Russian Civil War

Revolution

Military coup d'état

The Aral Sea Conflict, coupled with the failure of the Russian potato and wheat lead to food riots in St. Petersburg. The Russian government declares that because of declining economic fortunes it cannot afford to pay it's troops in the Volga-Ural regions and in the outer colonies. As a direct result of this action, General Poborski, leader of the Volga-Ural military, declares himself military governor of the region, with 70% of the armed forces under his command backing him. His first action is to block all tax revenues bound for Moscow, threatening the complete collapse of the fragile Russian economy.   Within days, government troops have clashed with the rebels, and fierce fighting is reported in and around the city of Yekatarinburg. By the end of the first week of fighting, with government forces gaining the upper hand, the civil war turns nuclear when General Poborski orders strikes against aerospace bases surrounding Moscow. Five bases are destroyed using aerospace launched tactical nuclear missiles. Tens of thousands of people die in and around the bases.   Premier Zakharov immediately orders an escalation to strategic nuclear weapons. 14 STGBMs are fired from an orbiting spacecraft against rebel military targets inside the Volga-Urals. The death toll is estimated in excess of 250,000, with 80,000km² contaminated by radioactive fallout.   UEFSC meet in emergency session. A ceasefire holds, mainly because of the threat of a nuclear strike against Moscow itself by General Leonov, Russia's Far East Region military commander. Elements of the UEAF EuroCorps and ChinaCorps land in Volga-Urals and in Moscow, as part of a stabilisation force to make sure the ceasefire holds.