TASS

[JEDCJT]

Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union

Телеграфное агентство Советского Союза

Tyelyegrafnoye agyentstvo Sovyetskogo Soyuza

 

Radio-Television Stations:

RTV Moscow (Russian FSR)

RTV Yerevan (Armenian SSR)

RTV Baku (Azerbaijani SSR)

RTV Simferopol (Crimean SSR)

RTV Tallinn (Estonian SSR)

RTV Tiflis (Georgian SSR)

RTV Riga (Latvian SSR)

RTV Kiev (Ukrainian SSR)

RTV Novosibirsk (Siberian PSR)

 

TASS Affiliates:

Rusinform (Russian FSR)

Armenpress (Armenian SSR)

Azerinform (Azerbaijani SSR)

Crimpress (Crimean SSR)

Estinform (Estonian SSR)

Gruzinform (Georgian SSR)

Latinform (Latvian SSR)

Ukrainpress (Ukrainian SSR)

Siberinform (Siberian PSR)

 

National Newspapers:

Pravda (CPSU)

Izvestia (USSR)

Soviet Information Bureau (USSR)

Red Star Reports (Red Army)

Soviet Power (Soviets)

Trud (Trade Unions)

 

Regional Newspapers:

Moscow Times (Russian FSR)

Baku Times (Azerbaijani SSR)

Crimean Times (Crimean SSR)

Georgia Today (Georgian SSR)

Soverskaya Latviya (Latvian SSR)

Ukrainian News Agency (Ukrainian SSR)

Edited January 12, 2015 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Navy to undergo expansion

 

"The development of Soviet naval power is paramount in this time and age for the defense of the Soviet state," Defense Commissar Ivan Chuikov said.

 

NOVOROSSIYSK | TASS |. The People's Commissariat for Naval Affairs announced an ambitious plan to expand the Soviet Navy over a five-year period.

 

The plan, code-named the Black Sea Project, was developed and refined by a special commission formed by the Politburo to explore the possibility of a naval expansion project and evaluate the state's ability to fund such a project. Although finer details remain classified, the project basically calls for a 96-ship Navy. The number of diesel submarines are to increase from fifteen to sixty; corvettes from five to thirty; cruisers from one to three; and three new destroyers are to be constructed. 

 

To expand the state's naval-building capabilities, the plan called for the construction and expansion of new naval infrastructure such as shipyards and construction yards in Black Sea ports such as Novorossiysk and Sochi. There are currently no similar plans for the north, mainly because of the radioactive damage Leningrad's ports sustained in the last war, and negotiations with the Kaliningrad government have fallen through once again.

 

Many Party and state officials in a myriad of agencies, however, lambasted the plan. Anton Slanslav, chairman of the State Planning Commission (Gosplan), criticized what he called the "military equivalent to the Five-Year Plan" and its prioritization of military developments over civilian ones, similar to Stalinist projects in the twentieth century. "Why does Russia need a Navy?" Heavy Industry commissar Stephan Avilov complained. "She faces no serious threats in the Black Sea." Stalingrad's mayor, Josef Malkovich, said that the "allocation of scarce, indeed precious funds and resources to this so-called 'project' would have long-term detrimental effects on the radiation clean-up project in the Waywards Regions." Army and Air Force officials said similar things about their respective branches.

 

Defense Commissar Ivan Chuikov defended the plan, saying that "in this dangerous world, Russia needs a professional navy to defend its interests in the Black Sea and elsewhere." It would not be in Russia's interests to have its Black Sea coast — which effectively serves as the country's only outlet to the rest of the world — be so woefully undefended. The growing piracy problems in the Black Sea posed a serious challenge for Russia to contend with. "The Russian people demand defense, security, and protection not only from the Army and Air Force, but from the Navy as well," Chuikov said. "And their voice shall be listened to!"

Edited December 11, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

[TOP-SECRET PUBLICATION - FOR CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS ONLY]

 

State security agency formed

 

"It is not in Russia's interests to go any longer without an efficient state security agency in this brave new world that we live in," First Secretary Dmitri Volgin said in a closed Central Committee meeting.

 

STALINGRAD | TASS |. The Central Committee narrowly voted to pass a special resolution establishing a federal-level state security agency.

 

This followed the recent decision of the Collegiate of the State Security Section of the Executive Committee of the Stalingrad Soviet of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies to expand its investigative powers. Given recent outbreak of chaos and disorder in the Wayward Regions, with militants roaming the countryside, a strong security service was deemed most necessary to maintain order throughout Russia. It would ease the burden on the Red Guardsmen and Red Army that are currently performing law enforcement duties.

 

Under the Decree for the Strengthening of Internal Security in the Russian Federation, all investigative, intelligence, and counterintelligence directorates in the individual People's Commissariats, regional and local Soviets, other state agencies, and the armed forces would be consolidated into the People's Commissariat for State Security (NKGB). Politburo member Vladimir Malinovsky was appointed Director, and will report to the Council of People's Commissars.

 

The NKGB will be empowered with "appropriate powers to deal with the various challenges that currently confront the Soviet State," as the Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev put it. "Appropriate mechanisms will be applied to ensure the state security agency [NKGB] conform to its present role." In other words, the NKGB will be subject to checks and balances, to be enforced by the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee's Control Commission. The First Secretary had already made it clear that the NKGB will not become the "monstrous behemoth that it became under Stalin."

 

Whether the secret police will remain within its legal boundaries remain to be seen, but for the time being, the NKGB is busy opening field offices in major cities such as Stalingrad, Novorossiysk, Elista, Grozny, and Vladikavkaz in the south, and Petrozavodsk, Murmansk, and Arkhangelsk in the north. It remains to be seen whether the Kaliningrad and the Eastern regions will comply with the Decree, and the Central Committee will send over an investigative delegation there. A recruitment drive is being planned, and will be announced in the first plenary session of the Collegium of the Executive Committee of the NKGB.

 

Prior to the formation of the NKGB, the individual People's Commissariats and the Soviets executed "national security" duties.

[JEDCJT]

Soviet troops sent to secure the Crimea, Transcaucasia

 
"The peoples in the Crimea and the Transcaucasia has called upon the Red Army to liberate them from their wretched suffering, and we shall be more than happy to extend a friendly, helping hand!" Defense commissar Ivan Chuikov said in a press statement.
 
SEVASTOPOL | TASS |. Soviet troops were deployed to the Crimea and the Transcaucasia (consisting of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia) today in response to requests by local leaders for Red Army intervention, the Defense Commissariat reported today.
 
"As I speak, several divisions of the Red Army, among with elements of the Air Force, are currently on-route to secure the Crimea and the Transcaucasian region for the Russian Federation," Defense commissar Ivan Chuikov said in a public speech in Stalingrad. He stated that this was the assertion of "Soviet sovereignty and jurisdiction over the aforementioned regions".
 
"Although the Crimea and Transcaucasian regions were largely spared the nuclear horrors in the Second Apocalypse," Georgy Ruthenov, Deputy Defense commissar said in a report that was widely circulated in Party circles, "the local people there nevertheless languished under terrible living conditions, exacerbated in part by corrupt and incompetent local leaders. This ends now, for the Soviet People have pledged to assist their Comrades across the border achieve freedom, happiness, and prosperity as part of the Soviet national community!"
 
When asked if this entailed the establishment of a protectorate over the regions, Ruthenov replied in the positive. "Such a protectorate will be organized on an interim basis as to transition the regions to Soviet rule." Exactly what this will entail for the individual regions of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan remain unclear. Will they become separate regions, or will they be amalgamated into a single region as the repeated usage of the term, 'Transcaucasia', seem to imply? What about the Crimea? Will it become an autonomous republic or a full-fledged Soviet republic on its right? Several political pundits contend that these questions will be answered soon.
 
Some Party members and government officials, however, criticized what they called the "military adventurism" undertaken in a time where economic and social developments were supposed to receive the highest priority. "Why should Soviet Russia bother to expand her borders while much of her lands remain devastated by nuclear catastrophe?" Deputy Foreign commissar Pavel Litvinov asked. "This would only divert further funds and resources away from those who need them the most." Sasha Galev, member of the Central Committee, agreed: "The costs involved in the administration, never mind the actual integration, would be catastrophic for the Soviet state as a whole."
 
First Secretary Dmitri Volgin stated that such concerns were understandable, but shouldn't be construed as to discourage the development of the Soviet state. "If Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, or Stalin thought that way, Russia wouldn't have become a great power in its history," he said. "There would be great costs involved, yes. We understand that, and will not let that dissuade us from setting out to do what we set out to do in the first place: to better the lives of the local inhabitants."
 
[OOC:]
 
Armenia: 1/7
Azerbaijan: 1/7
Georgia: 1/7
Crimea: 1/7

[JEDCJT]

Soviet power in process of consolidation in Crimea, Transcaucasia

 

"The formation and consolidation of Soviet power in the protectorate regions of the Crimea and the Transcaucasia is of utmost importance at this time," Protectorate Affairs commissar Nikolai Milyutin said.

 

TIFLIS | TASS |. In accordance to Deputy Defense commissar Georgy Ruthenov's earlier statements, a "protectorate government" was formed in the Crimea and the Transcaucasia.

 

As per joint instructions issued by the Commissariats for Nationalities, and Protectorate Affairs, a "Provisional Government of the Georgian Soviet Republic" was formed in Tiflis, capital of Georgia, and power delegated to its "Protectorate Authority Committee". Similar arrangements were instituted in Armenia and Azerbaijan. Tentative suggestions for an united Transcaucasian protectorate region, put forth by the Politburo, was swiftly rejected. 

 

As for the Crimea, the "Crimean Provisional Government of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies" was proclaimed by the Sevastopol Soviet that had been formed shortly after the arrival of Soviet troops in the region. Sergei Asyonov was appointed to head this government "on a provisional basis." Local Soviets are currently in the process of forming in the other cities and towns.

 

[FOR CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND POLITBURO MEMBERS ONLY - TO BE REDACTED PRIOR TO WIDER PUBLICATION]

 

The first thing in order was the swift imposition of order. Under instructions issued by the Crimean government under Asyonov and by the individual Transcaucasian governments, local police officers — whenever found — were "deputized", while the Red Army troops were designated "auxiliary status", to be tasked with filling in the "policing gaps" in the major cities and the countryside. Lists of individual slated for "preventative custody" were drawn by the NKGB, and a status report will be sent to Stalingrad shortly. Any resistance were to be liquidated with "extreme prejudice".

 

The Politburo authorized the initial "emergency" infusion of some $6 million into the Crimea and $15 million into the Transcaucasia, and officials from the Finance Commissariat and the State Planning Commission (Gosplan) were dispatched to the regions to begin the monumental task of economic reconstruction. This will include, but not limited to, emergency nationalization of critical industries such as oil production, electricity, and roadways. 

 

Red Army troops have been dispatched to secure Russia's newest southern borders, and are in the process of constructing or renovating border control centers. Over time, when the situation stabilizes, the Immigration Commissariat will be expected to take over such duties. Likewise, the Maritime Transport Commissariat have already begun "fortifying" the Crimean, Georgian, and Azerbaijani coastlines.

 

[END REDACTION]

 

"We have our work cut out for us here," First Secretary Dimitri Volgin said on a visit to Tiflis. "It will take years, even decades, of hard work, but through the steadfast dedication of our workers, we will succeed!" He went on to say that the reconstruction of the Crimea and Transcaucasian region will receive equal priority with that of the nuclear-affected areas in the Wayward Regions. "No region in Soviet Russia will be want for funds and supplies," he vowed, banging a fist on the podium. "Life in Russia proper, the Crimea, and the Transcaucasia will improve! They will become more joyous!" 

 

Whether anyone had pointed out the interesting similarity to a famous line in Stalin's 1935 speech is unknown.

 

[OOC:]
 
Armenia: 2/7
Azerbaijan: 2/7
Georgia: 2/7
Crimea: 2/7

[JEDCJT]

Red Army sent into eastern and central Ukraine

 

"As in the Crimea and the Transcaucasia, we have decided to extend our hand of friendship and protection to the oppressed peoples in central and eastern Ukraine," Foreign commissar Lev Gromyko said in a press statement.

 

STALINGRAD | TASS |. Not long after the deployment of Soviet troops into the Crimea and Transcaucasia, the Politburo authorized further deployments to the central and eastern regions of Ukraine. 

 

Up to 40,000 troops, along with air support elements, are on-route to the aforementioned regions, which consists of the Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Politava, Sumy, and Zaporizhia oblasts, as well half of the Kiev oblast. "No longer will the toiling classes of Ukraine suffer under oppression under corrupt and decadant capitalist overlords!" Deputy Defense commissar Georgy Ruthenov said. He went on to state that the political arrangements being implemented in the Crimea and the Transcaucasia -- alas, the protectorate form of government -- will be established in this part of the Ukraine.

 

As always, criticism abounded. "The foreign military adventurism continues," famous journalist Aleksandr Pavel wrote in an article. "Will Russia continue to expand until it collapses upon itself?" Central Committee member Sasha Galev voiced her disapproval once again: "This newest bout of expansionism only places increased burden upon the Soviet people and brings little to no benefits to the homeland." Others raised the specter of Ukrainian nationalism: "By expanding into the Ukraine, we have only added to the plethora of Soviet Russia's problems," Nationalities commissar Sergei Brezhnev said. "Ukrainian nationalism played a part in the collapse of the USSR back in the end of the twentieth century, and I fear that if we do not address this question carefully, we are doomed to meet the same end."

 

To assure concerned spectators, First Secretary Volgin drew the line there: "The Crimea, Transcaucasia, and central-eastern Ukraine will be the extent of Soviet intervention in the west and south," he vowed. "For the foreseeable future, we will focus on developing these aforementioned regions to the high standards that we have set for ourselves."

 

[OOC:]

 

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 1/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 1/7

Edited December 16, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Kaliningrad closes its borders midst fears of "imminent war"

 

"The rapidly-gathering clouds of war compels us to take urgent measures deemed necessary to protect ourselves," General Secretary Svetlana Vissaronva said.

 

KALININGRAD | TASS |. In an extraordinary plenum of the Central Committee of the Kaliningrad Soviet Socialist Republic, General Secretary Svetlana Vissaronva announced the "temporary" closure of Kaliningrad's borders midst heightened tensions in the region.

 

"All around us, foreign nations are gearing up for war," she began. "And we have accordingly taken extraordinary measures to ensure Kaliningrad's continued neutrality and the safety of her citizens and assets." Part of the "extraordinary measures" were the closing down of all border crossing points alongside the border with Poland and Lithuania, except to facilitate the withdrawal of Russian citizens from neighboring areas, and the issuation of a travel advisory urging citizens against traveling to "regions deemed to be on high risk of conflict."

 

This wasn't all: all military forces stationed in Kaliningrad had been placed on a high state of alert. "Our troops are currently moving into position, our bases on-line, our fortifications activated, and our assets on high alert," Vissaronva said. "This is part of defensive protocols intended to prevent any surprise attack, not that we would expect any, against the People of Kaliningrad."

 

The Soviet government in Stalingrad, while criticizing Secretary Vissaronva for her "failure to consult with the Defense commissariat beforehand", commended her actions, saying that her actions would go a "long way in reducing collateral damage, if any, should war actually break out." 

 

First Secretary Volgin stated that this was part of standard defense policy in times of high tensions, when the specter of war cast a long shadow over the Continent. He also stated that should war break out, and the Nordisk Rike is attacked, Russia will "defend her ally with the same spirit and determination as if Russia herself was attacked." Accordingly, the nation was on the process of being placed on a heightened state of alert, her military forces on the verge of mobilization, and her economy in the process of converting to a partial war footing.

[JEDCJT]

Rival government formed in Georgia, political crisis "imminent"

 

"The developments currently taking place in Georgia, as well the other parts of the Transcaucasia, has worrying implications not only for the aforementioned regions, but for the Soviet federation as a whole," Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev said in a speech to the Politburo.

 

TIFLIS | TASS |. Several prominent Georgian nationalists convened a rival Congress of the Georgian Communist Party in Tiflis, where they proclaimed the formation of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic -- an unexpected challenge to the legal Provisional Government that had been established by the Soviet government. 

 

"The toiling classes of Georgia can only be represented by a native vanguard Party ruling in the name of the proletariat, not by a foreign cabal imposed by the Stalingrad clique!" General Secretary Koba Makharadze exclaimed in a highly-inflammatory speech in Tiflis's central square. "That cabal cannot adequately represent the interests of the Georgian proletariat...we remember the lessons of 1921 and the catastrophe of 1924, and will strive not to let that happen again!" He was referring to the February 1921 invasion of Georgia and the suppression of the August 1924 uprising, both which had been caused by weak Party support among the working classes.

 

Moreover, Makharadze said, Soviet Georgia will be an "independent Republic on equal footing with Soviet Russia and other Republics," a strange statement, given that 'Soviet Russia' was itself a federation of Republics and that Georgia was garrisoned by tens of thousands of Red Army troops. He went on to say that "pending future negotiations," Georgia will form its own foreign, defense, and interior commissariats in due time.

 

Vasily Charkviani, chairman of the Protectorate Authority Committee of the Provisional Government, condemned the declaration as a "nationalistic insurrection aimed at subverting Party authority in Georgia" and Makharadze as a "factionalist" whose actions would only undermine proletariat support in the region. The Committee passed a special resolution invalidating the Makharadze government and calling upon Georgian workers and soldiers to band together against the "illegal power usurpers." He stopped short of ordering Makharadze's arrest, however, instead appealing to the highest organs of the Soviet government -- the Politburo -- to take "corrective action."

 

This "corrective action" took the form of a special resolution that was put forth by pro-Charkviani members. It called for Red Army troopers to move against Makharadze and his regime, and for the immediate convocation of a Tiflis Soviet that would then hold elections for an All-Georgia government, to be supervised by Charkviani. However, pro-Makharadze members moved to block this measure, arguing that Makharadze's actions was based on "wide popular mandate"; to suppress that would be to deal a "grievous blow against Soviet democracy." The ensuring arguments, as well the unfolding crisis in Georgia, seemed to confirm Nationalities commissar Sergei Brezhnev's warnings of the "specter of nationalism."

 

Makharadze wasn't the only one to take the initiative. Charismatic Party leader Ayaz Yaqubov formed the "All-Soviet Government of the Azerbaijani People's Republic", and announced elections for the Azerbaijani Soviet. He also declared that Azerbaijan will be a "sovereign Republic under Soviet jurisdiction". In Yerevan, a conference was currently underway, chaired by Stepan Kostanian, to form a "Soviet Government dedicated to the Armenian people." Like Makharadze, Kostanian derided the Transitional Committee of the Armenian Soviet Republic as "illegitimate," saying that any formation of Soviet power in Armenia had to be backed by popular vote.

 

There were concerns in the Party establishment that the Georgian 'crisis' could establish something of a precedent, especially in the Crimea, where the Crimean Provisional Government of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies reigned. There were unconfirmed rumors that the Asyonov government was planning to clamp down on any rival claimants to power.

 

[OOC:]

 

Armenia: 3/7

Azerbaijan: 3/7

Georgia: 3/7

Crimea: 3/7

Edited December 17, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Party Congress convened

 

"We need to resolve the question in regards to the relationship between nationalities and the Soviet state," Premier Boris Vorshevsky said.

 

STALINGRAD | TASS |. In response to the deadlock in the Politburo over the Georgian political crisis, as well the brewing ones in the Ukraine, First Secretary Dmitri Volgin announced the convocation of an "extraordinary" Congress of the Communist Party of the RFSR.

 

"The national question must be answered in the affirmative, and with utmost certainty, in the interests of defusing this potentially-explosive situation before it gets out of hand," the First Secretary said. Since the Politburo was unable to address the situation, and the Central Committee out of session, it thus fell to the Party itself to step in and "restore order". There was only one item on the agenda: the question of whether nationalities have the right to organize self-government.

 

Over four hundred voting members, three hundred and fifty members with consultative votes, and two hundred candidate (non-voting) members are expected to attend the Congress, which will be held in the imposing Palace of Stalin, located on the banks of the Volga. This includes Ukrainian members, which are currently creating an Ukrainian Soviet Republic in the regions under Red Army occupation. (There were two 'factions', one centered in Kiev and one in Kharkov, vying for power and legitimacy in the Ukrainian SR). The Crimea had been fairly fortunate in that no one challenged Asyonov's claims to power. Even so, Crimean delegates are planning to push for a Soviet Republic of their own at the Congress.

 

The Armenians and Azerbaijanis have indicated their willingness to attend, as long as the Congress upheld the concept of Soviet democracy. "The right of the working People to form their own Government is paramount; nothing else matters," Stephan Kostanian said. The Georgians, for their part, had been dragging their feets. Makharadze's faction voiced concern whether the "Georgian voice would be heard in the halls of Soviet power", while the Charkvianities continued to protest that the Makharadze "insurrection" should not be sanctioned by Party doctrine.

 

[OOC:]

 

Armenia: 4/7

Azerbaijan: 4/7

Georgia: 4/7

Crimea: 4/7

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 2/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 2/7

Edited December 18, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Nationalities question answered

 

"By answering this crucially important question on the right of non-Russian nationalities to organize self-government, we have preserved the frameworks of the Soviet state and upheld the concept of Soviet democracy," Central Executive Committee chairman Sergei Gushkov said.

 

STALINGRAD | TASS |. After two weeks of acrimonious debate, punctuated by screaming matches and walkouts, the First Party Congress reached a final decision. 

 

In the 'Resolution on the Formation of Self-Government', the Congress upheld the concept of Soviet government by placing plenary powers to the local Soviets on the formation of a regional government. This means that a majority of local Soviets in any given area would have to convene a Party Congress to elect the regional Central Committee. This certainly applied to non-Russian nationalities living in Russia's peripherial areas (such as Georgia).

 

This decision effectively invalidated both Makharadze and Charkviani's respective governments, mainly because the latter was formed by the central government, not local Soviets, and the former was instituted through a 'renegade' Party Congress that didn't have wide popular support. This means the process of government formation in Georgia, as with other regions such as Armenia and Azerbaijan, would have to be restarted.

 

Makharadze's deputies protested this move, saying that his government was formed through legal means, that is, by an inclusive Party Congress that was held in Tiflis. "The present Government of Georgia was formed through the First Congress of the Georgian Communist Party, with the approval of local Soviets, and this is perfectly in compliance with the Party resolution," Soso Garibashvili, Makharadze's deputy, said in the Party Congress. 

 

Party Congress Chairman Mikhail Romanoff, overseeing the Congress, countered with ample evidence that Makharadze's government was formed on a "razor-thin popular base," meaning it was formed without popular support or even Soviet support. "The present regime in Georgia is little more than a foreign cabal that was established through the connivance of a local clique!" he told Garibashvili. If Makharadze wanted to uphold his belief in Soviet democracy, he would have to dissolve the government and allow local Soviets to initiate the process.

 

In Azerbaijan, Ayaz Yaqubov voiced his support for the resolution, saying that it "upheld the spirit of Soviet democracy". He would annul his previous decisions and allow local Soviets to convene a Party Congress to form the basis of an All-Soviet Armenian government. Armenia's Stepan Kostanian pretty much said the same, although he voiced concerns about the exact procedures it would entail. "They say the local Soviets should initiate the government formation process," he said in a speech in Yerevan. "That is good and all, but how exactly would they do that, that is the question."

 

[OOC:]

 

Armenia: 5/7

Azerbaijan: 5/7

Georgia: 5/7

 

---

 

Crimea considering ban on factions, Ukraine government restarted

 

"Party unity is absolutely necessary to ensure the smooth formation of government," Crimean leader Sergei Asyonov said.

 

SEVASTOPOL | TASS |. Through the initiative of Crimean leader Sergei Asyonov, the Communist Party of Crimea was in the process of considering a ban on factions not only in the regional Party but throughout the Crimea as well.

 

Asyonov defended his government vis-a-vis the central Party resolution, saying that it was indeed formed through local Soviet initative. However, his detractors soon pointed out that the "Crimean Provisional Government of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies" was formed by the Sevastopol Soviet, not a region-wide Soviet that included all representatives from across the peninsula. They also lambasted the proposed ban on faction as a "nefarious attempt to impose censorship on the working classes" and as a "malicious tool for [Asyonov] to wield against anyone perceived to be against him."

 

Premier Boris Vorshevsky agreed with the first accusation, ordering Asyonov to restart the government as soon as possible. "You will allow the local Soviets to form the basis of an All-Soviet Government of Crimea, or we will do it ourselves," he told Asyonov in a letter. He also voiced disapproval of the proposed ban on factions, saying it would undermine the cornerstones of Soviet democracy by stifling the freedom of debate. "Healthy disagreements are vital in any public discourse, and are indeed inevitable," the Premier said in the same letter. "If we labeled anyone who disagreed with us a factionalist, the Party and the state would collapse."

 

The same drama was playing out in the rest of the Ukraine: a central Party directive dissolved any present government institutions that weren't formed through local Soviet initiative, although it handed a major victory to the Kharkov faction by designating the said city as the capital of Soviet Ukraine. "To pass over the ancient city of Kiev, which had been the center of Ukrainian government for decades, indeed centuries, just because it was too close to the border is, to be frankly, ridiculous," Viktor Yatsenyuk, leader of the Kiev faction, complained.

 

[OOC:]

 

Crimea: 5/7

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 3/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 3/7

[JEDCJT]

Capital relocated to Leningrad

 

"The time has now come for us to look through the Window of Europe once again," First Secretary Dmitri Volgin said.

LENINGRAD | TASS |. In the concluding session of the First Party Congress, to everyone's surprise, First Secretary Volgin submitted a resolution: the relocation of the Soviet capital back to Leningrad.

"We have spent the better part of the last decade clearing the radioactive rubble out of Leningrad, thinking that we would spend decades more doing the same. Now it had been revealed that the extent of damage sustained by the former capital in the Second Apocalypse wasn't as great or serious as we had previously assumed," he said.

He was referring to the Suslov Commission, an ad hoc committee set up by the People's Commissariat for Emergency Management. Headed by Alexander Suslov, a high-ranking Party official, the commission had released a report indicating that Leningrad had sustained much lighter damages than expected, and that large tracts of the city were actually safe to live in, if the large number of inhabitants living them is any indication.

While most of the delegates voiced support or enthusiasm for the resolution, some voiced caution or concern. "The [Suslov Commission] may declare Leningrad safe for central government operations, but it does not eliminate the potential and actual dangers that radiation poses to us all," Nikita Valentina of Tula said. "It costs millions of rubles and causes great changes to change offices in a government department," Leonid Tidyov pointed out. "Imagine relocating an entire capital. Never mind the costs, what about logistics?"

As valid as these concerns were, it didn't stop the resolution from passing in a 241-159 vote. The 'Resolution on the Relocation of the Soviet Capital' set a six-month timetable for central government agencies to begin the process. Foreign embassies were to move to Leningrad, although they could remain in Stalingrad for a bit longer if they so desired.

[JEDCJT]

Azerbaijan successfully restarts government, political crisis intensifies in Georgia

 

"It seems that with every step we take in regards to the constitutional and administrative nature of this federation as well the [Communist] Party, we take two steps back," Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev lamented on a visit to Novorossiysk.

 

BAKU | TASS |. Azerbaijan became the first province to complete the national formation process when the All-Soviet Congress of the Azerbaijani Communist Party, convened by the majority of local Soviets, elected its first Central Committee. This was confirmed by the Internal Oversight Commission in the RFSR Communist Party.

 

Newly-elected General Secretary Ayaz Yaqubov exholled this as the "ultimate triumph of the spirit of Soviet democracy," where the working peoples have "voiced their interests in regards to the formation and running of the proleterian state". One of the first actions of the Central Committee was to declare the formation of the Azerbaijani Soviet Republic, centered in Baku, on an "equal basis with the Russian FSR in the Soviet national community."

 

In Armenia, deputy elections are currently being held, in which the local Soviets would send over deputies to participate in a special convocation that would then elect the Armenian Central Committee. Stepan Kostanian said more on one occassion that Armenia would follow the Azerbaijani example; the prospective Armenian Soviet Republic would pursue a form of autonomy similar to Soviet Russia in regards to internal and cultural affairs.

 

Whereas things went smooth for the most part in the aforementioned regions, Georgia proved to be a difficult obstacle for proponents of Soviet power to overcome. Apparently Makharadze refused to "annul what had been legal in the first place," arguing that the Party Congress was "ignorant of the national formation proceedings." He resented Party Congress chairman Mikhail Romanoff's unsubstantiated accusations of "foreign connivance," saying that the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic had legal basis that "could not and would not be changed by the whim of some distant Party apparatchiks."

 

Premier Boris Vorshevsky reiterated the warning that he had given to Crimean leader Asyonov: Makharadze was to comply with the Party resolution and reform the All-Soviet government in Georgia or otherwise face central intervention. Deputy leader Soso Garibashvili shot back with a defiant proclamation saying that the RFSR government and Party had no right to interfere in "sovereign Party affairs in Georgia", which some officials in the RFSR Central Committee interpreted as an "procedural declaration of independence."

 

As borderline subversive as Makharadze's actions and Garibashvili's declarations were, they raised a crucial question on the nature of the relationship between Soviet Russia and the South Caucasian republics. Georgia, as with Armenia and Azerbaijan (and Ukraine and the Crimea, for that matter) were not formally a part of the Russian Federation of Soviet Republics. From a strict legal viewpoint, the RFSR, and by extension the RFSR Communist Party, had no jurisdiction over them. If one wanted to take it any further, it could be said that the RFSR government and Party didn't have legal jurisdiction over non-Russian areas within the RFSR itself (such as Chechnya or Tatarstan).

 

It was these reasons that some members in the Central Committee proposed setting a special plenum consisting of members from all Communist parties, from Russia all the way to Dagestan, to discuss a "stronger federative relationship between the Russian FSR and the other Soviet republics."

 

[OOC:]

 

Armenia: 6/7

Azerbaijan: 6/7

Georgia: 6/7

 

---

 

New Soviet republics declared in Ukraine and Crimea

 

"We need to remind our comrades in Russia and other regions that the Crimean people are not Ukrainians, and that Ukrainians are not Crimeans! We are a proud people in our own right, and we ought to be recognized as such," Crimean Party member Yulia Agaev declared in a speech.

 

KHARKOV | TASS |. In the first session of the Ukrainian Central Committee, the Ukrainian Soviet Republic was officially proclaimed in the new capital of Kharkov, under the premiership of Nikita Leoniev. 

 

"The Ukrainian people stand united behind the Soviet power, under the benevolent protection of the Ukrainian Soviet Government!" he proclaimed in a speech to the assembled delegates that met at the Khrushchev House in the city's central square. This speech was interesting in that it made no mention of the role the RFSR played in the liberation of Ukrainian soil, never mind the fact it was under the actual protection of the RFSR. 

 

His subsequent declaration that the "Ukrainian people will have a monumental part in the reconstruction of Socialism alongside the Russian and other national peoples on the external and internal spheres" seemed to imply that the Ukraine would place itself on an equal footing with the Russian FSR and the other Soviet republics in terms of internal affairs, foreign affairs, and perhaps defense.

 

Apparently, the Crimeans didn't take too lightly to Leoniev's highly-veiled reference to their peninsula as part of the Ukraine. Local Soviets across the region swiftly convened a special session of the Crimean Communist Party and elected their first Central Committee. The new Committee then spurned Asyonov by replacing the "Crimean Provisional Government of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies" with the Crimean Soviet Republic, and ordering elections for the Crimean regional Soviet. They even voted to relocate the regional capital from Sevastopol, an Asyonovite stronghold, to the more centrally-located Simferopol. 

 

As for the proposed ban on factions, Asyonov's opponents in the Party managed to mobilize enough support to defeat it by a wide margin.

 

[OOC:]

 

Crimea: 6/7

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 4/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 4/7

[JEDCJT]

Ukraine decision to establish foreign commissariat provokes controversy

 

"The Ukrainian people may be a part of the Soviet national community, but that does not mean they can go ahead and commit what is essentially secession!" First Secretary Dmitri Volgin thundered in a speech.

KHARKOV | TASS |. The Ukrainian Central Committee narrowly voted to establish a foreign commissariat, setting off protests within the Soviet government in Stalingrad.

"Although we tacitly recognize the right of the Ukrainian working people to participate in the construction of Socialism under the banner of the Soviet national community, we do not accept as fact the right of the Ukrainian Government to independently conduct affairs in the external sphere that run contrary to the spirit of Soviet community," Premier Boris Vorshevsky said in a public speech in Stalingrad.

In other words, the Ukrainian government did not have the right to conduct foreign affairs independently from Stalingrad.

Pyotr Olegbov, Ukrainian party spokesperson lambasted the Soviet government for its "hypocrisy." Why would the Russian FSR, a sovereign nation on its right, consider itself free to interact with other sovereign nations, yet the Ukrainian SR couldn't do the same? "The Ukrainian nation is not formally a part of the RFSR, so why should we obey their imperious dictations denying our working people the right to interact with other workers from around the world?"

"The establishment of the Ukrainian foreign commissariat, if allowed, would establish a particularly dangerous precedent that would only lead to the splintering of the Soviet national community and lead to the ultimate collapse of Soviet power," Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev said.

He urged the Soviet government to underake the proper and necessary measures to dissuade the Ukrainians from pursuing their course of actions further. But exactly what that entailed remains to be seen.

[OOC:]

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 5/7
Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 5/7

---

Film to be released

 

"This film is, to be frankly, one of the greatest I've ever have had the pleasure of watching during my long career as a film critic," Grigory Ebert Siskov wrote on a review on his website.

 

MOSCOW | TASS |. Sergey Grossman, chairman of the Central Film Commission, announced that the film, The Interview will premier in theaters across the RFSR on December 25th. He did not say whether the other non-Russian republics had approved the film's release.

Produced by Semyon Rugenov and Aleksandr Goldstein, written by Juke "Trololo" Doukhev, and starring Rugenov and Julian Franov, The Interview depicts the assassination of Tianxian emperor Yuan Shizi by two journalists, one who was a transvestite, during an interview right before the Great War.

The film received mixed reactions from the testing audience, and had its release dates delayed several times by its distributor, Red Star Pictures, due to central government concerns that it would offend several nations in Asia, namely Shanghai and Japan. Several "Tianxian fanboys" threatened to unleash a "9/11-style attack on any theaters that showed the film", but they were swiftly arrested by the NKVD.

Right before authorizing the film's release, Red Star Pictures issued a disclaimer saying that the views and statements expressed in the film didn't necessarily reflect the views of the production and distributor companies and of the Soviet government, and that any depictions of living and dead persons were purely coincidental.

Edited December 24, 2014 by JEDCJT

[Mogar]

While publicly no statements would be made, a request for an advance copy would be sent from the Office of the Empress of the East Asian Imperium.

[JEDCJT]

While publicly no statements would be made, a request for an advance copy would be sent from the Office of the Empress of the East Asian Imperium.

 
The request would be transmitted to both the Red Star Pictures and the Central Film Commission. With approval from the CFC, the Public Relations commissariat, and the Academy of Arts and Science, an advance copy would be sent over to the Japanese Embassy via a sealed diplomatic bag, along with a case of the finest Death Vodka.

[JEDCJT]

Declaration of protection over Estonia and Latvia

 

"The Soviet Government has assumed for itself the responsibility of safeguarding the working Peoples of Estonia and Latvia from the worst excesses of capitalism," Deputy Secretary Stepan Markov said.

TALLINN | TASS |. In a public speech in front of the Palace of Soviets (formerly Winter Palace) during an exploratory visit to the new capital of Leningrad, Foreign Commissar Lev Gromyko announced that the Baltic states of Estonia and Latvia would be placed under Soviet protection, taking effect immediately.

"The Soviet Government would like to make it clear that, from this moment forward, the regions historically known as Estonia and Latvia are to be considered to be under the full protection of the Russian Federation of Soviet Republics and thus subject to its sovereignty and jurisdiction," he said. "The working Peoples shall enjoy freedom and prosperity in solidarity with members of the Soviet national community."

Whether it was in response to Belarus's recent takeover of Lithuania is not clear, as the Foreign Commissar did not talk with journalists afterwards. However, renowned journalist Aleksandr Pavel deplored the "unnecessarily reactionary action of a state suffering from a siege mentality" and lambasted First Secretary Volgin for breaking his promise.

"Whatever happened to drawing the line in the west? Our dear Secretary declared, and I quote, that the 'Crimea, Transcaucasia, and central-eastern Ukraine will be the extent of Soviet intervention in the west and south'. Last I checked, the Baltic states were to the West," Pavel said on the Colbov Show. He all but referred to Volgin as Hitler for breaking his promises.

Some members in the government called for Pavel's censure, at the best, or his arrest, at the worst. The First Secretary himself disagreed, saying that the journalist had the right to exercise his freedom of speech, and clarified that by 'west', he meant the remainder of the Ukraine. "This was to make it clear that there would be no Red reconquistada of Europe," he said.

[OOC:]

Estonia/Latvia: 1/7

[JEDCJT]

[TOP-SECRET PUBLICATION - FOR CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS ONLY]

 

Georgian government deposed in "palace coup"

 

"Sometimes drastic measures are needed to restore order, even in politics," Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev said.

 

TIFLIS | TASS |. The government of General Secretary Koba Makharadze was toppled in an apparent palace coup today.

 

On First Secretary Volgin's orders, the Council of People's Commissars issed a top-secret directive instructing the NKVD to "take swift and decisive action against the reactionary cabal led by the factionalist Koba Makharadze." Sympathetic elements in the Makharadze regime helped orchestrate this coup, with a total communications and media blackout imposed on Georgia and the General Secretary himself and his inner circle (including deputy secretary Soso Garibashvili) placed under arrest. 

 

An interim "Emergency Commission for the Administration of the All-Soviet Government of the Georgian Soviet Republic" was set up under Giorgi Saakashvili to administer the region, while a circular missive was issued to all local Soviets to set up arrangements for regional Central Committee elections as "soon as possible."

 

[END TOP-SECRET PUBLICATION]

 

[OOC:]

 

Georgia: 7/7

 

---

 

Soviet Russia signs friendship treaty with Soviet Azerbaijan, Armenia

 

"Strong fraternal relations with our comrades to the south is paramount for us," Nikolai Limonov said.

 

YEREVAN | TASS |. The RFSR government had successfully concluded negotiations with the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments on a comprehensive treaty of friendship, the office of the Deputy Foreign Minister announced today.

 

In these treaties, the signatories agreed to "streamline their existing customs and immigration regime", and to work toward a "common currency." They would receive considerable autonomy on matters from construction to education to sports, maintain their own police forces, and retain their existing militias for "auxiliary purposes only".

 

In exchange, the Azerbaijani and Armenian governments agreed to forego the formation of any "external affairs commissariat", effectively granting the RFSR a monopoly on foreign affairs. The RFSR would withdraw its military forces from the two regions, on a gradual and proportional basis, and to allocate up to $500 million to both regions for a five-year period.

 

Lastly, Azerbaijani and Armenian delegates in the Central Committee indicated strong support for an intraparty Congress to discuss a "stronger federative relationship between the Soviet republics in the national community."

 

[OOC:]

 

Armenia: 7/7

Azerbaijan: 7/7

[JEDCJT]

Process of government formation underway in Baltic states

 

"We continue to watch the ongoing formation of Soviet power in Estonia and Latvia with great interest," Protectorate Affairs commissar Nikolai Milyutin said.

 

RIGA | TASS |. Weeks after the arrival of Soviet troops, the nucleus of a civilian All-Soviet government in Estonia and Latvia was put in place when the Extraordinary Commission for the Administration of the Provisional Soviet Republic of Livonia" was proclaimed in Riga, under the chairmanship of Inara Berzina.

 

General Mikhail Vatsetis, head of the Soviet Military Administration in Estonia and Latvia, resigned his post and relinquished power to the Livonian Commission. "My work here is done. I can only watch with pleasure and interest the furthering of Soviet power in Livonia," he said shortly after turning over power to Comrade Berzina.

 

The Commission is chiefly tasked with ensuring the smooth formation of an All-Soviet government through local initiative, maintaining order, and defending the region's inhabitants, assets, and interests under the protective umbrella of the Soviet national community.

 

The name 'Livonia' signifies the partial restoration of the ancient polity that existed from the thirteenth century to the twentieth century.

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 2/7

 

---

 

Petroleum industry in Crimea nationalized

 

"To ensure the general prosperity and happiness of the working People, combat exploitation by fat, bloodsucking capitalist oil magnates, and overall put the economy on the road to recovery, control of all petroleum resources – oil and gas – in the Crimea is to be placed solely in the hands of the dictatorship of the proletariat," Nadya Menyalio, newly-elected General Secretary said.

 

SIMFEROPOL | TASS |. The Crimean Central Executive Committee, the peninsula's interim legislature, passed an Act declaring all oil and gas assets across the peninsula to be the "sole property of the Crimean working people and members of the Soviet national community in general." 

 

In other words, all gas fields, oil and gas fields, drilling platforms, and gas pipelines in the Crimea and its adjacent waters were nationalized without compensation, except for foreign-owned assets belonging to Russia's allies and other friendly states like Greece and Yugoslavia.

 

To manage these newly-nationalized assets, the Crimean government established the region-level People's Commissariat for Gas Industry (NKGP or Gazprom), and gave it considerable powers to determine the development of the peninsula's oil and gas assets as well as their allocation. Secretary Menyalio said that her government were currently in talks with the Soviet central government regarding the role of the Crimean oil industry in the wider Soviet economy.

 

[OOC:]

 

Crimea: 7/7

Edited December 26, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Ukraine rescinds foreign commissariat

 

It was with the greatest reluctance that the Ukrainian government reversed its earlier decision establishing a foreign commissariat, sources say.

 

KHARKOV | TASS |. Under considerable pressure from the Soviet government, Ukraine's Central Committee voted, by a razor-thin margin, to annul its foreign commissariat. 

 

"Circumstances have proved to us that the Ukrainian people is not, as of yet, ready to enter the volatile field of international diplomacy," Ukrainian deputy Premier Valeriya Barash said in a press statement in Kharkov. She did not elaborate any further on these "circumstances."

 

"The two-faced Russian hydra proved to be victorious once again," Pyotr Olegbov lamented in an article that was published in the Ukrainian newspaper, Interfax. "The Ukrainian people were once again coerced by the Russian people speaking on behalf of the so-called 'Soviet national community."

 

The Ukrainian and central Soviet governments were reportedly in negotiations over a purported 'treaty of friendship' similar to those signed with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and which were in the process of ratification in the Crimea.

 

[OOC:]

 

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 6/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 6/7

[JEDCJT]

Riga to undergo port expansion

 

"Riga is currently one of the most important ports in the Baltic. It is imperative that we continue working on expanding its port capacities to accommodate ever-growing volume of maritime trade with our allies in the Nordisk Risk, the Northlands, and now Belarus," Erwin Usakovs, deputy head of the People's Commissariat for Maritime Trade, said.

 

RIGA | TASS |. The Riga Soviet voted to approve the list of recommendations issued by the Riga Port Authority Committee on the renovation and expansion of its existing port facilities.

 

Among the recommendations were the infusion of at least $300 million into an under-developed site located on the city's western outskirts, and the construction of new facilities and equipment such as container yards, cargo warehouses, dockside cranes, and new piers designed to accommodate larger vessels.

 

"This venture will create at least 3,000 new jobs for the city and its citizens," Anatoly Uberstein, head of the Riga Port Authority Committee, said in a conference at the Hotel Riga. "And generate economic growth in the medium- to long-term. International trade continues to grow in importance not only for the people of Riga, but the rest of the Soviet national community and the world, and this project reflects that."

 

Riga is Livonia's largest port, and accounts for nearly half of Livonia's exports. The Estonian city of Tallinn is its closest competitor, and is planning a port expansion project of its own.

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 3/7

 

---

 

Ukraine signs friendship treaty with Russia

 

"Let us hope that this heralds the beginning of a new dawn in Ukrainian-Russian relations," Premier Boris Vorshevsky said on a televised interview on the Tonight Show.

 

KIEV | TASS |. In the city of Kiev, Ukrainian and Russian negotiators managed to hammer out a friendship treaty after two grueling weeks of negotiations.

 

Under the terms of the "Treaty of Socialist Friendship between the All-Soviet Governments of Russia and the Ukraine", Russia and Ukraine agreed to make their respective languages the second language in each other's territories (alas, Ukrainian would be taught in Russian schools and vice versa), cooperate on a common currency, and integrate their customs and immigration systems.

 

Perhaps more importantly, Soviet Russia agreed to cancel part of Ukraine's debts, including past-due gas payments, in exchange for the construction of at least two pipelines through Ukrainian territory and "exclusive" preferential oil pricing for Russian customers. The price would be locked at $170 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas as well, lower than the $250 charged for Russia's allies, and $480 worldwide.

 

"We are always seeking for ways to improve our cooperative relationship with our Ukrainian comrades," Alexei Miller, chairman of the Gas Industry Committee in the People's Commissariat for Energy, better known as Gazprom, said in a press statement.

 

[OOC:]

 

Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson: 7/7

Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhia, and parts of Kiev oblast: 7/7

Edited December 29, 2014 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Livonian Riflemen formed

 

"As with sovereign states, defense of the Livonian Soviet republic is one of our top priority," General Secretary Inara Berzina said.

 

RIGA | TASS |. The Livonian government voted to establish the nucleus of its militia: the Livonian Riflemen.

 

Similarly named after the famous Red Latvian troops that fought for the Bolsheviks during the first Russian Civil War in the early twentieth century, the Livonian Riflemen will consist of at least two divisions, both which will play naval roles. It was also reported that at least two frigates of the Soviet Baltic Fleet would be relocated to Riga from Kronstadt, located off the coast of Leningrad.

 

The Soviet government voiced its approval for the Livonian Extraordinary Commission's decision. "This move would go a long way on easing the burden on our brave brothers and sisters who are tasked with defending the Livonian people in the harsh world we live in," Defense commissar Ivan Chuikov said in Leningrad.

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 4/7

[JEDCJT]

Livonian Central Committee formed, process of joining USSR to begin

 

The Livonian Soviet Republic has begun the process of joining the Soviet Union, sources say.

 

RIGA | TASS |. The newly-elected Central Committee of the Livonian Communist Party authorized the formation of a special commission to enter into negotiations with Leningrad regarding the republic's bid to join the Soviet Union.

 

"The workers in Estonia, along with their comrades in Latvia, united under the banner of Livonia, have voiced their desire to join the USSR, to participate in the construction of Socialism as productive members of the victorious Soviet national community," Estonian deputy premier Hendrik Toomas said in a speech in Tallinn.

 

Nationalities commissar Sergei Brezhnev welcomed this move, saying that the aspirations of the Livonian proletariat to ascend into the "homeland of Sovietism" would be greeted with "wide-open arms." As with the other Soviet republics, Livonia would enjoy "considerable autonomy in cultural affairs, including but not limited to the right to speak and practice their respective languages in official capacity."

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 5/7

[JEDCJT]

New national road to be built

 

The Livonian government plans to build a new road linking the region to the rest of the USSR.

 

RIGA | TASS |. The Livonian Commissariat for Infrastructure announced an ambitious plan to construct a new national road that would link the city of Riga to Leningrad through the city of Pskov.

 

"This proposed road will not only link our respective peoples together, but will facilitate easier and convenient transportation between the cities of Riga to Leningrad," Livonia's Infrastructural commissar Andris Ozola said in a press statement in Riga. "Not only that, but it will help create new jobs for thousands of our workers in both Livonia and the USSR."

 

The Soviet government stated that it would cooperate with the Livonian republic in the construction of the road on Soviet soil: "The Government of the USSR will endeavor to work together with Livonia to ensure that the project reaches completion," Economic Development commissar Natalya Sedova said. She went on to say the Russian FSR, a constituent republic of the USSR, would play a role in the project through its Infrastructure commissariat.

 

The local Soviets in cities and towns alongside the proposed route have been consulted beforehand and will participate in the project as well.

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 6/7

[Captain Enema]

Private to the USSR

From: King Gregory of Malta

 

As head of the King's Trading Company of Malta I wish to enquire as to the possiblities of investment in your national rail transportation network.

 

-KIng Gregory of Malta

[JEDCJT]

Accession of Livonia to the Soviet Union

 

"This is a monumental day for the Soviet and Livonian working peoples, for the latter have chosen to go hand-in-hand with the former in an Union where Soviet power is paramount," First Secretary Dmitri Volgin said in a speech in Moscow.

 

MOSCOW | TASS |. Following successful negotiations between the Livonian and Soviet governments in Leningrad, the Livonian Soviet voted to sign the Treaty of Accession, formally enjoining Livonia to the Soviet Union, and to ratify the Treaty of Union.

 

Taking effect immediately, the Livonian Federated Soviet Republic (LFSR) was proclaimed, centered in Riga and consisting of the Estonian and Latvian republics. It will be expected to form a new commission to draft a new constitution to replace the current provisional one, and will participate in the upcoming elections for the All-Union Congress of People's Deputies.

 

Massive crowds thronged the streets of Riga, Tallinn, and other cities across Livonia. "Long live Soviet power!", "Glory to the USSR!", and other exuberant exclamations could be heard everywhere. Large parties were held, in which death vodka were freely distributed.

 

Livonia would have hell of a hangover in the morning, but Soviet power was worth it.

 

[OOC:]

 

Estonia/Latvia: 7/7