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by The Empire of Wolfenium. . 15 reads.

Burning Paradise (WIP)

Burning Paradise

Bactria, crossroads of the world. Situated between the Pamir, Tian Shan, and Hindu Kush, Balkh had long been an untamed wildland. Created from the chaos of the Russian Civil War, the People's Soviet Republic of Balkh (a slight misnomer due to Afghanistan's control over the ruins of Bactria) was created out of the remnants of the Emirate of Bukhara and Russian Badakhshan along the Soviet-Afghan border, a temporary stopgap as the Soviet project of national delineation in Central Asia became bogged down by realities of on the ground. Hampered by Basmachi attacks, Soviet attempts to suppress the movement had all but failed. The sudden death of Mikhail Frunze to a chronic ulcer while on campaign proved a dangerous blow, allowing Enver Pasha's movement to regain ground and gloat at the divine retribution wrought on the Red Army. Left with few options, the Soviet government transformed much of the border zone into cordon sanitaire, giving the Young Bukharans under Fayzulla Khodzhayev a relatively free reign, albeit with Soviet supervision. It would not be until the late 1930s under Joseph Stalin when the Basmachi was finally suppressed, and Balkh 'unanimously' voted to integrate with the Soviet Union in 1944 under the unusual delineation of a 'non-national republic', equal but separate to the national republics of the USSR. While plans to divide the new Bactrian SSR among the neighbouring republics had always been on the table, Stalin's death, the ongoing Cold War, and the ever-present difficulty of dividing a population heavily intermixed by centuries of co-existence had put Balkh's dissolution on indefinite hold. It would not be until the twilight of Soviet rule when Balkh was once again thrust into the spotlight.

Afghanistan, January 1992. The situation for the Afghan government has seriously deteriorated. The rise of Boris Yeltsin after the failure of the August Coup has seen Soviet aid to Afghanistan severely curtailed, hampering its efforts to resist the US-backed Mujahideen. Neighbouring Balkh, now governed by a coalition of former Communist cadres of Central Asian descent, is also in danger of civil war. With Mujahideen and the Neo-Basmachi flooding across the porous borders, the Bactrian government in Kulyab is faced with total anarchy. While Red Army forces remain the country to provide security for the newly-independent republic, a hardliner within the ranks plots to complete the Yanayev clique's work. On the eve of the union's final dissolution, Red Army units across Bactria and northern Afghanistan mutinied en-masse, seizing control of most of the country's urban centers, along with Afghanistan's northwestern cities, including Mazar-e-Sharif, Kunduz and Fayzabad. Calling themselves the Provisional Government of the Bactrian Soviet Socialist Republic, the warlord now plans to resist the dismantling of Lenin's grand project. Forcing compliance, or at least, silence from the Najibullah government to 'provide security' on the Afghan border zone, Bactria now spans across the former Greek kingdom of antiquity. In a multi-way struggle between the legitimate Bactrian government, Islamist rebels, Red Army remnants, and other players within and outside, there can only be one winner. Paradise is burning, and with it, all the actors on the stage.

Major Factions

  • Republic of Balkh - Gaining independence in September 1991, in the aftermath of the August Coup, Balkh is a patchwork of nations, stitched together in the same way it had always been for centuries. Avoiding the messy border delineations that plague its northern neighbours. Its government, made up of a patchwork of former Soviet bureaucrats and party cadres of various ethnicities, reflect the diverse populations that live in Balkh. But with scant legitimacy, endemic corruption, and a severe lack of enthusiasm among its people for a united, secular Balkh, the government under LinkRustam Shotemur tethers on the brink of overthrow. Only the loyalty of a few native Red Army units, police and various urban centers prevents the government from being taken apart by its many enemies, inside and out. Unlike the Soviet Provisional Government, Balkh currently has no claims over Afghanistan's northern provinces. Nonetheless, Balkh loyalist forces are cooperating with Najibullah's government in matters of joint security in the border areas.

  • Provisional Government of the Bactrian Soviet Socialist Republic - Created on the eve of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Soviet Provisional Government is a dangerous, if highly organized militarist state. While its purpose, as stated by its spokesmen, is to protest the abrogation of the October Revolution and maintain the the USSR as a functioning state, detractors largely see it as a rogue warlord stronghold. Having seized power in large parts of Balkh and northern Afghanistan. the Provisional Government under former Tajik SSR Chairman (and August Coup supporter) Qahhor Mahkamov has so far been able to resist all attempts by the Kulyab and Kabul governments to dislodge them. And while the civil government laid with Mahkamov and a select group of pro-coup bureaucrats, real power rests in the rogue Red Army general and de facto dictator of the Provisional Government, Artyom Kanidis. But despite its formidable army and weapons, morale in the Red Army are all but non-existent, enforced only by harsh discipline by hardliners of the former Balkh SSR's KGB and GRU units. In a cruel irony, Kanidis has resorted to hiring foreign mercenaries with proceeds from the illegal sale of narcotics and looted relics. With fuel supplies steadily running dry and few allies, the Provisional Government may prove to be but a paper tiger, delaying the inevitable collapse of communism in the now former Soviet Union

  • Emirate of Balkh (Tanzim al-Tawheed) - Translated as the Organization of Monotheism, Tanzim was formed at the peak of the Perestroika period, as Islamic revival swept through Central Asia. Viewing Islam as a powerful means of uniting and guiding the disparate peoples of Bactria, and reviling the poisonous influence of atheist communism in their society, Tanzim has since risen up against both the legitimate Bactrian government and the Soviet Provisional Government. With support from their Afghan and Arab coreligionists, Tanzim's power rapidly grew in the rural areas of Badakshan and the Panj border. Laying the foundations of their self-proclaimed Emirate of Balkh, they now seek to expel all remaining foreign influence, including its considerable non-Muslim population, the ex-Soviet apparatchik in Kolub/Kulyab, and the rogue communist warlord in Mazar-i-Sharif. While relations with Ahmad Shah Massoud's Jamait-e-Islami remains cordial, radical influences from Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami threatened to split Tanzim in two.

Demographics

  • Major Ethnicities

    • Natives

      • Tajiks (~2,630,000) - The largest ethnic group in Balkh, neighbouring Tajikistan and northern Afghanistan, the 20th Century had not been kind to the Tajiks. Having inhabited the region for centuries, the Tajiks in the Soviet union found their Soviet-designated homeland cut off from most parts of their traditional centers. Resentful of Uzbek pressure to Turkicize their populations or force them into the mountainous east, many had taken refuge in Balkh, with longstanding lobbies for its inclusion in the Tajik SSR. The collapse of the USSR and civil conflict in Balkh, Tajikistan and Afghanistan had complicated this, however, and growing influence from ethnic Tajiks such as Sayid Abdulloh Nuri and Ahmad Shah Massoud, have turned many Tajiks towards campaigning for an Islamic republic. So far, populations remain divided between supporters of Balkh's legitimate government, Tajik unionists and Tanzim rebels, sometimes with overlaps. Supporters for the Soviet Provision Government remain scarce, especially in occupied northern Afghanistan.

      • Uzbeks (~750,000) - Concentrated in Surkhandarya province, the Uzbeks had long competed with the Tajiks for the inclusion of their home region into Uzbekistan. Having lived in the shadow of Soviet Uzbek policy, the Uzbeks of Sukhradarya found themselves increasingly outnumbered by Tajiki migrants expelled from Uzbekistan, causing growing frictions between both parties. Only with the recent rise of Islamic revival in Central Asia had their two groups found common group to resist Soviet rule. However, with the end of the Soviet Union, separatist intentions among the Uzbek population is once again festering. Regardless, just like the Tajiks, Uzbek support remains heavily divided between unionists, Balkh nationalists and Tanzim rebels. Sympathizers for the Soviet Provisional Government are few and far between, often used as figureheads by the Provisional Government for legitimacy.

      • Pamiris (~135,000) - Native to Gorno-Badakhshan and Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province, Pamiris have had a long history in the mountains they had been named after. Mostly rural and conservative, the Pamiris are almost exclusively supporters of Tanzim and their Mujahideen allies, though some have taken to supporting the democratic reformer, LinkDavlat Khudonazarov. Supporters for the Soviet Provisional Government is virtually non-existent, and support for the Balkh government hinges entirely on Khudonazarov's desire for a democratic Balkh. Unusually, a small group of Pamiris have lent their support towards the creation of a monarchy under their spiritual leader, LinkAga Khan IV. In a direct reference to their Nizari Shi'ite faith, they call themselves the Fidai, though Western media had put forth a more sensational name for the group - Assassins.

      • Kyrgyz (~60,000) - Living on the fringes near the Sino-Balkh border in Gorno-Badakhshan, the nomadic Pamir Kyrgyz had long been difficult to bring to line. Along with their ethnic brethren in Wakhan, in Afghanistan, they often preferred to stay away from the impending conflict. However, any threat to their nomadic way of life by any faction had often been met with stiff resistance. To that end, some have aligned with Tanzim, while others are increasingly drawn to the influence of the Chinese.

      • Turkmens (~20,000) - Similar to their Turkic brethren in Balkh and Afghanistan, the Turkmens of the Amu Darya valley had long been resistant to Soviet rule. Embracing cultural revival, Turkmen support is split between the legitimate government and Tanzim.

      • Pashtuns (~4000) - While most Pashtuns are found further south in Afghanistan and Pakistan, several Pashtun tribes have made northern Afghanistan and Balkh their home. Conservative and rural, the Balkh Pashtuns almost overwhelmingly support Tanzim, following the lead of their brethren further south.

    • Settlers

      • Russians (~190,000) - With settlements dating back to the late Russian Empire, the Russians (sometimes lumped together with Ukrainians (~18,000) and Belarussians(~3000) ) form the largest non-Turkic and non-Iranic minority in Balkh. Once the dominant ethnic group of the Soviet Union, the Russians of Central Asia now greatly fear for their lives. Concentrated in urban centers, most Russians only seek to escape the impending violence, with some throwing their support behind the legitimate Balkh government. Others still, ardent supporters of Marxist-Leninism, have joined the ranks of the Soviet Provisional Government to oppose both the 'separatists' and the Islamist rebels. Overall, the future of the Russian minority looks bleak, especially as the natives grow increasingly hostile to their existence.

      • Tatars (21,000) - While not native to Central Asia, the Tatars, comprising of exiled Crimean Tatars and Volga Tatars, have much in common with their Turkic brethren. With a common religion and similar tongues, it is unsurprising that many Tatars have assimilated into Central Asian society. While most are inclined to support the legitimate Balkh government, or even the Soviet Provisional Government, a sizeable number have pledged themselves to Tanzim's vision of an Islamic state. Needless to say, the Tatar community is set to tear itself apart, as conflicting political loyalties threaten to fracture the exiles.

      • Koreans (21,000) - An exiled community far out of place from their origins, the exiled Koryo-saram have, to an extent, assimilated into the greater Russian community. Divided along religious lines (between Buddhists and Christians of various sects) and more inclined to speak Russian or the local Turkic or Iranic tongue, this urban community is now caught in the crossfire, as Tanzim rebels threaten to expel or eradicate them. Those that have no intention to flee openly support the legitimate Balkh government, with a smaller minority lending its aid to the Soviet Provisional Government. Fewer still have been swept up by the mysterious guidance of a Mongol Tibetan Buddhist monk, or the fanatical preaching of a firebrand South Korean missionary.

      • Jews (~4,500) - Comprising of both Central Asian Bukharan Jews, and Ashkenazi Jews, the Jewish community in Balkh is in serious jeopardy. Increasingly harassed by antisemitic sentiments among Tanzim and other natives sympathetic to Islamic revival, many now desire emigration to Western countries, or Aliyah to Israel. What few Jews who still have hope for Balkh's future have thrown their lot with the Balkh government, though some communist hardliners have sworn allegiance with the Soviet Provisional Government. Regardless, this age-old community is now at risk of being wiped out entirely.

The Empire of Wolfenium

Edited:

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