A New Beginning - Our 1992 Russian Federation

[panpiotr]

At this point, I wouldn't mind we reveal his ties with anti-Fyodorov oligarchs to get him fired

No, I must say that Putin as Sobchak's protege makes business only with pro-government oligarchs

How did Vladimir Putin became director of FSB. That should not happen.

Primakov was made by Nemtsov new foreign minister to placate President Fyodorov, so the post of FSB director was empty. Putin for 3 last years was a mayor of 2nd largest city in Russia and did his job quite well, so as former KGB agent and member of United Labor Party of Russia was chosen by Fodorov to direct the FSB and keep the secret services away form Nemtsov and his allies.

 

[John Howard]

1) B, lmao no
2) A, if we're going to decommunize we should do so in a way that supports traditional Russian culture, which heavily consists of Orthodox elements
3) develop our own relations in Eastern Europe as we've been doing. Express concern over expansion of American vassalage over these states, but basically continue more or less as we have, building support among the Orthodox countries. Also maybe Slovakia or Hungary would be good to be friends with, maybe we can get them to stop Nato justification for things that require unanimity
4) there's no need to be too harsh on a time when Russia was at its strongest, a great empire that made even the mighty Americans tremble in fear. Acknowledge the crimes of the Bolshevik state, but this should not be allowed to detract from their achievements. The iconography of communism is an irrevocable part of Russian national symbolism, it should not be rejected just because we reject the substance of it
5) try and direct investment there by use of tax breaks, also construct modern infrastructure there
6) this should be watched very closely. Limit Chinese immigration so they don't overwhelm the Russian population, ban Chinese cultural organizations, and strongly facilitate the assimilation of the Chinese into Russian culture if possible
7) I leave this question to people who care about democracy more than I do
8) I leave this question to someone who knows more about law than me. However, we should avoid American-style judicial supremacy, where judges can arbitrarily misread law to block beneficial policies. (Many such cases in America)

1. A, because climate change will affect everyone on Earth. But make sure that every country will comply unlike certain countries.
2. A, because majority of churches in Russia are Orthodox ones and they are a part of Russian culture.
3-8. Mixed of @Art Vandelay and @Kriss

 

[dunHozzie]

In early 1994 President Fyodorov realised he had to finally deal with some of the most crippling issues of the post Soviet Russian Federation.

First and foremost, the secondary barter economy and its associated corruption. The lack of consumer goods in the Union led people to use favours (blat) to gain advantages, a system that instead of disappearing in the new Federation, actually was so ingrained it thrived. Secondly, but related, the lack of success of the reforms of the military reform of 1992 proved that the military and their associated apparatus, still had too much power. They also were corrupt to the bone, proven by the large amounts of disappearing funds and the ghost divisions (*: not the Sabaton masterpiece unfortunately).

President Fyodorov however quickly realised he could kill two birds with one stone. Working with the meanest investigators in the FSB, combined with key fiscal accountants in the Finance Ministry and legal experts like judges and solicitors from the Justice Department he created a top secret task force that according to some carefully spread rumours was targeting the link between key oligarchs and the Russian mob. It took 9 long months to form the task force and start uncovering the main actors. While the investigation could have benefited from an even longer investigative time, the 1996 elections were adding a deadline for president Fyodorov to maximise his support to survive the fallout. The task force could deal with the other branches of the government, the banks and the smaller fish in the military later.

The new taskforce struck in early 1995. Observers compared the situation with Stalin’s purge pre World War Two. Many of the leadership of both the military leadership, as well as military industries like Sukoi, Mikojan-Goerevitsj, Uralvagonzavod and many others found themselves in front of special investigative courts that many felt had more than a passing resemblance to the kangaroo courts of the Soviet Union. However, the speed of the strike and its early successes proving key people guilty assured public support.

The turmoil also created a grand opportunity to finally follow through on the reforms proposed in 1992:

• reducing the armed forces to a strength of one million;
• reducing the number of officers;
• centralising officer training from military schools into systemic military training centres;
• creating a professional NCO corps;
• reducing the size of the central command;
• introducing more civilian logistics and auxiliary staff;
• elimination of cadre-strength formations;
• reorganizing the reserves; reorganizing the army into a brigade system;
• reorganising air forces into an air base system instead of regiments;
• consolidation of military districts and the navy's fleets into four Joint Strategic Commands (OSK);
• the number of military units and formations in the Ground Forces were to be reduced;
• the number of units in the Russian Air Force(VVS) and number of air bases were to be reduced;
• the number of the Russian navy (VMF) units were to be cut by half;
• the navy's fighting capability would be bolstered by bringing various units to 100% of their full wartime strength;
• the Navy's schools and research institutes were merged into a territorially distributed Naval Academy Research and Training Center which consists of the Naval Academy the Higher Special Officer Courses, five naval research institutes, three MOD research institutes, the Nakhimov Naval School in St. Petersburg, and the Naval Cadet Corps;
• the Naval Aviation and the support units were reorganized into 13 air bases, which were merged into territorially integrated structures in a second stage. As is the case for the reformed Air Force, each new air base consisted of an HQ, support units, and one or more aviation groups (the former air bases);
• closing down of military towns;
• bringing finances under control and reducing the power of the General Staff.

However, the president, the department of defence (also missing key people, but less) and other reformers did not stop there. Seeing the dropping prices of key Russian export goods and the huge impact of 1994’s defence costs of $60 billion, further reforms were necessary. Key points to address set were:

1. Root out systemic corruption
2. Consolidate:
   1. Budget. There were two main issues with the budget and it’s consolidation:
      1. The Defense Ministry maintains the only federal government agency not yet included in the treasury's cash management system.
         
         
      2. The Russian practice of allocating military spending to ministries other than the Ministry of Defense reflected the Soviet approach to managing resource allocation. Weapons produced by agencies such as the Ministry of General Machinebuilding [missiles] or the Ministry of Shipbuilding Industry [ships] were essentially provided as "free goods" to the Ministry of Defense.
         
   2. Suppliers: many efforts were wasted by the various companies supplying the Russian Federation with their equipment. Hence president Fyodorov issued a decree consolidating the key suppliers of both aircraft (into the United Aircraft Corporation) and the specialist land equipment (into United Land Force Corporation - a merging of Uralvagonzavod, Kirov Plant and Uralmash as well as others).
      
      
   3. Equipment. The Russian Federation inherited a vast multitude of Soviet equipment, in various states of relevance of the current day world. A lot was sold without permission post fall of the Soviet Union, but enormous quantities still remain.
      
      
   4. Export organisation. The split responsibilities in exporting equipment between Rosvooruzhenie and Promexport did not work and was consolidated into Rosoboronexport.
      
3. Root out key issues in the military:
   1. Systemic issues preventing the creation of a true volunteer force like the Dedovshchina
   2. The lack of training for professional non-commissioned ranks
   3. The lack of initiative on the lower level
   4. The lack of cross functional training to understand each others capabilities and limitations
   5. The lack of combined arms training

On paper these issues could be easily solved. However, both president Fyodorov and his advisors knew these would easily take 10-15 years to solve to such a level the army could again be a top force in the region, let alone the world theatre. Therefore they decided to instruct the special investigators to only scare the corrupt in the missile troops, the submarines and the special forces. Those were essential to continue to be able to defend the Federation until the reforms were rolled out to the larger military apparatus. Realistically reforming the full military could take double the time set for it, but sliding off into obscurity and irrelevance was deemed even worse.

Another issue facing the president and his reformers was the crippling rate of military personnel per 1000 capita of 26.1. Therefore a further reduction was proposed to 850,000 active troops and 1,700,000 reservists and paramilitary forces. They also reduced the budget of 1995 to $42 billion. This number was a further reduction of the estimated $60 billion in 1994. This budget was consolidated from the base official military budget of 23 billion dollar set before the year started, plus the estimated 19 billion dollar hidden in costs of the other ministries (as stated above, also see link 1), plus 9 of the 11.2 billion of corruption is not lost:

A different way to look at the budget:

Continued in next post.

Sources:

1. https://nuke.fas.org/guide/russia/agency/mo-budget.htm
2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosoboronexport
3. Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Russian_Ground_Forces

 

[dunHozzie]

In terms of military equipment, president Fyodorov left the consolidation to his experts who consolidated the equipment to serve the Russian Federation as a fast, heavily mechanised, high tech response force over the vast waves of conscripted armies of the late Soviet Union. This meant the list of non-infantry equipment was cut to

MBTs:

Artillery:

IFVs, TDs & APCs (indicates BMP-1 to BMP-2 conversion planned):

Trucks to be consolidated into GAZ for light trucks and ATV, Ural for medium trucks, KAMAZ for heavy trucks. The specialist vehicles are to be consolidated on those variants built on current platforms. Infantry equipment as OTL → Mainly trying to switch to AK-74M, PKP replacement program started.

 

[dunHozzie]

As for the airforce, unfortunately they also had to cut down on their flying hours and airframes. Thankfully some RDT&E time was allocated to them, enough to keep them somewhat current when the refits are done.

Attack aircraft:

Bombers (indicates reserve):

AWACS and the like:

Fighter and Interceptors (indicates reserve):

As for the Navy, aside from investing in their submarine capabilities all other major vessels had to be (dry)docked, so the submarines could be funded and current construction could continue without delays.

Large surface ships (indicates being constructed):

Submarines (indicates docked):

Edit: Should people with more knowledge have issues with my numbers, happy to edit.

 

[Shikikan]

1. Should the new Russian government sign the Kyoto Protocols?
A) Yes, for the sake of our future and planet Earth;
B) No, the protocols will hamper our economic and industrial development.

2. The new Russian government promised a compensation to the Orthodox Church for all the Soviet crimes done to it between 1917 - 1991. How should President Fyodorov react to this promise?
A) Agree to pay promised compensation (4 billion U.S. Dollars)
B) Agree to pay promised compensation, but with different amount of money (please specify)
C)Agree to pay promised compensation only if other churches and religious organizations would receive such compensation as well.

3. Please write down, how should Russia react to expansion of NATO to the east?

4. Please write down, how should decommunization of Russia be handled?

5. Please write down, what the Russian government should do to develop Siberia?

6. Please write down, how should the Russian government react to mass Chinese immigration to Siberia and the Far East?

7. Please write down, which initiatives should the new Russian government pursue to support the establishment of genuine democratic and civil society in Russia?

8. Please write down how reform of the Judiciary system should be handled?

1.b sorry but we still need to grow and recover, maybe in 5 years?
2. B but 1 billion dollars in 4 years from 1998-2002
3-8. I support all of @Kriss plans

 

[Red Angel]

1. B) Same reason as @Kriss.
2. A) But only if they stay out of government affairs.
3-8. A mix of @ruffino, @Art Vandelay, and @Kriss' plan.

 

[ruffino]

1 - A, but requesting a longer period of time to achieve and implement it.

2 - A, will serve to repair relations with the Russian Orthodox Church, but negotiating the form of payments, offering a payment schedule, and the possibility of payments in kind (offering land to build temples, granting tax exemptions on real estate whose purpose not the cult one...)

3 - NATO is a military alliance, and its surrounding Russia can be seen as a threat. So issuing a formal protest would be a good first step, complemented by a 15-year moratorium on the upcoming annexation of an Eastern European nation. Likewise, to avoid new annexations once this period is over, offer respect for their territorial integrity, better trade agreements... in order to make it worthwhile for them to play a two-way game between Russia and the NATO nations.

4 - Be aware of the crimes that have happened and report them, regardless of the time and area in which they happened, review and rehabilitate those people unjustly accused. Finally, offer a public apology for communist actions in the former Soviet Union (especially Russia, in other nations, as a means of restoring and improving relations) and in nations under Soviet influence.

5 - carry out a series of studies of the soil, in order to know its fertility, the existence of mineral resources... in order to develop better economic exploitation.
Promote tourism in the region as a region to know.

6 - If there is massive immigration, negotiate with China immigration quotas between both nations. On the other hand, take advantage of this migratory flow with the aim of obtaining better economic agreements with China.

7 - Promote political debate programs, inviting representatives of the majority of Russian parties. Encourage the population to participate in democratic elections with advertising (establish slogans such as "Russia Speaks", "No more silence"...)
Likewise, organize voting at the local level (as happened with the name of Kaliningrad)

8 - Maintain the existing Penal Code, but establish a commission whose objective is to make it similar to other European penal codes (eliminating the death penalty, or limiting it to exceptional cases, establishing different degrees of crimes with their corresponding punishment...)

 

[Whiteshore]

4. Please write down, how should decommunization of Russia be handled?

I think what we should do is launch a campaign of more public awareness of the atrocities and human rights violations of the Soviet Union, including encouraging victims of human rights violations and dissidents to speak out and setting up museums to commemorate the victims of Stalinist repression, in addition to what Kriss noted. Maybe set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the model of similar such commissions to investigate Soviet-era atrocities as well.

 

[guywpotato]

1. B
2. A
3 and 5 to 8. Kriss with Art Vandelay plan
4. Kriss with Whiteshore plan

 

[shubham rai]

1.B
2.A
3-8 mix of @ruffino and @Kriss
In armed forces post ,Su 30 should inducted by now .

 

[dunHozzie]

In armed forces post ,Su 30 should inducted by now .

You're right, I missed the 5 from the OTL test batch. I'll correct that later today

 

[Zireael]

1 A 2 A
As for the rest I agree with @Kriss in pretty much everything

 

[Lylithix]

1. Should the new Russian government sign the Kyoto Protocols?
A) Though given our need to grow and recover requesting a longer period to achieve and implement this.
2. The new Russian government promised a compensation to the Orthodox Church for all the Soviet crimes done to it between 1917 - 1991. How should President Fyodorov react to this promise?
A) Let's keep to our agreement and repair relations with the Orthodox Church.
3-8 I'll add my agreement to a mixture of the plans of @ruffino, @Kriss and @Art Vandelay for all of these.

 

[ImperialxWarlord]

I pretty much agree with all of what @ruffino says although when it comes to the Kyoto protocols would be best to see Russia be fully in support of it.

 

[Empress_Boogalaboo]

My votes are the same as @guywpotato

 

[Gigachad3k]

1. Should the new Russian government sign the Kyoto Protocols?
A) Yes, for the sake of our future and planet Earth;
B) No, the protocols will hamper our economic and industrial development.

2. The new Russian government promised a compensation to the Orthodox Church for all the Soviet crimes done to it between 1917 - 1991. How should President Fyodorov react to this promise?
A) Agree to pay promised compensation (4 billion U.S. Dollars)
B) Agree to pay promised compensation, but with different amount of money (please specify)
C)Agree to pay promised compensation only if other churches and religious organizations would receive such compensation as well.

3. Please write down, how should Russia react to expansion of NATO to the east?

4. Please write down, how should decommunization of Russia be handled?

5. Please write down, what the Russian government should do to develop Siberia?

6. Please write down, how should the Russian government react to mass Chinese immigration to Siberia and the Far East?

7. Please write down, which initiatives should the new Russian government pursue to support the establishment of genuine democratic and civil society in Russia?

8. Please write down how reform of the Judiciary system should be handled?

1. A), Climate Change and Global Warming is real, Russia must join the rest of the countries to combat the dangers of Climate Change and Global warming.

2. A)

3. @Kriss plan along with my own plan that there should be no NATO expansion into Ex-Soviet countries until Russia itself formally allies with and applies to join NATO as an membership along with all of the Ex-Soviet countries. both NATO and the CSTO emerges into one military alliance called the GSSO (the Global Security and Stability Organization), a formal military alliance between NATO, CSTO and CIS member states which accepts all nations around the world into organization.

4. @Kriss and @ruffino plan along with my own plan which models after Germany's denazification after WW2 and after OTL Ukraine's decommunization after Euromaiden by mandating the removal of Soviet communist-era monuments, statues and insignias/symbols and replacing it with memorials that acknowledge the victims of communism, symbols of today's Russia and monuments that celebrate the country's diverse history and culture. mandate the renaming of public places (streets, institutions, and landmarks), cities and villages that name after Soviet leaders and the communist ideology. disbanding or rendering impotent the organizations associated with Soviet communism, and by trying prominent communists (like Gorbachev and 1991 coup plotters) for crimes against humanity in Hague or in Moscow.

Establish truth and reconciliation commissions or organizations to expose and document crimes and atrocities committed under Soviet communist rule. Revise history textbooks and academic curricula to provide a more accurate and critical understanding of the Soviet communist era, ensuring that future generations are informed about the dark aspects of communist rule.
Pass laws condemning and prohibiting the public display of communist symbols or propaganda, similar to laws enacted in some Eastern European countries after the fall of the Iron Curtain, Germany's Strafgesetzbuch section 86a after WW2, and Ukraine's decommunization laws after Euromaidan.
Criminalize denial of crimes committed under Soviet communist rule such as the Holodomor, population transfers such as the deportation of Chechens and Crimean Tatars, similar to laws against Holocaust denial in most European countries.
Offer support and reparations to victims of political repression, their families and those affected by communist policies, create memorials, museums and archives dedicated to preserving the memory of those who suffered under communist rule.
Remove former Communist Party members or officials involved in human rights violations or crimes against humanity from positions of influence in the government, judiciary and other institutions, encourage a political culture that promotes democratic values, individual liberties and human rights, which keep the country away from the Authoritarian Legacy of Communism.
Engage in international cooperation and dialogue to share experiences and lessons learned from the decommunization process with other nations that are considering similar initiatives.
To promote understanding, healing and reconciliation, to support initiatives aimed at bridging social divisions exacerbated by historical grievances, to promote dialogue between various sections of society, including former supporters and opponents of communism.

5-8. mixture of @Kriss and @ruffino plan

 

[boredviewer1234]

Will follow Kriss plan.

By the way their is a chance that Islamic terrorism in the Caucasus's is going to get a lot worse soon depending how the dice roll on events changing.

Al-Zarqawi and a bunch of others will be released from jail in Jordan soon and go back to fighting, his exact route is a bit debate but pretty commonly thought after finding his footing in the Jihadist world was going to go fight in Chechnya before that plan faltered and instead went to Afghanistan.

Granted not the biggest believer he's destined to live long anyway, when he first met to Bin Laden he told him he should kill his own mother for being Shia and said that the Taliban are to soft but Saif Al-Adel managed to somehow convince them they should work together.

 

[dunHozzie]

Folks, @panpiotr and myself chatted about some things we need your input on:

1. What is a good name for the new anti-corruption agency?
2. What is the next target of the agency?
3. What is the impact of the anti-corruption trails on the regime's popularity?
   1. The young, idealistic and still somewhat naive love it, the sceptic, due process followers conservatives hate it (some might even remember some of the old purges). While the demographic audience changes, there is no big impact on the amount of supporters.
   2. Net positive - we accept not totally legal courts if it impacts the corruption!
   3. Net negative - the system worked fine, it only gets worse because they'll abuse the system: who's next?
4. What is the impact of the anti-corruption trails on Blat and the general corruption inside the Russian Federation:
   1. Little impact beyond the trailed people, the average person doesn't consider it applying to them due the scale difference and the system is deeply entrenched for the past decades if not more
   2. A sharp reduction until the next target is found, then its slowly back to the it being the way things are done
   3. A bigger impact that tapers off, but still is a net positive
   4. A huge impact

 

[Whiteshore]

remove anyone that had been CPSU and KGB members from positions of power and influence

Considering Yavlinsky and Sobchak were CPSU members (though not doing much aside from pay dues for better jobs), I don’t think this is a good idea.