. Early bird catches the worm? [Vika smiles]
Tanas: Or in this case, early duck catches the worm! [Tanas laughs]
Vika: “An untameable she-wolf”. That is how your running mate Kristina Kelerova has been described by Artem Lagransky at the YTV News Network. Former President Danila Christov referred to her as “iron-willed”. What made her a suitable pick for vice presidential candidate?
Tanas: Kristina is an exceptional negotiator and has a way with people that is unmatched in Yarovan politics. She has served her district of Otrada for a great many years and, most importantly, she loves where she comes from. I personally find that she also has that international dimension, with her ability to speak Ovancian and Jungastian fluently, something which critics falsely accuse our party of lacking.
Vika: Certainly, you have come a long way from questioning President Grigorievna’s ethnic origins in 2015 to appointing an Adygeyan, Dzhokarian and Trukhmen as chancellorship candidates in 2019. Do you regret any of your behaviour in the past and would you admit that you indulged in racist rhetoric?
Tanas: I do not accept that assessment. In 2014 I proudly selected my life-long friend Saidakhmed Khadzhiev to represent the People of Yarova in Pozdnyakovskaya. My own wife of 45 years is half Hay, my father-in-law grew up on the reservation. For decades, I have stood up for the rights of ethnic minorities and I vocally supported the signing of the Abaksamir Agreement in 1970, even though KELL blew off a chunk of my leg less than a year before. It can be assured to you, I am no racist.
Vika: But do you not think that Madam President deserves an apology from you though? The audio recording where you brought her skin colour into question was, in fact, substantiated.
Tanas: It was not substantiated. If we are going to talk about President Grigorievna and apologies, perhaps she should first apologise to the Yarovan people for her pathetic misgovernance. [Tanas shrugs his shoulders]
Vika: Now, nuclear weapons. You have talked extensively at rallies about your intention to put forward an executive order that would authorise the recommissioning of weapons of mass destruction in this country. If, indeed, you are elected president. Are you aware of the severe ramifications such a move could have on international relations?
Tanas: I am aware, I am aware. Yes, Grigorievna has more than her fair share of cohorts in the League of Free Nations who have ‘raised concerns’. There are fears that Gardarike could attempt some kind of a supposed ‘pre-emptive strike’ to stall the redevelopment of our program. Make no mistake, this threat is precisely why we have no choice but to proceed in this direction.
Vika: Following the official announcement of the district elections, President Svidrauskas has stated that Aukalnia will increase its military expenditure two-fold and reports have come in of military exercises near the contested Shvekshna. Can you, Tanas, here and now, explicitly rule out another conflict with our western neighbours?
Tanas: It would be ill-advised to speculate and start making efforts to conflate two unrelated factors. What I will say is this, under my leadership, the United Federated Districts will not antagonise another sovereign state unless indisputably provoked. However, it must be emphasised that we will not be bullied into submission either.
Vika: You mentioned the League of Free Nations. Do you see a future for the United Federated Districts in the organisation if you were elected president?
Tanas: Like I said, unless we are provoked, there should be no problem with us remaining in the League. I welcomed President Grigorievna’s decision. But it must be acknowledged, since our admission as a member state nearly two years ago, we have pumped a substantial amount of money into the organisation. Frankly, they need us more than we need them.
Vika: Are you willing to tone down on some of your policy ideas in order to continue participating in the League?
Tanas: What specific policies are you referring to?
Vika: Well, nuclear proliferation is, of course, the major issue that everybody is talking about. Would you put down some clear red lines and say to the League ‘this far but no further’?
Tanas: No, there will be no red lines or concessions. It is as if there is an epidemic of both mass-amnesia and hypocrisy. The United Federated Districts possessed nuclear capabilities in the past. How is it that President Grigorievna can preach world peace and then increase military expenditure 1.5% in less than four years? Why is she not condemning Brigantica, a leading member of the League, for its arsenal?
Vika: Just last week at a gala event in Cheskovsk, your party’s foreign affairs spokesperson Boris Mekhantyev reaffirmed the People of Yarova’s controversial position on Shvekshna. So, you would be prepared to enter the territory and break the conditions of the Ruchava Treaty? Surely this is antagonising another sovereign state?
Tanas: If there is one piece of legislation in the history of our state that frustrates me the most it is the Aukalnia and Sartland Decolonisation and Reconciliation Act. It should never have been tabled and was a callous act of treachery against our own brothers. Vladimir Rodchenko should be thrown into a jail cell to rot. If I am elected president, or indeed any other People of Yarova candidate, there will be exhaustive talks with President Kurhepin to negotiate the peaceful reunification of All Yarova. Aukalnia may choose to partake in this process, but that will be their decision to make.
Vika: Your party is set on changing the way our country’s economy operates. You are an open advocate of supply side economics. You often admonish the DSP for its record on wide-ranging nationalisation. You don’t believe the government should be solely responsible in handling the healthcare system. You have played with the idea of reintroducing tuition fees and loans. Don’t these policies go against ideals of equal opportunity?
Tanas: Without a shadow of a doubt, equal opportunity is a cornerstone of this federation’s very foundation and it must be protected. The political stances you just referred to are not contradictory. But I must say, even though tuition fees are not high on my list, it would never target low-income citizens. I believe in some form of a safety net and the private sector can offer more opportunities to those with a determination to work and do well.
The DSP have carelessly created a culture of idleness and undue entitlement, where there is no initiative among a significant proportion of our healthy young people. That needs to change, reform in the welfare system will make it much more complicated for these people to become recipients. The success and survival of this country relies on the motivation of all its citizens.
Vika: Your sixteen chancellors have recently signed a pact to ignore federal government orders on phasing out on the extraction of oil. Of course, the Supreme Court are set to make a ruling on this. How can you expect DSP chancellors to listen to you if you are elected to the office of president?
Tanas: This is simply spin, no person in the eastern United Federated Districts is falling for it. Hundreds of thousands of people are employed in the petroleum industry in this country, this is their livelihoods. I don’t care about the shoeless hippies, they can go live in mud dwellings in the Karbykans. Until the DSP present to me a more competent solution, which they are incapable of doing, we will continue to work in the best interests of the normal, everyday people we were elected to represent. This is how a federal democracy works.
Vika: Lastly, since we are short on remaining time. Why should a Yarovar vote for you, Tanas Gruzdev, to be the sixteenth President of the United Federated Districts?
Tanas: I would ask citizens of this country to vote for me next year to be their president because the DSP dynasty needs to be torn down. We have suffered the same torturous humiliation for 25 years. The economy is in decline, unemployment rates and crime rates are on the rise. President Grigorievna has demonstrated, time and time again, that she wants to see our country become a lapdog of the West. If I am granted the opportunity, I will not allow this to happen. I will not shut down the oil rigs. I will not compromise on our national defence plans. I will reunite all Yarovars and I will ensure that we will regain our status as an economic global player.
Vika: Tanas, it has been a pleasure. The best of luck to you. [Tanas and Vika shake hands]Jul 18: When Vika met Konstantina: Interview with President of Yarova
By VIKA ZUYEVA | 18 July 2019 — 19:31 (UTC+7)
Just last week, a long-awaited interview I conducted with People of Yarova (PY) party leader Tanas Gruzdev was published to a global readership on my website. The enigma that is Tanas has garnered a cult following across the eastern United Federated Districts and, with fresh electoral strides in the swing district of Borisopol, along with traditionally-DSP Yadryshkina, Smirnova and Yumarapol, political scientists are placing their bets on his victory in the presidential election in less than twelve months. In the interview (which you may find here: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=35925168#p35925168), Tanas reasserts his resolve, if elected, to proceed with controversial policies such as renuclearisation, the expansion of the petroleum industry and the reacquisition of the Shvekshna disputed territory. It is these said brazen stances that have skyrocketed public support of Tanas and his PY party, helping illuminate to the understanding the sheer level of frustration felt by tens of millions of Yarovars towards the current administration. However, for the sake of healthy, balanced political discourse, it is important to also gain an insight into the perspective of the personnel operating within the federal government itself. Who better to touch base with, I thought, than the Head of State and Government, President Konstantina Grigorievna?
Konstantina Jiraiya Payaimar Grigorievna was born in Yarova’s second city of Minerinsk-Belgorod on 3 April, 1969. She was born to a black Yarovar mother and a father of Mahdi and Hay heritage. The president was raised in a family of devout Eastern Orthodox Catholics and attended St. Magda’s Primary School, an Orthodox educational establishment in the ward of Slaksa in south-east Minerinsk. She studied at a public school for her secondary level education, the Sarolma Hill Secondary School. In her youth, Grigorievna was a keen gymnast, horse rider and debater. She joined the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) at the age of just 16 years in 1985. After graduation, in 1987, Grigorievna earned a scholarship and studied at the National University of the United Federated Districts in Shchyokhov. She went on to study at the E.K. Lemenev School of Law in Shchyokhov, which she attended from 1992 to 1995. During her time in the education system, Grigorievna stirred up controversy for her radical social views, such as her advocacy for same-sex marriage, cannabis legalisation and the decriminalisation of sex work. This would pose itself as a trend for the rest of her high-profile political career, as she steadily climbed the ladder from a district representative for Minerinsk’s 22nd Ward in 1996 to federal president in 2015.
A moderate socialist, it is widely known that the president became politically-motivated directly owing to her contempt of the then-ruling PY party under presidents Danila Christov and Sergey Khismatullin. It is mildly amusing then, if not simply indicative of our country’s polarised political atmosphere, that the PY party has observed an explosion in membership due to much of the public’s negative perceptions of President Grigorievna. Since her inauguration four years ago, the president has, among other things: renationalised Air Yarova and Yarovan Railways, raised the minimum wage from 10 USD to 15 USD, implemented the Altekst Policy (go-ahead for federal funding of nonprofit environmentalist NGOs), and rescinded marijuana from the federal list of prohibited substances.
However, most significantly, the Grigorievna administration has overseen the United Federated Districts’ admittance to the League of Free Nations, a major global bloc of states which promotes military and economic co-operation between its members. This contentious decision required the carrying out of a plebiscite in May 2018 which altered the national constitution and has subsequently authorised the Yarovan Armed Forces to engage in military exercises outside of domestic territory, after 51.8% voted in favour. Since Grigorievna’s ascension to office in 2015, federal military expenditure has increased from 0.48% to the current total of 2.0%. In January 2018, the Minister of National Security and Defence, the United Federated Districts’ third in command, Erik Meselev, resigned in protest and accused President Grigorievna of “dragging Yarova into the moronic board game of bloc-politics”. The dust has never quite settled since then and, although the Yarovan Armed Forces are currently participating in League drills in Western Artemia, the likelihood of the United Federated Districts remaining in the organisation is shrinking by the day.
Naturally, not unlike any of its preceding counterparts, the Grigorievna presidency has experienced the highs and lows that come with governance. Nevertheless, with her administration’s expressed commitment to ‘phase out’ from all fossil fuels by 2040 and, especially, the petroleum industry by 2030, for the first time in 25 years, the DSP are polling behind the PY party. A poll released last Monday, conducted for TV Pyat’s Politika, has indicated that President Grigorievna’s approval ratings stand at an unimpressive 39%. The lowest ever being 36% in February, following the release of the renewable energy transition targets. Of course, people have cause for concern. Unemployment is on the rise across all 29 federated districts, and has increased from 3.6% to 4.9% in the past four years alone.
PY representatives have argued that the increasing of the national minimum wage has taken its toll on small, rural businesses. While some economists have pinned the blame on new, stringent environmental regulations suffocating the chemical, pharmaceutical and automobile sectors, coupled with the sharp elevation of the corporate tax in recent years. Inner-city crime is also a growing problem in districts such as Yumarapol and Cheskovsk. The training and competence of personnel in law enforcement agencies and their use of routine excessive force have been raised into question, but have seemingly fallen upon deaf ears in Shchyokhov. How does Madam President reckon with these damning statistics? Does she see herself realistically securing a second term in government? I visited the Surkov Palace to find out.
Vika: Kicking down a dead-end, brick wall of classism and inequality. Promoting the needs of everyone rather than produce massive profits for a small handful of this country’s people. Combatting the ever-looming threat of climate change and ensuring that future generations of Yarovars will get to see the light of day. Bringing an end to the gluttony of corporate capitalism.These are just some of the things you were quoted as saying in your historic presidential address in 2015. Firstly, my question to you would be: Do you think you have been successful in achieving these things?
President Grigorievna: Well, let’s hope you’ve started off with the toughest questions and you’ll ease down a little as we go on! [President Grigorievna laughs]
I don’t think it was ever on my agenda to achieve all of these things within five years or, indeed, within ten years. With that said, that is not to suggest we haven’t made progress and I think that is the key word here, actually. The democratic socialist project in this country was launched by former President Rodchenko almost 25 years ago, it was never his intention to see it finalised overnight. In a federated state like ours, where private corporations still wield an insane amount of power due to the vested interests of right-wing politicians and other public figures, we cannot expect to see a rapid and smooth transition. I believe we have gotten closer to our goals, with tougher action on corporations with higher taxation and environmental regulation. But, as we have seen in recent times, our opponents, who benefit from this inequality, are definitely not taking this lying down.
Vika: We hear that a lot from DSP representatives and, I mean, with the greatest of respect, President Chekudayev was prone to this explanation of a “gradual project.” But to people on the outside, to a great number of ordinary Yarovars, it can feel like an excuse. As if you are paying lip service to grassroots activists while effectively not doing what you were elected to do. Do you grasp that increasingly common interpretation?
President Grigorievna: I would, unreservedly, call that a misinterpretation. However, I would be evading the truth if I led you to believe I never, myself, encountered those views by citizens who were concerned. It’s understandable why they would be. I will tell you the very same thing I say to them each and every time.
Our aim as democratic socialists is to end our society’s subservience to the financial market. We have already taken steps to realise this, such as the establishment of universal healthcare in 2000 and the abolition of third-level tuition fees in 2011. But we need to keep working to eventually replace the private ownership of the means of production with a collective, democratic ownership. In the short term, we can’t eliminate private corporations, but we can bring them under greater democratic control. It will be no walk in the park, but that is the ultimate plan.
Vika: So what you are saying is, the DSP someday plan to seize all private property in this country. How would this make you any different to the Communist Party in Teutonenland? Which, of course, the League of Free Nations frothingly opposes.
President Grigorievna: The DSP have been among the harshest critics of authoritarian communist states, like Teutonenland, as you mention. Just because their bureaucratic elites call them “socialist” does not make it so; they also call their regimes “democratic.” The DSP have always opposed the ruling party-states of those societies, just as we oppose the ruling classes of capitalist societies. However, the improvement of people’s lives requires real democracy without ethnic rivalries or new guises of authoritarianism. Most importantly, we cannot allow all radicalism to be dismissed as “communist.” That suppression of dissent and diversity undermines Yarova’s ability to live up to its promise of equality of opportunity, not to mention the freedoms of speech and assembly.
Vika: Would you not agree that there is, at the very least, a semblance of contradiction in a self-identified socialist president proceeding full-throttle to participate in a bloc of liberal capitalist states?
President Grigorievna: Upon our full entry into the League eighteen months ago, our government prepared a formal bulletin which was issued to the general public outlining our rationale for engaging in the organisation. As set out in the statement, among other things, our primary objectives include the preservation and advancement of human rights, the promotion of sustainable economic and social development, and the initiation of stable international diplomacy. Our membership has granted us access to a valuable avenue in which the United Federated Districts can carry out positive diplomatic dialogue with the government of the Gardic Realm. These objectives do not contradict our values as a political party whatsoever, in fact, they are very much compatible.
Vika: In acknowledgement of your election promise to tackle the soaring crime rates in some of our country’s major urban centres. The crime rate has only exacerbated through the course of your tenure. The Chancellor of Yumarapol Jivan Kurdin made headlines last week for accusing your government of being “scared shitless of the Sem’ya”, also known as the Yarovan mafia. Why has your government refused to recognise and counteract the explosion in organised criminal activities?
President Grigorievna: The federal government have treated Mr. Kurdin’s words as nothing but smear tactics to aid his party leader in getting into power. This is the kind of rhetoric from district governments we expect to hear a lot of now that the majority are presided over by opportunists in the PY party. The fact is, the Department for Domestic Cohesion and Protection is in the process of addressing organised crime by adopting new control approaches such as improving police efficiency by emphasising greater coordination between law enforcement agencies. In the House of Representatives, DSP representatives are currently drawing up a tougher antigambling bill and in government, we intend to establish a standing committee to attend to police corruption and isolation. We are not scared of any criminal organisation in this country, myself and my cabinet simply refuse to give any legitimacy to these thugs by using the titles they want us to use.
Vika: But these ‘opportunists’ that you refer to must be doing something right, Madam President. Considering the fact the PY leader Tanas Gruzdev is consistently polling 10 points ahead of you. If these polls are not an indication of who will be President of Yarova next year, then certainly the last district elections were. How do you come to terms with this? Is the fight really over?
President Grigorievna: No, the fight will never be over. Gruzdev and the PY party have been lurking in the shadows for quite some time, waiting for the appropriate moment to latch on to any form of public discontent and run with it for political gain. That is what has happened over the past few months, and that is why he is faring more positively in the polls than I am at the moment. Even if I were trailing twenty, thirty or forty points behind him, I would not hold my hands up and throw in the towel.
Vika: Do you see yourself winning a second term in office?
President Grigorievna: Look, there is undoubtedly a fight on our hands come the next election. I know that the fight I am leading is one of equality, justice and fairness, and as the saying goes, I will ‘keep fighting the good fight’. If the Left can mobilise and come together constructively, I truly believe we will still be in with a credible chance of getting into government again. It will take a massive amount of grafting by a hell of a lot of people but it’s a challenge worth taking.
Vika: Why should my readers, in your view, not vote for Tanas Gruzdev?
President Grigorievna: I had hoped for easier questions but this is just a no-brainer! [President Grigorievna laughs]
The very concept of Mr. Gruzdev as President of the United Federated Districts would be a defilement of the office. He is an unrepentant racist. A man who has questioned my Yarovan-ness due to the colour of my skin. A man who was responsible for lifting the racial discrimination laws in Buguznogorsk Oblast in the 1990s. He is openly anti-LGBTQ. A man who once referred to two men kissing as “against the natural order”. A man who still thinks transgender people are “deluded” and do not deserve access to hormone treatment. He is an unashamed jingoist. A man who wants to bring back weapons of mass destruction to this country. A man who, during Khismatullin’s War, bragged about wanting to “reduce Gardarike and Aukalnia to rats and cockroaches”. Surely this is not the person we want representing our union on the international stage. With Mr. Gruzdev, we have some very serious national security risks and I suspect many millions of people will feel compelled to resist if he is elected.
Vika: In hindsight, if you had known how negatively the general public would react to your cabinet’s renewable energy transition targets, would you have done things differently?
President Grigorievna: … [President Grigorievna hesitates for a moment]
I do not believe that the proposals and targets laid out in the strategy were cause for such a widespread level of opposition. It is excusable why some people, especially those directly involved in the energy sector, may be unsettled at the idea of complete termination of petroleum works within such a short timeframe. However, we have a great team of climate change and energy experts advising us on policy-making and determining which targets are realistic and which are actually not. An alternative employment plan is covered across the length of eighty pages in the report. I continue to stand by the paper and am mostly frustrated at how the PY have managed to contort the situation in their favour.
Vika: Since I have asked you why my readers should not vote for Tanas Gruzdev. Why should my readers vote for you, Madam President?
President Grigorievna: We are rapidly approaching a major crossroads in the history of the United Federated Districts. Which person is elected President of Yarova in 2020 will decide the future of our country and what direction we go in; not just politically, but also economically and socially. Globally, tensions are running high. In a collective manner, the League of Free Nations is working tirelessly to uphold stability in our region and beyond. Now is the time to branch out to our neighbours and present ourselves as a true beacon of liberty. We cannot afford to see a ‘Gruzdev’s War’ with Aukalnia over who should administer a post-colonial war zone. We cannot risk our hard-fought, fragile peace with Gardarike over who has the most rockets, this is not about boys and their toys.
Instead, we need to persist in the twenty-five-year-long fight for democracy at home and abroad. We need to advance the democratic socialist project into the next decade. We need to combat climate change. Only the DSP can deliver the practical and pragmatic policies necessary to accomplish all of these things. That is why I am asking for the citizens of this proud country to vote for me in the upcoming election. The work is not done! [President raises her fist]
Vika: And with that, I am afraid we are out of time. I want to thank you sincerely for your time, Madam President. The best of luck to you in the coming months. [President Grigorievna and Vika shake hands]Aug 19: Breaking: 16 killed in Borisopol bomb explosion
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 19 August 2019 — 12:25 (UTC+7)
At least 16 people were killed and more than two dozen injured in a car bomb explosion Monday at the headquarters of Christian pressure group Zashchita Very (ZV) in Borisopol’s eastside borough of Andreykovo. Two 26-year-old males of Yarovan nationality have been identified as potential suspects and have been apprehended by the Borisopol Police Department. Among the dead include prominent anti-LGBT rights activist and qualified psychiatrist Yaroslava Abakumova who, notably, recently endorsed Tanas Gruzdev in the upcoming federal presidential elections. The attack comes as tensions are rising between left and right. It is believed that the suspects are linked to militant anti-facism. Severny Lane, Sibrayt Street and Polina Street have all been cordoned off by the authorities. Both pedestrians and drivers have been asked to fully cooperate with this undertaking until the criminal investigation reaches its next phase.
According to a Surkov Palace press release, President Grigorievna is set to make an appearance in Borisopol tomorrow in an act of solidarity with the victims and their families. However, reports have come in that a government request to meet the director of ZV has been denied. In the official statement, the president has described the attack as an “unthinkable evil” and “unrepresentative of Yarovan socialism”. Meanwhile, Gruzdev, presently on the campaign trail in Maugorod, has engaged in a conference call with a handful of ZV members as they were being hosted by the district Chancellor Edik Savasin. Both Gruzdev and Savasin have pinpointed the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) as the suspects’ source of inspiration in carrying out the bombing. On the People of Yarova (PY) website, Savasin claims: “For my entire political career, I have talked about how dangerous the DSP pursuit of an anti-faith agenda is on our society. Do not be deceived into thinking otherwise ... the socialists are responsible for this tragedy”. While Gruzdev goes further by noting that Grigorievna has already “incited an insurrection” in the event he makes it to the presidency.
Nonsensical alarmism? Or perhaps we should expect to see more incidents like this, as Yarovan politics continues to become increasingly polarised. The motivations of the culprits behind the bombing have not yet been confirmed in what was the worst domestic terror attack seen since the Steppe conflict of the 1960s and 1970s. The team here at Yarova Today will continue to update on this story as more developments unfold.
Aug 22: Kelerova: Grigorievna has blood on her hands
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 22 August 2019 — 14:15 (UTC+7)
In spite of requests from law enforcement and district government officials for members of the general public to remain at a safe distance from the cordoned-off area in southern Andreykovo, Borisopol, thousands gathered last night for a candlelight vigil that endured through to the early hours of this morning. On Tuesday, the Borisopol Police Commissioner Oleg D. Noskov issued a public statement in which he disclosed the names of the two 26-year-old male suspects, Matvei Preobrazhensky and Peter Kushnir. An additional, third suspect has also been named and shamed by Noskov, in a move reportedly deemed controversial by others within the police department. A 24-year-old woman, Dominika Petrossian, believed to be romantically-connected to Preobrazhensky, has also been apprehended.
The suspects have been linked to a 341-page compendium entitled Rastvoryayushchiy Yad (‘Dissolving the Poison’) which advocates militant anti-facism and largely propounds principles of antireligion. Kushnir’s maternal uncle Ilya Svyatoslavovich works as a policy advisor for the Alternative Socialist Movement (ASD), a party with one seat in the House of Representatives, which has yet to condemn or even comment on the explosion. Noskov has estimated that up to 100 kg of fertilisers containing nitrates were stored in the back of a white Litvin transit van which was detonated at 9.23 am (East Artemian Time) outside the head office of conservative Christian advocacy group Zaschita Very (ZV) (‘Defence of Faith’).
The explosion has now claimed a total of nineteen lives, as three more victims have died in hospital due to injuries sustained from the blast. The youngest, a boy, only seven years of age, was walking along the pavement beside the building with his mother who, herself, is said to be in critical condition. The Director of ZV, Sergey Kirillin, was absent from the city when the bombing took place. He has cited scripture in his denouncement of the attack, saying: “Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’ Wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you”. Kirillin, himself an Orthodox priest, offered a Divine Liturgy in St. Mikhail’s Cathedral in remembrance of the deceased victims and those who have survived the attack.
The Surkov Palace initially announced President Grigorievna’s scheduled arrival to the city as being Tuesday, however, this date was later postponed to Thursday owing to purported “security risks”. In an unexpected move, the president briefly met with the Chancellor of Borisopol, Edik Savasin, who strongly criticised the government and its socialist ideology, which he believes was the driving force behind the attack. Grigorievna and Savasin joined in prayer with members of the public who were gathered beside the bouquet-adorned barricade, which was erected to block pedestrians from entering the crime scene.
Nevertheless, Savasin maintains that the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) influenced the mindset of the perpetrators and that “Grigorievna has got to go”. The Chancellor is not alone in his pointing the finger of blame on the president and the greater DSP party, PY deputy leader and vice presidential candidate Kristina Kelerova addressed an audience in Maugorod in which she confidently asserted that “Grigorievna has Abakumova’s blood on her hands”. Yaroslava Abakumova, a Gruzdev advocate who dedicated most of her adult life to anti-LGBT activism, lost her life in the explosion. Kelerova outrageously claimed that she thinks it was an “inside job” and part of a “terrorist plot to extinguish conservative Yarova”.
“We must pay very close attention to Kristina Kelerova’s comments, stresses Yuriy Dzeghaschte, Yarova Today’s political correspondent. “Not solely for the substance, but also the time and place in which she has said this. She is on the campaign trail with Tanas Gruzdev, arguably this could not have come at a better time for the PY. In their typical fashion, they seem to be stirring up this intense anti-DSP sentiment and, scarily, its working”. Although the population of the Maugorod Islands is less than 50,000, the visit to the archipelago by Gruzdev and Kelerova is significant, as it marks the first time ever that a federal presidential candidate has campaigned there. In a rare case of intervention, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Andreya Davydkina, has asked Kelerova to retract her accusations and apologise to the president, who has yet to respond.
In the address, Kelerova was seemingly determined to make the headlines one way or another, by controversially concluding her speech: “The People of Yarova will work for the betterment and success of All-Yarova, from Maugorod to Shvekshna. To those who want middle ground, we give them the middle finger”. The irredentist term ‘All-Yarova’ dates back to the Vojiskiy imperial age and corresponds to all territorial acquisitions made by the Yarovan Empire during its exercise of manifest destiny, known as Vostochnoye Gospodstvo (‘Eastern Domination’). The PY’s frequent usage of this term has been regarded by numerous political pundits as intentionally-inflammatory, but who can argue that Kelerova’s remarks are not sincere? Either way, by simply mentioning the disputed territory of Shvekshna once again, the PY are sure to further test the patience of Aukalnia and other Northern Coregnancy states.Aug 23: Breaking: Far-right riots break out in Shchyokhov
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 23 August 2019 — 12:27 (UTC+7)
Usually, the atmosphere in Shchyokhov’s political district surrounding the imposing Surkov Palace is calm, peaceful and untroubled. However, such a description could not be further from the truth today, as an estimated 2,000 far-right demonstrators continue to clash with law enforcement in what the former are referring to as a “stand against the socialist regime”. Eyewitness footage has shown rioters looting businesses and pushing back at police officers who were originally only employing baton charge tactics. The Shchyokhov Police Department have since been reduced to using tear gas and rubber bullets following reports of multiple civilian stabbings. It is believed People of Yarova (PY) party deputy leader and vice presidential candidate Kristina Kelerova could be a source of encouragement for the violent demonstrations, as just yesterday she accused the federal government of being behind Monday’s bombing in Borisopol which claimed the lives of nineteen people. Government officials did not have time to respond to the accusations, it seems, before masses of people deluged into the city centre this morning in what appears to be an attempt to force President Grigorievna to resign.
Among the demonstrators include white supremacists, ultranationalists, fascists and people who identify closely with right-wing parties such as the PY and the Yarovar Defence Front (YDF). Riot control measures taken by law enforcement and security forces have succeeded in holding off demonstrators from reaching Respublikanskaya ulitsa (‘Republican Street’), the immediate vicinity of the Surkov Palace, which houses the Parliament, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Residence. Three armoured tanks have been stationed along the street as a “balanced precaution” and the palace has been placed on temporary lockdown, with fears that the violence could descend into a downward spiral. It is unknown at this current time whether or not President Grigorievna is present in the heavily-guarded building.
In a significant development in the past half an hour, the Surkov Palace Press Secretary Vladimir Kuznetsov has issued a formal statement from President Grigorievna in reaction to today’s riots and the recent spike in violent extremism (see below). Kuznetsov, responding to a query from YTV concerning the increase in political polarisation and related violence, has said each district government is being asked to reform its law enforcement policies in anticipation of more attempted riots and bombings elsewhere in the country in the future. He has described it as a "bleak reality, but a reality all the same" and has rejected suggestions that DSP failings in government may be to blame.
THE SURKOV PALACE — Federal Office of the Press Secretary — FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 23 AUGUST, 2019 — Statement by the President
“In acknowledgement of the civil unrest in our capital city of Shchyokhov, it is essential, first and foremost, that the federal government expresses complete disapproval of all forms of violence and condemns, unreservedly, those individuals who instigate such violence on our streets. Today, those with involvement in the rioting have put self-interest above both our national security and our ability to serve the people of Yarova, through whom we have a legitimate, democratic mandate. As President of the United Federated Districts, I have absolute confidence in my cabinet and we will continue our rightful service to the Yarovan people.
As Yarovars, we take immense pride in our propensity to offer tolerance and mutual respect to those with different beliefs. In incidences where we may find ourselves in disagreement, we seek to always arrive at a resolution. We are all too familiar with conflict and the shattering impact it can have on our everyday lives and on those we love. Above all, we strive to uphold our values of justice, equality and liberty, and hold those to account who recklessly try to deprive us of these values. All individuals found to be partaking in violent and unlawful behaviour will be faced with criminal charges. I commend the personnel operating in the security forces who are courageously keeping us safe at this time.
Finally, I would ask all political parties in the House of Representatives to join the Democratic Socialists and Progressives in condemning the riots and other incidents of extremism. They do not commit these acts of lawlessness in our name.”Oct 10: Breaking: Vice President and Surkov staffer in critical condition following assassination attempt
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 10 October 2019 — 15:05 (UTC+7)
At an afternoon rally in Shchyokhov’s city centre marking his fifth week on the presidential campaign trail as leader of the Ecology Party, Vice President Issak Nikishin-Svoburg has been shot in the chest in what is being treated as a politically-motivated assassination attempt. The assailant who carried out this outrageous attack, which has also resulted in the hospitalisation of a Surkov Palace staffer named Viktor Igorevich, remains unidentified and at large. The 71-year-old Vice President is thought to be in critical condition at the nearby St. Nikolai’s Hospital. The city’s chancellor Sofia Pechkina has declared a curfew on all eight boroughs, which will be effective from 6.30 pm tonight following the sounding of the controversial ‘curfew siren’ and will require all civilians to remain indoors until 6.30 am tomorrow morning. The Shchyokhov Police Department, assisted by the Yarovan Land Forces, have set up roadblocks on all major routes exiting the capital. The Shchyokhov Metro has also declared an immediate closure until further notice and is not expecting to operate until the apprehension of the culprit, or indeed, culprits.
As expected, social media is awash with reactions and commentary from a long line of some of the country’s most relevant celebrities and public figures. Speaking on the matter on Yarovan platform Boltovnya, make-up artist and drag queen Chika Chuvash has likened the scenes in Shchyokhov to the “militarism of Unterpreuschwitz”, while celebrated tennis champion Evelina Shulichenka has asked the question on virtually everyone’s mind: “When will this f*cking bloodshed end?” This is not the first time Shulichenka has expressed her political opinion so openly, just last week she featured in the star-studded, DSP-EP-sponsored television campaign to ‘Keep Gruzdev Out’. Each day, this political broadcast (of sorts) offers the take of a popular Yarovan public figure on the presidential race and what they personally loathe about the PY party’s candidate Tanas Gruzdev. Shulichenka discusses his past misogynistic and anti-feminist comments. It appears as the presidential race approaches ever closer, the country’s political landscape is becoming increasingly divided and violent - this assassination attempt just the latest incident in an exhaustive list of verbal attacks, bombings, shootings, and riots fuelled by the animosity between the Left and Right. It does not appear that this turmoil shows even the slightest sign of slowing down, and Gruzdev has yet to comment on the shooting.
At the time of writing, a press conference is underway in the Surkov Palace’s Briefing Room. Press Secretary Vladimir Kuznetsov has stated that President Grigorievna has convened her cabinet and chief advisors for an emergency meeting in the Artur Mosal Conference and Intelligence Management Centre, located in the Palace’s Grand Cellar. However, Kuznetsov has remained particularly tight-lipped and has refused to answer whether or not this could compel the government to pull the plug. For the second time in six weeks, both the House of Representatives and Supreme Court have been forced to close, citing security concerns on the west-wing of the Palace which is considered the most vulnerable to potential external attacks. Secretary General of the League of Free Nations Folker Waecther has stated the organisation, of which Yarova is a member, will assist in the investigation to determine the identity, whereabouts, and motives of the perpetrator. According to inside sources at the Palace, senior government officials are allegedly infuriated at local law enforcement for allowing the culprit to flee the scene. The district government of Afonas’yevskiy Oblast, which surrounds the capital, has appealed to civilians to remain indoors and contact the police of any suspicious activity. Thus far, no criminal organisation has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Us reporters at Yarova Today will keep you updated as more unfolds in due course.Oct 18: Breaking: Vice President Nikishin-Svoburg speaks out just one week after being shot
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 10 October 2019 — 15:05 (UTC+7)
It was all smiles and enthusiasm today, as the vice president approached the main entrance to the Surkov Palace in Shchyokhov. For a split moment, it could be forgiven if it slipped one’s mind that, a mere seven days beforehand, this same man was shot in the chest at a presidential rally in this very same city. Fortunately, he made a steady recovery in St. Nikolai’s Hospital, while a vigorous, eleven-hour manhunt for the perpetrator ensued. Cornered in an alleyway, almost forty kilometres north-west of Shchyokhov in the town of Bereksin, the suspect was identified as Sasha Yevdokimov, a 47-year-old man with ties to the Sem’ya. Yevdokimov seemingly took a ‘death-or-glory’ approach and shot at advancing soldiers - to which, predictably, they responded by gunning him down. Far-right conspiracy theorist and devoted critic of the government, Agafya Khaba, posted on Boltovnya: “Convenient how alleged suspect was sloppily pumped full of lead in such a massive, League-supported military operation… Didn’t they need some important answers from him? Perhaps it is the public who are in need of answers”.
Tanas Gruzdev, however, in a rare instance, did not resort to tactics as low as those of Khaba, and expressed on social media his “immense relief” at the shooter being stopped in his tracks. “Look at what is happening to our country,” he asserts. “I don’t care about whatever political differences we may have. Let me make myself clear, I am wishing my respectable colleague Vice President Nikishin-Svoburg a smooth, speedy recovery. I would like nothing more than to see him in full health debating with me next month. Only an absolute madman who HATES Yarova would want to see such a heinous act committed against federal officials!” Meanwhile, President Grigorievna made those all-too-familiar calls for calm and restraint, coming directly in response to growing reports of DSP supporters egging PY activists and a tour bus in the capital city. “We must channel our frustration into positive action, I beg of all grassroots activists to refrain from targeting and physically intimidating PY counterparts. It is not effective and, most importantly, it is not the Yarovan way”.
The vice president underwent surgery immediately after being admitted to hospital and, within 36 hours, was pronounced to be in a stable condition. Yesterday evening, he was deemed sufficiently fit for discharge. The palace staffer, on the other hand, Viktor Igorevich, who also was shot by the late-Yevdokimov, remains in intensive care and his fate is regarded as less promising. The assassination attempt, the first ever aimed at a Yarovan vice president, resulted in the organisation by the Ecology Party executive of an emergency congress, held in Chaykoboksarsk on Thursday, 17 October. With the permission of a conscious Nikishin-Svoburg, after lengthy discussions, the party made the historic decision to merge with their partners in government, the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP). By way of a video call, the vice president and party leader announced this to his party faithful: “Dear friends, allow me by first saying it is better to be slapped by the truth than kissed with a lie. These are troubled times we live in. I have been in this politics business for almost half a century, never have I heard of, never mind experienced first-hand, such horror in our land. Standing against this background, I fear that the situation will only deteriorate if we allow the Right to consume us. It is not in our nature to be defeatists, and accepting defeat is not what I am asking of you. It is time to be strong”.
Nikishin-Svoburg continued by emphasising the close relationship shared by the EP and DSP: “For just under ten years, our small but committed party has succeeded in putting our own mark in federal policy as junior coalition partners, ensuring that the government, in everything they do, remain closely in touch with ideals of environmentalism and climate justice. I do not want to see that mark of progress simply washed away by five or ten years of neo-liberal egomania, gluttony and recklessness. I know you don’t either.” Before the vice president could even utter the word “merge”, the conference descended into a rapturous hubbub. “Although I am in a comfortable condition following last week’s incident, I would find it much a disservice to my health, and indeed my wedding vows, if I were to continue forth with this presidential campaign. Therefore, I ask of you today to join me in endorsing my dear friend and fellow eco-socialist President Grigorievna for a second term in office, by voting yes to the upcoming motion”.
Vera Krivoukhova, a veteran House Representative for Central Minerinsk and the federal government’s current Minister for Agricultural and Food Affairs, then proceeded to read the said motion out: ‘This Congress would support dissolution measures in regards to the operation and activities of the Ecology Party in explicit preference of amalgamation with the Democratic Socialists and Progressives’. Indeed, the response from delegates was mixed, with several individuals shredding up their papers and walking out in protest to the controversial motion being tabled. Krivoukhova herself pleaded for quiet as the votes were being counted. However, those activists who staged a walk-out were fighting a losing battle, it seemed, as a visible majority voted in favour of the EP’s merging with the DSP. Yaroslav Dzungarov, 69, a former EP councillor from Srednikovo Oblast who has been a member of the party since 1977, was particularly resentful and was ushered out of the congress by security. Speaking to him outside the building, it was clear that he was emotionally upset as tears filled his eyes: “This is one of the biggest political sell-outs in decades, it is God damn shameful. After all of the years we have put in to saving our planet, this is how they repay us?”
Joined by Dzungarov was his brother-in- law and fellow member, Boris Antonovich, also 69: “We won’t be a part of this, it’s a f*cking joke”. Other members, in contrast, were confident with the upcoming amalgamation and echoed the words of Nikishin-Svoburg. Julia Schusterova, 22, a university student from Chaykoboksarsk, cheerfully told our reporters: “We have been heavily associated with the DSP for many years. We share a Simikinist Socialist ideology and we have successfully influenced the upper echelons of the DSP to be more environmentally-conscious. It is not as if we are being asked to merge with the People of Yarova, it makes no sense why some members are getting so worked up about this”. At the time of writing, the DSP party have yet to release a public statement on this matter, although a number of party officials have expressed their support online and today’s briefing has illuminated to the understanding how this merger will take place.
At the press briefing, Vice President Nikishin-Svoburg, wearing a fitted, grey checkered suit, was accompanied by President Grigorievna, who donned a white shirt dress. When grilled by a reporter on the time-frame of the political merge, the vice president gave a confident response: “Pursuant of the extensive talks in which our two parties have been engaged over the past number of days, we are assured that the amalgamation will be effective from as soon as the first week of November”. Nikishin-Svoburg also confirmed that he would now be retiring from politics, although he expects the legacy of the EP to live on with the formation of a Climate Action Committee within the structures of the DSP. President Grigorievna stated that Nikishin-Svoburg will be replaced as vice president by Svyatoslav Uspensky, the current Minister for Climate Action and the Environment, who is often dubbed ‘Isaak’s right-hand man’. Uspensky’s ministerial position will be filled by Akim Zheng, another senior member of Nikishin’s team.
The cabinet reshuffle has been applauded as a ‘smart move’ as the EP begins to make way for integration into the DSP. As the threat of a Gruzdev federal presidency looms, it is apparent that the Yarovan Left is taking unprecedented measures to make sure that threat does not materialise. Although, perhaps it should not come as too much of a surprise, as Nikishin-Svoburg acknowledged the heavy electoral losses of his party in 2015 and again, in 2019, when Khomustatskaya Oblast voted for a PY district government. “Just as I discussed with my comrades at yesterday’s congress, these are turbulent political times we are present in. It is paramount that Yarovan socialists work together to prevent a right-wing government and, let’s face it, the Ecology Party’s energy would be much better utilised in a strong Leftist organisation like the DSP. The past few elections have demonstrated that we must evolve in order to keep on the winning side and protect future generations”. To wrap up the briefing, Grigorievna stated EP activists will be “welcomed with open arms”. It is worth noting that the PY party have remained silent as of yet and our reporters will be watching closely for the moment an inevitable statement is published.2020
Feb 01: Gruzdev: "Let Shvekshna determine its own future"
By ALEXEI BANIN | 01 February 2020 — 16:00 (UTC+7)
In a speech that has been labelled “profoundly problematic and ignorant” by none other than the President of Aukalnia and Sartland Džiugas Svidrauskas, Tanas Gruzdev has finally made his intentions clear that a PY government would only seek to regain possession of the former oblast if the population demonstrated their support through a democratic vote. In his latest campaign rally across the federated districts, Gruzdev offered the most detail on his prospective government’s strategy on Shvekshna to date. Unsurprisingly, in doing so, the Buguznogorsk native missed no opportunity to make snipes and take swipes at the supposed shortcomings of the incumbent President Grigorievna. “Listening to Grigorievna, you wouldn’t think that this is the same woman who has increased the military budget from $68 to $110 billion in just five years."
"You wouldn’t think that she and her predecessors have overseen the stationing of Yarovan troops across Aukalnia, Sartland, Zaporizhia, and the GPR. If you still think I am a warhawk for offering an olive branch to the people of Shvekshna, then what must your thoughts be of her?” Citing military surveillance concerns of more frequent military training exercises on the other sides of the border with Rovsnoska and Lestykhol, in 2015 the Ministry for National Security and Defence announced it would be following up on common defence commitments made as part of YZAGA - which included a substantial increase in federal expenditure. One key feature of the PY’s campaign has been to emphasise the supposed unfairness and injustice surrounding the 'Decolonisation and Reconciliation Act', which saw Yarova end its administration of Shvekshna Oblast and return control to Aukalnia and Sartland.
“An interesting poll was conducted across the country in 2001, with a sample of 1,600 people, and it put to the public an important question: ‘Do you think the Yarovan and Aukalnian governments should have respected Shvekshna’s right to self-determination?’ You know how many people said ‘yes’ in that poll? A staggering 88 percent of respondents, with an additional 7 percent who said they were ‘unsure’. That means only a minute fraction of 5 percent were actually in support of what I call ‘Yarova’s greatest mistake; the undemocratic and violent handover of Shvekshna Oblast”. Gruzdev added that if the DSP have genuinely increased defence spending for “the sake of regional stability” (as President Grigorievna once put it), then they should “not be building walls but rather bridges”. He continued: “Shvekshna does not have to be a threat. It is clear that attempts of cultural assimilation framed as decolonisation did not work, and this current ‘our way or the highway’ approach by YZAGA cannot be sustained. There is still time to rectify the missteps of the past, and that is by doing what we should have done in the first place; honouring the principle of consent”.
Addressing just how precisely his government would honour the principle of consent, Gruzdev said on the matter: “Once we take our place at the Surkov Palace, we will set up a committee within the parameters of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade which will be tasked with engaging in dialogue with the Yarovan Republic of Shvekshna. We will inform our allies both in YZAGA and the League of the decision to support Shvekshna’s right to hold a referendum. It would be regrettable to see the withdrawal from any multilateral agreement but come what may, the Federal Armed Forces will defend the referendum process”. Gruzdev likened the recognition of Shvekshna’s political independence to that of the Graznavan People’s Republic, a small nation claimed by Rovsnoska which declared its independence two years after in 1997. Since then, the GPR has taken its place among the world’s nations, and adopted an integral role in the signing of YZAGA. “There’s a lot of fear-mongering noise about how we are out to antagonise Aukalnia. That is simply untrue. How is it that Aukalnia can expect Rovsnoska to respect Graznava’s sovereignty but refuses to do the same when it comes to them respecting Shvekshna?” Gruzdev’s rally was filled with rapturous applause, in an oblast where the PY are extraordinarily gaining traction, trailing just 4 points behind Peremorovkan Voice at 43 percent.
With audible chants in Peremorovkan of “Vryatuy Boh Gruzdev!” (“God Save Gruzdev”) ringing through the air, it seems like the message of Shvekshnan self-determination has resonated with the people of Pivnichna Peremorovka - a lot of whom evacuated Shvekshna during the handover and subsequent conflicts. He ended his final campaign rally in Peremorovka with this: “I will be the president who will get the justice the people of Shvekshna deserve. I will be the president who will get the worn-out economy on an upward trajectory again. I will be the president who will finally bring peace to our region. Give the People of Yarova a chance, judge us on how we deliver”. With 62 days until the election on 3 April, it appears that Gruzdev may get that chance, with yesterday’s poll released by Chaykoboksarsk Business Times placing the PY at 51 percent and the DSP at 39 percent. We reached out to the People of Yarova for comment on President Svidrauskas’ remarks but did not receive a response by the time of printing.Feb 05: Breaking: Christian Alliance Party join Yarovar Defence Front in pledge to 'prop up' a minority People of Yarova Government
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 05 February 2020 — 15:05 (UTC+7)
Today’s decision by two less-dominating political parties may just have copper fastened the reality of a Gruzdev presidency next April, in a never-before-seen display of anti-DSP unity. The Christian Alliance Party, which currently holds 11 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Yarovar Defence Front, which won 22 seats in the last election and presently holds 21, have both released their manifestos and a shock commitment to support a PY federal government. “It is not the conventional procedure for a political party to announce publicly that it will ‘prop up’ another party before even votes have been casted, as it simply reduces its own chances of momentum in an election process” says Dr Sosi Karchagina from the School of Political Science at Shchoykov’s National University of Yarova.
“What the [Yarovar] Defence Front and Christian Alliance [party] have essentially declared is that ‘a vote for us is a vote for Gruzdev’, in a clear demonstration of riding the wave of discontent against the status quo”. At the Bol’shoy Soldatskiy Zal (Great Soldier Hall) in Vhekvitili-Vyshika, the Christian Alliance Party gathered for its annual membership conference this morning and afternoon, and President Aleksandr Lusitsyn delivered a speech detailing of the party’s plan to support the PY in an event they do not receive enough seats. Lusitsyn has stated that, in return, the PY will be withdrawing all of their candidates from Kropokhovo Oblast; the traditional heartlands of the Christian democrats.
Lusitsyn expressed his disapproval of the current federal government and proclaimed the electorate’s appetite for change can no longer be ignored: “The DSP have had twenty-five years to tackle the burning issues we face in our country... soaring property prices, gang-related violence in our decaying urban communities, an economy which looks to be heading full-steam ahead towards recession, not to mention the socialist agenda encroaching on our rights enshrined in the constitution”. It seems that, for the Christian Alliance party, a strategy based solely on ousting the left-wing DSP is one worth fighting for - so worthy, in fact, they are willing to join forces with volatile parties further to their right.
“As Christian democrats, we stand firmly by the principles fought for by our forefathers, and the right of oblasts to their own government. If we allow Grigorievna’s socialist agenda to continue, within five years, we will have become a centralised police-state with a crippled, controlled economy. To that, we say never!” Echoing Lusitsyn’s rhetoric, last night, the Yarovar Defence Front’s leader Yaroslav Dubrovsky submitted a public letter to Tanas Gruzdev, offering his party’s support in a concerted effort to “drive out the communist corruption in Shchyokhov”. In the letter, Dubrovsky also highlighted the DSP’s “pitiful desperation to keep their iron grasp on power”, making mention of their political merger with the Ecology Party (EP) in October of last year. Lusitsyn denies having corresponded with the far-right party on their respective party decisions, and has called the timing “purely coincidental”.
Following his highly successful rally in Abramivka on Saturday and the extensive lead in recent polls, things are looking positive for Gruzdev and the PY. In response to the support from the two parties, PY deputy leader and vice presidential candidate Kristina Kelerova posted on Boltovnya: “It is hard not to well up with tears of joy at the recent announcements by @YDubrovsky and @SashaLusitsyn the past 24 hours. This is what putting your country first looks like…. the socialists better get used to it, we are coming for you! #GodBlessYarova, and #GodBlessGruzdev!” Meanwhile, the DSP candidates are still determined to not let a bad week bring them down, and at a private event with the Yelerinsk Farmer’s Union, a visibly-exhausted President Grigorievna told reporters: “So far, this presidential race has been a saga of bombings, shootings, and riots, the polls have never before fluctuated at such a pronounced rate".
"There is still all to play for and I am absolutely positive that we can turn the tables before April. I have faith in the Yarovan electorate that they will see through the lies of the populist and ethnonationalist PY. We aren't giving up that easily”. Indeed, only time will tell, and the only poll that matters is the final vote in three months’ time - however, the likelihood that we will see a Grigorievna presidency has just become substantially less, and the prospect of a Gruzdev presidency almost feels inevitable as the odds stack up against the DSP and the incumbent. The ramifications such a presidency would have, not only on the United Federated Districts, but also Eastern Artemia and the greater world, could be untold.
Feb 13: "We have utterly failed you": Grigorievna meets with Free Nation Governments
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 13 February 2020 — 12:30 (UTC+7)
Branded a “cheap bid to gain votes” by Yelerinsk Oblast’s Chancellor Annagül Ibragimova, for the first time since 2015, President Grigorievna engaged in talks with the leaders of Yarova’s federal reservations. “I take immense pride in being the president of a diverse, multicultural country. A country where a broad array of different languages are spoken. A country where many kinds of ethnic groups practise their ancestral traditions unhindered”, President Grigorievna said. “With being federal president, it is my duty to demonstrate my government’s appreciation of our country’s indigenous minorities, and make it clear that we are committed to the reconciliation process that started with the Abaksamir Agreement fifty years ago. In recognition of the semicentennial, I am here today in good faith that we can continue to build upon the Trojan work of since-passed peacemakers”.
The president offered a cautious tone, however, noting that her predecessors were not always leading with reconciliation in mind, and even had a few words to say about her political rival. “It is fair to say, the road to peace on which we have embarked has not been one without slumps and bumps along the way. I would be the first to admit that federal presidents have, in the past, fallen short in honouring the spirit of freedom that is enshrined in the deal. Since 1970, we have had a president who threatened to tear up the agreement, two presidents who drove agendas of nauseating one-people nationalism, and now another presidential-hopeful who wishes to reignite that cause to the detriment of our free nations. This would be enormously damaging”.
During the discussions, which comprised of separate slots between the president and each respective free nation government, and a meeting including all delegates, a number of proposals were made, some of which gained the personal support of Grigorievna. Above all, the most controversial proposal was the right for free nations to determine their own future with authorisation from Shchyokhov to carry out independence referenda. First Minister Pschimaxwe Keshokov of the Adyghe Free Nation in Kellerovo Oblast believed that most free nations value the benefits of being part of the United Federated Districts but stated such a policy change could see the secession of Kartvelia from Yarova. “While it is an applaudable gesture of goodwill from the president, the reality is, the Kartvelian Free Nation in Kropokhovo are undoubtedly going to want to hold a referendum and that is a poll they would win by the same measure of certainty”. When asked by one of our reporters who was present, Kartvelian First Minister Murtaz Rekhviashvili blankly refused to comment on the matter. Unionists in Yarova’s south-east have already voiced their opposition to such moves, with Kropokhovan Chancellor Mikhail Siyanitsa vowing to resist any attempts of Kartvelians holding a vote.
President Yaroslav Dubrovsky of the Christian Alliance Party, Kropokhovo’s leading political party with a staunch anti-Kartvelian nationalist stance, has come out to criticise President Grigorievna for “playing dangerous games with the stability of the Dzyunakaz”. Further to this, Dubrovsky accused the president of “seeking vengeance” for his party’s recent pledge to support Tanas Gruzdev’s presidential campaign. Chancellor Siyanitsa has, along with Chancellor Ibragimova, made it clear that their district governments would prevent proposals of territorial expansion for the Kartvelia and Trukhmenskaya reservations. Ibragimova, born and raised herself on the Trukhmenskaya reservation, has called the DSP “incredibly stupid” for its talks with the leadership of the free nations at “such a belated stage” in Grigorievna’s presidency, and stated that any promises made could not be acted upon before the upcoming presidential election. “They [the federal government] can promise the moon, stars, and the buttocks of the Lord Jesus but we all know she [President Grigorievna] is not getting that second term she is so hell-bent on”, she told her 1.3 million followers on Boltovnya.Feb 14: DSP, PY publish manifestos ahead of first televised debate next week
By ALEXEI BANIN | 14 February 2020 — 09:10 (UTC+7)
The cabinet of the federal government met with President Grigorievna for the launch of the DSP’s electoral manifesto this lunchtime. In conjunction with this, the president held a press conference in the Surkov Palace’s Briefing Room along with Vice President Svyatoslav Uspensky and Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure Emma Louise Anrep. The president recognised the public’s growing discontent with her administration, saying: “I meet people every day and I know the worry, frustration and concerns around the pace of progress in our government’s transition to renewable energy, and especially how our green strategy may be impacting workers in the fossil fuel industry. Today we are laying out our plans to build on what has been done, with a particular focus on the transferral of employment to sustainable energy sources”. On the DSP’s published spending plans, Anrep has called the budget “forward-thinking, enduring and deliverable”. The party plans to increase federal government spending on education from 11.48 percent of GDP to 11.98 percent, and healthcare from 12.48 percent to 13.25 percent.
Controversially, there has been no indication of reneging on previous commitments to invest a staggering 5 percent of GDP on energy and the environment - possibly a precondition for the merger with the Ecology Party (EP). In March of last year, the party’s green strategy leaked to the public, and virtually all political pundits agree that the electorate punished them in June’s district elections where they lost nine chancellorships to the People of Yarova. The president also reiterated her potential future government’s intention to oversee a “change in the constitutional status” of the federal reservations, possibly offering the green light for free nations to organise plebiscites on their communities' future in the United Federated Districts. This comes following her talks with free nation leaders in Vhekvitili-Vyshika yesterday.
Within an hour of the DSP’s manifesto release, Tanas Gruzdev and Kristina Kelerova unveiled the PY manifesto while at yet another campaign rally event, this time in Borisopol. Some of the party’s most familiar and popular faces joined the fiery pair on the stage of the Udar Molnii Arena and embraced one another with warm hugs as the famous Yarovan folk song ‘The Steppe Marchers’ played loudly. Certainly, an untraditional method of acquainting the general public with a political manifesto. In keeping with core campaign promises, the PY platform stood true to its devotion of rearming the country with nuclear weapons, expanding the petroleum industry across the eastern oblasts, as well as placing YZAGA “under review” and facilitating a democratic referendum in the disputed territory of Shvekshna to be “supervised by an independent and impartial body”. The party’s manifesto also features policies which Gruzdev was reluctant to address in the past, such as healthcare, which would see a substantial increase in funding at 14 percent, slightly more than the DSP’s proposal.
However, fears of wide-reaching privatisation has stirred up anxiety among some medical boards - the party has yet to conclusively address this. Although there are proposals to increase investment in law enforcement by $12 billion, the PY party has stated that they are opening up elements of the Federal Incarceration and Rehabilitation Management Service (FIRMS) to the contracts of third-party private companies. “We have listened closely to the spin, honestly, we are their most attentive listeners”, Gruzdev said, on the criticism of the DSP. “Let’s face the facts, we need all the help we can get in crushing the pervasive problem of organised crime in our urban communities. While the socialists run scared, the People of Yarova will fight back. The Sem’ya [the Yarovan mafia] are finished”. The two presidential candidates will go head to head on YTV next Friday, 21 February at 8 pm Eastern Time.
Feb 20: YTV-Yarova Today Presidential Debate transcript
By ALEXEI BANIN | 20 February 2020 — 22.45 (UTC+7)
KALASHNIK: Live from Vladimir Simakin University in the city of Borisopol, this is the YTV-Yarova Today presidential debate.
We want to welcome our viewers in the United Federated Districts and watching around the world, watching us on YTV, YTV International, YTV Peremorivs’koyu, YTV.ya, yarovatoday.ya, YTV’s Boltovnya page, and listening on the YTV1 radio network.
I’m Yervant Kalashnik moderating tonight’s debate, along with Yarova Today's national editor Oksana Tarasivna. We are in Borisopol tonight, because it’s one of the most critical battleground districts. Borisopol has backed all presidential winners since it was awarded free city status in 1973.
TARASIVNA: The two presidential front-runners are at their positions behind the podiums. If everybody in the audience could put your hands together for our candidates.
President Konstantina Grigorievna of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives. (APPLAUSE)
And Deputy Tanas Gruzdev of the People of Yarova. (APPLAUSE)
Before we begin, a reminder of the ground rules. You’ll each receive 60 seconds to answer questions, 45 seconds for responses and rebuttals, and 15 seconds for clarifications. Please do refrain from interrupting each other, as that will count against your time. We will now ask for the candidate’s respective opening statements, you will each receive 60 seconds. Madam President, do begin.
GRIGORIEVNA: Good evening, Oksana and Yervant, and thanks to VSU for hosting us. The principal question in this election is really what kind of country we want Yarova to be and what kind of future we will build together for our next generation. Yesterday, I attended my newborn niece’s baptism, so I have been thinking about this a lot.
First, we have to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That means we need new jobs, decent jobs, with rising incomes. I want us to invest in you. I want us to invest in your future. That means jobs in infrastructure, in advanced manufacturing, innovation and technology, clean, renewable energy, and small business, because most of the new jobs will come from small business. We also have to make the economy fairer. Over the past five years, my government has raised the federal minimum wage from $12 to $15, prohibited pay disparities based on gender, and since 2015, Yarova has received over $30 billion in investment from tech industries, which is the highest rate on the continent.
Finally, we tonight are on the stage together, Tanas Gruzdev and I. Tanas, it’s a pleasure to be with you. We’re going to have a debate where we are talking about the important issues facing our country. You have to judge us. Who can balance the enormous, awesome responsibilities of the presidency, who can put into action the plans that will make your life, and the lives of your loved ones, better. I have worked with immense effort over the past five years as President of the United Federated Districts, and I want to keep doing so and deliver for the people of this country. I hope that I will be able to earn your vote, for a second time, on the 3rd of April. (APPLAUSE)
TARASIVNA: Thank you, Madam President. Deputy Gruzdev, if you will?
GRUZDEV: To the working people of Yarova, tonight I bring you a message of hope. We can make change in this country. I know from personal experience it can be done.
When I was discharged from the Federal Armed Forces in 1969, following severe injuries to my right leg in a KELL bomb attack, I felt pretty hopeless. Although my life-long dream of one day being a colonel was tarnished, all was not lost and, by the grace of God, I found my way to politics.
Ten years later, I played my part in the foundation of the People of Yarova. During my short first term as Chancellor of Buguznogorsk in 1984, within a year, unemployment had decreased by 2 percent and crime was down 6 percent. When I became Minister for Agriculture and Food Affairs in 1985, I set out a bold vision for Yarova’s farmers. We secured key trade deals in meat produce with countries in Western Artemia and Kesh. We kept farms in business, we strengthened farm workers’ protections and we closed the gender and race gaps on farm ownership. Yes, it can be done.
The truth is, President Grigorievna’s aggressive socialist regime has robbed the Yarovan people of higher wages and a better quality of life. A lot of the aforementioned progress in employment, crime and agriculture has been undone by the repressive tax agenda and the unhealthy fixation on so-called “green policies”.
When I am president, I will restore your personal freedoms and even up the score. It will be a challenge to reverse quarter of a century of DSP ineptitude but it would be my honour to get this once-proud nation working again. (APPLAUSE)
KALASHNIK: Thank you, Deputy Gruzdev. I want to start the debate with one of the top priorities for voters, and that is healthcare.
Deputy Gruzdev, last week you released your party’s manifesto outlining your new healthcare plan which would include outsourcing maintenance and catering services in hospitals to private companies. You have consistently fudged on the question of privatising the health service, is this a new strategy to do so by stealth?
GRUZDEV: Absolutely not. In fact, from reading our manifesto, you will have noticed that we aim to invest $24.5 billion more into the health system than the figures set out by the DSP in theirs. I am committed to making our healthcare system work. Through the course of the campaign, I have been listening to Yarovan families, listening to experts, listening to healthcare providers, and what I came away with is a very clear understanding that we are heading for an iceberg if we do not deliver a plan that is responsive to the needs of the Yarovan people.
Frankly, who employs the janitors and canteen cooks is the least of our worries. The DSP may take credit for creating a “universal” healthcare system but the reality is that underfunding has led to a growing shortage in staff, hospital beds, and vital medication. Their manifesto plans only confirm that they don’t understand the sheer scale of the problem at hand, and that just isn’t good enough.
KALASHNIK: Would you be prepared to categorically rule out further privatisation of the healthcare service?
GRUZDEV: When I am president, the Federal Health Executive will be receiving an extra $29 billion in annual funding: it is not for sale.
KALASHNIK: Madam President, in your party’s manifesto, healthcare is only set to gain a very modest increase of 0.14 percent. Is this your party and government’s dismissal of a worsening crisis? Certainly, no one was expecting Tanas Gruzdev to outdo you in terms of healthcare funding--
GRUZDEV: Well, it would seem I am outdoing her in all of the polls as well. (LAUGHTER)
GRIGORIEVNA: Only one poll matters, Tanas, and that is a bit further down the line.
To answer your question, Yervant, we do … we do acknowledge that our country is in need of more nurses. That is why we have proposed a new recruitment approach, which includes training bursaries, that would see the bringing in of 100,000 nurses to the workforce by 2025. Privatisation is not the answer, whether you attempt to do so whole-sale or by stealth. I find Tanas’ tendency to dodge questions on this rather unsettling. If I succeed in a second term, I will demand an outright ban on any such attempts of privatisation in the future. This is not just about the current state of the service but also its sustainability for decades to come.
TARASIVNA: Let’s now move to energy and the environment, another important topic so far in the election. We will, of course, be revisiting healthcare policies in the next couple of debates.
Madam President, you want to shut down all oil wells in the United Federated Districts within the next twelve years, despite the massive stimulus the petroleum industry provides to our national economy. It is estimated that somewhere in the range of half a million people work in the industry when all related broad occupations are taken into account. Once you have halted works, how do you expect all of these people to make a living?
GRIGORIEVNA: You are right, Oksana, the petroleum industry has played its part in economic growth but we must also acknowledge the negative effects it has had on the environment--
TARASIVNA: What about all of the workers though, where will they go for employment?
GRIGORIEVNA: If you would kindly allow me to finish I can explain, thank you.
Consistently, through the course of my tenure as president, my cabinet has released renewable energy strategy documents detailing our objectives, and that has included the issue of employment transition for fossil fuel workers. We have covered employment transition in a thorough and comprehensive manner.
The investments in efficiency and clean renewables will generate hundreds of thousands of new jobs for Yarovan people. Clean energy investments will produce more jobs for electricians, roofers, steelworkers, machinists, engineers, lorry drivers, research scientists, lawyers, accountants, and administrative assistants. With a moderate cost of $500 million, we aim to cover income, retraining, and relocation support for workers facing retrenchments, as well as effective transition programmes for what are now fossil fuel-dependent communities across large parts of eastern Yarova.
I invite those of you watching at home to visit the federal government’s official website, surkov.gov.ya, where all of these strategies are displayed in PDF format for you to view.
TARASIVNA: As I am sure you are aware, Madam President, leading economist Mohammed Pankiv has said that the figures listed in your leaked 10-year plan to phase out petroleum production do not add up. (GRIGORIEVNA SHAKES HEAD) He has said that your proposed policies will lead to workers facing layoffs, falling incomes, and a decline in public-sector budgets to support schools, health clinics, public safety--
GRIGORIEVNA: Yes, I am aware, Oksana. I would disagree with Mr. Pankiv’s analysis. I am confident that the renewable energy strategies will work, and bring both stability and sustainability into the lives of millions of Yarovars.
TARASIVNA: But, of course, respectfully, neither you nor I are economic experts on the matter; while Mohammed Pankiv, on the other hand, is.
GRIGORIEVNA: Lots of economists have also come out in support of our strategies, as well as our manifesto which has been costed by the Ministry for Finance and Public Expenditure. Perhaps Mr. Pankiv would prefer it if we were to sit on our hands, just as the People of Yarova plan to do.
TARASIVNA: I want to bring in Deputy Gruzdev. Your party not only wants to keep the oil wells pumping but also to further develop the petroleum industry across the board. You have even hinted that you would like to see exploration take place in Peremorovka. Do you not care about the environmental implications such an expansion could bring?
GRUZDEV: If it is acceptable, Oksana, once I have addressed your question, I would like to strip bare what President Grigorievna has just said. (TARASIVNA NODS)
To answer you, I do care about the environment, and placing all of the economic benefits to one side, drilling for crude oil can actually benefit the environment in the long term. (GRIGORIEVNA LAUGHS)
Natural oil seepage accounts for almost 60 percent of oil pollutants in the world’s oceans, which pushes methane gas into the atmosphere and creates those ghastly oil slicks on the water’s surface. This is hardly a good thing for marine life. Oil exploration can reduce the pressure of reservoirs under the seabed and greatly reduce hydro-carbon leaks and methane levels in the atmosphere. Obviously, I am not advocating oil exploration based on environmental grounds but I am trying to demonstrate that this is not a black and white matter.
Now, what President Grigorievna said a moment ago about relocating fossil fuel workers to alternative employment is completely false, and I know many of those watching, particularly from Bochinovka and Roslapeysk, will see where I am going with this.
Sure, you can promise those currently with jobs that you will give them a hand down the line but what about the 4,000 people working for the National Gas and Petroleum Corporation that President Chekudayev laid off in 2013? What about the more than 7,500 workers who have lost their jobs with Stremits’ya Neft’ and Ovragnyy-Zhemchuzina since 2015 because of your ingenious green regulations?
TARASIVNA: All right, thank you, Deputy Gruzdev--
GRUZDEV: I would much rather see these people back in jobs than being forced to accept welfare, and when I am president, they will get their jobs back-- (APPLAUSE)
TARASIVNA: Deputy Gruzdev, it’s now time-- (APPLAUSE CONTINUES)
GRUZDEV: The bottom line is, this “climate change” thing is a convenience for President Grigorievna’s DSP, and they are providing it as an excuse to drive their economically-disastrous socialist agenda in this country. No more! (APPLAUSE)
TARASIVNA: It’s now time for a short commercial break. We’ll be right back, please don’t go anywhere. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KALASHNIK: We’re back with the YTV-Yarova Today presidential debate. We want to turn now to law and order.
Deputy Gruzdev, this is for you. The crime rate is up. Incidences of gang-related violence are becoming more frequent. The Department of Domestic Cohesion and Protection has reported that urban district police agencies are under-resourced and personnel are not receiving adequate training. You have both outlined plans, but you in particular, that could end up violating human rights laws and exacerbating organised crime. How can you justify your manifesto’s so-called ‘tough-on-crime’ policies?
GRUZDEV: There is no law this country is currently bound by that our policies would, in any form, contravene. The homicide rates in some of our inner cities are through the roof: Yumarapol, for example, is dealing with a rate of 65 per 100,000 people. It is in the top five of the most violent cities in Artemia.
What we want to do is target crime hotspots by carrying out routine police raids on gang-held areas, grant the Land Forces greater policing responsibilities, and introduce tougher sentences for suspected gang members. We won’t go easy on criminals, why should we?
The real question that should be asked is how can President Grigorievna justify her deficient law enforcement policies, when the Sem’ya are actively plucking child recruits from school grounds? (GRIGORIEVNA RAISES HAND) (KALASHNIK NODS)
GRIGORIEVNA: Well, first of all, in our manifesto, we have allocated an additional $6.8 billion to be invested in public order and safety. We recognise that more needs to be done but Tanas’ policies tread dangerous lines. No modern, developed democracy has the military involved in police operations during peacetime, it is unnerving that he would stand over this.
We have seen arbitrary arrests of gang members before. In Rovsnoska, where they call it the Željezna metoda, or ‘Iron Method’. It has been used to dispose of political opponents and has led to unmanageable levels of police brutality. Ultimately, it does not reduce the crime rate. When I say that this election is about what kind of country we want Yarova to be, this is what I am talking about. A vote for Tanas Gruzdev is a vote for a police state.
KALASHNIK: Madam President, the proposed increase in funding you speak of would show that you are cognisant of the growing problem, however, some of the comments from your party colleagues would be cause for concern. In September 2014, Kryzhelovschina’s Jaraslaŭ Biarizkin said “let the dogs fight it out” in regards to the Sem’ya. He also went on to say that the “mob have their pros and cons” as they “impose curfews” and “keep drug-use down”. Do you stand by Biarizkin’s words as party leader?
GRIGORIEVNA: I was not aware that Chancellor Birarizkin made these remarks, and I do not agree with them whatsoever.
KALASHNIK: Will he be facing disciplinary action?
GRIGORIEVNA: I can assure you that this is not in line with party policy now, nor was it in 2014. I expect him to clarify his views and issue an apology.
TARASIVNA: Moving to foreign policy, which will be our final topic on tonight’s debate. Deputy Gruzdev, why do you want the United Federated Districts to be armed with weapons of mass destruction?
GRUZDEV: Quite ironically, the very same people who claim to have made our regional environment a safer and more stable place have only further jeopardised the security of it. It is an unfortunate reality but a reality nonetheless that an arsenal is a necessary evil in assuring the protection of the United Federated Districts.
As President Grigorievna is fully aware, Yarovan intelligence has indicated that the Kholaks are taking fresh steps to develop a nuclear weapons programme, and it is highly suspected that Rovsnoska already possesses a stockpile. When I am president, I will reach out to the AES states to settle peace between our countries but we must do so at an equal footing.
TARASIVNA: Madam President, have you anything to say in response?
GRIGORIEVNA: Disturbingly, Tanas has come across cavalier, casual even, about the redevelopment and use of nuclear weapons in the United Federated Districts. He has advocated more countries in our region getting them as well - Aukalnia, Zaporizhia, even Graznava. The thought of Tanas Gruzdev hovering over a red button chills me to the bone--
GRUZDEV: I hope you’re not losing too much sleep.
TARASIVNA: Sir, please. Don’t interrupt.
GRIGORIEVNA: When Vladimir Rodchenko won the 2000 election, he won a mandate for denuclearisation. In 2003, we signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty and decommissioned our eight armaments. Our country became a golden example in the anti-nuclear movement. Redeveloping nuclear weapons would be a major regression and a taint on our international reputation as peacekeepers.
It seems that a President Tanas would be far too interested in playing with his rocket toys and flexing his muscles with his close friends in the AES. No different to President Khismatullin… take a look at the history books, look what happened there.
This is a man who has earned the unequivocal praise of despots: surely an attestation of his character. Lucijan Perica, a dictator who has presided over heinous human rights abuses, has recently come out to say how lovely a person Tanas is, and that he believes his presidency would smooth the path for a “close Yaro-Rovsnoski friendship”.
Now, I’m not sure why you (FACING GRUZDEV) would take to Boltovnya and say how “grateful” you are for an endorsement from a tyrant--
KALASHNIK: Thank you, Madam President, I would like for us to move on to the closing statements--
GRIGORIEVNA: Just one moment, Yervant, if I could just quickly read out a quote. This is from Leonardo Sapateiro, yet another questionable individual who has offered his support of Tanas: “I welcome the rise of Gruzdev in Yarova. The sinful and sodomite government of Yarova has destroyed their society and risks exporting their disgusting ways to other countries around the world. Should Mr. Gruzdev win the election, then we, as a Republic, shall form a closer bond to the state of Yarova and its people who seek to remove the filth from their communities”.
If I may, I would like to ask you, Tanas, if you are grateful for this endorsement as well? (GRUZDEV SHAKES HEAD)
GRUZDEV: The simple reason I posted online in relation to this particular commentary from Grand Marshal Perica was due to the fact he, quite rightly, called you out for your marxist agenda and double standards on terrorism. (GRIGORIEVNA ATTEMPTS TO CUT ACROSS)
You talk about dictators. You talk about dictators as though you are not the same person who is trying to see our great country reduced to a communist totalitarian state.
GRIGORIEVNA: Answer my question.
GRUZDEV: Oh, I do apologise. I had no idea you had conceded defeat already and have taken up a new career as a television host. (LAUGHTER)
KALASHNIK: Okay, thank you to you both. So, now, I am asking each of you to offer your final closing statements. You will both receive sixty seconds to tell the Yarovan people why they should elect you to be President of the United Federated Districts. Madam President, you were the first to give your opening statement, so I will give this one to Deputy Gruzdev.
GRUZDEV: Thank you very much, Yervant. I don’t think it would take a genius to figure out that Yarova is in an utter, complete mess. This evening, we covered numerous issues involving various sectors of government which President Grigorievna has overseen since 2015. I think it has been highlighted rather well just how much she has failed. I look forward to the next two debates when we can highlight her failure even more. President Rodchenko was the worst president in Yarovan history but I hate to break to you (FACING GRIGORIEVNA), you aren’t far behind. It’s high time the federal government stopped forcing eco-communist policies and started delivering for the people.
To those of you watching or listening, wherever you may be in our country, my message to you tonight is that you deserve better. From Smirnova to Kropokhovo, Shvekshna to Maugorod, you deserve so much better. We need ambition. We need big ideas and we need a government for change. We cannot bear five more years of the DSP dynasty, that is why I am asking you to vote for me so I can bring about positive change across the length and breadth of this great union. God save Yarova!
KALASHNIK: Deputy Gruzdev, thank you. Madam President?
GRIGORIEVNA: Well, I would like to say to everyone watching tonight that I’m reaching out to all Yarovars, progressives, moderates, conservatives and independents, because we need everybody to help make our country what it should be, to grow the economy, to make it fairer, to make it work for everyone who calls Yarova their home. We need your energy, your ambition. You know, I have been unimaginably privileged to serve as president of this country, and I know all too well the tremendous responsibility of protecting our country and the incredible opportunity of working to try to make life better for all of you--
GRUZDEV: And you have failed astonishingly.
GRIGORIEVNA: A tremendous responsibility that requires level-headedness, integrity, dependability and compassion. Tanas Gruzdev, evidently, does not have any of these qualities. I have made the cause of sustainability for future generations really my life’s work. That’s what my mission has been throughout my political career spanning three decades and I will continue to do that. Tanas risks the future of our country with his reckless bluster about Shvekshna, his infatuation with nuclear warfare, and his aim to transform Yarova into a police state. Let’s not go there. Let’s not regress. I am asking you to allow me to continue the hard work in making this country a better place to live. I hope you will give me that chance to serve you once again as your president.
TARASIVNA: Thank you both. Madam President -- (APPLAUSE). Hold on just a moment. I want to thank both of you for participating and we look forward to seeing you in the next two debates. That brings us to the end of the first debate sponsored by the Federal Board for Presidential Debates. We want to thank Vladimir Simakin University and its bright students for having us. In just 43 days, the people of this country will be taking to the voting booths - the decision lies with you. One thing everyone here can agree on is we value the democracy our country enjoys - we hope you will exercise your right on the 6th of April. Thank you and good evening. [APPLAUSE]
Apr 05: Breaking: People of Yarova secure overall majority, Gruzdev elected president
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA| 05 April 2020 — 11.50 (UTC+7)
On the third day of Holy Week on the calendar of Yarovan Christianity, many conservative Yarovars broke their observance of Lent, not to prematurely celebrate the second coming of the messiah but, rather, to engage in festivities and drink a toast to the coming of a second messiah of their own. However, this perceived “saviour of Yarovars” does not come in the form of a bearded man with ripped abs and a glowing complexion. Instead, he comes in the form of a grey-haired, often-stony-faced Methuselah called Tanas Shaposhnikov Gruzdev. Gruzdev stunned political pundits in June of last year when his once-disgraced party managed to win the chancellorship contests of 16 out of 29 federated districts, including the ‘swing district’ of Borisopol - reportedly his favourite city. Indeed, his seemingly superhuman ability to appeal to Yarovars of completely opposite walks of life has made him an enigma and the first president-elect to stand over a majority of more than 70 per cent. “Gruzdev is a talented politician, who has somehow succeeded in garnering the support of the elderly, eastern and religiously devout, and the young, urban and up-and-coming communities of the country”, claims Dr. Ilya Usoyev, a political scientist at the University of Chaykoboksarsk.
“On social issues, particularly LGBTQ+ rights and abortion, he has been infamously quiet and tends to use the trademark excuse that we are a federation, and that it is for the districts to decide on such matters for themselves”. In his victory address, Gruzdev maintained his trademark vagueness and focused on the default republican catch phrases which have so often been heard at his countless campaign rallies. He made reference to the oil workers in the eastern oblasts and the economic suicide that another five years of DSP governance would bring to the union. “Yesterday is behind us, today is a celebration, tomorrow let’s get to work in rebuilding this great country”. Grigorievna pointed the finger of blame at the party leadership of the Christian Alliance Party (CAP) and the Yarovar Defence Front for their “concerted effort to undermine the democratic will of the Yarovan people by endorsing Tanas Gruzdev”. President-elect Gruzdev delivered his victory speech from the Memorial'nyy Sad (‘Memorial Garden’) in Borisopol, the first federal presidential victory speech not given from Shchyokhov. He has informed the public that Grigorievna has congratulated him on his success in the election and that his inauguration will take place this Friday, 10 April.
The never-ending stream of questions which are flowing following this election result stems from Gruzdev’s knack for ambiguity and some of the controversial campaign promises he and his comrades have made. One of our reporters spoke with the vice president-elect, Kristina Kelerova, this morning, just moments before the vote count had been completed across the board. On the PY’s extremely impressive showing, she said: “You know, there is a common saying where I am from; God helps those who help themselves. And by God, we have proven that this is true. Throughout this ugly campaign, we showed grit, backbone, and passion. All of this in spite of the low-levels our opponents were reduced to in their hopeless attempts to push back the imminent tide of change. This day marks the second birth of our republic”. Kelerova’s mention of the election being an “ugly” one are not wrong and if there is one thing all Yarovan politicians can agree on, it is precisely that. The assassination attempt on former Vice President Isaak Nikishin-Svoburg, the riots in Shchyokhov, and the bombing in Borisopol are arguably the most awful election campaign highlights our country has seen since the 1990s. Grigorievna has called the PY victory Yarova’s “blackest day”.
Along with the PY’s 401 seats and the DSP’s 53 seats, four other parties and a handful of independent politicians will take their place in the House of Representatives. Despite endorsing Tanas Gruzdev for president, the Yarovar Defence Front lost 13 seats in this election, plummeting from 21 to just 8 seats, while the CAP’s agreement with the PY to not contest in Kropokhovo Oblast has meant that they have held onto their 11 seats. Peremorovkan Voice has lost 4 of its 14 seats to the PY, while the Agricultural Rural Workers’ Party lost all three of its seats and the Alternative Socialist Movement lost its only seat due to the PY’s stampede to victory, the latter two will not be partaking in the upcoming house for the first time ever. 27 independent politicians won in this election, 12 of whom endorsed Gruzdev for president.
Undoubtedly, the political landscape has utterly changed, and this will lead to a dramatic change in Yarova’s international commitments - placing YZAGA and Yarova’s membership of the League in potential uncertainty. Of course, this has given way for comments from the leaders of other countries. According to one publication, Lestykhol’s Ataman Pavel Simonenko is reported to be “hopeful” that Gruzdev’s election may lead to a “new era of peace and goodwill” between Yarova and its northern neighbour. Meanwhile, Shvekshnan Prime Minister Pavel Kurhepin has expressed he is “looking forward to the unity referendum”, something which Aukalnian President Džiugas Svidrauskas has reiterated today “definitely will not be happening”. Officials working for the League of Free Nations, YZAGA, and the Allied Eastern States have yet to comment on Gruzdev's election as Yarovan president.
Apr 07: Breaking: Konstantina Grigorievna will resign as party leader after DSP's crushing defeat
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 07 April 2020 — 9.40 (UTC+7)
“I want to make it clear that I will not lead the party in any future general election campaign”, Grigorievna said. “I will discuss with our senior party committee to ensure that there is a process now of reflection on this result and with the grassroots on the policies that the party will take going forward”. This election defeat, then, officially marks the close of Grigorievna’s tenure as DSP leader. Her rise in 2015 energised the environmentalist, left-wing base of the party, becoming the first female and non-white leader. However, in equal measure, she terrified more moderate members, including leadership rival and outgoing Minister for National Security and Defence Erik Meselev, who viewed a Grigorievna-led DSP as politically damaging and economically disastrous. The DSP officially lost a catastrophic 189 seats yesterday, erasing the party’s dominance over Yarovan politics and forcing them out of federal governance for the first time since 1995. While the DSP maintained strong support in large western cities in Yarova Proper, such as Chaykoboksarsk, Cheskovsk and Minerinsk-Belgorod, the PY has made significant gains even since their historic sweep in last year’s district, chancellorship elections.
Traditionally-DSP constituencies in the oblasts of Srednikovo, Irinovskiy, Golitsyna and Sof’yanka featured strong showings for the PY, with electoral debuts in some, such as in Chistopa-Bykhiv and Voroscow-Voskrelchik. Many DSP representatives and large swathes of the membership have attributed the electoral nightmare for their party to the controversial profile of Grigorievna. It is a widely held belief that she is too left-wing, and many argue that the final nail in the coffin for her administration was the publishing of last year’s green targets which set out to terminate the oil industry by 2030. Grigorievna’s failure to direct the Ministry for Energy and Natural Resources to abandon the plan only exacerbated her unpopularity. Coupled with her lacklustre performance on all three of the televised debates, where she reckoned with her poor record on employment, law and order, and the economy, her political fate was sealed long before the Christian Alliance Party (CAP) and Yarovar Defence Front endorsed Tanas Gruzdev for president in February. What could never have been predicted, though, was that the DSP would earn only 10 per cent of the Yarovan vote, while the PY would take home just under 79 per cent — the largest share of one single party in the history of the United Federated Districts. The ramifications for democracy brought on by the handover of such influence and control to the PY could be untold. That will be Grigorievna’s legacy, and she will have to live with that.
So, Grigorievna’s departure from DSP leadership looked inevitable after yesterday. The question now is who will replace her — and whether that person will hail from the left-wing or from the more moderate, centrist wing who seemed diminished with the election of Vladimir Rodchenko — but who may find new support in a party that just lost to the unabashedly right-wing Tanas Gruzdev. It is still too early to tell who will put their name forward for next month’s leadership contest, although it is expected long-time rival of Grigorievna, 63-year-old Erik Meselev, will contend. It is also thought that 41-year-old Yuriy Kurakin will run, the outgoing Minister for Development, Infrastructure and Planning who held onto his seat for Samadnoye. Meselev’s candidacy would appeal to the more centrist DSP members who generally do not support Yarova’s place in the League of Free Nations or shutting down fossil fuel industries within the next decade. Meselev previously served in a number of federal government executive roles such as Minister for Transport and Communications (1995-2000) and Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure (2000-2005) under President Rodchenko, and Vice President (2005-2010) under President Chekudayev (2010-2015). Although fiercely critical of President Grigorievna, he took up the role of Minister for National Security and Defence following his defeat in the last party leadership contest. In 2017, he almost resigned as a result of the United Federated Districts’ agreement to join the League of Free Nations.
Certainly, Meselev would offer a new style of leadership for the party — his long political career and endorsement from Soyuz, Yarova’s largest trade union, would undoubtedly help in this pursuit. Whereas Kurakin has long been thought of as the natural successor of Grigorievna, perhaps not an attractive association after this nightmarish election for the party. It is also too early to tell whether or not the DSP has any chance of bouncing back, this will be determined by the popularity of the new leader on the ground. At today’s press briefing, President Grigorievna also offered some harsh words to the man of the moment, Tanas Gruzdev: “We have heard your promises. We have heard your loud, aggressive bluster. We have heard your criticisms. The Yarovan people have given you the honour to deliver on those promises, to channel your rants into action, and to show you will not contradict your criticisms. My hope, now, is that you will do this with integrity and always, always place the best interests of Yarovars first. It’s over to you, Tanas”. Indeed, it is over to him.Apr 13: Breaking: Tanas Gruzdev is sworn in as president, rounding off on his astonishing ascent
By ALEXEI BANIN | 13 April 2020 — 16.00 (UTC+7)
“Chief Justice Shurgin, President Khismatullin, President Chekudayev, President Grigorievna, fellow Yarovars and people of the world, thank you.
Every five years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power.
My wife Olga and I are grateful to President Grigorievna and First Gentleman Vassili for their aid in this transition. You have been more gracious than we could have ever asked for. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
This ceremony today is especially important, however, as it does not merely symbolise the passing on of authority from one administration to another. We are passing on that authority and giving it back to you, the Yarovan people.
For far too long, a small, golden circle of socialist elites in our federal capital have reaped the rewards of government while ordinary, everyday Yarovars have carried that burden on their shoulders.
The unequal allocation of federal funds to certain free cities and oblasts at the expense of others has carved a deep divide in our union and threatened its stability for quite some time.
Instead of protecting and working in the best interests of the people, the establishment strengthened its grip on power.
They continued to spearhead the r*ping of Yarova, as these communists have a natural tendency to do.
More taxes, more spending, more government, and less liberty.
The triumphs of the elite, with their ‘green schemes’, tax hikes and mass-business seizures, have not been your triumphs.
It was liberty, not communism, that gave us the most prosperous economy in Eastern Artemia.
It is with pride that I can say the Yarovan people have chosen liberty over communism.
To be elected president is, of course, the greatest honour that can come to any citizen in a democracy.
I know all too well the responsibilities that await me as I enter the doors of the Presidential Palace and I will strive unceasingly to try to fulfil the trust and confidence that the Yarovan people have placed in me and the things in which I believe.
On this Good Friday, a day of mourning and reflection for a great many Yarovars who follow the teachings of Christ, we look forward to Easter Sunday when we can rejoice at the Lord’s resurrection.
I am reminded of the words of Peter the All-Praiseworthy Apostle, which I believe are particularly relevant at this time: “According to His divine mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope”.
It is that message of living hope that I wish to broadcast to all of you today, whether you may be of a religious tradition or not.
A living hope that we can overturn the disastrous policies which have afflicted our country at the hands of the communists and their philosophy of failure for a quarter of a century.
A living hope that we can reconcile with our neighbours and if necessary, successfully defend our borders without the assistance of foreign powers with hidden agendas.
A living hope that we can restore unity to this increasingly divided union, from Peremorovka to Roslapeysk, Shchyokhov to Khanskoye, and from Maugorod to Shvekshna.
To all the Yarovan people — howsoever they voted — may I say this. Now that the election is over, may we get together and strive to serve and strengthen this great country of which we are so proud to be a part.
With unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind”.
Apr 14: Breaking: Gruzdev issues first executive orders dissolving YZAGA, redeveloping nuclear weapons
By ALEXEI BANIN | 14 April 2020 — 17.12 (UTC+7)
“In acknowledgement and full accountability of my position as head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the Federal Armed Forces, in the past hour, I have signed a total of two executive orders,” President Gruzdev said this afternoon during his highly anticipated maiden press briefing in the Surkov Palace. “With immediate effect, going forward, the United Federated Districts will no longer find itself legally bound by the previous obligations of its multilateral free trade and common defence agreement with Aukalnia and Sartland, Zaporizhia, and the Graznavan People’s Republic. Pursuant of Executive Order o.1, the Yarovan Land Forces will have entirely withdrawn its operations from the BSVY Dzyatlovo and BSVY Vetka bases in the Graznavan People’s Republic by Friday, 17 April. In addition to this, I will be meeting with President Ilyamin in Sosnivika next week to discuss the future of our countries’ defence relationship”. The omission of Aukalnia and Sartland in this strategy of military withdrawal and restructuring has been interpreted by some as wholly intentional and to serve as a reminder that Gruzdev’s government has unfinished business in the country. Gruzdev also made public his plans to extend an olive branch to countries participating as members in the Allied Eastern States, including long-time enemies Rovsnoska and Lestykhol. “Make no mistake, our withdrawal from this specific agreement does not mean we are closing the door to our neighbours. In fact, it is quite the contrary. This offers us an opportune moment to strike a new deal and bring everyone to the table. All options will be explored in due course”.
However, it is Executive Order o.2, the second signed by President Gruzdev, that has stirred up the most public outrage. The directive will bring about the redevelopment of nuclear weapons in the United Federated Districts, reverting to defence policy last seen before the election of President Rodchenko in 1995. Yarova is the only country in the world to have developed nuclear weapons and then subsequently disarmed them. In spite of this, to this day, Yarova has maintained possession of much of its weapons-grade nuclear material (purportedly for nuclear medicine) and still has enough explosives to fuel up to seven bombs. “It was a national tragedy when President Rodchenko committed the dishonourable act of stripping away our country’s last line of defence”, remarked Gruzdev at the briefing. “Since then, there has existed a major hole in Yarova’s national security framework and for that reason, my government will not idly stand by”. He added, “this federal action [Executive Order o.2] will pave the way for redevelopment forthwith”. When asked by YTV News reporter Boleslaw Robirskiy when and where the programme would be reestablished, Gruzdev expectedly remained tight-lipped but said that the government aim to possess missiles again by the autumn. Meanwhile, the streets of Shchyokhov, Chaykoboksarsk, and other major Yarovan cities have been flooded by anti-nuclear protestors who think Gruzdev’s directive is not only unethical but also unconstitutional. Yarova Today will keep you updated on developments as they transpire.
Apr 15: Svidrauskas: "Yarovan troops must leave Aukalnia and Sartland"
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 15 April 2020 — 18.05 (UTC+7)
“Those who do not learn from history’s mistakes are doomed to repeat them”, President Svidrauskas contended in his broadcast to the Aukalnian public today. “It would appear that President Gruzdev has not learnt from his time as a government minister for President Khismatullin what happens when you disregard the political independence of others”. Yesterday, in his first executive orders as President of Yarova, Gruzdev vowed to terminate the multilateral free trade and common defence agreement between the United Federated Districts, Zaporizhia, the Graznava Peoples’ Republic, and Aukalnia and Sartland. In spite of making clear his plans to withdraw troops stationed in Graznava and renegotiate the relationship with Zaporizhia, he failed to make any mention of Aukalnia and Sartland. To add insult to injury, Svidrauskas has claimed that the newly-elected Yarovan federal government did not formally notify his administration of YZAGA’s abrupt termination of operations. The small Boreal country, with a population of only 5 million and a heavy economic dependence on Yarova, has shared a turbulent history with its large south-eastern neighbour. However, the bilateral relations between the two countries improved dramatically following the election of Vladimir Rodchenko in 1995 and the political downfall of Sergey Khismatullin and his People of Yarova (PY) party. Over the course of twenty-five years, Aukalnia and Sartland grew increasingly reliant on Yarova, with the establishment of a formal monetary union in 1996. In 2018, almost 50 per cent of Aukalnia and Sartland’s trade was with the United Federated Districts. Yarova aside, no country in the world has been more impacted by the election of Tanas Gruzdev than Aukalnia and Sartland.
Upon his victory of a majority government on 6 April, Svidrauskas telephoned former President Grigorievna to offer his condolences and refused to offer any communication to Gruzdev. This may come as no surprise, however, as Svidrauskas and Gruzdev have often traded insults. Perhaps the most memorable being Gruzdev’s frequent habit of calling Svidrauskas the “chubby matryoshka”. While, in a viral video, Svidrauskas referred to Gruzdev as “Shvekshna’s busboy”. On numerous occasions in the past, officials in the League of Free Nations and government members in Gardarike have called for both sides to tone down the unhelpful language. Now, however, both men are the leaders of their respective countries and their pronounced loathing for one another threatens regional stability. Notably, in the address, Svidrauskas fired a scathing verbal attack against Gruzdev’s handling of YZAGA’s dissolution, accusing him of “revelling in his new-found recognition” and “reducing international relations to some kind of violent pan-Slavist videogame”. Emphasising his point on the risk of repeating history’s mistake, the Aukalnian president said the consequences for Yarova will be “far worse than last time… if [they] do not withdraw all of their soldiers from our land”. Threatening to order a military response if Yarova ignores his warning, he also stated that his government are seeking advice from the Gardic Realm who are “prepared to assist [the Aukalnians] in preserving [their] sovereignty”. The reaction from Shchyokhov has left many international spectators scratching their heads, as today, Gruzdev seemed almost amused at the ‘chubby matryoshka’ blowing “hot air”. Indeed, Svidrauskas did not offer a window of time in mind for a Yarovan military withdrawal but one thing has been made clear: “Yarovan troops must leave Aukalnia and Sartland”.
Apr 15: Gruzdev dismisses League calls for Yarovan withdrawal from Aukalnia and Sartland
By ALEXEI BANIN | 15 April 2020 — 13.33 (UTC+7)
Following Aukalnian President Džiugas Svidrauskas’ televised address this afternoon, the League of Free Nations’ Secretary General Folker Waecther has stated that the intergovernmental organisation, of which Yarova is a member, will not even consider throwing its weight behind a Shvekshnan referendum until all Yarovan troops have departed from the military bases. President Gruzdev has called the Secretary General’s position “ill-advised” and has expressed his anticipation of a political reversal from the League on this matter. “As an association of liberal states, it is our collective mission to encourage and enforce democracy across the world; thus, it is Yarova’s national mission to ensure all parts of our own country are enabled to enjoy self-determination.” He added, “It was our democratic obligation back in the 1990s to protect the principle of consent for the people of Shvekshna Oblast but Rodchenko and his cronies did the opposite and they went unpunished”. This has placed the League of Free Nations and the United Federated Districts in a situation of deadlock, with both sides showing an unwillingness to yield. President Gruzdev also shot down accusations by President Svidrauskas that the Federal Armed Forces have initiated the landing of military aircraft in Shvekshna’s ‘red zone’ and have armed insurgents with PKP machine guns, describing it as “nonfactual alarmism”. Svidrauskas has claimed that there could be “more than 1,500 Yarovan soldiers already in Svėksna (Shevskhna)” and that this brings Yarova under direct violation of the Ruchava Agreement. With potential conflict on the horizon in the Graznava Peoples’ Republic, accelerated by Gruzdev’s executive order of YZAGA’s dissolution, increased League presence in the region could exert greater pressure on Gruzdev to back down.
It must be acknowledged, however, that President Gruzdev has the largest political mandate in the history of the United Federated Districts and that he made the reunification referendum for Shvekshna a key campaign promise. In a post on Boltovnya, President Gruzdev announced that he expects the League of Free Nations to “outline a plan on the establishment of an impartial referendum commission in the coming days”. Speaking to Yarova Today earlier, Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov had this to say: “Under no circumstances should we abandon our posts there. Not in Pitragrad, not in Ishpushnya, not in Strevininsk, not in Grobinsk, not in Mikolishov. It must not happen at this premature stage”. Korablyov also denied Svidrauskas’ assertion that there are already Land Forces in Shvekshna and offered the only scenario in which he can envisage a military withdrawal from Aukalnia. “Absolutely not. These are the same Yarovan-speaking revolutionaries that have been present there since the last Shvekshnan War, that man [Svidrauskas] is grossly misguided. And may I also make it crystal clear, there will be no Yarovan withdrawal from Aukalnia until there is an Aukalnian withdrawal from all of Shvekshna. I promise you that”. Korablyov, a 198 centimetres (6 ft 6 inches) tall former Colonel General of the Land Forces, is perhaps one of the more hardline among Gruzdev’s cabinet. Currently, however, the federal government is in universal agreement that the United Federated Districts should firmly stand its ground and take no notice of President Svidrauskas’ demands.
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 17 April 2020 — 14.25 (UTC+7)
At 4.30 am this morning, the Yarovan national anthem the “Old Sovereign” (Старый Государь) rang out loudly at the BSVY Vetka and BSVY Dzyatlovo land force bases while the national flags were slowly taken down from the poles upon which they had flown for almost a decade. This traditional military ceremony took place before the withdrawal process went into full motion and the Yaro-Graznavan relationship entered a new, uncertain chapter. “Much the same as Aukalnia and Sartland, the Graznavan People’s Republic must show to the world how they so very, very much have the capability to be an independent state”, proclaimed Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov this afternoon. “Otherwise, what can be said that makes the Graznavans any different to the people of Kryzhelovschina or northern Rovsnoska?”, he questioned. Indeed, it is this mindset among the federal government cabinet that the Graznava People’s Republic does not have the means to support itself that has led to the undertaking of this military operation. President Gruzdev referred to Graznava as a “mere buffer zone” in December of last year on the presidential campaign trail and went on to say the existence of the country was of a “military convenience” for the DSP. A total of five Ilyushin military jets have been deployed to carry out today’s withdrawal, and are set to make up to four trips each. While other personnel are being transported via land routes (albeit in smaller numbers) and temporarily transferred to the VVSY Kaspilchik air force base in Khomustatskaya Oblast, the third-largest air force installation in the United Federated Districts. The General Secretary of the People’s Parliamentary Republic Chernykh Nikolayevich has said he “deeply regrets” the dissolution of YZAGA but would be looking for the Pan-Artemian Coalition (PAC) or League of Free Nations to “take up where the Yarovars left off”. Nikolayevich also raised concern over Gruzdev’s rhetoric but said he would not interfere in the politics of another country.
If one thought that this military withdrawal would be an opportunity for Yarovars to take a breather and reflect on this exceptional past week, then they would be greatly mistaken. Already today, President Gruzdev has made an unorthodox televised address, reminding us that things are going to be different from now on. He stood alongside Vice President Kristina Kelerova who repeated his words in Vallissian. In the appearance, Gruzdev said that the federal government have made the decision to reach a compromise with the League of Free Nations in regards to the deadlock on Shvekshna. “We will compromise for our dream but… and allow me to emphasise this some more, we will never compromise on our dream”, he declared. This said compromise involves the Federal Armed Forces remaining “in-house” at the five Yarovan installations in Aukalnia and Sartland while an independent referendum commission is set up by the League to execute a democratic poll in the hotly-contested Shvekshna region. Gruzdev has said the referendum could be held as soon as the next fortnight. Aukalnian President Džiugas Svidrauskas has berated the League for its agreement with Shchyokov and has threatened a military response to "any and all foreign encroachments" if a League-sponsored referendum comes into fruition. Perhaps this is one welcome development while the situation in Shvekshna continues to become tenser and tenser. Yarova Today will keep you updated as additional details unfold.
Apr 20: Five Yarovan nationals shot dead in Shvekshna, Shchyokhov seeks "retributive justice"
By ALEXEI BANIN | 20 April 2020 — 12:20 (UTC+7)
[12.25 pm]: In a special parliamentary session that is currently underway, the Gruzdev administration is seeking democratic permission from its 510 sitting representatives to impose economic sanctions on the United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland, in response to the alarming incident in Shvekshna. The emergency bill that is being put to the House of Representatives includes the right for the Yarovan federal government to place diplomatic pressure on the League of Free Nations, with the aim of the application of far-reaching punitive measures on Aukalnia and Sartland.
[12.38 pm]: In the House chamber, former president and outgoing leader of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) Konstantina Grigorievna has made scathing remarks against the government’s agenda and asked her 52 colleagues to vote down the bill before leading a walk-out. “When I told you last week to always place the best interests of Yarovars first, this is not what I meant. For shame, Mr. President! If the LFN is to investigate this incident, then the allegations regarding our own soldiers being stationed illegally in Svėksna must also be investigated. I would not be altogether surprised if it emerged you are attempting a sinister cover-up or are trying your hand at a false flag operation. The Yarovan people deserve to know the truth… That you are an absolute disgrace to our country! I call upon the sane members of this House, or rather what is left of us, to oppose this bill by walking out!” Grigorievna was met with rapturous applause from members of the DSP, Peremorovkan Voice (PV) and a handful of independent House representatives, before exiting the chamber.
[12.53 pm]: In spite of the walk-out, the parliamentary proceedings have continued, with President Gruzdev still confident that his 401 members will deliver his desired outcome when the vote takes place at 1 pm. The loss of the 53 DSP, 10 PV, and 12 independent House representative votes have been treated as abstainments. Aleksandr Lusitsyn of the far-right Yarovar Defence Front (YDF) accused the DSP of supporting “Aukalnia’s genocide of ethnic Yarovars in Shvekshna”. The 8 YDF House representatives are set to support the bill, although Lusitsyn has called for military intervention in the country.
[1.02 pm]: Voting has just taken place. The bill has been passed with a verdict of 419-16, with 75 total abstainments.
[1.16 pm]: President Gruzdev has followed the result with a Q&A conference in the palace’s Briefing Room. He has said the League have 48 hours to present a “credible and corrective course of action concerning a sovereign state's violation of international law and act of provocation against a League member state”. When I put the question to him, he has refused to rule out the possibility of military action in his quest for “retributive justice”. A Yarovan departure from the League is also on the cards. It seems, either way, that the Shvekshna referendum will still be taking place before the end of May deadline. Gruzdev has called Grigorievna's walk-out "cheap" and a "desperate effort to polish her tarnished legacy among communists".
Apr 28: Breaking: Yarovan army crosses border into Shvekshna to 'protect minorities'
By MILO KHABENSKYEV | 28 April 2020 — 15:30 (UTC+7)
When President Tanas Gruzdev summoned the entirety of Yarova's newly-elected political elite to the Presidential Residence Wing of the Surkov Palace to announce that Yarova would "welcome back" the disputed territory of Shvekshna today, the atmosphere was almost as if they were celebrating a military victory. “In the hearts and minds of our people, Shvekshna has always been an inseparable part of Yarova”, said Gruzdev, making it sound as if it had always been a matter of time before Shchyokhov made its move to recover the territory. “This firm conviction is one that is based on truth and justice”. Some, such as Konstantina Grigorievna, have seen Gruzdev's actions in the context of a post-imperial complex and a leader longing to reconstitute some form of the Vojiskiy Empire by gathering up lost territories. There may be a flicker of truth in this but the reality is more complex, according to those familiar with Shchyokhov's decision-making over Shvekshna over the past month. As geopolitical tensions in Eastern Artemia reach the highest level this century, today’s invasion of Shvekshna’s ‘red zone’ has come following an especially uncertain week in Yarovan politics.
Following the parliamentary approval from the House of Representatives to impose sanctions on Aukalnia, the Surkov Palace offered a 48-hour window to the League of Free Nations to follow suit or else there would be further measures of “retributive justice”. With League requests to set up an independent investigation into the killings and postpone the referendum in Shvekshna, Gruzdev responded by accusing the organisation of “disregarding Yarovan intelligence”. Shortly afterwards, on Thursday, 23 April, he publicly announced that the United Federated Districts’ membership in the League was de facto “no longer valid”, arousing the ire of former allies such as Legantus and Brigantica, as well as Pan-Artemian Coalition (PAC) states who have raised concerns pertaining to economic fallout. In the past 24 hours, a deluge of reports have come in that the Yarovan Federal Armed Forces have torn down the 15-foot galvanised steel border barrier dividing Yarova from Shvekshna, which was once covered in barbed wire and sensors, and have deployed up to 3,500 troops into the ‘red zone’. More are anticipated to arrive in the approaching hours.
As well as merely reacting to events in Aukalnia and Sartland, there was also a sense that the Shvekshna situation is a culmination of many years of grievances with what Gruzdev sees as an unfair international system and the DSP's complicity with it. “They say we are violating the standards set forth in international law… Well, it is a good thing that they at least remember that there exists such a thing as international law – better late than never," said Gruzdev last Friday, to an ovation at the City of Shchyokov Opera House. "They have come to believe in their exclusivity and exceptionalism, that they can dictate to the fate of the East, that only they can ever be right”. At this event, which took place surrounded by the splendour and impressiveness of an opera house that was once known as the Tsar's Anniversary Theatre, the president reiterated that Yarova would indeed be continuing with an exit from the League of Free Nations. “Although I had welcomed Yarova’s admittance as a member of the League 27 months ago, I was under the impression that the voices of Yarovars would be heard in this organisation; an organisation that espouses mutual respect and values of democracy. How wrong we were”.
An evidently impassioned Gruzdev severely criticised the League’s refusal to impose economic sanctions on Aukalnia and Sartland for the alleged killing of five Yarovan nationals by the country’s armed forces on 20 April. His resoluteness to leave the League irrespective of the ramifications has unsurprisingly received widespread public support, with local media championing him as the “people’s president”. In his speech, he mentioned the potential adversities that lay ahead, with an expectation of punishment from some of Yarova’s closest trading partners. “Sometimes, you do not face difficulties because you are doing something wrong but, rather, because you are doing something right. We must never forget to see the opportunity in the difficulty. Let us march on to Yaroslavia!”
Apr 29: Breaking: Yarova invades Aukalnian-administered Shvekshna; Grituny, Salantai, eight other towns bombed
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 29 April 2020 — 17:30 (UTC+7)
In a speech full of emotion, President Tanas Gruzdev told the Yarovan House of Representatives he would continue his military campaign in the region until Ažytėnai was ready to discuss with him the Shvekshna question, guarantee the rights of ethnic Yarovars and permit the indefinite stationing of the Yarovan Navy in the Boreal Ocean. He assured his cheering deputies, hurriedly called into session, that he had pledges of non-aggression from neighbouring states, such as Gradinska and Rovsnoska — and that if any of them violated their pledges, the United Federated Districts would know what to do with them. The president placed the blame for the outbreak of hostilities on Aukalnia and Sartland, for the killing of five Yarovan nationals last week. Aukalnian troops fired on Yarovars, he asserted and the Yarovars have now responded in kind with the airstrikes on ethnic Aukalnian towns in Shvekshna. “The United Republics rejected the peaceful regulation of neighbourly relations which I had sought. Instead, it called to arms and stole the lives of five of our own people. We called upon our allies to join us in our pursuit of nonviolent retributive justice; however, those calls were scoffed at”. And he added, “In order to put an end to this activity of insanity, I have no other choice but to answer force with force from this point forward”.
While not going as far as explicitly declaring war on Aukalnia and Sartland, Gruzdev has said that he expects Ažytėnai will strike again, and that both countries are on the “cusp of war”. The Gardic Realm and the collective membership of the League of Free Nations have both condemned Yarova’s invasion of Shvekshna but the ultimatum issued by the former only addresses a scenario in which Yarova enters “Aukalnia and Sartland Proper”. Gruzdev has said that the Federal Armed Forces will only push further than Shvekshna if President Džiugas Svidrauskas refuses to stand down. Svidrauskas has already mobilised the Aukalnian Armed Forces but as of yet has not issued a formal declaration of war.
In Shvekshna’s ‘red zone’, Yarovan troops were received warmly by the Republic’s Pavel Kurhepin, who has promised the support of every ethnic Yarovar in Shvekshna, “man, woman and child”. Although the chances of Yarova relying on child soldiers is not even worth considering, the aid of the region’s inhabitants is certainly of an immeasurable advantage. Many of Chernyakhovsk’s people have already flooded into neighbouring Peremorovka with the so-called ‘releasing of the frontier’, effectively making way for a potential direct conflict with Aukalnia and Sartland. In Chernyakhovsk’s Tysyacheletiya Ploshchad' (‘Millennium Square’), the flag of the Republic of Shvekshna was lowered from its mast and replaced with the national flag of the United Federated Districts. Kurhepin has said there is no need for a referendum on reunification given the outcome would inevitably be in favour, however, Gruzdev is still pressing for a poll in an effort to legitimise the occupation.
Today’s airstrikes are reported to have involved thirteen Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft which were deployed from the VVSY Abramivka air force installation in nearby Pivnichna Peremorovka Oblast. The warplanes targeted settlements situated in parts of ‘Outer Shvekshna’, not under the control of Kurhepin’s disputed microstate — including Grituny, where the five Yarovan nationals were shot dead last week. According to the Yarovan Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov, the strikes targeted areas of economic and industrial importance; however, the death toll arising from the military operation is still unknown. Yarova Today will keep you updated on developments as they unfold.
Apr 30: Breaking: Aukalnia and Sartland declares war on Yarova over Shvekshna airstrikes
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 30 April 2020 — 16.45 (UTC+7)
As the church bells rang out in the heart of Chernyakhovsk, it was not the usual call for worshippers to observe the canonical hours. Instead, just as in 1997 and again in 1999, the chiming of the bells signalled an ominous warning to the city’s residents. War was coming. No doubt a direct consequence to Yarova’s territorial push into Aukalnian-administered ‘Outer Shvekshna’. President Džiugas Svidrauskas has said Aukalnia and Sartland will “fight tooth and nail” to secure its political sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in an address to a packed and silenced parliament last night, he authorised the United Armed Forces to use military force against the Yarovan occupiers. “This act may be regarded as a formal declaration; a state of war now exists between our Nation and the Yarovan aggressor”, Svidrauskas said to the attentive representatives in the sombre setting. “Aukalnia and Sartland will not be another Graznava”, he further remarked.
Ažytėnai said today that Yarovan warplanes have bombed over a dozen majority-Aukalnian settlements in Shvekshna over the past 24 hours, continuing on to this morning. Towns including Grituny, Salantai, Joniškėlis, Kavarskas and Troškūnai. Diplomatic dispatches received in Holmgard, from Ažytėnai, said the outskirts of the Aukalnian capital also had been targeted in airstrikes. There were no figures on casualties but Svidrauskas has estimated that hundreds have already been killed, in spite of Shchyokhov's insistence that only locations of economic significance solely within Shvekshna have been targeted.
The Holmgard dispatches were supported by similar reports from purportedly "reputable" western media outlets, although Yarova Today are not willing to claim this as accurate. Indeed, air raid alarms were sounded in Ažytėnai on two occasions before the alleged bombing of the city by the Yarovan Air Force. Many have been killed and injured when the 'Outer Shvekshna' town of Salantai, not far from the 'red zone', was bombed, Aube reported. The news network has said that the Yarovan Air Force has carried out airstrikes on vital infrastructure in the region, hindering external access and, in the process, Aukalnian civilian evacuation efforts. The Lestykhol National Defence Force have mobilised, feeding rumours that a Kholak offensive on Aukalnia and Sartland is on the horizon. Indeed, the Aukalnian authorities have responded to this by rounding up and detaining any individuals of Yarovan or Kholak origin they feel are in “any way suspect”.
Meanwhile, in Shchyokhov, the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) have been joined by Peremorovkan Voice and numerous independents in their writing of a public letter to the federal government, raising concerns that the United Federated Districts is being catapulted into unnecessary conflict and is rapidly transforming into an authoritarian state. “Our greatest fears have been realised”, former president and outgoing DSP leader Konstantina Grigorievna told Yarova Today following President Gruzdev’s parliamentary address yesterday. “Just take a moment and think about it, this man has not even been in government for a single month and look at all of the chaos and instability he has single-handedly created!” Peaceful demonstrations in several major Yarovan cities have descended into physical altercations with law enforcement and many protests have been forced to a halt. However, in Chaykoboksarsk and Minerinsk-Belgorod, thousands remain on the streets blocking traffic, with some even sleeping in tents on the cities’ busiest roadways. One man, who owns pink-coloured dreadlocks, a vast array of tattoos and wishes to be called Slizen’ (‘Slug’), told us why he is protesting against the Shvekshna conflict. “This isn’t the country I grew up in. We’re not like that, that’s not who we are, man” he said. “Gruzdev is a *#%$&@%”.
It would seem Slizen’ is not alone. Domka Urakova, 60, informed us that she has travelled across the country to be in downtown Chaykoboksarsk. “I come from Uchkent and I thought it was important to be out here to show my opposition to this madness. We are headed towards a dictatorship if we do not do something now”. Domka then handed us a supposedly 'pacifist' pamphlet which read ‘Antifa Yarova’, a newly emerged organisation comprising alienated lefties who claim it is appropriate to use violence against people with pro-Gruzdev views. President Gruzdev issued a proclamation to the Federal Armed Forces early today, preparing the national military for an impending direct engagement with Aukalnian troops. In the text, Gruzdev states: "I expect that every soldier will do his or her duty to the last in the spirit of the great tradition of the fearless Yarovan soldier. Be aware that in every situation you may find yourself in, you are the representatives of the new and free Yarova. We are a beacon of liberty and we will remain conquered by none. May God protect this union".
May 02: Breaking: Aukalnia faces showdown with Yarova over Shvekshna; Ishpushnya in flames, Yarovan air force strikes Ažytėnai
By ALEXEI BANIN | 02 May 2020 — 22.25 (UTC+7)
President Tanas Gruzdev has demanded that Aukalnia and Sartland’s defences be defeated in a matter of two weeks, although some strategists within the Federal Armed Forces are reported to be sceptical of this, believing a timeline of four to six weeks would be more realistic. Already, the Federal Armed Forces have demonstrated that they intend to fully exploit the 650-kilometre frontier with Aukalnia and Sartland, and indeed, the flat terrain beyond the Peremorovkan Plains has offered a well-suited entry of more than 200 Yarovan tanks into the country. The geographical remoteness of ‘Outer Shvekshna’ from the remainder of the United Republics, as well as the airstrikes on infrastructure, has hindered Aukalnian determination to concentrate the deployment of troops to the south of the country and the Yaro-Aukalnian frontier. Although the country’s defence plan to prevent a mobile offensive northward by the Federal Armed Forces has not yet been abandoned, it is understood that the Yarovan advance has not been slowed down. Aukalnian forces already stationed in the southern region attempted a counter-attack and clashed with Yarovan troops yesterday near the south-western town of Kamajai (known as ‘Kamashk’ in Yarovan), however, being outflanked and under-resourced, the breakout attack has been described as a “dismal failure”.
Much of the south of the United Republics, stretching as far west as the Aukalnian border with Lienzeberg, has been successfully captured by the Federal Armed Forces. At present, ‘Outer Shvekshna’ remains the epicentre of the fighting but the first series of airstrikes targeting the region did tremendous damage to the strength and morale of the Aukalnian forces. In the heavily shelled town of Grituny, where the killing of five Yarovan nationals forced tensions to the boiling point, Aukalnian and Yarovan forces have exchanged gunfire but Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov has said the Aukalnians are “fighting a losing battle” and predicts that the entirety of Shvekshna will be under Yarovan control by Sunday. Aukalnian President Džiugas Svidrauskas has pleaded to the collective membership of the Pan-Artemian Coalition (PAC) and League of Free Nations (LFN) to aid in a counter-offensive against Yarova; raising concerns that there may not be much more time, with the possibility of Lestykhol soon joining the war.
The Aukalnian government has identified Yarova’s five military installations as key targets, namely the army bases of Fort Strevininsk and Grobinsk, the air force base of Mikolishov, and the naval bases of Pitragrad and Ishpushnya. In the early hours of this morning, Ishpushnya, located near Ažytėnai, was exposed to an Aukalnian airstrike. It is believed that the casualties may be substantial, marking the first significant 'win' for Aukalnia and Sartland in this conflict. The United Armed Forces have encircled the remaining military bases in an effort to prevent advancing forces from the south reaching them in the coming days. In response, the Federal Air Force dispatched eight Tupolev Tu-160 warplanes from Mikolishov and launched its second air raid on the capital city of Ažytėnai. Reports have surfaced indicating that potentially more than 30 per cent of the urban area has been destroyed, including the city centre. Shchyokhov has issued a statement, signed by President Gruzdev, Vice President Kelerova and Minister of National Security and Defence Korablyov, calling for an “immediate cessation of air assaults and land-based offensives” on the part of Yarova if the Aukalnian government surrender and accept Shvekshna’s right to a democratic referendum, as well as the continuance of Yarovan military activity in the Boreal Ocean. Svidrauskas has said his country and government will never surrender to Yarovan aggression. Yarova Today will be keeping you updated as new developments unfold.
May 03: Breaking: Borisopol Atomic Research Centre bombed by Gardic planes
By MILO KHABENSKYEV | 03 May 2020 — 9.10 (UTC+7)
Gardic Realm Commissioner Róbert Saft justified the action as having been essential to prevent the “rogue state of Yarova” from attacking Gardic cities and the cities of their allies with nuclear weapons. The official Gardic announcement of the air raid said that none of the foreign specialists known to have been working at the facility had been hurt. The number of Yarovan casualties was not, at that point, known. Shchyokhov has estimated that there have been more than 300 casualties and hundreds more injuries resulting from the raid. The Gardic pilots, all of whom returned safely, according to the announcement, were said to have seen secondary explosions, indicating the presence of a large quantity of inflammable or explosive material. There was nothing left of the research facility, they said. It has been claimed that the bombing was planned several weeks in advance, with the finalisation of Gruzdev’s executive order to redevelop nuclear weapons. Saft has demanded that the Federal Armed Forces withdraw from Aukalnian-administered territories within 48 hours of the attack on Borisopol. In an official statement, President Gruzdev has said:
THE SURKOV PALACE - Federal Office of the Press Secretary - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 3 MAY, 2020 - Statement by the President
“Yesterday, 2nd of May, 2020, the United Federated Districts was suddenly and deliberately attacked by the air forces of the Gardic Realm. The United Federated Districts was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Gardarike, was still in conversation with its government and its commissioner looking towards the maintenance of peace on our continent. I regret to tell you that many Yarovan lives have been lost. Among them, talented scientific research personnel.
It will be recorded that the distance of Borisopol from Gardarike makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. In cognisance of this, I ask of the Yarovan people to not be consumed by the great deception — this surprise offensive has no relationship to the current existence of war between our nation and Aukalnia and Sartland.
In my position as Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces, the Air Force and the Navy, I have directed that all measures will be taken for our defence in the coming days. The unconscionable ultimatum of which they have issued to us shall not be heeded. Always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. There is no escaping from the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
For this, they will be repaid many fold. We will start by the expulsion of all Gardic diplomatic staff located in the United Federated Districts. Rightfully, their dishonourable complicity will be punished. Commissioner Saft may regard this as Yarova's unfaltering response to the Gardic ultimatum. And the end is not yet. With confidence in our Federal Armed Forces, with the unbounding determination of we, the Yarovan people, we shall gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.”
Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov has said the Federal Armed Forces will be fully prepared for a potential second attack by the Gardic Realm, which will, according to him, trigger a formal declaration of war. Korablyov has also been quoted as controversially saying to a journalist with YTV: “May God have mercy on our foes, because we will not”. The minister has indicated that the threat of attack from other countries (rumoured to be Propyrgía and Modrovia) is “almost imminent” and that “Yarova will be ready”. Chancellor Edik Savasin of Borisopol has advised residents of the northern suburbs of the city to remain indoors until a comprehensive evacuation plan has been effected. People are only permitted to travel for essential reasons and are requested to wear a protective mask or ‘rag’ to protect from exposure to radiation contamination. A process of “thorough decontamination” is already underway in the cordoned-off 1-kilometre radius of the Atomic Research Centre.
May 05: Breaking: Bartninkai captured by Federal Armed Forces; Aukalnian and Sartish Air Force target Yarovan military installations
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 05 May 2020 — 15.00 (UTC+7)
Across Aukalnia’s towns and villages, people gather in large numbers to offer monetary donations to the United Armed Forces. The older generations were not untouched by the country’s fight for independence long ago, with many recalling their own fathers giving their lives for the cause of Aukalnia and Sartland’s freedom from the Vojiskiy Empire. The Vojiskiy War was not the last conflict with their Yarovan neighbours, however. In Bartninkai over the past few days, Aukalnian soldiers fought among the falling walls, with a cold fury and some with a burning memory of that long-gone summer. The Missile Crisis which was brought on by Yarova in her last display of intervention in Aukalnia and Sartland. Remembering the lost lives of some 2,500 Aukalnians, indelible in the minds of those who were alive to witness the 1992 occupation. It was in this same town that gave its name to the divisive communist dictator Liudvikas Vainikonis’ strongly-worded ‘Bartninkai Ultimatum’ in March 1950.
In response to the alleged shooting of three Aukalnian soldiers by Yarovan Land Forces, Vainikonis threatened military action if Yarova did not withdraw “forthwith” from all occupied territory in Aukalnia. Who could have predicted that seven decades on from the ultimatum, Bartninkai, home to Vainikonis’ favourite holiday residence, would have fallen at the hands of Yarovan forces once more? But on second thoughts, the two nations have rarely been at peace for a sustained period of time, with the extraordinary exception of the past twenty years. An important lesson may be learnt from this recent eruption of violence — some wounds never heal. Indeed, the Shvekshna question remains as polarising as it was in 1926, as does the relationship between the Yarovars and our Boreal neighbours, the Aukalnians and the Sarts.
At today’s press conference in the Surkov Palace’s Briefing Room, President Tanas Gruzdev berated the Pan-Artemian Coalition (PAC) states for their imposition of economic sanctions on Yarova, and said that the organisation’s “plutocrats are manoeuvring their puppets for all-out war on the East”. With a tone of indignation, he added: “Look no further than the cowardice and injustice evidenced by the Gardic Realm with its attack on our city of Borisopol. A diminished Yarova would suit the agenda of the liberal international order rather well”. Gruzdev insisted that the Federal Air Force are not purposefully targeting civilians in Aukalnia and Sartland but instead are focusing on locales of strategic, economic and commercial value. Noting the bombing of Ažytėnai’s Free Port and the avoidance of the city’s residential suburbs as examples.
After prolonged demonstrations on the streets of countless Yarovan towns and cities, Gruzdev has come under mounting pressure to terminate the airstrikes on Aukalnia’s capital. President Svidrauskas has ordered widespread evacuations of women, children and the elderly from the northern Boreal coast, with many being relocated to Sartland’s south-west. Svidrauskas has claimed that more than 3,000 Aukalnian lives have already been lost since the fighting began a week ago, many of whom civilian non-combatants. Shchyokhov has totally refuted the estimations and Gruzdev again made calls for the Aukalnian government to accept Yarova’s right of claim over the Shvekshna region and its military presence in the Boreal Ocean. Today’s attacks on BSVY Grobinsk (Grobina) and VMFY Pitragrad have clearly exhibited their continued determination to resist Yarova’s airstrikes and advancing occupation. Speaking to a socialist news network, Svidrauskas has flatly ruled out sitting at a table with Gruzdev and Lestykhol’s Ataman Pavel Simonenko, arguing that all demands will be “binding and ineluctable”, that is to say Yarova’s aforementioned prerequisites as well as the Kholaks’ claim over the contested Mecislovas Panhandle. His message has been plain — “the war will go on”.
May 08: Breaking: Minister Korablyov says invasion of Ažytėnai is underway
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 08 May 2020 — 11:20 (UTC+7)
Aukalnia’s national radio ANRT said today that “combined Yarovan and Kholak landing operations against the Boreal coast from the sea and air are stretching over the entire area between Ažytėnai and Šakyna”. The broadcast declared sizeable amphibious operations are underway, with the landing of two Yarovan warships, both with a capacity of 13 main battle tanks and 300 personnel. Around 10,000 Yarovan paratroopers jumped from 12 Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft in proximity to the amphibious warships, purportedly deployed from VVSY Yekayartsk in Smirnova Oblast. The Federal Armed Forces’ naval offensive was joined by the Lestykhol Coastal Defence Fleet, numbering approximately 8,000 personnel. It is understood that the Federal Ministry for National Security and Defence have christened this invasion of the hinterland surrounding Aukalnia’s two sister cities ‘Operation Naslednitsa’ (‘Operation Heiress’).
Meanwhile, the Federal Armed Forces are making advances in ‘Outer Shvekshna’, having mopped up the last columns of resistance in Grituny and Salantai over the past couple of days. Aukalnian troops have now retreated to Joniškėlis, where fighting continues. The Lestykhol National Defence Force have pushed into Shvekshna from the eastern frontier and are collaborating with the Federal Armed Forces there, something which Korablyov has said will “expedite the campaign two-fold”. Aukalnia and Sartland’s President Džiugas Svidrauskas, along with senior cabinet members, is reported to have fled to the town of Valka (Valkovsk) located in the Sartish interior. Since the Yarovan campaign in Aukalnia and Sartland began ten days ago, more than 250,000 Aukalnians, principally residents of Ažytėnai, Šakyna and settlements in Shvekshna, have evacuated to Sartland. The autonomous republic, situated in the north-west of the country, has not yet felt the brunt of the war but Shchyokhov has warned the Aukalnian government that “complacency will be [their] greatest nemesis”. Potentially an advance notice of a Ruchava invasion.
Aukalnian shock troops were hurled against the Yarovan-Kholak forces rushing ashore from landing craft, the ANRT broadcast said. By his own admission, the Yarovan Airborne Forces’ commander Colonel General Nikita Kipriyanov has said some landings were “poorly executed” and that many paratroopers were “badly mauled” by Aukalnian defences. However, thus far, the military operation has proven, for the most part, to have been successful, given the weakened state of the Aukalnian military following a week of airstrikes on the capital and its outskirts. Field fortifications have been constructed mostly to the east of the city limits, in expectation of a westward land approach by the Kholaks from the Mecislovas Panhandle. The greatly diminished United Armed Forces are believed now to be relying on reinforcements by civilian volunteers and are also deeply entrenched and garrisoned at the city of Šakyna. President Svidrauskas has said Aukalnia and Sartland must be “protected at all costs”, despite the heavy casualties and civilian losses. In a suitably cutting retort, President Tanas Gruzdev has said: “if Svidrauskas genuinely cares about the survival of his country and people, he will surrender”. As the Yarovan and Kholak troops enter the northern areas of the city, the airstrikes have continued, however, now the assault is exclusively focused on the eastern and southern Aukalnian defences. Yarova Today will continue to provide updates on this developing situation.
May 12: Breaking: Yarova declares war on Gardarike, Gruzdev calls PAC 'cancerous'
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 12 May 2020 — 12:30 (UTC+7)
“Men and women of the United Federated Districts of Yarova,
An hour, marked by destiny, beats in the sky of our homeland. The time of irrevocable decisions. The declaration of war has already been handed over to the ambassador of the Gardic Realm, as he cleared his desk in Shchyokhov.
We take the field against this plutocratic and reactionary democracy, which on too numerous of occasions, has hindered our national security and often undermined the very existence of the Yarovan people.
And we will win, to finally give a long period of peace with justice to Yarova and to Eastern Artemia.
On the 6th of April, the people of Yarova rose up to reaffirm the unity of our Nation and the defence of its fundamental principles. By voting for the People of Yarova, you voted for the freedom of Yarova.
We, the Yarovan people, are deeply attached to our democracy, to our sovereignty, to our independence, to our values. We made a promise that we would reunite Shvekshna with the rest of the Nation.
Our purported allies in the League of Free Nations, in the adoption of misbegotten foreign policy, were incapable of rising to the challenge of assisting us in our efforts to execute a democratic referendum there.
Nor did the League rise to the challenge when Aukalnia and Sartland’s new generation of communists failed to resist their natural jingoistic tendencies and extrajudicially killed five of our own men. At that moment, what was initially a campaign for self-determination had transformed into a campaign for our national security.
On all levels that are possible for us, the Yarovan federal government will continue to protect our interests, our values, and the safety of our public. It now would seem that the greatest threat posed to the aforementioned is the West.
God knows that, when Borisopol and Mikolishov were attacked, it was freedom that was violated. The name of our beloved Nation rings out, always, like a call to be free!
Gardic lackeys of the cancerous PAC have chosen as their objective to put a stop to our national security campaign. Federalist lack of perception truly does border on idiocy.
On account of our campaign in Aukalnia and Sartland, we are closer to cultivating the conditions necessary for a democratic referendum in Shvekshna. The government of Džiugas Svidrauskas is shining with the light of a dead star!
The defence of our fundamental values will not be treated as a death penalty. Our sovereignty will not be worn down by the West and its savage globalisation which jeopardises our civilisation. Their reign is a reign where money is the tsar.
In all sincerity and without question, there are a great many obstacles on the horizon. Inexorable obstacles against which we must prepare.
Through us, Mother Yarova summons her children to her national flag and strikes for her defence. Yarovars! Run to arms, and show your tenacity, your courage, your value!”
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 29 May 2020 — 16:00 (UTC+7)
Following the mass civilian evacuations from much of the Republic of Aukalnia to the Republic of Sartland, General Tomas Kriugzda was charged with the Aukalnian defence garrison of Ažytėnai. Kriugzda had managed to gather enough forces and war material to successfully defend the city for a couple of weeks longer than expected. However, the situation of the civilian inhabitants of Ažytėnai became increasingly desperate. Constant bombardment of civilian facilities, lack of food and medical supplies resulted in heavy casualties among the city's population. Coupled with the eight consecutive days of heavy airstrikes, much of the capital is in unrecognisable ruin and the total number of casualties is thought to be more than 8,000. Shchyokhov, however, maintains that only targets of strategic and economic importance were subject to the airstrikes, and that measures were taken to avoid residential zones of the city.
The destruction of Ažytėnai’s waterworks meant that it became impossible to extinguish fires brought on by the bombings and reports have emerged that Aukalnian soldiers began to turn on one another. Indeed, Kriugzda’s surrender this afternoon stands as a contrast to the Aukalnian military leaders in Sartland, the last remaining region still largely under the de facto control of the United Republics. Kriugzda, along with some 5,000 Aukalnian soldiers under his command have been transported to internment facilities near the border with Lestykhol, where they are set to remain for the duration of the conflict. Minister Mikhail Korablyov has once again appealed to President Džiugas Svidrauskas, asking him to agree to the signing of a truce with the United Federated Districts in an effort to “prevent further bloodshed”.
Speaking at the Surkov Palace’s Briefing Room, a beaming Minister Korablyov has said that with or without a truce, Yarova will have “liberated” the entirety of Aukalnia and Sartland within the next seven days. “Mr. Svidrauskas must be greatly disappointed if he expected the West to have come to the rescue, as if by magic”, Korablyov told one of our reporters at the conference. “Our position, our mandate, and our conscience have been clear through the course of this military campaign”, he added. “The flagrant disregard for self-determination and human rights by that administration has been sufficient for us to intervene by force”. Responding to a question about this morning’s strike on Gardarike’s Alatskivi Naval Air Station in Kironia, Korablyov was equally enthusiastic. He described the aerial bombardment as an “unmitigated success” but went on to say that, at this stage, it would still be “impolitic to push the boat out”. Whereas President Gruzdev, in his fleeting words, expressed his hope that Gardarike would “refrain from intensifying hostilities” and “receive the memo” that Yarova is treating the campaign in Aukalnia and Sartland with the “utmost gravity”. Andrei Abdullayev, a foreign policy spokesperson for Gruzdev was noted as saying: "It would seem now as though Shvekshna will not be the only place undergoing a democratic referendum on its constitutional status". When asked to clarify his remarks, Abdullayev refused to deny the plausibility of direct annexation by Yarova of Aukalnia and Sartland, far beyond the blood-stained hills of Shvekshna.
May 29: Kelerova: "I really didn't think God made mistakes until I learnt of the Gards"
By MILO KHABENSKYEV | 29 May 2022 — 21.38 (UTC+7)
“I really didn’t think God could make mistakes until I learnt of the Gards”. “Propyrgía are the genitalia of the East, yet they are incapable of holding their own urine”. “A man once said, ‘those without the ability to solve conflicts peacefully do not deserve to rule any nation’. That man is now dead”. Yes, you read all of that correctly. In an astonishingly brutal and unstateswomanlike appearance, Vice President Kristina Kelerova made the audience cheer louder than that of any national football league game. The rally, which had been advertised as ‘Kelerova: The Surkov Savage’, did not feel like a typical assembly of People of Yarova (PY) diehards. There was a newfound sense of unshakeable confidence in Kelerova and in the attendees, who waved Yarovan flags and donned t-shirts featuring the Utka — the nickname of endearment for President Gruzdev which refers to his duck-like limp.
An outside observer could be forgiven for forgetting that Yarova is currently at war with Aukalnia and Sartland and the Gardic Realm. On second thoughts, maybe that is what has energised the party’s supporters in the first place. A blonde-haired and pretty Otrada girl, Kelerova has long been a favourite in the PY movement to succeed Gruzdev in the leadership role. Thus, it was no surprise that she was selected as his running mate in the last general election. Not everybody is a fan though. In spite of her strong academic background and popularity in the party, Kelerova is a polarising figure and is not short of her own series of controversies. It is her propensity to offer harsh insults to her political opponents that often gets her on the headlines but with her recent entry into the Surkov Palace, those insults carry more weight. Below are just some memorable and controversial quotes from Kelerova at the rally.
“I’m glad to be here tonight, it’s always an honour to be with my people. You are my people and this is my city. Every time I visit I feel like I’m at home, and I can just sense the warmth emanating from you all. You know, Borisopol is a truly beautiful city. The food, the culture, the architecture, the history… it’s the archetype of Eastern Artemia. That is why last year when the city was bombed by socialist extremists, I called out then-President Grigorievna for having blood on her hands. Words have power… and consequences. This past month Borisopol was attacked again, this time by… well, the unremarkable, the gutless, the devoid of conscience. I’m a woman of faith, I believe in God… and I really didn’t think God could make mistakes until I learnt of the Gards”.
“The most frustrating aspect of this campaign [in Aukalnia and Sartland] is the collective response we have received from virtually all of our traditional allies. When we entered into government last month, we were level-headed and at complete ease with the idea of continuing our membership of the League of Free Nations. For an intergovernmental organisation with a mission statement to defend democracy, they resoundingly failed in that endeavour when it came to Shvekshna. Fear is what became of those cowards. Just because one fears wolves, is one not to go into the woods?”
“It is small wonder that the League demonstrated such disgraceful cowardice when it has nations such as Propyrgía participating within it. It has long been said in Yarova that Propyrgía are the genitalia of the East, yet they are incapable of holding their own urine”.
“It’s true that bad things do happen to bad people. A man once said, ‘those without the ability to solve conflicts peacefully do not deserve to rule any nation’. That man is now dead. I didn’t enjoy him blabbering so much anyway”.
Jun 01: Breaking: Yaro-Kholak Coalition Forces declare formal occupation of the Republic of Aukalnia
By ALEXEI BANIN | 01 June 2020 — 14.53 (UTC+7)
“Svidrauskas, your worn-out gimmick is up; it is time to surrender”, Kholak Hetman Anton Vukara Brezhneskiy said sternly at a press briefing in the Rovsnoskan capital of Krevnigrad on Sunday, 31 May. Brezhneskiy, accompanied by Yarovan Vice President Kristina Kelerova, organised the media engagement following the successful “liberation” of Ažytėnai on Friday. Senior government officials of numerous Eastern Artemian nations were present in Krevnigrad for the 'Day of the Rovsnoski Patriot Parade' on Saturday. The event followed a significant political summit, the first of which a federal representative of the United Federated Districts has ever attended exclusively among delegates acting on behalf of Allied Eastern States (AES) members.
As well as Brezhneskiy, Lestykhol's Ataman Pavel Havrylovich Simonenko, Gradinska’s President Lezek Dace and South Kryzhelovschina’s President Bahuslaŭ Lukašuk were hosted by Rovsnoska’s Grand Marshal Lucijan Perica for the militaristic celebration of Slavic culture and independence from the Vojiskiy Empire. Kelerova’s participation in the festivities and her diplomatic dialogue with other leaders, has been widely regarded as part of Yarova’s moves to seek observership of the AES. The normalisation of diplomatic relations with the Republic of South Kryzhelovschina has triggered legislative efforts to rename Kryzhelovschina Oblast to North Kryzhelovschina. Indeed, the withdrawal of Yarova’s 9,000 troops from the military installations of BSVY Vetka and BSVY Dzyatlovo in April has resulted in an immense improvement to the Yaro-Rovsnoski relationship — to a level that has not been seen since the Khismatullin administration.
In spite of Kelerova and Brezhneskiy's announcement that both Yarova and Lestykhol have formally declared provisional occupation of all of the Republic of Aukalnia, Kelerova has emphasised that finalised partition plans have not yet been given legal status in a treaty as the campaign is not over. “An expeditious intervention in the United Republics [of Aukalnia and Sartland] worked on paper, but we’ve overlooked certain obstacles and we'll have to march on through them with that same persistence”, Kelerova told reporters. “To the corn-fed sissy [Svidrauskas], I say this: only a grave can cure a hunchback. You have exposed to the world your selfish desire to grasp power at all costs and it is you who has breached international law, for this you will be met with severe penalisation”, she added.
Brezhneskiy echoed Kelerova’s sentiments, accusing the outgoing Aukalnian government of violating the law of distinction and systematically targeting ethnic Yarovar/Kholak non-combatants residing in the United Republics: “The West have skewed morals, they fail to acknowledge the principled reasons why this campaign began. I am referring to the active suppression by the Aukalnians of self-determination for the Benediktgrad Kholaks and the Yarovars in Shvekshna. As well as the flagrant and senseless murder of five civilians in the region. This is our right to protect our national security, as a matter of military necessity”.
Kelerova announced that a democratic referendum will finally be held in Shvekshna on Friday, 12 June with the necessary preparations now underway. Meanwhile, Brezhneskiy has said that his government is setting out plans to assume control over Ažytėnai and the surrounding region. Ažytėnai, or Benediktgrad as it is known to Kholaks and Yarovan traditionalists, is a city that has traded hands between the Kholaks and Aukalnians throughout the centuries. It has been one hundred years since Lestykhol last exercised jurisdiction over the city, having lost the territory at the close of the Kholak War for Independence in 1920. One thing is for certain, the anticipated handover of Ažytėnai to Lestykhol and the Shvekshna referendum will not be without controversy and further violence.
Jul 29: Breaking: Džiugas Svidrauskas in Yarovan custody
By MILO KHABENSKYEV | 29 July 2020 — 11.35 (UTC+7)
“Please, I am so tired”. These were allegedly the words of Džiugas Svidrauskas as he was escorted out of his hideaway in rural Sartland by a joint team of Yarovan and newly-formed Sartish authorities. Once a man known for demonstrating dogged determination to never surrender under any circumstances to the United Federated Districts, the 79-year-old Bartninkai native finally gave in; following a three-month campaign against his administration waged by Yaro-Kholak coalition forces. The collapse of his country and the creation of two separate republics in its place, married with scenes of jubilation in Shvekshna, and the raising of the Kholak national flag in his former capital, Svidrauskas knew his time was up. Intelligence from Shchyokhov was cognisant of Svidrauskas’ presence in Sartland’s interior, despite speculation by western media that he was being hosted by the North Veikan government.
President Tanas Gruzdev today expressed his hope that the trials of Svidrauskas and 12 other senior Aukalnian figures, will be undertaken in a prompt manner so to “restabilise the region with as little delay as possible”. He went on to say that attempts will be made by the federal government in the coming days to reach a peace settlement with the Pan-Artemian Coalition and the League of Free Nations. Hinting on the use of Svidrauskas as a bargaining chip, he stated: “We know the crimes committed by this man, we would be glad to see him removed from here once and for all”. Whether his capture marks the final chapter of this conflict remains to be seen, as many western leaders have yet to comment.
Elected in 2001 as leader of the Socialist Unity Party, a self-identifying Ignatovist-Communist, Svidrauskas remained president for 19 years. During that time, he forged a close relationship with President Vladimir Rodchenko, who had previously overseen the Shvekshna handover, and once referred to the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) as “comrades to the Boreals”. To the successive DSP governments, Svidrauskas’ constitutional reforms to permit limitless terms and his alleged ties to organised crime were not of Yarova’s concern. To the People of Yarova (PY), Svidrauskas was living, breathing evidence that the first intervention did not work and that Aukalnia and Sartland remained a communist dictatorship.
President Gruzdev is noted to have said at a 2019 rally in Muskovsk that Svidrauskas would have been “left to his devices” if it were not for his “lack of cooperation” on the Shvekshna question. Among some of the accusations being thrown at him from conservative Yarovars include the recent shooting of five Yarovan nationals, which served as the impetus for the military campaign, as well as human rights violations and alleged ethnic cleansing in Outer Shvekshna. Leader of the Opposition Erik Meselev has described the detention of Svidrauskas as “wholly unacceptable”. Yarova Today will keep you updated as developments unfold.
2021
Jun 06: Breaking: Former Aukalnian President dies in Kropokhovo prison
By STEPAN EGOROV | 06 June 2021 — 12:20 (UTC+7)
Svidrauskas’ regime was best known for its ruthless purge of opposition figures, a dirty, domestic campaign aimed at proponents of glasnost and liberalisation, including university professors, theologians, business leaders and anyone else who dared to question his authority. Svidrauskas, it has been said in a public statement by the defence ministry, died of an intracerebral haemorrhage in his jail cell in a remote maximum security prison near Mtskheta in southern Kropokhovo Oblast. There he was serving an unconditional life sentence for crimes against humanity, as well as specific war crimes and conspiracy to commit crimes against peace. These charges were brought against the former president at the Yarovan Military Tribunal which held its series of trials in late August of last year, just three weeks after his capture. Although his death would undoubtedly have involved significant discomfort to the head, Svidrauskas’ opponents were still much less fortunate. Many were tortured, maimed, summarily executed, or tossed, bound and gagged, from aeroplanes into the freezing waters of the Boreal Sea. Several survivors of his sponsored violence came out publicly following the trial in Abramivka pleading for his execution.
Up to the very end, Svidrauskas never expressed any remorse for the thousands of people sent to their deaths, including the civilians killed in last year’s conflict on both sides of the border. His intense hatred of his southern neighbours and the values we espouse as a nation was never concealed from the public domain. In 2012, he was recorded in an interview with a major Aukalnian network saying that “[the Yarovars] are an enemy to not just our people, but an enemy to the people of the world”. Under his direction as defence minister, the Aukalnian armed forces launched two vicious wars against the ethnic Yarovar Shvekshna territory, which in total claimed the lives of some 2,500 innocent civilians. Many of whom were women and young children; the men among them were principally farmers. Svidrauskas insisted at the time that these campaigns were “purifying the land” and “disciplining a primitive, anarchic society”.
Svidrauskas spent the last days of his freedom in the Sartish interior, found in an underground complex below a secluded farmhouse. The almost stereotypical and graceless end to a dictator’s career one would expect. However, for a while his fate seemed unclear. Despite the Kholak takeover of Ažytėnai (Benediktgrad) and the relatively successful Yarovan occupation of the respective constituent republics, Gardarike’s military response was shown to be damaging. Following Svidrauskas’ trial and the Gardic invasion of the Sartish coast in September of 2020, the prospect of him being used as a bargaining chip seemed increasingly likely and discourse persisted on social media. However, in the political sphere, President Tanas Gruzdev remained adamant that Svidrauskas’ course had been determined by the trial’s verdict. He also appeared to predict that the war was a strain on Gardarike’s resources, when in late November he said the “Gards [were] a long way from home”. This strategy, although extremely risky and reflective of Gruzdev’s reckless statesmanship, proved ultimately effective. Indeed, by the beginning of the harsh winter, Gardic forces were preparing to withdraw and on 13 December both sides had agreed to a ceasefire. This was accomplished without reneging on Svidrauskas’ sentence. He was to live out the remainder of his life in a far flung Yarovan prison just a stone’s throw away from Zaporizhia; yet another country he showed disdain for. Although assurances have been made that he was not subjected to any treatment that would violate his human rights as a prisoner, eyebrows have been raised as to how he suddenly died less than a year after being incarcerated in Yarova’s most secretive military-grade prison.
Leader of the Opposition Erik Meselev has requested an independent inquiry into Svidrauskas’ death after grilling the President in a parliamentary session. Speaking to Yarova Today, Meselev told us: “I have analysed every minute detail found in the documentary evidence provided by the government in regards to Svidrauskas’ suspicious death. There is something clearly amiss. The physician’s report has stated that the cause of death was a cerebral haemorrhage and that this particular doctor was the first person to find him dead in the cell. Why was this the case when there is no other data to suggest that there was any reason to be checking up on him? I also find it especially curious that he was found lying headfirst over a sink. Don't you?” Meselev added that is in contravention of Yarovan law to not have extensive medical documents that detail a prisoner’s health condition. He believes that not all files have been submitted to him or the other party leaders for scrutiny. President Gruzdev responded to Meselev in the session at Schyokhov’s Surkov Palace saying: “This man was not a schoolboy, he was eighty years of age. I think it is quite customary for a doctor to check up on rather elderly inmates… particularly someone as high-profile as Džiugas Svidrauskas”. Vice President Kristina Kelerova, who once referred to Svidrauskas as a “hunchback in need of a grave”, stated that he was also “extremely overweight and not a very healthy man”. Whatever the cause of death may be, the federal government strongly denies any wrongdoing or foul play. As for his remains, the Ministry for National Security and Defence has expressed intentions to have the former Aukalnian President buried at sea.
Aug 30: Breaking: Gruzdev seen at dinner with crime boss Kudryavtsev, one week after allegation tied to journalist's assassination
By OLGA RAZINA | 30 August 2021 — 23:40 (UTC+7)
President Gruzdev has long been accused of having connections to the Sem’ya, Yarova’s largest criminal organisation comprising some 6,000 groups and a membership of over quarter of a million people. During his tenure as Chancellor of Buguznogorsk Oblast in the 1990s, he was accused of directing the concealment of wrongdoing by numerous individuals who were blamed for the trafficking of various types of illicit substances into the country. An allegation which Gruzdev has always strongly denied. In spite of promising tougher action and 'clamping down' on organised criminal activity, his meeting with Boris Kudrayavstev has stirred up fierce criticism and is currently #1 trending on social media platform Boltovnya.
The Sem'ya, meaning "the family", is thought to account for 4 per cent of illicit world trade, with an estimated 150 groups wielding worldwide influence. Despite being extremely secretive and having an amorphous structure, which makes it increasingly difficult to gain an insight into the workings of these groups, the Sem'ya is known to have involvement in firearms, assassination, drugs, extortion, gambling, protection, prostitution, child abduction, human trafficking, money laundering, and cyber crime. Last week, investigative journalist Yaroslav Maharov was shot dead in Yumarapol following the publishing of an exposé which included a segment on the seedy collusion of law enforcement personnel with human traffickers and drug dealers who report to the Sem'ya.
The publication and additional evidence gathered by Maharov have resulted in several arrests of police officers in departments across Yarova and the ordering of large-scale police raids in Minerinsk-Belgorod by the district's Chancellor Sergei Yarmolnik. Yarmolnik, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) and close ally of Leader of the Opposition Erik Meselev, stated last Thursday 26th that the "federal government are in bed with the most callous, cold-blooded criminals in this country". A day later, on Friday 27th, Maharov had been shot dead in Yumarapol, the city with the highest crime rate in the country. The coroner's report determined that Maharov had been shot twice in the back of the head from close-range while he was in the passenger seat of a car. His wife, Ekaterina Maharova, was driving the vehicle and was shot in the shoulder, but miraculously survived after being rushed to the District Metropolitan Hospital.
Erik Meselev condemned the murder of Maharov and the failed assassination attempt on his wife as a "clear indication that the Sem'ya have taken hold". He also launched a scathing attack on President Gruzdev who took 23 hours to publicly react to this incident, a delay which has made headlines across Eastern Artemia and further afield. In Gruzdev's formal denouncement, wherein he described the Sem'ya as a "scourge", he also referred to the DSP's reaction to Maharov's death as "politically-motivated attention-seeking". The Sem'ya's most well-known figures in the Free City of Yumarapol were linked to the shooting, among them, 58-year-old Boris Kudryavtsev.
Against this background, the meeting of President Gruzdev with such a high-profile individual heavily associated with the activities of the Sem'ya in the Yumarapol area has warranted cause for concern. The timing has certainly accentuated this dinner party at one of Chaykoboksarsk's finest five-star hotels. Neither the People of Yarova nor the Presidential Palace have yet responded to our calls to comment on this matter.
Sep 10: Yarova possesses nuclear capability to strike anywhere in Artemia — Gruzdev
By ALEXEI BANIN | 10 September 2021 — 19.56 (UTC+7)
Despite an intense outcry late last year from the international community due to the testing of missiles in the Maugorod territory, the Gruzdev administration resisted calls to cease its operations. Instead, the federal government persevered and shunned condemnation from the League of Free Nations and Pan-Artemian Coalition, among others. The bombing of the country's largest Atomic Research Centre in Borisopol last year by Gardic planes was known to have significantly jeopardised the initial projections of the nuclear weapons programme, with some estimates that it was set back by almost twelve months. This evening, however, President Gruzdev confirmed speculation that Yarova had developed and subsequently deployed a Pulya missile to a site in the western region of the country.
"They kept ignoring us, but let them listen to us now", Gruzdev told more than 8,000 of his party faithful at the Federov Convention Centre in Shchyokhov. He began by saying: "This evening marks a new, exciting chapter in our nation's story. For there are developments in our national security programme that I am personally so humbled to inform you all of. And let it be known that you are the first people with whom I share this. I am sure that others around the world will soon take heed", he added.
"Under the direction of our government, the Federal Armed Forces have successfully redeveloped and improved the Pulya intercontinental ballistic missile... one has already been deployed to a base out in the west country. This missile has the ability to reach targets situated anywhere in Artemia. Most proudly, I can say that is was still possible despite the unforgivable losses felt in my hometown of Borisopol last year. Indeed, our programme does not stop here. The development of submarine-launched torpedos are well underway for example. I do hope that this serves as sobering news to our aggressors."
In conjunction with the president's speech, the Surkov Palace released official images of the Pulya missile developed by the Yarovan military since Gruzdev's ascent into power nearly eighteen months ago. The Pulya, which in Yarovan means "bullet", is a cold-launched, three-stage, solid-propellant, silo-based or road-mobile ICBM. Reportedly the missile can carry four to six warheads, along with decoys. Images published include some showing the missile being transported to a military installation, where it will be designated launch-ready and on high alert. The Ministry for National Security and Defence have corroborated the president's claims that several additional missiles, such as submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), are currently in development. They also verified that the Pulya has a range of up to 13,000 kilometres, well within the capability to strike any location on the Artemian continent.
Sep 10: Yumarapol on track to be Eastern Artemia's 'most violent' city
By MILO KHABENSKYEV | 10 September 2021 — 7.10 (UTC+7)
The '2020 Global Justice Watch: Eye on Crime Report' has presented some damning statistics that reflect the state of law and order in the United Federated Districts, and no city or oblast has received a more negative assessment than the Free City of Yumarapol, located in the heart of central Yarova. Along with an upsurge in murders, estimated to be as frequent as four a day, the city has seen sizeable increases in armed robbery, mugging, carjacking, and burglary. Shchyokhov has responded to the growing sense of alarm surrounding the intensification of organised crime in Yumarapol by vowing to increase the policing powers of the Land Forces and introduce tougher sentences on convicted gang members. The report identifies the criminal activities of the Sem'ya network as a significant contributing factor to the soaring crime rates in the city, as well as police corruption and collusion with these groups.
Individuals alleged to be in senior leadership positions in the Sem'ya have been linked to members of the federal cabinet, including President Gruzdev who met Boris Kudryavtsev last week; a man believed to have ordered the recent murder of journalist Yaroslav Maharov. In August of this year, Maharov had published a viral exposé which leaked unlawful correspondence between Sem'ya criminals and members of the metropolitan police force. The media disclosure detailed of tip-offs and even revealed the names of Sem'ya 'boyeviks' (soldiers) who had infiltrated law enforcement and gathered a substantial dossier on national security operations. He wrote: "The recruitment drive of undertrained personnel with limited background checks has exacerbated the fungal decay at the very core of the structures of our nation's police forces. The police will not defeat the Sem'ya because of one simple, hard-hitting fact. They are the Sem'ya." Within a week, Maharov was dead and his wife severely injured.
Maharov uncovered the seedy underbelly of Yumarapol's gangland and paid the price. However, the facts remain and the newly-published Global Justice Watch report duly reminds us of them. The report also signals considerable homicide rate increases in other Yarovan cities, such as Khankalgorod at 74 per 100,000 and Kogalma at 68 per 100,000, up 35 percent and 28 percent respectively. These cities face unique challenges of their own in regards to organised criminal activity. Given its proximity to the southern border with Zaporizhia, Khankalgorod, the capital of Pozdnyakovskaya Oblast, is beset by the illegal trafficking of narcotics, firearms, other forms of weaponry, and abducted people (primarily young women) who are being forced into sex slavery. Kogalma has been referred to in the report as a 'strategic connection point' between Khankalgorod and Yumarapol. It may come as no surprise that the report reveals a dramatic increase in drug use, which now positions Yarova the highest in Eastern Artemia. Yumarapol has its history as the 'Gunpowder City', due to its former role as a primary location of Vojiskiy military operations. Now, however, it would seem that Yumarapol has earned this nickname for different reasons in 2021.
Sep 11: Latangans displaced from Salua, Moamoa in military base expansion
By STEPAN EGOROV | 11 September 2021 — 9:30 (UTC+7)
For the first time since 1954, when President Artur Mosal signed an executive order to establish an extensive military installation on Maugorod Island (or Mauga), residents of the archipelago are being told they must pack their bags and move from their homes to make way for increased military operations. In recent months, the Federal Armed Forces have been conducting missile tests on Maugorod and Saina, where the Pulya intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) had been approved earlier this week. With Shchyokhov’s intentions to test additional weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), such as submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), speculation mounted that more space was necessary to carry out further exercises.
Since 1954, the islands of Maugorod, Saina and Salu have been under the direct administration of Shchyokhov. However, the southernmost isles of Moamoa and Salua comprise what remained of the Latanga Reservation. The city of Maugorod, historically the capital of Latanga, is regarded as a 'closed city' due to its presence of sensitive military establishments and secret research installations that require much more space or freedom than is available in a conventional military base. The population of the city is estimated to be in or around 15,000 inhabitants, who are all virtually contractors of the state and their families. Meanwhile, the Latanga Reservation has a current population of about 33,500 people, the vast majority are indigenous Latangans who live in relative poverty and have limited contact with the outside world.
The federal government aims to have the island of Moamoa completely devoid of inhabitants, whereas the residents of the most populous island of Salua will be restricted to the southern settlement of Taga. The Department for Domestic Cohesion and Protection will be tasked with these relocations. A directive released by them this afternoon details the aim to have Moamoa and Salua rid of over 75 percent of its inhabitants. These individuals, who are predominantly unemployed and live off federal welfare benefits, will be relocated to tenements in Chaykoboksarsk, Cheskovsk and Svogda.
Indeed, this announcement has not been without controversy. Human rights organisations have reacted on social media with strong disapproval, some likening the relocation programme to the historical genocidal acts committed by the Vojiskiy Empire. Demonstrations are underway in some of Yarova’s largest cities, especially in the aforementioned locations where Latangans are expected to be moved, most are in solidarity with the displaced islanders. Numerous police forces have responded to these protests by employing tear gas and other riot control measures. The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Tilenno, the north-western Avalonian country which claims jurisdiction over Maugorod, has threatened Shchyokhov with a military intervention in the archipelago if the programme is initiated.
Their foreign affairs minister, Suro Maekores, went as far as to refer to President Gruzdev as a "heartless pig-whore". Shchyokhov has yet to deliver a response to Maekores' statement. Previously, however, Gruzdev has said that Tilenno's claim is "ridiculous and baseless" given Latanga operated as a "mostly autonomous region prior to Yarova's occupation". Historians are widely in agreement that Latanga’s Mālietoas “recognised the overlordship of the precolonial Tilennans”. Whatever the academic consensus may be, modern-day Tilenno lays claim to the archipelago and views the relocation act as an act of aggression, potentially spiralling Yarova into yet another diplomatic crisis. Yarova Today will keep you updated on this breaking story as developments unfold.
2022
Jan 15: Yarovan declared official language, oblasts' right to secede abolished
By BORIS AMERHAN | 15 January 2022 — 15.44 (UTC+7)
In November of last year, a double referendum was held which asked the Yarovan electorate whether or not Yarovan should become the official federal language of the United Federated Districts and whether or not oblasts should be authorised to vote on their independence from the union. The People of Yarova, the Christian Alliance Party and the Yarovar Defence Front all campaigned in favour of the two proposals, while the Democratic Socialists and Progressives and Peremorovkan Voice campaigned in fierce opposition. Chancellor Kazymyr Bojko of Pivnichna Peremorovka Oblast went as far as to threaten holding an independence referendum in protest, but has not yet followed through. He has also voiced his administration’s intention to obstruct any federal attempts to impose the Yarovan language on the district’s public services. The designation of Yarovan above the country’s 24 other recognised national languages has been branded racist by opponents, while those in favour have argued that it is the country’s lingua franca and over 85% of the population speak the language fluently. Lingual rights activists have raised concerns that this constitutional shift may result in a sharp decline and spell an inevitable end to the speaking of endangered languages such as West Yarovan Tatar and those in the Nakh-Denizstani family.
In spite of the increase in hate speech online and violent altercations between different ethnic communities across the country, the referenda resulted in a clear majority in favour for both proposals. Democratic support for the reclassification of the Yarovan language to the United Federated Districts’ official language came through at 66.3% of the vote. Whereas the vote on the abolition of oblasts’ right to secede resulted in a somewhat weaker majority of 56.1%. In districts such as Pivnichna Peremorovka, a majority of 78% voted against the latter, while in Borisopol, 94% voted in favour. This may come as no surprise, given the People of Yarova party are enjoying never-before-seen approval ratings of over 90% in eastern regions of the country. Yelerinsk Oblast’s Chancellor Annagül Ibragimova, an ethnic Trukhmen and outspoken ally of Gruzdev, has insisted that the vote does not “weaken the place” of ethnic minorities in the union but instead “promotes integration and inclusion for all”. Today’s vote in the House of Representatives saw the language bill pass with a result of 423-71. The abolition of district autonomy bill went through at 420-60. Notably, the 10 Peremorovkan Voice parliamentarians, and one lesser-known Kartvelian representative, staged a fiery walk-out and abstained from the vote. It is expected that ethnic-minority district governments and the leaders of Free Nation Reservations may take a case to the Supreme Court but that has yet to be seen.
Jan 22: Governments begin talks on founding Union of Eastern Artemia
By YAROSLAV BATRUTDINOV | 22 January 2022 — 8:01 (UTC+7)
The committee of five, chaired by the head of the Yarovan Department of Justice and Equality Grischa Pishchalnikov, presented a report of their findings to the three presidents during the Twenty-Second Annual Summit of the Allied Eastern States last week. This is in spite of the committee having no affiliation to, or support from, this intergovernmental organisation. The membership of which includes states concerned by such moves, such as Rovsnoska and Lestykhol. The far-reaching proposals by the committee provide for the launching of the Union of Eastern Artemia in January 2025.
Upon receiving the report, the three presidents announced they would be meeting sometime in February to pronounce themselves on it. Prior to then, the respective governments will hold wide public consultations on the proposals. Yarovan President Tanas Gruzdev said during a ‘sub-meeting’ at the summit that in February they might even decide on a date earlier than 2025 to effect a political federation. Indeed, the Pishchalnikov committee was the brainchild of Gruzdev, although an Eastern Artemian political union has been discussed in Yarovan politics for decades. Such an aspiration is often described as Yaroslavism.
At the People of Yarova’s party conference last September, Gruzdev invited presidents Valicka and Laivinš to discuss their shared goal of regional integration. Laivinš insisted that political unity needed to be expedited due to the growing threat of further aggression from the West. Popular support for this project is high in the United Federated Districts, however, following the deeply divisive conflict in the Boreal region over the past couple of years, a democratic mandate may be more difficult to achieve in Aukalnia and Sartland. That being said, the elections of Valicka and Laivinš, respectively, may offer an idea of which way the wind is blowing—both are vocal about the necessity of unity. This paints an interesting picture for the future of the two Boreal republics—Aukalnian and Sartish reunification is a realistic scenario but only with the inclusion of Yarova.
Once in place, the Pishchalnikov committee sought views from all the three countries as a basis for their report, which provides for a rotating presidency between 2025 and 2027, before Eastern Artemians directly elect their president in 2028. Political commentators have speculated that Gruzdev and colleagues in the People of Yarova party would be exceptionally hesitant to have an Aukalnian or Sart preside over Yarova’s government, no matter how loyal they may be to the unionist cause. By 2025, according to the proposals, an East Artemian Constitution, approved through a popular referendum, would have been put in place. In addition, the borders of the three countries would have been opened, with citizens issued Eastern Artemian passports and identity cards.
At the same time, the region would have attained a full economic union, with a common currency—recommended to remain the Yarovan Gal’ka. In order to effectively implement the expediting of the federation, the committee proposes that each country should appoint a specific minister for the Eastern Artemian Union to be resident in Shchyokhov, the de facto capital. Each country should directly remit a percentage of its national revenue to an account for the Union of Eastern Artemia to meet the increased expenses of fast tracking the union.
The proposals recommend a consultation with the Zaporizhian government to explore a possible immediate addition to the unification discussions. Similarly, Lestykhol, Rovsnoska, Pozrika and the partially-recognised South Kryzhelovschina are mentioned extensively in the report, with the prospect of further expansion post-2025. Chairman Pischalnikov himself cautioned against debating the committee proposals in a manner that could jeopardise a positive decision by the leaders next month. He said all three states are determined to bring about the federation “at the risk of losing the current state of sovereignty in the region”. The political talks are expected to garner condemnation from the membership of the Pan-Artemian Coalition (PAC) and the League of Free Nations (LFN).
Feb 05: Conscription now a legal requirement, Federal Armed Forces expands
By ALEXEI BANIN | 05 February 2022 — 13.07 (UTC+7)
The move for military conscription in Yarova has come in spite of a stable and growing number of personnel active in the Federal Armed Forces. Since the beginning of Tanas Gruzdev’s presidency, the Yarovan military has augmented by an additional 45,500 recruits. Now estimated to total some 605,000 active personnel and a further 60,000 volunteers. It is no surprise that the Federal Armed Forces has been given a new lease of life in the past couple of years. The Gruzdev Administration has allotted 3.6% of its GDP to military expenditure, an estimated $144 billion per annum. Previously, President Grigorievna had designated as much as 3% of the government’s budget —some $120 billion —which at the time was regarded as a controversially high figure. Since Grigorievna’s exit from the Surkov Palace though, Yarova’s priorities have changed and the current officeholder enjoys record-breaking levels of support from the general public. Although the presidency of Gruzdev has already brought about significant geo-political changes in Eastern Artemia, and conflict with the West along with it. This recent development in the parliament demonstrates that the president has no intention of defusing any diplomatic tension.
Recent reports have surfaced that the Yarovan military are close to the completion of its second and third intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), much the same as the Pulya introduced to the world at last year’s People of Yarova party conference. The expansion of operations at the Maugorod military installation, the country’s largest, has triggered a stern response from the long-time adversary of the United Federated Districts, Tilenno. Minister for National Security and Defence Mikhail Korablyov has dismissed threats from Hireno detailing military action against Yarova as an “endless thread of nothingness”. Korablyov’s self-assuredness is well-known but his leadership (under President Gruzdev) through the course of the Boreal War has earned him an unprecedented level of public confidence. Since the Gardic ceasefire in December 2020, the number of Yarovan troops based in Aukalnia and Sartland has significantly increased. The respective independent republics have not hosted as many Yarovan military personnel since before the fall of the Vojiskiy Empire in 1926. Estimates place the total at around 60,000 in Aukalnia and 45,000 in Sartland. With talks underway for the creation of a Union of Eastern Artemia, these security developments have led to speculation that Korablyov is eyeing up the Boreal republics for the future stationing of ICBMs.
Feb 11: Breaking: Zaporizhia, Aukalnia, Sartland say "Yes" to the Union of Eastern Artemia
By LYDIA CHUZNIKOVA | 11 February 2022 — 19.02 (UTC+7)
Sat around an imposing white marble table with a golden trim, four respective heads of government took another momentous step towards the establishment of the Union of Eastern Artemia - a sprawling federation set to comprise of Yarova, Aukalnia, Sartland and now, Zaporizhia. Gruzdev, a vocal proponent of the political aspiration, sought to emphasise this afternoon the necessity of the union for reasons other than regional security and the threat of further Western aggression. Speaking to one of our reporters after the talks, President Gruzdev said: “Instead of rushing to question the reasoning behind reunification—which of course is worthy of open and fair debate—we should first ask why partition and division should remain our reality. In the past, partition did not make historical or cultural sense, but today it does not make economic sense. It oppresses us. It gravely impedes our collective ability to flourish, just as other Artemians have done”. Gruzdev’s avoidance of mentioning the benefits of a larger, single Eastern Artemian military, combining the manpower of four countries, is an indication that he wishes to win over the everyday people of the region. Indeed, most Yarovars, Aukalnians, Sarts and Zaporizhians are more concerned with financial stability than geo-politics and the spoils of war. It is these people that he and his government must now convince, given the first obstacle has now been overcome.
Presidents Laivinš and Valicka have long been vocal about their backing of reunification. Many political pundits from abroad have dubbed them ‘Yarovan puppets’ who won phoney elections rigged by Shchyokhov after the Boreal War. Whatever one’s opinion may be of the democratic legitimacy of the dissolution of the United Republics of Aukalnia and Sartland two years ago, the two de facto administrations have unequivocally proffered their support. However, it is not Laivinš or Valicka who has attracted the majority of public attention. Experts in international relations have steered their attention towards someone else. The third man at the table to the right of Gruzdev, President Alexander Ilyamin. Ilyamin, while known to have nurtured the special relationship between Yarova and Zaporizhia, has always emphasised the distinctiveness of his people and their northern counterparts. In 2013, while undertaking the first state visit of a Zaporizhian head of government to Yarova, he was clearly recorded saying: “Zaporizhians and Yarovars are separate nations, but brothers”. Thus, Ilyamin’s stated approval of his country becoming a constituent republic of the Union of Eastern Artemia is a significant shift. Perhaps one even Gruzdev was not so sure would happen; at least not so easily.
Professor Ivan Norgorov from the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Chaykoboksarsk has theorised why Ilyamin and his cabinet may have issued their support for the reunification process. “It was the East Artemian Human Rights Commission that tilted the balance towards policies of glasnost and perestroika among the Sosnivika political class. It would not evoke much astonishment to know that the commission is funded by the Yarovan government. This is the same government that has stuffed into [the Zaporizhians’] purses more than $10 billion over the past ten years”. Yarovan international aid has featured as the cornerstone of the relationship between the Ilyamin Administration and the governments of Chekudayev, Grigorievna and Gruzdev. Although it was most certainly not the intention of the Democratic Socialists and Progressives (DSP) to politically integrate Zaporizhia, international aid guaranteed that Sosnivika would not pose similar national security issues as that of the Greater Rovsnoski Republic. With that being said, Gruzdev’s predecessors unwittingly paved the way for today’s development: the commitment of Zaporizhia to what is being referred to as the ‘Pischalnikov Project’. President Ilyamin appeared particularly upbeat as he exited the Kolomenskoye Palace to his limousine this evening. Holding his thumbs up as he walked, he told encircling journalists: “Today is about the uplifting of the Eastern Artemian people, we say yes to this proposal… we say yes”. And with that, he was ushered into the vehicle by security personnel.
It is still unclear what today’s commitments are made by the four governments, but it has been reported to include an obligation to designate up to 5 percent of individual government revenues to the nation-building process. In addition to this, all countries must now facilitate democratic referenda put to the people of the respective electorates with the question of whether or not they will ascend into this new federation. It has been speculated that the conference will be followed by an announcement from the Surkov Palace of a mutual-defence treaty between the four countries in preparation for reunification and as a precaution against external intervention.
Feb 19: Breaking: Violent demonstrations erupt in Sartish capital of Ruchava
By SOFIA YAKHOVNA | 19 February 2022 — 18.03 (UTC+7)
2.30 pm: A thousand civilians began to march through Ruchava’s main streets in a peaceful demonstration organised by the Unionist Solidarity March in a show of fierce opposition to the recent release of senior figures of the Aukalnian and Sartish Armed Forces, including Lieutenant Major Gijs Šteins and Air Vice-Marshal Savelijs Blaus. A total of eighteen military leaders have been formally exonerated in spite of facing harsh sentences by the Yarovan Military Tribunal in the aftermath of the conflict and ceasefire by the Gards. President Danis Laivinš defended the amnesty as a “means for unity and reconciliation” and gained the approval of Shchyokhov. However, chief spokesperson for the Unionist Solidarity March, Vitālis Smuģis-Caune argued that the pardoning of war criminals “bolsters the morale of communist terrorists”. He also warned me that Sartland is “not a safe place to be right now” and expressed his hope that Yarova would send in more troops to “defend the uneasy peace”.
2.41 pm: Ten minutes into the procession down Ruchava’s narrow, snow-covered streets, the tension between demonstrators and onlookers is palpable. It feels important to note that few people watching the demonstration actually appear supportive or in any way energised by the march. I can see pedestrians visibly frustrated by the display of Yarovan tricolour flags alongside the flag of the newly-established Republic of Sartland. An entity which has been criticised by the West for being nothing more than a “puppet of Shchyokhov”. So far though, I am getting the sense that while people walking by are not in favour of the demonstration, they don’t want to vocalise it… they just want to remove themselves from this situation. I can see one middle-aged lady holding her young daughter in one hand and a crate of meat in the other, and she seems to be walking very fast and keeping her head down so as to not draw attention to herself.
The protestors walking alongside me are chanting mostly in Yarovan, which is unusual to my Chaykoboksarsk ears because you can still hear the strong Sartish accent. I ask one young woman wearing a high ponytail and a pink puffer jacket why she is speaking in Yarovan. She tells me her name is Arina. She appears to be a student, as I can see she is wearing a backpack with a University of Ruchava patch stitched on it. “I am speaking the bridge language that everyone can understand. Ruchava is home to a lot of people who speak Yarovan as their first language. You also must remember there are a lot of Aukalnians who moved here during the war”. I then ask her whether or not she is proud to be a Sart. “Yes, I am proud…” Picking up on her slight hesitation, I put the question to her whether or not she wants to see a Union of Eastern Artemia. “I do, because I’m scared of this instability. We all know the hardships we faced under Svidrauskas and we all witnessed the response from the West when Yarova intervened”.
2.44 pm: I then approach another demonstrator, this time a muscular-built man with a shaved head and facial tattoos, who is particularly engrossed in the rallying chants. As I gesture to speak to him he roared loudly “Lock, lock, lock them up!” His intimidating countenance softened when I asked him is it okay to speak Yarovan. “Of course, this is Yarova” he laughs. I query him why he believes Ruchava is Yarova. “Maybe not Yarova now, but soon”. Insulted by my question he shows signs of suspicion. “Aren’t you a Yarovar?” I answer him yes and say that I am a reporter with Yarova Today. “Then ask real questions”, he insists, before quickly chanting for the second time. He tells me his name is Dan. His self-assuredness contrasts to the tentative attitude of Arina, the woman I had just spoken to. I wonder, with his involvement in the protest, what his opinion is of Presidents Laivinš and Gruzdev. “Laivinš is supposed to be in charge, he needs to make the steps to achieving Yaroslavia and then step back. Not grovelling before the parasites”.
As I speak with him, another similarly framed man, also devoid of hair on his head and enveloped in tattoos, interrupts enthusiastically. “Put on your show, any vrag naroda [enemy of the people] will see the wrong end of a gun!” I take a moment to entertain to this before returning my microphone to Dan. “Gruzdev is a revolutionary, he has taken down communist scumbags, Grigorievna and Svidrauskas. But now he must not condone unchaining this rabid wolf pack”. I thank Dan for his time but wonder what his intentions are when I see him take a brass knuckle out of his pocket as I walk away.
2.53 pm: As the crowds make their way across the White Valka Bridge, a sizeable group of counter-protestors are in plain sight waiting. Already, law enforcement in riot gear are scrambling to divide the antagonistic groups before they imminently clash. Racial slurs in Sartish can be heard being propelled across the bridge and in no time, rocks and fireworks are being flung at the Unionist Solidarity Marchers. I take a step to the side, as a mass of protestors from behind me begin charging towards the bridge and push their way through a make-shift barrier instated by the city police. Among those running forward include Dan, now carrying a crowbar. Much to my surprise, Arina also rushes aggressively as she pulls a taser out of her college backpack. I can now hear very clearly the sound of gunshots.
“Dirty timber sluts”, I can hear a young boy, of no more than ten years old, bellow in rage as he marches forward. He is accompanied by a group of other young boys who all wear black ushankas and wristbands representing the Yarovan tricolour. It soon becomes clear that this protest signifies much more than the release of prisoners of war. It is about contested ground, resistance against the Yarovan advance and the growing prospect of a Union State with Yarova. Surely, this is a complex issue with a long history involving colonisation, dictatorship and countless deaths. The Boreals across the bridge are not simply communists… there is always more to it. I wish I could speak to those on the opposing side, but given my background that would be impossible.
3.10 pm: The first of the pro-Yarova demonstrators have now made it across the 150-metre-long White Valka and are now in direct and bloody confrontation with the counter-protestors. As I am watching from afar, I can see that the law enforcement have now started to employ tear gas. The scenes are unbelievable here. We went from relative awkwardness some forty minutes ago to now witnessing this utter bloodshed. Ambulance sirens can be heard, as can the wails of the Civil Defence Alarm, last heard over one year ago. This is especially concerning, as it could imply a response from the Yarovan-assisted Sartish military.
3.30 pm: I have just been informed that there have been multiple casualties and President Laivinš has requested from Shchyokhov that the Grobinsk military base move troops into position for the quelling of what is being called an insurrection by many journalists and eyewitnesses here. I am staying far away from the White Valka Bridge, as this is where the violence is still being concentrated. It is thought that the number of counter-protestors is much larger than first thought, with some estimating that there are more than 4,000 people on the streets attacking those who show support for the demonstration today. This is a breaking news event and I will be providing updates as soon as they come through this afternoon.
5.49 pm: The death count is now estimated to be about eight individuals, with countless more maimed from the fighting. I am joined here now by Nataļja Putniņa, the Executive Assistant of the Mayor of Ruchava. I thank her for taking the time to speak to me and ask her to give me a run down on today’s scenes and its implications. “Well, first off let me say that this is senseless. I appeal to everyone on the streets today to go home. It does not matter whether or not you are involved in the violence. By your being present you are making it more difficult for law enforcement to contain this regrettable situation. So, please, go home now. A curfew is in force”.
I ask her what are the origins of the riots and indeed, if she refers to this as an insurrection. “This is criminality… and it will not end well for any perpetrators. The military have now been deployed on to our streets and this is certainly not what we wanted to happen. Today was about a peaceful gathering, one in which the marchers were exercising their democratic right to oppose a government decision. These thugs that have attacked the peaceful protestors are playing on the already uneasy peace we have here in Ruchava. They are not respecting democracy and they are committing very serious hate crimes and racially-motivated murders towards Yarovars”.
I tell Natalja that I saw Unionist Solidarity Marchers carrying weapons and how does she consider this the exercise of peaceful protest. “In the Sartish Fundamental Law, you have the right to bear arms. Let me put it simply, our intelligence serves us well and we know that the first act of violence… significant violence… was committed by a mass of individuals not participating in the march. My message this evening is that everyone go home, on all sides, now”.
With Natalja’s stern words it is apparent that it will be a long night of violence ahead. Armoured cars and tanks are now emerging throughout the city and police look like they are setting up for a worst case scenario. The streets of Ruchava are not where anyone wants to be right now.