Zhirinovsky's Russian Empire

[Gian]

I wonder what happens to the Eagles. Perhaps a few Oprichniks might sneak in as "volunteers" (Tampus always repays his debts to the UIS)

 

[Garbageman]

Welcome back. This story seems disturbingly appropriate now.

 

[Stalingrad]

Woah, this was magnificent.
I'm wondering, what's going on in:
Mexico, Germany and France.

It's great to see a continuation of this epic TL.

 

[theg*ddam*hoi2fan]

So why does TTL Lebed want to be president, since he would probably be better off (and happier) as a military guy? Personal enrichment, or a genuine desire to bring order to Eurasia, or both?

Or simply because, while he doesn't like the job, he also doesn't trust anyone else to do it right.

Awesome update!

 

[Bookmark1995]

Or simply because, while he doesn't like the job, he also doesn't trust anyone else to do it right.

Awesome update!

Could be. Maybe he thinks the liberal reformers will let the terrorists off easy, the communists will bring ruin, and the fascists will bring about nuclear war and bring back the gas mask-wearing murderers of Chechnya (that part made me shiver).

 

[Pellegrino]

So why does TTL Lebed want to be president, since he would probably be better off (and happier) as a military guy? Personal enrichment, or a genuine desire to bring order to Eurasia, or both?

Or simply because, while he doesn't like the job, he also doesn't trust anyone else to do it right.

Awesome update!

Could be. Maybe he thinks the liberal reformers will let the terrorists off easy, the communists will bring ruin, and the fascists will bring about nuclear war and bring back the gas mask-wearing murderers of Chechnya (that part made me shiver).

It's hard to say, but we do know that OTL he ran for President in 1996 and was gearing for another run in 2000 before he died. It is possible he saw a path to the presidency and sought it for himself, power is a pretty powerful motivator. But with that being said, like many Latin American generals who either sought political office or staged coups, he probably saw lawlessness and anarchy (or communism) as such an existential threat to his nation that he felt that the nation "needed" a strong man. Of course their opinion of what the nation needed may be considerably off the mark compared to what the nation really needed. But I could see the looming threat of anarchy always being a terrifying motivation for a former Soviet officer. And from what we could see in TTL, Lebed's biggest motivation is also to maintain and preserve the Union. All other factors are secondary. He may see the liberals and the reformist as a bigger threat then the communist since in a completely free and democratic UIS the Republics could choose to leave the Union.

 

[The Red Menace]

Many citizens of Dominica are equally stunned at the emergence of over 30,000 new voters since the 2000 election. Dominica is one of the few nations in the world where citizenship can be obtained by making a one time contribution of $50,000 into the Government Fund... But the tiny nation of 72,000 now finds itself at the center of an international crisis as approximately 30,000 former UIS residence appear to have seized the country.

Wait... that would mean the Dominican Republic would have gotten a total of 1.5 billion dollars by these "Oprichniki".

For reference, Russia's total GDP per capita in the year 2000 was 1.77 billion. EDIT: see correction here.

 

[Bmao]

Wait... that would mean the Dominican Republic would have gotten a total of 1.5 billion dollars by these "Oprichniki".

For reference, Russia's total GDP per capita in the year 2000 was 1.77 billion.

Are you sure that's not a misprint? I'd imagine Russia's total GDP would be 1.77 trillion dollars rather than 1.77 Billion.

 

[Grand Prince Paul II.]

Does X-Files exist ITTL?

 

[The Red Menace]

Are you sure that's not a misprint? I'd imagine Russia's total GDP would be 1.77 trillion dollars rather than 1.77 Billion.

Actually... you're right. Apparently GDP was ~$ 167 billion in 2000 -- I just misread a graph I was looking up.

 

[Alex1guy]

-Snip about the Russian Monarchy-

What? He tried to buy Suwarrow from the Cook Islands?!? Actually in hindsight we should have sold that to him, maybe someone can finish that damn Hotel in Ara Tapu.

I'm from the Cook Islands and I have literally never heard of this. This is the most bizzare thing I think I've ever seen.

http://izvestia.ru/news/499236

 

[Pellegrino]

Wait... that would mean the Dominican Republic would have gotten a total of 1.5 billion dollars by these "Oprichniki".

For reference, Russia's total GDP per capita in the year 2000 was 1.77 billion. EDIT: see correction here.

Well, as we saw in the above mentioned article about the revived Russian monarchy in Kiribati a single investor was looking to pump $350,000,000 into that project. If we have another rich eccentric billionaire in TTL we are basically 25% there. Now couple that with the prospect that once the Russian citizen obtains Dominica citizenship there "may" be a loophole where the new citizen's spouse can also obtain citizenship by virtue of their spouses citizenship (now we are 50% there). Also, who is to say there isn't a corrupt official somewhere who didn't take a bag full of money in exchange for a few hundred citizenship applications?


Also, there are two seperate nations in the region: Dominica and Dominican Republic. But don't feel bad, that confusion will come into play in this TL soon enough...

 

[Kermode]

With the return of this timeline, I was inspired to make a few Wikipedia infoboxes— both for fun and to refresh my memory on key players' careers. Here's the first one I've whipped up, of the man himself:

 

[Deblano]

What great news! My favorite TL on this website is back from the dead!

 

[alpha]

Any new updates?

 

[The Red Menace]

Also, who is to say there isn't a corrupt official somewhere who didn't take a bag full of money in exchange for a few hundred citizenship applications?

I just assumed that this isn't the case since you already just pay a "bag full of money" to get citizenship the legal way

Also, there are two seperate nations in the region: Dominica and Dominican Republic. But don't feel bad, that confusion will come into play in this TL soon enough...

Are you angling for "Bayou of Pigs Mk.II" or something?

P.S.: what are the general attitudes of these Caribbean Oprichniki towards Castro's Cuba? Might they find allies & kindred spirits among the Cuban exiles in Florida?

 

[Khaine]

With the return of this timeline, I was inspired to make a few Wikipedia infoboxes— both for fun and to refresh my memory on key players' careers. Here's the first one I've whipped up, of the man himself:

I think you left out a bit on the political party part.

 

[Kermode]

I think you left out a bit on the political party part.

Could you clarify what I'm forgetting? I don't remember Zhironovsky having any other political affiliations.

 

[Khaine]

Could you clarify what I'm forgetting? I don't remember Zhironovsky having any other political affiliations.

While I couldn't name any party but Radical people's implies that there is supposed to be a word behind i like Radical people's party.

 

[Kermode]

While I couldn't name any party but Radical people's implies that there is supposed to be a word behind i like Radical people's party.

Ah. I omitted "Party", for RPP and LDPR both, because I felt it was redundant ("Political party: Radical People's Party"), and because there is some precedent of leaving it off on Wikipedia (anglophone politicians, namely). Chalk it up to personal style, I suppose.