Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire
- Thread starter Pellegrino
- Start date
North Korea would probably shrug it off, even if Volodya's making them more isolated. China would think otherwise - on the contrary, I could potentially think China in TTL could use some Russian help vis-à-vis the Uyghurs (considering that Volodya's been pissing the Islamic world enough already with Azerbaijan and Chechnya). Think about it.
What is the status of former Soviet installations outside the former USSR and its former allies in Central-East Europe?
No, IMO he had it coming after his Ukraine statement.
My interpretation is that the truth lies somewhere between these two theories and both are right to a certain degree.
The military could have overthrown Zhirinovsky, but chose not to because,
How comes that Putin was promoted so fast? Has the KGB to deal with a lack of reliable personnel?
Please correct this if still possible.
No, IMO he had it coming after his Ukraine statement.
My interpretation is that the truth lies somewhere between these two theories and both are right to a certain degree.
The military could have overthrown Zhirinovsky, but chose not to because,
- his rise was an opportunity for them. Zhirinovsky is someone who wanted preserve the Union at (allmost) all cost and willing to authorise every possible military action for this purpose, and a convenient scapegoat every time the military leadership need one,
- siding with then-unpopular politicians against the then-popular Zhirinovsky and overthrowing him would have been risky for the military, especially after the August Coup showed the limits of political power based on force, and would have certainly ended the Union.
How comes that Putin was promoted so fast? Has the KGB to deal with a lack of reliable personnel?
Please correct this if still possible.
What is the status of former Soviet installations outside the former USSR and its former allies in Central-East Europe?
No, IMO he had it coming after his Ukraine statement.
My interpretation is that the truth lies somewhere between these two theories and both are right to a certain degree.
The military could have overthrown Zhirinovsky, but chose not to because,
and
- his rise was an opportunity for them. Zhirinovsky is someone who wanted preserve the Union at (allmost) all cost and willing to authorise every possible military action for this purpose, and a convenient scapegoat every time the military leadership need one,
- siding with then-unpopular politicians against the then-popular Zhirinovsky and overthrowing him would have been risky for the military, especially after the August Coup showed the limits of political power based on force, and would have certainly ended the Union.
How comes that Putin was promoted so fast? Has the KGB to deal with a lack of reliable personnel?
Please correct this if still possible.
Corrected. Thanks for catching that in time! As for Putin, I think that there is a emerging trend, loyalty to the military trumps everything else when it comes to promotions. Even more than loyalty to Zhirinovsky. Also, in TTL Putin is so discredited that he seems to be little threat to Lebed or Ivanenko. Plus, I know he could easily be butterflied out of this TL, but I personally like having this alternate history Putin in it.
Romania is going to get its own update, but I will say this, Romania is NOT part of the UIS
Is there any way we can get a map of UIS territories in late 1992? (including Serbian Croatia) At times it gets a little confusing to figure out who owns what
I am working on one for the next update.
Short term North Korea will not play into this TL. But the Russians have soothing the North Koreans desperately want, so don't be surprised to see them emerge before too long
As for China, we will get out first idea about what China is thinking in the next few updates.
I imagine during the last years of Deng Xiaoping's rule, the entire Chinese leadership from the hardliners to the moderates who had not been purged in 1989, will be shitting bricks. The US will likely provide military and intel assistance to the Chinese, overriding their human rights concerns from 1989.
RousseauX
Donor
Probably not, it's not like those people -haven't- lived during a time when China and Russia were at war before.
Yes, Mao had dared Brezhnev to launch nukes over China. But at least Brezhnev was a somewhat rational actor. I'm surprised Zhirinovsky hasn't ranted about the yellow horde from the east yet.
Yeah, from the US POV Russia still continues to be greater threat than China and in some ways even worse than the Soviet Union ever was. I could even see them secretly negotiating military cooperation against Russians in the case of emergency. (Guaranteeing China against Russian attack might be too much, though I think the US actually did so at some point in 70's.)
Fantastic TL, just finished reading all of it.
Defintely among the gems.
Hands down.
That said, I was interested how the UIS is doing economically.
Is the situation worse or better than OTL 90s? Also, how is Zhirinovsky coping with the economic backlash resulting from the Shock Treatment?
I guess his violent anti-NATO(western) rethoric keeps the populace somewhat distracted from the grave economic situation?
Defintely among the gems.
Hands down.
That said, I was interested how the UIS is doing economically.
Is the situation worse or better than OTL 90s? Also, how is Zhirinovsky coping with the economic backlash resulting from the Shock Treatment?
I guess his violent anti-NATO(western) rethoric keeps the populace somewhat distracted from the grave economic situation?
To add to this.
What is the status of conscription in the member nations of the NATO? I assume that with the NATO practically bordering -what has become- a Union of genocidal warmongers led by what many refer to as the "Russian Hitler" many European leaders will be reluctant and even opposed to abolishing conscription.
PART THIRTY ONE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
PART THIRTY ONE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
PART THIRTY ONE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
Well, I didn't want to leave everyone hanging in re Romania, so I dedicated this update to what happened in Bucharest on September 27th, 1992 as Russian troops crossed the border. Now hardcore Romanian history buffs will know that something else happened that day: the Romanian Presidental elections. Also, we start to get an idea on how morale is doing with the UIS army, and of course how the UN reacts to the UIS during the speech of the world leaders at the oepning session of the General Assembly...
Some new names in this update:
Romanian President Ion iliescu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu
pro western Romanian politician Emil Constantinescu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Constantinescu
Romanian nationalist politician Georghe Funar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_Funar
The Soviet/Russian 14th guards Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Army_involvement_in_Transnistria
Romanian historian Daniel Barbu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Barbu
UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov speaks to the General Assembly of the UN
Russians use UN speech to threaten world war as NATO nations walk out of UN General Assembly session
By Craig Franklin
Washington Post Staff Writer
September 27th, 1992
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 – In one of the most contentious sessions ever of the United Nations general assembly, UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov threatened that the conflict in Croatia was “pushing the world dangerously close to a world war” and again reiterated Russia’s position that the breakaway Serbia Republic of Krajina was in fact now part of the Union of Independent States.
However, in a growing sign of the deteriorating political situation, representatives from 43-nations walked out before the UIS President uttered his first word. Led by the American and German delegates, dozens of world leaders took the stance that the that the UIS is not in fact a nation and that President Lukyanov had no authority to speak on behalf of the Russian nation or those former Soviet republics that the Russian Republic now “occupies.”
“We feel that the UIS is not the successor state to the USSR or even the UDR,” commented American ambassador to the UN Edward J. Perkins, “and we strongly condemn the actions of the Russian nation in Croatia and its invasion of Romania yesterday.”
Although the UN general assembly issued a strongly worded rebuke of the UIS for its “disregard for the neutrality and integrity of the Romanian nation” no other nation would go so far as to refer to it as an invasion. UIS troops, led by the former Soviet 14th Army stationed in the Republic of Moldova, crossed the border into Romania in what UIS President Lukyanov called “a simple matter of transit.”
“We received permission from the Romanians to use their territory in order to move our units into the Republic of Serbian Krajina,” Lukyanov said, “and we anticipate being finished with this move no later than tomorrow.”
The Romanian delegation has remained mute on the issue, neither denying nor admitting that permission had been granted. Romanian president Ion Iliescu was unable to speak to the general assembly today due to the presidential elections in Romania today. The session of the general assembly had originally been scheduled for September 21st but had been delayed due to the deteriorating situation in Croatia.
UN Protection Zones in Croatia (blue borders), which the UIS now recognizes as the international borders of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The UIS in Eastern Europe. UIS in RED. Nato in BLUE. Neutral nations in GREEN. The independence of the Baltic nations (ORANGE) have not been recognized by UIS, but are not claimed by the UIS.
__________________________________________________________________
UIS in Central Asia. Countries in LIGHT YELLOW have signed the Tula Accords and are members of the UIS. Countries in ORANGE are regarded as UIS members but have not sent representatives to sign the Tula Accords due to lack of government control in those republics. The Baltic countries in GREEN are not UIS members, but have not been recognized by any UIS nation.
“Romania after Ceaușescu” (Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies)
by Robert Solomon
Routledge Press, (2003)
CHAPTER TWELVE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
Although relations between the UIS and Romania had deteriorated badly over the course of the year, Romanian President Ion Iliescu was still reluctant to openly criticize his Russian or UIS counterparts. Iliescu had tried to open a secret line communication with NATO after what he considered to be acts of ethnic cleansing against Romanian Moldovans living in the UIS Republic of Moldova. However, he also realized he was walking a tight rope. Surrounded by hostile regimes in Yugoslavia and the UIS (with less than ideal relations with Hungary and Bulgaria as well), Iliescu became deeply concerned when his overtures to NATO had gone unanswered. Iliescu was stunned that NATO seemed oblivious to the plight of the nearly 150,000 Romanian Moldovans who, over the course of ten months, flooded into Romania after their property was seized by the UIS federal government. The seizures of Moldovan property, which was then handed to ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, failed to shock the conscience of the west since it came under the guise of “free market reforms.” However, the effect of the persecuted Moldovans now living in squatters camps all over the Romania electrified the Romanian people, and many were openly calling for the removal of the president over what was seen as his inaction over the Moldovan crisis. President Iliescu knew that even this slightest consideration given to the UIS could turn into political suicide, but also realized that open hostility to the UIS could result in Romania becoming targeted by the UIS, much like Poland had been. By most reports, President Iliescu realized that time was his only ally, and he intended to play his cards close to his chest while the inevitable sanctions crippled the UIS enough for Romania to break free from the sphere of influence of the Russians.
As Romania’s first free and democratic election since the fall of communism neared, President Iliescu hoped to defer the issues with the UIS and NATO until after the election. Although his support had dropped to under 40% in recent polls, he benefited from the divided opposition as well as a general fear of the “shock therapy” reforms proposed by his leading opponent, Emil Constantinescu. Iliescu hoped to capture 50% of the vote, and avoid a runoff, as the situation in the UDR deteriorated in August of 1992 and Russian President Vladimir Zhirinovsky emerged as a virtual dictator. The emergence of Zhirinovsky and his bizarre brand of quasi-fascism seemed to boost Iliescu slightly at first, but also boosted the prospects of then fringe candidate Gheorghe Funar, who was the candidate for the nationalistic Romanian National Unity Party. Funar, who was polling at 10% in the summer, received a boost from ethnic Moldovans, who embraced his call for a “Romania Mare” (or Greater Romania) to include the UIS Republic of Moldova.
However, with the election just a week away, President Iliescu received a troubling memo from UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov while both leaders were in New York. The polite, handwritten letter, heaped praise on the Romanian leader and his embrace of socialism as opposed to the “shock therapy” capitalism embraced by Russia and other former communist nations. Lukyanov was widely seen as one of the last politicians in the former Soviet Union who still believed in the Gorbachev themed perestroika and glasnost. Although his allegiances were now to the Liberal Democratic Party, most felt that he never abandoned his core belief in communism (liberal communism perhaps, but communism nonetheless). He told Iliescu how much he looked forward to working closely with him in the future. Although most of the letter was polite, a passing sentence at the end of the letter badly stunned the Romanian president.
“The UIS needs to transfer some units that are currently leaving Poland to the Republic of Serbian Krajina,” Lukyanov wrote in closing, “we would appreciate crossing Romanian territory to do so. Don’t worry old friend, this is a simple matter of transit!”
Iliescu knew that giving permission to the Russians would not only be political suicide, but also could result in sanctions from NATO and the west if he were to comply. But he also knew that a firm rejection could erupt into a conflict with the Russians, who may have taken steps to cross Romanian territory regardless, making Iliescu look weak and powerless. Unsure of the best course of action, Iliescu decided to ignore the letter and try and delay having to address it until after the election, where he hoped to capture 50% of the vote. Determined not to bump into Lukyanov in New York, where the opening statements of the session of the General Assembly of the United Nations were to take place, Iliescu returned home as soon as he received the memo, and informed his staff to tell the Russians that they were unable to deliver the message to him.
Iliescu continued his delaying tactics over the next several days, as memos and calls from Moscow went unanswered. Iliescu informed his staff to tell the Russians that he was busy campaigning, and that he would get back with them after the election. However, the patience of President Lukyanov began to wear thin over the course of the week. In his final letter, dated September 25, 1992, Lukyanov wrote “Old friend, I very much need an answer to my request. If I don’t have one by tomorrow, I will assume that the answer is yes.”
Again Iliescu elected to ignore the memo, hoping to address the issue after the September 27th election. However, on the morning of September 27, 1992, as Romanians were waking up to go to the polls and vote in the first free and democratic Romanian election in over fifty years, Russian troops crossed the border from Moldova and began their cross-country journey towards Yugoslavia.
“Witness recounts the Romanian Election of 1992”
Der Spiegel
September 27, 2002
Interviewer’s notes: Der Spiegel interview with Daniel Barbu, Director of Romanian Newspaper Realitatea Românească.
DS: So what happened on the morning of September 27th as Romanians headed to the polls?
Barbu: Well, for President Ion Iliescu, nothing short of a complete disaster.
DS: You of course are talking about the issue of Russian troops crossing the country en route to the breakaway Serbian Republic of Krajina in the former Yugoslavia.
Barbu: Exactly. The first thing Romanians see when they wake up is a bunch of lost Russian troops trying to read the Latin signs and asking, no demanding, people on the streets tell them how to get to Highway E70. Unfortunately for the Russians, I think every Romanian who gave directions all sent them on a wild goose chase.
DS: The Russians were lost?
Barbu: Yes. You have to realize, for as horrible as Nicolae Ceaușescu was, he at least kicked the Russians out of the country in 1958. That was the one good thing he managed to do. As a result, the Russians didn’t have current maps or anything. And apparently they didn’t bother to bring anyone who could read or speak Romanian either. They were so angry over Poland that they didn't even properly prepare for something as simple as a drive through Romania. They just told the units to cross Romania and get to Yugoslavia as soon as possible. Most of the first wave had been troops that had been stationed in Poland, and they were completely lost when it came to figuring out the roads in Romania. They came down from Radauti, in the Ukraine, and somehow ended up near the Black Sea. They were told to avoid cities at all cost, but there is no way to get from Radauti to Belgrade without passing through either Cluj, Brastov, or Timisoara. So they kept taking side roads and harassing people in the towns they passed through.
DS: So they started speaking to the Romanians in Russian?
Barbu: Yes. Most Romanians speak Russian, but we would be perfectly happy if somehow that language just seeped out of our ears and onto the ground. We don’t like to speak Russian. We don’t like to admit we speak Russian. And we don’t like it when Russians come up to us and start speaking it and just assume we know it.
DS: How upsetting was it to see Russian troops in the country?
Barbu: Very upsetting. These troops had to pass through dozens of these Moldovan refugee camps, and somehow a handful of these clowns ended up in downtown Bucharest before dinner. It was like giving a cymbal to a monkey and telling him not to wake the sleeping baby in the room. I honestly don’t know how those idiots even figured out how to start the tanks before they left.
DS: How did citizens in Bucharest handle the presence of Russian troops?
Barbu: How do you think? They were furious. They were furious at the Russians, and they were furious at President Iliescu for letting them come into the country. Sadly for the president, they took it out on him at the ballot box.
DS: Isn’t it true that the second wave of Russian troops proved even more upsetting for the Romanians?
Barbu: Yes. After these clowns who had spent the last ten years playing chess and drinking wine at the Oder River passed through, then the real troops came in: the UIS 14th Army.
DS: Why were these so hated by the Romanians?
Barbu: Because they were the troops stationed in Tiraspol, in Moldova. They operated with brutal, and ruthless, efficiency. Its commander, General G. I. Yakovlev, made no secret that he was trying to cleans as many Moldovans out of the UIS as possible. The 14th Army was the division that was ethnically cleansing Moldova, and they were the ones who Moldovans and Romanians most despised.
DS: What happened when the 14th Army entered the country?
Barbu: We knew it was them as soon as they crossed the border at Iasi. For one thing, none of them were drunk, and most spoke Moldovan. As they reached the first refugee camp they just passed by, but the refugees recognized the insignia of the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division on their tanks and uniforms. That created a huge uproar, and that was how Gheorghe Funar, the man many Romanians would go on to call “Romania’s Zhirinovsky” ended up president of the country.
Romanian President stunned in presidential election as anti-Russian candidates advance to second round
By Richard Roundtree
Economist
September 30, 1992
It seemed like a safe bet that Romanian President Ion Iliescu would at least make it to the second round of the presidential elections in Romania as Romanians took to the polls this last Sunday. But if there is one thing that can turn an election in Eastern Europe, apparently it is the Russians. Controversy over President Iliescu’s apparent “nod of the head” to the former Soviet Union (which transferred 40,000 troops through Romania to aid Serbian separatists in Croatia) apparently ended the political career of the popular President as he finished third in a surprisingly close contest. Iliescu captured 30.8 percent of the votes as firebrand nationalist Gheorghe Funar edged him out with 31.1 percent of the total votes. Emil Constantinescu, of the Romanian Democratic Convention, finished in first place with 38.1 percent of the total votes. Emil Constantinescu is seen as more pro-western than Funar, however, both candidates have indicated that they will support Romania’s admission into NATO and both vehemently oppose allowing UIS troop’s use of Romanian territory.
“The presence of these troops on Romanian territory is a violation of our national sovereignty,” commented Constantinescu, “and we call on the UIS to immediately cease using Romanian territory and withdraw from our nation.”
Both Funar and Constantinescu have indicated that they may also honor NATO’s sanctions on the UIS, which would badly weaken the Russians ability to conduct military operations in the former Yugoslav republic of Croatia.
A Russian Officer looks at a Romanian road atlas near Radauti (AP)
Russian troops attempt to ask for directions in Valeni De Munti, Romania
A UIS tank gets seperated from its unit and accidently drives into downtown Bucharest (AP)
PART THIRTY ONE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
Well, I didn't want to leave everyone hanging in re Romania, so I dedicated this update to what happened in Bucharest on September 27th, 1992 as Russian troops crossed the border. Now hardcore Romanian history buffs will know that something else happened that day: the Romanian Presidental elections. Also, we start to get an idea on how morale is doing with the UIS army, and of course how the UN reacts to the UIS during the speech of the world leaders at the oepning session of the General Assembly...
Some new names in this update:
Romanian President Ion iliescu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Iliescu
pro western Romanian politician Emil Constantinescu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Constantinescu
Romanian nationalist politician Georghe Funar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gheorghe_Funar
The Soviet/Russian 14th guards Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14th_Army_involvement_in_Transnistria
Romanian historian Daniel Barbu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Barbu
UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov speaks to the General Assembly of the UN
Russians use UN speech to threaten world war as NATO nations walk out of UN General Assembly session
By Craig Franklin
Washington Post Staff Writer
September 27th, 1992
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 16 – In one of the most contentious sessions ever of the United Nations general assembly, UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov threatened that the conflict in Croatia was “pushing the world dangerously close to a world war” and again reiterated Russia’s position that the breakaway Serbia Republic of Krajina was in fact now part of the Union of Independent States.
However, in a growing sign of the deteriorating political situation, representatives from 43-nations walked out before the UIS President uttered his first word. Led by the American and German delegates, dozens of world leaders took the stance that the that the UIS is not in fact a nation and that President Lukyanov had no authority to speak on behalf of the Russian nation or those former Soviet republics that the Russian Republic now “occupies.”
“We feel that the UIS is not the successor state to the USSR or even the UDR,” commented American ambassador to the UN Edward J. Perkins, “and we strongly condemn the actions of the Russian nation in Croatia and its invasion of Romania yesterday.”
Although the UN general assembly issued a strongly worded rebuke of the UIS for its “disregard for the neutrality and integrity of the Romanian nation” no other nation would go so far as to refer to it as an invasion. UIS troops, led by the former Soviet 14th Army stationed in the Republic of Moldova, crossed the border into Romania in what UIS President Lukyanov called “a simple matter of transit.”
“We received permission from the Romanians to use their territory in order to move our units into the Republic of Serbian Krajina,” Lukyanov said, “and we anticipate being finished with this move no later than tomorrow.”
The Romanian delegation has remained mute on the issue, neither denying nor admitting that permission had been granted. Romanian president Ion Iliescu was unable to speak to the general assembly today due to the presidential elections in Romania today. The session of the general assembly had originally been scheduled for September 21st but had been delayed due to the deteriorating situation in Croatia.
UN Protection Zones in Croatia (blue borders), which the UIS now recognizes as the international borders of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Republic of Serbian Krajina
The UIS in Eastern Europe. UIS in RED. Nato in BLUE. Neutral nations in GREEN. The independence of the Baltic nations (ORANGE) have not been recognized by UIS, but are not claimed by the UIS.
__________________________________________________________________
UIS in Central Asia. Countries in LIGHT YELLOW have signed the Tula Accords and are members of the UIS. Countries in ORANGE are regarded as UIS members but have not sent representatives to sign the Tula Accords due to lack of government control in those republics. The Baltic countries in GREEN are not UIS members, but have not been recognized by any UIS nation.
“Romania after Ceaușescu” (Routledge Series on Russian and East European Studies)
by Robert Solomon
Routledge Press, (2003)
CHAPTER TWELVE: A SIMPLE MATTER OF TRANSIT
Although relations between the UIS and Romania had deteriorated badly over the course of the year, Romanian President Ion Iliescu was still reluctant to openly criticize his Russian or UIS counterparts. Iliescu had tried to open a secret line communication with NATO after what he considered to be acts of ethnic cleansing against Romanian Moldovans living in the UIS Republic of Moldova. However, he also realized he was walking a tight rope. Surrounded by hostile regimes in Yugoslavia and the UIS (with less than ideal relations with Hungary and Bulgaria as well), Iliescu became deeply concerned when his overtures to NATO had gone unanswered. Iliescu was stunned that NATO seemed oblivious to the plight of the nearly 150,000 Romanian Moldovans who, over the course of ten months, flooded into Romania after their property was seized by the UIS federal government. The seizures of Moldovan property, which was then handed to ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, failed to shock the conscience of the west since it came under the guise of “free market reforms.” However, the effect of the persecuted Moldovans now living in squatters camps all over the Romania electrified the Romanian people, and many were openly calling for the removal of the president over what was seen as his inaction over the Moldovan crisis. President Iliescu knew that even this slightest consideration given to the UIS could turn into political suicide, but also realized that open hostility to the UIS could result in Romania becoming targeted by the UIS, much like Poland had been. By most reports, President Iliescu realized that time was his only ally, and he intended to play his cards close to his chest while the inevitable sanctions crippled the UIS enough for Romania to break free from the sphere of influence of the Russians.
As Romania’s first free and democratic election since the fall of communism neared, President Iliescu hoped to defer the issues with the UIS and NATO until after the election. Although his support had dropped to under 40% in recent polls, he benefited from the divided opposition as well as a general fear of the “shock therapy” reforms proposed by his leading opponent, Emil Constantinescu. Iliescu hoped to capture 50% of the vote, and avoid a runoff, as the situation in the UDR deteriorated in August of 1992 and Russian President Vladimir Zhirinovsky emerged as a virtual dictator. The emergence of Zhirinovsky and his bizarre brand of quasi-fascism seemed to boost Iliescu slightly at first, but also boosted the prospects of then fringe candidate Gheorghe Funar, who was the candidate for the nationalistic Romanian National Unity Party. Funar, who was polling at 10% in the summer, received a boost from ethnic Moldovans, who embraced his call for a “Romania Mare” (or Greater Romania) to include the UIS Republic of Moldova.
However, with the election just a week away, President Iliescu received a troubling memo from UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov while both leaders were in New York. The polite, handwritten letter, heaped praise on the Romanian leader and his embrace of socialism as opposed to the “shock therapy” capitalism embraced by Russia and other former communist nations. Lukyanov was widely seen as one of the last politicians in the former Soviet Union who still believed in the Gorbachev themed perestroika and glasnost. Although his allegiances were now to the Liberal Democratic Party, most felt that he never abandoned his core belief in communism (liberal communism perhaps, but communism nonetheless). He told Iliescu how much he looked forward to working closely with him in the future. Although most of the letter was polite, a passing sentence at the end of the letter badly stunned the Romanian president.
“The UIS needs to transfer some units that are currently leaving Poland to the Republic of Serbian Krajina,” Lukyanov wrote in closing, “we would appreciate crossing Romanian territory to do so. Don’t worry old friend, this is a simple matter of transit!”
Iliescu knew that giving permission to the Russians would not only be political suicide, but also could result in sanctions from NATO and the west if he were to comply. But he also knew that a firm rejection could erupt into a conflict with the Russians, who may have taken steps to cross Romanian territory regardless, making Iliescu look weak and powerless. Unsure of the best course of action, Iliescu decided to ignore the letter and try and delay having to address it until after the election, where he hoped to capture 50% of the vote. Determined not to bump into Lukyanov in New York, where the opening statements of the session of the General Assembly of the United Nations were to take place, Iliescu returned home as soon as he received the memo, and informed his staff to tell the Russians that they were unable to deliver the message to him.
Iliescu continued his delaying tactics over the next several days, as memos and calls from Moscow went unanswered. Iliescu informed his staff to tell the Russians that he was busy campaigning, and that he would get back with them after the election. However, the patience of President Lukyanov began to wear thin over the course of the week. In his final letter, dated September 25, 1992, Lukyanov wrote “Old friend, I very much need an answer to my request. If I don’t have one by tomorrow, I will assume that the answer is yes.”
Again Iliescu elected to ignore the memo, hoping to address the issue after the September 27th election. However, on the morning of September 27, 1992, as Romanians were waking up to go to the polls and vote in the first free and democratic Romanian election in over fifty years, Russian troops crossed the border from Moldova and began their cross-country journey towards Yugoslavia.
“Witness recounts the Romanian Election of 1992”
Der Spiegel
September 27, 2002
Interviewer’s notes: Der Spiegel interview with Daniel Barbu, Director of Romanian Newspaper Realitatea Românească.
DS: So what happened on the morning of September 27th as Romanians headed to the polls?
Barbu: Well, for President Ion Iliescu, nothing short of a complete disaster.
DS: You of course are talking about the issue of Russian troops crossing the country en route to the breakaway Serbian Republic of Krajina in the former Yugoslavia.
Barbu: Exactly. The first thing Romanians see when they wake up is a bunch of lost Russian troops trying to read the Latin signs and asking, no demanding, people on the streets tell them how to get to Highway E70. Unfortunately for the Russians, I think every Romanian who gave directions all sent them on a wild goose chase.
DS: The Russians were lost?
Barbu: Yes. You have to realize, for as horrible as Nicolae Ceaușescu was, he at least kicked the Russians out of the country in 1958. That was the one good thing he managed to do. As a result, the Russians didn’t have current maps or anything. And apparently they didn’t bother to bring anyone who could read or speak Romanian either. They were so angry over Poland that they didn't even properly prepare for something as simple as a drive through Romania. They just told the units to cross Romania and get to Yugoslavia as soon as possible. Most of the first wave had been troops that had been stationed in Poland, and they were completely lost when it came to figuring out the roads in Romania. They came down from Radauti, in the Ukraine, and somehow ended up near the Black Sea. They were told to avoid cities at all cost, but there is no way to get from Radauti to Belgrade without passing through either Cluj, Brastov, or Timisoara. So they kept taking side roads and harassing people in the towns they passed through.
DS: So they started speaking to the Romanians in Russian?
Barbu: Yes. Most Romanians speak Russian, but we would be perfectly happy if somehow that language just seeped out of our ears and onto the ground. We don’t like to speak Russian. We don’t like to admit we speak Russian. And we don’t like it when Russians come up to us and start speaking it and just assume we know it.
DS: How upsetting was it to see Russian troops in the country?
Barbu: Very upsetting. These troops had to pass through dozens of these Moldovan refugee camps, and somehow a handful of these clowns ended up in downtown Bucharest before dinner. It was like giving a cymbal to a monkey and telling him not to wake the sleeping baby in the room. I honestly don’t know how those idiots even figured out how to start the tanks before they left.
DS: How did citizens in Bucharest handle the presence of Russian troops?
Barbu: How do you think? They were furious. They were furious at the Russians, and they were furious at President Iliescu for letting them come into the country. Sadly for the president, they took it out on him at the ballot box.
DS: Isn’t it true that the second wave of Russian troops proved even more upsetting for the Romanians?
Barbu: Yes. After these clowns who had spent the last ten years playing chess and drinking wine at the Oder River passed through, then the real troops came in: the UIS 14th Army.
DS: Why were these so hated by the Romanians?
Barbu: Because they were the troops stationed in Tiraspol, in Moldova. They operated with brutal, and ruthless, efficiency. Its commander, General G. I. Yakovlev, made no secret that he was trying to cleans as many Moldovans out of the UIS as possible. The 14th Army was the division that was ethnically cleansing Moldova, and they were the ones who Moldovans and Romanians most despised.
DS: What happened when the 14th Army entered the country?
Barbu: We knew it was them as soon as they crossed the border at Iasi. For one thing, none of them were drunk, and most spoke Moldovan. As they reached the first refugee camp they just passed by, but the refugees recognized the insignia of the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division on their tanks and uniforms. That created a huge uproar, and that was how Gheorghe Funar, the man many Romanians would go on to call “Romania’s Zhirinovsky” ended up president of the country.
Romanian President stunned in presidential election as anti-Russian candidates advance to second round
By Richard Roundtree
Economist
September 30, 1992
It seemed like a safe bet that Romanian President Ion Iliescu would at least make it to the second round of the presidential elections in Romania as Romanians took to the polls this last Sunday. But if there is one thing that can turn an election in Eastern Europe, apparently it is the Russians. Controversy over President Iliescu’s apparent “nod of the head” to the former Soviet Union (which transferred 40,000 troops through Romania to aid Serbian separatists in Croatia) apparently ended the political career of the popular President as he finished third in a surprisingly close contest. Iliescu captured 30.8 percent of the votes as firebrand nationalist Gheorghe Funar edged him out with 31.1 percent of the total votes. Emil Constantinescu, of the Romanian Democratic Convention, finished in first place with 38.1 percent of the total votes. Emil Constantinescu is seen as more pro-western than Funar, however, both candidates have indicated that they will support Romania’s admission into NATO and both vehemently oppose allowing UIS troop’s use of Romanian territory.
“The presence of these troops on Romanian territory is a violation of our national sovereignty,” commented Constantinescu, “and we call on the UIS to immediately cease using Romanian territory and withdraw from our nation.”
Both Funar and Constantinescu have indicated that they may also honor NATO’s sanctions on the UIS, which would badly weaken the Russians ability to conduct military operations in the former Yugoslav republic of Croatia.
A Russian Officer looks at a Romanian road atlas near Radauti (AP)
Russian troops attempt to ask for directions in Valeni De Munti, Romania
A UIS tank gets seperated from its unit and accidently drives into downtown Bucharest (AP)
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Most likely at first. But the Chinese also do not want to see the UIS disintigrate, and don't like the NATO position that the UIS is not a country. Plus, they know that with the rest of the world putting sanctions on the UIS, that opens up a world of possibility in regards to trade and, more importantly, cheap oil. China might see having a monopoly on trade with the UIS as too good a deal to turn down...
LOL, thanks. I think the easiest way to put Zhirinovsky in power in a AHTL would be after the 1993 election or the 1996 presidential election, but I really wanted to do a Zhirinovsky timeline where he controled much of the former USSR, which obviously makes a tough assignment that much tougher.